Formerly Susanne's PCT Journal. This is a simple trail journal of my long distance thru-hiking adventures/misadventures. Family, friends, and total strangers are welcome to come along for the journey!
-Susanne aka "Snapper"
Trail Day 33: Sawmill Campground (mile 498.2) to Hiker Town (mile 517.6)
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19.4 PCT miles
It was cold and windy when I woke up this morning. For once, I was OK with this. I was nearing the part of the trail that follows the LA aqueduct, a notoriously hot and shadeless stretch. The wind meant that the temperature would be cooler when I eventually got to that part of the hike.
As I packed up my tent, I was treated to a nice mountain sunrise. I headed out of the campground and it looked like everyone else was stirring as well. They were all faster hikers than me, so I was hoping to get a jump on them. It looked like that would not be happening. Sure enough, not soon after I started, I had a group of hikers pass me.
Mountain sunrise.
About a mile into today's hike I saw the reason temperatures were going to cool down. The winds were pushing the cool, coastal cloud layer through the mountains and into the desert. It was quite an amazing sight.
Clouds putting on a show:
The trail lead down into the layer as well. When I went through a pine forest section that the cloud layer was in, it started to rain. I had never experienced rain inside a cloud layer before. The hikers that had passed me were putting on their rain gear. I was going to just go through it without the rain gear, but one of them told me he thought the rain was going to “get worse” as he saw puddles ahead.
I put on my rain gear and walked through the forest. Sure enough, after we left the pine trees it had become mist again. The rain was localized to the pine trees.
Localized rain.
Right as we were clearing the mist, we hit the 500 mile marker. I took pictures with the stones and continued on the trail. The first part of today was going to be uphill. I didn't appreciate the physical effort it took but I got some great views of the clouds drifting through the pass.
500 miles!
The cloud layer moving through the mountains.
The cloud layer exiting into the desert.
The rest of the morning was a tour through the mountain top. It mostly consisted of oaks and grasses, and was very beautiful. Eventually the trail connected with a dirt road that headed straight down, giving views of the desert valley below.
A lovely mountain stroll.
Mountain meadow.
Fiddlenecks in the meadow.
Views down into the desert valley
Once we got close to the valley floor, the PCT turned and did a grand tour of the foothills instead of going down to the valley. The PCT likes to do things like this. It gives you the full tour.
So close, but still 6 miles away.
Yep, I'm definitely in the desert again.
The foothills were desert again which meant it was full of small shrubs that didn't really offer shade. The heat was radiating off the ground as well, so while the surrounding town had a high of about 75, it was 90 degrees on the trail itself.
Good thing it is May.
Finally, the trail joined a dirt road and headed into the valley. It was about 0.7 mile to my final destination for the day, Hiker Town.
The home stretch!
Hiker Town is a property in the valley right next to the trail that is a water and rest stop. It has a bunch of shelters dressed to look like an old west town that have a beds you could sleep on for $10. Those were all taken by the time I got there, so I paid $5 to pitch my tent in the yard. I was able to refill my water bottles and charge my electronics in preparation for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a long day (aqueduct day).
Hiker Town sign on the PCT (at the corner of the property).
Hiker Town as you first enter.
One of the facades. This one had a lounge area and an adjacent "bedroom."
Inside the "Hotel."
More facades.
Another facade.
As added entertainment, I had pitched my tent next to the fence which had neighbor pigs. I didn't they were there at the time I set my tent up, but as I was settling in to go to bed early I watched a couple pigs squaring off in either some sort of play fighting or dominance display. I also had a huge sow come curiously sniffing near the fence (I was probably easy to smell). When she saw me staring at her she ran off squealing.
26.6 FT miles I had meant to get up really early this morning. There were only two places in the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge where you could camp, and there was one that was supposedly one of the best, if not the best, campsite on the trail. However, it was over 26 miles away. Some of those miles were going to be road walks, so those parts would go quickly. On the other hand, if we encountered swampy areas, it might be a very long day. A little before dawn I yelled over at Sugar Rush to see if she was awake, which she was. We packed up in the dark and, just like last night, went crashing through the brush trying to stay on trail. There were some parts that were clear and other parts that were not so clear. When the sun came up, things didn't necessarily get better. We started to realize why we were having so much trouble last night. Even with daylight we couldn't always track the path on the ground and had to search as a team for hidden blazes. The river made
20.3 miles Just like the past few mornings, it was difficult to get up again. Unlike the past few mornings, I could actually see snow on top of my tent. It was supposed to rain or snow on and off the majority of the day again. That was not a motivating thought to get me out of my sleeping bag. I had also finally used the hand warmers that I had purchased back in Flagstaff, and they were still warm inside my bag. Somehow, I emerged from that bag and packed everything up one last time. I was only about 20 miles from the Utah border and on schedule to finish the trail today. Most of the items I had on me were damp or wet. It didn’t bother me packing them up as I knew I would be warm and dry tonight. What did bother me was having to put on my wet, cold, dirty shoes. After I did that, I had wet, cold, dirty socks as well. In Flagstaff I had also picked up toe warmers, so I stuck those inside my shoes and hoped that they would help. The view looking out of my tent. My camps
22.4 FT miles Soon after I started hiking this morning, I passed Holton Spring. It was what made Holton Creek, which gave the name to the campground I stayed at last night. It is not a very big creek. The spring formed a circular pond that emptied out of one side to form the creek. The creek then dumped out into the Suwannee River after only a short distance. Holton Spring in the early morning. Around the area of Holton Spring you could really see the karst (formed by limestone) landscapes. It was fairly bumpy and dominated by large holes formed by water cutting through the soft limestone. After about 5 miles, I hit Gibson Park for breakfast. It appears to be a campground, but is available for day use. I used the picnic table out front, then used the bathroom and refilled my water supply. The bathhouse had “Way down upon the Suwannee River” painted on it, which are the lyrics to the song by Stephen Foster. It seems like everything in the areas uses it for advertisement
The clouds are too cool!
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