Trail Day 128: Tentsite (mile 2596.3) to tentsite (mile 2623.1)

26.8 PCT miles

I picked up the trail this morning, continuing the descent I had started yesterday. I wanted to get in good miles again today, so that I could be ahead of the storm that was going to hit tomorrow.
Right around first light I passed a campsite. It looked more like an encampment. This must be where the hoard of people I saw yesterday had stopped. I couldn't even count how many tents were there.
I hit some switchbacks and headed down. I soon reached the 2600 mile marker, the last of the 100 mile markers on the trail. I only have about 50 miles to the border and about 59 more miles to Manning Park.
2600 miles!
Morning light on the surrounding mountains.

The PCT.

Sunlight streaming through.
At the bottom of the descent,  I walked through a valley, getting pretty views of the surrounding mountains through autumn foliage.

View from the trail.

The PCT.

View from the trail.
Then, I had my last “big” climb of the PCT. I followed the side of the valley for a while before the trail became what seemed like endless switchbacks.

Switchbacks led up this hillside.

View from the switchbacks.
During the next section at the top of the mountains I saw quite a few day hikers. This was because I was close to Harts Pass, a trailhead which was the last official exit point before Canada. This was where people who either didn't get a Canadian entry permit or where denied an entry permit had to hike back to after reaching the border. It only recently reopened as it had been previously closed due to the Diamond Creek Fire.
View from the trail.

The PCT.

Trail sign.
Soon after, I stopped at a stream to fill up on water with another hiker. I was telling him about my plan to avoid the storm and he asked where I got the info about the storm, as everyone had been talking about it. He gets weather updates from his GPS and it was giving only a 40 percent chance of rain for tomorrow.
In all honesty, I  had gotten my forecast for the town of Mazama, which was already a couple days south of my location. Maybe the storm was supposed to hit south of where we were or perhaps the forecast had changed in the past couple days. Either way, it gave me hope for decent weather the next two days.
I hiked the last 3 miles as the sun was setting and got really pretty views of the sunset for once. Lately the sunset has been blocked by mountains. I arrived at the tentsite I had been aiming for just as the last light was fading. There was already someone there and as I was setting up my tent another person arrived to camp there as well.

27 miles to Canada!

Golden hour on the trail.

View from the trail near sunset.

The sunset was spectacular.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FT2018 Day 44: Campsite near the Aucilla River (mile 734.2) to Ring Dike Campsite (mile 760.8)

Image
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
Read more

AZT 2019 Day 44: Campsite near Umbrella Tank (mile 768.4) to Utah-Arizona border (mile 788.7)

Image
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
Read more

FT2018 Day 40: Holton Creek River Camp (mile 652.0) to Black Tract Campsite (mile 674.4)

Image
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
Read more