Day 11 – Thar she blows!

It seemed so cold last night! I hunkered down hard and actually slept pretty well. I wake up for good at 6:05. I am a disappointed because 6am seems late when I have this quest calling me. Every minute counts. I must find these four women I had been hearing about. Yesterday, I started referring to them as white whales. I doubt that they would appreciate my nickname even if I do think it’s a compliment.

Castle Crags

On the bright side, I manage to get on the trail in only 35 minutes! I soon observe the geological namesake of this section of trail: a jaggedy protrusion of grey granite peaks called Castle Crags. I feel like I am finally in some real deal mountains. You know, the kind where you wouldn’t be surprised to see a mountain goat gamboling up the side. Mountains with an attitude. Grand.

But the flowers and rock formations along the trail are equally beautiful.

A bear!

I have not gone two miles when I see my first PCT bear. I have just rounded a turn when I see him ambling toward me. He is about 75 feet away. He does not see me. He is relaxed. His fur is mostly brown with blond tips. His shoulder humps go up and down as he walks. Stupidly I say, “What are you doing here?” Like a 7th-grader caught wandering the halls between classes, he freezes and we lock eyes for three seconds. I am not afraid. I am unexpectedly excited. The bear spins around and gallops back down the trail. He disappears around the bend and then I hear him crash through the underbrush beside the trail. That wasn’t too bad, I think.

What mountains are like

Today I am ascending in stages from an altitude of 5400 feet to 7600 feet. I am wearing my fleece over my hiking shirt. And although the air is cold, I am starting to sweat under my shirt. And yet, my thumbs are numb. What to do? I am moving along quickly, so my body should stay generally warm even if I remove my fleece. I do. The damp shirt in the cold mountain air now provides a whole new sensation. Consequently, my thumbs no longer must suffer alone. They have partner in misery – my tingling nipples. Move, Dave. MOVE.

The sky is pregnant with possibility. What will happen? The sun wants to come out, but the sleepy dawn keeps hitting the snooze button. At this altitude, the clouds are not far above me. They resemble a downy blanket, the sun pressing silvery through the thinner parts. As the blanket descends slowly toward me, it catches on the mountaintops and cannot drop further. I hear the clouds call to me on the wind, “Come up here. Come up.”

“Soon,” I reply, “soon.”

On the horizon, the cloud bottoms blend into the mountaintops. It is hard to tell where one stops and the other begins.

The land is fairly open here, so it is easy to see the trail ahead. At times I can even see the trail on the side of the mountain across the valley from me. I have never seen the trail like this before. It locates me on this planet in a new and powerful way.

A trail full of people

I meet several people in the morning. Of course, I have to stop and bother all of them. Connor hiked the Colorado Trail and he is out to try parts of the PCT.

Tom and Aaron are weekend warriors who spent the night on the mountain. They are going back today. As I depart, I realize how much Tom’s laugh sounds like Homer Simpson’s!

Jordan is a reserved young man who works for the forestry service as an archeologist. He visits sites in the forest that hold artifacts and then makes recommendations about how the forestry service can protect them.

Finally I meet Mark and Christine. They are confessed rock hounds and they have collected a few pretty green ones. I forgot what they are called, so maybe you can help me remember in the comments. They graciously fill up my water bottle with what they have left from their hike.

Um, Dave, the hiking?

After lunch, I have to get serious about hiking. That means fewer pictures and less talking to strangers. I do snap a few photos that are just too good to pass up. I take a poop in the woods and a few minutes later I pass this:

Finally, I run into another deer. But this one seems to have some manners.

Sir, I see something over the starboard bow

As I arrive at camp, I see that others are there. I approach a woman near a light green tent and ask, on a lark, if she is Jane. She is! But she seems a little rattled that I know her name. I blurt out a bunch of stuff about how I have been hoping to meet her. It’s kind of awkward. She is polite but says that she wasn’t feeling well and needed to go to bed and could we talk tomorrow maybe. Ugh. That did not go well. Hope she feels better soon.

Then my luck doubles as I meet the Wander Women just up the trail. They are very nice, but since daylight is waning, it is cold and I have not even found a suitable place to camp, we put the chatter on hold for now. There will be time tomorrow. They say they are not hiking fast, but they are starting early. I believe that I can catch up to them during the day. (Boy am I wrong about that!)

But first, batten down the hatches

The wind is ferocious. I cast about for a sheltered flat location, but I don’t find anything. I pick a spot among some rocks and fallen trees. There is a fire ring nearby. To keep the wind off me, I set up my tarp low to the ground and placing rocks on all the tie points to keep the stakes in the ground. Later, as the wind subsides, the mosquitoes take the opportunity to join me. Looks like Deet is going back on my face for the first time in a week. I hope to learn more about my new hiking acquaintances tomorrow.

• June 12
• Starting mile: 1513
• Ending mile: 1535
• Daily PCT miles: 22
• Total PCT miles: 163
• Animals: a bear!