The wind kicked up during the night. I woke to the tent bucking hard. A tent stake had pulled out. I got out of the tent, reset the stake and went back to bed. It was OK after that.
Keith and I sleep in until 7. It is only 6 miles to the Intersection with I-15 where we will check into the hotel for the night. Tomorrow morning I will head on the Wrightwood. Keith will head off to Las Vegas to celebrate his 10th anniversary with his wife.
The trail out
The trail follows a narrow canyon up to a high ridge that overlooks the pass through which several roads and railroad lines run.
As we near the top, the land flattens out a bit.
Sensing that time is slipping away from us, I suggest that we take a selfie before we descend.
The trail down is nothing less than spectacular.
I let the pictures speak for themselves.
We both realize that after 26 days, we are splitting up. I am happy for Keith. He achieved his goal despite being in pain many days. He fought through his foot issues. He learned a lot about hiking.
I think he also enjoyed himself, and although getting off trail will give him a well-deserved rest, part of him would like to continue.
I have enjoyed his company tremendously. Our friendship has certainly deepened. Thanks, Keith, for hiking with me. Take care. Get some rest. I will see you back in Orlando sooner than you think.
Who knew?
And then we see this on the trail. What does it take to stake a claim these days?
We did not find any gold in this area. Frankly, I probably wouldn’t recognize it if I saw it.
And then before you know it, I-15 is right there in front of us.
We go down to the highway and grab food from the McDonalds. It’s my first Double Quarter-pounder. The place is full of hikers. We chill there until the hotel opens.
Plans
Last night we camped with Jeremy and Shelley again. We discussed plans for the hike tomorrow. It is a little daunting – at least 22 miles with 5000 feet of elevation gain. To make matters worse, there is no water for at least 17 miles of that!
Our plan is to meet in front of the hotel lobby at 2am and hike during the night to minimize to water we have to drink due to heat and exposure. Wrightwood is at the top of this hike. We may camp before Wrightwood and go in the next day, or go into town tomorrow night at the end of the hike. We shall see.
Hiking this together helps me more than them, because they have each other. But it will be nice to do this hard hike together in case something goes wrong. Stay tuned.
- May 30, 2023
- Starting marker: 335.7
- Ending marker: 341.9
- Miles hiked today: 6
- Total PCT miles: 312 (yes I just realized I forgot to memorialize the 300 moment with a photo). I will try not to forget next time.