PCT Day 9 & 10 – Julian and Beyond

We are in Julian so Keith can put his feet up and get some new shoes. He ended up with the same kind of shoes I wear – Altra Olympus. I hope they work out for him. He also got some toe socks to help with his blisters.

I spent the day uploaded blog posts and watching movies. The movies we watched were Her (good), Riddick (campy), and Dune (promising).

We ate so much food I was sick of eating by Sunday morning. All I had was a breakfast bar and a coke.

It was probably good that I had a rest day. I had not planned to take a rest day until reaching Idyllwild, but that was probably not realistic.

Back to the trail

Rebecca, the fossil lady, picks us up at our residence, promptly at 8am. We pile into the car and head back to Warner Springs.

It’s my weekly selfie. I take it in the back seat of Rebecca’s car. She must think I’m pretty self-absorbed sitting back here taking pictures from different angles and such. I suppose I am to some degree.

Rebecca is mad about geo-caching. When Keith and I express our ignorance, she goes into full evangelist mode. Before you know it, she has pulled off the road so we can search for one of the famous local geo-caches. Luckily I find it quickly, we solve the riddle inside the box, a capsule pops out, we pop it back in and mercifully we don’t drive down the road to find another one.

Agua Caliente Creek

Initially the trail criss-crosses Agua Caliente Creek for five miles. The land above the creek is arid and desert-like. But near the water it is all oaks and grasses.

I love these delicate little yellow flowers. They would look gorgeous in an arrangement.

For the first two hours of hiking, Keith and I do a lot of this:

As we turn away from the creek we start to climb. We started the day at an altitude of 2930 feet. By the end of the day we will be near 5200 feet. As we look behind us we can see the broad cattle lands where we discovered Eagle Rock.

Cleveland

The national forest we have been passing in and out of since almost the beginning of our hike is the Cleveland National Forest. For the most part it is an arid forest, not dominated by trees. But it is rich in variety. I love this spray of purple flowers by the trail.

By noon we are bushed. The heat and the climb leave us tired and not that hungry. We collapse in the shade by the trail.

Keith is not doing well. I can tell he’s struggling. Sometimes bringing up a difficult subject can make it worse, so I say nothing.

We head to the last water of the day. It’s Lost Valley Spring. It’s down a side trail, so I leave my pack on the PCT and take just my water stuff to the spring. I regret not having my camera when I see, Mika and Hannes at the spring! They are the German couple we camped with three nights at the beginning of the hike. It is wonderful seeing them again and we exchange stories.

Wonder trail

The miles up to camp are fun. My pack is now the heaviest it has been in this hike. I have 10 lbs of food, 8 lbs of water, and my base weight is probably up to 14 lbs. While that is still less than most people carry, it is a lot for my small pack and for me. But I feel great. My legs push purposefully up the trail. My muscles don’t burn and my breathing is good. I feel stronger than ever, and I just love hiking this trail. It might really suck later, but right now it is incredible.

Then I enter this crazy rock monster world. These pinkish orange rocks are every where. What a great place for a paintball fight.

Reckoning

As I pull into camp, Keith has fallen far behind. His blisters feel much better, but his heel pain has returned. He is going to try to tough it out another day, but if it continues he may have to get off the trail at Paradise Valley Café in 28 miles.

• May 14, 2023
• Starting marker: 111.4
• Ending marker: 124.9
• Miles hiked today: 14
• Total PCT miles: 125
• The geo-cache riddle was in the form of a hangman game. You can play it too. What geo-cache equipment is spelled with the following letters: tletbrxoe. Unscramble the letters!