tcmauer

Onyx Summit to campsite at 173 (252.1 to 273)

Daily miles: 20.9

Last night was my first night in a bed since I moved out of my apartment weeks ago.  It was also my first real hot shower on the trail so far, so I’m feeling pretty good this morning.  A shuttle takes a bunch of us from the hostel to where the trail reopens and the driver plays some nice tunes to pass the time.

So then I’m back in one of those ancient type forests with giant trees and dirt and pine needles to walk on.  The kind of place where the light always seems to come in slant and birds make their homes.  I get lost, but I can hear people talking, so I walk in their direction thinking its other thru-hikers.  Turns out I’ve come across a summer camp for kids and one of the counselors tells the kids to come over so I can teach them about the PCT.  I tell them how far I’ve come and when I started and that I got lost because I heard a bunch of voices and decided to follow them because I’m tired of following the voices I hear in my head.  I think this is funny, so I laugh, but no one else does.  I realize I must look like a crazy person to them.  Oh well!

I find a nice big campsite for the evening and watch everyone else on trail push through to camp at the next water source, which is 2.5 miles away.  I might actually have the place to myself tonight, a very rare occurrence on the southern PCT.  It’s cold up here at 7600 feet, and windy, but I’m cowboy camping anyway and feeling nice and warm all tucked in.