Day 8: Mile 86.6 – 105

April 15th, 2022 by Jon

Today was a very long day. But we did 18.4 miles today! It’s our longest day yet. We knew we needed to get ourselves set up well to get to Warner Springs tomorrow because the post office closes at 1:30pm. We are camping 4.5 miles from town, so I’d say it was a success!

The morning came quickly but we all slept well down in a small gully that was protected from the wind. There were around 15 hikers who slept there last night, and everyone said it was the only site for miles in either direction that wasn’t totally exposed. We packed quickly, and the morning didn’t feel as cold as the last few mornings. While I’m not sure I’m going to say that getting ready in the morning was fun… But it was about as good as it gets.

After more oatmeal, we had packed up and managed to start hiking by 6:30. All 3 of us are enjoying getting the early miles in, it helps us have more time in the evening to relax, stretch, and enjoy our food at camp. We had 3 long switchbacks to climb in order to leave the small gully we had camped in and once we finished them, we were back to walking the same almost-to-the-top ridge that we had been on all day yesterday. We hiked quickly, finishing our first 5 miles in about an hour and forty minutes. We hiked to a water cache that trail angels provide to hikers. It’s called the third gate water cache and it’s pretty much the only cache you can rely on for the whole PCT. It’s turns what can be a very long (about 30 miles), very dry section into something a lot more manageable.

After the water cache, the trail continued to climb up and up. We were about halfway through a 5-mile, 1000-foot elevation gain section, which isn’t as steep as a few of the other climbs we had done earlier. At the top of it, after another 2-3 miles, we FINALLY got to hike over the ridge we had been on and climbed down onto the other side. The wind immediately became less intense and the hiking was quite a bit more enjoyable. On this side of the ridge, things looked much greener, and we could now see down into the valley that we were headed to. The trail meandered and took us across the face of many mountains as we slowly worked our way down out of the hills.

Eventually, we arrived at a very exciting milestone. We had made it 100 miles on the PCT! Holy moly, we couldn’t believe how far we had come. And then we realized we would have to do what we just did 25 and a half more times to finish the entire trail. But one small step was made and we felt very accomplished. Nicole beat me there by a couple of minutes and Ajia came around the corner a few minutes after that. We’re starting to realize we’re all actually pretty fast. We took some pictures together and celebrated a little bit before continuing on for another mile and a half to a small spring that had been piped and fed a small pool.

The shade with many sycamore and oak trees by the spring made for some excellent lounging. We each took some water to filter and although we had reached our original destination that we had planned for that morning, it was only 1:30 and we all felt pretty decent. We had gone 14.5 miles which felt like a pretty reasonable day and we were excited to get to camp by water. But Ajia was the one who said what we were all thinking by asking how far the next water source was. It was only 3.9 miles… We made a plan to wait for an hour or so at the spring to rehydrate and relax and then see how we felt. As we did, we began to hear bushes moving on the hill behind us, and it sounded like something kinda big. It was a wild turkey! It slowly came down the hill and would pause to look at us, as if analyzing for a threat, before continuing. We realized the pipe was making a constant trickling sound and the turkey was headed straight for the water. We watched it hop up on the pool ledge and dip its head down to drink before wandering off in the grass. It was a cool moment.

A few minutes later, another 3 hikers we had camped with last night came around the corner and we all talked about the turkey because they had just seen it too! They took their packs off and had begun filtering some water when a man showed up from the trail that came up from the road a few hundred feet away and asked if anyone wanted a ride to the store. There is a pretty popular rural resort 3 miles from the trail that many hikers will resupply at or at least check out for a bit. Apparently, to attract more business, the owners hired a shuttle driver for the PCT season. With promises of cold drinks and food, we all quickly packed up and crammed 6 hikers and their bags into an SUV (don’t worry everyone had a seatbelt) and we drove down the road.

When we arrived at the store 5 minutes later, there were 8 hikers already there, sitting at a few picnic tables out front, eating, drinking, and laughing. We got out of the car and went inside the store to see what we could find. It was about the size of a living room, but crammed full of all the foods hikers would want plus candy, chips, some gear, and a huge fridge of drinks. As we all stared wildly and pondered what to get, an older hiker from outside introduced himself as Beermeister and offered to buy all of us a drink. We happily took him up on his offer and grabbed something from the fridge. I also got a butterfinger bar that was pretty killer. For the next 30 minutes or so, we all met new hikers, saw a couple of old friends, and enjoyed a really cold drink. The shuttle driver offered to take whoever was ready back to the trail, and those of us who had just gotten there all wanted to get back, so we piled back in. Everyone else who had already been there wanted to stay. I forgot to take any photos because we were having too good a time just hanging out together.

Our spirits filled, Nicole, Ajia, and I all decided we would hike those extra miles to get to a small creek that reportedly hadn’t dried up yet this year. We took off and as we crossed the road we noticed a small styrofoam cooler labeled “PCT Trail Magic”! Yay for us! There was some fruit, chips, and dum dums (the little lolipops) still left. We all were feeling full and perhaps a little lightheaded. Turns out when you’re hiking all day and get a little dehydrated, one beer is plenty. We continued across the highway and pushed into a grassy field with small hills around it.

After a mile of walking through the hills, the trail punched us out in the middle of a massive grassy meadow. It appeared that the trail took us through ranch land because there were cows and their pies everywhere. As I hiked down into the meadow, I saw a day hiker coming towards me and it turns out she was the one who left out the trail magic! I was sure to thank her as we went our separate ways. It’s generally been a very kind reception from the general public towards PCT hikers so far. We walked through the field for another mile and a half, which was a nice change of scenery from the last few days. I saw an eagle soaring around only 20 feet above my head, and I paused to watch it glide silently as it turned slowly, rising in a thermal.

I continued on and could see Ajia a quarter mile behind me, and Nicole had just gone over the ridge at the edge of the meadow about a quarter of a mile ahead. The ridge took us through a little grassy plateau before trees started popping up. I realized the trail was headed into a small canyon and was hoping it held the creek we would camp at. As I walked, I became more aware of the sound of running water, and where the PCT crossed the stream, I found Nicole and Kelsey (another hiker from the site last night) talking. Apparently, they had arrived in the last few minutes as well.

The site was the best one we have had yet. It was grassy and sandy and the water was crystal clear and cold. We found two tent sites just up the hill from the stream. Ajia and I took the one under a large sycamore tree. The sun was still shining through the leaves and illuminating the bank of the stream. It was hard not to laugh at how cinematic it felt. It was so gorgeous, and so peaceful. We sat against a small log just feet from the water and started heating water for some dehydrated meals. As we did, Kelsey’s boyfriend came down the hill and they were able to catch up a bit. Turns out they were going to continue hiking together to a camp a little farther along. She’s been doing 20-mile days from the start, so I don’t know if we will see her again.

With the three of us left, we enjoyed dinner followed by more stretching and elevating our feet. I feel tired, but not that tired. It’s mostly my feet just get to a point where they are too tired of the impact of walking to continue for the day. We relaxed and listened as the frogs croaked, the owls hooted, and the creek continued to babble. This was definitely our best campsite so far.

Tomorrow, we will head into town in the morning and see what is happening at the community center. In the evenings and all day on the weekends during PCT season, volunteers staff the center to offer kindness to hikers. We aren’t totally sure what all is there, but we are excited to check it out. After that, we will keep hiking out, there are a bunch of tent sites along Agua Caliente Creek on the other side of town and we will likely camp somewhere along there tomorrow night.