PCT 2007 Day 64
Day 64 / 5-28-07 CB
Robin Bird Spring – just below ridge
22.3 miles; 624.5 total miles (12.4); 2700 trip miles
80’s; sunny
I didn’t sleep well during the first part of the night. My head was too low compared to my feet. Normally I try to position my feet a little higher to help with recovery. This time it was too much. I ended up turning around; it was much better. I also was worried about bugs since I saw the three ticks. Speaking of bugs, I have to say I’m tired of the ants out here. They are everywhere and I mean everywhere!
I was up at 5 and on the trail by 6. The trail was fairly easy for the first half of the day. I saw a deer when crossing a wet area that use to be a stream. After that I came across some bear tracks and followed them for almost 1.5 miles. He/she was a southbound bear. The paw prints were huge; it must have been a very large bear.
The first part of the day was in a beautiful pine forest and it was very open. It reminded me of eastern Washington, especially the Tenaway. As I descended the forest gave way to less and less trees and more scrub brush and Manzanita. Now we are in full desert again hiding out in the shade of a large Joshua tree. We plan on hanging out for the rest of the afternoon until it gets cooler and then tackle this next hot section.
….6 hours later and it’s now 5 pm. We have packed and filled up our water supply. It was a quick 2 miles to the next road, which I covered in 35 minutes. It was still hot and the sandy trail made walking difficult. After the road the trail climbed for the next 4 miles on a very sandy slope. The desert was beautiful but it is also so barren which makes for hot hiking. I enjoy the forests much better.
We got to a multi use road on the slopes of Pinyon Mountain and had dinner. Mr. Parkay, who we first met during siesta, was there and just about to take off. We stayed till 7:45 and then were off again.
I got yet another bloody nose a few miles up the trail. It stopped soon enough but its just another reminder how dry it is out here.
We planned to hike about 4 miles or 1.5 hours more when I rounded a bend I found Lisa and Wounded Knee waiting next to a flat spot. Since it was pretty breezy they didn’t think finishing up the slope just ahead was a good idea for camping.
The moon is almost full again and it’s so bright out here. I will have to pull my Ibex beanie down over my eyes tonight.
I can’t believe there is only 3 more days until I’m at Kennedy Meadows. KM is where the Sierras start. I will take two zeros to rest my body then I will be entering the most beautiful hiking on the trail. Ever since the border, hell since I left, I have been looking forward to the Sierras. I can’t wait!
Scatman 2011- It’s funny I mention the ants now. They had been “bugging” me for weeks. You could sit down on a rock without an ant in sight and within 5 minutes they seemed to be running all over the place. I’m guessing they were attracted to the salt in our sweat.
Waiting out the heat of the day under the Joshua Tree was hard. 1) when your used to always moving sitting still feels foreign, 2) were were on a hill side so you couldn’t really just lay down anywhere. It was so hard to get comfortable. It made the 5 hours we sat there much longer than it seemed.
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Scatman
Get out there!
You can check out my Appalachian Trail or Continental Divide Trail journals too!
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