Day 20

PCT mile 333.1 to 356.2

PCT miles 23.1

Naked Man Day!

Woke from our first cowboy camp with no rattlesnakes in our sleeping bags. Slept great! Good start to an interesting day ahead. We’re getting better at waking at 4:30, but our hiking start time always seems to be about 5:30 AM - what’s up with that?

The fog rolled in at night and our bags were wet and it was chilly! We packed up and planned to try to dry them at a water cache up the trail. Morning hike was lovely and miles flew by (unlike afternoon miles) as we enjoyed the views and headed toward the famous hiker McDonald’s for coffee and some snacks. We crossed railroad tracks and were thankful one of those 10 mile trains wasn’t passing. As we rose above the tracks we heard a train coming on the track - felt lucky we didn’t have to wait for it to pass.

We made our way to McDonalds (just off trail) and passed so much discarded trash along the road, including a mattress and used baby diapers. What?? This stretch of road is in desperate need of an ‘adopted by a local organization’ to clean up the mess. Perhaps McDonald’s??

We arrived at McD’s about 8:00 AM and the place was packed with locals fueling up for a fun day (Sunday at the lake?) and many other hikers we know. Ordered 4 Egg McMuffins (removed muffins). Not great, but we enjoyed the BEST not-very-good coffee we have ever had! Hot and comforting.

We met Spider-Man again at the McDonalds (from South Africa, now lives in New Zealand, 2nd attempt at PCT after he had a bad fall near Lone Pine in 2019) and he advised us not to worry about refilling all water containers for the 20 mile dry section ahead because there’s a water cache 4 miles ahead. We are reluctant to rely on water caches because they can be empty, but we took his advice and were happy we did. Temperature rose quickly and it was hot and lots of elevation (6000 ft) ahead, so it was a very nice gift not to carry extra water weight for 4 miles.

We were almost to the water cache near a road crossing when we saw a man hiking south toward us on the narrow trail. From a distance Chris thought he might be a ranger because he had a ranger hat, boots, shorts (?) and a shortsleeved button down dark green shirt. Quite dapper! Chris thought, ‘Oh good, finally someone will ask to see the permits we/family/friends worked so hard to secure.’ Nope, as he neared us it was clear he had nothing on from the waist down. He had a large camera slung over his shoulder that he moved to cover his privates as he passed. In the desert! Chris is thinking SUNSCREEN!! After he passed, Chris looked back to confirm what she thought she saw - yup - no pants.

So, for the next several miles we both tried to figure out what he was doing. When we stopped at the gloriously full water cache (thanks Spider-Man!) and asked others stocking up with water for the climb ahead, no one saw him! Zip. Crazy.

We started the long climb up out of Swarthout Canyon to Ralston Peak, which is nicely graded and not too tough. All was going so well until those afternoon miles hit! Time seems to stop with only a few miles remaining. We knew we would only have the water we were carrying until we reached Wrightwood tomorrow, so we really wanted to get up as high as we could.

When we reached a road crossing with a flat tent site nearby, we grabbed it. Knew high winds were predicted at night, but neglected to take that into consideration when setting tent on exposed hillside - brain function dwindling.

The winds picked up about 2:00 AM and kept Chris up all night (with earplugs). So very windy! Tent held, but it was close to toppling a few times. .