Day 73: Just another day on the trail

Day 73 – 7/3/16

1205.31 to 1237.98

Total miles: 32.67

5 Star woke me up at 4:30 packing up his crap. Why was he getting ready so early?! I had taken my ear plugs out a couple hours earlier so I put them back in. It was too late though. The damage had been done and I couldn’t go back to sleep. At 4:50 I begrudgingly sat up and started packing up my stuff. By 5:15 we had left Morgan’s Diner.

To be honest the trail was pretty boring today. I hardly took any pictures because there really wasn’t anything to see most of the day. I was in dense trees most of the day avoiding tripping over rocks and roots. The trail was fairly easy and there was a lot of downhill. A few times in the morning I popped up somewhat out of the trees to get a view.

I mostly hiked by myself today and would catch up to 5 Star on occasion. I like going my own pace and I wish he didn’t want to push until 7 pm. I’m pretty tired by 5 and my feet are in pain by 6. They are very sore from all the miles and how rocky the trail can be.

I passed the time staring at my feet listening to my audio book. I was listening to the Mistborn: Shadows of Self. It’s the 5th Mistborn book, however, 4-6 take place 300 years after the original 3. They are also much shorter in length. The Mistborn series is a fantastic fantasy series with one of the most unique uses of magical powers. I highly recommend it. Especially in audio book form. The narrator is the same as in the Wheel of Time books and has distinct voices for each character.
After lunch we had a steady climb. I plodded along and stopped a few times to see if I had service. I had 4G a lot of the time but not enough to do anything other than send a text or check email. Eventually I broke out of the trees and started making my way up a windy hill. Then I see 5 Star standing on a rock holding his shirt in front of him, the wind whipping the shirt. If he lost his grip even a little it would be bye bye shirt.

The rest of the day was all downhill. We stopped to get water plus a little extra to wash our feet. My feet are black and my legs have a nice dirt tan. It starts to get closer to 7 and there is no where to camp. A couple people were already in some established campsites. It’s so hard to find a place to camp on the PCT. It’s hard to find a level place and a level place free of rocks and bushes. A few minutes after 7 we find a semi flat place in gravel. I set up my tent but I’m not in the shade at all and it’s still hot in the sun and in my tent. I hide in the shade outside my tent. Bees keep flying around me and getting stuck in my tent. Bees have been quite annoying lately. They will hover inches from me. They are especially fond of my ear. So loud.
Once the sun drops below the trees in the distance the temperature drops quickly. I sit on a rock and put half a liter of water in a gallon zip lock. I stick my foot in it. Sweet Odin’s beard does it feel good! I instantly turn the water a toxic sludge black. I stick my hand in and scrub my foot and then my lef. I use a sock to wipe off the dirty water. I’m still dirty but not as bad. I crawl back into my tent and just want to sleep.