May 14, 2017

Total miles: 22.2 miles 

Start: mile 379.5

End: Camp Glenwood (mile 400.6)

Total elevation gain/loss: 4106.6/479.1ft

I was woken up in the middle of the night by the howling wind overhead. Luckily, our tent spot was fairly well protected and our tent was okay. We had set our alarm for 5am, but it was so windy and cold that we ended up resetting it for 6am. We’re getting lazy 😉

It was freezing as we started hiking this morning. Literally. We started with more ridge walking, which can be lots of fun but this morning I just felt tired and cold.  

It seemed to take us forever to get to the camping area that we had planned to camp at last night. I’m not sure whether or not that means that I’m glad that we stopped early or if I wish we’d continued on (so that I’d already we done with it). I was surprised that the camping area was completely empty by the time we got there since we seem to run across late starters all the time.

We continued down to the road (the same one that we’ve crossed a couple times already), then way up so that we could cross the same road again. And then we did it again — up, down, cross the same road. This time, I stopped to wait for Michael. Apparently, he took a wrong turn at some point at the top of one of the climbs and kept climbing instead of going over the saddle. He figured it out eventually, but was a bit delayed in meeting up with me.

Despite being a sunny day, it continued to be chilly. For the first time I was looking for sun to sit in at lunch so I could stay warm.After lunch we had a road walk (on the same one we’d been crossing) due to a trail closure to protect an endangered frog. There is technically an alternate that would have avoided the road walk, but it is a 24-mile trail for a 4-mile closure that is advertised as not “up to PCT standards” and “too dangerous for equestrians.” Way to sell it! We didn’t meet anyone doing that alternate and as it turned out the road walk wasn’t too bad since the traffic was really light.

After the road walk we walked through a campground for water and to get to a beautiful side trail back to PCT.

It was cold all afternoon. While it felt like we weren’t making mikes due to our late start, I guess we did okay.

We stopped at the Glenwood Camp, which was listed on Guthooks but not as a campground (just the privy, there have been so many today!). I think it’s part of a private camp, but only PCT hikers were there when we stopped by. By the time we got there the sun had already slipped behind the mountain and it was so cold that I sat in the tent and cooked dinner in the vestibule. I think we have another cold night in store for us!

Hopefully we’ll pull off an early start tomorrow (and it will be warmer)!

Current ailments:

Elizabeth: inner thigh chafing, it’s back 😦

Michael: none.