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Day 15: 195.4-216

I woke up to the sun warming my tent. This was the first day in a while I didn’t wake up cold and it was glorious! A very welcomed change from the below freezing temps last night. My body was on full defrost mode. 

Everything about the morning started out great! Sunshine, warm temps, the day was all downhill, and no snow! You know those days you can just feel are going to be great, that was today. 

I started down the never ending decent. It took around 3 hours to get down. No complaints though, I had great service so I was able to call some family and friends to catch up. Plus being at a lower elevation the wildflowers were back too.

I got to the bottom and the trail changed from a path made of blacktop, to a grassy field, to sand. This was one of those areas that most people probably don’t share photos of. I saw power lines, junk people abandoned, and I was dodging some cute little caterpillars who were covering the trail.

The area is also home to a wind farm where they produce energy, so needless to say it was crazy windy. I decided to put on some toons and sing my way through the wind. 

I got the the I-10 underpass, completely forgetting I heard there was Trail Magic here. They had oranges, sodas, and beers. While I was peeling my orange I read the names of the hikers who signed the cardboard on the wall before me, recognizing a few. I signed myself, and hungout a bit longer, drinking my beer and talking with a couple hikers about what was ahead. 

Feeling refreshed I trekked on, wanting to make it a little ways further. The trail was kind until just about the end of my day where I had one last push uphill. Once I got to the top I decided I’d sleep at the next spot that wouldn’t blast my tent with wind all night. I ran into a father and son who had the same idea. We all found a spot near the creek. They came to join me for a few minutes before dinner to talk about my experience so far, and to get a little information on my gear. They’ve been doing the PCT a few days at a time, working up to longer trips, pretty cool if you ask me. They returned back to their tent and I crawled inside mine. It’s always nice to have friendly neighbors for the night. 

As you can see, my tent is surrounded by grass, so it’s been a bit of a sneeze-fest over here! 😂 Oh well, time for dinner and bed. 

Goodnight! 

XOXO Becks