Day 169: mile 843.3-857.7 (MTR)
Well everyone, the wind carried straight through the night, and into morning, so I got no sleep at all. I had a layer of dirt covering everything including my face, which isn’t that big a deal since I’m constantly covered in a layer of dirt, but it was a bit more than usual. Putting on sunscreen felt like sandpaper on my face. I needed to exfoliate anyway right?!
Trying to pack up my tent was a joke and I’ll admit, a source of frustration given my lack of sleep.
Although it had been a rough night, all I had to do was look around and I had a smile on my face again. Plus the day was downhill into Muir Trail Ranch. I passed a few other hikers who said their camp was crazy windy too. This made me feel a little better knowing that even if I had kept going further I’d still have been in the same predicament.
As I was walking along I saw a familiar face walking toward me, it was Descartes! I couldn’t believe it, I hadn’t seen her since Crater Lake. We stopped to chat and catch up and figure out how the heck we’d lost each other months ago. What a fun surprise!
I put my sandals on for a quick creek crossing. Always a pain taking everything off and putting it back on, but worth it to me to not be sloshing around in my shoes! The water was only about ankle to calf high and slow moving where I crossed, easy peasy.
The day got pretty hot and the landscape seemed like it was beginning to change just a bit. Not so much the plant life, more so the rock. I guess I’ll see over the next few days if I’m right.
I turned off the PCT to make the final miles into MTR. As soon as I got there I spotted the hiker “box” buckets and began to look through for something good for dinner. Most of it had been picked over since they were no longer taking resupply boxes this late in the season (they were set to close for the season in the next day or so along with a few other resupply stops), but I grabbed some dehydrated veggies, a bar, couscous, and a few other things I may or may not need. Most of the buckets were mystery ziplocks, so I passed on those. I plugged in my battery and ate some food while I watched the horses head out to roam for the night.
Myself and two other hikers decided to stay above MTR in the designated area. It felt amazing to get to camp so early. We set up and chatted …mostly about food. I think I disappointed them when I told them I eat the same thing every day and don’t generally indulge in all the junk food most thru hikers live off of.
It was still incredibly warm out and I was loving every moment of it. This might be the first night in a while that I’m not super cold, yes! That said, I need to check the weather in the morning to see if I’m going to get hit with this snow storm in a few days. Fingers crossed.
Goodnight!
XOXO Green Light