The Pain Killer Thriller
Miles: 26.08
PCT Mile: 430.45
I had an amazing camp spot and the stars were stunning. (no moonshine!) I slept really good for a change and woke up at 5:30; on the trail by 6:15.
These ominous signs were everywhere:
It's been frustrating the last few days not having cell service. I couldn't update my blog or make calls, not really a big deal, but it was Mother's Day. After hours of climbing, I finally reached the top of the mountain.
I was alone up there and found that I had service, so I sat down and made some calls. Another hiker came along and sat down to do the same. 30 minutes later, there were about 7 hikers all sitting down on top of this mountain taking advantage of the small sliver of service. I'm pretty sure all of them were calling their mothers to wish them happy Mother's Day a day late.
I started to descend into the burn area and I planned to hike down 4 miles to a fire station where I could get water for the next 20 mile waterless stretch.
It was actually nice to descend for a change, but a new adversary showed up. Poodle Dog Bush:
PCT hikers have been warned over and over about this bush: apparently touching it gives you a severe skin rash, and can even hospitalize you. The plant thrives in burn areas, and is a real problem in SoCal. There are detours on this trail just for Poodle Dog Bush, but I didn't take any.
Now let me just say that I'm not gonna fret over this stuff, it's just another thing PCT hikers are told to fear. I actually touched one with my arm near Big Bear, and nothing happened, but hikers here are terrified of it. That being said, I avoid it like I avoid poison oak. The trail was absolutely loaded with this stuff, but it was easy to avoid.
After descending for what seemed like forever, I was really hungry and lacking energy. There were no spots to sit on that steep mountain, and no shade, so I threw down my pad and parked it right near the trail in the sun.
I call this the "Golden Axe."
Wet Wipes are more valuable than gold out here:
A few hikers passed by and laughed that I'd decided to break right in the sun 1 mile away from the fire station. One hiker said my trail name should be "bad break." I'll show you a bad break pal, now kindly move along. Lately, I've decided to stop whenever and wherever I feel hungry or tired, and to not have my breaks be decided by some destination. I'm horrible at planning. Any who...I reached the fire station at 12:30pm.
Lots of hikers were getting water and preparing for the coming climb and waterless stretch. It was windy and ugly, right in the middle of the Station Fire burn zone. The Station Fire was one of the biggest fires in SoCal history and killed several firefighters.
I filled up 5 liters and left, planning to get as close to the next water source as possible. Before I left, Burgundy gave me 4 IBprofen for my shoulder, which has been killing me. Hikers love IBprofen, and refer to it annoyingly as "vitamin I," but you will never hear me refer to it like that. Up until now, I'd been avoiding pain killers so I can listen to my body more. I ate them and started walking the wrong way up a road before the others laughed at me and pointed me the right way. Oops! The climb out was windy, ugly and uphill.
At least it was breezy and sort of cool, because normal hot weather would have sucked in this exposed climb. Here's a black and white to make the trail like creepier.
All I could think about was how much I did not want camp in this windy burn zone. I hiked fast so I could get through it, and after awhile my feet weren't exactly killing me and I was on a roll. The painkillers were working, and I'd quietly churned out 6 miles.
I passed Tink, and she said she was gonna try and make it to Messenger Flats Campground, which was 7 miles away and all uphill. I'd already gone 19 miles, but I badly wanted a flat spot to sleep and there was nothing on this mountain crest I was passing through, so I decided to go for it. My shoulder still hurt, but my feet kept moving thanks to the IBprofen.
Green was returning to the landscape by the late afternoon, but the Poodle Dog brush was prolific. It smells exactly like marijauna and it feels hot, even from far away, if that makes sense. It has a big presence out here. The last 4 miles uphill were crazy. It was a real slog, but the promise of a campground motivated me.
I stared deliriously at this bush, wondering curiously what would happen if I grabbed it. It was hypnotizing. Maybe I was getting too much sun.
I finally reached the top of the mountains, not sure if all my toes were still in tact. The last mile down to the camp area was slow and long, but so beautiful.
The campground was peppered with a few PCT hikers, and all of us were hobbling and tired from the climb. I had gone 26+ miles, my longest day. I set up my tent far away from anyone else on a ridge. All I needed was a semi flat spot, and I found one.
I made some Mac and cheese with cheese melted in. Not bad since it was chilly out. I do feel sorta sick now, though.
I watched the sun set from a nearby hill:
It's so hard typing these blogs up after such strenuous days, but always worth it. I'm currently watching the stars and listening to the wind, and I think I'm close to water tomorrow, plus I'm gonna go somewhere tomnorrow and try to relax. Tune in tomorrow night to find out where. It probably won't seem exciting to you, but we'll see. Also, don't worry, I'm not gonna start mainlining painkillers everyday. I prefer to know what part of my body hurts so I can was up when needed, but it's good to know that the IBprofen kinda works.
Even though I slept well, I felt off this morning. It probably had to do with leaving the mountains soon and the upcoming waterless carries, and of course, I knew I'd be entering a burn zone today. I hiked uphill for hours this morning and I wasn't into it. My stupid shoulder and my heavy pack are quickly becoming the bane of my existence. A few miles in, I turned a corner and saw CrunchMaster. I hadn't seen him since mile 100, and that's crazy! I caught up briefly and left, knowing I'd run into him again.
These ominous signs were everywhere:
It's been frustrating the last few days not having cell service. I couldn't update my blog or make calls, not really a big deal, but it was Mother's Day. After hours of climbing, I finally reached the top of the mountain.I was alone up there and found that I had service, so I sat down and made some calls. Another hiker came along and sat down to do the same. 30 minutes later, there were about 7 hikers all sitting down on top of this mountain taking advantage of the small sliver of service. I'm pretty sure all of them were calling their mothers to wish them happy Mother's Day a day late. 
I started to descend into the burn area and I planned to hike down 4 miles to a fire station where I could get water for the next 20 mile waterless stretch. PCT hikers have been warned over and over about this bush: apparently touching it gives you a severe skin rash, and can even hospitalize you. The plant thrives in burn areas, and is a real problem in SoCal. There are detours on this trail just for Poodle Dog Bush, but I didn't take any.Now let me just say that I'm not gonna fret over this stuff, it's just another thing PCT hikers are told to fear. I actually touched one with my arm near Big Bear, and nothing happened, but hikers here are terrified of it. That being said, I avoid it like I avoid poison oak. The trail was absolutely loaded with this stuff, but it was easy to avoid. After descending for what seemed like forever, I was really hungry and lacking energy. There were no spots to sit on that steep mountain, and no shade, so I threw down my pad and parked it right near the trail in the sun.I call this the "Golden Axe."Wet Wipes are more valuable than gold out here:A few hikers passed by and laughed that I'd decided to break right in the sun 1 mile away from the fire station. One hiker said my trail name should be "bad break." I'll show you a bad break pal, now kindly move along. Lately, I've decided to stop whenever and wherever I feel hungry or tired, and to not have my breaks be decided by some destination. I'm horrible at planning. Any who...I reached the fire station at 12:30pm.Lots of hikers were getting water and preparing for the coming climb and waterless stretch. It was windy and ugly, right in the middle of the Station Fire burn zone. The Station Fire was one of the biggest fires in SoCal history and killed several firefighters. I filled up 5 liters and left, planning to get as close to the next water source as possible. Before I left, Burgundy gave me 4 IBprofen for my shoulder, which has been killing me. Hikers love IBprofen, and refer to it annoyingly as "vitamin I," but you will never hear me refer to it like that. Up until now, I'd been avoiding pain killers so I can listen to my body more. I ate them and started walking the wrong way up a road before the others laughed at me and pointed me the right way. Oops! The climb out was windy, ugly and uphill.
At least it was breezy and sort of cool, because normal hot weather would have sucked in this exposed climb. Here's a black and white to make the trail like creepier.All I could think about was how much I did not want camp in this windy burn zone. I hiked fast so I could get through it, and after awhile my feet weren't exactly killing me and I was on a roll. The painkillers were working, and I'd quietly churned out 6 miles. 
There were some strange things going on with this tree:
I passed Tink, and she said she was gonna try and make it to Messenger Flats Campground, which was 7 miles away and all uphill. I'd already gone 19 miles, but I badly wanted a flat spot to sleep and there was nothing on this mountain crest I was passing through, so I decided to go for it. My shoulder still hurt, but my feet kept moving thanks to the IBprofen.
Green was returning to the landscape by the late afternoon, but the Poodle Dog brush was prolific. It smells exactly like marijauna and it feels hot, even from far away, if that makes sense. It has a big presence out here. The last 4 miles uphill were crazy. It was a real slog, but the promise of a campground motivated me. I stared deliriously at this bush, wondering curiously what would happen if I grabbed it. It was hypnotizing. Maybe I was getting too much sun. I finally reached the top of the mountains, not sure if all my toes were still in tact. The last mile down to the camp area was slow and long, but so beautiful.The campground was peppered with a few PCT hikers, and all of us were hobbling and tired from the climb. I had gone 26+ miles, my longest day. I set up my tent far away from anyone else on a ridge. All I needed was a semi flat spot, and I found one. I made some Mac and cheese with cheese melted in. Not bad since it was chilly out. I do feel sorta sick now, though.I watched the sun set from a nearby hill:It's so hard typing these blogs up after such strenuous days, but always worth it. I'm currently watching the stars and listening to the wind, and I think I'm close to water tomorrow, plus I'm gonna go somewhere tomnorrow and try to relax. Tune in tomorrow night to find out where. It probably won't seem exciting to you, but we'll see. Also, don't worry, I'm not gonna start mainlining painkillers everyday. I prefer to know what part of my body hurts so I can was up when needed, but it's good to know that the IBprofen kinda works.
advil, caffeine and alcohol are all I need! Thanks for the text, amazing pics! I think you need to devise a way to test the poodle bush out on some annoying day hikers. I've never heard of it. Bad Break wouldn't be the worst nickname would it Beeper?
ReplyDeleteVery funny Shannon. I've had a lot of nicknames over the years. On the trail, hikers have tried a few different names on me, this woman, Geapefruit, wanted to call me Bandit, because she caught me hiking with a bandanna over my face. But my trail name is Outland.
DeleteHave been waiting to hear what your trail name is... gotta give in and let it be...I know you are super tired at the end of the day, but your blogs are super interesting and we do really anticipate the next one. The burn areas are sad and lonely looking. Tell later, Connie
ReplyDeletehave you noticed any significant weight loss or muscle gain or anything crazy from hiking so far?
ReplyDelete-a-man
My legs are getting more muscular, but I'm losing weight and getting by t Rex arms, big legs tiny arms. I'm trying to eat slit to keep up with weight loss, but it's a losing battle.
ReplyDelete