Day 129, Beatdown

Part 5, Washington, Day 129

Beatdown 

Miles: 26.41

Total Miles: 2232.03

Only on the Pacific Crest Trail will it be mid 90's one day, and freezing rain the next. Get ready for some complaining. 

I Woke up at 5am and it was just bitter cold out. I popped my head out if my tent and saw light rain and a thick fog. It was too cold to exit, so stayed in my tent and packed up by 7:30am, another late start. At least when I started to hike, I was warming up.

Here's the lake where I camped at behind me.

The rain was accompanied by wind; a shitty combo to be outside in. I did walk by this hole in the Rock and thought of crawling in there to hibernate. 

I hiked through this wilderness today:

At about 9:30, the rain stopped and the sky started to clear. I must have been walking by a gun range because I heard gunshots all morning. I saw Legend's RV at a dirt road turnout. I hung out for way too long there with Nutella, Johnny Walker, Beetlejuice, Lebowski, Houdini and Legend.

To recap, Legend is a former thru hiker who is supporting another hiker this year named Half Slow. Legend meets him at most roads and Half Slow stays in the RV. Legend has been a big part of the hike this year to many hikers.

I stayed until 10:30 and hiked on. I'd only gone 6.5 miles by then; way too few miles. I hiked for about 9 miles straight and stopped for lunch at Trout Creek.

I crossed a few lonely and deserted roads.

I was so tired today. I dried my wet tent in the sun and nearly fell asleep. 

I apologize for this blog entry. There were zero views today. I've been hiking in a long green tunnel the past 3 days. The hiking has been very difficult. The worst part is that my body is breaking down on me. Suddenly, it's hard to hike big miles like I used to. I felt like dying after about 18 miles today, and it confuses me. The last few days haven't been fun. 

I barely made it to the forest service road that goes to the town of Trout Lake. I met Houdini there. I wasn't hitching into town, though even if I wanted to, there was not one car on the road in the 15 minutes we hung out there. 

I was determined to get in 25 miles today. 

Houdini and I pushed uphill another 6 miles with lots of water to camp with. It was brutal.

We entered the Mt. Adams Wilderness.

Then I walked through a burn zone. 

When I thought my body would carry me no further, I made it to the camp spot. It's absolutely freezing cold and windy here, under the shadow of Mt. Adams.

I am seriously concerned about my ability to hike through. I'm sick and my body is breaking down physically. I'm just so close. I do know that the trail is about to open up with some major beauty, so maybe that will motivate me. For now, the trail is kicking my ass and laughing at me.