PCT Day 69, 20 July 2022 (Wednesday)
"Escalator To Nowhere"
Start Location: |
Wilderness Campsite Near Little Jamison Creek |
Destination: |
Wilderness Campsite |
|
PCT Miles Day 69: |
31.1 |
Cum PCT Miles: |
1,247.1 |
|
Non-PCT Miles Day 69: |
0.9 |
Cum All Miles: |
1338.9 |
|
PCT Miles Remaining: |
1,405.5 |
|
|
|
Elevation Gain Day 69: |
3,935 |
Cum Elevation Gain: |
221,086 |
I was all set to write about how easy it was today. This is a section on which most PCT hikers will be looking to do big mile days. There is, seemingly, little to slow you down or distract you. It started off well, I got the earliest start I’ve gotten in quite some time, and did a 10 x 10 (10 miles by 10 a.m.)—I just squeaked it in.
Then, things got a little strange. It seemed like there was one uphill after another. But, it also seemed like I wasn’t gaining any elevation even though the descents seemed much shorter than the ascents. It was like walking up a down escalator, or one of those weird reverse gravity hills. Yet, how hard could it have been if I did 31 miles? Some days, the trail is just a conundrum.
Most of the second half of the day was walking through a burn area. Going through these areas is always a little displacing. One minute, you’re walking through a healthy forest, and the next, you’re walking through what seems to be the junkyard of the wilderness. As one would expect, you want to get through these areas as expeditiously as possible. Unless you are a biologist studying the effects of forest fire, there is no reason to linger in these places. Unfortunately, some of these burn areas are quite large, and you can’t get through them as quickly as you’d like.
Leopard Lily
Scenery from the trail
Water sources that are off trail the last couple of days are very well signed in this area, it's very helpful
Burn areas are like the junkyard of the wilderness
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