PCT Day 81

<--PREVIOUS                                                                                                               NEXT--> 

PCT Day 81, 01 August 2022 (Monday)

“The Casino Always Wins”

Start Location:	Mt. Shasta City	Destination:	Mt. Shasta City
PCT Miles Day 81:	0	Cum PCT Miles:	1,501.2
Non-PCT Miles Day 81:	0	Cum All Miles:	1602.9
PCT Miles Remaining:	1,151.4
Elevation Gain Day 81:	0	Cum Elevation Gain:	256,619

For 80 days and 1,500 miles, and as I have noted multiple times throughout this blog, I have been almost exactly on the plan that I made for the hike.  There have only been minor deviations.  But luck doesn’t last forever, in the end, the casino always wins.  In this new age of mega fires, it’s getting harder and harder to do a continuous thru-hike of the PCT.

The McKinney Fire has forced the closure of over 100 miles of the PCT.  But realistically, there’s about 200 miles that are not hikeable at this time.  Trying to figure out what to do is not easy, as there are also a couple smaller fires near Crater Lake in Oregon.  There is also about a 50 mile closure on the PCT north of Crater Lake.

For now, the plan is to skip up to Ashland, OR tomorrow, then start hiking north the next day, and just go as far as I can.  Then, I’ll just have to reassess based on current conditions and closures.  It’s very unpredictable right now.  The hike is going to get considerably more complicated for at least the next couple weeks.

On the good side, with a nero and a double zero, I should be well rested when I start hiking again.

I only needed the laundromat, not the car wash.

 

<--PREVIOUS                                                                                                                NEXT-->