Day 80: Keep On Keepin’ On

Date: Friday 7/6

PCT Start Mile: 1110.7

PCT End Mile: 1137.9

PCT Mileage for Day: 27.2

Total PCT Mileage: 1137.9

The Highlights: ridge routes, wildflowers, Granite Chief Wilderness

This morning, I pulled my pack into the tent to pack up where the mosquitos wouldn’t get me.

The morning sky was full of clouds with hints of gray. We wondered if it would rain today. If so, it would be only the second day on our entire hike that it had rained, the first being way back on Day 2!

Spoiler Alert: it didn’t rain. The skies were eventually beautiful and sunny and, while nice, we know that California – and the west in general – desperately needs rain, as wildfires continue to crop up throughout CA, OR, NM, UT, CO, and on.

Just today, two separate family members – thank you Mom and Aunt Patty! – texted us to make sure we knew about fires in the Sacramento area and further up the trail in the Ashland area. The west is on fire. So far we are good, but will have to keep watch on the fire reports as we continue hiking northward.

Loved the moss on the trees today.

While yesterday’s hike could be summed up by rocks and lakes, after hiking mostly under forest canopy this morning, the afternoon was full of beautiful ridge routes that huffed the mountainsides and fields of wildflowers.

We have actually been surrounded by wildflowers quite a bit since leaving the high Sierra, with a spectacular rainbow of colors: golden yellows and oranges, light pinks and fuchsias, purples, whites, reds… sometimes strewn about the trailsides in an artist’s palette of colors, and sometimes fields of a singular flower type – overtaking the hillsides.

Today still included sections of rocky trail, though not as abundant as yesterday thankfully, the bottoms of our feet still sore from all the rocks we walked over yesterday. And, today also brought some beautiful lake views, as well.

Lake Tahoe.

Tonight we are camped in the same area as Rainmaker again, as well as one other hiker who was already in their tent when we arrived.

I made my favorite trail meal: mac n’ cheese with bacon pieces, while Shawn lived up to his name, making a hot mess by spilling his ramen everywhere. Second times a charm when it comes to ramen for him. 😂

Rainmaker shared his gummy bears with us and we were all in our tents by 7:30pm, well before hiker midnight. 😴