Day 88: Whoa! We’re Halfway There!!

Date: Sat 7/14

PCT Start Mile: 1301.0

PCT End Mile: 1331.3

PCT Mileage for Day: 30.3

Total PCT Mileage: 1331.3

The Highlights: amazing sunrise, the halfway marker, our first 30+ mile day, and jumbo milkshakes

Today was a day of milestones – miles being the operative part of that word – as we hit the PCT halfway point and did our first 30 mile hiking day (more of these to come)!

But first, our day started with a beautiful sunrise. The rain last night hadn’t amounted to much.

While Shawn and I were fast asleep last night, around midnight Rainman heard a noise outside his tent on the nearby side trail to a spring. Poking his head outside his rain fly and shining a light toward the noise he illuminated a bear, who reared his front paws with a harrumph into the dirt.

Rainman stuck his head back inside and zipped up his tent, because… obviously the thin fabric shell would save him. He apparently didn’t sleep too well the rest of the night. Too bad, we slept like babies.

At any rate, we were all alive in the morning and soon making our way through the day. Guess the bear was just thirsty. The sky was absolutely beautiful and we hiked the undulating terrain through pine forest and lava rock. The day was heating up fast.

Unfortunately, we are back to having to pay a lot of attention to water sources.

While there are some stretches where water is plentiful, crossing streams and springs every mile or two, there are also some stretches that are waterless for 10+ miles, so we have to pay attention and make sure we camel up before heading into these stretches, carrying what we need in the scorching heat.

Many of the sources lately have been further off trail, and about two miles before lunch today we did an extra .6 miles round trip to fill our bottles at the last source for the next 10 miles. Typically after this scenario, the trail provides us with a very hot climb, daring us to blow through all of our water. Today did not disappoint.

Leaving the spring, we hiked uphill over mostly hot exposed trail for ~2.4 miles to a shaded tent site where we lunched with Rainman and another hiker named Thumper, who was an older gentleman with a lot to say. And a lot to ask. About everything.

Our hike after lunch continued uphill for a few miles and all along the trail we found hikers hiding from the heat under the shade of trees. We plugged on.

After topping out on the climb up Butt Mountain – yes, you read that right, this prompted plenty of up the butt jokes – the last ten miles of the trail to Highway 36 was a nice, easy gradual downhill. We also hit the PCT midpoint!!!! Mile 1325!

While it is the midpoint by mileage, the second half of the trail takes hikers far less time than the first half. By this point, our bodies are much stronger and capable of longer and faster miles. While the first half took just shy of three months on the trail, the second half will likely take closer to two months. Exciting stuff!

After a quick break at this monument for photos, dancing to Bon Jovi, and signing the trail register, we were on a tear to Highway 36. As mentioned, nice, easy gradual downhill lent itself well to fast miles and we flew through the last 10 miles.

We were particularly in a hurry to get to Highway 36 to get a hitch into Chester for jumbo milkshakes at the Pine Frosty Shack before it closed. We were on a mission. I think I led us out at nearly 4mph for the final 3.5 miles to the road. Our total hike for the day was 30.3 miles. Our first 30 miler! Woot. We’re pretty much bad ass now.

Tumbling onto Highway 36 from the trail, Shawn stuck his golden thumb in the air and the very first car pulled over for us!! Lucky day! Milkshakes, here we come!

Our saviors were Sally and Dave, who live in Quincy but were up in the area for the day. Sally said she had just mentioned to Dave recently that she hadn’t given any hitches to hikers yet this year, so was happy to have the opportunity to help out her first hikers for the year. We were equally appreciative.

They dropped us right at the Pine Frosty Shack in Chester and wished us a safe journey on the remainder of our trek to Canada.

By 6:30pm, we were tucking into massive 32oz milkshakes. When we left the midpoint monument earlier in the afternoon, I didn’t even think we’d be to Highway 36 until 6:40ish, and here we were already shoveling ice cream into our faces. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Awesome people that give hitches to stinky hikers also help.

Miserable full from my shake, which I didn’t quite finish (I know, sad excuse for a thru hiker), we headed down the main street through Chester (Highway 36) to the Lutheran Church, which opens their backyard to PCT hikers to camp for free.

After setting up our tents, cleaning up our filthy feet and legs a bit in the water spicket along the side of the church, and chatting with a few other hikers, we made our way across the street to the nearby pub – The Locker Room.

Not that hungry, Shawn and I just shared a large plate of wings for dinner, while Rainman attempted to eat a small plate of wings and a medium pizza. He did not succeed, and over half the pizza went back to the church with him.

After our 30 mile day, giant milkshakes, and wings, I was ready to crash. While I typically write the daily blog each night, there was nothing that was going to keep my eyes open when we returned to the tent.

Despite the noise of rowdy hikers late into the night, and very bright lights from the back church patio, I passed out in the tent – a somewhat restless on-and-off sleep with all the noise – but sleep nonetheless.

Shawn was not having as easy a time with sleep and eventually got up to put our rain fly on to block out some of the light from the patio. Finally everyone scattered to their tents after midnight and it was quiet. Zzzzzzz.

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