Episode 37: Day 68-69

Day 68:

Today, I took a mental health day. Slept in, ate a bunch, did some laundry, took a nap – all the good stuff. 

I also made time to call the family, with whom I minimized the food related struggles I just went through as I answered “how are you doing?” question, as not to cause uneccessary worry (especially with the grandparents, as it sometimes seems like their highest priority in life is to make sure I’m well fed.) 
Although taking the entire day off was tempting, I decided I needed to get back on the horse and at least sleep on trail tonight.

Took the ferry back to trail at 4pm, and met the most wonderful elderly couple, who were just beginning a multi-day hike of their own (carrying full packs and everything). They were in their 80’s by the way, and I was super inspired (you should be too). I spoke to them about my hike and my timeline – it was dawning on me that I was falling behind schedule. She turned to me, smiled and said “I think you can make it. Here’s my card, send me and email when you get to Canada.” My heart melted. How could I let her down? I’m going to pull it together and make it happen…. starting tomorrow. 

And there I was, back on trail. I still wasn’t feeling like myself, and only hiked until I found a nice campsite that had cell signal and water access (about 2 miles). Ate dinner and passed out. 

Happy to be back on the PCT. 

Heading to trail with my new friends:

—

Day 69:

Woke up feeling great. Found my hiking flow early.

Climbed up and over Silver Pass, thinking the hard work was behind me for the day, but the rest of the afternoon was filled with steep inclines and declines – some that were more challenging than the pass.

Took a break with some friends I met at a lake, almost decided to camp with them, but instead pushed on – wanting to reach the 900 mile mark by the end of the day. Pushed hard, but stopped when it got dark. 897 will have to do.

17 miles today.

Lakeside:

The view:

No video, as I had very little space on my phone.