Mile 32-48.7

Elevation gain: 3,256 ft

Elevation loss: 1,978 ft

Woweee…last night was COLD!!! I slept w my usual merino wool socks, pants, shirt and hat, but added a puffy, mittens, and buff because we could tell the temps were dropping quickly after we got to camp last night. We use a blow up mattress wide enough for 2, plus a down quilt so that we can use each other’s body heat to help w warmth as well (some of us help more than others 😁). But I was still pretty chilled, so had to bring my head down under the quilt in order to stop shivering. Re-breathing my own breath was a better option than freezing! I was able to sleep better and we woke up at 7 again this morning but w frost every where this time. It was below 30 which was a problem since we realized we had left our Sawyers outside on our water bottles (our water filtration systems)! UGH…we have never done that before! If the Sawyers freeze, they may not filter the water as well. So they still work, but we will be getting new ones when we get home in a couple weeks just in case. Our first hiccup…I’m sure there will be more!

We left our “tramily” (trail family of Andre and Truck) as well as our chilly, shady campsite at 8 AM again this morning, anxious to get into the wonderful sunshine just 100 yards away. It only took about five minutes of hiking before we were shedding all of our warm clothes and enjoying the sun on our backs! The temperatures were absolutely perfect for hiking today, I don’t think I would’ve wanted it even 1° warmer or colder most of the day!

We Stopped for lunch at 1 o’clock at a campground that we knew had fresh running water. It was a great campground with lots of room in between the campsites but not one person around… It felt like a ghost town, so strange! We got to sit at actual tables and have some lunch like real civilized people. After lunch we left the shrub brush behind and started walking through beautiful pine tree forests where we came across a lot of snow on the ground.

We did not see a single other person until 3 o’clock in the afternoon when we ran across two guys hiking with their dog. They were only out for a 3 day backpacking trip so we ended up not seeing one other PCT hiker all day.

We knew that we wanted to stop at about 17 miles today, but there were not very many flat, sheltered camp spots to choose from so we picked up the pace in order to try and find one before they were all taken. We did find a flat spot but it is really windy and close to a road so it’s definitely not the most scenic campsite we have ever been in. But it will have to do because the next decent camping isn’t for six more miles which is more than we have time for today. No frogs tonight, but a hot meal and a perfect hiking partner instead! Thanks for sharing our adventure w us! Amy