Mile 68.3-77

Elevation gain: 665 ft

Elevation loss: 2,046 ft

I want u to picture this scenario: wind so loud that it sounds like a freight train even through ear plugs and 3 layers on ur head. Add rain, multiple restless nights, a mattress pad that was filled too firmly, and sore muscles…equals up to a recipe for disaster. Our tent is made by Tarptent; awesome tent that is super light, fairly roomy, w 2 vestibules. However it’s made out of “tarp-like” material that is SUPER loud in the wind. And to save on weight, the stakes are very light, prone to pulling out of the dirt easily when it’s been wet. Which, of course, proceeded to happen two times in the middle of the night. Thank goodness Brian is the hero that he is, and hopped out of the tent to Jerry rig them with heavy rocks both times even though it was raining. The tent is being held up by two of our hiking poles so when the stake pulls out, the whole tent falls on top of us. So… after the second time the tent fell on top of me, and feeling exhausted and sleep deprived, all I could do was cry. It was the middle of the night, this is the trip of a lifetime that we’ve been planning for eight years, and I was crying! “What the hell, Amy, pull urself together”, I tell myself. “You’ve been through tougher times than this for Pete’s sake…SUCK IT UP!” So I had my solo pity party for a few moments, rolled over, and continued not sleeping. 😜 But morning eventually came, and I knew we only had 9 miles of hiking before we would see our friends, Rachel, TJ, and pup Tate, who came to provide our first trail magic of the trip! They drove over 2 1/2 hours to meet us at the trail head so that they could drive us the 12 miles into Julian in order to pick up our resupply box. We knew it might be hard to find a hitch into town with everything that is currently going on, so they offered to drive us. Once we hit the valley floor this morning there was a carpet of yellow flowers that covered every square inch in between the cacti…absolutely stunning!

Rach and TJ also surprised us by bringing the most amazing homemade lunch consisting of homemade bread, kale and quinoa salad with tons of goodies, hard boiled eggs, homemade cookies…what a treat! Brian and I feel so lucky that so many of our friends have offered to help in various ways…we appreciate it more than you’ll ever know! After the tasty lunch, they dropped us at the Julian Inn because we found out the wind, rain/snow was supposed to continue tonite and we just couldn’t do it again. This Inn is an adorable house that has been converted into separate rooms w a super nice and welcoming staff as well. We found more friendly people when we walked into town for pizza and beer (just a quick order and pu to go tho, w the store owners asking us to tell other hikers to come visit!)…love this town and would have loved to see it during a normal season when they cater to PCT hikers.

So I am writing from a cozy bed, after a warm shower, and multiple meals…man, it’s so easy to take these little things for granted! I hope u enjoy ur loved ones and ur warm beds tonight as well ♥️ Amy

Pack explosion to gear up for the next leg…4 days till next resupply