PCT Trail Journal: Day 20 Walker Pass to Bird Spring Pass

I slept ok. I woke up a lot but that seems to be there normal around here. I got up at 5 something and started making coffee.

I did my normal morning routine to get ready for a full day of hiking. Then I noticed both poles on my backpack frame were snapped 😢😢😢. I have no idea how that happened. Back of Cindy’s truck? Some other transport?

When I started hiking my bag felt really bad. It pulled a lot on the shoulders. My SO emailed Zpacks and arranged for them to mail me new ones to Tehachapi. Thank goodness! I was ready to do anything to get new poles ASAP.

My shoulders were complaining all day but the hiking was good. There was a lot of variety in the trail. On the climb up it became forest-y. There were big trees and big views. I even saw one of the snowy mountains in the Sierras!

Then the trail followed the top of a mountain at around 7000 feet so there were a lot of short shrubs and boulders. I hiked along a dirt road and got water from a stream 8 miles into the hike. My plan was to go 20 miles if I felt good. I got enough water to dry camp in case I couldn’t go that far.

It was desolate, cold and windy

It became clear that morning that I was no longer in a Thru-hiker bubble anymore. There was one hiker and 3 ATVs for the entire morning. It was nice to be alone and not see anyone. At the same time, I was like where is everyone? I started seeing more folks later in the day. There are big dry stretches, and it seems like hikers just go from water cache to water cache. At least that’s what I’m doing 🙂. I couldn’t imagine doing this without trail angels maintaining water caches. There are very few water sources in this section and it’s a wet year!

Then I entered a forest with huge pine trees. There was less wind and it was warm(er). I stopped for lunch and inspected my feet. Nothing was hurting, but I put bandaids and tape on my problem areas just to be safe.

There were 8 more miles to the Bird Spring water cache with another big up. It was really cool mountain hiking. From up here I could see the desert floor and the wildflowers started coming out again. There were entire hillsides covered in yellow and orange. After descending, The Joshua Trees started showing up. 

It was cold and windy. I kept checking the weather to see if the wind would magically go away. It wouldn’t. Or see if it would warm up. It wasn’t not going to. I decided I needed a really protected site because it would be bad all night.

After 18 miles, I was ready to be done. I started a huge descent and it felt like a never ending down. I started scoping out possible campsites (there weren’t any).

The Bird Spring water cache is in a wind tunnel and the sites didn’t have much protection. I went back a tenth of a mile to a sort of protected site. I set up camp, cooked Ramen, filled up my water, and got in my tent at 6 pm. It was cool and windy!

I’m proud of myself for how far I hiked with a broken backpack!

Read my PCT Trail Journal Day 19 here. 

Read my PCT Trail Journal days 15-18 here. 

✨3 Things I’m Grateful For

1. My feet not hurting
2. Hiking!
3. Great views and wildflowers

✨3 Things I’m Excited About

1. The wind going away
2. Getting new poles for my backpack frame
3. The weather warming up a bit. This is a little too cold for me.

🌟How Was Today? Did I enjoy it?

There were lots of great views and the trail was nice. There were some gear challenges and windy conditions but overall a good day.

⛺How Was My Gear?

Both poles in my backpack frame snapped. I’m not sure what it’s from. It could be from being in the back of Cindy’s truck. Or overarching it? It really puts a lot of pressure on your shoulders without them.

My new pillow I got from the hiker box at Paradise Valley Cafe seems to be nice. I like it so far!

💪How did my Body Feel?

My right neck/shoulder was hurting. Especially with the frame not right on my pack.

🍴How was my food situation?

Omg the dried mangos from Jocelyn are delicious. I was pretty excited for Ramen (probably because others had it) and it wasn’t that good.

🤔What did I learn and how will I action it?

Gear is fragile and doesn’t feel good if it’s broken. I will be more careful with it.

Read Other PCT Trail Journals

✨Day 19, Days 15-18, Day 14, Day 13, Day 12, Day 11, Day 10, Day 9, Day 7 & 8, Day 6, Day 5 , Day 4 , Day 3, Day 2, Day 1

Map for Hiking the PCT

Maps are fun. Plus you should always have a paper map.