Daily Mileage

15.65

Elevation

2822 feet up
3287 feet down

Campsite

Kelso Road

Total Miles Hiked

188.5

Hours Spent Hiking

6 hours 3 minutes

The Best Part?

🌟Hiking through 5+ miles of Joshua Tree forest

What Did I Learn?

👉The down is really hurting my left knee.

Date Hiked

May 2, 2023

 PCT Trail Journal: Day 21 Bird Spring Pass to Kelso Road

The wind was howling all night. I’m glad I had spot around the corner. A few folks were cowboy camping. It started raining a bit in the middle of the night and I felt bad for them.

I got up around 6 and did my thing. Having coffee in my tent is lovely. Totally worth it!

I hit the trail at 8 am and planned on going 15 miles to the Kelso Road water cache. There was a moderate climb up and the views of other mountains and the desert floor were outstanding. You could see that the hillsides were covered with wildflowers 🌼.

The trail was covered in deep sand. It made it a lot harder and think this may have made me slower. That or I was tired from 21 miles yesterday. It felt pretty hard today. 

Then I entered a massive Joshua Tree forest and it was amazing. There were Joshua Trees and wildflowers galore. I loved hiking through this section.

For lunch, I wanted to find a nice spot to chill for 1.5 hours. There was a perfect picnic table but it was too cold. So much for a long break!

There was a huge down for almost 5 miles and my knee was unhappy. Every step hurt. The down was especially bad. I got to the water cache around 2:30 and was so happy to get off my knee.

Someone left fruit at the water cache! I ate some and it was so good. Then I realized it probably was for someone else. Oops. Sorry. It was delicious.

I was so thankful for the fruit because I realized I didn’t pack enough food. I have 3 days worth of meals and not a lot of snacks. This means I need to get to Tehachapi on Friday. I hope I can do it.

I also realized I didn’t download enough books to listen to. Jeeze, I’m a mess!

The Swedish couple I rode to Walker Pass with arrived around 4:30 and we hung out. Dan fixed my backpack poles by creating splints with sticks, supergluing the sticks around the broken poles and then taping them. I hope it feels better on my back! Spoiler alert: it felt amazing. Thank you Dan!

Then I laid down at the wonderful time of 7pm. I’m worried about my knee. I hope it feels better tomorrow 🤞🤞🤞

Read my PCT Trail Journal Day 20: Walker Pass to Bird Spring Pass here.

Read my PCT Trail Journal Day 19 here. 

Read my PCT Trail Journal days 15-18 here. 

Trail Self-Reflection

2023-05-02 PCT Trail Journal Bird Spring Pass to Kelso Road pacific crest trail

✨3 Things I’m Grateful For

1. Joshua Tree forests
2. Dan, guy from Sweden, who Mcgyvered my poles on my backpack
3. Wildflowers 🌼

2023-05-02 PCT Trail Journal Bird Spring Pass to Kelso Road Sunrise

✨3 Things I’m Excited About

1. Getting new poles for my backpack frame
2. Town food in Tehachapi
3. Getting stronger/in better hiking shape

2023-05-02 PCT Trail Journal Bird Spring Pass to Kelso Road PCT Sign

🌟How Was Today? Did I enjoy it?

Yes, in terms of the trail. The last 6 miles didn’t feel great on my knee. Especially the down. Why is something always breaking on me?

2023-05-02 PCT Trail Journal Bird Spring Pass to Kelso Road Views

⛺How Was My Gear?

It was cold today (high of 47) and my warm clothes kept me warm.

2023-05-02 PCT Trail Journal Bird Spring Pass to Kelso Road Joshua Trees

💪How did my Body Feel?

Left knee (inner part) was not happy today. It was talking to me on each step.

2023-05-02 PCT Trail Journal Bird Spring Pass to Kelso Road Wildflowers

🍴How was my food situation?

I did not pack enough snacks or meals. I have 50 miles and only 3 days of food (with very little snacks and I love snacks).

2023-05-02 PCT Trail Journal Bird Spring Pass to Kelso Road Views 2

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

Need to keep an eye on my knee. Today did not feel good.

2023-05-02 PCT Trail Journal Bird Spring Pass to Kelso Road Water Cache

Read Other PCT Trail Journals

✨Day 20, 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

2023-05-02 PCT Trail Journal Bird Spring Pass to Kelso Road repaired zpacks

Map for Hiking the PCT

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

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PCT National Geographic Maps

Map pack for the PCT (affiliate link)!

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