Daily Mileage

15.62

Elevation

3780 feet up 

1014 feet down

Campsite

Burnt Rancheria Campground

Total Miles Hiked

48.7

Hours Spent Hiking

5 hours 41 minutes

The Best Part?

Hiking up into the mountains in the beautiful weather & pine tree aromatherapy

 

What did I learn?

Blisters suck. Every step was painful. I should learn how to fix these.

PCT Trail Journal: Boulder Oaks Campground to Mt Laguna (Miles 26 to 48.7) Overview

Alarms start ringing at 6 am in tent city. It makes you also want to get up and get going.

I drank my delicious coffee and studied the map and farout. What does today look like? Where will I get water?

I left camp around 7:35 and started trucking up the mountain. It felt good. My blisters didn’t hurt as much in the beginning. It was chilly but good hiking weather and it felt super nice in the sun. I kept telling everyone it is a great day for hiking. It was true.

Today was all up but I felt good cardiovascularly.

The plants started to change as I climbed. There were a lot of Indian Paint Brush in the beginning. The trail was pretty good but a bit rocky which was rough on my blisters.

I was really happy to be in the mountains and kept thinking how lucky I am. I am really glad I am here.

By mile 9 my feet were really hurting but I wanted to get to water before stopping for lunch. I finally got to Longs Canyon and stopped for lunch. I was starving and ate a cheese, summer sausage, and fried onion sammich!

It felt really good to take my shoes and socks off. Let the tootsies dry out a little bit. It looked like my pinky toe blister popped.

When I got to the highest elevation (5800-ish feet) I entered a pine forest! It smelled so nice and there were a lot of Stellar Jays. There were such nice changes in landscape today.

There were a few snow patches in the shady spots but nothing on the trail.

Finally made it to the campground and joined the PCT tent city. At first I set my tent up on an ant hill. Then I moved it to under a dead tree. So then I moved it a 3rd time.

Then shower time! Win got some soap out of a hiker box and it felt great to wash my hair and body. I felt like a new woman.

Then I went to dinner with Win and Steve. I totally pigged and I loved it. My menu:

– a salad (cuz I am healthy)
– burger with lotsa cheese and prosciuto
– chocolate mousse!

I was stuffed after. We walked back to camp and then there was trail magic! I was too full to eat anything but grabbed an apple, banana and a bag of chips. There were cooking burgers and had beer and all kinds of stuff. I need to plan my eating around trail magic better.

Overall: it’s weird because it’s painful and hard but I really like it. Every step hurt today but I didn’t think about quitting at all. I kept thinking about how much better it will be when my feet are better.

 Read about my day 2 on the PCT here. 

Trail Self-Reflection

Boulder Oaks campground to Mt Laguna Mountain views

✨3 Things I’m Grateful For

1. The beautiful weather.

2. Being in the mountains.

3. Getting to take a shower. I feel like a new woman.

PCT pinky toe blister - go away!

✨3 Things I’m Excited About

1. Figuring out my resupply.

2. No more blisters!

3. Trail magic.

Boulder Oaks campground to Mt Laguna pine forest

🌟How Was Today? Did I enjoy it?

I really enjoyed the trail today. It was climbing up and up with great views. Then it moved along different landscapes, shrubby to canyons to a beautiful pine forest. My feet did not enjoy it however.

Burnt Rancheria campground PCT tent city

⛺How Was My Gear?

My Sawyer Squeeze was acting up today. It didn’t want to squeeze. Water was barely coming out. I back flushed a couple of times on the trail and then again at camp.

PCT Indian Paintbrush

💪How did my Body Feel?

My feet were in a lot of pain 37000 painful steps today. My right neck and shoulder were upset as well.

PCT trail magic

🍴How was my food situation?

Overall food situation was good. Feel like I haven’t had a lot of my snacks. Need to do an assessment and figure out what I need to get. I heard the next resupply is at Julian. What do I need? I went to Pine Cabin Cafe and totally pigged. I had a salad (because I am healthy), a burger, and a chocolate mousse. Delicious! I was stuffed. Then there was trail magic and I picked up some fruit and chips.

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

Need to get my feet in better shape. Today I felt like if I didn’t have these stupid blisters I would just be crushing the trail. When these heal I will be unstoppable. I am going to try the moleskin tomorrow.

Map for Hiking the PCT

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

Get more inspired to get outside:

PCT Trail Journal: Day 14 Mile 146.1 to Paradise Valley Cafe (Mile 151.8)

6.21909 up873 downIdyllwild Airbnb151.82 Hours 4 MinutesIdyllwild and town food!I start out with big hunger and then can't eat everythingPCT Trail Journal: Day 14 Mile 146.1 to Paradise Valley Cafe (Mile 151.8) On day 14 of the PCT (mile 146.1 to Paradise Valley...

PCT Trail Journal: Day 13 Miles 131.6 to 146.1

15.612405 up2336 downMile 146.1146.16 Hours 11 MinutesThe wildflowers 🌼🌼🌼Need larger battery pack ASAP!PCT Trail Journal: Day 13 Miles 131.6 to 146.1 Miles 131.6 to 146.1 on the PCT were good and hot filled with more wildflowers than you could imagine. There was a lot...

PCT Trail Journal: Day 12 Miles 115.4 to 131.6

16.033291 up1906 downMile 131.6131.65 Hours 50 MinutesListening to my book while hikingI am quite dirty. So dirty that bandaids and tape won't stick to my skin. PCT Trail Journal: Day 12 Miles 115.4 to 131.6 Miles 115.4 to 131.6 were both hard and gave me a sense of...

PCT Trail Journal: Day 11 Miles 104.8 to 115.4

13.531519 up1513 downMile 115.4115.44 Hours 56 MinutesWalking through field after field of wildflowers I don't need 10 bars per day and should focus on the base meals in resupply boxesPCT Trail Journal: Day 11 Miles 104.8 to 115.4 Miles 104.8 to 115.4 on the PCT were...

PCT Trail Journal: Day 10 3rd Gate Water Cache to Mile 104.8 (Miles 91.2 to 104.8)

13.631558 up1611 downMile 104.8104.84 Hours 27 MinutesThe wildflowers and trail magic!Trail magic is awesome but I already knew that. I need to take more breaks and do shorter days. PCT Trail Journal: Day 10 3rd Gate Water Cache to Mile 104.8  Day 10 from 3rd Gate...

PCT Trail Journal: Day 9 Scissors Crossing to 3rd Gate Water Cache (Mile 77.1 to 91.2)

14.012211 up1043 down3rd Gate Water Cache91.24 Hours 57 MinutesThe trail and finding new hiking friends!I drink a lot of water. Need to be smart about water sources especially in these drier sections.PCT Trail Journal: Day 9 Scissors Crossing to 3rd Gate Water Cache ...

PCT Trail Journal: Day 7 & 8 Double Rest Day at Stagecoach

00 up0 downSheep Shed @ Stagecoach RV Resort76.30Day 7: Having a chill day at Stagecoach and getting new shoes! Day 8: Hanging in Julian with Hannah, Jorrit and Liam 💗Day 7: Use padded moleskin around a blister to relieve some of the pressure on the blister Day 8:...

PCT Trail Journal: Day 6 mile 68.4 to Stagecoach RV Resort (mile 68.4 to 76.3)

7.85738 up 2231 downStagecoach RV Resort76.33 hours 7 minutesThe best part was that it was a good day  Taking it easy is good for me.PCT Trail Journal: Mile 68.4 to Stagecoach RV Resort (mile 68.4 to 76.3) Town day means wake early and hike day. Your girl was up...

PCT Trail Journal: Day 5 Mile 56.2 to 68.4

12.341247 up 2759 downMile 68.468.45 hours 2 minutes⛰Nice sections of trail with great mountain views 🌼Lots of wildflowers as I got lower    Feet must be fixedPCT Trail Journal: Mile 56.2 t0 68.4 Overview Wow super rough day. My feet are in terrible shape....

PCT Trail Journal: Day 4 Mt Laguna to Mile 56.2 (Miles 48.7 to 56.2)

15.001837 up2526 downMile 56.256.25 hours 55 minutesThe section of the trail past the picnic area on the edge of a mountain with great desert views  ✨Need to take better care of my feet✨Need to take breaksPCT Trail Journal: Mt Laguna to Mile 56.2 (Miles 48.7 to...