Daily Mileage

0.88

Elevation

36 feet up

259 feet down

Campsite

Walker Pass Campground

Total Miles Hiked

152.6

Hours Spent Hiking

0.3

The Best Part?

🌟Seeing my love

What Did I Learn?

👉Don’t panic, everything will be fine.

Date Hiked

April 30, 2023

 PCT Trail Journal: Day 19 Walker Pass to Walker Pass Campground

Day 19 started out with a great morning with my significant other. We chilled, ate the leftover fried chicken in bed, and I got my gear ready. We also had an outrageously priced breakfast at the hotel.

I wanted to slim down my pack a bit. Here are the things I got rid of:

– Extra bags (for my sleeping bag liner, etc)
– Sun umbrella
– Bluetooth keyboard
– Extra socks

I repacked my food because it just seemed like so much food (bars, electrolytes, snacks). Later I realized I didn’t pack nearly enough! It was a rough hungry week. Just thinking about this week makes me want to go eat something. 

We met Cindy, the trail angel, at a gas station at 1:30 and hit the road. This is when I met Dan and Majka for the first time. Little did I know we would hike together for weeks 🌞.

 Cindy has lived in this area forever and told us a lot about the area, landscape, and flowers. We drove through all kinds of different landscapes, including areas with huge Joshua Tree forests, and saw a gazillion wildflowers. It was a beautiful drive!

The drive took around 3.5 hours and cost $110. I’m glad I got a ride up. A lot ofmy trail friends texted about how crappy the snow was. I’m glad I flipped up and didn’t try to tough it out.

After so Many Rest Days I Had to Remember How to Hike Again

We took some photos with Cindy and I had to remember how to hike. Lol. I went to put on my shoes and then was like oh yeah, I need to put on my gaiters first.

The short hike to the campground felt good. I kept thinking what a nice trail and beautiful landscape. The Walker Pass BLM campground was small with a pit toilet. 

When setting up camp, I noticed water in my backpack. 👀 There were 2 small punctures. I cleaned them with alcohol wipes and then put the tenacious tape on them. I tested them overnight and the tape held. 

As a backup, I grabbed 4 small bottles from the water cache as my backup.  I was feeling negative about all these things happening in the first 30 min of being back on the trail.

I handled it well. I didn’t panic. I thought of options. I ate because I was hungry. Then I worked on positive thoughts. Tomorrow is going to be much better!

Despite the challenges it was good to be back on the trail 💛.

Turns out this was the beginning of my worst week of the entire trail. There was a lot of suffering but I learned a lot. And I laughed A LOT when I reread this trail journal. 

Read my PCT Trail Journal days 15-18 here. 

Trail Self-Reflection

PCT Trail Journal Day 19 Walker Pass Sign

✨3 Things I’m Grateful For

1. My SO
2. Cindy for giving me a ride
3. Being back on trail

PCT Trail Journal Day 19 Walker Pass Wildflowers

✨3 Things I’m Excited About

1. Hiking this section. I feel alone. I’m def out of the bubble.
2. Being up in the mountains
3. Hiking again!

PCT Trail Journal Day 19 Walker Pass water bladder hole

🌟How Was Today? Did I enjoy it?

Pretty good day. I was a little stressed in the morning about my food and overpacking. It was great to see my SO. I’m up at Walker Pass avoiding the snow. So that’s great!

PCT Trail Journal Day 19 Walker Pass water bladder patch

⛺How Was My Gear?

Platypus 3L water bladder has 2 punctures. Maybe I put it on something sharp in the trail angel’s truck bed? I taped it with tenacious tape and it is holding.

PCT Trail Journal Day 19 Walker Pass Dirty view from tent

💪How did my Body Feel?

Nothing was hurting 🙂.

PCT Trail Journal Day 19 Walker Pass Dirty Mat

🍴How was my food situation?

Still think I may have overpacked. Let’s see how these days go. (Turns out I underpacked for this section and was rationing food 🥲).

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

It’s good to be flexible and not worry a ton. Everything will work out and be fine!

Map for Hiking the PCT

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

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