PCT Trail Journal: Day 9 Scissors Crossing to 3rd Gate Water Cache 

Day 9 from Scissors Crossing to 3rd Gate Water Cache was glorious! 

I woke up early at Stagecoach and started getting ready:

-Took another shower
-Drank hot coffee and ate oats
-Talked to my love

I said goodbye to Hannah, Liam, and Jorrit. It was so nice talking with them. I will miss them.

There were some hikers standing on the road looking for a hitch so I went to join them. The Fossil lady came right away and dropped us off at Scissors Crossing.

The trail was in a beautiful desert landscape and slowly climbed up. The trail followed the edge of the mountain and had great views the whole time. Sometimes you crossed into the meadowy type areas with big granite boulders and those areas were super awesome too. There were crazy wildflowers everywhere. It was unreal. They were covering the mountainside. There were tons of lupines, scorpion weeds, poppies, chia, fiddleneck and a ton of flowers that I don’t know the name of. It was so peaceful to hike and listen to the Fifth Season. I am really getting into that book.

While hiking, I realized today is Thursday (you seem to lose track of days out here) and I was about 30 miles from Warner Springs. They close at 1:30 on Saturdays. I want to make it there by Saturday morning so I don’t have to wait an extra day there. It is a small town without good amenities.

I hiked about 5 miles and then met a guy, Nick, that also has blisters. We met at 2 foot outfitters when asking the lady about blister care. We bonded over having bad blisters. I am not going to lie it felt good to know someone else was suffering from blisters. Then we met at the brewery later where I told him there is plenty of space at Stagecoach.

Nick saw me on the trail today and was really excited because he was feeling bad that he didn’t share his blister tape with me. We ended up hiking together and the miles flew by. There were 2 other guys in his group and hiking with them made the day really fun. We talked about all kinds of stuff and it made the day super enjoyable.

My blisters started to reform a little bit. I let them dry out and retaped them. The new shoes seem to be ok. There is a tiny bit of rubbing but it is better than the other shoes.

We saw a guy on the trail that was walking in socks or barefoot. His feet were super swollen and wouldn’t fit into his shoes anymore. I felt really bad and loaned him my camp shoes. He said it really helped when he gave the back at the water source later. Poor guy. He really should have bought new shoes in town. It’s a long ways to more shoes.

We made it to the water cache around 2 pm and had a lovely afternoon chilling in camp. I ate snacks, talked, laughed, and Matt sewed up the holes in my pants. He made all his own gear so he is a good sewer. It was sweet of him. But my pants look a little ridiculous. Like there are eyes on my butt. I’m happy they got sewed up though!

The water cache is pallets of water from Costco that trail angels drive up here. There is a spot for empty bottles and to donate money. It’s crazy that people do this. And awesome because if this water wasn’t here it would be a really long water carry. It was already 14 miles to get to this water source.

Today was a really good day. I was super happy to be back on the trail and hiking again with feet that were hurting too bad. The trail, views, and wildflowers were so great. I’m happy to be back and can’t wait for more great trail days.

✨3 Things I’m Grateful For

1. My feet doing better
2. Being on the trail again
3. Finding cool hiking friends

✨3 Things I’m Excited About

1. Getting my box at Warner Springs
2. Meeting my love in Palm Springs
3. More hiking!

🌟How Was Today? Did I enjoy it?

Today was a great day. The vibes were good. Everyone was excited to be back out on the trail again. Especially me. I loved the trail, the flowers, and the views.

⛺How Was My Gear?

There are now 3 holes in the butt of my Eddie Bauer hiking pants and the crotch seam blew out. Matt sewed it for me.

💪How did my Body Feel?

My back was really unhappy with the weight of the back. I started with 6 liters of water plus 3 days worth of food. It was definitely over 30 lbs. My blisters were getting a little rubbed but no serious pain.

🍴How was my food situation?

I’m food rich! I had lots of snacks and meals. I will be good until Warner Springs.

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

Be easy on my feet and they will let me hike big miles. I will take lots of breaks on the trail and listen to them.