Crisp and cool weather greeted us this morning. It was 42˚ at sunup, and there was a ton of condensation on the tarp-tent. Around 8:30 a.m. I headed out for the trail ahead of Phantom. The first 3.5 miles were a cakewalk, and, upon arriving at Cottonwood Creek, I met Seattle Mike who was returning up the trail and informed me that the road bridge would be a better alternative than fording the creek. Creeks are running higher than in a normal year due to excessive rainfall in SoCal (SoCal is short for Southern California).
At the creek, we spread out gear to dry and took a break. About 45 minutes later Phantom, Mike, and I continued down the trail. My left foot began to ache on the outer side of the arch. Within 2 miles I was in pain, and I stopped to take some Vitamin I (Ibruprofen). We reached Boulder Oaks Campground, which was closed due to the endangered Arroyo Toad. Only PCT hikers are allowed to go through the area. SAVE THE TOAD!! We ate lunch early at the campground on a picnic table under a shade tree, and it was perfect temperature under the canopy. At this point we had only covered 5.8 miles.
After lunch it was time to hike!! I busted out and took the lead and hiked, in pain, for 2½ hours without stopping. Man, it’s tough to hike distance when out of thru-hiker shape! I stopped several times in vain to use the cell phone to check messages. Even though the phone had several bars on the signal the calls failed to go through.
The afternoon was grueling – all up, though gradual. It was sunny, warm, and very dry on the 8-9 miles of climb. I ran out of gas late afternoon, as did Phantom and poor Mike, who really struggled too. The last 4 miles were very painful for me with the arch in lots of pain on every step. It felt like a knife was sticking in it. I’m hoping it’s just a cramp or something benign, but the thought ran through my head that this could be a tendon problem and may potentially end my quest to hike the PCT this year. I’m resigned to the fact that this is possible and will accept the outcome as it comes.
We arrived at Long Canyon Creek at 6:00 p.m., where I stopped because I was completely exhausted and hungry and in pain. Phantom and I cooked dinner immediately. Mike showed up about the time we finished dinner, and then Tom from Montana/Chicago joined us at the less-than-stellar site. Phantom and I are both “cowboy” camping under the stars tonight. It is COLD! It’s 32˚ as I write this journal entry and we are camped at 5,500 feet.
Today was a rough day on the trail. Scenery was good – we could see 100 miles out or more – but it was the dry scrub-like scenery across the mountains. I saw lots of rabbits today and even more lizards. Time for bed because it’s too cold to not be in the sleeping bag! Weather: Sunny all day. Low 42˚, High 75˚. Hopefully my foot will cooperate tomorrow and will be OK. We plan to take it easier and let ourselves get better acclimated and trail-hardened before we push bigger mileage. Today’s mileage: 17.5; cumulative mileage: 28.1
