This morning the road walk continued past Mt. Williamson with Phantom limping along and Doodlebug still coughing away on climbs. I started to take the trail alone but thought the safer route was to stay with Doodlebug, Phantom and Good To Go. We left the Angels Crest Highway and rejoined the PCT at mile 389.3 after walking through two highway tunnels through the mountain. The rest of the day we hiked at a fairly moderate to slow pace, stopping for lunch about halfway up a climb of Winston Peak at Cooper Canyon Trail Campground. We spend about three hours there, resting and taking a siesta before hiking again around 3:00 p.m. We climbed across Cloudburst Summit then began a gentle descent the next several late afternoon miles to Camp Glenwood, a seasonal and as yet not open camp.
Doodlebug and I arrived ahead of Good To Go and Phantom around 5:45 and found a shaded picnic table to sit and cook dinner on. There was a nearby privy/bathroom (primitive) and I saw Doodlebug head that direction as I was getting my stove out of the pack to cook. A minute later Doodlebug called for me to “come here.” I got up from the table and joined Doodlebug just in front of the privy. Turns out she checked the men’s side first and found toilet paper inside. Then she opened the door to the women’s side of the bathroom and saw that there was toilet paper AND a rattlesnake coiled up in the corner right at the entrance. The dark snake sat quietly, no rattling, but his tongue was busy as he smelled us nearby. We got the camera and took some up-close pictures, then I tried throwing sand on him to see if he would leave the privy, but he was quite content in there and I wasn’t about to initiate an additional confrontation.
After dinner the four of us hiked on, leaving behind the Canadian gals Dominique and Erica as well as Charles and Evan who had all arrived while we were eating dinner. We ended up hiking until almost dark, the last three miles sighting numerous signs of recent bear activity including lots of fresh bear scat on the trail. We hung bear bags for the first time tonight and wouldn’t be surprised to have a bear visit tonight! The Canadian gals had their first bear sighting this afternoon, so hopefully we’ll get ours soon!
We are only 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles according to a stargazer we passed at a road crossing two miles back. It’s hard to believe we’re in high mountains tonight with bears and rattlesnakes and mountain lions nearby, and yet the Rose Bowl in Pasadena is only a scant five miles from here. We passed 400 miles this afternoon! And I have new toe and heel blisters, knee pain, and, for the first time, a mild case of shin splints. Still, it’s great to be out here and the adventure continues!
Today’s mileage: 20.7 Cumulative: 404.7 Weather: Sunny, Low 42, High 85
