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Friday, August 30, 2019

Day 20. Mt Thielsen

Day 20. Mt Thielsen
1852 near Mt Thielsen to 1880.3 (a little past Windago Gap)
7/29/2019
28.3 miles

In the early hours of morning, I hike up and around Mt. Thielsen. What amazing colored rocks like a layered cake! Seeing them makes me wish I had planned time (and enough water) to take the side trail to climb it. But alas I don’t, so all I can do is savor the views.
I feel like my legs could just fly today. My body is getting so much stronger. This trip is good because I’ve given myself enough time to rest when I need to and check my feet every break- I love going at my very own pace and how if I do, I can hike all day. 
I have cell service on a ridge so I call Mags. He’s been guiding in Yosemite and it seems like we haven’t gotten to talk in forever. I know it’s rude to talk on a cell phone out in the wilderness so I try to get as far off trail as I can. But then when I make the call I realize I am totally oblivious to everything as I laugh and get lost in the conversation. I hope I didn’t annoy anyone!

At Windago Gap, there is a guy with a dog who has build a campfire. I’d just learned that there was a wildfire in southern Oregon that had grown 11,000 acres in just two days. Talk about high wildfire danger! So I was going to remind him of the wildfire risk and to be extra careful, but his dog was barking a lot at me and it made me feel super uncomfortable so I just move on and make camp a few miles further.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for your perspective on the PCT. I basically can't stand "diary" posts: "I was there, then did this, then went there, and ate that." You reflect on what you do, and your posts have a lot of depth, and more actual information, even though you often say less. That's all good. I'm learning a lot.

    For something completely different there is Christof Teuscher. He contacted me a couple years back about the "Cougar Traverse" in the Pasayten Wilderness. This year he did it. Tough guy: "242 miles in 5 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes; +1 concussion." Now he's got a post about a trip in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Looks like a great area.

    What his wife thinks: "He's so small and feeble, and doesn't even have hair that keeps him warm. I'm really worried about him."

    Good sense of humor: http://www.christofteuscher.com/aagaa/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/bird-300x178.jpg I just might re-enroll in college so I can take classes from him.

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    1. And here I was, beginning to wonder if my blog posts were slipping into that diary-style territory. One of my fears, since that bothers me too and I strive for a little more. Thank you for the positive feedback. It encourages me to keep going.

      Thanks for yet another recommendation- I do appreciate these since there is so much uninteresting content to wade through. That comment from his wife is really funny.

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    2. Not meaning to take up all your time, but I'm not sure if I've forwarded this before (a travel blog worth reading, at least now and then).

      Young Adventuress | The Solo Female Travel Blog
      "A normal girl living her biggest, messiest dreams."
      https://youngadventuress.com/

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  2. I'm getting really wary of campfires. It seems like the more people light them, the more likely it is that they've simplified to the process of "putting it out" to the point where they don't. I put out one where they seemed to think throwing the rocks from the ring into the middle would put it out. Just weakened the perimeter. Another, they figured they would just turn over the logs to put it out. It smoked a bit and then was back to roaring within an hour while they had packed up and vanished.

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    1. I agree- I think campfires are rarely appropriate outside of an established front-country campground.

      Thanks for putting those campfires out!

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