Day 1. Pacific Crest Trail Section Hike
7/10/2019
Mile 1501 (I-5 Castle Craigs/ Dunsmuir) to 1523.5 (Helen Lake)
22.5 miles
Mags drops me off at the Castle Craigs trailhead to start my 500+ mile section hike after cooking up a huge breakfast in the motel parking lot. What a send-off!
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| Scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast! |
I’m going north from where I left off in 2014. I’m hoping to connect up to where I ended my 2016 section hike in northern Oregon (near Ollalie Lake). If I make it, I will only have a little over 200 miles left in Washington to complete the PCT.
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| But really all I care about is the journey, not how far I get. |
The first backpacker I meet asks, "Are you a PCT hiker?”
“Ummm,” I stammer.
The shock of being out here after so long away hits me. I just started hiking two hours ago. Am I really a PCT hiker again?
“Ummm,” I stammer.
The shock of being out here after so long away hits me. I just started hiking two hours ago. Am I really a PCT hiker again?
The other backpacker has questions about the Guthooks app. So I am happy to help. Simple, practical questions. Being able to answer them reminds me that I know what I'm doing.
Because I’ve spent the last few years in Utah, at my first break I automatically go to shake the sand out of my shoes. But there is no sand! I am also not used to the fact that the PCT is wide and smooth. There is no time that I have to stash my poles in my pack to use my hands to scramble over rocks like I have to in Utah. The PCT is the complete opposite of our mostly off-trail Utah scrambles.
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| Loving these views! |
The trees are so tall! The air smells sweet with blossoms. Mount Shasta is amazingly massive even in the distance. I glide along beneath the towering Castle Craig rock formations.
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| Castle Craigs |
At a stream, I am shocked and delighted to find pitcher plants (Darlingtonia californica), which are carnivorous plants native to California and Oregon. In my botanical excitement, I forget to collect water and end up passing by the last water source in a long stretch. And therefore have to hike further than I’d liked before I camp. I’d intended to ease into the trip with lower miles. Oh well!
What a beautiful first day! It feels good to be back.
Woo hoo! Posts from your trip! Those Darlingtonia are amazing!
ReplyDeleteThe Darlingtonia sure were incredible! I couldn't get over how many of them there were.
DeleteThanks for reading!
Yay!!! Can't wait to read all the posts as you get them up. Had to laugh about your botanical excitement and forgetting about the water :)
ReplyDeleteI'll bet you can totally imagine me being so excited about the plants. :)
DeleteSo exciting! I loved that section of the PCT.
ReplyDeleteI know people say the Sierra and northern Washington are the highlights, but I loved this part so much.
DeleteWooHoo I finally get to binge read your blog posts. FYI since I know you're picky about spelling, it's Castle Crags (not Craigs). Anyway I'm still bummed I didn't get to share my backyard with you, I'm excited to now read your perspective.
ReplyDelete