Tall, Lost, and Grateful

Friday, May 16
Mile 384, Pleasant Ridge Wilderness

There aren't really any "good" days or "bad" days out here. Every day on the trail is a series of highs and lows and boredom and awe and elation and stress. It makes the morning and afternoon feel like separate days.

Summiting Mt Baden-Powell!

Today, the morning (day one) was  high-fiving scout troops and asian tourists on my way to the first (and one of the only) summits on the actual PCT. It was a steep slog with our newly-filled food bags, but Gypsy Town made it to the top of Baden-Powell in good time. 360 views; I love it!

I spent the ridge walk after the peak giddy with altitude and ssummiting, and made up new words to "This Lil' Light of Mine". Twenty minutes later I was in an angry haze as the trail climbed, AGAIN. Doesn't it realize that we've already summited today? At a fuzzy trail junction, I was so happy to see a nice trail going downhill that I took it without a second thought.

A couple hours later, the pseudo-pct trail spat me out onto highway 2, which parallels the pct this stretch. I found a note under a rock that read, "you are off trail. Turn left on the road to eventually meet back up with the PCT."

Well, "eventually" is a pretty ambiguous direction, but I decided to just start walking. What else can we do out here, ever? I was a little freaked out at first, and kept checking and rechecking my maps and Half mile app on my phone for coordinates. The topo maps and compass were indispensable; SO glad I carry em.

I was a lot closer to our agreed meeting spot than I first realized, and only had to road walk for 4 miles before I came to a gully that had footprints leading up the steep scree slope. The Halfmile app said that I was only .12 miles from the PCT, and I knew the trail was up there somewhere. So I trusted my gut and scurried up the goat trail.

Sure enough, it popped me right in front of a major trail junction on the PCT, right before the campground I told Gypsy Town I'd meet them at. Giddy with relief, I kissed the PCT sign and maybe cried a little bit. My first off trail experience, and I kept my cool and made it! The whole experience was like a trust fall with myself and the universe catching, and we both came through. I will try not to be angry with you again, PCT, I promise!