Direction: Southbound 

Trail location: 1675

Cumulative miles hiked 2019/2021: 2320

Cumulative miles hiked 2021: 304
Miles hiked today: 12
Elevation: 8430

High/low temp/humidity: 74/40/30

Spinning on the turntable: Pearl Jam: 20

It’s cold this morning when I wake up. My handy little pocket thermometer indicates that it’s hovering below 40 degrees F. My groundsheet is wet as is my rain fly. I’ll need to air them out later to let them dry. I need to move this morning in my attempt to hit the hills hard before my legs recognize what’s happening.

This morning I shared with my friends/family that today was going to be a story of two titties that I needed to climb. Generally, I do OK with one big hill climb a day, but two climbs can be challenging. As expected, it’s quite the climb.

I may have dropped an awful lot of “F-bombs” during the hike today. At times it seems like I’m hauling my sorry ass up one hill, only to drop right down the next hill. I may need to help the PCTA is redesiging the trail. Let’s call it the Pacific Lowlands Trail. No hauling up and unnecessarily steep hills. (Is that called the I-5 corridor?)

The smoke is thicker today than yesterday. While it makes breathing a bit more challenging, it does allow for some great photos.

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I crossed a major water hazard today, but it wasn’t a hazard due to the season. Guthook is geared towards the bubble of hikers that pass through here in June/early July, so my arrival a month to a month and a half later equates to easy water crossings. I easily worked my way across the water without any danger.

It would be really helpful if the Rangers would put dates on their signs. I have no idea if this sign is a day old or a month old! I know that it’s smokey.

The deer were very curious about me while I was eating my lunch. The mature deer will watch me from a distance, but the fawns usually bound away.

I was a bit concerned while I was eating my lunch. I could hear, and then visually identified a search and rescue helicopter working it’s way up and down the valley. Not a good sign for another hiker/backpacker. The helicopter spent so much time in my vicinity that I pulled out my Garmin to verify that I hadn’t erroneously hit the SOS button. Fortunately, I hadn’t. During lunch I heated up a full meal, which is a first this year, and tried to prop up my flagging energy levels. (It didn’t work. The hills are just slaying me.)

I ended my day by drying out my ground sheet, rain fly and even aired out my sleeping bag and sleep sack. The sleeping bag and sack are starting to smell a bit funky. A little little waft of body odor when I snuggle in at night.

I’m ending today fairly tired, but not exhausted. I finished two of the three hills and I’ve started working my way up the third hill.