PCT Day 9

Miles 110-129

I awoke this morning to a view of the full moon sinking over the horizon. Nightgown still asleep beside me, I thought for a while about hiking on my own. Her foot pain has been getting worse and after our talk last night I was pretty confident she would choose to take some time off trail.

After waking up, Nightgown said that she was going back to Warner Springs to hitch a ride to see a doctor. We parted with a sad hug. It's not every day that you meet someone so warm and joyous and I feel lucky to have been able to hike with Nightgown for the past week. I'll miss you Nightgown! 

The trail started in a low valley, crisscrossing a stream five or six times before steadily gaining 2000 feet over the next 6 or 7 miles.

The canyons in this forest have the hugest, most awe inspiring live oaks I've ever seen.

As the elevation went up, so did the heat. I took breaks every hour, finding a shady spot to tuck myself away, rehydrate, and watch the lizards crawl on the rocks. One thing about hiking alone- you get to see much more wildlife!

The next big stop is the Paradise Cafe. Right off of the trail, they're a hiker-friendly restaurant known for their Jose burger. I have no idea what's on a Jose Burger, but I hope it has something like bacon, jalapeño, and avocado and I can get it with a beer and onion rings. Only 25 more miles until I can see whether or not my burger fantasies will come true.

Right before that sign above is the home of a trail angel named Mike. A few hikers, all of whom have hiked this section before, warned against going to this house. They described it as being pretty sketchy, so I decided to hike through and get a few more miles in for the day. About 3 miles later I found a nice campsite at the top of a ridge, about 5500ft, right below a peak called Combs Peak.

After setting up camp and cooking dinner alone, Twice frightened me as he walked into my camp. He's such a quiet hiker I never see him coming. 

Twice mentioned that he had stopped at the trail angels house and it was much nicer than he had expected. While there, he ran into Sugar Pine, Lingo, and the Merry Band of Pranksters. I was a little disappointed that I had listened to all the hype and skipped the trail angel's house (especially after I heard about the Tecates and burritos), but it wasn't a big deal. I got in a few extra miles for the day and I was looking forward to my first night alone on the PCT.

While I'm thinking of it, I wanted to mention that I don't have a trail name yet. My friends have tried a few on me (Bubble Bear, Funshine Bear, Share Bear), a hiker named Tumbleweed wanted to call me TeePee after I gave her some toilet paper, and the Merry Band of Pranksters wanted to call me The Bear. None of these names have stuck because (1) I'm not sure if I want to be named after a Carebear, (2) TeePee will always sound a bit racist to me as a white guy and/or remind me of poop, and (3) I like the Merry Band, but they're sort of a trail clique and haven't gotten to know me well enough to give me a name. Besides, it's still early; I have plenty of time to find the right trail name!