Day 180

Day 180 (pct 70): 36 miles

We actually woke up on time today cause we learned to set the bar lower with a 7am wake up. The mosquitoes were annoying in the morning but later in the day we were in wide open spaces so they weren’t an issue.

But as we got out of the forest we were walking on large lava rock a lot of the day. It looked extremely cool and was nice to have wind and no mosquitoes..but it was pretty brutal to walk on. It was slow going and a lot of tripping/slipping. Climbing uphill on lava rock was reallllly a vibe check. Late in the day I started to think “hmm it’d be pretty wild if one of these volcanos started going off right now. I’m not sure how I would outrun the magma but that’d be a hell of a way to go out.”

I really wanted to hit the 2,000 mile marker on the PCT today so I convinced hammer (who didn’t require much convincing) to just go a couple extra miles and we’ll find camp after that. I should note say that hammer is faster than me and it’s a nice humbling experience cause when he wants to go I just can’t keep up with him, especially on uphills. He’s one of the freaks that likes uphills instead of downhills.

I hit the 2,000 mile marker a little bit before 11:00 and it felt really good. I enjoyed it a little bit but I didn’t want to get too excited cause I knew I was going to bed shortly after.

When I got to our camp (a very small flat area hammer found) he had a beer waiting for me that he got from other campers. I was planning on setting up camp and enjoying it but as I was setting up my tent I bumped my trekking poles and the tip hit the can perfectly to puncture it. Obviously I couldn’t let it go to waste so I had to chug it. I would’ve gunned it like my instincts told me to but the side was covered in a lot of dirt which I have already consumed enough of that lately.

Roughly at 4,500 miles on the year and day 180 so I’ve been out nearly a half year. That was a reality check when I realized it in the afternoon.

Song of the day: Sweet/ i though you wanted to dance-Tyler the creator