Day 128 (PNT 33)

Day 128 (PNT 33): 26 miles

I didn’t get a great night’s sleep cause I had some unwanted visitors. I woke up around midnight to some light pounding around my camp. I peeked outside and saw it was 2 deer. I made some noises hoping they would go away but they didn’t. So I put on my shoes and stepped outside, thinking that would be enough to scare them off. It wasn’t. I literally chased them around my camp and they were still too stupid to run away. I then threw rocks near them and they just stared at me unphased. They were literally too dumb to be scared, and I didn’t want to actually beam them with a rock so I went back to bed and just tried to ignore them. But they were tough to ignore and kept me up for hours.

Around 5am I heard something messing with a bear can of another camper in the area. It sounded like a bear gnawing on the plastic. I put on my shoes and stepped outside ready for another confrontation. But it just turned out to be the guy struggling open his bear can. I guess my imagination has start to run wild.

The mor I got actually worked out perfectly. As I was stepping outside my tent, I heard a group of PCT hikers walk by about to finish. At first I just glanced over but then I noticed there was a guy in a bright orange shirt. So I yelled to catch him and sure enough it was @prof_carl I was hoping we would cross paths on the PCT/PNT overlap and since I ended up moving slower it worked out perfectly. He is going for the calendar year triple crown this year like I did last year, except he thought it was too easy so he decided to do the whole ECT from the Florida keys up to the Canadian border in the east and also tackle the PCT and CDT in the west. Absolute mad man. One of my favorite parts of thru hiking is always meeting someone crazier. It was actually really inspiring and uplifting to see how wired and driven he was. It reminded me of myself last year, just being completely single-minded on a goal and nothing will stop you. Get there or die tryin I delivered him a natural light, which I had been lugging since the last town, and we talked for a while before he decided he better finish up so he can continue on his 10,000+ mile trek.

The PNT overlapped the PCT for 13 miles today and it was interesting. It was fun seeing all the people about to finish. They all had different vibes and emotions. I asked most of them how it felt and my favorite response was “I’m just tired.” And I get it

I did however want to duct tape on my forehead, “I am not a PCT hiker. I’m a PNT hiker. You don’t need to congratulate me.” Every person I crossed said congratulations, which led to me saying I don’t deserve that yet. It was funny every time.

It was funny comparing how different this section of trail felt last year compared to this year. Last year I was in such foot pain that every step was agony. I remember barely being able to stand how rocky the section was because it hurt so bad. Every step was carefully placed to avoid the worst possible rocks, yet it still hurt. This year I hardly even noticed how rocky it was. It wasn’t any more than usual.

After I got off the PCT at Holman Pass, I picked up the PNT that I actually hiked last year with my crew. When we reached the border last year, we learned that they closed the road to Hart’s Pass so we had to find a different way off trail. The downed trees picked up again after flea in f the PCT and it felt like the PNT again. I felt like shit the whole afternoon. It was hot. My back hurt like hell. And I was just out of it. I tried to stop and take frequent breaks, but I really couldn’t stop for long because the flies were unbearable. I remember the same problem last year in that area.
Eventually I reached Devil’s Pass where I diverged from my route last year to get off the PCT. Last year Hammer, Terminator, and I took the Jackita Ridge Trail to get to the nearest road and it was still one of the wildest trail experiences I’ve even had. But it made for some good stories afterward. I thought about taking it to the highway for old time’s sake, but decided I would choose happiness instead.

So I took the PNT route of Devil’s Ridge trail up to Devil’s Dome where I camped. It was a great campsite view-wise, but it was pretty slanted and the mosquitoes were shockingly crazy. I didn’t understand how they could be so bad on a summit with wind, but they might have been the worst ones of the trail so far.

Song of the day: higher-Kanye west