21.4 miles

From trail camp (mile 490, elev 4521)

To trail camp (mile 511, elev 3840)

Climb 3054

Descend 3759

“Greens, greens, and nothing but greens: Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery, Asparagus and watercress and fiddle ferns and lettuce–!” The Witch from “Into the Woods” by Stephen Sondheim

Along the trail

Overlooking the Mojave Desert

Greens

Greens… Miners lettuce, new growth on fir trees. 

The last remaining dinner in my pack was one I made/dehydrated, so it has more veggies than the other dinners I’ve been eating. But I didn’t have much food left in general. So, as I walked along the trail, I sampled the miners lettuce and the new growth on the fir trees.

Trail Maint Crew!!!

There was a trail maintenance crew of about 20 people out in one section of trail. It was heartening to see people supporting trails in general (and PCT specifically). I thanked them profusely.

Poodle Dogs Everywhere

Actually, there was lots of poodle dog bush (PDB) everywhere today. It grows in fire damaged areas, and the trail weaved through such areas late yesterday and much of today. PDB has the reputation of being like poison oak or poison ivy, but worse and with fewer treatment options.

Trail crews have done a good job making the trail passable through the thickets of PDB. All the thickets I saw were well to the side of the trail. 

They also say PDB smells like marijuana. It certainly has a strong and distinctive smell. While walking along, I would get a whiff of it and almost always be able to find some nearby. Maybe when I return to civilization, I’ll be able to verify what it smells like when I’m at some party and my nose says, “poodle dog bush!”

Poodle dog bush

Hiker Legs or Human Body

This concept of hiker legs has been somewhat confusing to me. Sometimes I feel like I have hiker legs, where I am able to go forever. And sometimes my body feels completely exhausted (“That yucca looks like a good place for a siesta”). Recently, I feel like I’ve been dragging in the morning, and dragging on uphills. But otherwise, if I go at my own pace, I feel like I can hike with little effort.

My body will figure this out… I hope.

500 Mile Marker

500 mile marker

I passed the 500 mile marker, but was almost too tired to pose in the mid-day sun. I did manage to celebrate shortly thereafter by pulling a “Nutella delivery device” from my pack (I’m still trying to figure out why they spell it T-O-R-T-I-L-L-A. That sounds very different when pronounced phonetically. I have another Nutella delivery device they spell S-P-O-O-N, but I’m afraid of that one. Using it seems like flirting with a Nutella overdose. … Sadness. After dinner, I used my last tortilla. With a little help from my spoon, the Nutella jar is now empty – it wasn’t more than 1/3 full).

Miscellaneous

Blisters: 1 – I got my first blister yesterday trying to keep up with some other hikers. Leukotape to the rescue. It does feel better after taping it 

Approaching the last summit before descending to the Mojave. I loved the colors.

Water cistern

Cowboy camp spot