Day 21-24: Thoughts on the Trail
Big Feelings
After a lovely stay in Big Bear, Frank, the owner of Sessions Retreat and hotel gave us a ride back to the trail head. We were so grateful for his help to and from the trail and had a lovely stay. A place I will definitely return to in the future.
I always get a bit of anxious energy going back on trail. The contrast of town life to trail life is stark. Although I enjoy the comfort of access to normal amenities, I find myself eager to return to our hike. There is an internal pressure to complete more miles. It’s difficult to describe exactly where this anxiousness comes from but it must be a combination of leaving the comfort of town and the unknown of what lies ahead. Once back on trail, my anxiety seems to wash away and I am content taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the trail.
Trail Community
Along with moments of personal reflection come sweet conversations with other hikers. You meet lots of different people who you share moments with in passing. And sometimes you decide to hike with them because you enjoy their presence that much. This is the beginning of a tramily (trail family). I am fortunate to have met a group of hikers to enjoy trail life with over this next section. Cam, Daniel, Lisa, Leah, Chris, Patrick and I forged on towards our next trail town of Wrightwood.
Food and Fun
We had two very exciting stops to make along the way. The first being a natural hot springs that the PCT crosses, making for a glorious mid day soak. The second was the one and only McDonald’s. This is the only one on trail, and it’s a tradition to stock up and eat as much as you can. I ended up eating two cheeseburgers, ten chicken nuggets, a large fry, apple pie and coke. Needless to say the hike afterwards was slow moving but the calories were much needed.
Big Days
We also hit my biggest mileage day on trail so far, 28 miles. This day was a push, I was very grateful to have the support from friends to keep going. We all collapsed at our camp site for the night on Silverwood lake. This also happened to be the night my sleeping pad decided to get a hole. I somehow managed to get sleep even when waking up on the hard ground. You truly never know what the day will bring, and each day seems like it packs a week worth experiences in one.
Until next time,
Emma
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