25.3 miles
From trail camp (mile 572.9, elev 6055)
To trail camp at road to Millers spring (mile 594.1, elev 4987)
with side trip to Millers Spring
Climb 3840
Descend 4854

Generally, my legs felt good today and I got an early start, which is promising when you have to get to a specific location by the next day.

Springs, Water Caches, and Cat Holes

I ate lunch at a small spring with shade, flat spots to sit/recliner, and hikers to occupy those flat spots. I filtered 3L, dug a cat hole, and and rested a few minutes with my feet up (shoes and socks off).

For my cat hole, I walked 100yds on a dirt road before turning off to find an appropriate location. I was disappointed to find several “land mines” (rocks partially covering copious amounts of toilet paper and likely other waste) in those 100 yds. I wish people took environmental hygiene more seriously.

Another hiker at the spring was talking about water caches on next stretch, and how we couldn’t do the trail without depending on the caches. He said there were caches at 617, 6xx, and Walker Pass, and that they were described in FarOut under the entry for Mike 610. He also said the mile 617 cache was described under the mile 617 entry. When I looked, the mile 617 entry’s “about” section says this is a traditional cache location but that it is extremely dangerous to rely on it. The most recent comment said 310 gallons of water were there on 5/4. With 1250 people having permits to pass between then and now, I find it hard to trust the cache based upon FarOut information. I wonder if he – and others – are relying on the grace of others instead of being properly prepared themselves.

Break Time

After leaving the wind farm, I took another break to eat something, rest a bit, and look back on where I had been.

Looking back to where I had just hiked

My break

Millers Spring

Since I was meeting my friend the next day, I wanted to make sure I got an early start and had enough water. So I chose to make the 0.9 Mike hike off trail to Millers Spring.

Rather than carry all the water back up, I planned to use a lot of the water making and eating dinner at the spring before hiking back up to sleep.

The dirt road down to the spring was not as steep as I heard based upon others’ comments. But it was right- not smooth.

On the hike down, I played a lot of “rock soccer,” where I kick lose rocks of the path while hiking along. It only slows me down a little bit, but means people who follow don’t have to alter their stride as much to avoid stepping on rocks. In this case, I would be a beneficiary of my rock soccer.

The spring itself wasn’t easy to find. It had been redone and the FarOut description/comments were no longer accurate. I finally found it and entered my own comment in FarOut. But the water was plentiful. When I turned the valve on the outlet pipe, the water gushed out and filled my 3L container in just a few seconds.

Spring pipes

Spring outlet tube

I found a gorgeous location under a gigantic oak tree, where I made and ate dinner. After finishing dinner, I was still hungry so I made a second dinner (taking advantage of knowing my friend was bringing dinner the next night)

Dinner spot under the oak tree

Sunset was beautiful as I was leaving the spring.

Sunset from under the oak tree at the spring

Hike Back Up

It got pretty dark on my hike back up the road, so I was thankful that some kind soul had played rock soccer there. When I got back to the PCT, I just set up camp in the first spot that looked reasonable. It was late and I was tired.