Health: 0 Blisters, a few more aches and pains after another 24 mile day!
It was such a novel experience to wake up in the morning and NOT be freezing cold. Breakfast was a jovial affair as we all lounged about in the warm morning air. The plan for today was to crush another 24 miles so that we could finish in Cajon Pass and reward ourselves with the luxury of fast food, a hot shower, laundry and a hotel bed … The perfect incentive!Cajon Pass at Interstate 15 … Our Goal!The PCT is most certainly a trail of great contrast and after the beauty of yesterday, today’s section took us through some less attractive areas. Empty reservoirs bore witness to California’s almost futile efforts to harness water and power. We passed beneath giant electric pylons and finally emerged right beside the chaos of Interstate 15. The day had a very “industrial” feel about it.The Ugly … Electricity PylonThere was of course plenty of good; the beautiful Silverwood Lake where we had our 11 o’clock shoe off, finding trail magic, coming off trail and into the arms of a McDonald’s milkshake and let’s not forget the hot shower after a very long and dry day.The Good … Hollywood and The Flash enjoying a spot of Trail MagicThe PCT is many things but one thing that it seems to be rather good at is gossip, rumour and speculation. Stories seem to spread like wildfire and one that was doing the rounds today was regarding a woman who had, just yesterday, been evacuated from this section of trail after being bitten by a rattlesnake !!! Yikes … I hiked with much circumspection.The Bad … A bite from one of these gets you a ride in a chopper!As the day wore on it became simply about grinding out the miles to get to the rewards. Our little Trail Family fragmented as we all raced for the finish line. It was super hot now that we were back down at lower elevations and I had to stop to rest my feet, which always start to complain around mile 20.
The Bad and The Ugly … Hot, complaining feet at mile 20!Unsurprisingly Chance was first To reach Cajon Pass, his 6’5″ frame offering a distinct advantage. However, he fell foul of the fast food while I pressed on for the hot shower. I was first to the hotel and was so, so happy to get clean and then just lie down on big bed that I didn’t have to inflate. The PCT certainly teaches you a lot about gratitude and the simple pleasures in life. The Good … Hot shower and a bed that doesn’t need inflating!
10 thoughts on “PCT Day 20 – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”
Hollywood, I follow a lot of PCT 2016 trail blogs, and those have got to be the prettiest feet I’ve seen so far! Good job taking care of them. Miss PCT Sexy Foot, that’s what I’m talkin bout… 🙂
Hollywood, don’t know about yesterday but the local Los Angeles news had a story recently of a thru hiker who got bit. She was laid up in the hospital with a leg swollen to the size of a tree trunk. She’s hoping to continue once she gets discharged…or so the story went.
Hey Deb … Actually the drug of choice for most thru-hikers is Ibuprofen … We call it Vitamin I. I take 400mg pretty much every night. It is also an anti-inflammatory which must help as I’m sure just about everything that can be inflamed is. It usually wears off about 2am which is when I wake up and everything hurts again …
ZENLIGHTENED VOYAGER 
Hollywood, I follow a lot of PCT 2016 trail blogs, and those have got to be the prettiest feet I’ve seen so far! Good job taking care of them. Miss PCT Sexy Foot, that’s what I’m talkin bout… 🙂
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Into the arms of a McDonalds milkshake ha!
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Love the pic of you and the Colorado ladies! =)
Great blog! ❤
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Hollywood, don’t know about yesterday but the local Los Angeles news had a story recently of a thru hiker who got bit. She was laid up in the hospital with a leg swollen to the size of a tree trunk. She’s hoping to continue once she gets discharged…or so the story went.
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Carla I reckon this is the one! Do you have a link to the news story that you could post?
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here you go:
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Woman-Recovering-After-Rattlesnake-Bite_1_Los-Angeles-378198541.html
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Thanks!
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Loving the blog! Question do you ever take Paracetamol or alike at the end of the day….Just thought it might help ease the body.
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Hey Deb … Actually the drug of choice for most thru-hikers is Ibuprofen … We call it Vitamin I. I take 400mg pretty much every night. It is also an anti-inflammatory which must help as I’m sure just about everything that can be inflamed is. It usually wears off about 2am which is when I wake up and everything hurts again …
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Well done. Avoid those slithery buggers!!!!
My only tip …… Give a very very wide berth!
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