Day 26: The countdown begins!

We only have 7 days left! To many people this might seem like a dream come true, but it is actually causing a little bit of anxiety for me. It all happened so fast. Now that I have the miles under me I want more. It is kinda like an addiction!

These thoughts, however, weren't really the focus of the whole day because at around 9 we were still ride-less. All the locals had assured us that hitching a ride to the start of the trail wouldn't be a problem yet we had been waiting for 45 minutes without even a pull over. Just as we gave up hope of getting a ride before noon a man heading to Nevada stopped. He was heading across the border to buy snuff. He couldn't take us up to the trail head, but would drop us off where the road split. The 3 of us agreed that there would be more traffic heading up to the trail at the highway juncture so we jumped in- Replay and I in the jump seats and Gravy up front with the gentleman. As we drove down the road we learned that the man up front was in the military. He had served in Vietnam and was on disability. Gravy, as an ex-military man, bonded with the driver and just when we thought we had to get out and hitch again we were heading up the road to the top of the pass where the PCT picked up again! Ah Gravy to the rescue again!

At noon we were all suited up with our backpacks full and loaded with food. By 6 pm we laughing at the fact that we had completed 15 miles in less than 6 hours! Of course there were a few hiccups along the way that might have left us in poor spirits instead.

The first one was a group of British soldiers who wanted to chat. Evidently the Queen's Marines train in our wilderness schools. Of course neither Replay nor myself really wanted to chat. Gravy was totally into it and lagged behind to swap a couple of stories.

The second hiccup of the day was the trail. Yet again the "tourist" area threw us for a loop. We thought we had crisscrossed our path with another because our elevation wasn't really matching the map. I ran up ahead for a bit to check the terrain. When I came back Gravy and Replay decided that we couldn't have made a wrong turn and I pretty much agreed. We all set off a bit apprehensive. 30 minutes down the way we found the sign post that we had hoped to see. Actually Replay saw it and I jumped for joy. Yes the Danger Mouse never goes away!

Last, but not least, the third issue of the day happened to be just about myself. For some reason my knees were killing me. I don't know if it was the intense downhill hike from yesterday or just my body telling me to rest. Thankfully Boulder Creek was the perfect spot for our home for the night so we set up shop.