Today's miles: 26
Total miles: 1792
It was very chilly this morning, a change from the norm, but it warmed up very quickly. The bees drove us out of camp pretty fast today. The PCT has been an interesting study in insect life, I've noticed. Throughout southern California the ants were the biggest pests, then mosquitoes in central California, then bees in northern California and southern Oregon. Mosquitoes still take the top award for being the most annoying, but I've discovered that bees are pretty bad, too, since they don't fly away when you swat at them.
The terrain was nice today, though quite rocky. We stopped after three miles at a wooden shelter with a well water pump and had a snack with Lullaby before moving on. I was feeling tired and weary today, so my steps dragged through the first fourteen miles. Katie and I missed our big group of seven and found it was lonely again with just the two of us. I hoped that Sunshine and Treekiller would catch up quickly, or that we would catch up to Sneaks, Mudd and Dingo.
We stopped for lunch at 1:00 near a river, the biggest water source we had seen in days. We stripped off shoes and had fun wading in the water with Lullaby and Sagi. After eating and feeling refreshed from our mini-swim, the afternoon went by much more quickly. My energy carried me through five more miles and then slacked again for the final seven. By the time we had gone 26 miles it was only 6:00 but I was tired enough to want to stay. I've noticed that when the terrain is flat it feels good to crank out more miles, but it also makes for very long days. We get on trail at 7:00 each morning and hike until 7:30 or 8:00 each night, exhausted.
There was a creek here with water and campsites, but Katie contemplated hiking a few more miles before it got dark. I contemplated staying, since I didn't feel like pushing on. Soon, though, Lullaby and Sagi joined us and we ultimately decided to stay. We cooked dinner and made lemon pudding to share, telling jokes as we ate and listening to Lullaby's beautiful flute before going to bed.