Journey Day 19 | PCT Day 19

Blue skies above the high desert California

5/5/85

Arose early, out of camp early. Unremarkable hiking day. Steady uphill along Mission Creek. Ample water made the hike easier. 15 miles with minimal strain. Saw a snake with black and white stripes on one fording.

Ran into a hiker going the other way. He told us the California Boys were only an hour ahead. We think we found signs of one of their breaks in the trail. He also said two pretty young fillies were about six hours ahead. Nice thought, but we’ll probably never see them.

We camped at about 6,100 feet in “a nice creekside spot” in the words of guidebook author Jeffrey Schaffer.

Keith seems rundown. Hopefully he’ll rejuvenate. I’m still tired after hiking rigors, but not as much as him lately. Funny how things go in cycles. He once ran ahead, was much stronger. I’m in no hurry to backslide or slow him down again.

“It was so camo,” California Boy Kurt Jackson, on a rattler in the trail.