Journey Day 30 | PCT Day 30

Hand-painted PCT marker, California

5/16/85

Pitched, for the first time in at least three days, on a windy ridge top. Enjoy early morning, hoping Keith will stay asleep. 18 miles or so to where we meet his sister on Saturday morning for rest and relaxation in Malibu. Can hardly wait!

Lazy start. We wander along a road out of the mountains toward the highway. Heel blisters, sore ankles worry me, but we walk on down past Holiday Hill Ski Area, cross the Angeles Crest Highway into a forested gap. Then up to Lamel Spring on the Boy Scouts’ Memorial Mountain, Mt. Baden-Powell. Their markers note our progress.

A tent pole breaks, leaving my new purchase worthless weight until a solution can be found. Rage until I realize there’s nothing to do but eat and crash.

Note: Climbing’s becoming a real joy. My strength has built up. You realize what you’re accomplishing simply by looking back down from whence you came. It is thrilling to meet the challenge of a steep climb , changing altitude, environment so quickly. You can walk from desert floor to snowy mountain top in short order, moving through various environments as you climb through the clouds.