PCT Day 5 Trail Notes: Oriflamme Canyon to Overlook of Cigarette Hills

High Point of the Day: Feeling good making miles, though I'm still having some lingering foot soreness

Low Point of the Day: Sweet snickerdoodles of hellish wind. Camp last night was great for scenery, but the wind was terrible, on top of which, we had camped on a granite slab, so I wasn't able to stake out my tent. It was a really long night.

  • Section: A
  • PCT Miles: 55.9 to 71.1
  • Distance Walked Today*: 16.2
  • Steps for the Day*: 39394
  • Temperature (Perception): Cold this morning to great hiking temperature, wore my Melly for most of the day, but it was comfortable.
  • Wind (Perception): Very windy this morning, calm midday, and a breeze during dinner
  • Cloud Cover: Almost none.
  • Precipitation: None
  • Trail Surface: Well-graded to rocky in and sections, the last few miles were very narrow.
  • Terrain: Chaparral and winding, rolling mountain hiking
  • ⭐⭐⭐ Weather

  • ⭐⭐ Difficulty

  • ⭐⭐⭐ Physical Energy

  • ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Scenery

  • ⭐⭐⭐⭐Mental State

  • Number of photos for the day: 154

  • Total time-lapse sequences: Started another during sunset

  • Number of video clips: One per mile and at the beginning of the day

Overview:

  • The hardest part of today was a descent to a dirt road section, and then the climb back up to the trail
  • I've noticed that I need to work harder at stopping when my body tells me I need to
  • Which also means taking longer midday breaks

Observations (wildlife, plants, views, etc.)

  • Grabbed 3 liters of water at the tank, it had a faucet, which was nice, but still needed to be filtered
  • Skipped past the water at Sunrise Trailhead, I had more than enough from the previous day, when I sgrabbed 4 liters at the Pioneer Picnic Grounds

People on the Trail:

  • Started the day with Mike and Megan (who I played leap frog with for most of the day)
  • Camped with Junior Ranger, Zodiac and his mom (Cynthia), Rapunzel, Cali, and Layla

Random Notes:

  • Conceptually, I know the trail is graded for horses, but wow is it very narrow in a lot of places

Cheers & Jeers (Gear, Food, etc.):

Still not adjusting to the Hyperlite pack, the shoulder straps and hip belt aren't sitting quite right

What did I listen to?

  • First few lessons from the Great Course: Language and the Mind
  • A few more episodes of Impact (Convservation Photography podcast)
  • Three episodes of Mtn. Meister
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PCT Day 6 Trail Notes: Overlook of Cigarette Hills to Grapevine Mountain Area

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PCT Day 4 Trail Notes: Mt. Laguna to Oriflamme Canyon