High Point of the Day: My first trail magic! Vera (Happy Birthday, btw) had drinks and snacks for us at Scissors Crossing

Low Point of the Day: I'm not sure, maybe the continued soreness of my feet.

• Section: A
• PCT Miles: 71.1 to 84.7
• Distance Walked Today*: 14.3 miles
• Steps for the Day*: 31533

• Temperature (Perception): Chilly this morning, very nice during the mid-day, and brisk again in the evening
• Wind (Perception): Light breeze in the morning, to very gusty in the afternoon... I'm probably jinxing myself, but it seems like it's slowing down
• Cloud Cover: No clouds
• Precipitation: None
• Trail Surface: Mostly well graded mixed with sandy sections, a couple rocky parts
• Terrain: Switched from chaparral to more cactus and succulents, down one mountain across the valley and up another mountain-side

• ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Weather

• ⭐⭐ Difficulty

• ⭐⭐⭐ Physical Energy

• ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Scenery

• ⭐⭐⭐⭐Mental State

• Number of photos for the day: 118

• Total time-lapse sequences: Started another day-to-night-to-day sequence after I set up my tent

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

Overview:

• Wind, so much wind at the end of the day
• Staked the crap out of the tent
• Started hiking pretty late in the morning (9am)
• Feet are still sore for most of the day, but no new blisters
• Discovered that my picaridin had exploded, fortunately it was in a ziploc, but it still leaked a little into one of my hip belt pockets.

People on the Trail:

• Camped with Junior Ranger, Cali, Layla, Cynthia, Zodiac and Rapunzel
• Met Tim and Mark while we were all having breakfast
• Coffee passed me while in the last mile to Scissors Crossing
• Met Coffee Break, Jamie and Nate at the water cache
• Ghost, Vera and her mom showed up as we were getting ready to leave (Ghost keeps an eye on the water caches for the hikers, and Vera normally does trail magic up by Snow Creek

Random Notes:

First night camping alone, and I'm at a "Far Out” site, but I feel like I'm right on the trail. It's less than five feet away, but semi-sheltered from the wind.

What did I listen to?

• The latest Backpacker Radio with AWOL
• Mtn Miester episodes
• The next three episodes of Accelerated Spanish
• "Pop Rock" Spotify playlist on shuffle for the last mile and change