Day 36- May 25th

Well, today was definitely brighter than yesterday. Both figuratively and literally. We got up a little earlier and there were clear skies. The morning started out rough for Claire and I personally, but just as everything was at its worse, Magic happened.

This time is was in the form of "Goal-Tech". Goal-Tech is from Portland as well. He is hiking the PCT southbound this year in sections. He carries 3 huge bags of chips to pass out to Northbound hikers and he says he sees 80 a day!

Goal-Tech

I don't know why but after we thanked him and moved on, we felt 100X's better. The sky seemed to clear, and forward we went.

Soon we hit the 400 mile mark, woohoo!! More than halfway through the "desert", and only 300 until the High Sierra! It's funny because it seems we've been cold and in mountains more than we've been hot on a desert floor, but summer is on the way, so we can't complain too much.

Soon after the 400, there was a huge "600" written neatly in pine cones. Someone is getting a little ahead of themselves!  The elaborate pine-art inspired us to write something. Since we had left camp shortly before Josh, and we knew he wasn't too far behind we, (very maturely), decided to leave him a thoughtful message:

Of course it was a playful act, and when he caught up with us shortly after at the next water source, we had a good laugh of it.

Goal-Tech had told us there was a spot with some good cell reception a few miles ahead. "Yes!!" I thought, "We can finally arrange for Claire to get off this mountain so she can fully rest and heal her knees!" You can read yesterday's post if you're wondering why this is so.

We were excited when we approached the parking lot just off the highway where the trailhead pops out onto. I pulled out my phone, walked around, and... No service..

The "highway" near the trailhead sees about 1 car per 10 minutes by my estimate. And dropping off Claire alone with a stranger isn't the best plan. The only people in the parking lot was another group of older retired hikers, all of which who came from the opposite direction of Agua Dulce.

We knew that this was the last crossing of Highway 2, but didn't know what else to do. Without reception or a ride, and running lower on food by every minute, we pressed on..

We walked and walked and walked. Miraculously, Claire's knees weren't giving her too much trouble. Even through the false hope of salvation, our spirits were somehow high.

We walked through a huge burn area for about half of the day. There was a TON of poodle dog bush! This stuff is nasty and it you even touch it you'll be hurtin'! There were hillsides full of the stuff, in all stages of growth. After a recent burn, these evil plants pop up and thrive! Grown from destruction and desolation, crazy!

Beside, above, and below! 

We were certain that Claire would just have to walk to last 50 miles into Agua Dulce with me. We definitely don't have dry food for the both of us for 4 days each, and we estimated the fuel can only had 1-2 meals worth of fuel.

Then, after a 16.53 mile day, we stumbled into a beautiful campsite for the night. Low winds, no poodle-bush in sight, and an awesome expansive view cliff-side. Best off all, a tiny bit of reception!!

I looked on Google Maps and found that we were coming across a paved road in 6.8 miles. There seems to be a picnic area there. I had a list of local trail Angels on my phone, so we tried calling one. When the call didn't go through because the service was so weak, text messages saved the day!

This lady named Jodi is so awesome, we arranged for her to come pick up Claire at that picnic area tomorrow! From there they will head to Agua Dulce, only 25 minutes away by car, where Claire can rest for 2 days at "Hiker Heaven", a famous trail angel's house, while I hike the remaining 35 miles and meet her there hopefully Saturday night.

All is well! All we had to do was stay positive and things will work themselves out! It gets better:

We somehow got enough water to boil for an Idahoan potato meal and 3 servings of hot chocolate out of our fuel can! Tomorrow Claire will take the stove with her when her ride arrives, and I'll take some more of the dry food to safely make it there! 

We enjoyed a pretty sunset together and feel very relieved as we are here in our tent in this beautiful place. Although they didn't hurt during the day, her knees are very tight and in pain at the moment. The cold does not help.

The trail goes down 2,776 ft. tomorrow in those 6.8 miles, but luckily all we have to do is get her to there, as the descent to Agua Dulce is 12,000 feet down, and down is what kills the knees...

It's sad to have her miss a part of the trail, but we've thought about it, and weighing the options, she's decided that getting off and resting is the best thing for her to do. If she continues on them up here in the cold as is, we think that they may not heal as quickly and will give her more problems in the Sierra, where we'll be going up and down over 6,000 ft almost every day!

Although it's shocking news, we have hope that everything will work out. Also, my dad and brother are coming to meet us in the next week or so, so we have another period of rest and recuperation to look forward too!

Thanks for reading!