PCT, Day 44

Remember I got new Lowa shoes sent to Tehachapi? Already after the first day, the bottom sole started to disintegrate, and it got worse. As soon as I get reception, I will have to contact the company in New York to get a replacement. It is too dangerous to walk into the Sierras with disintegrating soles.

I also realized that the material is different. The ones from Germany were only available in GTX. I did not know that they sell a non-GTX version in the US. The problem with the material now is that it lets all the desert sand into my shoes. This means my socks are full of sand, and my feet are black and sandy. The sand also creates wounds on my feet. Anyway, I hope I can get a quick replacement sent to Kennedy Meadows.

This morning, we start again shortly after 6 o'clock because we have a very long ascent. It is best done early in the morning because it is not yet too hot. At the trailhead, we find another water cache, and there are a few soft drinks. I drink half a can of Dr. Pepper, which is a mixture of cherry and coconut soda with caffeine. I only managed half the can because the taste is not good, and I shouldn’t drink soft drinks right now with my strange digestive system.

The ascent is not bad. There are many beautiful views. Later, it goes down and then up again and down. It’s like every day. I agreed with DD to only walk 28 km today and to meet at the first water source, which is after those 28 km.
When I arrive there, I cannot see Double Dinner. I wonder if he went to the second water source, which is about a kilometer further up, so I go there. He is not there either. I hear from another hiker that he wanted to go even further. I am too tired today, and I really need to rinse my socks and get the sand out of everything.

The problem is that there’s no tent site here. But I don’t want to walk back another kilometer, so I walk a little bit further past the water, and on an exposed ridge, there is a tiny flat spot that I try to make work. It is very difficult to set my tent up there; first of all, my tent is too big for that spot, and second, there is a lot of wind. But I have no other choice. After setting up the tent and hoping it does not fly away or tear apart, I go back to the water and do some cleaning.

While I am filtering water into my water bottle, I notice a big snake drinking from that little creek. It is black and yellow. Later I learn that it is a Pacific gopher snake. I have my dinner at the little stream too. Afterward, I go to the tent and secure it with some more rocks. Then I tend to my wounds that I got from the sand in my socks. There are two more days to walk until I get to Kennedy Meadows, where I will see how the situation in the Sierras is in regards to snow and ice.