A fantastic day. After a last hot shower at the campsite we walked to the centre of town and waited only a minute before getting a ride to the trailhead. Two women hikers from San Diego picked us up, via the bakery and bought us coffees!, before taking us to the start of the 2.5 mile Devils Slide which connects to the PCT.
As we arrived in the parking lot Tracy spotted her hiking Idol, Billgoat, who's walked over 40,000 miles. The San Diego ladies stopped right by him and wound down the window forcing T to speak. We said goodbye to the lovely ladies and I took T's pic with Billygoat (it will appear in the 100-200 mile album when we get the chance to upload) as she talked to da man.
We decided to do the PCT alternative route to the top of San Jacinto. (10,834 ft). Just a little longer and more up and downy but soo worth it. It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny with a deliciously cool breeze. There were a lot of day hikers from San Diego, it being a Saturday, and Tracy had a chat with every one of them. One group of older guy hikers coming down the mountain were really nice and when they found out we were thru hiking forced us to take their trail mix and a power bar. We were also stopped by a park ranger for our permits. Finally a reason for carrying the weight of the paper was justified.
This was definitely the most enjoyable day so far. The views incredible and the Alpine scenery beautiful. Some if the trees were amazing. Lots if character. It was like being an ant walking through my dads bonsai collection.
With all the photo taking and chatting we walked for 11.5 hours. Good news is I may have located the source of my ankle pain.. my shoes. duh! I chopped the peaks off the ankle support part of the shoe and I'm hoping I'll be back to normal foot health pronto.
Camped in howling wind in soft pine needles. There's a storm a comin.
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