DAY 112: RUSSIAN WILDERNESS

miles: 24.5

This post will not contain many photos and will mostly be a description of a very unique day on the PCT. The skies opened up and unleashed an insane amount of lightning and precipitation today, thus the reason for keeping my camera tucked away in my backpack. I am sad to say I wasn't able to capture the Russian Wilderness, mostly because it was one of the most gorgeous sections we've walked through all summer. We will definitely be coming back here and backpacking, it is outrageously beautiful! If you are curious as to just how beautiful it is, google search "Russian Wilderness" and you will get a small taste of just how dramatic these mountains are.

And today's weather made the scenery that much MORE sensational. But... I didn't capture it, and I apologize.

A storm brewing very early in the morning.

"What's up with these clouds? It's 7:00am"

A family of deer, YOU CAN SEE THE FAWN, although it is running away.

So... in short:



Today was wild.

After getting an early start, the three of us, as usual, hiked separately until about mid-morning when (me being ahead) I was stopped in my tracks by a family of deer in the middle of the path. They were seemingly un-phased by my approach and continued to graze as I walked toward them. This was my first fawn experience. We had a moment and I lingered around them long enough to have Manchurian and Ben catch up to me. We all got to glimpse this bold trio before the rain started.

The rain.

Oh man, the rain. We rain-proofed ourselves and our packs before moving on but soon there was thunder rumbling overhead.

We hiked like this for a while, just listening to the thunder, watching the lightning in the far off distance from our exposed, granite ridges. The trail contoured up and over many exposed, bald, rocky ridge tops, which was very disconcerting considering the impending storm of our own. It was drawing near.

Eventually we were back down in the trees and the sky went black. Just as we were about to pop out into an exposed field area near a spring, we saw the most gigantic lightning bolt any of us had ever seen. It slammed into the trees right in front of us and the thunder to follow was not thunder, but an instantaneous and deafening clap of sound like you have never heard before. That lightning was right on top of us.

At that moment the three of us yelled, covered our ears, and immediately booked it down the hillside towards a cluster of trees at a speed unknown to man. I didn't know any of us could run that fast with backpacks on, nor have I ever ran so fast in my life. This is when the marble sized hail was unleashed and we were being pelted with it as we scurried down to safety. Once under our trees, we waited.

And waited.

And grew colder and colder. The temperature had dropped significantly and we were suddenly very aware of the predicament we were in: must get warmer clothes on ASAP. This morning was balmy, thick and humid, but now it was teeth chatteringly frigid.

The storm passed and we moved on, only to be bombarded by storm after storm as we hiked over very thunderstorm-unfriendly terrain. Exactly the type of places you wish NOT to be during a storm. This led to a very slow going day, hopping between tree-covered section of trail, hiding from lightning, hail and rain, and constantly shifting temperatures. I was unnerved most of the day, but by the end of it, I was so determined to get to the town of Etna, that I abandoned all previous fears of lightning and ultimately (against better judgement) walked straight through some intense storms in some fairly exposed areas.

By the end of the day, my nerves were shot, I was beat, and in a bad mood. I would argue that today was one of the most difficult days for me on trail, physically and mentally. I was non-verbal by the end of it, and the last 4 miles seemed to last an eternity. Ben did his best to console me and keep my spirits up as we descended to the road at Etna Summit.

We. Made. It.

Down at the road we realized that the road was closed to all traffic except for locals due to the nearby fires. Great. This made hitching difficult and... well... actually it was our most difficult hitch yet. There were literally no vehicles (except for many cops/sheriffs/construction people/fire fighters) and the few that did drive by didn't want anything to do with us. It was also freezing at this point. It's insane how we can start our day hot and sweaty and end in all of our layers, shivering from the cold. I didn't even have the energy to stand on the road, so I plopped down in the gravel turnaround, laying flat on my back like someone who needed to be hospitalized.

Manchurian and Ben finally had success climbing up a hill to get cell service (!!!! life saving discovery, really, seeing as it was 6:00pm) and managed to reach the owner of the hostel in town, Alderbrook Manor. He was going to come and rescue us!

And that he did. We all piled into his truck with his pup and wound our way down to Etna, the cutest little town. He dropped us right off at the brewery in town so we could eat and celebrate our last "real" trail town in California the right way. There were plenty of other hikers there, some we hadn't seen in ages! We reunited with Dance Party and Focus, who we had been trying to catch up to forever.

Once full and happy, we walked back to the hostel and were pleased to find out that they miraculously had a room available in their quaint bed & breakfast! I almost died I was so happy. Ben and I retreated to our gorgeous room and had one of the best nights sleep on the trail.