Day 10 - Mile 2267 Dry Camp

I watered up at Midway Creek at 11 am today because I'm looking at a potential 15 to 20 mile chunk of trail with no guarentee of water. I'm gonna guess there will be useable water out there but the desert put the fear into me and I can't seem to stop carrying extra water. 

Especially when I come across a natural spring like Lava Spring. Early this morning I encountered a wonderful sight. There was a pool of water and filling the pool was the most beautiful water coming right out of the side of a hill of lava rock. Reportedly the best water on the whole PCT. 

Around noon today I was rounding a bend in the trail (I was whistling as usual) when I looked up and saw the side, then rear end of a black bear. As soon as it caught sight of me it hightailed it down the trail. Wow. My first bear sighting of the trip. My guess is I'll see more since the huckleberries are coming in now. Better keep whistling...

For some reason I was mentally and physically sluggish today. It didn't help that the bugs were unrelenting and I had to cover myself up, all but my hands. It's too hot to wear a bug netting on top of everything else but it's either that or apply mosquito repellent. I do wear bug juice on my hands but so far have avoided putting it anywhere else. 

Probably another reason I'm sluggish is that I don't really sleep enough at night to get that good quality rest I need. Like last night I laid down at 7:30 pm but didn't go to sleep till 9:30 or 10. Then I woke up at 2 am (because of the stiffness and pain in my shoulders and legs from being still for so long) then I doze till my alarm goes off at 4:30 am. So while I rest for a long time I don't sleep as much as needed. But that's the way it is out here for me. It could change as time goes on. 

This afternoon the trail itself was tough as there were at least, really no exaggeration, 30 downed trees, or piles of trees, blocking the trail which required climbing over them or climbing above or below to get around and back to the trail. It's gonna take a lot of work to get this cleared up! For example ...

What a mess!

So when I got to this funky campsite, even though it was only 3:30, I decided to park it for the evening. I even ate dinner early and am now inside the tent, resting and keeping the bugs at bay. I only walked a bit over 14 miles today but that was as much gas as I had in the tank. 

The good news is I'm now in

Goat Rocks Wilderness. Tomorrow will take me out of these hot, buggy, no-view woods and into open, craggy lands. Can't wait to see it.