Day 18

Mile 285.6 to mile 310.5

PCT Miles: 24.9 (39.8km)

Total Miles: 310.5 (496.8km)

I slept super good. I even overslept a bit and left camp around 7:30. Before leaving, I saw Hanne (a girl from Belgium who’s part of the first group I hiked with) and we talked a bit. She will hike the PCT only for 2 months, so she’s skipping some parts. She skipped Mission Creek so she didn’t get sick. I heard today that Clara (she’s +/- 2 days behind me) also got sick with the water 😞.

There were some river crossings today. Each crossing comes with its own challenges. Some you have to cross with your shoes, some it’s better to go barefoot. Sometimes you can find rocks and tree branches and somehow make your way to the other side without getting wet. Sometimes it’s better to use the hiking poles, sometimes it’s better to store them in the backpack. On every crossing you have to remember to make wise decisions.

Now that there’s not much elevation gain and water isn’t an issue, I’ve been able to hike a little bit faster. Even though today for whatever reason I hiked a bit backwards by accident, I was able to fish the day with almost 25 miles. That’s a record for this trip 🏆!

When I arrived at where I intended to camp, all spots were taken. I had to keep walking a bit more and found a very solitary place for my tent. It’s super cool and the sound of the water is very loud here. Also, it’s winding a bit too much for my taste. Hopefully the wind won’t blow my tent away 🙏!