PCT Day 13: Head Bobbin and a Robin spring

Day 13 5-31-2015  Sleep 130-300
Miles 575 – 626 

            Still dark, kind of cool.  Lets do this!  Yea, I am the kind of person that jumps out of bed half the days.  Sure it was only a 90 minute nap, but that is enough for my battery.  I was flying along a smooth road enjoying the cool breeze.  The twilight and sunrise was pretty, but I would have taken another eight hours of darkness.  I got water at the Golden Oaks spring and knew, twenty miles until Robin Bird Spring.  Just get to Robin Bird spring then you can nap with water.  It was so hot, there were trees, but most were burnt dead wood and provided no shade.  Time slowed down.  My legs slowed down.  My thoughts raced.  I thought it was only twenty miles, haven’t I gone farther.  Geez.  Slurp slurp.  Wait what? I am out of water?  I check my bag.  Sure enough there is just the tough drops to get to, maybe an ounce or two at most.  No biggie, I should be there any moment now and then I can drink my fill.  Shouldn’t I? Oh sweet, 600 mile marker.  Wait, Robin Bird Spring is at mile 602.1  Okay only two more miles.  TWO MORE MILES.  That is like thirty-forty minutes.  I am thirsty now!  Ok then go faster.  True.  Faster I went.  It was good motivation and I was certainly moving faster than I had been the last few hours.  Now I was getting to the point where I knew I should see it any second.  I saw a couple and as I hiked up on them, “Hey, hows it going?” “good, you?” “great, just thirsty, cant wait to get to this spring?” “You mean the one you just passed?” “What?” “Yea it is like half a mile back that way” the girl speaks up “no it is like a tenth of a mile”  “Oh ok thanks”  I turn and leave kind of pissed…at myself.  But then I chuckle, so I am not the only one who gets distances totally wrong on the trail. 
Nice, but stay dark please!
So somewhere between a tenth of a mile and a half mile I am home free sweet.  Turned out to be about a tenth of a mile, maybe a bit more(once again women are better) I get to the spring and camel up.  I find shade among a group of younger male hikers, get the shoes off and feet up.  Time to rest/nap whatever I can get.  A feeling of relief came over me, as I made it, rough go, hot and dehydrated, but I made it.  The group of guys started asking me questions and we arrived at the fact that I was averaging about 49 miles per day.  Why do other hikers always want to know where you came from? Then, when did you start? I am a horrible liar and other hikers always quickly deduce that I am going for the record (I got to work on that). Why you ask? Well, I rather not have people know where I am as to reduce the chance of people tracking me down to “help” me with “trail magic” that is really just support.  This is the reason for the delayed posts, that is if I do have cell service, otherwise not having cell service builds in a nice natural delay.  As far as I heard; via rumor (so don’t quote me) Anish had problems with that on her trip.  It is not a huge problem, but it adds in a whole other obstacle that you don’t need and also brings questions to the validity of your trip.  I also know from experience as I ran into this on the AT last summer.  It’s a tough situation.  People are just trying to be nice and “help” you, but in reality they are hurting you (actually it is a shitty situation) So I am trying not to make this harder on myself.  Also, when people find out that you are hiking 40+ miles a day, they have a million questions to find out your secret.  Which, my secret is I am crazy.  There you happy?  So I answer some questions, and I am happy to, but I rather just get some shut eye and rest up for some night hiking.  One of the guys Cement decides he is going to wait until it is cooler and hike up bit.  So he is going to join me after this nap.  

We get up and get moving, slow at first.  Once we wake up, we jog the entire 14 miles to the Kelso Valley road cache.  We moved well together and talked most of the time.  It was nice for me.  I don’t get to talk to many people and to have a whole conversation about Ultras and FKTs, really made the time fly by. So much so, that we missed a water source.  We trucked on to Kelso Valley, praying it was stocked.  It was, what a relief.  Cement and I parted ways at the cache and I wished him luck on the rest of his hike and at the snowshoe championships next winter, which happen to be in Ogden just two hours north of where I live.  Back to being alone and lonely I felt.  The sun was going down and I was heading into a 40 mile section without any permanent or guaranteed water supplies.  I was carrying a lot of water just in case, but my plan was to hike most of it at night.  I was tired, but I got my legs into speed walk mode and actually covered ground quite well.  Around 100 I started my head bob again.  GEEZ I would like to make it through a whole night without sleeping, but I just cannot.  I carried on until I found a beautifully sandy spot already carved out for me and posted up for the night.  
Kelso Valley Rd a relieving sight 


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