PCT Day 31: Oh Deer

Day 31 6-18-2015     Sleep 100 – 400

Miles 1401 – 1429

            Last night when I dropped off the bluff, the trail turned to Basalt with some sand mixed in.  Basalt tends to be pretty sharp and very grabby.  I was struggling along the trail, the sun was just coming up and it was already hot.  I knew this would be rough on my feet, but the entire time my feet felt pretty good.  All of a sudden, there was an intense pain coming from the bottom of my left foot.  I figured I had got something in my shoe and was now steeping on it.  Upon taking the shoe off, I could not find the source.  Next I took off the sock and realized the problem.  Just a nickel size blister in the middle of my fore foot.  No biggie, I will just drain it and be on my way. 

So I got my Neosporin out and jammed my toe nail clippers in (I had lost my knife some time in the last day).  I couldn’t get to it.  It was hot and the feeble attempts at draining the blister were making me some what nauseous.  I decided that I couldn’t reach the blister through the callous on my foot.  I would have to sit here with the toe clippers and dig through the callous to get to the blister.  I decided I would eat a little snack to settle my stomach.  I got to work and slowly got to the blister.  Well, one of the blisters.  What I didn’t realize was it was actually a few blisters on top of each other and around each other.  So I kept digging until I drained the last one.  I thought I was going to throw up the entire time.  Now I have a nickel size hole in my left foot.  No big deal, I will just let it dry and harden then be on my way.  I had cell service so I figured I would call my brother while my foot dried and that he would calm me down.  He didn’t answer.  So I called my friend Laura.  I figured she would have some great advice being an ultra runner and trainer.  Also, seeing how I hadn’t talked to her in a long time, we would have a lot to catch up on.  Laura was the person who got me into ultra running seven years ago and so I think I should blame her entirely for my current predicament.  Kidding.  We had a nice conversation and it helped me forget about my troubles for the moment.  After hanging up, I figured I would check my foot to see if it was dry and hardened up.  It wasn’t even close.  Pissed, I decided I would take a nap and let it sit out in the sun to dry.  After the first 90 minutes it was pretty dry, but I realized how tired I really was.  So I decided to give it another 90 minutes, harden really well and I can hike later into the night.

So I woke up from my nap.  Put an extra sock on tripled over the front of my foot where the blister was and I was on my way.  I was limping at first, but then I realized the foot didn’t really hurt, so I stopped.  I was motivated and moving well, as I had ground to make up.  I hit the Wild Bird Spring trail magic. Which was an entire camp set up for hikers to stay, shower, eat up and heal in any way possible.  If only I had made it here before dissecting my foot I thought.  I would have loved to take advantage of the hospitality but now I was in a hurry.  I had a can of beans and some soda.  Grabbed some more soda and candy bars for the road and kept moving.  As I hiked away I couldn’t help but laugh about my day.  If only I had been a little further, it would have been a perfectly timed break.

I made good pace for the rest of the evening, but once again was head bobbing.  I guess it is time for me to sleep.  I only made it 28 miles today, but I think I avoided a disaster and being off the trail all together.  I wasn’t too upset and was satisfied with how I handled the situation.  As I went to make my bed for the night, I had the sense that there was an animal close by.  As I scanned around, I saw it.  A little ball of fur laying only ten feet away.  A baby deer?  There was no momma deer around, so I moved in for a closer look.  Oh crap, it is a baby deer.  It was breathing hard and it seemed to me that it was only born not too long ago.  I thought it might get up and try to run away.  But as I got closer and closer, it just laid there totally still, breathing hard.  I took a few pictures and pet it real quick.  Wow, this is amazing I thought.  I figured either mom would come back soon or a mountain lion might smell a snack, so I walked a bit further and set up camp.  What a day.  I got to pet a baby deer in the wild, how many people can say that? Alright! And I went to bed almost entirely forgetting about cutting my foot open earlier.

Really wish I didn't have to kill this baby deer

I am not kidding!  Killed it with my bare hand

*Note: No baby deer's were murdered in the making of this story. I had a few comments about how because I touched the baby deer it lead to it being abandoned or eaten by a mountain lion.  You're welcome family I saved from hitting this deer with your car in a year or so...if we are predicting the future.