PCT Part 7: Prognosis Negative

Day 31

Today’s trail miles: 17.8
Today’s actual miles walked: 13.6
Total miles: 197.2

Jess and I were both feeling a little defeated after making it just 13 miles over the past two days. It had been difficult terrain, sure, but that didn’t change the fact we hadn’t walked more than 10 miles in a day in two weeks.

Happily, my back pain subsided from a roar to a dull murmur after a good night’s sleep. We woke up in Andrew and Ella’s cabin slightly hungover (the $14 California Pinot was 👌) but in better spirits than the day before.

We ummed and ahhed about whether to take a zero, but decided to press on. I tried to remind myself it didn’t matter whether or not we felt demoralised, it only mattered that we kept going. That’s the secret to finishing the PCT: Don’t quit.

We spent the morning organising our massive resupply – six days of food – and cleaning down dirty gear. Our Sawyer Squeeze filter, which we use to treat our water, had slowed its flow rate to barely a trickle. We tried soaking it in vinegar overnight, but it didn’t help. It was pretty old, so we decided to replace it.

Andrew gave us a ride into town, where I bought a replacement filter. The salesman talked me into switching from Sawyer to a Katadyn BeFree, which apparently requires no back flushing and has a faster flow rate.

Then we were off to the Black Mountain Road trailhead, full packs groaning under the weight. The dirt road went straight up the mountain, but it felt like an escalator compared to the slushy snow and blowdowns of the days before.

The road serves as an alternate for those who want to skip the steep snow of Fuller Ridge. It is 7.1 miles long, but spits you out 11.3 miles further up the official PCT than you left – hence the discrepancy in today’s distances. It’s still closed to vehicles because of the snow, making it a peaceful walk up.

We stopped by a small waterfall about halfway up and had lunch. I collected water and tried out the new filter. It could fill a one litre bottle in about 45 seconds. My old Sawyer took five minutes of hard squeezing to filter the same amount. Score!

Patches of snow began to appear as we neared the top of the road. Then the road turned a corner and revealed a staggering view. One moment we were walking in a forest, the next we were staring 7000 feet straight down to the desert floor.

Mount San Gorgonio loomed behind the towns of Whitewater, Cabazon, and Banning. We could see all of them clearly, threaded together by a thin line that was Interstate 10. “I’ve had worse views from aeroplanes,” I told Jess.

We were both feeling good when we finally rejoined the PCT, so we decided to press on. We knew the next 15 miles were straight down – all the way to the desert floor. This would be a good opportunity to make miles.

We hiked our fastest pace yet, reaching a tent site halfway down the mountain right on sunset. We got our first view of the imposing north face of San Jacinto, which is still streaked with snow. Part of our reason for hiking so late was to put us within striking distance of the Mesa Wind Farm, which allows hikers to camp on their property and use their toilets and kitchen. Our big effort today means we should reach it by tomorrow night.

We met two new hikers at camp who had done Fuller Ridge that day. “It was fine for us,” said one of them, making me feel a little guilty for skipping it. “But the guy behind us fell 100 feet and ripped his pants.” Guilt absolved.

After weeks of spinning our tyres it felt great to put some real distance behind us today. Tomorrow is the 200 mile marker. I’m feeling good.

Day 32

Today’s miles: 9.8
Total miles: 207

The Santa Ana winds picked up shortly after sunset. They quickly grew to a roar, buffeting our tent all night long. Three times they yanked our tent pegs out of the ground, forcing me to scurry out of our warm sleeping bag to re-stake them.

My only sleep was in short snatches. An hour here, half an hour there. I finally got a solid 90 minutes after dawn, when the wind subsided.

I awoke to find all our stuff covered in fine sand. The day didn’t get a whole lot better from there.

We’d planned to hike 16 miles to the Mesa Wind Farm, where there is a bathroom, charging facilities, and even a freezer stocked with treats for sale.

It seemed a reasonable ask. The trail was all downhill to the desert floor, then flat most of the way to Mesa.

But the elevation profile didn’t tell the full story. The trail was rocky, treacherous, and on a sideways slope that forced us to hike in an awkward gait for miles and miles. Overgrown bushes left us with only a few inches of tread between us and empty air.

We stumbled constantly, and kicked rocks all the way down. Jess’s foot pain kept getting worse and worse, forcing us to slow down. Our mood was foul. The 200 mile marker was the only bright spot.

When we finally reached the desert floor, just nine miles in for the day, it was late afternoon. We had no hope of reaching the wind farm. Jess was hobbling again.

The towns of Cabazon and Banning were accessible from a nearby road. We hadn’t planned to visit them, but Jess clearly couldn’t continue. I booked a motel in Banning and called us an Uber.

We arrived at the motel feeling defeated. As soon as Jess walked into the lobby her foot seized up completely, refusing to take another step. It’s as if it knew how far it had to go to reach safety, and no more.

After a shower I helped her limp over to the Sizzler next door where we drowned out sorrows with cheesy bread and a bottle of rose.

The week of rest we took after Jess’s last flare-up had been for nothing. Clearly something else was at play.

Jess messaged Enia and Leo, our friends back in San Francisco. We decided to rent a car, then drive up to stay with them.

We went to bed feeling as dispirited as ever.

Days 33 – 39

We took three days to drive up the coast, stopping in San Luis Obispo and Salinas. We saw my old friend Steinbeck on the second night, sharing a pasta with his wife and visiting mother-in-law.

Heavy rains moved in as we left for San Francisco, turning the 101 into a deathtrap. Wrecked cars were everywhere on the hair-raising drive into the city. A pickup truck had somehow ended up on its roof. Two SUVs spun out in the centre lanes. A Mercedes knocked over a power pole before hitting a tree. A Tesla crashed through a fence and into someone’s backyard.

But we made it to the rental car place, and returned our Nissan Altima in one piece.

It was good to see Enia and Leo, even if it was under less than ideal circumstances.

On Monday, Jess had an appointment with an ortho clinic near Golden Gate Park. The practicioner poked and prodded Jess’s heel without eliciting much pain. Then she squeezed it from both sides.

“That hurts,” Jess said. “I think it’s bone,” concluded the ortho.

An X-ray confirmed our worst fears. Stress fracture. A light-coloured splotch that stood out from the bone around it.

Crutches for the next two weeks.

No hiking for six weeks.

Fuck.

Days 40 – ???

We’ve been bumming around Enia and Leo’s place for a few days now, trying to figure out what to do.

The first few days after the X-ray were rough. We felt aimless and dispirited. We avoided going out to save money (California is insanely expensive).

We needed to figure out how to while away six weeks without burning through our PCT budget.

I spent two days obsessively googling every cheap vacation destination in central America and the Caribbean.

We considered some of the safer tourist towns in Mexico, until the news broke that two men from our home state had been murdered while on a surfing trip in Baja California.

We settled on the Dominican Republic, where we’re told it’s possible to live cheaply and relatively safely.

So we booked a beachside apartment for three weeks, arriving in a couple of days.

Our mood has lifted a lot since the bad news about Jess’s foot. I’m excited to see the Caribbean for the first time, and looking forward to getting back on trail when Jess is healed up.

We’ll have to skip some miles if we’re going to make it to Canada, so we’ll probably get back on trail somewhere close to Kennedy Meadows.

I won’t be updating this blog much until then. See you on the other side!