After a double zero, I leave Shasta with a new heel lift in one of my shoes, hyperaware of the tiny biomechanical changes this causes in both legs. We pass Castle Crags and I lament not being able to side quest it the way I had planned. A shorter, 17-mile day and staying at one of my favourite campsites ever: mile 1520, that corner ledge with incredible views of Castle Crags and Mount Shasta.
My knees are a neverending cycle of being okay for a couple of hours and then awful for a couple of hours. I spend most of my breaks doing rehab exercises, ‘icing’ my knees with my CNOC water bladder, and reapplying KT tape.
At Porcupine Lake, we go for a dip, rinse our clothes, dance in the water, and nap in the shade. Randomly running into the desert trail crush at camp, our faces mirror images of surprise. Forgetting to start my watch for the day because I was distracted by a smile. Running into a fun trail family celebrating Hot Pink’s birthday and I enjoy one of the mini cupcakes they carried out of town.
A short burn section feeling easy because any burn section feels easy once you’ve fought through the Dixie Burn. Looking forward to uphills now because the incline is easier on my knees. Naming our foursome The Fellowship of the Spring because we catch each other at all the water sources.
My knees feeling terrible on the three-mile descent into Etna so I’m crying while hiking again and this is just not how the PCT is supposed to be.
Doing the dance of the day in the middle of an empty highway before hitching to town in the back of a truck. Wearing rain gear to do laundry, surrounded by fellow hiker trash. My hiker hunger making an intimidating appearance, devouring my meal and everyone else’s leftovers and two desserts.
After leaving Etna, a beautiful section feels quintessentially like the Cascades, getting me excited for Washington in a few weeks. Meeting Mastermind, chatting about chess and climbing and Squamish. Clambering through blowdowns with The Pups, each of us tackling the downed trees in a different way. A section full of so many good people, one of my favourite little bubbles.