Day 3, 25.0 miles!

Good morning! I slept MUCH better last night than I did on night one. My body was so exhausted I just passed right out. Also, it was actually cold which helped! Watch, later in the mountains I’ll be wishing it wasn’t so cold! Haha!

“What is this guy doing at 5:15am?!”

I woke up pre-five and was on the trail by 5:25! The morning was freezing cold! I woke up

In the beautiful meadow and thank goodness it was too cold for mosquitos! 

It’s hard to see but there’s a calf right behind this momma moose! 

I saw my first moose and calf within minutes. For some reason they headed straight for the trail in front of me once they heard me. They disappeared (I assume in the low gulch of bushes under the trail). I waited a few mins to be sure they were gone, but then as I continued along the trail she bellowed at me! They must’ve tucked in just below the trail! It had me moving away FAST! 😂

I soon saw a male moose about 40 feet off trail to my left… I was like wow that thing is tall…

AND THEN IT STOOD UP!! 

It must’ve been 7 ft if you include his antlers!! I went about 40ft off trail just to give him the most space. He did not break eye contact with me once. It was a surreal experience at to wipe the sleep out of my eyes! 

It was such a brisk morning I hiked in my warm layers, long merino bottoms, shorts on top, underlayer is my sleep top layer, with my sun hoody on top. Keeps me nice and toasty! My hands get so cold, of course I had my trusty gloves! 

Because I was hiking up the side of the valley, I didn’t get any direct sun until after 8am! Where as yesterday it hit me just after 6. Even though it was all uphill for the first 4 miles through the valley, it felt great in the cool and I had a great pace! Because of this I reached my first 10 by 10 at about 9:30! This is when you hike 10 miles before 10am! I don’t know how often I’ll be doing that out here because of the frigid mornings and high elevations, but it was a fun challenge to do on the PCT!

The trail was so awesome and cruisy today! It reminded me of the Oregon section of the PCT! It was soon that I came across Quinn who camped about 3.5 miles further than me, but I had about an hour head start with my early wake up time. I’m starting to see a pattern! 

Quinn

There were lots and lots of flowers today, and we started to see some first glimpses of the mountains we’ll be headed into in the next few days! 

This lone tree SAVED me on a particularly hot climb..

Claire would’ve loved this section! 

👀 

When I was 3.5 miles away from Kenosha Pass, I got some service. I check out the town of Jefferson on Google maps, and the one food spot in town (besides the market), closes at 3:00, and it was 1:31!! I had a decision to make and stat! Take my time and hitch down and do a simple resupply at the store, or race up the last hill and down for a cheeseburger! 

This wasn’t the first time I found myself running on trail for a town meal, and it certainly won’t be my last! 😂 I made it to Kenosha Pass in one hour, 3.5 mph hiking pace is fast! That’s 22 miles by 2:30pm, whew!! I saw Quinn but didn’t have time to chat much as I only had 30 mins to hitch down into town by 3! After 10 mins of no luck, a very nice lady and her sweet dog Charlie said “Hop in!” I made it down to the burger place with 10 mins to spare!! 

It was worth every painstaking step hahaha

After they closed I went across the street to the Jefferson Market. The owners are very nice and let me repack and recharge my phone and battery brick while I gathered a resupply for the next 35 miles. I filled up with water and even took a hobo shower! (Splashing water on my pits 🤣.

I got a ride back up with some section hikers who had just completed their section and were driving back up over highway 285 to where they live. They were very nice!

I pushed three more miles today, and it was lovely golden light and breezy through some aspens!

That’s Jefferson down there where I hitched for the food and resupply! 

I’m camping down in the tress tonight, where I know the bugs will be rampant, especially at Sunset o’clock, so this is where I stopped to brush my teeth and floss!

I push maybe 22 tomorrow and then 10 into Breckenridge on Friday where Claire will meet me to hang out/help me resupply for the next stretch! 

Thanks for reading! 

P.S. I was fine on food. I ate my last cold soak burrito and tortilla as a Hail Mary with 4.5 miles left to go. I arrived in town HUNGRY!