Nathan Severson

Section Hike on the PCT

On May 25th I was dropped off at mile 26 on the PCT which is where it crosses I-8 near San Diego. My goal was to beat my longest hike so far, which was 12 days on the Arizona trail. I figured I could do this around the time I got to Palm Springs at I-10, where I could hop on a Greyhound and head back to Phoenix. At first I felt alone on the trail not really seeing anyone except a few hikers here and there. Then on the day I left Warner Springs I started to hike and camp with several of the same people each night. After awhile on the trail you start to notice that people get ahead of you or fall behind you only to have everyone meet again in the resupply towns. It was a good time so I decided to keep going until the last week of June. A total of 428 miles in 29 days. This would give me time to go back to Phoenix and get ready for the Colorado Trail. One thing I learned from another hiker on the PCT was that Colorado got 400% snowpack this year. Should be an interesting hike.

After coming down from Mt. Laguna it started to get hot and there was not a lot of water. Fortunately trail angels put water at this intersection along with the bridge at scissors crossing, before barrel spring, Mike’s place and Mary’s place. Without their help I don’t think the hikers could make it.

Mike is some guy I did not meet but his property is near the trail and he fills a huge water tank for hikers in a remote otherwise waterless location. The bubble is the large concentration of hikers that start in late April and early May. Apparently during peak season, when the bubble comes through, Mike’s place is quite the party. When I got there it was pretty much a ghost town except for about 6 other hikers I met that day. We camped in the yard and hung out on the porch. I was with most of these people on and off until my last day. I named us the late start crew.

Posted on Wednesday, June 26th, 2019 at 2:28 pm. Filed under: On The Trail RSS 2.0 feed.