Sunday, July 13-Heat, Uphill & Poison Oak

7,100 vertical feet of altitude gain in the first 20 miles of hiking from Belden. I started hiking at 6 am in an effort to beat the heat. The graphic above is a screen shot of a PCT GPS app on my phone. I started at the bottom left and hiked to the top right. The tent symbols are possible campsites, the tread symbols are road crossings (in this case a dirt road) and the drip symbols are water sources (a half full drip means a seasonal source that is not reliable). 

What you see above represents approximately 20 miles of trail and I hiked 24 miles today. I ended up camping in a location with no water. I planned for this possibility by eating dinner earlier at the last water source and bringing 2 liters with me for the evening and breakfast. The only downside to dry camping is I can't wash my feet and they are crazy dirty. I mean dirt is caked on my calves, the bottom of my feet and my toes. I had so much dirt in one shoe it had clumped up and I thought I had a rock in my shoe. My foot is actually bruised and sore where the clump of dirt was. I hope it feels better in the morning. In the morning, at the first water stop, I plan to wash my feet and socks. 

Tomorrow I reach the half way point on the Pacific Crest Trail!