Tie a Bow On the Flip - Days 92 - 98

Day 92

Zero Day

I spent the morning in Bishop getting random things done. I had to return my socks because they had holes in them again, I went to the DMV to renew my license and I went to Enterprise to arrange a rental car. It really wasn’t a pleasant morning. I guess anything that includes DMV is not ideal. I had the weirdest experience at the rental car place. There were a bunch of people there and all talking kind of loud and I started to feel really uncomfortable. My head felt like it was going to explode! I think all the time up in the quite, peaceful Sierras made me feel that way. It made me a bit worried about getting off trail and not being the same...

In the afternoon the guys and I drove up to Reno where we are going to spend the 4th of July. Nick, Bradlyn and their roommate Kevin were all kind enough to let all 5 of us crash at their new house for a couple nights!

Day 93

Zero Day

Today is the 4th of July! It was kind of cool being with 8-Ball, Waston and Holmes because they are all from Europe. They were all excited to celebrate the 4th in America and see some fireworks. During the day we hit up an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant and devoured pounds of sushi.

After sushi we had a couple of other hikers join us in Reno. Piss Puff and Angel Baby both hitch hiked from Sonora Pass and wanted to hangout for the 4th as well! We all packed in an uber and headed down to downtown Reno and enjoyed a night on the town.

Day 94

Mile 1500.8 to mile 1511.5 ~ 10.3 Miles

At about 8:30 Carl, whom I met when I was in Lake Tahoe, made an extremely generous offer. He offered to drive down to Reno, from Tahoe, and pick all us hikers up and drive us 4 hours to Castella. He then turned around and drove back to Tahoe. I can’t believe the generosity of people who are willing to help me on this journey. After he dropped us off at the trail head it was time to start hiking NORTH again! It felt great and now I am back in the right direction to get to Canada!

Day 95

1511.5 to mile 1539.7 ~ 28.2 Miles

Hiking in Northern California is a whole different ballgame than the Sierras. The terrain is so much easier and the climbs are a piece of cake in comparison. I am excited to crush out the miles while enjoying a easier way of hiking. I found myself hiking and not thinking about the actual hiking which is always fun! I had a moment where I started to see the end of my journey. I think I should be done in less than 2 months and the though of this ending is surreal.

Day 96

Mile 1539.7 to 1568.8 ~ 29.1 Miles

Today really didn’t have much going on. The terrain was easy and I crushed 29 miles, but I have been hiking with some guys that have been a blast and we have gotten to know each other really well. I thought it would be cool to talk about them a bit. Skipper is from SD, went to college up in Portland and his family is who we all stayed with in Mammoth. 8-Ball is from the Czech Republic, works in IT and I have been hiking with him off and on from the beginning. Sherlock Holmes and Watson are both from the UK, they are engineers and they met each other in college and came out here to hike the PCT together. We have all hiked with each other for a few hundred miles now and I’m hopeful we can stick together even though I know it will be difficult.

Day 97

Mile 1557.7 to mile 1594.0 ~ 25.3

I am in a weird funk. I was told that some people get a little down and depressed when they hit the half way point. I guess when the realization of doing what you have just done all over again it can be daunting. I know that is not the case, but I think that I am feeling a little let down after completing the Sierras. Not saying that Northern CA isn’t beautiful but it’s hard to stand up to the High Sierra. I have also been in the state of CA for 97 days and I think I am ready to get across the state border and experience Oregon. I have about 100 miles to go until I hit Oregon and I’m hopeful that I snap out of this and feel rejuvenated!

Day 98

Mile 1594.0 to Etna ~ 5.6 Miles

I had a quick, Short morning before I found myself on the road trying to hitch hike into Etna. This ended up being one of the more difficult hitches that I have had so far. It took about 30-45 minutes before a nice older gentleman pulled over and gave me a ride into town. Once in town I did what I do best out here... eat.

The place where I am staying the night has a scale so I stepped on and assessed the damage. I looked down and saw 149.5 lbs.... this is about 28 lbs lighter than when I started. I have not weight in the 140’s since probably 9th or 10th grade. It’s scary and it sucks. I know all my muscle is just withering away. I continue to try to eat as much as possible but I can only do so much.