May 1, 2016

Wrightwood to Jackson Flat Campground (mile 372.2)

Miles: 12.4 (8.8 PCT miles + 3.6 to PCT from Wrightwood)

Sleeping in a bed is good, but neither of us slept as well last night as we do on the trail. We believe this is due to a combination of over stimulation, going to sleep way too late and worrying about family.

We were excited to be heading back to the trail.

Our friends Josie and Matt drove us to Wrightwood and hiked with us up the very steep 3.6 mile Acorn Trail back to the PCT.

The sun was shining but there was a chill in the air.

We walked through neighborhoods and eventually reached the Acorn Trail. Once on trail we huffed and puffed with every step. We felt as if we hadn’t hiked at all the last 25 days.

We are carrying 6 days of food and our packs are heavy. Combined with the elevation gain meant we were struggling.

After about an hour and a half we reached the PCT junction.

Boy were we relieved! All four of us.

We hiked on another half mile to a dirt crossing, where we stopped for lunch with a beaitiful view of the mountains. Once again we enjoyed leftovers for lunch. We owe a huge thank you to Andy’s mom and his aunt for always making such scrumptious food.

Soonafter lunch, Josie and Matt walked back to the Acorn Trail. It was wonderful to be in their company and hike with them.

After lunch we felt really sluggish. We could barely move. Two zero days had turned our legs into cement. We pushed on, motivating one another and distracting each other with conversation until 5pm, when we made it to camp.

We are content with a relatively short day and excited to sleep early tonight.

There’s no one else here at the campground. Most people either hitched to Wrightwood or hiked past us tonight.

Most of the people we met on the trail today were new to us. Andy enjoys this but Laurie feels left behind.

We are all on different schedules and hike at different paces. And that’s OK. Laurie is working on warming up to this concept.

We ate dinner – more leftovers, snuggled, gave each other massages and laid in our sleeping bags listening to rain land on our tent.

Tonight we are grateful for adventurous friends and soft ground on which to sleep.