Day 4:

Date: April 5, 2015

Progress: 21.4 miles - tentsite (mi 61.7) to tentsite (mi 83.1)

Today was a hard day for me. We walked quickly this morning to a water source about 8 miles away from where we camped last night, then another 7 to Scissors Crossing, where there is normally a water cache. This year however, the cache was disestablished, so we needed to hitchhike into Julian, CA to get water. It was a 12 mile hitch on the 78. I was by myself, and got picked up by Amanda and Phil, a young couple from the area. Amanda knew about the PCT and convinced Phil to stop for me. 

After arriving in Julian, I went to Mom's pies, where I received some free apple crumb pie, vanilla ice cream, and iced coffee! They have a special free food deal for PCT hikers. I also found Keenan and Michael there. We charged up our devices, filled our water bottles, and then proceeded outside to try to hitch back to the trail. We got really lucky, and a couple guys with a giant passenger van picked us up at the gas station in Julian and brought us back to the trail. 

We then hiked another 6 miles to a tentsite that was by far the dodgiest place we'd slept as of yet. The wind was blowing at around 30 mph and staying warm was not easy. To make matters more difficult, there was a 40% chance of rain starting at 4 am. Michael and Keenan set up their shelters, but I decided to sleep under the stars and to just be ready to pack up quickly and start walking if things got hairy. 

The desert thus far has had a surprising amount of life, but when I descended the mountain and walked the final couple miles to the highway, the opposite seemed true. Everything was hot, burnt looking, dead looking, and was either spiky or had something that would cling to your clothing and skin if you touched it.