Thursday May 22, 23.4mi/37.7km

Sweet Ridge PCT (224.4/5870ft) to Robin Bird Spring (246.7/6320ft) (CA) +1.1mi correction

I slept in a little later, probably because of weird dreams, Voldemort taking over the White House and nobody really complained. It was a pretty warm morning, and just as I was finishing packing, a hiker passed me.

I basically spent all day hiking along a ridgeline, with heaps of views and not much water. Though I did pass the Golden Oak spring about 3 miles into the day.

The trail kept criss-crossing with dirt roads and at one of the sunnier spots I saw this enormously long snake.

It’s definitely not a poisonous one but I’m curious what type. It felt like I had the trail to myself as I hiked along the well manicured PCT.

Cool lizard.

In the distance to the east I could see a little bit of smoke, but also the red fire retardant they had dropped on the ridge.

A mile later I had a better vantage point, and I could see a little bit of smoke but it looked like they had the Jaw fire mostly under control.

Up at an elevation of 6,000 ft, the trail passed through some nice meadows.

They were filled with friendly soft grasses, not those spiky desert grasses that get stuck in your socks and shoes. More epic views.

Every time I stopped today a few hikers would pass me, and then I would Leapfrog with them when they stopped. I did end up hiking with Jen for a couple of hours, she is from north of the Bay area and has done a bunch of hiking around California and has started to look elsewhere.

And I probably met the one other person on the PCT who has also hiked part of the Bigfoot Trail. She stopped early to camp, and then I ran into an Aussie hiker, and I had fun chatting with him about all the trails over there, we both agreed the Larapinta was our favorite Australian track. He pulled over to camp right at the 600 mile mark.

I forgot about these little markers! I should start making them for the Hot Springs Trail, ha! A couple miles later I passed by a creepy little metal shack, there were a bunch of unfriendly signs and it felt like it was inhabited by some sort of doomsday prepper.

Weirdly there was also a big sign with the ten commandments on them which just seemed very inappropriate, and trashy in this pristine natural environment. The rest of the trail was nice and green.

At the end of the day I stopped at Robin Bird Spring.

I setup my tent at the junction before walking down the little side trail to the spring, where I collected 4 liters for tomorrow’s hike. I also met 19 PCT hikers camped right at the spring, they were all very friendly but it felt a little overwhelming. I returned to my nice quiet campsite. a couple hundred yards away.

I might have to return to the spring in the morning and collect more water, I leave the PCT tomorrow and the next reliable water source is uncertain.