the perfect day

Day 37 ~ miles 633 - 654.6

We woke up to a damp tent interior due to condensation.  It was cold, but fortunately pretty sunny, as we put our cold clothes on, still wet from yesterday.  We finished out the climb that had been interrupted by the rainstorm yesterday, and after that it was smooth sailing.  The terrain was gentle and easily lent itself to a quicker than usual hiking pace.  The weather was perfect, cool in the shade, and clouds lingered and protected us from the intense desert sun.  Our only complaint: we were hungry!  We were rationing our food to make it last all 7 days (which takes a lot of willpower), and our bellies were not happy.  My stomach growled all morning, and at times it was difficult to think of anything else.

Walker Pass would be our first stop for water after several waterless miles.  We raced down to the pass, and were pleasantly surprised to see Coppertone's camper down the hill...root beer floats!  We hiked off trail into Walker Pass Campground, where much more than root beer floats awaited.

We were greeted with sodas, fresh fruit, and 2 grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches (each).  Trail magic courtesy of the famed Yogi (Yogi wrote the Pacific Crest Trail Handbook..essentially the thru-hiker's bible!).  We hung around and chatted for awhile, and ended up staying for a dinner of spaghetti, bread, and salad.  Perfectly timed, as we were afraid that maybe we hadn't carried enough food out of town.

We hiked out of Walker Pass in a food-induced intoxication, only to witness the most beautiful sunset we've seen the entire trail, complete with panoramic views.  We hurried to find a campsite up on the ridge as storm clouds threatened.  We got the tent setup just as it started to rain, a perfect ending to the perfect day.  Now to see how our tent holds up in the rain.