I woke up today and knew I would climb a mountain. It wiped the sluggish morning feeling clean out of me. I was excited, yet still lacking my usual energy. I walked 11 miles to the trail turnoff for Thielsen and began the steep climb. It started as steep trail, transitioning to walking on loose rock and then finally the scramble began. It was only the last short distance, but I left my pack at the bottom of the scramble. It was like climbing a difficult Colorado 14er those last few steps. Hands, feet, a sharp whit, and a strong hold were all required to Summit the pointy peak. But I summited after and hour and spent a good half hour on top. The climb down was straightforward and a practice in continually catching my balance. Once back on the PCT, the day went downhill fast. My stomach has been touch and to for the last couple weeks, and today it was a lot more touch than go. I felt awful, with every bad symptom presenting itself. At 5 I couldn’t hike, so I set up my tent to keep the mosquitos out and slept for an hour. Feeling only marginally better when I woke up, I decided to fight through a few more miles. Hopefully this feeling of prolonged food poisoning feels better in the morning. A new summit and stomach issues, today had a bit of everything.
Miles 31
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