PCT: Day 36

We woke up at our second, much more peaceful campsite, to a beautiful sunrise. After a quick breakfast we hit the trail for what would be another several miles of continous climbing. The hike for today was either going to end 12 miles later at a National Forest campground, or if we really felt good, 17 miles later with a hitch into Wrightwood. The climb was beautiful, but exhausting, and the lack of sleep the night before didn’t do us any favors.

We ended up camping at Guffy campground, about 5 miles from Wrightwood. The wind was blowing pretty strongly when we arrived so we set the tents up behind large downed trees which seemed to give good shelter. The wind increased after dark with gusts likely over 45mph. Blue Lizard and Bat Boy were in the Duplex which held up just fine despite the intense noise of flapping tent walls in the wind. Rockhopper and I were not so lucky. Our tent first collapsed around 10:30 and despite efforts to reinforce the stakes with the biggest rocks we’ve used yet, it was a lost cause. We gave up and packed the tent up while getting sandblasted and trying not go let it blow away.

It was too windy to cowboy camp so we took the only option left (other than sleeping in the bathroom) and piled into the Duplex. If you’re wondering how four people fit in a small two person backpacking tent, the answer is uncomfortably. We managed to get some very cramped sleep while waiting for morning so we could hurry to town.