PCT: Day 124

Let’s see, where to start. Was there less burn than yesterday? No. Was the trail less of a dust and ash pit than yesterday? No. Did it feel like I walked onto the set of a post-apocalyptic movie, or maybe some corner of hell? Yup. All joking aside, its hard to fathom just how large and devastating the Dixie Fire was until you spend days walking through its aftermath. I’ve been hiking through it for 2 days and still have another 40+ miles to traverse. It burned over 1,505 square miles. Trying to put that into perspective, the state of Rhode Island is only 1,214 square miles.

The hike itself was pretty easy today. I only had 15 miles to cover with modest climb and made it to the highway by 11am to hitch into Chester. The biggest event of the morning was passing the halfway point at 1,325 miles. This is on the 4 month anniversary of our starting date, and I’m on pace now to make it to Canada by mid-September. The journey obviously hasn’t quite gone to plan, but it’s been a blast so far and I’m looking forward to the next 1,325 miles. Well, maybe not the next 46 miles of burn, but you know what I mean.

I happened to walk up to the parking lot at the same time other hikers were getting dropped off and caught a ride to town immediately with Mimi. We talked about the fire and she recounted being terrified during it. Everything around Chester burned and she said the only reason it survived was air drops of fire retardant around the town.

Once in town I did what every thruhiker does in town. I ate a ton of food, including a gigantic milkshake from the Pine Shack Frosty. My hotel check-in wasn’t until 4pm so I had a few hours to kill. I needed to do some resupply shopping, but first needed to inventory my remaining food. I was going to do this at a park at the edge of town, but the shade under trees next to the grocery store parking lot was closer and worked just as well. I spent at least an hour and a half there getting caught up on the blog and talking to family.

After shopping I headed to the hotel. I forgot a couple items at the grocery and stopped at a Dollar General on the way back. While in line the woman behind me asked if I was a hiker. I was pretty much a wall of dirt from head to toe so it was obvious. It turned out she’s been driving hikers to and from trail. When I got to the checkout she insisted on paying for me. When I headed out she the stopped me in the parking lot and gave me money despite my objections. I’ve gotten a bit used to people offering time and rides, but this was a step further. I graciously thanked her and headed to my hotel.