PCT: Days 147-149

We didn’t do much these three days besides relax and hangout at Matt and Jessi’s house with them and the Daleys. There isn’t much to cover from these days so I’ll instead use the space to explain what a typical day on trail looks like.

A Day on Trail

We usually wake up somewhere from 4-6am depending on the forecast and how many miles we need to cover. Hotter days are earlier, and cold days are later. Waterboy is always the first up and has the chore of trying to get everyone else up. On mornings with enough time he also makes coffee in an attempt to lure Blue Lizard to the land of the waking. Similarly, if we have time to make breakfast we will. This usually isn’t more than a breakfast shake or hot granola with fruit. Otherwise we’ll grab a quick snack or bar and get moving.

Once on trail we try to make it at least 2-3 miles between breaks. Depending on how everyone’s feeling, breaks are usually a 10 minute break with packs on or a 30 minute break with packs off. We don’t usually take more than two 30 minute breaks over a day. We try to make it 6-8 miles before we stop for lunch which we usually try to have under shade. Lunch ranges from crackers with meat and cheese to bean dip with Fritos to PB&J. On hot days we’ll take a siesta for a couple hours during the afternoon.

We try to make another 7-10 miles after lunch, usually hiking into the evening to take advantage of the cooler hours. We usually get to camp after 6pm. Blue Lizard gets the stove and food out and makes dinner while the kids setup tents and Waterboy collects and filters water, assuming we’re at a water source. Dinners are almost all some sort of rehydrate backpacking meal, some of which we made and some we purchased. Some nights we skip the tents and cowboy camp, especially if we’re planning an early start the next morning. We don’t really have fixed tent assignments. The original plan was for the parents to take the Triplex and the kids to take the Duplex, but we’ve slept in every combination possible.

Once dinner is done and tents are up we prep for the next day. A lot of this involves using the Farout app to plan water sources, campsites, and mileage. If we’re planning an early start we’ll try to get the next day’s snacks and breakfasts organized before bed. Bedtime is usually no later than 8:30 which is our hiker midnight.