Miles 1220-1235 (15 miles)
Elevation 6,454'
So, we woke up this morning and it was wet inside the tent. Condensation. WTF. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a double walled tent? Ok maybe I should explain so you all know what I've been complaining about the last few days. Lol.
So, 4 season tents are double walled to protect against really bad weather. Like a snowstorm or a crappy rainstorm. Its much warmer than a single walled tent (what most tents are). And it also prevents condensation from dripping all on the inside of the tent. With a regular single walled tent, whenever it's really cold and/or moist outside the tent and really warm inside the tent, condensation will develop on the inside wall of the tent. And if you get enough condensation inside the tent, it starts dripping, as if it was raining inside the tent. Which really sucks if you have a down sleeping bag, like both of us do. down does not insulate when it's wet, and it doesn't just automatically dry like a synthetic sleeping bag does. Down weighs less than synthetic bags do, hence they are popular amongst thru-hikers. So basically if you get a down sleeping bag wet, you're screwed. Therefore it's nice to have a double walled tent, so it will condensate on the outside layer, not the inside layer, and theoretically you stay dry.
So we woke up this morning and the inside of the tent was wet in some parts. Blah!! >:( doesnt that kind of defeat the purpose of having a double walled tent? Arg. I never got this much condensation in my notch tent!! Because it was not enclosed so it wasnt ever warm enough on the inside for any major condensation to occur. Arrrg. So I gotta figure out how to ventilate the tent while avoiding too much condensation. Blah. This tent is such a pain in the ass. It's *really* cool yet really annoying. Its great if i was camping consistently in snow. Thank goodness im not. Plus it's bright frickin yellow. I suppose people that buy 4 season tents use it primarily for that 4th season, otherwise they'd just get a regular 3 season tent. And maybe people that camp in snow like to have a very visible tent. It just is annoying for me as a thru-hiker because I like to be subtle. Plus, stealth camping is now out of the question. Oh, for any future pct thru-hikers, make sure you get a tent that is earth-toned. At some point you will probably have to stealth camp, ie camp somewhere you're not supposed to. Having a tent that blends in with the earth is nice. Unless you cowboy camp, but if the weather is crappy, cowboy camping will suck. So get an earth-toned tent. :)
Ok, enough whining about the tent. Lol. We didn't get going today til about 1pm. Blah. We still got 15 miles in though, so that was cool. This morning we were camped by a dirt road. A bunch of jeeps rolled up, it was so cool. 2 CJs (on the right) and a YJ (on the left). They were all white. I took a pic. Baaaaah. I miss my jeep. :(. Especially with all these epic jeep roads we've been passing the last couple weeks. I have a white yj like the one in the pic. Except mine has no top and its not as white and has more rust holes. Lol. Other weekend car campers rolled by too. One of them had a super cute doggy!! :) Must be a popular area. But yeah, it took a while for us to leave. It was just one of those days...
All day today we were leap frogging with this one guy named Jeff. He is so cool, really great energy and attitude. We first saw him at Red Moose Inn. Anyhow, a couple weeks ago he was hiking with Hee Haw, Problem Bear, and Kindergarden Cop for a while. That is such an epic combination of hikers. Lol. Anyhow, one of those guys pointed out what a rag tag bunch of hikers they were: an ex cop (Kindergarden cop is a retired LAPD officer), an ex convict (Jeff was previously in prison), a hillbilly, and a hobo (problem bear kinda looks like a bum lol). Those guys are so funny. Wish they were around, they'd be so awesome to hike around. Defintely some of my favorite hikers on trail. They are so awesome and they all have such a great and mellow attitude, and are hilariously funny. But k cop and problem bear haul ass. It's funny, Jeff was saying, Problem Bear looks like he's just lumbering down the trail when he hikes but in reality, he walks really fast. Looks like the PCT Men's Support Group has some new members. Lol.
Does anyone know what that fluorescent green moss on the tree is? I took a pic of it. It is all over the trees in this area, since Tahoe. Seems like a parasitic thing, since a lot of the branches of a tree that the moss is growing on look dead, whereas branches on the same tree without the moss look much more healthy. Hmm.
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