Miles 769-786 (17 miles)
Elevation: not high enough to be rid of Mosquitos >:(
Ok. Today was not fun. Ugh! Two reasons: 1)BUGS, 2)elevation gain/loss/gain/loss/BLEH. Sorry I only got 4 pics. It was a tough day and I just didn't have the mental capacity to take a lot of photos.
Anyhow, let's start with something more positive :). It was really pretty today. Lots of lakes. The lakes at this lower elevation (8,000-10,000') are a lot different from the lakes at alpine altitudes like the ones from a couple weeks ago, when we were going over the tall mountain passes. The ones down here are kind of greener and not as clear. I think the water and weather at the high elevations are so cold that algae and bacteria can't really grow, so the water is so clear. Here the lakes are more opaque and has algae and odd looking things growing in them.
And the mosquitos. Oh dear god they SUCKED. I had to use a lot of deet which I really didn't like to do because I know it's so bad for you. Bleh. I don't want cancer. :( but the mosquitos were frickin driving me nuts. Oh, on top of that, when I was at the lake yesterday I got eaten alive by the flies. I got not in the foot so bad, my left foot was swollen this morning. UGH. It looked like I had a bubble foot. And it itched like CRAZY. Uuuuuuggh.
Physically, its easier for me to do one long continuous incline and decline, as opposed to the constant up and down and up and down. Today was physically really tiring for me, and we only did 17 miles! When we were going up and over those big mountain passes in the high sierras, it wasn't as tough as today, where we were going up a thousand feet, down a thousand feet, several times throughout the day. I thought perhaps I was being a baby, but Kyle was pretty much dead at the end of the day too. So were all the other hikers around me. Phew! I thought I was just a pansy. Lol. :)
Anyhow, we finally made camp around 7:30/8. The last few miles were ridiculous. So frickin buggy. The whole time I was thinking, oh man we are so f**ked. And yes, we were indeed. There was nowhere bug-free to camp. So when I was setting up my tent we were debating whether to use my bugnet. We weren't debating the necessity of it (that part was obvious), but it was a question of whether we should have used Kyle's tent, because there was more room in it. My tent is a solo tent, but when we use only the vestibule it's really spacious and that's how we both fit under it. But when I also use the bugnet, it's pretty small. But we were both too lazy to throw up the other tent so we both cramed into my bugnet. Which is nuts because when I'm in here by myself with my sleeping bag, I'm almost maxed out on space. Eh. I'm too tired to care right now.
In the guidebook I'm using (Yogi's PCT trail and town guide), one of the hikers said this section we're in right now has always been the hardest (physically) for him. And the buggiest too. I've heard that from several past PCT hikers too. That kind of makes me feel better. At least I know it is genuinely difficult, and I'm not just being a baby about it. Lol.
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