Woke in a cloud this morning - literally. Very hazy and breezy, cloud(s) drifting over the tent - everything is wet.

Hiked through the blustery clouds until we reached a high point where you could see the sunrise through the clouds.

Clouds remain whispy and fast moving over the mountain. Sometimes blue sky peaks through, mostly hazy cloud hiking - delightful.

Hike into an area that is burned out from past fires - many charred remains. A plant called stinky poodle bush pops up and thrives following a fire and it’s everywhere! It has a very distinct smell with long stalks and shaggy leaves with purple flowers - kind of similar to a marijuana plant. MOST have an allergic reaction to the plant when it comes into contact with your skin.

Hiking through a burn area can feel like mission impossible when trying to avoid the stinky poodle bush - I believe that my wet pants (from cloud moisture and pushing through wet plants) may have come into contact with the stinky poodle bush because I have a weird burning rash on my right thigh…😶

To avoid the stinky poodle bush and all the wet overgrown plants obscuring the trail we’re taking a short road walk parallel to the trail.

A jackrabbit had the same idea as us and hopped ahead of us on the trail - he’s so big!

Stopped for breakfast on the road and the sun has come out in full force now - burned off most of the morning clouds.

Filtered water from a stream and continued hiking - more burned out areas with skeletal tree branches poking up in the air.

Terrain transitions to pine forest overlooking the desert valley below.

Stopped for lunch and pulled out all of our wet gear (from the morning clouds): tents, sleeping bags, clothes and layed them in the sun to dry out while we relax and eat.

Mile 500

We’ve reached mile 500 on the PCT!!! 🥳

Hiked up to a rolling oak grove, grasses and an odd multicolored plant (green, yellow, pink, orange) line the edges of the trail and forest floor.

The trail combined with an old rutted out forest road and provides more views of the valley below. You can see the solar fields and windmills dotting the valley floor.

Made it to Horse Spring Campground and set-up tents. There’s a picnic table to we made dinner and hung out with other hikers - hummingbird and Katriona.

Sunset was fabulous and visible through the trees.

Great reception here - talked with Steven for quite a while on the phone - count down to Tahachipi and Steven time!!

A group of young/loud hikers came in pretty late and made quite a bit of noise - sounds like maybe they’re drunk 🤔

@ 4854 ft. Elevation