May 3 – day 25 – camped mile 378.2 – hiked 8.4 miles
I get out to breakfast early because I want to have some time to digest before I meet my sister for lunch. I ate with Dave, another thru-hiker. After that I picked up my food at Agua Dulce. It was wonderful to see my sister Lauri again. We all had ortega burgers for lunch. Afterward I was dropped off on the trail again. I decided to campe on the top of Baden Powell (9,406 ft). It was a gorgeous evening with the rising full moon to the east and setting sun to the west. The shimmering lights of LA were below me and the full moon, starts and planets of the rest of the universe were above me.
May 4 – day 26 – camped mile 395.2 – hiked 19 miles
It was another great day walking on or near ridge line with great views over an LA basin filled with low clouds. There was a detour on the Angeles Crest highway around some habitat for the endangered Mountain Yellow Legged Frog. It was Monday so there was almost no traffic.
May 5 – day 27 – camped mile 418.2 – hiked 23 miles
It was another great walking day with cool weather. It was strange not seeing a single hiker all day until just before camping for the evening.
May 6 – day 28 – camped mile 437.4 – hiked 19.2 miles
I woke up soaked from the fog. Passed thru the burn area from the Station fire. This area has lots of exotic Poodle Dog Bush which on contact apparently causes a severe rash. Lots of it had been cleared from near the trail since my 2013 walk.
Out of the blue around mid-day I got a call informing me that I had been accepted for a design engineering position at Boeing in the Seattle area. I had applied to this just before I left Seattle. It was a late answer to my prayers as I had been trying to get an engineering job for over a year. It was great news for me financially but it meant the PCT was now over for me this year. I’ll be working in two weeks.
I shall return to the PCT!
May 7 – day 29 – camped mile 444.3 – hiked 6.9 miles
I had a troubled night’s sleep. I had loads of things on my mind about all the things I needed to do to transition from walking to working. I was excited about being able to see my partner Hillary and spending another glorious summer together on the houseboat. I was profoundly disappointed that I had to get off the trail. I was in excellent condition and feeling fantastic. The weather was cool, perfect for walking.
The short morning’s walk to the Acton KOA was unremarkable except for the cold. There was a storm front moving through that would result in snow levels down to 5,000 feet in the mountains of Southern California starting this evening. There were loads of thru-hikers at the KOA. I told people that I was getting off the trail here and received many condolences. At the appointed hour of noon my sister Lauri picked me up and I transitioned out of the hiking universe.