PCT Day 31 – PCT mile 420.8 to mile 440.2

May 5, 2026

Total PCT miles: 19.4

Non PCT miles: 0

Total: 19.4 miles / 31.2 km

Total elevation gain: 2723 ft

Total elevation loss: 5719 ft

Steps: 44720

Everything is damp or wet. It rained a lot last night considering the weather forecast was not calling for rain. On top of this I was again sleeping in a cloud. To make it worse it’s cold and I am cold.

I think one of the worst things about Thruhiking is putting on wet cold clothing in the morning. I am not carrying a lot of hiking clothing. I have one pair of pants, one hiking shirt (sun hoodie), two pairs of underwear and two pairs of socks. So when something gets wet it means embracing the suck of putting it back on wet the next morning and hoping the sun comes out to dry it out.

We set off around 0730 this morning still mostly encased in clouds. We found a “sunny” spot shortly after where the group decided to stop for breakfast. I was too cold to stop and continued on by myself.

Another miserable thing about rain is hiking the next morning when none of the trees, shrubs or grass has had an chance to dry. This is amplified when the trail is over grown and let me tell you today there were many long sections of overgrown trail. It’s basically like walking through a constant cold car wash. Everything I was wearing was wet with water sloshing along in my shoes.

I had enough of the abuse the trail was tossing at me and made my own alternate route. I came up to a forest service road that more or less ran parallel enough to the PCT and took it. That meant more mileage and more elevation gain but it was worth it to dry off just a bit for a while.

The road eventually brought me to Measenger Flats Campground where I planned to have lunch. The wind was blowing strong freezing me to my core. I ate as quickly as possible and continued on my way. From here the trail started to mostly descend and slowly the temperature began to rise. I think mentally the hardest part of all of this is that I could see the sunny valley below all day despite being trapped in or around the clouds.

I arrived at the North Fork Ranger Station and the more or less abandoned day use area beside it. The sun was out when I arrived with a strong wind. I took out my tent and sleeping bag to try and dry them out. Of course as soon as I did the clouds came back. The wind was howling and I was getting cold so I packed up and continued on my way.

Finally I was really starting to descend into the valley and the temperature began to really increase. For the first time today I felt warm… then too warm… the views as I decended were incredible. I arrived finally at Mattox Canyon Creek where I would be camping today. I guess everyone else had the same idea because there were a dozen or so other people all ready set up. Fortunately I found one of the few remaining spaces set up camp and got to actually dry out my gear.

An hour and a bit later the trail fam arrived Including Alligator who crushed an amazing 40+ kilometer day to catch up with us. Dinner was had (I ate two packs of Ramen noodles – a thruhiker staple) and plans for tomorrow were made.

Tomorrow is a town day as we will arrive in Agua Dulce for a much needed resupply day. It will be an in and out with no planned zero.

The temperature is going to increase significantly over the next few days. So I’m sure I’ll be complaining about the heat instead of the cold.