PCT day 6
Start: PCT mile 63.6
End: Scissors Crossing (PCT mile 77.1)
Miles: 13.5
Steps: 39451

Dispite the howling of the wind last night and the sand and dirt it thrusted into my tent I slept like a rock tossed to the bottom of the sea. I only woke up once sometime after midnight and only long enough to notice the wind had stopped. Not only had it stopped blowing violently but there was absolutely no wind at all. It was enough to make me wonder had a tree fallen on me and killed me in my sleep. The night was also cold and I woke up with condensation frozen to my tent. But I managed to stay happily warm inside my tent all night.  But just as I was falling asleep i noticed a small hole just above my tent. Too tired to deal with it last night I decided to take care of it the next day. So far I’ve broken; 1 trekking pole strap, one water filter and one tent.

The morning hike was good and included seeing some jets flying low in the mountains. There is a military fighter pilot training base nearby I’m told. Most of the morning I spent leap frogging with 4 other hikers. They were faster than me but took more breaks. Each time I would pass them I’d say “slow and steady wins the race”. That said I have been traveling too fast myself the last two days and my body is letting me know that some pain in the left knee. The only break in took yesterday was a 30 min lunch and today I didn’t take any until I arrived in Julian. .

I got to Scissors Crossing and set about to hitch hike to the town of Julian which is about 13 miles away. I have never hitched a ride before but fortunately I didn’t have to wait long until “Professor” a local trail angle stopped and picked me and two other hikers up.

After a short drive he dropped us of in front of Carmans restaurant. This is a must stop on the PCT… or was as she has sold her store to new owners. Your greeted with a free beer, place to do laundry, recharge your batteries and they will even let thru hikers sleep on the floor after they close. How amazing is that! Even better I managed to catch up to everyone who left while I took my zero day in Mount Laguna and they were all here eating lunch. I ate an amazing burger and caught up with everyone about the last two days. Next up it was to Mom’s bakery for a free slice of pie. Yes you read that right… in Julian not only do you get a free beer but also a free slice of pie and not just any pie but a decicious slice of heaven topped the way you want. I suppose there are some benefits of Thru Hiking.

I also am now the proud owner of a brand new water filter. I had ordered it to the Julian Hotel which no longer accepts hiker packages… but I called them and explained my mistake and they said they would hold onto it for me. When I arrived they told me they had not received it but that it might be at the post office. A quick trip down the road and it was in my hand. Now I know you can ship via amazon general delivery to post offices. For some reason I didn’t think you could.

I left town around 5 and got a ride from an interesting man back to scissors crossing where I set up my tent under a bridge. Here I am sleeping under a bridge with a few new friends… what a strange world this is.