Day 119

Day 119: July 30th
Mile 1680.4 to Mile 1703.5

We strolled out of camp this morning at 6:30 am since we had done the two climbs yesterday (almost 7000 feet!) The trail meandered around the tops of the mountains all day: up, down, around. The typical PCT day.

Until, finally, really, no mirage, we hiked over the Oregon-California state lines at 4 pm. Egads, we had completed a thru-hike of the entire state of California!

We feel privileged to have made it this far in under 4 months – wow, that is a really long time to be on the trail. And still be walking! Because we were chased out of California by late afternoon thunderstorms: we saw two, and maybe three, forest fires started by the lightening. The smoke made Deb nervous so we hiked three miles further today to put more distance between us and the fire and to camp near a road.

So here is the recap of our dramatic day: fires, rain, state borders, and 1700 miles. We are safe and happy and overwhelmed in our tent tonight, watching the stormy skies.

Mileage: 23.1