Mile 1502 to 1524.

I woke up not to the sound of my alarm, but to the sound of silence. I looked at my watch 6:00. We overslept. We started to pack up and went to get out our breakfast. Then we remembered. It was day one of resupply roulette. Our enthusiasm for breakfast instantly vanished.

I was determined to drop some of the weight from my food bag and pulled out the 14 oz can of artichoke hearts and cracked it open. I took a sip from the can and almost spit it out. Way too salty. I promptly drained the can and took my first bit of artichoke. By the end of the can, I was convinced that artichoke hearts are ruined for me for the rest of my life.

I looked over and saw Bedazzled trying to eat her non-salted rice crackers with grape jelly spread on top and instantly started laughing. The thing about this challenge is that it sucks while you’re eating, but hilarious watching the other person try to choke down their food. It almost makes it worth it.

With our unsatisfying breakfast finished, we started out on the trail. We had a big 3,500 foot climb ahead of us and were eager to get it out of the way. Soon we were out of the forest and switchbacking up the side of a slope. I was suddenly hit by the urge to take a poop, but I was in perhaps the worst place to find a poop spot with a steep slope above and below me. I quickened my pace and looked desperately up and down the trail. I finally had to settle for a spot off the side of one of the turns in the switchbacks. It required me to hold onto a tree to keep my balance. I blame the artichokes.

As we neared the top of the climb, great views of the Castle Crags and Mt. Shasta opened up. Finally, we are getting some great views again. It has been too long.

We stopped for lunch in a shady spot with an excellent view of Mt. Shasta. Normally lunch is one of the highlights of the day, but when it is a can of SPAM and a can of condensed Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, you don’t have much to look forward to.

To be honest, Bedazzled had it much worse. She had a tin of sardines in mustard sauce, which she had to put on rye crackers to make edible.

Her facial expressions were priceless.

We alternated between laughter and self-pity while we took bites of our own lunches. At the end, we agreed to never do this challenge again. So far, the lead up to the challenge was definitely more enjoyable than the actually challenge. Reality is setting in.

With lunch choked down, we continued on with great views.

As the afternoon went on, clouds started to build on the horizon. Soon they turned dark and we could hear thunder. We marched on and watched as rain started to fall on the mountains we were headed for. Just as we got to the edge of the storm, we stopped and pulled out our rain jackets and put away our electronics.

Packs back on, we hiked over the crest of a ridge and the rain started. Rain in Northern California in August. A rarity.

Two mintues later, we came around a turn and I looked to my right. There was a girl holding a bow and arrow. She looked at me and she shouted, “Want a beer?” “As long as you don’t shoot me,” I called.

Two past PCTers and their friend had a keg in the back of their truck and a tarp setup to shield us hikers from the rain. Trail magic always seems to appear at the times it is needed most.

As we huddled under the tarp, the rain changed to Skittle sized hail and pelted down for a good 10 minutes until it changed back to rain. As we shivered together, one of the guys asks if we wanted pizza. Hell yes!

90 mintues later, we had pizza, beer, a fire, and a beautiful sunset. Perfect.

Secretly, Bedazzled and I were both relieved to have skipped a dinner from our food bags and had glorious pizza.