Today’s theme will be Poo, but I’ll get to that in a minute.  

It got cold last night, there was a layer of frost on our tents this morning.   Soho woke up all charged to get some miles in.   He wants to bag 22 today.    We have 4,500 feet of ascending over 10k+ mountains in that stretch.  It is rather dry, so I’ll be loaded with 7 pounds of water most of the trip.   Hard, but doable.  

Soho took off early and I milled around eating and zenning on the swallows doing their bug thing.   I strapped my soaked rain fly on the back of my pack.   Before I left, I got a another picture of Cow creek from the bridge. 

Fortunately the scenery was getting better and, since we are higher now, the temps are tolerable.   Followed a creek up the first 10k peak and made a stop there to dry out my rain fly and to charge my batteries with the solar panel.  

While I was lounging, an old dude named Woody came trudging up the hill.   He is 68 and doing sections of the trail.   Wants to finish before he is 70.   Nice guy, but I’m pretty sure it is the last time I’ll see him.   I packed up and passed him panting up the hill.   Get some, Woody.

Good news is that the hills are starting to look more like the Sierras

But there are still plenty of meadows to trudge through. 

We can move on to the main topic of this post.   The subject of Poo.  

Now, it seems that every time I tell some non-hiker about the PCT, the first question is “How do you go to the bathroom?”   Even if they don’t ask it, it is on their mind.   Given that I had the urge around 4pm today, I decided to document the entire process.   Let’s get to it.

First there is the site selection.   It needs to be off the trail (duh), scenic, and have some good ground to dig a hole in.  

Next is finding the ideal spot.   I found a nice pre-dug hole but given that there is a rodent living it, he probably would object to a sudden smelly deposit. 

I found a nice spot to dig and a piece of wood for a little hand-hold while doing my business.   Got out the poo shovel and started tunneling. 

Next we prepare for the drop.   The TP and wet wipes are placed within reach.  Hand-hold is strategically positioned and the foot placement is carefully measured so the target will be hit. 

Following the drop, there is first a couple of careful wipes with the dry TP, a little wet wipe, then a final dry wipe.

Next we have the application of a little Gold Bond for that warm dry feeling. 

Then a little shovel work to leave the ground restored to its natural beauty.  

And there it is.   That is how a professional poos in the forest.    Here is how the Cows do it.

There was some good views opening up for the rest of the hike.   I was running very late today. 

  Arrived at the campsite after 8pm today.   I was exhausted.   We are camped near a creek and the mosquitos are picking up.   I quickly setup my tent, cooked something from the vestibule, and crashed.   Did a solid 22.5 mile day today.   Oh, and my feet hurt.