PCT Day 6. The incredible superbloom keeps getting better

Mile 76.3 to mile 91.5 = 15.2 miles

Elevation 2251 start. 3552 end. Lots of up and down. High 68, low 41. Winds calm except breezy on the ridges. Sunny.

I began the morning at the Stagecoach RV and tent camp. Before daylight, I heard coyotes howling off in the distance. That’s the first time I’ve heard coyotes out here. We also had a horned owl near our campsite. He was quite talkative this night with lots of HOOO HOOO, HOOOHOOOO to be said.

When daylight finally came, Zack (That’s Awesome), Oli (Trail Runner), Tom (Ace), and myself (Steal Belted) packed up and went to the road, looking for a ride back to the trail. A van came up quickly and offered the 4 of us a ride. His name is “Ghost”. He gives daily rides to people needing rides. He’s another example of the good that exists in this world!

Once we hit the trail, the theme of the day was the superbloom. This is causing problems for early PCT hikers. ALL motels in nearby Julian ANNNNND the next town we’re booked solid with superbloom enthusiasts. Hikers that come off trail have no place to stay!

This superbloom is one of the most amazing occurrences of nature I’ve ever seen. I’ve been to Texas 3 different times for their Bluebonnets in spring and Colorado multiple times for their bloom. This beats both!

My daily hikes have been incredibly pleasant. High temps rarely top 75, and only reached 68 on this day. There’s a slight breeze, lots of birds singing. There’s also THOUSANDS of butterflies. I’ve never seen so many. They look like half sized monarchs. Every corner had multiple hundreds of them. It honestly looked like a butterfly exhibit at a zoo. One exceptional corner had at least a thousand flying around. There were so many of them that I could actually hear the mass of them flying. Oli yelled out “YEEEAAAA!!!! This place reminds me of my home country, in the Alps!!!!!”

In addition to the color, the smell is amazing. I can best describe it as when you walk into a garden nursery, into the covered greenhouses that house their flowers before the danger of frost is past. Multiply that by at least 10. Add the butterflies, lots of birds, a constant drone of a whole multitude of bees, flies and other insects, gentle breezes, deep blue sky, and a 68 degree high in an area that can reach 100 by now, I must say today was one of the top 5 walks I’ve ever been on in my entire life. I’ll never forget it for as long as I live!

Each hill was dominated by a different color. One hill would be purple, another yellow, then blue, then orange.

In addition to the flowers coloring the hills, the cactus are now adding their own color. They’re just beginning.

We did have one funny occurrence on the trail today. We were taking a break and I gave Oli some honey gram crackers that I was snacking on. Oli says, “thanks, me so horny”. Zack and I look at each other in surprise. Zack says in his New York accent… “yo, bruh, what did you just say?????” Oli says “uh, me la horny”. I said uuuhhhh, ok, do you mean “HONEY”?? Next time, Oli said it slower….. “ummmm, I like honey”. I then asked Oli if he knew what horny means in English. He said no, so Zach said “IT MEANS YOU WANT TO F**K!!! Oli’s eyes lit up and we all started laughing like crazy!!! Good times!

We ended the day somewhat split up. Zach is about 3 miles back at a campsite because the campsites are fewer out here. I’m camping near Tom and Oli. We will meet tomorrow. As I’m finishing this at 8:35, I can see the stars through the top of my tent vividly. There are bugs making a high pitched squeaking noise and an occasional airplane way off in the sky. Otherwise, it’s dead calm right now. I love it! Next stop: WARNER SPRINGS and the end of section “A”!!!!!!!!