Miles: 13.1 

Total Trail Miles: 1515.9 

Ascent/Descent: 3659/734 ft 

Start Time: 11:32 

End Time: 18:21 

Temperature: 31°C (88°F)

 I woke feeling excited to be getting back on the trail, but also a little nervous and apprehensive about how my shin would handle it. Pushing those thoughts aside, I got up, went for a shower and packed up my tent and things before heading inside to the café for breakfast. I enjoyed my Marmite on a toasted bagel with a coffee from the café and called mum to let her know that I was going to head back to trail earlier than planned as Brooke had arranged a lift from a Trail Angel called doc at 11 am. After breakfast I headed towards town but managed to get a hitch so I didn't have to do the 2 mile road walk. He dropped me off outside the Phone shop so I could buy a new charging cable as mine has decided to break yesterday and then walked down to Yaks where I was meeting Brooke and where our ride would be picking us up at 11. I had about 40 minutes spare so I charged my phone, ordered a Chai Latte and a cookie for trail. I called the outdoor store in Etna to see if I could buy some dehydrated meals and sock liners over the phone as the shop will be closed when I arrive on Sunday or Monday. The lady in the shop was really friendly and helpful and allowed me to place the order and then stashed the bag of my things round the back of the shop for me to pick up when I was in town. At 11 we got a ride from doc down to Castle Crags visitor centre where we could do a 3 mile hike up the Flume Trail to join back onto the PCT. I started off slow having to walk mindfully. I knew this section of the trail would be challenging for me as when I hike by myself my default is to hike quite quickly with not many breaks and when I do take a break it’s not for long. But I knew that I couldn't hike like that if I wanted my leg to heal, I had to walk much slower, shorten my gait and take a break every two hours to do the exercises that blaze had given me. I wanted to use the section to practice walking more mindfully, taking in the whole experience with all of my senses, trying to appreciate everything that I could see - all the different types of trees and butterflies, insects and flowers, listening to the sounds of the wind in the leaves and trees, nearby water, and the crickets and the birds. Smelling the warm earth and pine and different smells of the different bushes and trees I will pass. Trying to imprint all of that In my memory. In no time at all hopefully this trip will be over and I will want to look back and remember all the little details not just rushing through. I had to focus on my steps and feet touching the ground to make sure I wasn't going too fast. I was listening to my body to make sure that my pain level didn't increase past a 3. This section was mostly shaded in the trees, with a steady incline back up to the PCT. When I join back up with the trail and turned the corner I saw Brooke sat down taking a break by the river so I joined her and had my lunch. We shared stories about the Sierra, it was really nice to speak to someone else who had gone through it and also experienced similar challenges to what we did, with group dynamics, speed, tensions rising and emotions. It's comforting to know that we weren't the only group that experienced all those things. After I stretched and started walking again I decided to listen to a podcast that I had downloaded about walking mindfully in nature thinking it would be a good way to get my mind in the headspace. Give me some inspiration for this section. It was very beautiful, mostly in trees. One point I had a face-off with a deer ahead of me watching each other until one made the first move. The earth changed colours from a deep red to yellow to grey and back again a lot of the time and every now and then you would get a glimpse of the mountains. I bumped into Brooke again at another river, she let me know that this is the last water source before the big climb and probably where we would both camp in 6 miles so I filled up and stretched again as it was almost time before starting to slowly climb up to the top. I past couple of hikers coming down but mostly it was really peaceful and calm, but it was very very hot. I paused every now and then for a drink of water in the shade. I passed Brook having a break 2/3 of the way up the hill and hearing that we were so close to camp I decided to push on an extra half an hour to get to camp before I did my final stretching and had dinner. I ate dinner with Brooke and we chatted some more about hiking in the Sierra before turning in for bed around eight-ish.