The horses and I had a leisurely morning hanging out at Rock Creek, with shady trees and a rushing stream to keep things cool for us, waiting for my mom to get there. Around noon she finally came down the dirt road with a cloud of dust following her in the Ford and the 3-horse trailer. She packed up Takoda and took him to Pam's, and Shyla and I continued down the trail.

I had only a short 18 miles to go that day, so the late start wasn't too much of a problem. And pretty soon I also ran across a fun bit of "trail magic"--an impromptu offering of sodas and candy bars and other goodies left as offering by a wonderful trail angel on the PCT!

Because of the late start, Shyla and I rode on as the sun set and turned everything golden on the trail. Unfortunately, the coming of evening also brought out the insects, and we fought with swarms of mosquitoes and gnats. I also picked off a ridiculous number of ticks from Shyla's neck and legs whenever we paused for a moment on the way.

Then, just about a mile before our planned campsite beside a creek with a nearby water pipe, we also passed a fish hatchery.

#2016PCT