Day 17 (21 May)

Miles 220 to 235.5. Bushcamp to Bushcamp

Even though we planned to get up early and catch the others we just can‘t get out of our warm and cozy sleeping bags. The night was wonderful, sleeping right next to the river, without the rain fly on, under a gazillion stars. So we keep resetting the alarm clock and end up leaving with Brad.

After the first mountain climb of the day he already passes us and we soon take our first break at the first crossing of Mission Creek. We will be spending all day today slowly climbing up the Mission Creek Valley, crossing the little creek at least a dozen times. The valley is beautiful, flowers are blooming, it‘s slightly windy and we hardly see any other hikers. When we are just about to stop for lunch we see a large hiker box which of course we have to open. What did trail angels leave us this time in this remote valley? It turns out it‘s from the ACE (American Conservation Experience) Pacific Crest Trail Crew. They have set up camp right below the trail and are working in this area for eight days straight. Their camp is deserted (because they are out doing maintenance work on the trail), but on the hiker box they invite hikers to spend some time at their oasis, help themselves to food, coffee, toilet paper etc. from the hiker box and even use their stove and gas to cook stuff. And we are hungry! And not sure how much longer our gas will last. And most thankful for this unexpected gift so that we kindly take them up on their offer.

After a delicious meal with pasta, lentils and beans we move on, up up up the valley. Then we meet our ACE heroes and can‘t thank them enough for their generous hospitality. And their trail maintenance work looks great! Instead of muddy ground we can now walk across little bridges that they have been building during their time out here in this gorgeous valley.

We decide to set camp at the second last water source of the valley as we are getting tired and we can no longer ignore how sore our bodies are. The campsite looks like an enchanted forest, with large overgrown trees with branches touching the floor and the little creek beside it. Now that the sun has left the valley it‘s getting quite cool and we retreat into our little orange home where we cook dinner and eat our rehydrated meals in the warmth of our sleeping bags. Let‘s try to get up early tomorrow!