7:00 pm. I'm camped at about 7200' at the edge of another pumice meadow right underneath spectacular Howlock Mt. I have a 360° view here and it's awesome. No yellow jackets and very few mosquitoes! I'm at about trail mile 1859, so I did 17 miles today. The first six went really quick. I hiked along with a couple Brits for a short time. There were quite a few SOBO's on my stretch of trail today.

After entering the Mt. Thielson Wilderness it became a long, warm uphill slog. My feet were not happy. My achilles on my right foot has really been bugging me. I hope I'm not doing damage that's going to take awhile to heal.

Funny story: I ran into a SOBO on that climb coming down the trail with trekking poles, a mug, and a ziploc bag of something. He was looking for his backpack! He had left hish pack next to the trail and went into the woods to take a crap--at least he's getting off the trail to do his business; kudos to him-- and afterward couldn't locate where he left the pack. Well, after heading down the trail a way, he decided to go up, and finally returned triumphant with is pack on his back where it should be. I told him to always take your pack with you.

It took a little over 10 miles before I got my first smack in the face view of Mt. Thielsen! Wow, that is an impressive mountain. Pretty much got to see all sides except the east slope of course. And Thielson Creek--that was a sight for sore eyes. The best water I've seen since I started this PCT thing back in July!

I hung out there for about an hour getting cleaned up, having dinner, and just relaxing in the sun enjoying the beauty. About 5pm I loaded up with lots of water and headed to this blank spot on the map. I'm glad I did because this is a beautiful spot! I think I might have a spot of tea.