Loosing Heart on April 19

I really questioned my wisdom today to attempt this PCT challenge. What was I thinking? I love my job, I love my life back home, I miss my family,  so if I could have beamed myself home today I would have. I could have found another way to encourage people to exercise, like maybe a nice 5 mile hike on the Lone Star Trail, with a 15lb pack and a nice heart healthy lunch packed in it. But no, I chose to navigate from Mexico to Canada instead, all while knowing navigation is my weakest link. So now that I have you attention I will tell you about my grueling day and because all went wrong there are no pictures since the day started with a dead battery on my phone and charges that did not work. My intentions were good, I would be up first, ready to leave at first light with The Orange Ranger - he knew the trail and wanted to get an early start. I could not tell where to pick up the trail as there was no defined trail, just one of those direction things called a finger - you just go through that gorge ahead, wind around the canyon and you pick up the trail a mile or so ahead. OK, sure, if your a ranger, which I am not, not even close. So I am up to follow the Ranger. It all started out good, I was waiting for him, but he camped on the other side of the creek and as he crossed over to my side, I lost sight of him through all the boulders. I hurried along the boulders praying the rattlers would remain asleep for a few hours more. There I spotted the orange shirt and Ranger pointed in the direction to head to find the first marker. OK I saw it and sighed with relief. Now on the trail, lost in Rangers dust I proceeded alone. Fidget and Go Fish were slightly behind. Then I missed a switchback and walked on a ridge for about 15 minutes before realizing what I did. I figured Fidget and Go Fish passed me while I was off trail, so proceeded alone.
Now in Section C of the trail, from mile 209 to mile 342 there is an elevation gain of 19,462, an elevation loss of 17,808. And all that up and down only amounts to 1,654" of elevation gain. My legs and back may give way but my heart will be ticking long after I am gone. I noted my heart rate was 200 during most of the climbs with a resting heart rate of 54. But I digress - back to the trail. So 6 strenuous miles later I get to Mission Creek.
Mission Creek's narrow gorge, incised in tortured granite gneisses, leaves little room for a trail, so washouts are frequent. Why someone would plan to have hikers cross this creek, no less that 20 times must have been the work of a practical jouster. Well I did not find it the least bit funny. The path is often vague through the boulder fields with jungles of baccharis, alder, willow and cottonwoods. And to further quote the guide book "Rattlesnakes,  inhabit the grassy stream margins as do garter snakes, racers, horned lizards, antelope ground squirrels, summer tanagers and bobcats, so keep an eye open..." .  If it were not for my GPS I would still be wandering around out there. But even with the GPS the trail is washed away and you are forced to scramble over fallen trees, through poodle brush and boulders. Certainly this is not the intended path, so much for GPS, I thought. So I followed my instincts and ahhh I see a marker, there is the trail, yes it was - right were I started!! I just spent 20 minutes of hell going in a circle.  Twice I fell, once dropping my GPS from my pocket in a crevice of  rocks. Now what to do?? Drop my pack and crawl beneath, using my trekking pole to fend off any rattlesnake that tries to eat me. If Scotty was here I would surely have asked to be beamed up - and back to safety in Texas. But as prayers were answered a voice said follow the GPS anyway. So I did and low and behold came to the trail ahead. Discouraged but glad to be alive I hike the rest of the day, negotiating the creek in the same way again and again (with my GPS in hand). 11 hours later I had reached the camp by the creek where we were all planning to stop. 11 hours of hiking just 15 miles!! But the worse part - no one was at the camp. They must have arrived so early in the day they decided to go on to the next camp - 5 miles away. Now at 530pm I would not, could not begin to consider trying to make it so I set up my lone camp and cried in my soup (almost). At 745 I was almost asleep when I heard hikers coming up the trail so I poked my head out of my tent and what a pleasant surprise to see Go Fish and Fidget!! They had had a similar day and as they say, misery loves company so I was cheered up and all was well.
Almost but Never Lost Heart...