Miles driven: 21 miles
Mile marker: 20 miles
The first day starts with the most amazing pecan pancakes, a cup of black coffee and a very cold morning.
When it comes to pancakes, I’m not always the biggest fan. If you add nuts and top it with banana slices, syrup and butter? Now you’re talking.
Thank you, Papa Bear for a delicious breakfast. My only regret is not having eaten more.
It takes me about quadruple the time to make my bag compared to how long Dad makes his. I know, I know, it’s not a completion and I’m new to this whole backpacking thing. Let me tell you, trying to get the air out of an inflatable sleeping pad is a lot harder than it looks.
It’s a cool day to start and my bag weighs 34.45 pounds. I don’t know what’s in there that makes it so heavy (it’s not even a full transport of food), but I’ll definitely think of ways to reduce that number.
Cleef, the campground where we will spend the night, is run by experienced hikers who spend much of their time supporting hikers hiking the PCT.
One of the ways they do this is by creating a banner designated for that year’s hikers. We can all sign it! You enter at the local REI, so Dad and I took a photo pointing our names to remember where we signed. With a banner this big, it’s a challenge to find where your own name is.
A couple of ladies come out and give us our PCT labels. This is a great memory for the road, but many times they are quite beaten by the journey that awaits them.
Backpacks on. Trekking poles ready. And we’re leaving!
Not ten minutes later I take off the fleece. I’m already warm. We saved about a mile starting yesterday at the terminal and have about 19 miles to go. I feel good. Hiking isn’t my favorite thing in the world, but I feel good and don’t have any anxiety in my mind about the path ahead.
We soon meet a young girl, Violet Rose, and she and Dad connect over music. Dad really likes music, he has an ear for it. Violet actually writes her own stuff, so you can check it out on Spotify!
The day becomes hotter. Before I know it, we’re almost five miles in when I see a spiral of stripes tipped with a milky color.
Rattlesnake.
«Dad, look at this,» I say.
«Back off, baby!» he says quickly. «He didn’t get nervous! That wasn’t polite of him.»
The most effective method Dad has found to make rattlesnakes disappear is to throw dust or rocks at them.
His method worked.
Later, Dad found two guard snakes. We saw lots of lizards, squirrels, dung beetles and a horned lizard. Other than that, it’s pretty quiet out here.
The dirt roads are bordered by low bushes. Everything is tan or orange. Soon it’s rocky terrain and the umbrella I’m using gets caught on all the branches.
That’s going back in the bag.
It’s hot now, 97 degrees. It was supposed to be a cool day. The meteorologist needs to go back to his drawing board. This heat is pressing on me and I am drinking my four and a half liters of water like a camel.
Dad and I meet new people and say “see you later” to others who prefer to rest longer from this evil sun.
Unfortunately, we have reached the big climb: the Hauser Canyon. My heart rate is 170 bpm as we climb the hill. The sun beats down on us and I struggle through the curves like a snail.
Our new group has morphed into dad, me, Rafiki from Texas, Dennis from Ohio, and Thomas from France. We left a few others behind, but this team decided to hit the road to Hauser Canyon before the day was over.
It is an endless climb. My feet drag on the rocks and my trekking poles move like a deoxygenated insect. I pause several times, take plenty of water breaks, and find respite in any of the tiny shady spots I can find.
I find the rest of my crew waiting for us at the top. It’s a miracle we made it! Even after that dangerous hike, there are still a couple more miles to go.
We flew downhill and experienced a few more ups and downs before arriving at Lake Moreno for cheeseburgers at the Malt Shop. I choose a pineapple and coconut smoothie, which is spectacular.
Even though I was promised showers at our campground and we ended up having to pay for them with quarters (which we don’t have, so I don’t have a shower), I fight with my sleeping pad because I don’t know how to use it, and my tent gets flimsy because I set it up and not Dad, it was a good day.
My proudest moment?
Today I didn’t think about the future. I usually get stuck on my next goal or even would have been deterred from going the rest of the way with all the challenges we face.
But I only thought about today. I thought about the end of the day, getting to the next checkpoint, and was able to stay present and enjoy the people and lizards around me.
I don’t know how, but it is by the grace of God that the challenges did not discourage me.
At 9:15 I close my eyes. It was a long and hard day, but I’m proud of what I did. Now I really need to sleep well!
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