DAY 1 the Start – The Walk

Day 1 South Terminal

From Southern Terminus Trail mile 0, elevation 2913

To Lake Morena Campground at mile 20 (by Malt Shop) elev 3068

Promotion 3,219 Relegation 2,881

Known people: Haymaker, Antonio, Inga, another Sean, Sunshine Sunday?, Legend and some more

Camping: Tent camping in Lake Morena County Park with many other PCT folks

I couldn’t have gotten this far without a LOT of patience from my lovely wife, Marnie, and I appreciate her for everything she does, especially for dropping me off at CLEEF. There is also the support provided by our friends for our “Pre-PCT Training Walk”. It was a whopping 0.6 miles, with 5 stops to “hydrate.” In order, the stops were at a brewery, a pizzeria, a bar, a brewery, and a beer hall. I have the friends who support me the most! A special thanks to South O Brewing for adding something special to the event!

I spent the night before at the Camp Locket Equestrian and Events Center (CLEEF) and it was fun to meet everyone. There was a lot of nervous energy (myself included) and I give it a big thumbs up.

The first day was everything I could hope for with a predicted high of 78° and dry. I love the desert heat when it’s not 100° and have done many training hikes in the mid 80’s. This day was typical and beautiful Southern California. Hot, dusty, dry, exactly as people have described it in previous years on the Trek. Now it’s my turn to walk and write. Lest I forget, here are my starting stats:

Personal weight*: 163 pounds (when I started rucking in October, I was over 170 pounds due to a year and a half of Achilles surgeries and recovery)

Base package weight: 15.8 pounds

Package weight Day 1 with food and water: 34 pounds

Water transported: 5 liters

Day 1 started at the south terminal at 06:00, I signed the book and started walking. Around mile 6 or so, Hay Maker passed me. I asked him if he was a boxer or an alfalfa rancher. It turns out that he «pulls hay while the sun shines» and walks from daylight to dusk with the goal of covering 35 miles a day. He is young, fit and injury-free. I’m a little jealous. 😉

Day 1 ended near Morena Lake with a stop at the Malt Shop and then setting up camp at the PCT Hiker Campground. Today went according to my plan: start walking at 06:00 while eating a Lenny and Larry’s Big Time Brownie cookie and after 2 hours, take a lunch break, another 2 hours, rest and eat, another 2 hours, rest and then the last hour to conclude the 20 miles with a stop at the Malt Shop. I’m a planner and this schedule is how I did my training walks. I suspect my breaks won’t always be conveniently placed at the 2 hour mark and I wonder how long it will be until I don’t want a Lenny and Larry brownie cookie to start my day. When that day comes I will announce it and who I exchanged food with. Today was a mix of silence, music and more silence. I found out why it’s cool to go to a band that likes to play like the Grateful Dead: it’s a song a mile. I was able to experience my first magical trail from Mo’ at about mile 14.5 and the Sprite was appreciated. I took a nap in the dry Hauser Creek before beginning the long climb.

Mo’ with Trail Magic ~ 14.5 miles within.

This day I saw two rattlesnakes, one on the side of the trail making a slithering noise and the other sleeping 6 inches from my shoe. The 3-foot sound that clicked as it slid made me jump and spin in the air as I pushed my trekking poles in its general direction. I didn’t know I could do that. The smallest sleeping beauty was seen while I was playing with a lizard with my hiking pole. I looked down and there it was. Well, being the responsible human being that I am, I thought about the next hiker after me. Then, with a quick turn, the smaller rattlesnake veered off the path on the downhill slope. Maybe to grow up to be an angry adult rattlesnake. Both appeared to be South Pacific rattlesnakes. The coolest thing I saw was a fox on the road! Although it took me too long to take a photo.

There were some interesting yuccas with purple tints to their flowers. I’ve only seen the bright yellow species, so that was cool.

Rest is very important and maybe this is all just about naps. This is my 20 minute nap before the long climb to Lake Morena.

Hiker’s resting posture with legs raised and looking at the furthest grade I was heading to. But first I had to go down to the stream.

Day 2

21.5 miles or so

From the Camping at kilometer 20, elevation 3068

To the campsite at approximately kilometer 41.5, elevation 5948

Up 4393 Down 1660

Camping: Just YES!!!

Known People: Sponge and Jelly

On day 2 I woke up to some cats/cows, bird dog stretches, sun salutations and I was ready. I knew I had water at the Boulder Oaks campground about 6 miles into the hike and I didn’t have that much with me. That was nice, dropping the food weight from day 1 and carrying only 2.5 liters of water felt “great.” It felt strange to look east and walk with the early sun on my face, wasn’t I supposed to head north? At Boulder Oaks I took a break, picked up random trash, and headed out only to find Mo’ with more magic on the trail.

I wouldn’t have brought a donut with me, that’s for sure. Thanks Mo’! The day was fun and the desert scenery was simply beautiful. In the distance I saw La Posta’s reservation, so I sent a photo to its vice president. I played jumping with Sponge and Jelly. They are a Canadian couple doing the hike on a budget. They have data for their phones, but no SIM card to make calls, so I lent them my phone. It was hot and another rattle let me know it was there. Again with the acrobatics and sliding my trekking poles through the undergrowth.

As I left the desert and entered Mount Laguna, the aroma of the pine trees caught my attention. After smelling sage, chaparral, and other desert plants for the previous few miles, the pine trees smelled magnificent. I filtered water in a stream below Mount Laguna because I am not participating in the “Giardia Challenge.”

Day 3

22.1 miles

From the campsite at kilometer 41.5, elevation 5948

To the campground at mile 63.6, elevation 3874

Up 2697 Down 4774

Known People: Blue Moon, Legend again, Story Time, Judge, Eric (won’t be known as Skidmark) and a couple more.

Camping: Tent with a group of 5

Highlights: This day was highlighted by strong gusts of wind at the top of the ridge followed by rain at the bottom. I noticed that on weight training walks, smoother terrain translated to faster walks. I average around 2.5 to 2.7 mph, nowhere near 3.2 to 3.4 mph in training. Such is life. The descents are notoriously hard on the knees. Blue Moon is an experienced hiker my age and has completed the Continental Divide Trail. She packs up and is on her way in a silly 15 minutes. Ummmm, I’m happy with 30 minutes. Go Blue Moon!

Day 4

20.9 miles

To the campground at mile 63.6, elevation 3874

To the campground at mile 84.5, elevation 3318

Up 3395 Down 3960

Known People: Turtle, the Nameless Hiker, Rangel, and a few more

Camping: with 3 more people.

Today I walked the 13 miles and changed and moved to Scissors Crossing to resupply with Marnie. My better half showed up with snacks, fruit juices and some beers which were appreciated by me and others. We drove to Julian to get Mom’s free cake and ice cream for PCT hikers and had lunch.

We also took a really smelly hiker who we won’t name and after mom we went to Nickel Brewery where they had $5 pints of Take a Hike Pale Ale for hikers.

After the beer my better half left me and I began the climb to Tijeras crossing the hills of the San Felipe Valley. It was very windy and there was a lot of uphill. I literally didn’t sleep that night because of the terrible winds. Oh, what a joy, but it made it easier to get up the next day at 05:00.

The next update will be the hike from Scissors Crossing to Idyllwild, where I discovered how much walking through an ice storm can be… not fun.

I wrote the following a couple of weeks before what was written above and for some reason I never published it, so I decided to include it as a postscript to my first follow-up writings.

Yipeeee! The permit is printed! And then reprinted at 60% size to reduce 3 grams of paperweight… 🙂 Please note that the permit is required to be legible. I think I can make it smaller and just lend the ranger my reading glasses.

Last week I was hiking and ran into some «locals», the red diamond rattlesnake, the Ringneck snake, the roadrunner and what is the roadrunner without an enemy? the Wiley E. Coyote. So, the turtle! I’ve lived near this pond for a dozen years and this is the first one I’ve seen here. I had previously seen turtles in the Merced and Trinity Rivers while rafting, but they were much smaller.

The highlight of my training hikes occurred when a guy and girl stopped me on the trail and asked, «Are you training for a full hike?» I mentally stumbled over how psychic this guy could be. I said yes and asked, «How did you know?» He smiled and said, “you have all the equipment.” After chatting for a bit, it turned out I was talking to PCT alumni, Lucky Charms, and Fun Facts. They met on the PCT and remained friends afterward. I think they said it was 2022. Anyway, it was great to chat with them and ask some questions. I’m sorry I didn’t receive a photo to share.

Last week I visited Big Bear and at a coffee shop I saw a guy with «all the gear.» His trail name is Salsa and he was in Big Bear for a couple of zeros. He and his tram (trail + family) were enjoying the mountains of Southern California. I think he left the south terminal about 20 days before our meeting. We chatted briefly about the injuries, the 90 degree heat and now the 30 degree cold. I took him to the Airbnb where they were staying and told him I hope I never see him again (if I did, it would mean he was significantly delayed). Later that day it started snowing in Big Bear.

For now, I have my PCT permit, my campfire permit, my gear, food packed/planned, and I’m in reasonably good shape with plenty of training hikes carrying a 30-pound backpack. While it still hurts, it’s a constant pain and I hope it’s just a case of «it is, what it is.» Anyway, thanks to Lucky Charms and Fun Facts for making my day and thanks again to my friends who came to my pre-hike send-off and to my lovely wife for putting up with me.