Part 5: The day «Someday» became Today!!

15.6 kilos! I dreaded the moment when my backpack would undergo its final evaluation before leaving CLEEF. I knew I had packed too much food when I left San Diego.

The trail would kindly offer some resupply options during the first few days at Lake Morena and Mount Laguna, but I still packed an entire jar of peanut butter, two boxes of Vache Qui Rit, a huge bag of tortillas, 400 grams of jerky, and snacks for a million years… I hadn’t even packed the water yet. What was I thinking?!

That night, after setting up our tents and chatting about base weight, packs, gear, previous hikes, and all things trail-related, Paul and Onespeed, our hosts, gave us an incredibly detailed and vital briefing on what to expect, what to do, and what not to do.

«The first rule of the PCT is: don’t die.»

Great, we all agreed to that.

The briefing covered a lot of safety tips on preventing hypothermia, heat exhaustion, river crossing, hydration (my favorite tip was the unlimited chip recommendation for natural electrolytes!), and calorie intake.

It was brilliant and although it was late in the season and they had probably already briefed a thousand hikers, they both showed genuine interest in each of us.

Then “hiker’s midnight” arrived (9 pm…) and we all got into our tents, full of excitement and, in my case, with a bad headache. But anyway.

The first day of the route…

5am: first opening of zippers. Get up, pack your bags, realize that everything was obviously in the wrong place… so, pack your bags again.

6am: Five Miles’ famous pancakes. Five Miles is a CLEEF volunteer who broke his ankle after the first five miles a few years ago. Oh! Last check of the backpack, filling of the water bottles, and…

7am: Final farewells to our hosts, one last photo before D-Day, and we, along with a couple of other hikers who were also French, headed to Southern Terminus to sign the log book, take a photo or two (or fifty) and finally get started.

7:30 a.m.: first mile. Still in denial. This is not happening. I’m actually not going to walk every day for five months until I (hopefully) reach the Canadian border, more than 4,200 km from here. However, it seems to be happening.

first lunch: Delights and the panic-induced realization that my bag of food had gotten much lighter after repacking. I had some tortillas left, a box of Vache Qui Rit, and some spicy tuna. Surprisingly, it worked! BONUS: I discovered I could use my bag of tortillas as a cushion to sit on. I couldn’t have been more proud of my invention. I definitely adopted it!

4 p.m.: first water cache. We had heard that the legendary Papa Bear had to leave Campo earlier this year and that the water tower at mile 14 would be gone. Until another trail angel, Pete, stepped in a day before our start date and promised to take care of it until the end of the month, saving us the long and painful task of carrying seven liters of water on our first day.

5 p.m.: We had arrived at Hauser Creek (alive), marking the end of the first day. First blisters (and first time they burst). Thanks to Claire and Faustine, I received instructions and assistance…

And the other “first”…

First attempt at a cowboy camp: quickly abandoned when a couple of mosquitoes showed up at our camp to investigate who the farmers were invading their territory. We thought it best to politely hide behind the mosquito nets of our tent so as not to lose face completely.

We met up with a hiker from Michigan who we’d met at CLEEF, and conversation started flowing again when the four girls we’d been jumping with all afternoon also arrived. A camp 100% for girls, easy conversations, first dinner prepared and then bedtime (yes, of course… 8 pm).

First steps on the PCT… Was it how you had imagined it during all those months of preparation? At all. It was actually much better: surreal, but completely natural at the same time. I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be and I am so happy that my “someday” has finally become today.

Happy trails!

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.