PCT Days 3-5: Mount Laguna to Warner Springs

Day 3: Snakes!

Today I saw my first rattlesnake on the trail. Luckily, I saw it about 3 feet away before I stepped on it. I stopped, stepped back to take some pictures, and then stepped back a little further to leave a note on the ground for the people behind me. That’s when the snake decided to get angry. It curled and rattled like something out of an old western. As I gaped, he veered off the path and the sound of his bell echoed loudly through the bushes.

Less than half a mile from the first snake, I saw a second one, this one smaller. I looked closely for a rattle, but didn’t see one, which is good. Apparently, juvenile rattlesnakes can be as dangerous or more dangerous than large ones because the bites of adult rattlesnakes are usually dry bites, meaning they do not release venom, while babies have not learned to control their bites, so most bites release toxins.

I lost my hat in the strong winds at Kawaamii Pass. Boooo!

Day 4: Wind

The night before, while a wing was beating the road, he had looked for a place to camp. I passed several exposed spots before settling on a large flat area with trees for protection from the wind. Other hikers had the same idea and joined me.

We put our tents under the trees, but even there the wind found us. I had my tent in storm mode, oriented with the narrow end toward the wind, optional stakes deployed, and rocks holding all my stakes. From time to time during the night, I could hear hikers getting up to re-drive their stakes as high winds tore down our tents.

Today was a sunny, calm and cool day to walk to Scissors Crossing. The intersection gets its name from the scissor-shaped shape created where the two roads meet. There is an underpass there where hikers can shelter from the desert sun, and it is a popular place to catch a shuttle to the nearby town of Julian. There is also a water reservoir in the underpass, a blessing in the dry desert heat.

Day 5: The Eagle

Today’s highlight was Eagle Rock, a giant formation carved by the wind over many centuries. From the PCT it looks like a simple pile of stones. But if you take a very short detour you will be able to see the eagle in all its splendor.

The Warner Springs Community Center opens to PCT hikers during the hiking season. The center, staffed by volunteers, offers restrooms, charging stations, food resupply, and a place for hikers to hang out and fellowship. When I arrived there were already a dozen or more backpacks leaning on the benches in front. Inside, we all picked out the food we would need for the next leg and devoured dinners from the freezer options.

While I was sitting chatting with some hikers, one of them suddenly looked at me and said, «Hey, are you Blue Moon?» It was Prophet, a hiker I had met on the CDT the year before. I didn’t immediately recognize him without his long mid-walk beard. We hugged and reminisced, and soon it was time to head back to camp for the night. I found a lovely spot not far from the trail, under a huge oak tree, and the cowboy camped listening to the sound of crickets.

PS: I am now a truck driver named Carl, who was “born to be awesome.” At least that’s what my new hat, picked up in the hiker’s box at the Warner Springs Community Center, tells me. I miss my cute Janji running cap that flew off a cliff, but for now it is, Carl!

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