Post 3: Off I go!

What have I gotten myself into?

There is a little skylight in my bathroom and when it rains it makes quite the racket. Otherwise, I slept soundly my last night in Seattle in my warm room and with my fresh sheets. In the morning, my roommate got up early to drive me to the light rail (thank you Tomo) and I was off to the airport.



I have come to appreciate the ease either hitch it is to travel to the airport from my house - in little over an hour and $2.75 I’m at the terminal. Amazing! My mom met me at bag check and we flew to San Jose together and met my godmother, who would join us on the final leg to San Diego.



Bright sun was in our faces as we stepped out of the terminal to fetch our rental car. My mom managed to secure a free upgrade to a Mercedes so we would be cruising in style for the next few days. We had a fantastic array of food while in town, as these meals would be my last proper ones for a while. We went to a nice Italian place the first night to really get some carbs in me. The next day we went and visited Justin, a family friend that lives down here in San Diego that also opened his own bakery. I highly recommend paying Hommage Bakehouse a visit if you’re ever in the area.



Nearby was the REI, where we picked up some final items including an ice axe and a new water filter since I had left my other one at home. We were pretty full from pastries so we headed home to digest. I worked on my previous blog post for a bit before we ventured out again for more food and what was to be my last “real meal” - Sushi! I was glad to eat something I love and would not be able to have fresh for a long time. On our way back it began to rain - the forecast projected showers all of my first day, with a few days of respite before the precipitation resumed over the weekend. We retired early since it was an early start the next day.

Day 1

The rain made a racket on the air conditioners in our Airbnb. I thought I was back home in Seattle for a second. We wanted to leave at 6:45 but opted to take one final shower before we left. I had a huge pastry and two cups of coffee and we were out the door at 7:30. Thick fog enveloped us as we drove towards the border. The southern terminus is about an hour’s drive from downtown San Diego. The weather got way more intense we I set off.



The obligatory starting pictures were not your normal set - it was windy and it was pouring rain.



It was hard saying goodbye to my mom and godmother. I reminded myself that there had been longer stretches where I hadn’t seen them.

The next 8 hours were wet and a only a little miserable. The wind and rain would take turns, but there was always a fine mist to soak my clothes. I actually was dry for the first few miles but what finally did me in was brushing next to wet plants, which shed a surprising amount of water on my feet.



Several creek crossings called for a few dunks of the feet in order to cross. I didn’t have dry feet until I reached camp, which was at Lake Morena. Lots of RVs and boats. I didn’t see a single soul as I entered the campgrounds as it was dumping rain at this point. I found the area designated for PCT hikers and quickly set up camp at around 6:30. Everyone else was in their tents. After quickly taking my socks off, I ate a bar and fell asleep soon thereafter.

Day 2

Sun beat down on my face and woke me up. Wow. Everything was wet both inside and outside. Other campers has already begun their day and congregating at the picnic table. Everyone was extremely kind, but I only spent a short amount of time eating a bar and making my tea before I set off around 9:45. Fog soon rolled in and blanketed the lake and the surrounding area. It was about an hour later when the sky turned blue and the sun was shining bright.





Break time! I laid out my gear to dry in the sun and had some lunch. Further on there were two river crossings back to back. I ran into a fellow hiker that had hiked the desert sections a few times and said that the rivers had never flown before. After the second crossing I hiked with another thru-hiker by the name of Richard for a bit. It was nice to talk to someone while hiking - the miles breezed by and we soon reached camp for the night. A small stream bisected the two campsites. For dinner I had a fancy freeze dried curry, which definitely hit the spot.

Day 3

Frost caked the outside of my tent when I woke up. I set off early this morning, as our first resupply was in a few miles. The approach to Mt. Laguna was a nice change of pace. The shrubs and sand soon turned to pine trees, loamy soil, and a bit of snow.



I hiked the last stretch before the lodge with a girl from Wales named Monica. We were the first ones to reach the warm and cozy lodge and quickly placed our order for breakfast. The others we were camped with trickled in. There were people from all over at our table: France, UK, New York, and Chicago. The food was devoured quickly and very much hit the spot.



The rest had a resupply at the store but I set off as I had packed way too much food. With a full stomach the miles flew by.



I had my first poop on trail and it may be my most scenic yet. A few of the others caught up with me in the meantime.



Far in the distance we could see Mt. San Jacinto and it was white with snow. The scenery at hand reverted back to the desert shrubbery that we experienced right before Mt. Laguna. The green hills were windswept and not too hot. I couldn’t imagine hiking this section in the heat of summer. We pitched out tents at an amazing spot and caught the sunset.

Hoping to see the stars, I set my tent up without the rain fly. They did come out, but the light pollution to the west from San Diego illuminated the sky a considerable amount.

Day 4

We descended all the way to the bottom of the valley and boy was it hot. My knee had started to hurt and the rocky decline did not treat it well. My spirits were lifted once we got to the bottom where we stopped for lunch at the last water source until the next day. Soaking my feet in the ice cold stream felt rejuvenating as well. A steep climb welcomed us back on trail all the way up to our campsite.

Day 5

We woke up quite early as we and a few others that were camped nearby were headed into the town of Julian for a resupply and hot food.

After a quick descent we found ourselves at our first hitchhiking opportunity. The Frenchman in our group was apparently well experienced and managed to snag an RV for all of us to hop into. The couple that picked us up were so incredibly kind, that it took me aback. Their daughter had attempted the PCT a few years back. They dropped us off, but not before they took photos with us and gave us all a good hug.

Julian was quite peculiar. I assured the international hikers in our group that this was not a normal American town. A bunch of kitschy shops lined the main strip with hand painted signs. Our first stop was Mom’s Pies, which offers any PCT hiker that shows their permit a free slice of pie al a mode. The apple pie definitely hit the spot so I went for a second one, pecan this time. After stuffing ourselves with pie, we hit the local outdoor outfitters. The Frenchman had to get new shoes, as his old pair were too small for his feet - he was beyond elated to get a pair that fit him. The next stop was our resupply. Prices were fairly high seeing as we were in the middle of nowhere. I got the essentials and also three corn dogs to be enjoyed immediately. The international hikers had not yet tried a lot of the American snacks that were at the store, so it was fun explaining what was good and what was not. They had never had pop-tarts, butterfingers, or moon pies!



Our hitch out of town was also quite pleasant and easy. We faced a steep climb back up into the mountains, where rain and wind soon found us. Many of the other hikers we talked to in Julian were going to stay a few nights there to wait out the impending storm. We made the decision to hike a few more days and take a break in Ranchita, where the price of lodging was significantly cheaper. Our hike was extremely exposed as we rounded canyons, taking refuge each time inside them for a short break from the wind. Our campsite was a bit sheltered, although we were pelted with a sizeable rainstorm.

Day 6

I slept well in my double-walled tent that night. Charlie, the bloke from London has been dubbed Caveman, as he sleeps under only a tarp (he also doesn’t use a water filter and has a stocky figure). He did not sleep that well that night. We were met with some of the most breathtaking sights that morning as the rain came and went, the sun piercing through periodically.

My knee started acting up again that day, so it made for a tough hike that day. I was ready for the rest day that was coming up.



100 miles. I was really hurting all over at this point but seeing some stones in the ground really lifted my spirits. Only another mile later and we were at the road crossing. The hostel down the road offered shuttles, which we gladly accepted.

These past few days have been surreal. Randomly I will have a moment where I am reminded that I really am out here doing this hike. It’s somewhat still hard to believe! Thank you all for the kind words and support. I’ll do my best to answer comments, as I’ll be resting for a bit here. Once again I apologize for the wordiness of this post - I’ll try and be not concise in future ones for my sake as well. See you in about a week in the next one!