20 PCT miles
My Trail Angel (capitilized because he is my personal trail angel) dropped me off at the PCT southern terminus monument a little after sunrise. Considering 50 people should be leaving from that point today, I expected it to be crowded. However, there were only two people on the hill where the monument was and they left fairly quickly. That meant I had it all to myself for a bit. I took a bunch of pictures and signed the trail registry. Like most people, I simply wrote my name. No cutesy quotes like in the movies.
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| The "before" picture at the monument marking the southern terminus. |
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| The border with Mexico. Guess which side I am on. |
My arrival ended up being perfect timing because when I started heading out to begin my trail adventure, a parade of cars came down the road headed for the monument. The trail itself isn't exactly magical the first few miles. It basically is a trail sized sidewalk as you go through the town of Campo. Eventually you pull away from the road, but you still are going around what looks like ranch property.
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| Passing the first mile just after sunrise. |
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| Railroad crossing. |
After crossing a railroad track I started heading up into mountains. The grade of the trail was very easy and there was water everywhere. The notes on a “normal” PCT year say the water is unreliable in the section ranging from the border to Lake Morena, which is 20 miles a way. This was definitely not a normal year.
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| These beautiful, flowered trees were everywhere. |
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| Everything is green! |
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| The wildflower game this year is still going strong. |
I went up through a hauntingly beautiful burn area, some sections filled with wildflowers, before getting up into the chaparrel. I continued through the chaparrel playing leapfrog with several other hikers.
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| Walking through the burn area. |
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| 10 mile marker. Note: I did not make this, it was already there. I am not that crafty. |
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| View of the burn area from above. |
The first hikers I kept encountering were 2 women. They had packs on but were probably not thru-hikers. I also was leapfrogging (and occasionally walking in the middle of) a large group of day hikers. They were headed to Lake Morena and suggested that I could hike with them when they learned I was hiking solo. It was a nice offer, but with me carrying my full pack, I was hiking at a different speed and taking different breaks than they were. We ended up seeing each other the whole way.
I also kept leapfrogging with two other sets of hikers. Both appeared to be German speaking, but, when I asked, they said they did not come together. The first set were two very young looking men and the second set was a couple. The couple may have been Swiss since the man was wearing a red banana with white crosses, like the Swiss flag.
Eventually, the trail stopped traversing the mountain and, instead, started down into a valley. This is where the grade got a little steeper. I leapfrogged past the day hiking group, the two German guys, and the Swiss couple before reaching the bottom where Hauser Creek was located. Originally I was thinking of stopping here to camp on day 1, since it is 15 miles from the start.
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| The long hike back up after Hauser Creek. |
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| Unlike some of my training trips, this trail is well marked. |
I was feeling pretty good, so I didn't even stop at the creek to rest or refill my water supply. I just kept heading up the other side. Getting out of the canyon was a little difficult since the trail was pretty exposed and late it was in the afternoon. Even though I got out of the steep part of the canyon, I still had to keep travel uphill to eventually reach the lake.
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| Horned lizard near Lake Morena. |
The last three miles were pretty rough. I had to take lots of breaks to rest my pack. When I finally rounded down to Lake Morena, I saw my Trail Angel pull up right to where the PCT dumps out. Great timing! Seeing as it was still a weekend day, he was able to meet me here. I had walked all day, he had drove a couple minutes. He drove me to the group campsite and I set my tent up without much interaction with the other hikers. Then we went to the nearby town of Alpine to get some Mexican food, in honor of just coming from the Mexican border.
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| Lake Morena! Now I just need to walk down to it. |
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| Welcoming sign at the Lake Morena campground. |
Traditionally, I am not hungry after big hikes or backpacking trips. My appetite is usually suppressed for a day or two and then I get ravenous. Today, unexpectedly, I was incredibly ravenous. #unexpectedlyravenous. I didn't think I would get "hiker hunger" so soon. At the restaurant I ordered a huge carne asada plate with rice, beans, guacamole, and a tortilla. I also ordered a mango margarita. I devoured it all! I was so insanely focused on my food, I'm not even sure what kind of conversation my Trail Angel had with me.
Exhausted and satisfied, I was dropped off at the campground where I headed straight for bed.
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