Trail Day 2: Lake Morena(mile 20.0) to Cibbets Flat Campground (mile 32.6, plus 0.8 miles to campground)

12.6 PCT miles, plus 0.8 to the campground

After a successful day yesterday, I had intended to get up at 5 am to pack up and head out early. My goal for the day was Mt. Laguna, about 21+ miles away, where I would get my resupply of food. I wasn't able to mail it out on time, so my Trail Angel was going to personally deliver it to me in the evening.

My alarm went off at 5 am, but I didn't get up. Last night had gotten really cold (a thin layer of frost was on my tent fly) and my sleeping bag was such a nice temperature. I heard a couple other hikers packing up in the dark, but I got up about an hour later along with the majority of the other hikers at the group campsite.

As I was packing up I noticed a sign near my tent and went to see what it said. It was a trail marker.  The trail was directly behind the group campsite. Convenient! I had packed up the last bits of my gear when I noticed someone wandering the area looking for something.

It was one of the young German guys I kept leapfrogging yesterday.  He wasn't looking for the trail, he was looking for his brother. They had gotten separated while hiking yesterday and did not camp together.  His name was Alex and his brother's name was Felix. I told him I was heading out and if I saw Felix I would tell him to wait.

I headed out on the sandy track that lead up and out of Lake Morena. There was a cool looking fog that covered the water, burning off as the sun came out. As I continued on uphill,  my pack seemed to become annoyingly heavy. I decided to take an early break, eat some more breakfast, and apply sunscreen.

Fog over Lake Morena.

Morning on the trail.

As I was putting on the sunscreen, I saw Alex approaching, still without Felix. Alex said he was able to get cell signal to send a meeting point to his brother, but he still hadn't heard back. Alex was not used to hiking solo and suggested that we team up for a while.

With someone else to talk to, my pack didn't seem so heavy after all.  I had a nice chat with Alex, who is half way through his university schooling,  in which he is studying medicine.  I told him about my stingray research, but he didn't know the English word, “stingray.” Luckily, I had learned the German word, “rochen” in passing many years back. He couldn't believe I happened to know that word and, honestly,  I couldn't either. I was entirely too proud of myself in that moment.

I left Alex at Cottonwood Creek, where he told his brother they would meet, and headed through the valley towards the I-8 underpass. It was already getting to be fairly warm.

Looking down at Cottonwood Creek.

As I passed through the Boulder Oaks Campground, I saw a sign for free coffee, snacks, and conversation. This kind of thing is known as “trail magic,” and was something I was looking forward to. Unfortunately,  I still had a lot of miles to do and didn't have time to stop. None of the other PCTers around me stopped either. I felt really bad as I walked past. Trail magic is something incredibly generous. It hurts my heart that someone put in that time/resources and none of us could stop.

I continued on underneath the I-8 highway and then started heading up, and up, and up again.  I ended up having to take frequent “pack breaks” where I would sit on a rock for a minute to relieve the pressure from my backpack.  My back was aching quite a bit today and the temperatures just kept getting hotter.

Passing under one of the I-8 overpasses.

I passed the junction for the trail that led down to Kitchen Creek Falls.  The online water report had said that there was enough water for swimming, but I was still trying to stay on schedule to make it to Mt. Laguna, so I did not stop.

I kept grinding uphill in the heat, taking frequent “pack breaks.” I was determined to get 10 miles in before lunch. The thermometer on my shoulder was reading temps on the mid-90s.

Looking back down onto I-8, still flanked by wildflowers.

Lots of wildflowers were blooming along the trail.

I don't know what  kind of lizard this little guy is, but he was pretty!

I finally dragged myself past mile 30 and started looking for a shaded spot to take a nice, long lunch break. There wasn't one. For the next two miles the trail was just a small path etched into the side of the mountain.  Nothing grew big enough to create shade and there were very few rocks to sit on. I finally found one but I couldn't stay there long. I was being cooked.

After a quick lunch I kept going, but it was pretty difficult. I had a combination of heat, uphill travel, and a heavy pack working against me. By this point, if I made it to Mt. Laguna I would probably be doing it in the dark. I checked my map and there was another campsite accessible by vehicle called Cibbets Flats. The problem here was that it would only be a 12+ mile day. Ideally I would have gone 15-18 miles, but then I would not be able to meet up with my Trail Angel to get my food. In the end, I decided to call him  (luckily I had cell service) and change the meeting point.

I rolled into Cibbets Flats Campground around 3:30 pm with my body feeling exhausted and swollen from exertion in the heat. There was a PCT trail registry to sign as I entered. In this registry people were writing cute notes, but none of them were particularly memorable. Feeling peer pressure to write something other than my name, I wrote "Too hot to hike to Mt. Laguna!" I am not creative.

The campground ended up being a cute first-come-first-serve facility with a lot of trees for shade and a creek with a cute bridge. I picked a shaded campsite and took my time setting up camp. I seriously think it may have taken an hour. I would set up one piece, then chill in the shade/walk down to the creek, then set up another piece.  It was a pretty relaxing afternoon.

Staying cool at Cibbets Flats.

As much as Mt Laguna was my goal, I have to remember my original plan. I was going to take things easy in the beginning,  especially since I have an early start date. It is easy to get caught up in trying to rack up the miles with the other cool kids.

Later on, my Trail Angel delivered my food resupply. I have a feeling my pack will feel even heavier tomorrow.