April 25, 2020
Mile 0 to Mile 20.0
I am here!!! Its so surreal. Today was all a blur. Matt and I woke up at 5am this morning and packed up the car. We had a 2.5 hour drive to Campo, CA. The drive went by so fast and all of a sudden we were at the Mexican border and the pct monument.
I loaded up my backpack and we walked up to the border wall. I stuck my hand into Mexico for good measure. We moved over to the monument and briefly chatted with the USFS employee/volunteer stationed there.
I took a couple pics with the monument and then it was time to set off. I had to say goodbye to Matt which is always so sad. I hate goodbyes and being left alone. I only cried a little bit this time though. I set off down the road. The trail went alongside the road for a while and at the last turnoff Matt waited for me so we could say one last goodbye.
I was very emotional when I walked over to the “PCT basecamp” where a couple hikers and a couple trail angels were all talking. The trail angels (people that help thru hikers) told me I had way too much water. Rude. I mean they were right but still. They gave us the water report and some advice before we set off. I hiked with a girl named Sarah for most of the morning. Shes from Salt Lake City but grew up in Connecticut. We chatted while we hiked. It was mostly smooth sailing.
BUT, we did see a rattle snake. I am SO SCARED of snakes and it definitely doesn’t help that these ones are venomous. There was a fat one on the edge of the trail going into some rocks. It didn’t rattle and it seemed kind of lethargic. I made Sarah go first lol. After seeing her make it out alive I followed along the edge of the trail. Later on I got rattled at by a hidden snake in some bushes. Idk how ill get through the desert.
Later on we happened upon a guy named Brendan. He was having trouble with the heat so we stayed with him while he hydrated and then hiked out with him. The three of us went down all the way to Hauser Creek together. There was a full on man party down at the creek. So many dudes. We all walked up to get some water (smelled disgusting) and rested a bit.
Brendan decided to call it a day and Sarah and I headed up out of the canyon. We planned on only doing 1-2 more miles but like idiots we walked 5 all the way to Lake Morena. My calves and glutes were feeling it pretty bad. But no joint pain! A little foot soreness but that’s nothing new.
We get a fully equipped campsite now with tables, bathrooms, running water, and trash cans!! Its nice to be at a real campground. I had Japanese curry and green juice for dinner and now its time for bed. I was hoping I’d have service here but no luck. Waking up early tomorrow to try to beat the heat!
