Day 5
April 23
Mile 77-about mile 96
19 miles

I broke down my camp, packed up, walked quietly past the hikers still huddled in their sleeping bags under the bridge and headed over the road and up the notoriously hot hill. It was a slow start. I was fascinated by all of the new forms of cacti I was seeing- more typical of the kinds you would expect to see in the desert. I kept looking back at the road and bridge behind me, observing where I had been and thinking of those who were still there. I got hungry and decided to take an extended break, getting out my jetboil to use as a bowl to eat some granola with powdered milk. Two girls walked by and introduced themselves: Midnight Chocolate and her friend (later to be named Cowgirl) from Colorado. We chatted for a couple of minutes and they continued on. We played leap-frog when they decided it was time for a break, themselves. I didn’t see any rattlesnakes today, but I did see two slate blue ones napping on the trail, as well as a yellow and black one that slithered off the trail. I crossed paths with a German man who was hiking southbound from Warner Springs to kick-off. He wanted to know how far behind his friends he was. I continued to hike through a burn area and descended to some lower land where I saw a group of five hikers taking a break beside a bush. They said hello and we chatted for a bit. Spoonman, Werewolf, Marijke, Sierra Bum and B-rad (I believe). They invited me to join them and said they were all funny. I wanted to keep moving, however. Ahead of me, I could see a hiker who was moving a bit slowly. When I caught up to him, I realized it was Luke, who had started the same day as me. As I chatted with him, the fasted hikers from the group of five began to pass. I hiked with Luke until he realized that he had left his phone back where we had taken a small break. Our first big destination of the day was the third gate water cache. There were no natural water sources along this stretch of trail, so a generous group of trail angels took it upon themselves to stock water for us PCT hikers. This year, the cache was moved about a quarter mile down off the trail to make it easier for the angels to maintain the supply. As I approached the sign reading “water”, I began to see hikers seeking refuge under every bush in the vicinity! I had only seen the two girls and the group of five all morning and had no idea so many people were in the same area! I tried to see if I knew anyone, but it’s hard to tell when everyone is disguised in wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses and hiding under bushes! Two hikers pointed to the water sign and told me there was water that way. I felt like I had just arrived in munchkin land! (“Follow the yellow brick, road…!) Another told me to find a bush to rest under. Some had their tarps set up. I couldn’t find an unoccupied bush until I started down the water path. It was a very hot afternoon and no one was about to move! I set down my pack to claim my bit of shade and brought my water bottles down to the cache. This was a nice cache! There were lots of gallon jugs of bottles, all neatly organized and tied together with a rope. The “fun” group had found a tree off the trail to relax under and invited me over but I said I had already found a spot. I made my way back up the hill with full water bottles, opened my chrome umbrella for the first time and set it in the branches over my head. The sun was burning my feet, though! I had to keep shifting the umbrella as the sun moved. I kept expecting Luke to come down the path, but he never did. Another hiker passed by me who recognized me. I tried to recall who it was. “Greg, is that you?” I had met him briefly at the Pioneer Mail water source and he had his hat and sunglasses on then.
I didn’t allow myself to rest too long, as I had my goal for the day, so I packed up and got moving, trying my umbrella out as I walked. It was difficult to hold up, however, and a bit annoying to fit over my wide brimmed hat. By this time, I couldn’t wait to switch my hat out! I regretted my choice as soon as I took it out of my pack at the San Diego airport. It was crumbled and shapeless from being stuffed in my pack and I realized as soon as I stepped out onto the dusty and very windy desert trail that what looks good in your apartment has no bearing on how it will be on the trail! The thing would not stay on my head in the wind, even with the chin strap that I added. And white is not a good color when you are living in dirt! So, I asked my resupply people if they could ship out my western hat instead. I was counting down the miles with this hat…

As dusk approached, I began to look for a spot to set up my tent. I was now on a ridge, making this task a bit more difficult. Finally, I spotted a piece of dirt just off a bend in the trail that turned out to be just big enough to fit my tent. I set it up, cooked my pasta dinner and greeted the two girls as they continued down into lower land for the evening. I had no desire to night hike or set up camp in the dark and was thankful I had found a spot to sleep before the sun had set.

I am camped by the highway at mile 77 on day 4. It’s super windy, which means I won’t get any sleep. Have only slept one night of the last 4.
Today, I broke away from the pack of people ( there are way more people out here than I expected!) and hiked alone all day. I’ve already gotten lost a couple of times and have had to hike extra to backtrack. I saw a rattlesnake on the trail on day 2 and one today that was in the bushes right beside the trail and there was no mistaking that a predatory animal was making noises at me as I walked next to it! Holy cow!
It’s very hot and the sun beats down on you all day. The miles go much slower in the heat. And I have never been so dirty in my entire life! We walk through sand all day long and it covers your body! It seeps right through your socks. My toes are black! And my entire legs are covered with dirt.
My body- especially my hips and legs are so sore and tight that they radiate pain at night and don’t allow me to sleep.

I haven’t had any time to stretch or journal- both of which I need to do badly. I’m trying to make it to Warner Springs by Wednesday in hopes of getting a ride to kick- off – and maybe a free shower! Otherwise, I will have to pay $8 for one.
I will update this over the next few days when I have a chance. In the meantime, I’m just working hard- hiking all day long, setting up camp, cooking my dehydrated pasta, trying unsuccessfully to sleep, breaking it all down, putting it all on my back and walking all day again.

So glad I am out here, though! It’s the only place I want to be.
Check back in a few days for a couple of photos and more details!

Day 4
April  22
Mile 55.9-mile 77
21.1 miles

The morning walk along the ridge was pretty. I took my time taking pictures. As I was putting my pack back on after taking my first break, Marmot came along and said “hello.” I was surprised to see her! I thought she was ahead of me as I hadn’t seen where she had camped. I followed her a bit and she looked like she putting a lot of effort into hiking hard! She was driving her poles into the ground and it did not look like it was enjoyable to me. She let me go ahead, but stayed close behind me. It turned out that she had hiked until dark last night and camped a couple of miles beyond me. I was wishing for my own space when all of a sudden, a predatory animal made its presence known to me! It was big, brown, and loud and sprung out of the bush right next to my foot! Whoa! A huge rattlesnake! I screamed and it slithered across the trail in front of me. Unfortunately, it was too fast for me to get a picture. Adrenaline coursed through my body and knocked me out of my not- so- pleasant head space. I really wanted a picture, but Marmot wanted me to move on. “It’s a foot off the trail now. Do you see?” she implored. She called it a 9:00 rattler. “Usually, they come out around 10.”

After awhile, we started a descent. I let her go ahead (my strength is uphills) and returned to my own space. Pretty yellow flowers lined the trail. As I headed towards Rodriguez Spur tank, I had a flashback to someone’s journal that I had read a few years ago, in which they wrote about sleeping on this tank. And now, I found myself at this very place! The realization hit me hard. I reached the tank around noon and headed up the path, only to be blocked by barbed wire.  I returned back down the path and Marmot called out to me from the spot she was resting at- under the only bush in the area! She handed me a broken plastic jug and told me the hose was over there. “Turn it from the side, not the top.” The whole area looked like a scene from a western movie- dry, dusty, and brown! She moved over and let me sit on her wet piece of Tyvek (wet from spilling water on it). She liked my purple striped toesocks and wanted to know where I got them from. I learned that she had thru-hiked the PCT, the AT, the CDT, the Canadian Rockies, and the Arizona Trail! She was now hiking the PCT in sections. As she ate hummus and corn chips from her tupperware container, she warned me about a tick infestation somewhere after Deep Creek. “Don’t bring your pack down there! I got 50-100 ticks on my pack and was picking them off for days!”. She packed up as I filtered my water and left me to myself again. I started walking soon after, making my way along a ridge. All of a sudden, I had to go to the bathroom! Immediately! But where was I supposed to go? I was on a ridge! It turned into an escapade. I climbed up a gravel embankment, slipping along the way, and getting  scratched up by prickly bushes. The descent was even more treacherous. And then, as I was putting my pack on, one of my two liter soda bottles fell out and barreled to the edge of the trail, nearly plummeting into the abyss below! I nearly lost half of my water holding capacity in the desert! Luckily, disaster was averted as the bottle stopped rolling right at the edge of the trail! I continued on, and the trail soon began a long descent. The temperature rose and I felt tired. When I came to a rocky area in a bend of the trail,  I took a 20 minute break to take off my shoes and eat a snack. It was now 4:00. I needed to get going. After I reached the floor of the desert, I still had about 3 miles to get to the highway. I could see it in the distance. There seemed to be lots of intersections in the trail once I reached the bottom. I continued to follow what I thought was the trail, but the path seemed to keep breaking up. There were bits of trail here and there, but I kept having to walk around obstacles such as prickly bushes and trees with branches that seemed to want to reach out and grab me as in the Wizard of Oz. I saw only one set of footprints in this area, and the other set of prints seemed to belong to a mountain lion!  What was I doing in the path of a mountain lion? I kept going. It seemed like the right direction. Alas, I finally realized that the path I was on did not look like the PCT. I had to turn around and follow the path I had just taken back. I hurried due to the time I had just lost, but tried to remain calm. I was clear-headed, knew where I was, and had water. Finally, I made it back to the junction and found the correct trail (which was not so clear!). As I continued on, the area I had just been in became fenced off with barbed wire and signs that read, “Wildlife Boundary: Do not enter!.” No wonder I was seeing the mountain lion footprints! Finally, I made it to the highway. I turned left and still had one mile to walk before I got to Scissors Crossing. I was tired! I eventually saw the “scissors” shaped by the highways and crossed over. There was a hiker standing in the island who seemed to be changing his pants. He did not greet me. I went on and arrived at the underpass where I found Mike, who was now named “Smooth Operator”, and several other thru-hikers who I did not know, hanging out. It was a strange environment. There was trash and plastic jugs on the other side and the wind continually kicked up the dust. Mike was distant. His parents were coming to pick him up in the morning and bring him to the town of Julian. Two other guys were waiting for night to fall and the air to cool before they headed out to embark on the notoriously long and hot climb ahead. One played music from his iphone out loud. Surprisingly, it was easy listening music! After I filled up on water and emptied out my trash, someone asked if I wanted some chicken! They said some lady had dropped it off. It looked pretty picked apart, so I declined. However, there were 2 rolls left, so I had one of those. Another hiker asked if I wanted a wet wipe. “Your hands are dirty,” he said. I smiled and used the wipe. As I was eating my roll, Lion King walked in to the sound of two guys clapping out his hiking rhythm. I asked about camping spots ahead as Yogi’s guide mentioned there were some north of the bridge. One of the hikers pointed to the exposed climb ahead and said, “That’s it.” Lion King said there were some flat spots back where I had come from. He said that he felt “safe as a kitten” when he slept there in a previous year, despite lying right next to the highway. So, I headed over and searched the area until I found a nice, big spot. I set up my tent as the wind began to pick up. I cooked my pasta, tried to wipe some of the dirt off me, and did a bit of journaling for the first time on the hike. The others remained under the bridge. The wind was so strong during the night that it knocked over my hiking/tent pole support three times while I tried to sleep!  Luckily, it didn’t strike my body.  But, as I had predicted, I once again was hardly able to sleep.

Day 3
April 21
Mile 39.6- 55.9 (campsite in boulders)

16.3 miles

I was actually able to sleep a bit and had vivid dreams while doing so! I dreamed that I was already home after finishing the PCT and I couldn’t believe how fast and easy it was! No one from home seemed to care, though…. Then, I started to panic a bit… Wait a minute- I never picked up the bear canister at Kennedy Meadows that John so graciously agreed to lend me (and that meant I never returned it to him!). And I never saw Sisters or Bend…! I was trying to make sense of what had happened…

I woke up, just as Mike was passing by, to the sound of my breathing through blocked nasal passages, which were again filled with blood and mucous. It felt good to have finally slept a little! I got up about 6 and was on the trail by 7:00, just as Luke was approaching!
I stepped in behind him and we chatted a bit as we walked. It was nice to have company, but I noticed that I wasn’t nearly as aware of my surroundings as when I walk alone. The scenery went right by me, unnoticed! We passed by some beautiful trees that provided plenty of shade and I wished we were hiking this section in the afternoon when we could take advantage of the sun protection. The miles passed pretty easily and soon we came to a hiker sitting under a fountain. It turned out to be Drama Queen!
“Boy am I glad to see you guys!” he said.  “I hope you like cold water!”
Luke and I didn’t need any water at that time.  We both planned on filling up at Mt. Laguna. Drama asked if we were sure there was water there, as the sign on the fountain said this was the last water source for the next 10+ miles. Luke responded, “It’s a town! Of course there is water!”.
So Drama decided not to fill up there, either. I took a sip of my water and discovered that it was still cold! Amazing!

Together, we went on, eventually reaching the picnic tables that signaled the path we were to cut up in order to reach the road to Mt. Laguna, and came upon a bunch of people at a picnic table with bountiful amounts of food, including lots of bananas.
“Let’s yogi for food!” Drama called outloud. Luke and I told him that is NOT how you yogi food… No one offered us anything. Instead, they pointed out the direction we were to take to get to the store. As we came to the road, we turned left and walked down the road, arriving at the store at 8:30. We had a half hour to wait until it opened. Luke and I happily headed for the restrooms, only to find out they were locked due to a broken pipe! This broken pipe also meant that there was no running water in the vicinity! Really? We ended up going to the bathroom in the woods across the road. (Good thing we are prepared to do this!). We snacked a bit as we waited for the guy to open the store. I was charged $5 to pick up my box. Luke and Drama shopped at the store and somehow managed to get packed up before I did! I asked the guy if there was anywhere we could get water and he said the next closest place was 6 miles down the trail! Great…!  However, not long after, he offered to fill up Luke’s water bottles! (?!) I asked Luke if he could get mine filled up…
As I was looking at my appearance in a store mirror, I heard a familiar voice. I turned to see Duane- the older man who started the day before me, who had never backpacked before!
Two minutes later, I saw a shiny black jacket. Caroline! I went over to give her a hug. She excitedly rocked me back and forth. “How has your hike been?”.  She was staying overnight in a cabin with Duane. She already had six blisters!
When Duane saw me, he also gave me a hug. Caroline invited me to hang out in the cabin. She tried to tempt me by telling me there was shade (the sun was already burning and hot by 9 am!!), a fridge, a microwave, and a shower. The shower got me to consider… She told me the number of the cabin and I went over and told Luke. Drama had walked down the road to the outfitters and Luke agreed to hang out in the cabin. However, he then changed his mind and decided to hike on. I felt I had to move on, as well. When Drama came back, we took a group photo, and then hiked back up the road and past the picknickers once again. During our walk, I learned that Drama is from Fitchburg, MA- the town next to the one I grew up in! I couldn’t believe it! No one had ever heard of my town before! He was calling me “Sashay Shante”, which greatly amused me. Later, he began musing philosophically about life on the trail.  “In New York, you meet someone and maybe decide that you like them, but then never see them again. There are oceans of people. But on the PCT, it’s the opposite. The first time you meet someone, you decide you can trust them. They are not going to slit your throat. Okay, you can camp near me…. Then when you see them again, you feel happy to see them. You realize they are funny, or you like the gap between their teeth, or whatever. They endear themselves to you. The next time you see them, you are even happier!”.
We walked up to and along a ridge. I needed to take my pack off and give my shoulders a break, as I need to do every so often.
Drama said I should do some yoga. I took a break for a couple of minutes as they walked on. A bit later, I saw them looking at something in the bushes. I thought they were discussing why those particular bushes were burned. When I caught up to them, they said the bushes smelled strongly of marijuana. Drama went up a side trail and started whooping with excitement. Naturally, Luke and I followed. A father and son soon joined us. It was our first expansive view! Storm Canyon. I suggested we take a break there, but they didn’t want to. They said it was too early for a break and besides, there was no shade there. Sigh. (Give a thru-hiker the choice between a magnificent view or shade in the desert and they will pick shade!). So, we continued on.
I fell a bit behind as I needed to take my pack off of my shoulders quite often. (I have to hike all of my long trails like this). As I came to some stairs leading up to a Shriner’s Lodge, I heard my name. Drama was telling the others that I taught yoga. I went up the stairs and joined them on the porch deck, trying to find a spot in the shadows. I ate the rest of my summer sausage and was asked by Matt if I was immune to blisters because I hiked the AT! (?)  Of course not!
Drama decided he wanted to walk a couple of miles to a campground so he could get a shower. The father and son headed back on the trail and I started worrying that they were going to claim the single campsite listed on our maps that I was hoping to sleep at.
I hiked alone for the rest of the afternoon and eventually reached the Pioneer Mail picnic tables, where several thru-hikers were taking breaks, including the father and son. I joined them at their table and asked if they knew where the water cache was. I took my water bottles in the direction in which they pointed, only to find the cache empty! There was a well there with green water in it, though. So, I returned to the table to get my filter. I also decided to take off my shoes so my socks could dry out. When I walked back up the hill, the trail angel who stocks the cache had appeared to re-stock it! I chatted with her while the father came up and took a gallon jug for him and his son. He came back up the hill to give her a couple dollars. The woman told me about the Indians that used to migrate from the mountains to storm canyon every winter. She also talked about a spindly (not pretty) small yellow flower (creote?) that they often used to help soothe tired feet. I love hearing about these kinds of things!
She said she didn’t want to hold me up, so I filled up my water, went back to the table, and returned to give her a donation.
“Oh, honey!,” she said. “Now I can buy more water. And maybe someone needs a ride!”
Meanwhile, another hiker named Marmot had come through and was immediately on her way up the trail after quickly filling up on water! Again, I worried that she was going to take my campsite…

Luke, Matt and Drama came in a half an hour later. They debated whether or not they should stay there overnight. (Our guidebooks said no camping was allowed at the picnic area). I told them that I heard 15 people stayed there last night.
Drama was digging at his blisters with his knife. I gave him some wool I had been carrying that was supposed to help blister problems by reducing friction. Then, I headed back to the trail. I came to another nice view of Storm Canyon and stopped to take in the view. Two day hikers were just returning from their hike. I still had 3 or so miles to hike until I reached my campsite.  I began to get tired as the evening wore on. Around a bend, I looked to my left and saw a patch of grass. ‘I can camp there!’, I thought to myself. Perfect! After I got my tent set up, two hikers came from the opposite direction. They asked if there were any campsites beyond this one. I think they were planning on staying here, too!
A bit later, I saw that they had found a spot across the way and were setting up.
I cooked my dinner and tried to wash the dirt off my legs with the one wet wipe that I had allocated per day. (Toto, I don’t think we are on the AT anymore…! One wet wipe isn’t even enough to clean one leg!). It was a windy night. I had to keep adjusting my trekking pole that I use for the main support of my tent. At 4 in the morning, I had to get up to pee. It was another sleepless night.
(I still couldn’t believe that I was the one to get this camp spot!)

Day 2
April 20

Lake Morena (mile 20.6)-Pines above creek (app. mile 39.6)
19 miles

I shifted all night long, looking at my watch, unable to sleep. The ground was uncomfortable and my nose was filled with thick yellow mucous and blood. I couldn’t breathe, let alone sleep! I definitely didn’t need my iphone to wake me up! It was still dark at 5 when I got up. I checked my thermometer. It read 42.9 degrees, but it didn’t feel as cold as it did in Colorado. I ate a package of poptarts for breakfast and felt very disappointed when I discovered they were maple flavored and not chocolate. I put in my contacts and started packing up after 5:30. Ron started to awake around 5:50. I heard him shifting around and went over to say good morning. He had not slept well, either. I wasn’t too cold while lying in my sleeping bag, but now that I was out, even with all of my layers on, I was very cold! I told Ron that I was going down to the restrooms to fill up my water bottles. (We got to ease into backpacking with a shower the first night and not needing to filter water in the morning!). He said he had to go down there, too and would meet me there. My hands were frozen. I found a spigot, filled up on water, and went to the bathroom. I looked around for Ron, but saw no sign of him! My hands were growing even colder. I had to get moving! I decided that he would catch up with me and headed toward campsite 95, which the ranger had said the trail was right beside. I walked over to the road, found a PCT sign, and got excited! The trail! I walked up a hill, noticing the pretty lavender flowers and the shadows cast by the early sun, and soon came to a familiar signpost… Wait a minute, I have already seen this…! I realized that I had just backtracked to where I had come off the trail last evening! I walked back down the hill, followed the road in the other direction, and finally found the trail going north. It turned out to be located just behind where I had camped! I felt embarrassed, a bit mad, and my anxiety was increasing. Ron had made a big deal about getting started early to avoid the extreme heat (starting around 10 am… What were we supposed to do after that?) and I had just lost a big chunk of this cooler weather! I was going to swelter under the hot sun soon! I reached a rusted gate and couldn’t figure out for the life of me how to open it! It seemed to be stuck shut! Day 2 was not beginning so well! I wondered if anyone else was having these problems! I took off my pack, dropped it through the middle of the gate, and then squeezed myself through the bars. After that fiasco, it was a quiet morning in the chaparral. The early sun was blinding and I often could not see where I was going! I wondered if polarized sunglasses would allow me to see. I did see a couple of cute bunnies, as well as a runner heading towards the campground. After a couple of miles, I found some nice large sunny rocks at the top of a climb to dry out my little towels from the evening before, as well as my socks. I stripped off some layers and ate the rest of my poptarts. Along came Luke and Drama, led by an athletic blond-haired guy who I hadn’t yet met. He seemed surprised that Luke and Drama knew me. They asked me if I was going to Mt. Laguna tonight. “No!” I wasn’t going to do over 22 miles on the second day! Besides,  there would be no point. I had to wait until the store opened the following morning to pick up my first resupply box. They said they were planning on getting there tonight. They told me that some guy let them camp in his backyard last night, which is why I hadn’t seen them at the campground. Matt was still asleep when they left. I asked if they had seen Ron and they said no. Drama said, “No worries. Hike your own hike.”
They continued on and a couple more people passed by while I was still taking my break. One guy made a comment about me finding a good place to make alterations. (“It’s called taking a break”…)
I packed up and walked on. I came to my first creek crossing on a log and nearly fell in.
As I took another snack break, Matt passed. He had not seen Ron, either. Strange…
I saw a pretty meadow with yellow flowers in the distance, as two southbound men passed by. Up ahead, another hiker had found a large rock to sit on and patch up his newly formed blisters.

The day seemed to be dragging along. I had walked only 8 miles by 11:30! It felt much hotter than yesterday!

As I reached Boulder Oaks campground, where I refilled my water bottles, a tourist group passed by. One lady wished me a nice hike. Matt rolled in, followed by the guy who stopped to care for his blisters. I took off,  passing by the numbered campspots, wondering  “Where is the trail?”. It turns out that it was in the other direction!
I continued on until the trail came out to a highway, and again, I wasn’t sure where to go.
Across the highway or on the highway?
Matt came out and thought it went along the road, so I followed him. It was so hot!! I said that road-walking was the worst part and he mimicked me complaining- “everything is wrong”. (??) Lots of cyclists were headed in the opposite direction. I asked Matt if he was sure this was the trail. He took out his map and said that it seemed to follow the road for awhile. So, we kept walking. Then a cyclist rode by and shouted out, “The PCT is that way!” We turned around and started walking all the way back. Great… Matt picked up the pace. He was obviously not happy and not interested in interacting with me. I did not try to keep up. Finally, I was back on the trail! Matt sped ahead. I passed several people, including a woman named Snapdragon and her husband. They said they were only doing eight miles a day. After the husband found out my name, he said he had a joke for me.
“Why did Tinker Bell fly? Because she saw a sign down below that said never, never land.”

A bit later on, I met a nice young guy, named Austin. He had been coveting everyone’s chrome dome umbrellas and asked how much they cost. He was carrying a beige umbrella that he had bought at Walmart and said that it was burning him more than cooling him. I asked him if he wanted to borrow mine (I had yet to try it), but he said no.
I kept needing to sit down and take little breaks. It was so hot! Often, the rocks were very uncomfortable places to sit, however! I read about some waterfalls that were coming up in my guidebook and wondered if they were worth going to. When the Canadians passed me on one of my sit-downs, I asked what they intended to do. Kim said, “It’s kind of dry…”  “Good point,” I said. “Guess I will wait until Oregon to see the waterfalls!”.

Eventually, I reached Fred canyon, where I met an older gentleman, who was just finishing a break. He said we were going to start a climb.
“Starting now?” I asked. He was amused. He was really impressed that I had just started yesterday. “You’re moving, girl!”
I decided I should take a break here. I needed to air out my shoes. I hadn’t taken them off yet. I found an area with logs to lay out my socks on and shade for me to rest under. Soon after, I heard people nearby. One asked another, “Where are you from?”.
“Boulder.”

“Cool, man.”

As I packed up my things and put my shoes back on, I heard a familiar laugh! I went up to find Luke, Drama, and Mike!

“How did you guys get behind me?!”.
They said that they had taken a break at Tunnel Falls. “You missed out!”, they taunted. “It was really nice!” “We put our heads under the falls and cooled off!”.
They continued to banter and I headed up the climb, which wasn’t bad. Then, I saw a snake- one with a rattle!- lying across the trail! My first rattlesnake! My heart started to beat faster. What should I do? It wasn’t moving. I asked it if it wanted to get off the trail. It didn’t respond. I then asked if it was asleep. Still no response. Finally, I decided to step around it. As I begun to do so, it woke up! It snapped its head up, set its eyes on me, stuck out its tongue, and hissed as it slithered off to the right. After I was passed it, I let out a little belated scream. A runner came down the hill and I told him he just missed a rattle snake. He immediately jumped as if the rattlesnake were directly under him and I laughed. “Just in case!” he responded.
Mike soon came along and said, “I heard you hiked the AT.”
He wanted to know what that trail was like. He had planned on hiking that one this year, but his partner had dropped out. He decided that he could still try hiking the PCT and that was why he was now here. He asked me about what it took to complete a long trail, what my mental state was, and if I ever wanted to quit. He said that he doesn’t know what to say when people ask how far he is going…
I told him to own it. “Tell them that you are going to Canada! You already set your intention. Now you just have to align with it! You’re already a thruhiker!”.
He was obviously in good shape, with well-defined leg muscles- unlike the rest of us. He told me that he runs and I asked if he was an ultramarathoner. He said he was.
Then, I found out he was 21!
I said that I was going to tell everyone I was keeping up with the 21 year old ultramarathoner! (He responded that he wasn’t going that fast…)
It helped so much to have someone to talk to. The afternoon miles went by so much faster than the morning miles! In the distance, we could see a big stand of pine trees, which I found surprising in the desert!
We arrived at a creek, where two older guys were collecting water. “How far are you going?”, one of them asked us.
“All the way!”, I said.
Mike had turned away and wasn’t saying anything. I gave him a nudge and said, “Right?”.
“Yeah…We’re going to Canada” he said reluctantly.
“I love it!”, said the guy who asked the question.

We decided to wait until the “ford” to collect our water because it was likely easier to access water there, and we had no immediate need for it. My method of purifying water took longer than Mike’s, and I thought he would take off, but he waited for me! Earlier, he said that he had been looking forward to hiking and camping alone that evening, but then changed his mind and said he would go with the flow.
Although he wanted to go further than I did, he ended up stopping where I wanted to camp in the pines! Some older men were already setting up their tents under some trees on one side of the trail. We took the “cool side.”
I set up my tent, boiled some water for dinner, and went to join Mike for dinner. He showed me his emerald and St. Christoph pendent. Earlier on our hike, he talked about how he loved his sandals. He had no blisters and intended to hike the entire trail with them. He also had no poles. He had an army canvas backpack and only 9 pounds of baseweight!
After we finished our dinners, Mike said he wanted to say “hi” to the older guys. I returned to my tent and got ready for bed. I could hear them laughing and knew they had just suggested a trail name for him. When he returned, I asked if he was just given a name.
“Yeah- Buzz Light Year”. One of the guys had remarked that he had a nice smile and bright white teeth.
I thought he could do better than that and said I didn’t know how I felt about that. I told him he should think about it.
Because the Mt. Laguna store didn’t open until 9, and I only had a few miles to get there, I didn’t have to get up too early the next morning. Mike wasn’t planning on stopping there.

The month of February has flown by and I don’t know what happened to all of the extra time I was supposed to have without work! I am still commuting into Boston on many days, which is time consuming in itself. To take a 90 minute yoga class, it takes a total of 5 hours of time to commute by train. Therefore, the number of yoga classes I attended at my studio drastically declined this past month, which was upsetting to me. I didn’t succeed in either creating a daily writing practice or a home yoga practice, and the fact that I was failing at my goals was adding even more stress to my life. It was also stressful to be asked by people how my PCT planning was coming along, because I really hadn’t started it and time was just marching by! My energy was scattered in all different directions without a routine schedule. I had doctor appointments to go to before my health insurance ran out, I was taking part in a yoga mentorship, I no longer had access to a printer and needed help printing my permit applications for the PCT as well as the trail notes that were not available when I was finishing my job, I was trying to fit my last chiropractor appointments in between a noontime yoga class, quick lunch at Whole Foods, and my yoga class that I teach, and I was just really tired. There was so much of life and chores that I needed to catch up on, and I just couldn’t find time to do the things that I had hoped to do. I wish there were three different versions of me: one to stay home and rest and write, one to go to at least 2 yoga classes a day, and one to plan my PCT trip!

At the moment, I am knee deep in ordering supplies for the PCT. I have spent countless hours in front of my laptop, researching gear, looking for the best price, and placing orders. Every item that we carry in our packs needs to be carefully thought out. Our base pack weight for the PCT must be as low as possible in order to hike the miles per day that are required in order to finish before winter arrives in Washington (sometimes up to 30 miles a day- something I have never done before). For every piece of gear that we carry, there are multiple options. Should I take an alcohol stove like I did on the AT or a stove that I can shut off and that requires canister fuel like I used on the Colorado Trail (due to the forest fire rules). And how available is the kind of fuel that I will need along the way? What kind of system should I use to purify water? (A filter, bleach, Aquamira, etc). What kind of water bottles will I need for the system I choose? What kind of tent should I bring? The tent that I bought for the Colorado Trail was meant to be used as a test for the PCT. It worked well for me on that trip (for the most part), but I had not thought about the problem of the mesh bottom freezing to snow while camping in the Sierras… What kind of sleeping pad should I use and how bulky and heavy is it? A lot of my AT gear has worn out. I realized this past rainy Wednesday that my rain jacket that I bought in Vermont on my AT hike is no longer waterproof in certain parts… I needed a new sleeping bag, a new down jacket, tent stakes for sand and snow, an outfit for desert hiking, a desert umbrella (there will be no shade for the first 700 miles of the hike), lots and lots of socks (the sand chews up socks… I will need to replace the three pairs that I will rotate at least once every 2 weeks), 6 pairs of insoles, 6 pairs of trail runners, an ice axe for the Sierras, a bear canister that is required for holding our food in the Sierras (an additional 3 pounds and too much pack space!), a whole lot of 2 ounce sunscreens, toilet paper, contact lens solution, deet, wet wipes, first aid items, and on and on…And then there is food…. Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks- for over 5 months! So many calories to be replenished, and in the most light weight manner possible! This is a lot of food to pre-plan, order, and re-package! And I’ve heard that you will eat far more on the PCT per day than on the AT!

And then there is compiling a list of stops I will make along the trail to pick up the food that I pre-packaged, estimate the number of days it will take to hike between the stops, figure out how to get there (is it a long, hard hitch?), and what is available at each of these places. Then I will have to separate my maps and trail notes and town notes into sections and place them in the right boxes with my food and supplies for those sections. When there is time, there is also reading bits of past hikers journals so that I can take in as much information as possible about what lies ahead for me. I still need to buy my plane ticket to California (I tried to buy it last Monday, but realized the day was not a smart choice, and then watched the price rise by over $100 over the next 2 days…).

The good news is that I am a lot less worried about planning this hike than I was my AT hike, because of my Colorado Trail experience. I did not research that hike very much or do any specific training for it and I was just fine! (Although planning a 5 week hike is a lot less work than planning a five month hike!). And I found an answer to the very pressing problem of who would be willing to mail me my resupply packages over the course of my hike- a very big and important job! Thank you SO much Ham and Brian!! I am also extremely thankful to my first trail angels of this hike, who will pick me up at the San Diego airport (or close by), take me to their home, feed me, and deliver me to the trailhead in the morning, all without a charge! Incredible! Last year they did this for over 200 hikers! This couple hiked the PCT together in 2007 and I have just started reading their journal. I love them already and am so thankful for such a loving and positive way to start this long journey!

Before I write anymore about the PCT, I really need to catch up on writing about my Colorado Trail experience (which I wanted to do at the end of last August..), so I will go back in time for my next several entries. (Sometimes, just like a wave, you have to go backwards before you can go forwards…)