Day 0
Our Hostel in San Diego
After weeks of planning, moving into storage, and driving my pet turtle across the country, today is finally the day! Anna and I woke up bright and early and got a ride to the airport from my Mom. The flight happened without any issues and then we landed in San Diego! We couldn’t check in to our room at ITH Adventure Hostel until later, so we toured Balboa park for several hours before heading to the hostel. Once checked in, I slammed a Gatorade and took a nap before we headed back out to to go to a special discount night at the San Diego Natural History Museum. After learning about the area we were about to hike through, we caught a few buses across town, grabbed dinner, watched planes land, and then headed in for the night. The hostel’s tv was on the fritz, but after a protracted battle I got it to cooperate so that we could watch White Lotus. We then called it an early night and passed out for the night.
Day 1
700 and his pup Violet pose with Anna and I at the Southern Terminus
Anna and I slept in a bit, and then took advantage of the hostel’s kitchen to make some pancakes. While cooking, we chatted with a few of the international guests before packing up and saying goodbye to modern plumbing. We then caught a bus across town to pick up some fuel at REI, where our buddy 700 from the AT met us. 700 and his pup Violet gave us a ride to the trailhead and we took advantage of the ride to catch up as we hadn’t seen each other since the AT. Along the way out, we grabbed some subs for later, and passed by a flipped truck. After meandering through backroads, we promptly pulled up to the southern monument of the PCT with the looming border wall behind it, starkly cutting across the landscape. While there we got our pictures taken, met a crest runner, and hit the trail! 700 and Violet walked the first few miles with us which was awesome because it gave us more time to spend together. Once we arrived at the first stream though we stopped for a break and said our goodbyes.
From then on, Anna and I did another 5ish miles cooking in the bright sun before stopping at mile 7.5. Not bad for a chill half day! The sun definitely beat us up so we will try to start getting up earlier and taking it easy in the coming days to ease into it. It still hasn’t hit me yet either that we are out here.
Day 2
Anna poses with a trail sign. Only “a couple” of miles to go!
Wanting to avoid the brutal midday sun, we woke up nice and early at 6am and promptly started hiking around 6:20am. Because we were rested, and the temperature was nice and cool, we successfully got some miles in before the sun was a problem. We stopped at Hauser Creek for a quick reload on water before heading up our only real climb for the day. The sun blasted us on the hillside the whole way up, but it otherwise wasn’t too hateful. Once over, we cruised the next few miles in to Lake Morena County Park where we stopped for a siesta/lunch break. While there we chatted with a few other hikers, dried out our gear from the night before, and watched the local birds.
Around 3pm, once the hottest part of the day had passed, we set out again to grab a few more miles. This trail section was gorgeous and fairly easy as well, so we ended up easily making it to Boulder Oaks Campground where we tented just outside of the fee area at mile 26. All in all, a wonderful day. Both of our feet are giving us a bit of trouble so we’ll dial the pace back a bit and probably take more shoes off breaks going forward. Also, we plan to get up earlier to take better advantage of the cool mornings so that we can avoid the sun as much as possible. Funny enough, it still doesn’t feel like we’re thru-hiking yet. Total miles hiked today: 18.5.
Day 3
Yikes!
We easily woke up bright and early at 5am, and enjoyed some gorgeous night hiking with cool weather to knock out some of our climbing. The trail was a bit rockier than normal and we were feeling our feet so we maintained a nice easy pace. As we watched the sun slowly rise, we saw Lake Morena disappear off in the distance as we rounded a bend. Once the sun crested the horizon, we saw a family of turkeys and then a small snake soaking in the rays.
Just after the snake, we passed a slightly alarming “beware of unexploded ordinance sign” and then we began our long, big climb of the day. The first water source we checked out was sadly dry, but we continued on until we found one that was flowing. Since the water was surrounded by thorns and tricky to get to, we had lunch there and took our time. After lunch, we skipped the siesta and trudged on, eager for town food and an early end to the day. The climb really wasn’t too bad, it was just the brutal sun that zapped the energy out of us. As we crested the ridge, we were rewarded with a wonderful hike through a beautiful pine forest complete with woodpeckers and giant pinecones! We made it into Mt. Laguna around 2:30pm, did a small resupply, had some ice cream, completed trail laundry, and then set up camp for the night at mile 41.5 having done 15.5 for the day. Notably, we also did about 4000ft of climbing!
Day 4
Anna poses with a massive pine cone.
Anna and I were both already partially awake when the alarm went off at 5am, but we were incredibly comfortable so we stayed put for an extra few minutes before packing up. Our first section was an exposed ridgeline high above the desert floor below, and we were treated to a spectacular sunrise. We bobbed in and out of another stand of pines before coming out fully into the sun on another ridgeline. As we descended down along the trail, we met a local and his dog. While we chatted, his dog geniusly dug out the soil to expose the cooler soil below to lay in. From there we continued on as the day continued to get hotter until we rolled into Pioneer Mail Picnic Area for an early lunch and midday break.
While we were there, we met a bunch of other hikers who were doing the same exact thing we were. One of the women there, Claire, was supporting her cousin who was section hiking, and she graciously provided us with trail magic. A number of the others were from Texas, so we all chatted for a while about how it’s changed and what we loved and hated about it. After that, Anna and I made the call to head out so that we could have an early evening. Before we left, Claire offered up her shower at her BnB in Julian, so we are hoping to take advantage of her generous offer.
The next section was immediately a gorgeous exposed rock cliff with a solid wall on the side which provided a bit of shade. The area after it though was bone dry, with zero cover. Along the way, we spotted our first rattlesnake and I unfortunately burned my legs. We then arrived at our first well tank of water for the trail, filtered the neon green fluid, and set up camp for the night along the trail below at mile 59.7. Not including side trips for water, we hiked 18.2mi today, and man do our feet feel it!
Day 5
Our home for the night.
When the alarm on my watch vibrated, we both slowly rolled over, a bit sore from the rocks yesterday. We packed up quietly so as not to wake the nice German couple tenting next to us, and set out early once again to get down the exposed ridge before the sun baked us to death. Despite the slippery rocks we still made excellent time, covering the 11ish miles to our next water by 10am. There, we met Clammy and ran into Craig again who we had met the day before. After a quick break to grab water and to rest our feet, we headed out to complete the rest of the distance to Scissors Crossing.
After the initial downhill from the water, the clouds broke and the sun began to bake us on the cliff side. I could tell Anna’s feet were killing her as well since she was pretty quiet. We continued on like this, taking frequent breaks for a few hours to have water and to try and fix her feet until we finally made it to the area under the bridge at Scissors. There, we were immediately greeted by a kind trail angel named “Rangel” who offered us a ride in to Julian. He gave us recommendations on the town, told us where the hiker specials were, then sent us on our way.
We of course made a beeline to the Julian Cafe where I had a chocolate shake, fries, and a 1/3rd pound bacon cheeseburger and Anna had a VERY healthy portion of chicken and waffles. Satiated and happy to be off our feet, I called around to find lodging and booked us a room at the Julian Inn. We then checked in, and while Anna got cleaned up and treated her feet, I went and took care of our resupply. When I came back, she told me her feet were in pretty bad shape and that we’d need to find her a new pair of shoes sooner than Paradise Valley Cafe. We then did some trail laundry, watched White Lotus, and tucked in for the night. Total mileage 17.6.
Day 6
Anna and I posing with Bad Santa at Scissors Crossing.
Despite being in a comfy bed, we still woke up ready to go around 5:30am. On the advice of our buddy 700, Anna posted in the local trail angel group, and within minutes someone reached out and offered to give us a ride to and from San Diego! Armed with that info, we wrapped up the rest of our trail chores and then headed to the grocery store for breakfast sandwiches and to wait for our ride. Right on time, Bad Santa rolled up with his santa hat on the dash and told us to hop in!
On the way to the San Diego REI, he told us all about the area, himself, and pointed out various sights and vegetation. He also told us some fun stories of when he hiked as we cruised in to town. We arrived at REI shortly after 10am and Anna went in to grab her new shoes. Since I wear a larger half size shoe, I ran across the street to Road Runner to see what they had. It was a pretty surreal experience as there were robots serving water and people with tablets everywhere. After sitting there waiting to he helped for 20mins and having only tried on one shoe, I gave up the ghost and headed back to the REI for a new pair of insoles. We then loaded up and headed back to trail.
Once back, we cameled up on water and then headed up the exposed ridgeline towards Warner Springs. The wind and easy trail made it a pretty enjoyable section, especially since we were bolstered by our town night and awesome generosity from Bad Santa. At some point the wind really picked up and started blowing us around, forcing me to use my buff to secure my hat to my head, but otherwise it was a nice hike. Around 6pm, we called it quits and set up for the night in what seemed like a secluded canyon at mile 86.6. Pretty much just as I was finishing with the last sleeping pad, the wind shifted becoming a problem. It was around that time that I noticed I had also left my glasses case in Bad Santa’s truck. Damn. Oh well, I’ll either find a way to get them from him or get a new cheap pair made. All in all and excellent day. I just hope this wind abates. Total miles today, 9.5.
Day 7
The tiny cave along the side of the trail.
Last night was hell. We had picked a secluded canyon to tent in because it sheltered us from the wind. However, around midnight, the wind changed direction and shook our tent so violently that the rock keeping the stake in the ground cut through one of our corner guy lines. We then spent the next 3 hours improvising the corner line and then rearranging the tent to keep it upright. Thankfully, around 3am, the wind abated and we got a bit of sleep.
We woke up again around 5:30am to a light sprinkling, and set out immediately before the tent could get too wet. The clouds broke fairly quickly, but it was a gusty windy day. We cranked out an easy 14.5 miles by 1:30pm and stopped at Barrel Spring to meet Bad Santa because I had left my glasses in his car. Along the way, we passed a weird little man-made cave and got blasted by the high winds. While there, we hung out with fellow hikers for a bit and enjoyed the drinks Bad Santa had brought over. We were going to hike on, but the high winds were still going strong and it was open plains from here to at least another 10miles, so we called it an early day at 101.1.
I am once again incredibly thankful for Bad Santa’s generosity, and happy to be out here!
Day 8
Me crushing a double decker Moon Pie outside of Warner Springs.
Our slightly sloped but protected tent spot did the trick, and we successfully avoided the strong winds and slept soundly through the night to the sound of wind and frogs croaking in the nearby water tank. We rolled out early, and quickly crossed the cow pastures to Eagle Rock. We stopped off to admire the site for a bit, then continued on, cruising through the smooth and wonderfully green pastures until we rolled in to the Warner Springs Community Resource center around 8:30am. Right away we were greeted by Kathy, who offered us hot beverages and her husband Mike who offered us a ride into town.
We took Mike up on his offer, and found the gas station to have an awesome resupply selection. They also had the owner’s “Mad Mike’s” hot sausage sandwiches for sale, which we quickly crushed a few of before heading back to the resource center. Once back, we topped up the charge on our batteries and hit the trail again.
The cold wind of earlier that had sped us on had been replaced by the hot direct baking sun of midday. We enjoyed a short section that cruised along the side of a river called the Agua Caliente and I enjoyed seeing a small Piper Cub fly over to land at the nearby airport. We stopped for a bit to camel up on water and to pound some calories before we started up our only climb for the day. The climb was more exposed than planned so we were baked again on the way up, but easily made it up to mile 119.6 where we set up for the night. 18.5mi of trail total for the day with just under 3000ft of elevation gain.
Day 9
Mike B’s trailer we used to hide from the weather.
When the alarm went off this morning I could definitely feel the soreness from yesterday still lingering. Anna was only partially awake, so we snoozed for another 30 minutes before finally rousing ourselves. The day started with a fairly smooth but very cold climb, followed by a cold and windy ridge traverse for a few miles. As the sun came up, the heavy clouds created a gorgeous softbox effect and lit up the surrounding mountains in golden light. We trudged on until we pulled over to take advantage of the water cache at “Mike’s Place.” Thank you Mike! Water caches like this are invaluable for these long dry stretches. While there, we chatted with two other hikers while filtering water and then hit the trail again. Almost immediately we ran into SeaGypsy at a forest road crossing who provided us trail magic! I ended up taking a soda to power me up the hill.
The wind remained cold and windy, so we stayed bundled despite our continued climb up. Eventually it leveled off and then started downhill right around the time the cold turned to afternoon heat, so we shed our layers and began another steep and rocky descent back into the desert. Around noon, we stopped for a break and Anna pitched an idea to me. According to Farout comments, there was a new trail angel up ahead who had water and hot dogs advertised just a bit off trail. It was going to be further than planned, but it promised to be a solid side quest. So we pushed on for another 4 hours until we arrived at Mike B’s house at mile 140 along with Felix, another hiker from Sweden. Right away we were warmly greeted, offered hot food, cold drinks, water, and an RV trailer to sleep in for the night to get out of the weather. His son, dogs, and friends were all incredibly kind to us, and I am grateful for their generosity so that we could get out of the cold wind and mist. 20.2mi for the day and man do my feet feel it!
