Chilly but much warmer than last night. 4:45AM, I am startled by the sound of something shhhhhzzzzip. 7’s tent zipper opening as he goes pee. I wake up with the feeling I over slept. What time is it? Searching for my watch in the dark. Feeling like I had somewhere to be, today is day 75 that “I’m unemployed and selectively homeless”. I have nowhere to be, this is exactly what I want and need right now.
Today’s goal, a short day, I’m not sure if Wolf was right on the day light savings thing, but between 6-7AM sunrises and being in a canyon it would be a while before it was truly light out. Heading north the sun will be in my face the entire climb to Lake Morena. I suspect that will be a trend for the entire trail. It makes me wonder about getting darker sunglasses.
I slowly and methodically pack up my camp, sleeping quilt/bag on bottom, various soft things in the middle, and my food on very top. Since my tents still wet, that goes on the outside of my pack today. I segregate things I’ll need access to and bury the things I won’t need till tonight. It’s only 5 short miles to Lake Morena. I pack 2.5ish liters of water knowing I’ll be in the sun on the ascent. I shoot for 1 liter for every 4 miles, but today I carry a little extra to try and catch up for yesterday.
The long windy switchbacks were relentless. Coming from hiking mainly NH, switchbacks suck. I think they kind’ve make me dizzy. I get my first glimpse of the Lake and next think you know I’m settling into the campground mid day to dry my stuff out.
After setting up my stuff next to the trail angel Legend and his crew. I hang out for a bit and meet the folks who set up to help and guide new hikers. They ask me my plans and where I’m from, we exchange info and my stuff dries out nice. They laugh when I tell them my story, my career, family, etc. A few of them being retired from engineering tell me “kid you don’t know it yet but you’re life just changed”…
In the last 18 months, they truly have no idea just much that was already true.
I get a text from Wolf, they were about an hour behind me the whole time. Wolf decided to skip the dry out and head straight to town for a burger at the Malt Shop. I should’ve did the same but hey, being dry was more exciting than fed to me. I packed back up, said thanks and goodbye to the Lake Morena crew and walked the half mile road walk to the malt shop, 7 was there also.
A quick cheese burger and fries, I initially said it was terrible. But I rethought about that on the walk back. I rethought hard about my negativity. I said to my self that burger was terrible in comparison to the 5 star burgers I’ve had in my life, but that burger was 5 stars in comparison to the burgers I have in my food bag now.
Wolf says to keep it up and they’ll call me half empty instead of Mouse. This trip for me, outside of the physical struggle will also be a mental one. A fight to flip negativity away, another mile in that burger was no longer terrible.
That burger hit the spot.
A few more miles behind me I start to become bored. The terrain hasn’t changed much and it’s been single track trail along windy slopes. As I speed walk to save time on the flats, I notice some trail love. I commend the folks stopping long enough to put this shape together. In the sun I won’t stop long enough to pee. I’ve perfected walking and peeing at the same time now.
A little further and we walk through an established campground. There’s some people there with fruit, beer, ice cream, and things like cleaning towels, they are planning on hiking the trail in 2026. They’re paying it forward now for good future karma. I appreciate it. I think when I’m done I’ll probably spend a week wherever my favorite section was to give back.
I crush a halo orange and took a gala apple for the road walk. It’s roughly six more miles past Kitchen Creek till our next tent site. I worry about the time it’ll get dark and start moving! 7 and Wolf stop at kitchen creek for water, I pushed on thinking I don’t need it or want to make the .8 mile detour.
I decide to call it quits early about 3.5 miles before I planned to. I set up my tent and call it a night alone. A quick mental battle of did I make the right decision ensues. Could I keep pushing? I accept my decision and own it. In the game of thru hiking you win some and you lose some. I expect to lose many. And I’m fine with that as long as I’m safe to play again. HYOH (Hike Your Own Hike)
The next morning I rise early and push forward through a mist. I’ve become separated from 7 and Wolf. I couldn’t keep up with their pace yesterday. We intend on meeting back up in Julian for a zero day. So my plan is to put my head down, my phone away and get my legs moving. Main motivation over the next two or three days? To get out of this weather pattern and to my next purchase, a new raincoat.
OR Helium- ya let me down. 👎🏼👎🏼
As I climb up to 6,000’ elevation Mt Laguna is absolutely beautiful. Of course it’s colder at higher elevation and it reminds me of back home, tall pine trees fill the view and the air smells crystal clean. My dad would be here saying ‘these trees wait hundreds of years for a chance to sprout up and finally grow. They wait for the tallest tree to fall for their shot at seeing some sky. And then it’s their chance to shine!’ Most of these trees are probably hundred of years old.
As I continue on for some reason I want Mt Laguna to be near Laguna Beach. Or somehow related. Newsflash, it’s not. As I stare at the blank tree before me I sing the Laguna Beach song by Natasha Bedingfield and think back to 2017. The last time I was in Laguna Beach. My X and I spent Valentine’s Day weekend at Surf N Sands after a week road tripping So Cal. We had dinner, watched sunset, listened to the waves crash all night with the balcony door open and then had breakfast at the Orange inn the next morning. Ahhhh to think we were just kids.
I would crush that breakfast right now.
Quick resupply in Laguna and roughly 35 miles till Scissors crossing. The trail starts to descend from the mountains back into the desert. I start to mentally prepare to much longer water carries as the desert will be just as I expect.
I hitch hike from Scissors crossing into Julian. I plan to take my first few days off in Julian. I check into the Julian Lodge which is a PCT hiker friendly spot and I swing by Two Foot Adventures to buy a rain coat. Talking with Mary the owner we have a lot in common. She was an aerospace engineer who one day said F this and quit. Never looked back.
While in town I grab some resupply snacks, rehydrate my kidneys and meet back up with 7 and Wolf. We plan to grab a free piece of PCT Pie at Moms pie and take much needed showers before getting back on trail in a day or two.
My plans for town stays is really fluid right now. Initially going into my hike I said I wanted to experience the small communities as much as I could. Knowing I will be getting to the Sierras really early I have time to burn. Also knowing a lot of the communities I probably won’t come back to again unless I hike the PCT a second time. The trail community so far is really re establishing my faith in people and I think I needed that. Being from Boston it’s rare people are friendly, willing to help, and it’s extremely rare I get to see a town with no one in it. It makes me miss living in Sanbornton where I lived a slower lifestyle pace, and helped out any neighbor who asked.
In MA big fences make great neighbors.
Julian at 7PM tonight is a ghost town but my second burger of this trail was absolutely delicious.
After our food Seven and Wolf say they want to do some drinking tonight. Off to the VFW we go, we heard the VFW is the only place in town we can get a mean Margarita.
Sitting inside and looking at all the WWII and Vietnam memorabilia makes me say damn these guys had it much worse than I do right now. Little rain is nothing to complain about.
The Pacific Crest Trail 