To kick off the PCT my partner, Ian, and dog, Bonnie, are hiking the first 40 or so miles of the trail with me to Mt. Laguna. We started the journey by driving down to San Diego to stay with some dear friends. They housed us for the night and took us out on the town to celebrate the adventure. To continue the trend of general procrastination, my friend and I last minute groomed the dog to shed some fur before the heat the morning of PCT departure. I frantically paid my last bills and finished up some life admin work, and we were off. 

On our way….

First a stop at my friend’s favorite taco stand in Carlsbad, home of the $1.29 fish tacos. Suspiciously cheap. We joked, ‘wouldn’t it be awful if we started trail and got food poisoning from these fish tacos?’. We ate them anyways. Next a stop at Mt. Laguna to ditch our car, then straight to Campo with our ride. I had let go of the idea of starting early in the day, so we had settled on leaving the terminus around 4 pm with just a 4.5 mile walk to our intended camp spot for the night. Letting go of the notion of starting early was liberating. Everything was feeling like it was finally falling into place. 

The Terminus!

We pulled up below the terminus monument, the border wall looming over us. Packs strapped on we headed to the monument to snap some pics and start our walk. It was warm. 88 degrees out. Woof. As we walked away form the terminus, headed north, I immediately rolled my ankle, fell on my knee and skinned the heck out of it. Oops. Gravel stuck in my knee and blood dribbling down, I cleaned myself up at the car best I could. Not a great start. At least I got my first fall out of the way! We moved on after our final goodbyes with my friend. A half mile in I turned to Ian, tears in my eyes. “I can’t believe I’m really here” I sobbed to him. They were happy tears. But really, being out here is the culmination of so many years of dreaming and planning and building up the courage. I’m not running from anything or trying to escape my life. I’m just here because I want to be. That feels so good!

Day 2: Dispersed Camp to Lake Morena ~15 miles

After a rather cramped night in our 2 person tent, stuffing the dog inside with both of our wide sleeping pads, we woke to a cool morning with our fellow campers. Starting the day with a 10 mile water carry seemed daunting with the dog, so we got moving as quick as possible to enjoy the cool morning. By the time we arrived at Hauser Creek in the early afternoon, we were all ready for lunch and a siesta. We Left Hauser Creek at 4pm and slogged up the hot, dry, exposed ascent. Soon enough the sounds of the campground filled our ears, and the blessed sight of flush toilets glowing in distance. Camp was set up and dinner at the malt shop procured. A text exchange with my friend form San Diego revealed that she did indeed get food poisoning from the fish tacos, and had been violently ill all night. Somehow I dodged the fish taco bullet. Maybe I am built for a thru hike after all. 

A tired pup en route to Cibbetts Flat Campground

Day 3: Lake Morena to Cibbets Flat Campground ~12 miles

After a long hot day yesterday, we were a little slow moving out of camp this morning. Condensation pooled from out tent walls onto the floor of our tent. I don’t think I’ll ever truly love a single wall tent *sigh*. By lunch time we ran into trail magic at Boulder Oaks campground. Bonnie (human) and Clyde and their trail family welcomed us with snacks and cold drink. As we got to talking we discovered Bonnie (human) and Clyde hiked the Long trail the same year we did, just a month after! We reminisced on the beauty and brutality that is Vermont. From there we moseyed to our destination of Cibbets Flat, the promise of running water encouraging us. 

Day 4: Cibbets Flat to Mt. Laguna ~12 miles 

Again we were some of the last people out of camp. I was cold much of the night and didn’t bother to put more layers on. The poor sleep was of my own creation. The climb to Mt. Laguna had me feeling discouraged until we met others from our camp at the first, and only water source of the day. We were stunned by a loud BOOM while hiking, then the leaves of nearby trees shook briefly and the birds stopped singing. Was that a bomb, a fighter jet? What the heck was that?! An EARTHQUAKE. Safe to say that was the most exciting part of the day. After soaking feet in the creek, we pushed to the top of Mt. Laguna where our car waited for us. 12 miles by lunchtime! I was feeling rather impressed with myself. Time for a night in a motel, a hot shower, and some proper food before heading back out on trail solo the next day.