Week 14: Starting the Pacific Crest Trail

US-Mexico border (PCT southern terminus) > Morris Meadow

Days 92-98

Week 14 miles: 39.3

Total PCT miles: 39.3

Total miles: 1497.7

This week was mostly off-trail explorations and errands in Birmingham and San Diego, followed by the start of the Pacific Crest Trail.

PCT southern terminus monument beside the border fence

Days 92 & 93: Birmingham

April 2 & 3

I had the Pinhoti Outdoor Center shuttle drop me at a buffet in Birmingham so I could eat my fill before continuing on to my lodgings. I’d also planned a visit to the botanical gardens on my way across town, but the severe thunderstorm warning convinced me to hunker down instead.

My second day in Birmingham was a blend of errands and sightseeing. I shipped back a potential replacement pack that didn’t work, printed my PCT permit, and purchased a cheap secondhand suitcase for the items that couldn’t be carried on the plane. The two women working at the UPS store where I shipped my return and printed the permit were so excited to chat about my upcoming PCT hike that I accidentally left without paying for the printing when another customer came in and it was time for them to get back to work.

I visited the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the art museum, and the botanical gardens. The first two were right downtown, but the gardens required a bit of an exciting road walk from the nearest bus stop — apparently those didn’t end with the Pinhoti!

Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Days 94 & 95: San Diego

April 4 & 5

The flight to San Diego went smoothly, and I had beautiful views of the southern California terrain through which the PCT pass. My lone San Diego friend recently moved to Seattle, so I’ll hopefully be catching up with her on the other end instead. Having seen the sights on several previous visits, I mostly focused on eating, resting, and preparing for the trail.

I received a package of gear from home that cost way too much to mail to San Diego, which made me realize some readers planning their own hikes might also be unfamiliar with these tips to keep costs down and find them helpful. (Only some applied to this particular package.)

• The shipping cost takes into account the dimensions of the box, not just the weight, so modify the box to be as small as possible (usually by cutting down the corners and folding over more of each side) before filling any extra space with bubble wrap or air bags
• Use the calculators on the USPS and UPS websites to determine which will be cheaper and whether it makes sense to use a USPS flat rate box; UPS is more competitively priced with USPS than it used to be, especially for large boxes 
• The required delivery timeline also affects the cost, so consider delivery further along the trail if a tight timeline is bumping up the price
• Keep an eye out for any items that would be easy and cheaper to purchase on trail than to ship (mostly applies to widely available food items, especially when not using a flat rate box)

This info is based on having to ship a lot of stuff as part of my most recent job, but I’m sure I missed some things. Please feel free to add any tips you think would be helpful for other hikers and their support crews back home!

Filling up on non-trail food

Day 96: CLEEF

April 6

For I think the first time on this trip, I made maximum use of my motel room, checking out two minutes after the deadline. I’d managed to fit everything in my pack, but my additions for the PCT definitely weighed more than the AT stuff I was ditching or mailing home.

Since a few of you have reached out with gear questions, I added a 3L Cnoc water bag to the 2L I was already carrying, as well as hiking crampons (K10s), a Tica ice tool (unrated ice axe equivalent), and a sun umbrella. My lost box of warm weather clothes made me decide to just start the PCT with everything I needed rather than count on it arriving to meet me just before Mount San Jacinto, the first snowy section.

I also still have the BearVault 475 I’ve been carrying since Harpers Ferry and the Black Diamond microspikes that I definitely didn’t need on the Pinhoti but hadn’t bothered to mail home. I sent home my poncho and cut off all but three segments of my very worn Nemo Switchback, which I plan to use as a sit pad and to keep my inflatable pad from sliding around. All of which is to say that I’m a long way from ultralight.

I had a few hours before catching the PCTA shuttle to CLEEF, a nonprofit that hosts a thru-hiker campground near the southern terminus, so I stopped off for a delicious lunch feast at an Indian restaurant on my way to the shuttle stop. Only a few of us boarded the shuttle at its first stop, but we picked up more at Scout and Frodo’s. I was amazed that more than half our group was European, with Americans in the minority.

We arrived at CLEEF several hours before dark, so some hikers decided to hike to the terminus and back today. I figured I’d wait until my official start date tomorrow (April 7) and found another hiker who wanted to hike that first half mile before breakfast.

The day ended with a presentation by the CLEEF volunteers about PCT safety and hitching strategy. It was a great intro for new hikers and a great review for the more experienced crowd. I would definitely recommend that anyone hiking the PCT plan to spend the night before their start at CLEEF!

Camping at CLEEF

Day 97: PCT southern terminus > Morena Butte

April 7

16.7 PCT miles (2523 ft up, 2283 ft down)

Another hiker and I had decided to get up early this morning and do the 0.6 mile (or 1.2 mile round trip) walk from the southern terminus at the US-Mexico border before breakfast. We met at 5:30am and walked out there by headlamp.

The border fence definitely made an impression, and I was glad not to be there with a big crowd of hikers. The US-Mexico border is currently a sad place. Visiting in the predawn silence seemed appropriately respectful.

CLEEF had a wonderful breakfast awaiting us back at camp. As I was the only diner who already had full blown hiker hunger, I took full advantage of the spread and was especially appreciative of the fresh fruit. Whether because of the big breakfast or unrelated sloth, I took my good old time packing up and didn’t hit the trail until 10am. And I needed every minute of that delay to dry out my tent, which I’d awoken to find covered with impressive quantities of ice on both the inner and outer surfaces of the rain fly.

I didn’t entirely believe fellow hikers when they were telling me how smooth and wonderful the PCT is, and I’m glad I didn’t, or today would have been super disappointing. The trail was very overgrown in places, requiring that we push through shoulder height or higher brush. I definitely had to turn my head several times to avoid getting sticks in the eye. The trail was also plenty rocky, although offering much more gradual elevation gain than the AT.

On the plus side, we’ve been very fortunate with abundant rain recently. All the water sources are flowing well — I never had to carry more than a liter until the evening, when I carried a bit extra up the hill to dry camp.

The PCT made quite a first impression in terms of campsites. Tonight’s site was one of the most spectacular of my life.

Beautiful first night campsite on the PCT

Day 98: Morena Butte > Morris Meadow

April 8

22.6 PCT miles (4557 ft up, 1834 ft down)

I thought finding a campsite high up above the creek on a windy shoulder of the butte would keep my tent dry overnight, but I again woke to find it covered in ice on both sides. I didn’t wait for it to dry out because my west facing site wouldn’t see any direct sun for a few hours.

I packed up and headed the 3 miles or so into Lake Morena to a little convenience store and diner there for breakfast. The food was fine but I can’t recommend the stop. The people were unpleasant, and they did that asshole thing of pretending the bathroom is out of order because they can’t be bothered to provide that (mandatory) service to their customers. The disappointing stop provided a contrast that reminded me how lucky I’ve been so far to encounter so many wonderful people and small businesses along my route.

I moved on to a beautiful county campground that did offer restrooms and where I was able to dry my tent and tyvek out on the picnic tables. I also ran into a couple to whom I’d given a pack of electrolyte mix yesterday when the husband was struggling and asked if I had any salt tabs. I certainly didn’t expect anything in return, but they came running over and gifted me a pack of his homemade “ice cream cookies,” which were crushed vanilla wafer cookies mixed with homemade ice cream and then freeze-dried. They were amazing and way better than a measly electrolyte packet. I’m going to try to ration them and enjoy them over several days.

Around 11:20 this morning, I was walking along and heard a woman shout out to two hikers just ahead of me on the trail that the eclipse was still happening and she had eclipse viewing glasses if they wanted to check it out. I hadn’t thought we’d see much of an eclipse in Southern California but was surprised that 40% was actually pretty cool. I could easily see the moon in front of the sun — one of the most amazing moments of trail magic I’ve experienced so far!

Typical landscape on the southernmost stretch of the PCT