PCT Check in Numero uno: Weather Roulette Mile 0-77.3

Day 1:

16.5 miles

Upon arrival to the southern terminus we were met with cold drizzly weather in what we were told was the desert. After saying our goodbyes and meeting another fellow hiker we were on our way. Thanks to Guthook Guides we stayed on the correct course through some questionable forks in the trail and continued to snap the required pictures at mile 1 and 3 of course. We found a sweet tent site with a great view and it was lights out at 7:03pm.

Day 2:

15.5 miles

Surprise surprise it rained through the desert night and we awoke to a sopping wet tent. We decided to grab breakfast at the Oak Shores Malt Shop… killer breakfast burrito!! Day 2 and already spoiling ourselves with good food. Then it got hot and stayed hot all day. Now that feels like the desert! After several breaks sitting in the shade we met up with a couple other hikers and walked into camp. Another early night, lights out at 7:30ish.

Day 3:

15.7 miles

Woke up to beautiful weather and plenty of water in places we didn’t think there would be any. So we’re very thankful for that. We walked into Mt. Laguna for a small resupply and were met immediately by the smiling face of a US Parks Service employee named John. He gave us a quick rundown of the town followed by plenty of jokes. It’s awesome to see how interested people are in what we’re doing.

We left the town of Mt. Laguna shortly after and quickly saw the best view so far of what we think was the Sawtooth Mountains Wilderness. We were very surprised and in total awe that this was within the first 50 miles. There we met our first trail angels Randy, Doreen, and Brian (we’re really sorry if that’s wrong). They gifted us some fresh fruit and plenty of laughs. They were awesome and hilarious. We were so excited we may have gotten their names wrong. Sorry guys but you truly made our day.

After parting ways we continued on and found a sweet tent site with spectacular views. The wind was picking up big time so we needed a spot with good cover. Good thing for the trees because the wind continued to pick up waking us throughout the night when our tent poles were compressing to the point where they were hitting our legs… more crazy weather to come.

Day 4:

29.6 miles

The wind was howling and temps were in the mid to upper 30’s so we decided to get out of camp quickly. We came across some game changing trail magic when totes of #icepctbuff were sitting on the trail. We quickly put them on to shield our faces from the continuous wind and rain. The weather continued to get worse with wind gusts hitting 50+ mph!

We then decided that we needed to bypass our planned tent site at mile 16 and push on to Julian for a whopping mileage almost doubling what we initially planned. We were picked up by the third car who passed by to take us to Julian. They were awesome and happy to provide us with a hitch into town. Thanks Francisco, Heather and Maple you guys are great!!

It was NOT a fun day but we’re happy sitting in our warm hotel reading today’s wind advisory for the surrounding area.

The weather these past four days has been nothing like we thought it would be. We’re excited and hopeful to see what the future weather will bring. It’s surely been a surprise so far. Thanks for tuning in we’re Kelsey and Cody, stay classy PCT!!