Day 5

I left mile 68 full with water.  Way too much water.  It was all downhill until I hit highway 78 and scissors crossing. 

This stretch was tedious.  Once I hit flat ground, it was a three mile flat stretch until I hit the highway.  I took a dump in the desert on that stretch.  Once I was about to hit 78 a van pulled up and dropped off two hikers.  Then neared man named Ed offered me a ride to Jullian, a small town 12 miles away.

I took him up on his offer and my first ever "hitch".

While in Jullian, I resupplied, got an amazing burrito, water, sent some mail, then hitched back to 78 with Ed; a foul mouthed old man.  He was awesome.

I waited under the bridge with other hikers for some cooler weather.  At four I went on my way and made it to mile 80. 

Day 4

Getting caught up on these blogs is rough.  I really don't like typing on my phone.

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This day, I got an early start.  I left camp before six.  I was hoping to catch the sunrise over the mountains.

I really pushed myself this day and managed to crush 22 miles.  I was exhausted by nightfall and fell fast asleep.  I was at mile 68. 

Day 4

Getting caught up on these blogs is rough.  I really don't like typing on my phone.

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This day, I got an early start.  I left camp before six.  I was hoping to catch the sunrise over the mountains.

I really pushed myself this day and managed to crush 22 miles.  I was exhausted by nightfall and fell fast asleep.  I was at mile 68. 

Day 3

The desert is quite cold in the morning and evening.  The temperatures are close to freezing on some nights.  This makes it great for a good early start, a break mid day, then a nice few miles in the evening.  

I spent most of the morning, hiking alone.  Then I managed to make it to Mt. Laguna with a group of hikers.  There we had lunch.  It was my first hot meal since the day before I left.  I never thought a bowl of chilling would taste so good.

After lunch, I stopped off at the local store.  The prices are gouged so I didn't buy much. 

I hiked with Tennessee and a fellow from Puerto Rico.  Then we saw this.

It was the first time I had a breathtaking view on the trail.  We stayed at the Mt. Laguna camp grounds where I had my first shower.  A four minute shower never felt so good.  

  

Day 3

The desert is quite cold in the morning and evening.  The temperatures are close to freezing on some nights.  This makes it great for a good early start, a break mid day, then a nice few miles in the evening.  

I spent most of the morning, hiking alone.  Then I managed to make it to Mt. Laguna with a group of hikers.  There we had lunch.  It was my first hot meal since the day before I left.  I never thought a bowl of chilling would taste so good.

After lunch, I stopped off at the local store.  The prices are gouged so I didn't buy much. 

I hiked with Tennessee and a fellow from Puerto Rico.  Then we saw this.

It was the first time I had a breathtaking view on the trail.  We stayed at the Mt. Laguna camp grounds where I had my first shower.  A four minute shower never felt so good.  

  

Day 2

The day began with a rough hike up a mountain which slowly decended into lake Morano.  I wanted to make it here my first day but obviously wasn't able to make it. 

The weather this day was much hotter than the previous day.  

I managed to make it to mile 32.  The last bit was breathtaking but my photos didn't turn out. 

I camped in an area known as Fred's Canyon.  This evening, I decided to try cowboy camping.  That's where you sleep without a tent.  Another hiker from Tennessee saw my set up and decided to do the same.

This was the most terrifying experience thus far in the PCT.  Laying on the ground without a tent is un-nerving.

I was "in bed" by about seven.  Over the course of an hour, thesky slowly went black but my attention to the noise around me wouldn't shut off.  When I was about to fall asleep, I felt something tug on my clothes bag (I was using it as a pillow). I freaked out and yelled.  The Tennessee guy shot up from his cowboy camp and asked what was wrong.  I told him what happened.  After a few minutes we laid back down, then I saw this in the shadows. 

I scared it away.  It was some kind of wombat like rodent.  Others have told me there are foxes in the area and it might have that.  

Well, me and Tennessee were done with that experience and we both set up our tents.  He was also laying there in complete terror for two hours, hoping I'd tap out first, which I did.  

Day 1

The weather was cloudy and it sprinkled a bit when I was about to leave in Campo.  I had eight liters of water.  Everything I had been hearing was to carry more than you need.  With the weather being fair, I poured out two liters.  This helped drop the weight a few pounds.  

My pack was HEAVY despite all of this.  I hiked with a yoga instructor from Seattle but she left in the dust after seven miles.  

HYOH: hike your own hike

It's something you begin to learn on the trail.  Everyone has a different pace and plans for the trail.  I was ok with that.  

I made it 14.4 miles until I decided to call it quits.  I set up my tent for the first time and ended up sleeping for twelve hours until 5:30 the next morning.