Date: April 12, 2016

Warner Springs (mile 109.5) to bushcamp (mile 123.9)

Miles: 14.4

We slept well in tent city. Andy has been waking up between 5:40 – 5:50 every morning without an alarm and today was no different. But since we were in no hurry to leave, Laurie slept in until 7.

We enjoyed our lazy morning. This gave Laurie time to come up with a tape job that provided more padding and support under her left foot. It sure was creative. But the miles would reveal if she was successful.

We tried drying out our tent fly before packing up but that didn’t work. Everything was just too wet.

Around 9:45 we started walking. We felt good – Laurie was still a bit stuffy but smiling.

We started by walking through more feilds filled with small purple wildflowers. It was nice to enjoy the view without the looming dark clouds. The skies were clear, a gentle breeze kept us cool inn the shade of our umbrellas and we were happy hikers.

The trail steadily climbed from 3,000 ft up to 5,000 ft. This time not as gradual as before. There weren’t as many views as we were hidden among tall shrubs but it was interesting seeing desert plants mixed in with trees. Gentle reminders that we were still in the desert. The views opened up as we gained elevation.

We didn’t see many people today until mile 118.6 at Lost Valley Spring. Watering holes tend to be places many hikers take extended breaks.

We chit chatted with other hikers that arrived as we finished getting our water. One of the guys we’ve been seeing on the trail the last few days is James. We gave James Nutrasilver colloidal silver to treat his water with – he was very grateful.

He thanked us and said that we’re a good team. It caught us by surprise that others notice our interactions. It was nice to hear what he thought of our teamwork.

We carried 3 liters each to our dry camp 5.3 miles away and for the 3.4 miles to Mike’s Place – a local trail angel with a water tank near his home. We are making sure we drink plenty to feel at our best.

We exchanged many friendly hellos with other hikers we passed, who later passed us. Trail leap frog as we call it. Not much conversation as most everyone was hiking fast to get to Mike’s Place. The promise of pizza is too good to pass up for many!

We like sleeping outdoors and weren’t craving pizza so we found a nice spot in a boulder field and set up camp. It might get cold tonight, down into the mid 30s, so we reluctantly put up the rain fly.

Another satisfying day of hiking in the books. It’s our kind of 9 – 5. Well, 10 – 6..you get the point.

Oh, and we’re happy to report that Laurie’s creative tape job worked! She was in minimal pain all day and still had to drain the pesky blister at night, but it seems to be healing. Unfortunately though Laurie noticed a hot spot on her right heel. It’s minor and she caught it early so the caterpillar probably won’t become a butterfly 😉

It’s 8:30pm now. We are fed, our teeth brushed and we’re ready for bed. Night night.

Tonight we are grateful for dry trails and more frequent watering holes.

Date: April 11, 2016

Third gate (mile 91.5) to Warner Springs (mile 109.5)

Miles: 18

Last night we camped with at least 7 other people. Third gate was a popular place, possibly because of the water cache or a convenient, doable destination from scissors crossing.

It was a restless night for both of us. We were one of the later ones to arrive at the designated camp spots and got one with a bit of a slope. Andy’s luxury item is a pillow and the pillow propped on top of his backpack served as a very comfortable blogging position.

Laurie fell asleep snuggled in next to him as he wrote. Needless to say, instead of sleeping with our heads on the upslope as we intended, we slept with our heads downhill propped up on our backpacks. It was comfortable to start but not at 2 am. Not to mention the sounds of snoring from the nearby tents. Maybe this is why we prefer to camp on our own?!

We started hiking at 7:15. The sky was blue with scattered clouds and as the day wore on the cloud cover increased. We enjoyed the cool temps as the trail wound around the hillsides. For 9 miles we maintained elevation before dropping down to barrel springs at mile 101.5.

We have hiked over 100 miles. Yippee!!!

We then walked across open grassland. It was beautiful to see the trail meandering in the distance past wooden PCT posts.

This was the prettiest day on the trail thus far. We really enjoyed our walk. The clouds were threatening all day but managed to hold off most of the afternoon.

This was really nice because around mile 106 we hiked to Eagle Rock. Like the monument at the Southern Terimus, this place was surreal for Andy. He had seen so many pictures of this place from other people’s blogs. And now, we had walked here ourselves. A very proud moment for both of us.

A mile after we left Eagle Rock, the clouds opened up, first with a few droplets. “Not too bad” we thought.

But then loud thunder clapped overhead. The rain intensified. And shortly after lightning joined in on the party.

So much for hot desert hiking.

Rain turned to hail, followed by more thunder and one more lightning strike directly above us. We were the tallest things around. Not a situation we felt comfortable in at all so we hiked faster and furter until we got into the trees.

By this point our shoes were soaked and the trail was a riverbed. Mercifully the rain lost its tenacity as we reached Warner Springs.

This wonderful community opens its resource center to hikers during the season. Everything is donation based. Andy ate chicken noodle soup and eventually Laurie got her hot water (once we figured out how to use the machine).

Once the rain stopped we left the center to put up our tent. Laurie stayed to make our home for the night while Andy went back to charge his phone.

Eventually Laurie joined in. She’s not feeling so hot. Today was a hard day. Long miles, funky weather, plus a sore throat, another blister, followed by chafing and finally a stuffy nose and a headache.

Laurie’s a trooper though and we both hope that with good sleep she’ll be fine by morning.

On a happier note, we are slowly becoming more social. Both of us feel a bit hesitant around other hikers and continue to ask ourselves why. Laurie struggles with small talk and at the end of a long hiking day she is too tired and doesn’t have the energy to engage in smalltalk. Tonight, Andy was great at introducing himself and with his smile he is quick to make friends.

For now, we are going to brush up and go to bed in tent city to the sounds of frogs.

Today we are grateful for clear skies and wonderful, supportive partners.

Date: April 10, 2016

Scissors Crossing (mile 77) to 3rd Gate campsite (mile 91.5)

Miles 14.5

Lindsey and the kids drive us to the trailhead from Carlsbad. As if that wasn’t enough, they walked a quarter of a mile or so with us on the PCT.

The kids wore their backpacks too. Very adorable. We’re gonna miss them. We owe a huge thanks to Lindsey and Toph for hosting us the last 2 nights. Thank you!!

We cross the highway around 10:45 am and start our second backpacking trip. This one six or seven days long.

We climb and climb and climb some more on gently graded trail. Most of the day we can see the highway to our left. But that doesn’t take away from the scenery.

Dramatic clouds, blooming desert plants – including a few that we didn’t see on the other side of the highway, and cool temperatures make for a great day. The clouds threatened all day but no showers prevailed.

We carried 9 liters of water for the next 24.5 miles (14.5 today and 10 tomorrow) to our next water source.

Generous people stock a water cache near our camp tonight but we won’t need any. Given the number of hikers in recent years we won’t be relying on water caches. If we come across them and really need some, we’ll help ourselves, but we shouldn’t need to.

Laurie’s feet feel a little better today. The blister under her left foot is still tender and bothers her as the day wears on, but no knee pain in either leg or the top of her left foot. She’s all smiles when we get to camp. A real trooper!

We ate dinner around 6:30pm and hung out in our tent until bed. There’s lots of people at our camp and we chatted with a few of them, but mostly kept to ourselves. It feels as if there’s so much to do. Especially when we have service!

Since we started hiking, we’ve been impressed by the number of older hikers. We met a woman at our camp tonight who is 71 years old! Go Grandma (that’s her trail name.)

It’s almost 8pm and we are ready for bed. The clouds have parted and we’re hoping for clear skies and no rain.

Tonight we are grateful for our cozy air mattresses and clean socks.