This video wouldn’t upload yesterday so we’re giving it another try. It’s worth watching that much! Enjoy 🙂

In case you missed it, you can read about our encounter with the snake here.

Date: April 8, 2016

Bushcamp (Mile 61.5) – scissors crossing (Mile 77)

Miles: 15.5

Laurie here- apparently I like blogging 🙂

Today, I nearly died. Or at least that is the story I told myself. I will get to the story in a moment but first let me walk you through our day.

There are many things that could keep me off the trail but the two that seem most plausible are the decline of my mom’s health and pain in my right knee. Yesterday was difficult because of the latter. It was really hard to stop early knowing that we had time and energy for more miles but my body was limiting us.

This trail will teach me things I stubbornly refuse to learn in the city because everything is short term. I am used to pushing through discomfort with the knowledge that the next day I can rest. Trail life is different- damage I do today will haunt me for days and miles to come. While it is my tendency to push through, Andy is wonderful at letting each day be its own adventure irregardless of the outcome. It is helpful to be frequently reminded that it is “all going to be okay.”

We woke up to a quiet sky after rain all night. Then, at 6 it started to rain again.

Damn.

Luckily it didn’t last long. We were on trail by 7:30 with rain attire but no umbrellas. My knee felt great (thanks to a few tib/fib mobilizations and stretching). The sky was dark and we could see rain sprinkling the nearby hills.

The trail followed the contours of the mountains and we wound up, down and around past flowering cacti and other plants. The air was fresh and cool. After 7 miles we got to a water source- took a little break and chatted with fellow hikers.

Andy is now officially “pole down” since every time he stops, one or more of his poles end up on the ground.

The trail continued down for another 9 miles to Scissors Crossing, an intersection with the highway where hikers typically go to a nearby rv park or town of Julian.

So back to the excitement of the day….

With about 2 miles to Scissors Crossing we were finally on flat ground, my feet were feeling good and I was in a groove.

Then Andy asked for some Chapstick and I reluctantly stopped and turned to give him some.

“OH SHIT”

“What? What?”

“There!”

He points down just ahead of us on the trail.

Three feet in front of me and about a foot off the trail was a rattlesnake. As quiet as can be.

No rattle.

No warning.

His head was up- tongue going in and out. The mother fu€@~r was stealthy and ready to attack!!

After my heart retuned to my chest from my throat- we walked off trail and around it. Whew.

Andy here.

Shortly after this encounter I almost fell over laughing at Laurie’s hop/skip to warn snakes of her approach. She spent the last 2 miles focused on the ground- scanning the trail for other possible snakes.

We now find ourselves sitting at Mom’ Pies in Julian, out of the rain, waiting for Laurie’s friend Lindsay to come get us from Carlsbad.

Ed, a trail angel, pulled up as we got to Scissors Crossing and drove us to Julian. He is very friendly and willing to help hikers. Thanks Ed!!

Lindsey will host us for a little R&R in Carlsbad for the next two nights before we get back out on the trail Sunday.

So far we are having a blast. Laughing lots (mostly at ourselves and each other), learning about the desert and enjoying the wonders that is the Pacific Crest Trail.

Today we are grateful for hot showers and fresh food.

Date: April 7, 2016

Laguna Campground (mile 47.5) to bushcamp (mile 61.5)

Miles 14

The forecast predicted rain after 11 am however the familiar pitter patter arrived early. It started raining at 3 am and continued on and off throughout the day. When inside a tent, the sound of the rain is magnified which is awesome but makes it very hard to motivate to get out of a warm sleeping bag. We were both tired from the day before but threats of afternoon thunderstorms helped us rally to get hiking.

We were walking by 7:30 with our dri ducks and umbrellas to shield us from the rain. We hiked 6.9 miles to the last water spot before camp. In the middle of a field lay a water tank and nearby a horse trough. Instructions on how to get water from the pipe feeding the horse trough were written with a sharpie on a nearby stone. This felt like an adventure!

We hiked another 2 miles and set up camp. Our bodies were tired. Laurie’s right knee (which she kept trying to diagnose and treat while walking) and left foot were hurting her. As were Andy’s love handles. We had focused so much on keeping our feet happy that Andy developed welts and blisters on his sides where his hip belt rides. We decided to camp early. We could have continued on but with only one known spot and at least 4 known people ahead of us we decided not to risk it.

We set up the tent and jumped in just as the rain began to pick up. We traded and shared food until our bellies were content. We didn’t bring enough Advil (or vitamin I as Laurie fondly calls it)- but we did have more than enough food!

The following hours were filled with tent yoga, phone calls to family, Instagram posts and blogging. The consistent cell service has been a pleasant surprise.

We ended the day with a tasty dinner of buckwheat and veggies and mashed potatoes with dill a la Shushan (Andy’s mom who cooked and dehydrated most of our dinners).

Lastly, today Laurie got her trail name- “saver” because she always saves one last piece of candy, one last bite of cheese or one last pair of clean socks…just in case.

Trail names are given to each other by fellow hikers- they are nicknames that follow you throughout the hike if you choose to accept it. Andy gave Saver her trail name.

Today the exhilaration of the trail wore off for Laurie and the pain set in. Or perhaps moral was low because of the rain. We anticipate many ups and downs as we continue to hike. Moments of bliss and moments of pain. 

Many thru hikers talk about the constant discomfort. Today we experienced this, different parts of the body talking to us at different times. It is a great opportunity to practice mindfilness- tuning into our bodies and changing what we can and accepting what we cannot.  

And now we will fall asleep to the sound of the rain. Good night.

Today we are grateful for a functional, dry tent and candy