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

Date: April 6, 2016

Bushcamp* (mile 27.7) to Laguna campground (mile 47.5)

Miles: 19.8

*bushcamp is camping in an unmarked campsite. Andy learned this term from and Aussie who hiked the PCT last year.

We woke up at just before 6 with a goal to start hiking by 7. The night was calm and we both slept well in our secluded camp spot off trail. We left camp at 6:45- getting closer to our goal of 30 min from waking up to walking!

We hiked 2.5 miles to a natural spring. It was our first natural water source and felt like a little oasis in the dry desert.

We hiked on into the wind, hugging the hillsides winding up and up toward Mt Laguna at 6,050 ft. In total we gained 2,500 ft but spread out over 14 miles it felt pretty mellow. The trail meandered through manzanitas, oaks and high chaparral.

We met a few more hikers, including one hiking with his dog Lucy. Like highways, the closer you get to towns- the more people you see.

We walked into the town of Mt Laguna in search of running water to wash our faces. The strong winds made for a sticky and thick conglomeration of sunscreen and dirt. Andy got a new buckle for his pack (thank you Mt. Laguna Outfitter and Pilsbury) and we road walked another .5 mile back to the trail.

Home for the night lay 4 miles ahead and with peanut m&ms and bars in hand we we set out for the final push. Unfortunatley- there was no campsite. Instead we ate dinner, aired out our feet and stared out into the distant mountains knowing that soon we will hike there.

We rolled into the Laguna campground (.7 miles off trail) around 6:30 and were sorely disappointed to learn that a single campsite cost $23!

We wandered around looking for other thru hikers to share a spot but ultimately decided to camp by ourselves- away from the social butterflies.

We are not feeling overally social at the moment. Hopefully that will change with time as we figure out our routine and settle into the groove.

We are happy with the progress we made today- surprisingly feeling less tired than the day before.

Good night. 

Tonight we are grateful for cool temps and home cooked meals.