Today was a long day. I was up at 4:15 and at the trailhead at 5:45…just after sunrise. The first two hours the temps were perfect for hiking but then it started to heat up in a hurry (prob 90’s in the sun by midday). I saw a handful of other hikers throughout the day at various watering holes.

The hiking was relatively easy aside from the heat. There climbs aren’t terribly steep and the trail is pretty smooth (dusty).

Here we are on our 4:45am departure driving to the trailhead with Trail Angel Bob. (Bob’s pretty proud of his hat).

Sunrise at the Mexican border.

The official PCT monument at the terminus.

Me and Bob (sporting his MAGA hat).

Hikers gathering with the border wall behind us.

The official trail register.

One mile done!

Desert landscape.

Crossing one of the few water sources today.

Surprisingly green.

My desert wear as it starts to heat up by about 9:30.

Lots of hikers hanging out at Hauser creek (Mile 15) waiting out the heat of the day before a very exposed (to the sun) climb. I got here around 12:00 and took a 6 hour siesta before it finally cooled down for the final 5 miles out of the canyon.

The exposed climb.

Perfect temps around 7:30pm as the sun set.

The sunset over Lake Morena. I camped down below at the county campground.

Department by from the Mexican border at 6:00am.
2650 miles to go!

This is my last day of civilian life for a while (i.e. regular access to bathrooms, showers, clean drinking water, etc.). There is a fantastic trail angel in San Diego named Bob that has been hosting hikers every year since 1999 and shuttling them to the trailhead about an hour from his house. He promises an early departure so we can start hiking in the desert at first light.

This is Bob’s house. There are about 6 other hikers here and four of us are heading out tomorrow.

There’s a great view and even a pool!

But the best part of the stay has to be Millie the cuddly golden retriever.

A lot of people have asked me if I’m “nervous”. Not really 🙂 Even though I plan to be gone for 4+ months and will hopefully hike 2650+ miles, the only way to get ones head around a trip like this is to break it up into manageable chunks. It’s is essentially a series of 3-5 day backpacking trips between resupply points and I rarely think ahead more than the next resupply location or two. My first resupply is just two days in at the Mt. Laguna PO. Then 4 days after that at I will be in Warner Springs and then a couple more days to the town of Idyllwild for a shower and some laundry. Do that a couple dozen times and I’ll be in Canada!

Time to go to bed…we are heading out at 4:45 tomorrow for the trailhead at the Mexican border (Campo, CA).

A couple days in sunny San Diego is a great way to gently ease your way out of civilian life 🙂 The PCT starts about an hour’s drive east of the city near a town called Campo.

This is a screenshot as I flew into to San Diego. The red line is the PCT and the actual trail was clearly visible on the ground throughthe plane’s window.

Hotel Z where I stayed offers free cruiser bike rentals (the main reason I chose the hotel). Cruisin’ through around Balboa Park and the impressive topiaries near the Zoo.

The very impressive rose gardens in Balboa Park (photo doesn’t do it justice!)

California is so progressive (and funny)…love it!

The famous Hotel Del Coronado.

Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach with everyone getting set up to watch the sun go down. FYI, when you are not on a cruiser bike Lyft in SD is awesome…it’s $5-$10 to go almost anywhere in town!

The sunset 🌅

There’s always an endless list of things to do before one heads out of town for four months. I’ve been working away at that list for a couple months now and it reached a fever pitch over the weekend.

One of the last details was dropping off all my extra supplies and gear at Katy and Todd’s house, (who have graciously agreed to be my resupply command center) They will send me different things as I need them from gear and guidebooks to food and shoes. In order to remember everything I’ve left with them I’ve taken photos that i keep on my phone so I can always recall what’s available to be sent.
This is a picture of all my different shoe choices. I won’t use them all, but probably at least four pairs

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