So we started off the first day getting a ride to the California/Mexico border from a trail angel named Girlscout. We got there just after 7 am, took our pictures at the border, and headed off as fast as we could. Our goal for that day was 20.6 miles to the Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off party where we would meet up with our hiking buddies Giddy Up, Sneaks, and Julia. Boy did we move that day! We made it to kick off by 2:30. It was hot and hard but it was great. One of the best parts of the day was realizing we hit 14 miles already. We thought there was no way we were going that fast but I guess we were. The worst part of the day was that Fran developed pretty bad heel blisters that are still here 6 days later. The absolute best part of the day was reuniting with Giddy Up, Sneaks, and Julia!
The second day we got up late, hung around, and didn't get out of the ADZPCTKO until 10:30 that morning. We wanted to leave that day before the hundreds of hikers that were starting the next day. We all agreed that we didn't want to do another day like the day before but the ended up doing 18 miles, mostly uphill. It was fun though. We camped at this beautiful spot by a stream and got to use our new purifier for the first time. IT WAS AWESOME. It's this new gravity filter - no pumping necessary. It was like we discovered the wheel. I can't say enough about that filter. But that night was really crazy. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking that MudD had the headlamp on but it was the nearly full moon shining really bright on us. It was really fun.
Day three: 19 miles!
Day three was great. There were lots of places to stop and get water. Lots of faucets. Lots of shade. We hiked under these two boulders that were leaning on each other on top of a great ridge. Great sunset, great sunrise. The only bad part was that our hiking buddy Julia started to get shin splints!
Day four: 18 miles.
Day for was really hot. We were planning on just going 13 miles which would put us to the next water source and we thought hey, lets camp by water. Boy of boy it was so hot that day and there was no shade for the last four miles. We made it that 13 miles to the water source by 11 am and were disappointed when we saw there was practically no shade for us to hang out in. We did the best we could though and waited out the hot part of the day. Then we got antsy and let at 3 to hike another 5 miles to a different campsite. That night we saw the biggest rattlesnake ever! Well maybe not ever. But it was 4 feet long at least. It was amazing... and scary. Our new friends, Hopalong, 62, and Rum Monkey camped with us that night. Unfortunately, we had to leave Giddy Up and Julia at the water source 5 miles behind due to injuries. Hopefully they are healing and will meet up with us soon!
Day 5: 20 miles
BRUTAL DAY. But really amazing and really satisfying. Also a day that really showed how much people in the community care about the PCT. So when we left that water source at mile 68, the next guaranteed water source wasn't until mile 101.1. Ouch. But in between, there are two different places that trail angels leaves a bunch of gallon water jugs for hikers. The first was at mile 77 called scissors crossing. The water was there so we were able to top off our water supplies and start the 14 mile uphill towards the next water source. At first it was fun. (This is Fran talking now) MudD was an absolute beast. I would never have made it as far or as fast without his help. Every morning, he was been sneaking another item from my bag to his to make my load lighter. This day with the terribly hot 14 mile uphill, he just straight up demanded that I give him two liters of water for him to carry. This made my pack so much lighter and made me move much faster. So with MudD's help, we got to the second water cache at 1 pm. This water cache was also full. I can't believe people care so much to take water up there several times a week so that we have enough water for this insane hike we are doing. It was so nice to have that water cache, not only because we ABSOLUTELY needed that water, but also because it gave us the motivation to make it to mile 91. A couple years ago, there was a fire around that area so there is absolutely no shade to stop and rest in. The first shade was at the water cache. When we got there, we stayed till 4, hiked out just two miles, and camped at a beautiful spot.
Day 6: 16 miles
We got up at 4 am and started walking. Our goal was to make it to our first town stop, Warner Springs, which is where we are now. The day was great. We think we are going to wake up at 4 am every morning just to avoid the heat. This way we get to see the sunrise every morning. The views were spectacular too... the clouds were drifting below us which made it kind of look like lakes in the valleys. The best part was walking through them to get down into town. We were actually cold. Great feeling. Another cool thing about today is that we saw a wild coyote! So cool! But easily the best part was making it to the Warner Springs Community Center where there are volunteers cooking burgers for everyone. We have hot showers, great shade, and a nice place to rest. Plus the internet! So we can write this!
Okay now we are going to try to figure out how to put pictures on this computer so we can show you what we've been doing!
The first 100!
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