Day 3 - Climbing into the Lagunas

Last night was clear, the temperature dropped and I zipped my sleeping bag all the way up.  At some point, I felt too warm and unzipped it, and took off my fleece.  Sure enough, that morning I could see the overcast clouds that indicate a warm front.

I started hiking around 7, continueing on the ridge and then heading down to cross a couple of creeks.  I just kept my shoes on and kept going.  It was the perfect temperature for hiking, and it was flat for a while.  I reached Boulder Oaks Campground and stopped for water.  I went to look at my map and it was missing.  I retraced my steps, past the last creek and kept going.  Soon I saw another hiker and asked if he had seen any paper maps.  He had them!  Mozart started the day after me.  The first of the hikers to catch me!  He was booking, passing right by the campground.  I stopped at the restroom and saw a sign for trail magic at one campsite.  I went over and said hello.  David had driven out from Virginia Beach to visit his brother and camp.  I had some fruit and a good cup of tea before continuing.  As I left, I saw Chris and Kathryn passing by.  I told them about the trail magic but they continued.  They're heading for Mt Laguna today.  I also meet Ethan?  Allen? At the campground.

As I started climbing in elevation, I passed several trailheads and there were lots of dayhikers.  I caught up to Chris and Kathryn  I taking a break.  I also met Kelly and Mystery Cooler from New Jersey.  Cooler hiked 900 miles last year, to Yosemite, and he's back to give it another shot.  Kelly is full of enthusiasm, which was just what I needed.  I hiked with them for a while.  We had started the same day.  They were fun to hike with, we stopped at a nice stream flowing and ate.  The clouds cleared and the sun came out while we were stopped.  Uphill some more!

We stopped at Fred Canyon, a really nice shady spot.  The afternoon heat was getting bad, so it was nice to stop.  There were lots of hikers there.  Larry and Ana, an older couple from Iowa, Ethan?, A guy from Switzerland, John from St Louis, Chris and Kathryn.  We saw Eli and called to him, but he was in the zone and kept trucking.

I napped and read a little, realizing I only had to do 3 or 4 more miles today to get within striking distance of Mt Laguna.  The plan is to have breakfast there and get my first resupply.

I left the break with Joe, talking about cameras, gear and hiking.  I stopped when we saw Kelly and Cooler taking a break, but John kept on.

John, Kelly, Cooler and I camped at a nice campsite up in the hills.  Joe from Oregon walked in while we were eating, a nice guy with a killer moustache.  It was nice to hang out with people at the end of the day.  It's windy up here and it feels like it's going to be a cold night.

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