Day 5 - Hiking Down
This morning, I started out hiking from Mt Laguna on my own. I love hiking in the morning. I started out a little later than usual, and there was the lure of the lodge store, where I bought and ate a banana. The guys from the outfitters were sitting on the porch there and one noticed how my pack was fitting and instructed me on adjusting it so it doesn't rub my shoulders.
Getting back on the trail, I caught up to a few people stopped to check out some trail magic food goodies left near the road. I had too much food anyway so I passed the magic. Better to place some stuff between towns at a road or on the way into town really. That's when we need it.
I hiked through some gorgeous pine forest with large pine cones, interspersed with meadows. It was lovely, and the trail bent all over, winding its way up and down hills. I took a break and Jon caught up to me, and we walked along talking pretty much the whole day. It really helped the miles fly by.
There were several hikers at an overlook, were you could see the trail laid out ahead of you, winding down the mountains. You could see far to the north, all the way to the San Jacintos.
We stopped for water at a spigot not far off the trail, meeting up with Rick from Gnome Alaska and Daniel who were breaking there. We took a 45 minute break under the shade, and I laid my clothes out to finish drying.
We passed a cliff overlook area with plaques put up to commemorate different PCT hikers who've passed. It was neat, but there was also a lot of graffiti on the rocks.
We kept going to a water source that looked sketchy, a horse trough. No thanks. Found out later there was a spigot. Hiked on to the campsite in the boulders at mile 55. It was beautiful, and it wasn't windy so I set up on a panoramic cliffside view. The sunset combined with a full moon rising on a slightly hazy night was spectacular. 10 people and one dog camped there in 9 campsites. I met Brian, who started three days ago and Jordan from Australia. I also met a couple and their dog; Alex from VA Beach, Brooke and Kona the dog from San Diego.
All told, I did 14 miles today.
Getting back on the trail, I caught up to a few people stopped to check out some trail magic food goodies left near the road. I had too much food anyway so I passed the magic. Better to place some stuff between towns at a road or on the way into town really. That's when we need it.
I hiked through some gorgeous pine forest with large pine cones, interspersed with meadows. It was lovely, and the trail bent all over, winding its way up and down hills. I took a break and Jon caught up to me, and we walked along talking pretty much the whole day. It really helped the miles fly by.
There were several hikers at an overlook, were you could see the trail laid out ahead of you, winding down the mountains. You could see far to the north, all the way to the San Jacintos.
We stopped for water at a spigot not far off the trail, meeting up with Rick from Gnome Alaska and Daniel who were breaking there. We took a 45 minute break under the shade, and I laid my clothes out to finish drying.
We passed a cliff overlook area with plaques put up to commemorate different PCT hikers who've passed. It was neat, but there was also a lot of graffiti on the rocks.
We kept going to a water source that looked sketchy, a horse trough. No thanks. Found out later there was a spigot. Hiked on to the campsite in the boulders at mile 55. It was beautiful, and it wasn't windy so I set up on a panoramic cliffside view. The sunset combined with a full moon rising on a slightly hazy night was spectacular. 10 people and one dog camped there in 9 campsites. I met Brian, who started three days ago and Jordan from Australia. I also met a couple and their dog; Alex from VA Beach, Brooke and Kona the dog from San Diego.
All told, I did 14 miles today.
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