Day 4

My Laguna (41.0) to only shady camping spot (64.0)

PCT miles today - 23.0

Big long distance view day! Cool and breezy, but no water. We hiked from cool Mt Laguna along a ridgeline with panoramic views over the valley below. We hiked off trail at the spur to Sunshine Trailhead because we heard water would be stashed by trail angel. When we arrived most of the water was gone, but delicious oranges had been left and really hit the spot! Thank goodness for trail angels. As we continued hiking, a couple of day hikers warned of us of a rattlesnake on the trail, but we didn’t see it. We did see a large horney toad lizard. Fun! Kept hiking and came across a great tent site in the shade. The first shade we’d seen all day, so we snagged it. Jason stopped by and chatted. His trail name is now Merlin, after an app he uses to identify birds. He said he and another hiker were trying to identify a bird. We asked what type and he said ‘Stellar Blue Jay’. He clearly isn’t from California!