Day 3 - Kitchen Creek to Mt. Laguna

Today I woke after a very windy night. The wind blew down one corner of my tent despite that I had it staked and rocks on it. It was an easy fix. I was relatively warm all night.

I made some breakfast and hit the trail by 7. I moved very slow again but loved it. It was sunny but cold. Only a couple miles in the rain and wind socked us in. It became very cold and wet. I loved the solitude and silence today. Just being alone out here is almost than I expected. I saw a couple hikers but that was it. When I stopped to break a couple times the wind and rain were so cold that I couldn’t stand it for long and had to walk fast to warm up.

I pushed on with only 2 short breaks and arrived at Mt. Laguna around 1pm which was about 13 miles. It was so wet and misty and I found myself with a bunch of hikers I hadn’t met. It was excellent to have some community. I saw Alice, who I met on day 1. She had gotten an Airbnb and offered beds up. Ziggy and I took them and made the walk down the road. It started snowing.

I’m so glad we had a place to stay. The wind is howling and snow is intermittent. It’s been a great day. Body feels healthy and I feel happy and thankful I’m here.