Day 1-6

Day 1: After a misty night camping at CLEEF (about 1/4 mile from the border), I got up around 5 am to get ready for the day. Took a while to prepare, but made it to the monument and then back for some free pancakes. Brian and started with a moderate pace for the first 5 or 6 miles. Then we met a 23 year old Dutch man from Rotterdam named Sietse (who now goes by Trash Panda), and followed him for a while at a faster pace. We had some good talks with Sietse, had a lunch on some rocks, and then went into Hauser Creek at mile 15 for camp. About 20 or 30 hikers were down there, so camp spots were slim pickings. I chose a tent site near a bunch of poison oak and a very nice section hiker named Spencer. The first day was tiring, especially for my feet, but everything else felt good.

Day 2: Exited Hauser Creek and started a long climb to Lake Morena. Ate a breakfast burrito at the malt shop with a bunch of other hikers. After drying gear out at the campground, 5 of us set off in the heat and eventually stopped under a bridge for the shade. Brett, another hiker who started from CLEEF, played "Under the Bridge" on his carbon fiber guitar (now the guitar is named Carbon Maiden) while under the bridge, which was rather on the nose. After a siesta, Brian, Gary (another hiker we met the night before day 1), and I hiked on to Boulder Oak campground, then we hiked up to a nice campground by a creek a half mile off the trail. I Cowboy camped for the first time ever, which was successful other than the single mosquito that bothered me for 20 minutes or so.

Day 3: Started off with a beautiful sunrise and walk further up into the moubtains. Ended up seeing a bunch of hikers who had started earlier from Boulder Oak. Hiked fast to a water source and took a long break and ate food. The fast hiking ended up being too fast, so the rest of the hike up to Mount Laguna was a slog. Brian and I hiked with Gary the whole way up. When we arrived in Mount Laguna, about 20 hikers were sitting on the porch of the general store and welcomed us with some cheers. Brett was there, playing guitar, and he sang a song about how it was unlawful to throw snowballs at vehicles or occupants. After getting my first trail resupply, we decided to stay in town and got a small hostel with myself, Brian, and another hiker named Rowan. Rowan's parents met on the AT, and he majored in outdoor adventure sports in college. The "hostel" was really just a room to place sleeping pads, a kitchen, and a bathroom, but it gave us the ability to take a shower and wash clothes for the first time.

Day 4: Brian and I started from the hostel at Mount Laguna a little after 6 am with Rowan. The temperature was perfect and there was a little bit of wind. Very early on in the day we saw glimpses of the desert floor and arid mountains to the east of Mount Laguna. As the day went on, the views only got better, especially after a siesta at a picnic area /water source. We saw our first rattlesnake, who was a little guy just basking in the sun. We got free fruit from Cheshire Cat and some sort of raisin bread pastry from a hiker named Andrew and his wife. Cheshire Cat had the best dog, and he wanted to play fetch forever, but my hands were needed for eating food. After a few miles of great hiking (the best views of the trip yet), we decided to stop at a beautiful campsite with tons of fun cowboy camping spots. About 15 people showed up to camp in the area, and Brett started playing guitar again. I saw a bigger rattlesnake slither away near us and into a hole. Brett made up a song about how the closest person to the snake hole was gonna get bit, but zthat everyone else would be safe. It ended up being a windy night, but I was mostly shielded and slept fairly well.

Day 5: Starting before sunrise, Brian and I got off to a good start in the relatively cool and windy weather. About 4 miles in, we detoured off the trail to grab water from a water tank that didn't look great (that's what filters are for). Most of the crew that camped with us showed up to get water. Afterwards, Brian and I cruised for about 8 or 9 miles to the next water stop, at which point it was quite hot out. We snuck into some shade, grabbed water, and ate lunch as others filtered in. Brian decided to head to the RV park outside Julian for the evening, so he left to complete a 20+ mile day. Brian needed to increase the mileage to make it to Palm Springs in time to make it back home for the BAA 5K and to watch the Boston Marathon. The hike at the end of the day was hot, and the trail was sketchy at parts, with a steep drop off and a narrow trail. I stopped at PCT mile 72.0 and chilled for a while to wait for others to show. Gary, Rowan, Brett, Trash Panda, Catherine, and Kevin arrived to eat and camp. We talked about a variety of ridiculous topics, and about a potential PCT video game or card game, and about Oregon Trail. I was worried about the bugs and mice at the campsite while cowboy camping, but I slept fine and wasn't bothered by any creatures.

Day 6: Our camping crew woke up around 6 and set off into a beautiful desert environment, as we winded between shade and sun during the sunrise. Eventually the trail flattened out and we cruised into scissors crossing for a hitch into Julian. We caught up to Fire Maiden on the way. We ended up waiting about 45 minutes for a hitch, and Brett sang a song about needing a ride into Julian. Eventually a man named Chris picked 4 of us up and drove us into town. Chris was originally from Brockton, MA, but has lived in California for a while. Town was filled with hikers, and we took up all the benches outside one of the grocery stores. Our crew went into Mom's Pies for free Pies and ice-cream, then a few of us went to get burgers from the Julian Cafe. After that we went food shopping for the next couple days on trail before checking into a hotel. We had some beers at the hotel while our clothes were washed in the laundry, then we got dinner and beers at the Julian Brewery. Sleeping on a real bed for the first time in a week was incredible.