Mt. Laguna and points further south

Mt. Laguna country store and post office

A small reminder to watch my step. This was a tiny rattler, and supposedly they are more dangerous than adults because they don't control their venom when they bite.

Another small reminder to watch my step!

Sunset over another wind farm

Monday, November 1st. The post office was not due to open until 12:00pm. Again, another relaxing morning as I only had 3 miles or so to reach the post office. While at the country store, I met a man named Allan and his two kids. Allan, who used to work for IBM, now home schools his two children. He was very interested in the PCT and we sat on the porch of the Laguna country store for about an hour discussing the trail. His two kids were great as well, patiently waiting for us to finish talking, so they could eat lunch. Before leaving, Allan offered to pick me up at Campo when I finished the trail. It was a very kind gesture, especially knowing how busy everyone is these days.

After finishing my last resupply, I hit the trail once more, only 42 miles remaining. Around sunset, I began looking for a campsite, and I found a nice secluded spot on a small rock outcropping with great views to the east. That night, the Santa Ana winds picked up with a fury. For a long time now, I've been trying to think of a way to describe what it was like. Kind of like a wind blowtorch or something. The wind would lick at me for several seconds, fierce gusts that would penetrate the feet of my sleeping bag. Then they would completely cease for a few seconds, and then whip up again. Sometimes there would be a break for an hour or so before they would start up again. This lasted the entire night, but I felt fairly protected as I was sleeping behind a rock.

Lagunas/Halloween

The day after the rains stopped, I was just 4 miles from the Mt. Laguna Post Office. Unfortunately, it was Sunday so the post office was closed. As a result, I was able to find a fantastic campsite that was secluded, comfortable, and amongst oak trees whose leaves were changing colors, after a short morning hike. The rest of the day, I chose to relax and went on a couple of short day hikes from camp. A different way to spend Halloween, that's for sure.

Rain Returns

I awoke first thing in the morning and saw a big black cloud directly overhead. I quickly packed up my things and started hiking. The winds began to pick up and rain appeared to be falling to the west. Good thing this storm waited until morning to reach me or else I would have been soaked since I didn't set up my tarp the night before.

I was treated to a morning rainbow in the desert valley, which followed me for a couple hours. Again, the temperature seemed to fluctuate all over the place, depending on the speed of the wind or how much sun was out.

By mid morning, the storm reached its peak in ferocity and lasted until about noon. Unfortunately, I was hiking through a very exposed section of the Lagunas. Rain was falling completely horizontal, and I estimated the wind to be blowing 40-50mph. It was brutal. By noon, I started to get scared because there was simply nowhere to pitch a shelter as far as I could see. The vegetation was all about waste high offering little to no protection. I was starting to get hypothermia it seemed, I could barely move my hands. With the wind the way it was, my tarp probably would have been torn to shreds If I tried to somehow set it up on the trail. Usually the act of hiking keeps one warm no matter what, but the wind seemed to be whipping my body heat away from me, leaving me with chills.

Thankfully, a spot finally emerged, and I set up my shelter behind a bush about six feet high. Sure enough, shortly after I set up my shelter, the storm abated. I chose to stay in my sleeping bag for about an hour to warm up, and then hit the trail again. The rest of the afternoon was chilly, but I had great views of the desert to the east.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Scissors Crossing/ Julian

Morning sunrise from camp

Ocotillo (above)

Road S2

Scissors Crossing cache

I met Pete at the cache and we went to lunch in Julian.

Town of Julian

After a good nights rest, I slowly made my way down towards Scissors Crossing and was happy to see the ocotillo cactus again. The trail only passed a small grove of them, and that was their only appearance on the entire trail. As it turned out, my friend Pete, a botonist, just happened to be working right near Julian and was in the area when I reached the road S2. It was a surprise treat to be able to hang out and have lunch in Julian after several days of not really seeing anybody. After eating a delicious Reuben sandwich in town, I refilled my water bottles and said goodbye to Pete. A hitch back to the trail was easy to come by, and I returned to the PCT mid afternoon. Before starting back up the trail, I saw a guy who jumped out of a jeep and said hello. He had hiked a large portion of the trail this year, and said he was having a real hard time wanting to go back to a regular life. There was an obvious restlessness in him. I said I understood, and couldn't help wondering what the repercussions of doing a trip like this are. Anyhow, I hiked a few more miles that afternoon and camped on another sandy spot about a hundred feet off trail and fell fast asleep under the stars.

Heading Towards Scissors Crossing

Eagle Rock in the morning

Barrel Springs (above)

The infamous "lead cache"

Cache at the third gate

Tarantula!

I awoke in the morning feeling completely refreshed. When I used to work as a wilderness instructor in the mountains of North Carolina, one of my co-workers who knew a lot about Cherokee history told me once that the Indians there believed that your dreams would come out of the ground. Without fail, every week I went on shift, my dreams became extremely vivid whenever I slept on the ground in the woods in Cherokee country. Sleeping near Eagle Rock was another such night. I had vivid, relaxing dreams all night, and wondered if the rock had any spiritual significance back in the day.

Once again, water became an issue throughout the day. When I arrived at Barrel Springs in the morning, there were signs in several places describing how the water had been contaminated by dead mice last year. Several hikers became very sick. The status this year was uncertain for me, and although the water looked very refreshing, I decided to skip it and gamble on the third gate cache. My water report indicated there was water there (about 11 miles away), but any hiker will tell you that it's never a good idea to rely on these caches. I opted to take the risk to avoid getting sick at Barrel Springs.

Thankfully, (I can't describe what a relief it is sometimes) there was water at the third gate. I felt like I had survived the next small stretch of trail and would have enough water before reaching highway S2. In the desert, that's what it was like for me. Just hike and survive until you reach the next water source.

Shortly after getting water, I was horrified to cross paths with my first tarantula. It came as a complete surprise and I never got used to seeing them. "Oh God!!!" was usually my response, followed by a shudder. After seeing my first one, I faintly recall Indie telling me a story of seeing one in the same area many months ago. There was another couple we met on the trail in June that refused to sleep under the stars after seeing one. It felt like a lifetime ago, having those trail conversations. Anyways, the day ended with a fabulous campsite a few hundred feet off the trail on top of a small ridge. These always seemed to be my favorite sights, despite not having the best wind protection. I always enjoy a good sunset and sunrise in the morning...

Warner Springs

Resupplying in Warner Springs (Getting much needed water from the hose.)

Eagle Rock at sunset

An enjoyable day for the most part. I had a very smooth and relaxing resupply in Warner Springs. It felt a bit strange to have no other hikers around. Town stops usually involve some hangin' out with hiking friends, but obviously everyone had passed through here long ago. I debated whether or not to stop by the actual springs for a soak, but it was too pricey so I decided to carry on.

Most aggravating part of the day was trying to return to the trail. I could not, for the life of me, find where the southbound trail started on the south side of the road. I walked back and forth numerous times, trespassing, cursing, wasting almost an hour wandering around. Finally, I found the trail, resuming under the bridge. Late in the afternoon, strong winds picked up once again. As evening approached, I realized that I was going to have to find a campsite with some shelter, just to escape the wind. Eagle rock provided just the escape I needed. Actually I camped behind a rock outcropping just a hundred feet away or so, and spent the night cowboy camped under the stars.