PCT Day 1 – Day 3

Day 1

Our new Facebook friend Chris shuttled us to the southern terminus. He made us feel welcome by waving to us and forgetting to put his car in park when he picked us up.

We became fast friends with a fellow rider in Chris’s car, Johan, who’s from Denmark but needed to quarantine in Mexico to make this trip happen.

The first four miles were easy….the next ten were rough. We spent most of those ten miles oscillating between thinking we got this and how can we do this? Only time will tell but the first day was a beautiful challenge.

We found a spacious tent site between two new friends and some poison oak. Rach scorched round one of unstuffed peppers in our new cook pot….tomorrow there I will be a full investigation into whether this was equipment malfunction or operator error.

Tomorrow is a steep climb to breakfast burritos and indoor plumbing.

PCT Day 2

We started early to get a jump on the heat and climbed 1500 feet out of the canyon to a reward of breakfast burritos and Gatorade…it sounds like nothing special but our bodies were aching from yesterday and these soothed soul.

We ate with our new friends from camp and hiked a good portion of the day with them. The highlight being a quick foot bath in a creek under a bridge.

We pushed on from the last water sources to a nice ridge campsite Johan found. The site was small but worked. Dennis, a hiker from Germany, was impressed with authentic Kaufland caramel waffles. We shared them with the group. Thanks Renee and Tim!

PCT Day 3

The climb to Mount Laguna consumed most of our day. Pine trees appears at about 5500 feet and offered a great reprieve from the sun and a pleasant aroma.

We picked up our first resupply at the Mount Laguna Lodge. We packed a perfect amount of food and probably too much toilet paper. We are prepared for any digestive emergencies.

We ate burgers and fries with our friends at the Pine House and decided to stay at a campground tonight. Flat tent sites and hot showers are a luxury at this point.

Johan spent most of the evening convincing us on the merits of the metric system and criticizing the idea that an ounce is a measurement of weight and volume. He might be on to something.

In turn I explained to Johan the Midwest diet and role caramel apple salad plays.