XC rolled into our camp at Barrel Spring late last night, and we laughed until well after hiker bedtime, i.e. 9pm. I know, really letting ourselves go. It was great to see him and catch up on the news of where Gazelle, Beardoh, Sweet Pea and Lid were. It turns out they had all hitched into the town of Julian the day before, and so were now just behind us on the trail.
Mile 100
With yesterday's weather having blown through, we found ourselves with the most favorable hiking conditions thus far and with an early start we tried to take full advantage.
Rain and Reset
Little known fact: it does, in fact, rain in Southern California. In what can only be described as hypothermia on a silver platter, the first half of our day was spent managing the 40ish degree temperature, rain, and wind while making our way down towards the Anza-Borrego desert. Not surprisingly, we stopped only for 10 minutes in the first 9 miles of the day.
Mount Laguna
We awoke this morning tucked on the edge of a meadow along with Rich, XC, and Gazelle. Three short miles up the trail was our first resupply at Mt. Laguna, and also an opportunity to address a couple of nagging problems, namely Emily's blisters and our failing pack frames.
To the Shade
Just before 5:30, our little collection of thru-hikers at Lake Morena campground began to stir. A bit of a misnomer, Lake Morena is really a reservoir and one that had no water within sight of the campground itself. As Rich, Gazelle, Emily and I left at 6:30 the early morning light was beautiful and the cool temperatures reminded me of how wildly different the days and nights here can be.
Day 1
Today began at the oh-so-early hour of 4:45, when we woke up at Scout & Frodo's, packed, ate breakfast and were off to the start of the trail just before 6.
2 Hours and 20 Minutes
Two hours and twenty minutes. That's how long it took to travel from Seattle to Dan Diego today--nearly the same distance that will take me 5 months to cover on the trail. It's a humbling thought.