I was up at the crack of dawn–5:30 am–because the”breakfast crew” had to report for duty at 6:00am today.  We gave all the hikers another feast! I also finally snagged both the other Montys for a picture, and am now the proud owner of a pin (I put it on my hat) that says, “I am a friend of WS Monty  I also got a picture of a totally cute little “future thruhiker”!  Bill and I spent quite a while helping to fold up and stack all the tables used for mealtimes, before returning to camp to  pack up, put on our “town shirts” and walk a mile to church.

We’d spotted the church while in town yesterday, and it was wonderful to be able to go there before starting the “last leg” of 2,630 miles to Canada!  The church people were very sweet — they love to pray, and all gathered around to pray for us! We were very blessed. The church folks had a potluck after, but we had miles to do, and we have eaten so much at ADZPCTKO that we actually weren’t that hungry, so we declined their friendly offer.  Since we are trying to slow down (gotta give the Sierra snow time to melt!) we took our time walking back to the campground, where we changed back into trail clothes, messed around  bit, and then prayed for God’s blessing and help on our walk to Canada, and that we would honor Him always.  And oh, joy!  A look at the Laguna Mountains up ahead showed all the snow was GONE!   So off we went, a bit after 1 pm, with the feeling that at last our journey had truly begun.

The PCT winds and turns, slowly climbing above Lake Morena, with more gorgeous views around every bend.   Despite our carefully slower pace, we kept passing people, including a whole Scout troop.  We met one tired southbounder who asked, “How many more minutes to Lake Morena?”  When we told him “About 40” he sighed deeply and trudged on.

Note from Alexa: I’ve seen their ‘slower’ pace. I think they’d outdistance Luke Skywalker on his speeder.

When we reached Cottonwood Creek, we were amazed to find that it was a simple matter of walking across on a 4 x 4.  The second crossing of the Creek was a little trickier, but nothing like in 2005, when we had no choice but to ford it.  We reached Boulder Oaks campground, which was closed due to Arroyo Toad breeding season, but we got a good chuckle because every single picnic table that had any shade was occupied by a tired PCT thruhiker lying on top of it!  We were due for a snack, so we sat down under a big shady oak and had fun playing with a little camera holder that you can attach to the end of your trek pole and take a “self portrait”.  It worked! 

After crossing under Interstate 78, we began the 3,000 foot climb into the Laguna Mountains, on a warm but breezy afternoon.  I got a picture of a very cute horny toad!  As we climbed higher and higher, we got into the awesome canyons and rocks of the Lagunas.  Still trying to “take it easy and let the Sierras melt”, we THOUGHT we were walking at a leisurely pace, but we still kept passing other thruhikers, including a mom and her teenage daughter.  And surprise! At the road to Mt. Laguna, there was “Mad” Monty, sitting in the shade.  He asked if we’d seen the mom & daughter and we said yes–about a half hour ago.  Monty kept on munching his snack bar and told us he was hiking with them to help them.  “I thought we’d make Cibbetts by tonight,” he said (it’s 13 miles from Lake Morena), “but it’s looking iffy.”  He shook his head and we left him still patiently waiting.  Bummer!  If Monty were hiking by himself, he would have easily reached Mt. Laguna by now.

The sun was getting lower, which meant (hooray!) that we were now hiking in the SHADE along the east side of the Lagunas.  It’s a steady climb, with awesome views, but in 2005 we were doing it in the hot sun, and getting fried, so that wasn’t much fun.  This time, we were really able to enjoy ourselves.  Around 5:30 we stopped to cook dinner (mac & cheese–yum!)  at a huge thruhiker “encampment” at Fred Canyon Creek.  There were tents everywhere, all up and down the creek.  The hikers were amazed that we were not planning to stop for the night. 

While we cooked over our little alcohol stove, we got to watch a bit of thruhiker “melodrama”.  A Brit hiker arrived just after we did, also hungry for dinner.  He built a tiny little cooking fire with twigs in the middle of an established “campfire circle” of rocks near the creek.  He had his pot of water and instant mashed potatoes ready to cook, when another hiker came up with a potful of water, and threw it on the tiny fire, instantly putting it out.  The waterthrowing hiker then launched into a tirade about “Don’t you have a fire permit?  You should know the rules–NO FIRES in the back country!!!”  Then he stalked off.  Everyone was shocked.  A hiker who had been lying in his tent nearby rummaged through his stuff to find his own fire permit, and read it carefully.  “Hey!” he said.  “That guy is wrong!”  Then he read aloud the exact rule, which went something like “Fire must be on mineral soil, and at least 5 feet from any vegetation.”

The poor Brit was very upset and frustrated–and still hungry!  We all told him, “You go ahead and redo your fire!  We will all protect you!  That guy was over-the-top-rude, even for an American!”  So the Brit tried to relight his fire, but alas!  It was too wet.  So another hiker loaned his alcohol stove and some fuel, and he cooked up his mashed potatoes in peace.  Bill and I washed up our pot, shouldered packs, wished everyone the best, and headed on.

We were able to put in another 3 miles before the sun seriously got low.  I was starting to be concerned about finding a campsite on the steep mountainside all covered with chaparral.  Every possible campsite we came to was already occupied by other thruhikers, with no room to spare.  Finally, just at sunset, we found a spot off the trail that was just barely big enough to camp and set up our tarp & gear just before it was dark.   I calculated our mileage and was amazed.  Even though we’d been trying to walk slowly, and got such a late start, we still did 14.7 miles.  It was a cool, quiet night, with minimal mosquitoes.  We read the Bible a little bit before going to sleep–Psalm 24, where it says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all that dwell therein.”   I am the worrywart type, so I also had to give to God all my concerns about the Sierra snows not melting.  We stayed awake for awhile, just savoring our first REAL night on the PCT!

Walk to Rivendell: First Meeting with Black Rider