Desert Bloom And Desert Winds - Campo To San Felipe Hills

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And just like that my first week on the trail is coming to an end. As planned, I had started with a relatively low mileage to give my body time to adjust. It’s now my sixth day on the trail and it has already been an amazing experience!

The Southern Terminus monument where the trail officially starts is actually almost directly at the border wall. People crop out the wall in their pictures, but it is very close. There was one girl taking pictures with a PCTA volunteer. After she left, it was just me and the volunteer. I had expected the start to be crowded and this was just magical! I took my time, taking pictures at the monument and the border wall, getting my official PCT tag and signing in at the trail register.

That wall is a strange sight…


Shortly after the first mile marker another hiker, Russel from San Francisco, caught up with me and we hiked together for a while, talking about Yosemite (where he works in a camp), books and our hike. I’m sure I’ll meet many people on this trip, but the first is always special. We parted ways when I stopped to take more pictures.


Progress!


The desert is in bloom and much greener than I had anticipated. 


Desert Bloom


I kept going through the rolling hills, covers with desert shrubs and flowers. Around 4pm I climbed a pile of rocks near the trail to enjoy the view and have an extended break. Then I went on for a couple more hours and miles. 


Those Views…


I started feeling tired and found a nice secluded camping area at 10.6 miles and decided to call it a day. I didn’t feel like socializing and was very happy to find this hidden spot that I didn’t need to share. I only set up my inner tent as it was dry and not windy. I make my dinner and eat on the nearby rocks to watch the sunset. Excellent first day.


Those feet need some rest.


The following two days were similar. I leapfrogged some of the same hikers as we went into Hauser Canyon to Lake Morena, then on to the Laguna Mountains. I slowly became familiar with some of them as we kept hiking a few miles at a time together and camped some nights at the same place.


Horned Lizard. Is actually super friendly.

The landscape became gradually more dramatic and the modest ups and downs of the first day were replaced by serious climbs and descents. The weather was gorgeous. Warm and sunny throughout the days, cool to cold at night. I had a short reprieve from the desert around Mount Laguna, which was covered in a beautiful pine forest with some of the biggest pine cones I have ever seen.


The pic doesn’t do it justice. The pine forest was very nice.

Seriously. The size of my head…

Then day four arrived. I had breakfast at the Pine House Cafe in Mt. Laguna with a few other hikers and headed out with one of them, Eric. As soon as we left town, the desert views really opened up.


These boots are made for walking.


Eric was dealing with foot pain (a very common problem on the trail…) and had to stop after a few miles and I continued alone. The day had started out nice, but I knew that high wind was in the forecast and it soon started to pick up.


Not pictured: Wind

The winds were coming from the west and were strong enough that I had to lean in and walk at an angle. I passed the lookouts at Penny Pines an Pioneer Mail and by the time I reached Kwasymii Point some gusts almost blew me over. The trail there was blown out of a rock wall and the views are amazing. I tried to enjoy them as much as I could without getting blown over the edge.


Gorgeous Views All Around!


Thanks to a rainstorm the week before there wasn’t much dust blown around, but I still had to remove some of the haze from the pictures.


Not much wind protection to be found here.


According to the forecast the winds were around 35 mph that day and were supposed to get to 40 mph in the evening. Hiking in these conditions is not easy, but setting up a tent is close to impossible.

As I was getting tired I kept looking for an area that would offer at least a little protection, but it took several miles until I saw a dried out creek bed and followed it down until it formed a small canyon.


The morning after - still standing!


The bushes grew a little taller here too and I started setting up my tent downwind of one of those. I placed the biggest rocks I could find on top of my stakes, hoped for the best and crawled in, happy to be finally out of the wind that had chilled me to the bone.

The winds kept on blowing, the tent rattled and shook, but everything held up. It was hard to find sleep at first, but the howling and rattling of the tent eventually lulled me into sleep.

The wind died down in the middle of the night and I awoke to a beautiful morning, happy to have weathered my first windstorm in the desert!


The flowers didn’t even lose their petals.


The following days were beautiful but very hot. At the same time, water became scarce as there are no more running creeks, only stagnant water tanks that wary in quality from nice and fresh to yellow and smelly (Shrek piss as one hiker commented).


Good Water

Shrek Piss


The more beautiful camp spots near the trail are mainly dry, so I had to carry all water for cooking dinner, breakfast and the hike to the next water source with me. I found it worth the effort for the extra solitude and amazing views.


Desert View

Most scenic campsite so far.


The landscape is slowly changing and includes more cacti now. I’m looking forward to more of that!





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