Currently Sunday afternoon, living the rough life, we reached the town of Mt Laguna a few hours ago. Scarecrow already had a reservation at the lodge here so he and Steve planned on staying the night. Upgrading to a 3-person stay was cheap so I decided to stay as well rather than press on a few more miles to a campground. So I'm laying on a soft bed after a burger and fries at the restaurant.
Saturday morning we got up around 5:30 and started out for Lake Morena. It was about 4.5 miles from where we camped. There were quite a few people camped there and a few hikers getting a late start or taking a break. We hung out there for about an hour. I got to wash my feet. My shoes have great ventilation but that means they let in a lot of dirt.
Based on the heat the previous day we planned on an extended midday break. We pushed out from the lake and made for an old closed campground. On the way we crossed a stream under a bridge that was too wide to jump. We took our shoes off and stayed there for 20 min or so. Cold water on the tired feet feels amazing. At our afternoon stop we found a table in the shade, had lunch and relaxed. Archie had stopped at the stream so it's just 3 of us now.
We set out at around 3:00 and quickly came to a long uphill portion with no shade at all. Our goal was a campground at mile 33. Hot the whole way. You can already see salt from sweat forming on my pack's straps, my shirt was even worse.
We got a decent site with water right by it. Loud campers couldn't keep me awake for too long.
Today we just hiked 10 miles in the morning into Mt Laguna. We made it out of the desert for the last few miles and had some nice trees for shade. Legs are kinda sore and we're up to 6k feet, so I'm glad for the half day today. And the hamburger. The restaurant is only open on weekends so we lucked out.
43 miles in. A lot to go.
Saturday morning we got up around 5:30 and started out for Lake Morena. It was about 4.5 miles from where we camped. There were quite a few people camped there and a few hikers getting a late start or taking a break. We hung out there for about an hour. I got to wash my feet. My shoes have great ventilation but that means they let in a lot of dirt.
Today we just hiked 10 miles in the morning into Mt Laguna. We made it out of the desert for the last few miles and had some nice trees for shade. Legs are kinda sore and we're up to 6k feet, so I'm glad for the half day today. And the hamburger. The restaurant is only open on weekends so we lucked out.
Two days out and you're already staying in a lodge - this PCT stuff is rough! The desert looks like Eastern Oregon. I was just wondering if you saw lots of wild flowers. I think at times the desert can be beautiful. Bob posted the map and got some push pins so he can follow you! He is living the trail through you -- in fact a lot of people are. You have a great cloud of witnesses cheering you on.
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