PCT Day 2 - Trail Magic

Today began at sunrise around 6:30am, it was cold and rainy but the tent held up and we were able to stay warm and dry. The low was 37 degrees and the tent was still wet as we started to pack. Even though the conditions for our first night we’re not ideal, we have no complaints. Today was everything I expected from Southern California, gone we’re the cool temperatures, the rain, the green meadows, and the flowing streams. They were replaced by soaring temperatures in the mid 80’s with abundant sunshine. The terrain was also more of what I’ve come to expect. There were sandy, dusty trails, and along the way brush and shrubs about 5-10 feet in height. We hiked 8 miles to Lake Morena through Cleveland National Forest. The hike was easy yesterday, and today proved again to be more of what we expected. We descended a mountain and climbed another, our elevation gain for the Day was 1,200 feet. By 2:30 we came to camp and was greeted with our first instance of Trail Magic! Steve from a nearby town pulled up and delivered beer, soda, pizza, and apples. He was an older gentlemen and seemed to make a habit of doing this a few times a week. We conversed with him for awhile as we set up camp and prepared for tomorrow. The camp ground has a fire pit tonight, so I think we will enjoy some company from fellow hikers . At the moment we plan to get up early and do about 12 miles tomorrow.