PCT Day 3 - Bliss

We’ve been on the trail for three days now, and already it seems as if this was the right decision.

There are no more fears of running out of food or water, no more “what if’s”, 

“what if it rains...”

“What if we don’t make our mileage...”

“What if it gets to hot.... or too cold...”

Only 3 days in and I know we can do this.

As we laid in our tent last night, I could see the full moon, hear frogs from the lake, the crickets in the field, and the turkeys gobbling in the distance. I could also feel the cool mountain air on my breath for the first time this trip. The sounds of the wildlife and nature soothed me and created a calming feeling that I haven’t quite had since leaving the sounds of the constant crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. Today was the best day on the trail so far.

We left Lake Morena at 9:15, later than expected as we have no figured out how to cut our morning routine down to 2+ hours.

Our goal was 12 miles to Fred Canyon which we were told has ample water and at least 5 tentsites. These camping spots are not an official campground like Lake Morena, but rather a primitive spot that is used for thru hikers. This goal was not too ambitious as we know we can do this mileage. 

We busted through the first 4 in a few hours only stopping for pictures and arrived a creek underneath an overpass. There was shade and a cool spot to soak my feet so we stopped to take a load off. We refilled our water and within and hour or less we set off to complete another  8 miles to Fred Canyon. 

The trail, as I’m sure it often will, had other plans. We had a nice flat stretch of 2 miles and were making really great time considering most of our hiking had been up and down. As  we rounded a corner, we were met by more trail angels! Elwood and Jimmy Jimmy Coco Puff enticed us with hot dogs, crackers, cold beer and more stories. We stayed and chatted with them and 20 or so hikers for a few hours and before we knew it, it was 2:45pm. No chance of making our goal of 12 miles. We picked up the trail with our future home for the night unknown. 

The trail was again beautiful, we ascended a small mountain to see wonderful views of Cleveland National Forest and San Diego county. Along the way we saw bunnies, squirrels, our first snake and of course turkey vultures that happened to appear just as our feet start to ache and our water is running low.

It was hot, and I wore my bandana under my hat for the first time. It seemed to work and keep me cool. We walked along a ridge which overlooked a highway, we slowly gained elevation and before long we could once again see the world from the mountain tops. Below us were meadows of yellow flowers and a creek with small waterfalls. This looked tempting, but instead of going to the falls we pressed on to another spot that promised relief from the mid day sun. What we stumbled upon seemed almost magical. From the trail we could see Kitchen Creek below us. It was flowing and offered several swimming pools. I was feeling good and was considering trying to make it to Fred Canyon, but Madelyn insisted we go down to the pools. 

As soon as we got down the steep rock face, it was clear we had made the right decision and this would be our home for the night. The canyon was all ours and had the perfect place to camp, camping however would come later. We dropped our bags and stripped down to our skimpies and jumped in. The water was amazing, cold but not really as cold as one might expect. The water pools then warms in the midday heat, just before it is filtered down a 2 foot waterfall. We sat just below this fall and cleaned the dirt and grime that we had accumulated over the past 3 days. 

Our hopes of having the canyon all for ourselves were short lived. When 45 minutes later the first of a dozen or so hikers arrived. No worries as Love meeting new people and loving the trail life. Off to dinner.