Day 1 - April 28

Tenting at Lake Morena Campground (Mile 20.2).  Walked 20.2 miles today.

Woke up at about 4 am with no hope of going back to sleep.  Took my time getting ready and checked out of the hotel about 6 am.  Called a Lyft and got picked up by a driver who seemed reluctant to drive all the way to Campo, but agreed to take me (I tipped him well for his trouble).  Got out to the Mexican border a few minutes before 7.  Signed the log at the monument of the southern terminus and got on my way, hiking the PCT at 7:05 am.

They say the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, but what about the journey of 2,650 miles?  Does it start with 2.65 steps? And if so, how do you take part of a step?  I can ponder this for the next few months as I travel north.

It was kinda surreal walking down the trail.  Hard to believe I'm actually here and doing this.  It feels like just any other trail, not necessarily one I've been planning for for years.

Temperature was nice and cool for the first few hours as the trail wound around the mountains.  Only saw a couple of people for the first few miles.  Most of the sounds were from birds singing, lizards/turkeys running off into the brush, and border patrol helicopters flying overhead.  Terrain was very gentle with some pretty good views.

Took my first break about 11 am after hiking 10 miles.  Continued on through the gentle terrain before beginning some steeper terrain wirh the descent into Hauser Canyon.

There are some areas of this trail that have really obviously suffered from a lack of maintenance during the pandemic.  Bushes were overgrowing the trail quite a bit here.  Got to the bottom and ran into three guys hanging out in the shade.  Maxwell, Scatter, and Chef Jesus (who has long hair and is wearing a white linen shirt...an uncanny resemblance to the Lord).  Upon my arrival, I immediately sat down next to some poison oak and may have brushed my pants and pack and against it...I guess we'll find out in a few days...  We all chatted for a bit and eventually Andrew, The Wandering Kiltsman (yes he wears a kilt), his dog Anubis, and Manda showed up.  Kiltsman is struggling, dealing with a kidney stone so he needed some rest.  We all chatted some, and a couple people pulled out the whiskey as well as some weed (which I think is insane with the steep climb coming up).  We eventually left one-by-one to make the steep climb out of the canyon (those smoking and drinking were still there when I left...).  Reached the top where I ran into Scatter.  He and I walked and chatted together before meeting up with Maxwell and Chef Jesus.

We all rolled into Lake Morena about 4 pm and immediately walked a couple tenths of a mile up to the malt shop where we got some burgers for dinner.  We ate at some tables outside and were joined by Jeff, another hiker.  Eventually walked to the campground.  Max, Scatter, and Jesus hiked another 0.5 miles to a free campsite up the trail, rather than staying at the $5 campground with running water and bathrooms (I'll pay for the convenience!).  They're hoping Andrew and Kiltsman catch up tomorrow because Andrew has Scatter's seat pad that he left at the bottom of Hauser Canyon.  I probably won't see them again since they're only out here for a few days.  Set up my tent and chatted with some of the other hikers camped here tonight: Joe, Smackdown, and Emily.  Plenty of others are here as well as it's a popular day 1 stopping point.