Today was going to be tough one. If yesterday's elevation gain of 1000+ m was difficult, today's 1400+ m was going to be relentlesly uphill from the start to the end. With hiking legs still to be developed and 3 liters of water carry for a total pack weight of around 18-19 kg, it promised to be a challenging day. And it lived up to the challenge 😄. There were a few bright spots though including coming across the cold and clean Kitchen Creek and meeting a bunch of hikers both local & PCT. The second half of the day was a slog and I was ready for it to end. The goal was to reach Mt Laguna town and find a place to replenish water, charge my phone and get some WiFi as I doubted there would be any decent cell phone signal.
But, lo & behold, as soon as I stepped off the trail to go to town, I was introduced to the famed Trail Magic!! A few trail angels has setup a picnic and generously welcomed all the hikers with cold soda, snacks, cookies, pie etc. They also have free spots to pitch our tents, in addition to hot coffee & pancake breakfast the next morning. All this for free with not even donations wanted or accepted! What a wonderful thing. On top of that, they had a generator running to charge phones too 😄. Finally, the cell phone signal was so good that I was even able to make a short video call home.
The gentler start
For my data-minded friends:
Comments
Lisa
the PCT through your posts.