The trip to Monterey went well and this morning Tina headed out from Walkers Pass (mile 652) north towards Kennedy Meadows. She hopes to reach there (mile 704) fairly early on Wednesday.
Today I thought I'd transcribe Tina's journal entry for her first day on the trail (April 23rd) and post it here. I'll use this color for her words.
Flashback: Tina's journal entry for Saturday, April 23, 2011 -- Today I started my thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. David woke me at 4:30AM and gingerly handed me my standard chocolate protein shake mixed with instant coffee. After finishing my drink I got up, dressed, ate half of a wheat bagel and started getting my backpack ready to go. I made a sandwich for lunch and filled all of my water bottles. And since I had packed everything else the night before we headed out to the truck.
As we approached the border we saw border patrol agents everywhere. We saw about 20 of them coming and going as we fueled the truck near Campo and earlier had to pass through a checkpoint. Then at the trail start there is the big steel fence that runs along the border and a dirt road paralleling it. There were white border patrol jeeps and trucks running all around here too -- up and down the fence but also blanketing all the little dirt roads feeding into that. Occasionally they act like they've spotted something and all go rushing off towards one clump of bushes or another.
When we arrive another vehicle is already there. Two older women (mother & grandmother, it looks like) are launching a young fellow named Hugh. Hugh is about Keith's age and is just doing a section hike to Warner Springs (about 110 miles). He could only get a short time off from work, he said. He and I wind up leap frogging each other all day.
After taking the obligatory pictures and signing the register I was finally off! It was about 6:30AM, 42 degrees, cloudy & misty. This mostly burned off by 8:30 at which point it got decidely hotter. My thermometer said 62 degrees which felt really hot at the time and I got a pretty good sunburn on my arms and hands.
About 3 miles in I met an older (and by "older" I mean about our age) hiker named Joe is also a thru-hiker, although he said he was very slow. I didn't see him again today.
I hike for awhile above a beautiful green little valley and could hear roosters crowing and cows mooing far below. This was spoiled somewhat by the occasional mortar fire from one of the many military bases in the area. Military planes & helicopters passed over throughout the day.
I forgot to mention that I finally understand what chaparral is after years of watching "High Chapparal" on TV. It is a community / mixture of desert plants such as sage, greasewood, manzanita, scrub oak, etc with cacti mixed in. This is mostly what I hiked through today.
I stopped to eat a snack & call David about 10 miles in. Up ahead I could see the two Australian girls, Emily & Alisa, whom David & I had dropped off at the trailhead yesterday. I caught up to them a short while later. They look to be in their very early 20's. They'd found a good camping spot and said that they had "slept in" and were just getting started. This was probably around 11:00AM. They were also headed to Lake Morena for the night and so I'll probably see them again on Monday.
Around mile 14.5 I started down a steep canyon where the trail was pretty overgrown with brush. Hauser Creek runs along the bottom with several campsites just west of where the trail crosses the creek. I met Hugh again here who stopped me from taking a wrong turn straight through some Poison Oak. There were 6-7 hikers lounging around along the sides of the creek. Many hikers stop hiking during the hottest part of the day and I suspect these guys were doing just that. Some of them may have been planning to stay the night but Hugh and I headed out.
The climb up out of that canyon was the toughest climb of the day. After awhile I saw Hugh stop and talk to a "hiker" coming from the opposite direction. Pretty soon I met up with this fellow, too. He stopped me and asked for some food. He looked fairly young but was very thin, dirty, and his clothes were ragged and very ill-fitting. He had rolled up the too-big pants he was wearing so high that he looked like he was wearing a saggy diaper. He was wearing a small day pack and carrying a canvas tote bag. He was deeply tanned and looked like he had been living on the trail. It was obvious he had some kind of mental disability. :( I gave him all the snack food that I had easily available as well as a liter of Gatorade because it didn't look like he was carrying any water. He also asked me for rain pants and a razor but of course I told him "no" on those requests.
I went on but felt uneasy since I wasn't sure he was capable of taking care of himself out there. He was headed for all those hikers along the creek, though, and so I went on.
Climbing up the bottom I kind of drifted off until a loud rattling in the trail in front of me startled me back to attention. A large orange and very angry-looking rattlesnake was coiled in the trail about a foot and a half in front of me. I quickly backed off to reconnoiter. The snake was in the middle of the trail with thick brush and rocks on both sides. Unless I got really close to the snake I couldn't get around it. I threw some sticks and small rocks at it but that just made it madder. Then I tried just making a lot of noise but it just stared at me. In fact it seemed more interested than scared.
Finally I just sat down and was real still for a few minutes. It eventually quit rattling and slithered off into the brosh and so I went on. I had never seen such a bright orange rattlesnake and later found out it was a Western Diamondback.
After another bit I nearly stepped on a much smaller black and white rattlesnake that never made a sound until I plopped my foot down about 6 inches from its head. It gave a very small rattle, I looked down, and then jumped about a mile, 30lb pack or no! But it was very timid, unlike the other snake, and quickly crawled away under a rock. I didn't get a very good picture of it but later found out that it was a Western Rattlesnake (i.e., not a Diamondback).
Between the two rattlesnakes I saw my first horned toad. I haven't seen one in years so I was thrilled. It was a nice big and spiney one, too. Later I saw another smaller, lighter-colored one. I caught it and took some good pictures. I was so happy to see them!
So now I've come around 17.5 miles and I'm really starting to get tired. Every time I think I've reached the top, the trail turns towards something higher (just like on the AT). Finally I reach a high saddle and someone has written in the sand "This is the TOP!". Finally!
The trail leveled off for awhile but then climbed very gradually for a ways more. I started catching glimpses of Lake Morena far below in the distance. I knew I still had a ways to go so I didn't get too excited but I did start hiking with a little more energy. That didn't last long, though. The lake kept getting bigger but it was taking forever and I was starting to wonder if I would make it. Then I came to where someone had scratched in the sand, "You can do it!". It came at just the right time and cheered me up to where I could muster a little more energy.
Soon I met a bunch of moms with little kids and I knew I had to be close to the campground. Sure enough, I started seeing RVs, etc in the trees below me and before long I saw the truck waiting for me. I managed to sneak up to the driver's side window because David was looking away at his computer screen, monitoring my track. It shows where I am at 15 minute intervals. He was just getting the latest one when I startled him. He said it showed me very close and when he looked up he jumped because I was standing right there!
He had cold bottles of ice tea & lemon cookies. Awesome! Great first day!
20 miles from the Mexican border to Lake Morena Campground.
--- From Tina's account of her first day on the PCT (April 23rd).
Until tomorrow, David