Some landscapes from the first 4 days

Just some shots I took a long the way

Days 2-4

Day 2:
Woke up not hungry at all. Not a good sign, but not the worst, either. The original plan was to make it to Cibbets Flat Campground (15-ish miles) by end of day. Yeah, that didn't happen, for a couple reasons. First off, I was still recovering from the 15 mile push plus another 4-5 miles looking for water with low water on day one. Second, once I got hiking, I realized my ankle was bugging me.

Pippin was already up and gone by the time I got moving, so I hiked solo. I had just enough water to make it the 5 miles to Lake Morena Campground, but there was guaranteed water there, so I wasn't too worried. It was a bit of slow going with my ankle, and I knew it wasn't going to be a good idea to push on past there that day, so I took a Near-0 to rest and RICE my ankle.

While there, I met back up with Roy and Katie (she is the one who made the awesome patch). They started with me at S&F's, but were doing 10s to start. They are fun people, so when they asked if I wanted to join them for day 3, I said yes for the company and to take it easy on my ankle.

There was a campground worker who lived on site in his trailer. He came around to take our fee for spending the night there with his dog, Larry. Larry was cute, and I got a little dog fix, as I was missing both Lucky and Chinook (my parents' dog).

Forced myself to eat a burger and malt from the malt shop just off the campground, but it took a few hours to get through it. At this point I was a bit worried about this no appetite thing, but I figured I would get myself rested and fully re-hydrated before I raised a true alarm about it.

There were a couple guys doing Trail Magic at the campground. They came by the PCT hiker spot and offered rides to their campsite where they were doing Chili dogs and S'mores. Since I had no appetite, I turned it down, but they also said they were going to be at Kitchen Creek Crossing doing Magic the next day.

Also, there was a shower on site. $.50 for 4 minutes of hot water. It was wonderful. I also rinsed out my dirty clothes and hung them dry.

Day 3:
Woke up at 4 am to hike with Roy and Katie. They like hiking in the dark. It's not for me, as I prefer to be able to see more than just what my headlamp illuminates, but the companionship was good.

My ankle was feeling better that morning, so that was good. Roy and Katie like to knock out all their miles before the heat of the day and rest for the afternoon, so they weren't going super slow, but weren't really pushing it, either. Water was still scarce, but the guys doing Magic were going to provide water, so we weren't too worried.

At one point, Katie called a break. I knew we had to be close to where the magic was happening, so before I dropped pack, I checked the Halfmile App to see how far it was. We were .08 miles away. I asked if they were sure about the break because of that, but Roy had already plopped down, too.

I hiked on for about 3 minutes before coming upon the site of the Magic. The guys had water, sandwiches, pop, gatorade, apples, and chips. Heaven. I dropped my bag, told the people there (2 Angels and about 5 hikers) about Roy and Katie, grabbed an apple and Gatorade, and said "I am going to walk back and taunt them." Which I did, and it got them up off their butts right quick.

We chilled there for a while, enjoying the company and the food. I was even able to steal some ice from the hosts for my ankle and elevate it. Eventually, though, all good things must end, and we moved on.

We made it to Cibbets Flat Campground that night, a day behind my original schedule. Ran into a little more magic there: more apples and some more ice. My ankle was grateful for latter.

It was really windy that night. REALLY windy. A few people's tents had to be moved around so they wouldn't blow down. Made it hard to sleep. The wind also blew a bunch of dust into my tent, even with the door zipped and the rain fly on.

My appetite was back, so I actually made dinner and ate most of it. I took that as a good sign.

Day 4:
Katie and Roy woke up at 4 again, but I wanted to sleep in, so they left without me. I hiked most of the day by myself.

It was a great day for hiking. I was in the shadow of a hill most of the day, so the sun wasn't beating directly on me. My ankle didn't hurt at all, and the trail was fairly smooth and level after the first bit, so I made good time

Made it to the Long Creek forge, and there were Katie and Roy! I had caught up to them. Also there were Simba, Lauren, and DaviAnna. Simba got his trail name on the AT. Not sure why. I should ask.

Simba and Lauren had to make it to Mt. Laguna before the post office closed, so they booked it. DaviAnna, Roy, Katie and I hiked pretty much together the 4-ish miles to Laguna, arriving there about 11am.

We had lunch at the little cafe there, and went to the store to pick up a couple things. Then we set up camp at Burnt Rancheria.

The weather started being a little weird, with the wind coming up again, but changing direction a lot. It also blew a bunch of clouds (we are at almost 6000 feet elevation) through our campground. Windy and damp.

This campground also has a shower. I am not quite ready to be dirty hiker-trash, yet, so I used it. I wanted to rinse out my dirty, dusty clothes, too, but with the misty air, I figured they wouldn't dry very well.

The wind is still blowing heavily, so we will see how well I sleep tonight.

The Long Walk Home: Day 1

Up at about 5 to pack my stuff. The sinus junk had gone away, and I was feeling better mentally. Pack was ready to go by 5:30, which was when breakfast started. Scout and Frodo provided it all again, and it was really tasty.

26 of us were starting from S&F's. It was a lot to organize, but they handled it with an ease born of lots of practice. At 6 we loaded into the cars and drove to the Southern Terminus. There was a lot of good energy, which helped alleviate some of my nervousness.

I made a fairly big mistake that first day. Last year I had 2 1.5-liter Smartwater bottles for water. I forgot they made them that big this year, and started with 2 1-liters. Since I only went through one bottle last year getting to Hauser Creek, I thought I would be fine.

I arrived at Hauser bone dry. Hauser was also bone dry, and I still needed water to cook dinner and breakfast, as well as make it the 5 miles to Lake Morena. I ended up going upstream over a half mile to see if some pools still had water in them. No dice. After getting back to camp, I got a bit of water from someone who had extra so I could make it 1.6 miles to a cistern that was for sure full. Luckily I had enough light left to do it. I was completely exhausted after that, though, so I just purified some water to drink, put up my tent, and went to bed.

I hiked most of the day with a German guy whose name I can't remember. Big surprise, as I am horrible with names. When we stopped at the stream at mile 4.4, he said it looked like a good spot for Second Breakfast. Hearing that, I commented that saying things like that would get him a Hobbit nickname. He said he was fine with that, so I said "OK Pippin" and called him that the rest of the day.

We saw two pretty big rattlesnakes when we got water after getting to Hauser, so that was interesting

Another Hiker creation

Another hiker who is staying here tonight embroidered patches in prep and handed them out. There were multiple colors.

It Begins

Landed in San Diego. Got picked up by Greywolf to head to Scout and Frodo's.

Lots of nervousness on my part. I am questioning my sanity, but I am not going to quit now. Going to give it at least a month (unless I get injured).

I hate plane travel. Always get a crick in my neck and some sinus crap. Usually a decent night's sleep clears most of that up, luckily.

So many people here at S&F's. Haven't been able to take it all in, yet. They have an amazing setup for the hikers. Big tents for people to sleep in. Pretty much everything a hiker might need is here, and what isn't is a short trip away.

I just got handed a little handmade charm from an Australian guy. He has a bunch, and they are trying to get them to Canada.

Scout and Frodo are going to feed us both dinner and breakfast on top of giving us a ride to the trailhead. They say they don't take donations, but apparently they don't turn down smoked salmon, so I am glad I brought that as a host gift.

Moved out/Notes on gear

Welp, all my stuff is out of my apartment and in storage except for what I need until I leave. Last day of my job was yesterday. This is happening.

My girlfriend came over last night, and she and my parents helped with the move out. We are going to go out dancing tonight. One last hurrah before I head out.

Gear
Some changes from last year and the reasons:

I went with the Hubba Hubba NX this year over the Mutha Hubba NX. 3-person down to a 2-person. The Hubba Hubba is also completely self-supporting and free-standing, and is easier for a single person to set up.

I also changed out my headlamp due to Petzl's new Hybrid system. The Accu Core battery pack has a built-in usb port so I can charge it off my solar charger/battery pack.

I changed out the battery back because my other one died.

Going with the Sawyer Squeeze this year over the Sawyer Mini. Better flow rate and a little more durable, from what I understand.

Gear List 2018

My Gear list this year is very similar to last year. The most major changes come from the fact that it is just me this year, so smaller items.

Pack:
REI Flash 65

Tent:
MSR Hubba Hubba NX w/footprint

Rain Gear:
Marmot Super Mica
ULA Rain Kilt
REI Duck's Back

Insulation:
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer
Smartwool Lightweight Base Layer (top and bottom)
Mountain Hardwear Dome Perignon

Extra clothes:
Prana Stretch Zion Shorts
Columbia Sportswear Shirt (forget the model)
Injinji socks x2
Some free wool socks I got as swag for sleeping in
Exofficio boxer briefs
Sea to Summit eVent compression sack

Sleep System:
REI Igneo 17
Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated Pad
Cocoon Mummy Liner - Silk
Sea to Summit Ultralight pillow - Regular size

Cook system:
Snow peak Gigapower stove
Snow peak Titanium cookwear (I think the 900 model)

Electronics:
RavPower 15000mAh Solar Charger/Battery Pack
Petzl Actik Hybrid headlamp
InReach PLB
Generic, lightweight USB to wall socket converter

Other:
REI First Aid Kit
Sawyer Squeeze
Misc hygiene stuff
Rope to hang food
HydraPak 4L Water bladder (for the desert)