Start: 0730 - Southern Terminus
End: 1700 - Hauser Creek
Miles: 15
It's been a long, emotional, satisfying day.
The day was long because we didn't get much sleep - we were able to manage maybe 3 hours. You see, when Nick booked our flight to San Diego he thought he booked a 10 am flight. However, he really booked a 10 pm flight. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise since there is no way we would have been packed and ready to go in time to make the 10 am flight. The downside is that we didn't get to Scout and Frodo's house until after midnight and didn't get to sleep until after 0100; The 0430 wake up time came much too fast.
Scout and Frodo are amazing trail angles who help hikers. They pick hikers up from the airport, feed them dinner, give them a place to sleep, feed them breakfast, and transport them to the Southern Terminus ALL FOR FREE (they refuse donations). Alas, our late flight meant Nick and I missed out on the ride from the airport (we used uber instead) and dinner. We also missed out on an opportunity to really meet all the other hikers (there were about 16 others at the house). However, breakfast was wonderful and we were able to briefly introduce ourselves to a few hikers before we were loaded into vans and driven to the trailhead.
All the hikers who stayed with Scout and Frodo
The day was emotional because of several factors. First, I kept reflecting on how wonderful our friends and family are - there is no way we would have even gotten to this point without all the love and support we've received - and I found myself getting all teary eyed just thinking about it. On top of that, it felt like race morning - I was full of excitement to finally be on the trail, nerves because this is new and unknown, and acceptance that what will be will be - in other words, the preparation is over and now it's time to perform.
Its real, folks!
My hand is officially in Mexico!
Nick's hand in Mexico
The border fence
The obligatory Mile 1 selfie
The day was satisfying because we hiked 15 miles and, while it was physically difficult, I found it wasn't too emotionally difficult. Even though I had moments where thoughts like "OMG, how are we going to hike 2,660 miles?" and "OMG, what have I gotten myself into?" floated into my head, I was able to keep the panic at bay by reminding myself to live in the moment. I remembered the trick my grandmother Alice taught me of breaking seemingly big, overwhelming tasks into smaller, more manageable ones. I told myself all I have to do is put one foot in front of the other and make it to our planned campsite. And that's what I did. (And the butterfly helped, too)
This butterfly made my day - it flew alongside me for a while. :)
We don't want to push too hard because I'm still recovering from the marathon and because we want to give our bodies time to adjust to this new way of life. However, the lack of water in this part of the trail makes taking it slow tricky (we have to make sure we get to the water sources). Due to the lack of water, we each carried 8 liters (just over 2 gallons) of water today. 8 liters!!! Water is really heavy, by the way. I was glad to drink it and make the pack a little lighter.
I struggled towards the end of the day as it was mostly downhill (as a reminder, I HATE downhills). I was also slow because I kept stopping to make adjustments to my pack (I had to swap out my first pack with a new one from REI because a zipper was broken; however, I failed to take the time to match the settings on the new back with those on the old). Nick was very patient and understanding. :) Alas, we were one of the last groups to arrive at camp (it seems like everyone had the same plan we did) so we didn't get the best choice of a campsite. Oh well. We met some more hikers, which was nice, and then went to work setting up the tent, getting organized, cooking dinner, cleaning up... There seems to always be something to do.
Nick looking good. :)