Start: 0800 - Agua Caliente Creek
End: 1815 - San Diego/Riverside county line
Miles (today) - 17
Miles (cumulative) - 132
Last night, after our camping mates stopped talking and before Nick started snoring, I was lulled to sleep by the gentle babbling of the creek. This morning I woke up to birds singing and the lovely sound of the babbling creek. It was so peaceful! (Well, it was peaceful until everyone else woke up, that is.)
Nick and I have very different ideas about how the morning should go. I would prefer to get up early, start hiking ASAP, and stop to eat breakfast after a few hours or so. Nick likes to get up early, eat breakfast, and take his time getting ready to go. So far we've been following his schedule; This morning I was very antsy to get hiking and it was a bit of a struggle to stay patient.
When we FINALLY got going 😉, the first few hours were very serene and calming (probably because we were following the creek). I met Shaman on the trail and we hiked together for a while - it was nice to get to know him better, he's a great guy.
By 1100 the heat was becoming a bit oppressive and my feet were starting to hurt, so I found a shaded spot on the trail and waited for Nick (we seldom hike together as our paces rarely match up; however, we always eat lunch together).
After our 1 hour lunch break, we had about 4 miles to go until the next water source (at trail angel Mike Herrera's place). Those four miles felt endless and very, very hot (but I'm not complaining! I'll never complain about the heat!); When we saw the sign to water and shade there was much rejoicing. :)
Water and shade? Yes please!
It turns out Nick ran out of water several miles back so he wasn't going to wait for me and my picture taking
The water tank! I am once again so grateful for people who support PCT hikers
We hung out at Mike Herrera's for several hours while we waited out the heat. Many familiar faces were there, including the three we camped with last night (2nd Lunch, Sugar Rush, and Craig), Shaman, Mash, Cyclops, Sam, Alex, and Pacer. Some hikers are spending the night there - since tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo I think there is going to be a party or something. I'm sure the party would be fun but Nick and I opted to hike on (we are looking to get a solid night's sleep and camping with a bunch of other hikers usually means minimal sleep). On the way out we met Orange Blossom, Sara, Clair and Will, and Kevin. We also ran into the oldest hiker I've seen thus far, Turtle Don. Turtle Don is 82 and still going strong. He was great to talk to.
82 years young: Turtle Don
After leaving Mike Herrera's, Nick and I walked a few more hours until my feet were screaming again. I'm starting to wonder if the Epsom salt bucket foot soak I took back in Warner Springs made my feet too soft or something (is that possible?) because I have these weird hot spots on my feet that I've never had before in my life. They aren't blisters yet but they will be soon if I'm not careful.
Tomorrow will be interesting as the next guaranteed water source is 21 miles away. We're hoping to get some water at a spring 5 miles from here but rumor has it the spring is dry. We plan to get an early start and, if the spring IS dry, we'll be napping during the hot part of the day and hiking in the afternoon/night.
along the trail
along the trail
there are tons of lizards on the trail and this little guy was nice enough to let me take his picture