Day 4 - Boulder field at mile 56

We somehow managed to get to our chosen spot for the day really early - at 3:30 no less. And this with a long lunch at Pioneer Mail picinic area. A pretty fast 14 miles today. Not too shabby. Though the last three miles were in full sun. Fortunately sol isn't at full strength yet, but it's getting there. I'm doing my best to keep off the worst of the rays. And if I may say so, doing it with a certain kind of flair. 

We are staying at one of the best spots along the southern half of the PCT. Well it's my favorite anyway. Why do I like it? Boulders, and lots of them. Plus the views are stunning and you can see for miles it's so clear. Must be the near constant wind we've been experiencing that keeps it so clear. 

Rumor has it there is another storm front coming in on Wednesday. This will put us at Scissors Crossing and/or part way into the San Felipe Hills: rugged, hot and waterless. Last time I came through I experienced both, super heat and cold, swirling fog laden winds, all in the space of a few hours. One never knows about the San Felipe Hills. Plus there aren't many sheltered places to camp. If I was a stronger hiker I'd love to get through in one day but at this point I'm not capable of walking 23 miles. Or rather I should say, I'm not ready to attempt hiking 23 miles. 

Tomorrow, Rodriguez Spur watering spot, or thereabouts. 

Hauser Canyon

Today was a perfect hiking day. Chilly in the morning with frost on the plants at the border turning to a pleasantly warm day with high clouds to temper the sun. There were flowers in the beginning stages of blooming and a bit of green grass springing up because of the recent rains. All in all, a perfect hiking day. 

Which is not to say that there weren't difficult parts to the day. The first hard thing was saying goodbye to Angela at mile marker 1. She and Chris walked with us for the first mile and the goodbye was tearful. It is hard leaving a perfectly wonderful life to make this adventure happen. I only hope everything at home is ok in my absence. 

The second hard thing was the 15.4 mile hike to get to this place. What can I say? It's up and down, over hill and dale and it took us from 8 am to 4:30 pm. This included many breaks of course and we took it easy but there's no getting around the fact that I was dang tired and footsore by the time we pulled in here. I'm sure this will abate once I get a bit more used to the rigors of the trail. 

Tomorrow we walk another 15 miles!

Almost!

I leave home tomorrow and will drive down to Riverside Co to visit family for a few days. Angela will fly down next week and then on Friday at 7 am she will drop me off at the border. Our friends Chris and Lisa will also be there and I'll be joined by my hiking pals Diane and Caroline. The weather forecast is to be in the 60's during the day and 40's at night for the first three days. Other than having to carry lots of water, it couldn't be a better start to the hike. And because it won't be hot we won't have to carry quite so much water, even though our first night will be a dry camp so we need enough water for dinner and breakfast the next morning. On day two we only have four miles till the next water source so it seems like it will be pretty easy… or easy enough I guess.

This morning I loaded up my pack with all gear, five liters of water and food for three days and it weighed in at 25 pounds. Not too bad really and it could be bunches worse. This is, in part, because I've upgraded my gear to include more down than I've used in the past. I managed to take some photos of the newest goodies and they are as follows.

Montbell down jacket

Montbell down pants

Zpacks down hood and a Turtlefur beanie

Well this is it for now. I still have way too much to do before I leave at zero dark-thirty tomorrow morning so I've got to sign off now. I'll be communicating via phone from now so expect less than stellar spelling and awkward sentence structure. It's much harder to edit on that little beast. Stay tuned for big adventure!