The first day we hiked 5 1/2 miles and set up camp at a trailside campground, Bench Camp @ mile 294.7. A PCT thru-hiker named Glen joined us in camp an hour or so later and we learned he was from Lincoln Heights in Los Angeles - basically my city neighbor! Of all the people I could run into in the middle of the forest, attempting such a crazy thing, I meet someone who lives 15 minutes from me. How crazy! Glen was an awesome guy with a great attitude and seemed like he was going to go far on the trail. We made a campfire, had dinner and shared hiking stories before calling it a night @ 'Hiker Midnight' aka sun down.
The second day we spent trudging through many, many streams with wet, soggy feet by the end of the day. The trail had some decent snow coverage above 7,500 ft., which proved to be a bit challenging and made the trip a bit more exciting. So many obstacles! Which I love. We hiked almost 13 miles that day, enjoying vast views north out into the Mojave Desert and west towards the 10,000+ ft, snow-capped peaks. We set up camp on the edge of a ridge that lay just above the trail, so we had uninterrupted, 360 degree views. It was pretty amazing with desert one direction, a rolling, green valley another and then snow covered mountains across the opposing valley.
The final morning we awoke to 30 degree temperatures but a cloudless, purple sky as the sun rose to the East. We had a measly 4.8 miles to go until we hit the Cougar Crest Trail, which was our exit point to Big Bear from the PCT. After just a couple hours, we were there! I think we definitely hit our stride that morning and were making great time, it's a shame it had to end right then.
Over the 48 hours we spent hiking we met between 35 - 40 PCT thru-hikers going North from the Mexican border. Most of which stopped and talked with us for a bit and the majority seemed to be in good spirits. I also had the pleasure of meeting Second Chance, the guy who decided to hike the PCT at 440 lbs to lose weight. He's looking great, super upbeat attitude and the pounds of literally melting off the dude, so that's awesome!
With just 48 hours of being on the PCT and getting another 2 nights of practice backpacking under my belt before June rolls around I can't help but feel extremely positive about how this Summer and trip are shaping up to be (finishing the final 1,450 miles of the PCT). I'm most definitely in the best shape of my life and hitting those 13 mile days even with taking plenty of breaks and only hiking from 9am - 6pm have me feeling pretty damn good. Only six weeks to go.
