PCT Section Hiking
The First Three Days
To follow my PCT Section A hike, click here. For some reason, the section between Lake Morena and Kitchen Creek Road was not tracked. The section between Scissors Crossing and Barrel Springs is not tracked because I didn’t walk it. The section from Scissors Crossing to Julian is not part of the PCT and was done in a car.
Day 1
From: PCT mile 0, PCT southern terminus, the Mexican border, elevation 3000ft
To: PCT mile 15.4, Hauser Creek, elevation 2400ft
9 hours, 15.4 miles, 600ft elevation loss, high 26 Celsius.
First day of the PCT! My alarm set off at 5:15, I woke up, looked around and almost panicked. The tent was empty. How did 5 people around me woke up, collected their sleeping bags and packed thir backpacks without me waking up is beyond me. I packed, got a quick breakfast with everyone and at 6am we were off to the Mexican border in several cars driven by volunteers.
I started with 23 hikers, most of them thru-hikers, or at least plan to be. Other than a couple at their 40s, another guy around the same age, and me, all seem under 30. My backpack, at 16kg/35lb was extremely heavy, but there’s a reason the Osprey Atmos 65 was selected by many hiker forums as one of the best trail backpacks out there. It sits well, but you can’t underestimate the heavy load. It’s heavy. I did my first 20 minutes break at 5 miles and a 30 minute one at 11 miles. The second part involved a, 1000ft climb and I had to stop for air few times during that climb. I really planned to only walk 10 miles on the first day, but seeing the terrain which was unfriendly for camping, my progress which was good, I decided to try and push to get to Hauser Creek where there’s a small camp site and I can camp with other people. At 12.5 miles I had my first rattlesnake encounter, and it was a close one. It was bathing on a rock in the middle of the trail, completely camouflaged by the rock. I didn’t see at at all. But as I was about a meter away, it rattled to warn me, and you can hear the rattle really well. I jumped back instinctively and after calming down took a couple of photos. As it was sitting in the middle of the trail with no way around it, I had to throw rocks at it to make it go away.
I made it to Hauser Creek, at mile 15.4, by 16:30. I was exhausted, barely had the energy to set up my tent in a small tent site with 8 more people, most of them women. Had a trail meal for dinner and went to sleep. Still, I got maybe two hours of sleep that night in the tent.
Day 2
From: mile 15.4, Hauser Creek, elevation 2400
To: mile 20, Lake Morena, elevation 3038ft
3 hours, 4.5 miles, 600ft elevation gain
A short day with a big climb from the Hauser Creek bed to Lake Morena. Views of Lake Morena and the PCT trail that I already walked. I was at Lake Morena by 10am and took the rest of the day off.
Day 3
From: mile 20, Lake Morena, 3038ft
To: mile 30, Kitchen Creek road, 3979ft
5 hours, 10 miles, 1000 feet elevation gain, high 26 celsius
Straight forward hike from the Lake Morena campground, relatively flat till the Boulder Oak campground, where you can refill water, and then starting the long 16 miles/3000 feet climb to Mount Laguna, the hardest in Section A of the PCT.
The trees and relative shade that were part of the PCT so far, make way to bush-like vegetation, with very few trees. You’re in the sun most of the time. Some hikers hike with umbrellas to protect from the sun.
