Category: Walking

We got an early start on the Pacific Crest Trail this morning, departing Hauser Creek shortly after 6 am. It was another chilly morning and our gear was covered with condensation and frost. We need to work on our technique for packing up wet tents in the dark — I’m sure this won’t be the only time we have to do that.

We had an excellent breakfast at the Oak Shores Grocery in Lake Morena Village.

The mild daytime temperatures continued today as we hiked past Boulder Oaks and then up Kitchen Creek. We found very nice camping and good water 4/10 of a mile north of the PCT near the Yellow Rose Spring.

Photo: Deb and our small tent near the large trees at Yellow Rose Spring.

Mileage: 14.8 miles

Hiker Tips: We started the PCT with just 1.5 days food and resupplied at Lake Morena Village. This worked very well for us. The Oak Shores Grocery is now serving excellent food. We had breakfast there and ordered sandwiches that were large enough for both lunch and dinner. It’s only another 1.5 days to Mount Laguna, so you don’t need to carry that much food.

Today we began a long walk. A 2,660 mile walk from the Mexican border to the Canadian border on the Pacific Crest Trail.

White Jeep gave us an early morning ride to the Southern Terminus of the PCT (thanks White Jeep), where about 30 other hikers also started hiking today. A surprisingly large number considering how early in the hiking season it is. The hikers spread out pretty quickly, and we spent the day leapfroging with a half dozen other hikers who walked about the same pace as us.

We decided to only go as far as Hauser Canyon the first day. Our plan is to hike a relatively easy 15 mile per day pace for the next three weeks. Plus, this sets us up to spend Saturday night at Mount Laguna (mile 42).

Mileage: 15.4 miles

Hiker Tips: No water in Hauser Creek. We carried 5 liters of water each from Campo which was about half liter more than we each needed. Temperatures were very mild — low around 27.