Day 20-the name

I finally got my trail name today. It was actually a two part naming. Since the name has to stick for it to be your trail name, i had one, but those who gave it to me changed it to something even better. The story of my name begins with the day we had. Last night real late i was unofficially dubbed counselor, really not a bad name, but it's not the one that stuck.

The wind was horrific last night and I was cold in the morning so i just decided to walk. I walked the 5 miles to the highway and got a hitch into town from Monty, the trail angel who happened to be dropping off the hiker he has been chasing named lake to lake. He gave me a ride into town where I uploaded some photos and signed all the hiker logs. Then I went to the grocery store where I saw the funny couple slip and slide. More eating and more snacks brought us to around 430 in the afternoon when a nice young guy gaveus a ride back to the trail. After the large group of gnar rachiopod slip and slide consulted the maps and elevation chart we decided to camp a mile from the highway. So it was a short day of hiking. Now this is where I get my name:

It was around 6 and we were all saying how nice it would be to have pizza and steak and pop at this campsite. I was especially craving it so I decided to walk back a mile ( wearing my crocs) hitch 6 miles to town, get 2 pizzas steak and soda, then hitch back out. So they all gave me money and wishes me luck but they were doubting it would happen. I waited for what seemed like ever on the mostly unused highway and finally got a ride in to town from a guy who just climbed Baden Powell (we climb tomorrow) and it was his birthday. He dropped me off at the grocery and I got my stuff. Then I walked to mile high pizza and corny two pizzas. With all my shopping done I walked to the highway to hitch back to the trail. I got there but the problem was I did not look too much like a hiker. I had crocs, sunglasses, 2 pizzas, no pack, and was kinda clean. It must have been 20 minutes with my thumb up to get a hitch. But finally this young boy (got his license last week) picked me up. He was a terrible driver but he got me there. I walked in with the goods and everyone was amazed. They said it was the work of a legend.

Therefore I became legend.

We sat around a campfire for a long time having lots of laughs, eating out pizza, and cooking the steak on a stick over the fire. It was a great night. Tomorrow we should get some great views from the top of the mountain.

And that is the story of how I got my trail name of Legend. I believe it was actually slip that named me. It's a keeper!

Day 19-the next group

Today I hiked with new people. I met some other people in cajon pass at the McDonalds yesterday and it turned out they were leaving the same time as me. The first girl I hiked with for a while was named rachiopod. She walks pretty quick and has a light pack, but I managed most the day. Just behind her were the couple Goodness and Zim. We walked 22.5 miles and stayed at guffey campground today. But I have to say, the walk up was so amazing. We could see forever in almost every direction as we approached 8000 feet. There are snow patches here where were staying, and it's cold and windy. Tomorrow I may go into wrightwood for the day then try to some more miles done during the evening. Il decide tomorrow. After we had made a fire gnar, dumptruck, tenderfoot, dreamcrusher, and Hans all showed up. We all had a little hiker party until we got too tired around 10. I have a feeling I will get a trail name soon. The sadest thing on the trail so far is that I'm still carrying a 3 pound jar of peanut butter, and I don't even like that stuff. It been about 250 mikes of carrying it and I can't decide what to do with it. That is what I should think about while hiking. I think some pictures of the amazing views today are below. It was an amazing day!

Amazing views today!

The most amazing picnic spot!

Day 18-McDonalds

The day started with rain all night. Everything was soaked when I finally got up and out of the sleeping bag. I began the 13 mile walk that would end at McDonalds. Six miles in I met veg and gnar and I walked the last 7 miles with gnar and made it to McDonalds around 1030. I usually am not a fan of McDonalds, but this one hit the spot and I at way too much. After looking at the weather report and seeing 60mph winds and being about to climb 5000 feet, I decided to stay. The luxury of real food, a hot tub, a shower, and a place to dry my stuff was much needed. Tomorrow it is back to the real world of hiking though. A 22 mile uphill stretch to start my day should be fun!

Deep creek hot springs. Tucked away in a dessert in the canyon.

Silverwood lake

Day 17- the duel

I soaked in the hot spring one more time before heading out. It was a really hard place to leave. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trail so far. I also had to leave rev booger and backyard boogie even though they are tons of fun. They just do not do enough miles. I hiked for a good chunk of the day along deep creek and then past the Mojave river dam. Then I entered the dessert. It was hot. The first little creek that I passed I took a break. While I was sitting there eating lunch a dad and his two little kids (probably 5 & 3). I talked with the dad and played with the kids for a long time. It was fun. They were so amazed that I was hiking that it was easy to impress them. The dad said he wished he could do it but he had the little kids. He used to be a trail runner. I finally had to leave. After a long time of just walking I heard a rattle right next to the trail, and jumped. I looked up only to see a rattle snake right in the trail. We just stared at each other. He wouldn't move, only rattle. So I had some words for him, hit my trekking poles together and he finally moved off the trail. The only sad part was that I could not get a good picture of him. The rest of the day was filled with walking around silverwood lake and then eventually eating my curry with lentils that turned out marginal. Hopefully it doesn't rain tonight. There are lots of dark clouds and it's very windy.

Day 16 its not about the miles just about the smiles

The day started out pretty chilly. But I got a few quick miles in. Then i walked across a little bridge and met a local guy going for a hike. This was also where the trail took a detour and would miss the hot springs. But this guy gordon told me how to get there still. So I had to walk on some dirt roads and was almost run off by dirt bikes jeeps and ATVs. But finally after walking down many different roads with twists and turns I got to Bradford ridge trail that took me right back to the hot spring. It was a tough steep trail but so worth it. The creek (deep creek. Had two hot pools, with one two hot and one just right and then the cold water from the creek became a deep pool right next to it. It was a gift from god. On a day that my thermometer got to 110 in the sun, this was so needed. I met some really nice people who are not particularly fast but tons of fun. I camped near them. There names are Rev booger and backyard booty. Backyard booty hiked the AT in '07. So even though I only got 17 miles in today it was still probably my favorite day! By the way the hot spring was clothing optional and let's just say the wrong people went with the optional option.

Just had to walk ten miles through a dirt bike park because of a temporary reroute of the trail due to a landslide. Scariest thing I've done so far. Almost got hit a few times.

Day 15-rockstar status

The day began bright an early at 615 at the hostel. I guess I am just wired to get up when the sun does. I found matt from Georgia already up and we decided to go get breakfast at the grizzly manor because we heard it was good. When we got there we both scanned the menu for the biggest thing they had. It was called the polar bear and it was huge. First they brought out two pancakes bigger than any I have ever seen. Then came the bacon 3 eggs and hashbrowns. It probably could have been 3 breakfasts for the average person. I ate all mine and with a little trash talking coming from me matt ate his too. We were stuffed and they said to us that no one ever eats the whole thing. They were all amazed and we were celebrities among the old timers in there. Then it was back to the hostel and getting dropped at the trail head. It all was good except for the fact that my pack was extremely heavy with over a week of food in it. We hiked. No really together but pretty close. About 10 miles in at van Dusen road just out of big bear, there was a tour going on with what looked like some rich LA people who had never hiked a day in their life. The guide asked me to come over saying that these people would love to see someone who was doing it. They were firing off questions so fast I could not keep up. I was their hero it sounded like. One lady even got a picture of me. After that bit of fun it was onward.

I met a few hikers today, unsure of their names, but the fit the age category of people on the trail: between 20 and 30 or over 55 for the most part. I got 20 miles in pretty quickly but then I hit the wall.I saf there after dinner with no motivation to walk. A few hikers walked by but I did not care. But then out of the blue robin from paradise cafe, almost 150 miles ago showed up and I decided to walk with him for a while. He is a 62 year old from England who loves to talk. He has been everywhere and been through a lot in his life and gave me the whole story. And better yet before I knew it we had gone 5 miles and the sun was just going down. So it all worked out in the end. I probably won't see him again as he walks much slower than me. He is only hiking to around mile 600 anyways. All in all everything fell into place today even though parts of it were rough. I am camped around trail mile 291. We shall see what tomorrow has in store!

Looking back into big bear. The lake looks so inviting too bad I have to walk on

My breakfast, they said no one could finish it. But I did! Now to attempt to hike.

Day 14-the hike to real food

Today I had to get to the big bear city post office by 430 when it closed. I did not want to lose a day. So I got up and was on the trail by 6. I put in eight hard miles and got to some animal cages that had some large grizzlies in them and some other animals I could not make out. I kept climbing through the mountains up and down and then I could finally see big bear lake. I thought I was close but I still had over 14 miles to go. So i put my head down and I walked. Thankfully I came to a little rest spot set up by the big bear hostel (where I am staying tonight). There they had pop and cookies, which I had lots of. But it was time to move on. I walked the last eleven miles with very tired feet and a tired body. It was frustrating. You could see the road but you just didnt seem to get any closer. But after a few more climbs up and over mountains, I made it! When I got to the road Hans from austria was there trying to hitch a ride as well. We both worked for it and after a half hour our work was rewarded with a ride from some older people who were headed into town. They even stopped at the post office so I could get my package and took us to this hostel. They were very nice.

When I got to the hostel I realized it was going to be interesting. There are some very unique but nice people here. Anything you can imagine goes on here. But it's a nice place to spend a night. They had a free dinner of chicken potatoes salad spaghetti and watermelon. I ate a record amount of food. All day I had been thinking of this moment when I would be able to have some real food instead of dehydrated stuff. After dinner we sat around (me and some hikers) and chatted for a while. There is a guy here, Sargent upchuck, (named because he had to much to drink one night) who is pretty funny. Even after the dinner and waiting an hour my appetite for some real junk food was back and I went to carls jr and got 4 spicy chicken sandwiches a western burger and then to 7-11 for a soda and some candy bars. At a normal lifestyle this would be gross. But tonight for me it was just what I needed. I am going to start puttin in some big miles starting tomorrow with an extra heavy pack, loaded with more food and gear. As for tonight I am going to try and reprint my maps that I seem to have lost.

Soda snacks and water courtesy of big bear hostel! So good!

The dessert an the San jacintos behind me

Lucky day 13- the pine tree mindset

Today was a good one. It started right next to whitewater preserve and ended in the pine trees at about 8000 feet. Whitewater is maybe 2000 feet. Nearly all day was spent climbing. We walked through mission creak bed (basically a dessert) for what seemed like ever. My thermometer read 90 degrees at only 12. And there was no breeze or shade. I was walking with the mindset of the sooner i reach the trees that we could see way up on the mountain, the sooner it would be cooler and I would get shade. And finally after 20 miles i made it to the trees and decided to take a nice long break and have dinner. I had some amazing trader joes dehydrated chilli. The cast thing is that it didn't even look that bad. At this point I met the bears. They are I think a brother and sister (large people) that don't move the fastest. They looked very sore when I saw them. They were nice and showed me where the water was. The next to come in was NotRyan. I don't know where he got that trail name but it's unique for sure. He was nice and I actually talked with him longer than I was planning on. He is an ex-actor from new York trying to figure out what to do with his life. After chatting for a while I figured I better get a few more miles in before it got too dark in order to attempt to make it to big bear city tomorrow before the post office closes at 430. I have about 22 miles to make it there. Tonight I am camped at a great spot at around 8700 feet. It had a little campfire kind of set up, so I improved it and decided to have warm mashed potatos for the first time on the trip. They are much better warm. Tomorrow hopefully some real food and a heavier pack due to my package of food in town. After my 24 mile day it time to hit the sack.

Day 12-the endless switchbacks

The day started out with me getting a little later start than usual: around 7. It was very windy all night and I didn't sleep good so I slept a little longer to make up for it. Then when i finally got on the trail the descent began. In 16 miles of switchbacks I dropped from over 8000 feet to around 1000. Also, the trail in those 16 miles cover under 5 miles of distance as the crow flies. Talk about endless. It was still a great day though, as far as mileage. I ended up getting about 29 miles in to make up for my smaller day yesterday. I am camped at whitewater creek, about trail mile 222. If I push hard through lots of uphill tomorrow I can be in big bear city in a couple days to resupply. The wildlife today consisted of lot of ground squirrels, geckos, rabbits, and in the early morning I thought I saw a fox. It was by far the biggest animal I have seen and it ran up the hill to fast for me to get a good look or a picture.

After descending down the San Jacinto mountains I crossed the dessert and went under the freeway I-10. It was so hot and windy I might have died had a trail angel not left beer soda and goodies under the overpass. It was a great spot for a rest. After I passed under there were a few more miles of dessert, including through a windfarm (that explains why it was so windy) then it was up into the San gorfino hills and into the whitewater reserve. Tomorrow will be lots of climbing and we will see how I do after the big mileage of today. It is already very apparent that the zero day (rest day) helped me a lot.

Day 11-even when everything doesn't work out

Today was the most challenging day by far. Not because or my feet or my body hurting, just a few gear setbacks that took lots of time to fix. But even with a short day and walking until dark, I was rewarded with the most amazing view I have ever seen. After I made it over the very overrated fuller ridge, I came out to a view looking over the dessert and distant mountains that was literally breathtaking. It made the whole day worth it. I tried and tried to get a picture that would show how awesome it was but when your walking on a ridge with a 360 degree view of amazing mountains in the sunset, it is hard to capture.

Today I ended up walking about 25 miles and probably only 15 trail miles. I ended up having to walk the 4.5 miles and 4000 vertical feet from idyllwild to the trail. Then I started along and a pin broke in my backpack costing me quite some time. Finally, once I got to around 9000 feet and saw how nice it was, something in me really wanted to climb San jacinto peak and get to an elevation over 10000 feet. I don't regret it, it was nice. The only problem was I left my camera in my backpack at the bottom. So I didn't get any pictures. At the top I met a guy who lives in Portland and he was just climbing the peak for the day with what looked like his wife and some of her friends. Other than that a pretty basic day with amazing views at every point. I walked until late, but when I got in I made some delicious spaghetti on my esbit stove. There is a girl I met named crystal that I ended up camping near to only because it's getting so dark. That's about it. Remember the picture does not do it justice. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

Day ten- idle in idyllwild

Today was a day to rest heal and eat lots of food. Everyone seemed to take a zero day in idyllwild since it's so hiker friendly. My day was well spend. I got a nice shower, did laundry, and ate a much as humanly possible. We got in to town around 630 before anything was open thanks to a ride from a very nice older man with a big suv. So we sat around for a half hour and then ate a breakfast at Jo'ans. I had a huge breakfast burrito and a couple sides of hash browns. Then we got our laundry an shower done and I had a whole 20 inch pizza. And finally after a little messing around on the computer I had a cheeseburger curly fries and a milkshake. After my day of gorging I will hit the trail tomorrow fresh and ready to conquer the feared fuller ridge. Brian is staying here an extra day so I will have to find a new hiking companion.

I finally got a picture of one of these gecko/lizards. I've heard them called both.

View from yesterday while climbing thousands of vertical feet

Day 9-not the way it was supposed to be

I was still hiking with Brian and if I hadn't been there would have been no way I would have got as far as I did. The plan for the day was to get the 22 miles in that it would take to get to idyllwild. We began bright and early and soon found that today would be all uphill. And not just any kind of uphill. killer switchbacks that were never-ending. The second we thought we were finally at the top there ended up being another peak we would have to climb. Only to make things worse, about half way in we really needed water and decided to get it at apache spring. Which turned out to be an amazing little spring. The only trouble was it was a very steep half mile downhill climb to it. We made this our first rest stop. While we were resting we met three hikers with the trail names bonfire and ghost. The other was an older fellow who actually was pretty fast. They had started on April 30 and were moving pretty slow.

On our torturous journey through the mountains we saw tons of lizards and as couple rabbits. It was full of amazing views as well. My feet and legs are so sore from this very tough day. The plan for tomorrow is to just take a zero day in idyllwild (no walking) and let myself rest up some more for fuller ridge. Brian plans to stay in idyllwild a couple days so I may not be hiking with him anymore. We both hiked better when we had a partner but that just means it's on to the next group of people to hike with.

Day 8-A day in paradise

In all actuality it was not a day in paradise and actually a pretty tough day. I woke up within a mile or two of at least 4 other hikers and ate at the paradise cafe with two of them. Robin, an older man from england and Brian, a nice 25 year old from Boise. I had a much needed giant beef burrito. After some issues with the mail, Brian realized he only had two of three packages. The one he was missing had his maps an lots of food. So he decided he would hike with me. It worked out good and he really pushed me pretty hard the second half of today and we chatted quite a bit making the miles fly by. I am camped at mile 161 and hope to put in about 23 tomorrow to get into idyllwild. There I may spend some or all of Saturday depending on how I feel.

As for scenery, we started in the dessert then walked through huge boulder fields then grassland themes saw some actual trees with very welcoming shade. The weather was absolutely perfect with no rain. I draped most my things that were still wet over my pack and they dried out by mid day. Despite good views and good scenery, all day was up and down. We would climb down into a canyon only to see the switch backs of the trail on the other side. I am camped nearly on the top of a very high ridge at nearly 7000 feet and am set for a windy night.

Made it to paradise cafe mile 151

Day 7-its not always sunny in California

My pack weighed more, the weather sucked, my stuff was wet, and I had to climb all day. But somehow I ended up 24 miles down the trail. I made it a couple miles past tule spring on the edge of the desert. The first 12 miles were so wet I could feel the puddles in my shoes, but thankfully, due to my pack cover most of the stuff in my pack stayed pretty dry. After those twelve miles of climbing were over I scurried down off the mountain and once again into the desert. Here I took a much needed break and took all my wet things out and let them dry. I packed stuff up and hung the things that were still wet on my pack and continued on. Then eight more miles (20into my day) I got to a small spring right in the middle of the desert and decided it was time to eat something other than trail mix for re first time today. I had some interesting beans that Ended up not too. Another hiker then passed me while I was getting water with my steripen (a uv light to make water safe to drink). I am now towards the middle front in the pack of hikers and have plenty of people to conquer the brief bit of upcoming snow with. Today wore me out and tomorrow should be the same as I should just about get to the snow.

Rain and wind all morning but at least I finally got rewarded

Day 6-the town of 200

Last night real late another hiker named Andrew came in and stayed at barrel springs with me. Then in the middle of the night I woke up to rain and rushed outside with no glasses or contacts on and had to throw the tarp over my tent. It kept me dry enough for the night. Andrew and I both slept in trying to wait out the rain. But no dice. I then walked the ten miles into the town of 203 people:Warner springs. It was an interesting walk in. I was in my rain gear from head to toe but still everything got wet. My shoes were soaked and weighed a ton. Along the way I passed the famous eagle rock and then walked right through some kind of cow farm. They were all up and down the trail for around 400 yards. Who knew a cow could be a little intimidating. When I would lock eyes with them as I squeezed through them they seemed to be letting me know how much bigger they were than me and that I better not piss them off.
Then I finally arived in Warner springs and went straight to the post office and picked up another 14 pounds of food. And I thought my pack was heavy before. Now it must be well over 50 and even more when all my waters are filled. After getting that and some esbit for my stove I went to the golf course resort clubhouse to eat(one of two places to eat in town and they are never open at the same time). There I met micaya who was a section hiker with way too heavy of a pack and too much gear for the only 200 or so miles he was planning on. He had been in town a few days already. He said i could use his room to shower and dry my stuff out and even stay the night if I wanted to. So after my Berger, extra fries, house salad, and 3 cokes I headed up to his room at the resort. I dried all my stuff and got a GREAT shower. About the time my stuff got dry I saw the sun coming out so I decided to get some miles in before the predicted rainstorms of tonight and tomorrow on into Wednesday. So I got six or so more miles in and am camped on top of the most awesome ridge about trail mile 116.
In the town I met lots of other hikers and most had been staying there a couple of days. This is partly why I wanted to move on and not end up staying a couple days and also to save some money in order to afford my 15 plus dollar meals when I get into towns. I guess I burn lots of calories. In town I saw matt from georgia again and he knew the scoop on the snow at the higher elevations and relayed it to me. Sounds like I could hit some in the next 50 or so miles. That's about it. I may try for a big day tomorrow. Also a special thanks to mom for the great dehydrated eggs and hash browns that was my dinner. Turned out delicious.

Eagle rock: early today at mile 106

Just past Warner springs

Day 6

Made it to Warner springs in the pouring rain. I also got both my packages and got a real heavy pack

Campsite last night

Day 5-the hills have snakes

I woke up on the ridge in the San Felipe hills in the frigid cold and howling wind. From here it was 21.1 miles to the next water and that is where I had to make it. Along the way the views were amazing. Views of the desert, mountains, and hills around the anza borrega desert were astonishing. During my day of scaling rocky faces and traversing along foot wide ridges, I saw all kinds if animals. I saw three different snakes: a juvenile rattlesnake(1 foot long), a yellow racer (3 feet long) and another that I could not identify. There were also tons of desert toads. My feet hurt bad today, but even so I reached my goal and camped at barrel springs. Tomorrow it is on into Warner springs for hopefully lunch and a box of food. The 50 pounds that I am carrying on my back does not seem as bad, and I may be able to drop a little more weight in town (then gain it back in food il carry). The idea (thanks to my dad) of a solar charger has worked great for being able to keep a daily blog and pictures going. The only real hold up has been the service has been very spotty so it can be tough to post. After a long day i ate enchilada casserole Cooked over one of the few Campfire pits I have seen. This one at barrel springs. Hopefully tomorrow I can either pick up esbit or alcohol for my stove to have some more cooked meals!

Day 4-wet and windy

The day started out with me waking up in a cloud and freezing. I got my stuff together real quick and began my day of walking all bundled up. The wind was howling all around to make it even more miserable. About 6 miles in, and after I had taken my mid morning break for my granola breakfast, I saw a fellow through hiker Jim. He was just picking up his camp and we didn't chat long. After miles and miles of walking a trail that cut into ridges and still in the terrible wind I made it to a truck road where lots of people were shooting. It definitely had a way of ruining the mood, with hearing those gunshots. After that I pushed real hard through more clouds and the constant drizzle that continued most of the day until I finally arrived at the scissors crossing cache. This is where a trail angel has left a lot of water for all the hikers. At this time due to a temporary dry 3rd gate cache, this is the only water for the next 24 miles. I was extremely tired after already putting in around 18 miles and took a much needed extended break for a dinner of jalapeño humas and crushed chips. It may sound bad but it was actually probably the best meal of the trip so far. After filling all my water bottles I pushed real hard a couple more miles up the side of the mountains that enclosed the desert. I ended my day as it was getting dark, and thankfully with no more clouds. I camped in a dried waterfall that is out of the intense wind for the most part. My total today was 21! I had been hoping to catch up to matt from Georgia tech but after looking at the sign in sheet at the water cache, it appears he is a few miles ahead. I may try and catch some others though, as it looks like many people came by here yesterday. That's it for now. No service so il post it in the morning

Very very windy and cold night. Woke up in a cloud.

The toasty desert a vertical mile below

Thank god for trail angels

Clouds trapped by surrounding ridges creating the desert climate

View from camp (day 3)

Day three-the desert

The day began perfectly, nice and cool so I could really get through some good miles early. Not too far into it I made it to mt laguna campground and decided to get a gatoraide from the store. Mostly just to be assured that I would have enough water. From there my day became filled with great things: I met great people, endured great pain, walked through great wind, and even witnessed a great race. There happened to be a 50 mile trail race going on during the exact section I happened to be hiking today. The minor hassle with all of the runners was well worth it. At the aide stations they gave me whatever I wanted, so I scarfed down lots of chips and oranges. And even the runners were great. Even when I moved aside for them the majority of them would stop and wait for me saying things like "your a through hiker, it's your trail". There course was an out and back all on the pct so I got to talk to all hundred or so of them a couple times each.

Next, I met a man and a woman who were section hiking. They were very nice, helpful, and when they made it to their camp they actually showed me where a trail angel had left hikers water and oranges. My first trail angel experience.

The next great person I met was I believe named Eric from San Diego (I may be wrong, due to the fact he woke me from my midday nap). It was good though, I needed to eat. Eric was real nice and we talked for quite a while about everything from the trail to the nearby desert to even Oregon. In the end he was actually interested in following my blog!

Lastly, I met a lady cleaning up the race who I chatted with for a while about the weather and snow conditions. As I thought yesterday there was a possibility of thunderstorms. At one point I even put my pack cover on. All the time during my hike it was VERY windy, crossing one of the roads after pioneer picnic area I was walking sideways. Again I wanted to camp on a ridge so it is a bit windy here. As for food today, I ate tons of trail mix and then some more dehydrated beans and salsa. This one would not rehydrate very well, so it was mediocre at best.

It was amazing to see how the land could change so quickly. I started out on rocky hills with a few shrubs, then a nice meadow with a stream running through it. Then the pine trees near laguna campground followed by the laguna mountains along the anza borrega desert. An now I am camped on a ridge past the desert covered in shrubs with huge boulders randomly spaced.

The view from my camp!

Day 2

I rose with the sun today and began my second day on this adventure. It was a rough one. My feet were hurting the whole time, it was hot and there was lots of climbing up ridges. But even with all that it was amazing. There is no other way to describe it. Tonight I am camped on the tallest ridge around and watching the sunset from here is surreal.

Today I saw many lizards, birds and some giant beetles. It was also the first time I had to fight off a snake for rights to the trail. The food today was unique: cold mashed potatoes and taboulli. It was nothing I could complain about it was just nothing compared to home cooking.

The plan for tomorrow is to walk.

Day one

At 11:03 PST my journey began. I briefly entered Mexico an avoided border patrol and then began walking. I wouldn't have even made it this far without the help of Allie for giving me my ride out to the border. The first ten miles of hiking flew by. Even in the heat of the day I made good time. The next ten miles were a different story. They were all about figuring out a system for the rest of the trip. I figured out my water, food and how to get my feet good enough to walk on. I have to thank my mom for the idea of no cook meals on the first leg of my journey. It made less stuff to mess around with and saved me lots if time. My first meal on the journey was beans salsa and chips and it was delicious. The day ended on a ridge overlooking Morena lake. With twenty miles under my belt I am starting to figure things out. I saw bikers of all shapes and sizes and surprisingly even some guys with heavier packs than me. They were carrying 70 pounds. The only animals seen were a snake many lizards and rabbits and some huge beetles. Well that about sums up the first day. I mean it's only walking.

Why

Why is the real question associated with hiking the Pacific Crest trail. Encountering almost every type of weather is unavoidable and must be dealt with using only what is on your back. But on the flip side it is only walking, the same thing our ancestors did. I am walking the length of this trail to get out of the real world, enjoy the nature that we still have left on the west coast, do something that I have always wanted to do, and also to hopefully along the way figure out which direction I want to go with my life.
Just Walk

The beginning

As I continue to read journals, and guidebooks it begins to sink in how real this hike really is. I am about two weeks away from flying out and still searching for solutions to a couple pieces of gear. Planning is not my strongest suit and it is especially evident in the where I am now. Every time I go through my gear I realize more and more things that would be nice to add. If weight were not an issue, I could easily take a seventy pound pack or even pull a wagon.

The family is slowly but surely accepting the fact that I am actually going to do this. I think by now they all have heard and realize I will be spending the summer in the backwoods. I just wish I could get out and on the trail sooner. The excitement is killing me. 2700 miles is a long way.

'Just Walk'