Campo to Warner Springs (109 miles!!)

We have made it through our first 100+ miles! We are currently sitting in the Warner Springs community center composing this post. After a hearty lunch of fajitas and cerveza, we are taking the afternoon off to recuperate after several hot days through the desert.

Mexico-US border

We started off at the Mexican border on April 22nd, with fully loaded packs and hiked our first 15 miles to a dry creek where we camped. After that we hiked through the Lake Morena park and headed on towards hills covered by chaparral plants, where we had an extremely quiet and beautiful sleep on a small piece of dirt in the desert. We were awoken that night to the sound of border patrol, looking for immigrants hiding amongst the brush. It was remarkable the amount of helicopters we saw flying overhead.

Our first rattlesnake!

On Thursday we made it into the Cleveland National Forest, where we encountered running water and tall trees for the first time in many days. We spent a blustery night in Mt. Laguna and met up with our friends and thru-hikers Lotus and Hermes. They graciously let us take their car back to Lake Morena for the PCT kick-off while they hiked back along the trail. The kick-off was a great time to met fellow hikers, current and previous, and gain some important knowledge about what to expect on the trail. We endured a heavy downpour on Friday night and we learned how important it is to have a well staked tent. We also met up with friends Monsoon and Beowulf on Saturday night and shared a campfire to warm up in the surprisingly cold desert night.

On Sunday morning, we found a ride back to the trail in Mt. Laguna and kept on hiking. We made it 17 miles on Sunday, all the way to Anza-Borrego state park and camped in a wide open pasture. The next day we had to plan for hot weather, high winds and little water, so we started off early and made it our first water source 9 miles up the trail. They next 30 miles of trail was supposedly dry so we carried nearly 5 liters of water for the afternoon, but we were extremely thankful to find a water cache left by a wonderful trail angel at mile 77, Scissors Crossing. We decided to keep on hiking into the night since the day became comfortably cooler as the sun set. That night we camped in a sandy dry creek bed hidden amongst the San Felipe hills and we slept well that night after completing our first 20 mile day!

Desert View

San Felipe Hills

My lizard friend

We arose early on Tuesday to beat the heat and conquer the 10 miles to our next water source. It was notable to me how important water is, not only to thru-hikers but to all the plants and animals of the desert, how ingeniously they are able to use and and store it for maximum efficiency. We passed many spiky plants and scraggly trees while hiking through the hills. After a mid day siesta and a refill of water, we made it the the Barrel Springs campground after a windy and seemingly endless trail. We had made it 21 miles  and were excited for our trip into Warner Springs the next day. Our morning hike was defined by beautiful grasslands, happy California cows, cooling breezes and majestic oak trees. We made it to the post office, had a giant meal and resupplied for our next section of the trip. 100 miles down, thanks to everyone for the love and support!

100 miles!

Cows