~Lake Morena – Mount Laguna.

Mile 22 – 41.

Day 2.

I camped with a few other Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) thru-hikers last night. It was a bit chilly overnight but I kept warm enough. This morning, I stayed in my quilt as long as possible – packing up most of my things and even eating breakfast while still in my quilt.

I started hiking before 7 am, which is quite early for me as a person who is usually a night owl. Even so, I was the last hiker to leave camp. On the Colorado Trail, I was consistently the last person to break camp each day, opting for relaxed mornings and then hiking more in the afternoons and evenings. I’ll see if I end up continuing this trend on the PCT or not.

Despite my early start, it was still a pretty relaxed morning. I stopped at a creek at the bottom of a rocky ravine with a perfect little swimming hole. Some of the other hikers took a dip, though it was too cold for me. I still enjoyed hanging out by the water.

Today, the trail worked its way gradually uphill along the sides of some beautiful green mountains. I am blown away by how beautiful it is here. Before starting, when I envisioned the beginning of the PCT, I couldn’t help but picture myself walking through sand dunes, rocks, and cacti. But the plant life here is vibrant!

In addition to plants, I’ve started seeing some animals too – mostly lizards. I saw one extra large lizard that looked just like a bearded dragon. However, I have no idea if bearded dragons live in the wild in the United States.

After the climb, the trail topped out in a pine forest, which led all the way up to the resupply stop of Mount Laguna. Mount Laguna is a small town with a campground, post office, general store, restaurant, and several other amenities for hikers to take advantage of.

When I reached Mount Laguna, it was only about 3 pm. I felt tempted to walk further but ultimately decided not to risk overexerting myself this early in the trail. I split a campsite at the campground with two other thru-hikers, TakeOut and Dylan. I can see how easy it would be to overdo mileage at the start of the PCT. This trail is so lovely and gently graded that it’s easy to cover more miles than planned. Overuse injuries are common among hikers during the ~700-mile desert section at the start of the PCT.

From the campground, I walked the short distance to the tiny town of Mount Laguna, where I got a soda at the restaurant, charged my phone, and picked up my first resupply box.

It was exciting to open my first box and unpack all the goodies I prepared for myself. But it seems I’ve packed more food than I need. I still had quite a bit in my food bag coming into Mount Laguna, and I’m doubtful that I’ll eat all of what I picked up today by the time I reach Warner Springs. Then again, I never know when I might be struck with hiker hunger (the term for the extreme hunger and ability to eat massive quantities of food that many long-distance hikers experience).

I also took my first shower on the trail today at the campground. I used my little bottle of camp soap to wash and dried off with my buff. With clean hair and an afternoon of chilling in town, I’m feeling very spoiled by this trail already.

Moving forward, the resupply towns will be more spaced out. Eventually, there will be stretches I’ll need to carry food for six or seven days!

My next resupply stop will be in the town of Warner Springs, at mile 110, so it will be a few days until my next post. Til then, I’m looking forward to experiencing more of what this trail has to offer.