PCT Day 1

Campo to Lake Morena

20 miles

Nobo mile 20

The day began with a coffee and a protein bar at the diner next door to our lodge in Pine Valley. After that we zipped down to the southern terminus in Campo and were snapping pictures at the monument by 7am.

At the terminus I was greeting by a PCTA volunteer named Phantom. He was a cool dude who hangs out at the trailhead each day to see off fresh PCT hikers. He didn’t bother to check my permit…

Once the obligatory pictures were taken at the monument and border wall, my mom, dad and I hit the trail. We trotted along the first couple of miles before saying our goodbyes. They made my first mile extra special!

Around the same time I met two cool dudes named Andy and Happy…both also thru hikers. Andy was from Seattle and Happy was from Florida. They were great company and made the first few hours breeze by. Around mile 7 I decided to split off to enjoy the hike at my own pace. Turns out I hike fast…

A couple miles later I ran into my first rattler just chilling on the trail. My snake friend was gracious enough to allow me a few good pictures before slithering off into the brush. After not seeing a single snake in over 400 miles on the Arizona Trail I began questioning their existence…turns out they do exist!

I also saw a few horny toads…they’re pretty neat.

The rest of the day I ran into maybe a dozen fellow hikers. The weather was perfect, just a bit overcast and not too warm. The trail was well graded and the switch backs were forgiving.

I cruised into Lake Morena Campground around 4pm and was greeting by my first trail angels, Micheal, Robin and their daughter Phoenix. They were rad. Super rad. They immediately offered me water, soda and snacks. After I had my fill they invited me back to enjoy some hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner…pretty sweet right?

Once I setup camp I meandered back to enjoy the rest of the evening chatting and grubbing with other hikers. Met some real neat people…

Nathon from London earned the trail name 4 Shoes tonight due to the fact that he carries trail runners, leather hiking boots, and two pairs of sandals.

Mountain Goat, Amy and Sarah came together from Australia to tackle the PCT. Mountain Goat hiked the AT in 2016. All three were incredibly chill. Hoping to run into them again.

Nico from Los Angeles told a funny story of how he attempted to dig a cat hole for a poo, only to find that exact spot had already been used…if I run into him again I’m going to give him the trail name Landmine.

There were a few others…but their names and backgrounds escape me at the moment.

Today was a good day. Rains on the forecast for tomorrow…so we’ll see how that goes.

Cheers!