Fabulous Firsts

We left Warner at around 2PM Saturday, after more than 24 hours at that little hiker haven they had set up for us all. It was much needed R&R, but we felt the need to get back on trail and start moving towards Idyllwild, just under 70 miles away, but with plenty of climbing (net elevation gain of about 5000 feet). Saturday's dinner was eaten at Agua Caliente creek, about 5.5 miles down the trail from Warner. After dinner we decided to move along, as there was some climbing up ahead that we wanted to get done in the cool temperature of the evening. After almost 2 hours, and only another few miles up the trail, we found THE perfect spot to set up camp. Secluded, but it would be our first night alone, and Julia was a little nervous for this. No big deal though, as we were both so exhausted that we watched an episode of Big Bang Theory and then passed out.

Sunday was probably the most amazing day yet. Our total walking distance was 22 miles and we had some great variability in terms of terrain, scenery and weather. The morning was pretty typical actually, we stopped to have a snack on this huge boulder that had an incredible view. There, we met Landon. A guy (23) from the US, but that lived in Kanata for a coupleswWWaww of years and attended Sacred Heart High School in Stittsville!! After our break, we made our way to Mike Herrera'sww place (mile 127) to fill up on water. He's got this massive water tank on his property that he welcomes hikers to use, but it needs to be treated, no big deal, Thanks Mike!!

A little further up the trail, at ~ mile 128, we decided to stop for a nice long lunch. Our spot wasn't exactly shaded, but there was a constant breeze, so it was perfect. A nice chance to take off socks and shoes and I even took a nap on my Z Rest, with a chrome done providing shade. Every now and again, a cloud would come over us, something we hadn't experienced yet! So nice.

After lunch we saddled up and continued down the trail. For mid afternoon, the weather was perfect, a little overcast and a breeze. We got in some serious miles in the middle of the day, when it's typically boiling hot and we're reduced to a snail's pace. Well, out of nowhere it started to rain. For a while it was just light drops, but then it was pretty full-on and we're talking like wet snow type rain. Not hard, but heavy. We put our pack covers on and pulled out our rain jackets and chrome domes and just kept moving. There was also some thunder and lightning, we cooked dinner in the rain. No big deal because, as the Michigan Wolverine told Julia, we're 'PCT haaakers now'. After dinner, the rain seemed to cease and we trudged on to our goal finishing spot for the day, Nance Canyon, mile 140. We got here around 7:40PM, set up quickly, washed our feet, brushed our teeth, drank some water, sent a SPOT message and PASSED out. This morning we'll take it easy here, clean up some stuff (I smell horrendous) and then make some miles.