Hot feet & rattlesnakes

Us at the PCT Southern Terminus

 Set off north from Campo by the Mexican border fence last Monday. It's been a very hard 10 days! and a steep learning curve too. It's our first experience of hiking in a desert, and its been HOT, damn hot! We've been told it's been 100 degrees Fahrenheit and it certainly felt it. We made the big mistake of wearing our tried and tested Scarpa boots for the first 100 miles, with boiled and blistered feet as a result. They have now been swapped for lighter boots (Patagonia Drifters) and our feet are starting to recover.

We've been amazed at how diverse the scenery has been - from hot dry desert with cacti and snakes, to tall pine forest with snow patches and cool clean mountain air, and back again in a day! Also lush meadows, huge old oak trees, leafy canyons, sun baked chaparral, and granite boulder fields. The trail is brilliantly constructed, mostly very good underfoot and with a good even gradient, which makes for good steady walking.

Neil at Mount Laguna

 Not too many wildlife encounters so far, thank goodness. Though our first meeting with a rattlesnake was a way-too-close encounter for my liking! I was walking about 10 metres behind Neil as usual, when I heard a shout, looked up and saw a load of coils tumbling down the slope above the trail towards Neil. Neil leaped forward as the snake fell on the path between us, rattling away. After whipping out my camera for some photos, I then had the problem of how to get past it! Shouting and stamping made no impression, so Neil started throwing rocks towards it. Still no result, just lots more rattling, until a rock actually fell on to it and it retreated behind a rock about 2 metres off the trail, and I sprinted past and away.

Sadly the snake didn't accept its defeat graciously, and rattled at the next 3 hikers who walked past, as we found out later that day. We had to apologise for putting him in such a foul mood.

Pissed off rattlesnake

Other hikers out on the trail at night have reported sighting big cats on the prowl along the trail, but we've not seen one yet - and we're quite happy for it to stay that way!

Currently having a couple of days off in Idyllwild waiting for a storm to pass, before heading up into the San Jacinto mountains with our ice axes and crampons - looking forward to it.

Last minute nerves

Finally, we are ready to go, rucksacks are packed and weighed and our 'lightweight' approach has been found wanting. They weigh a ton. To be more precise, base weights of 9.8kg (Tanya) and 10.2kg (Neil). With 3 days of food and 5 litres of water our starting weights are going to be around the 17kg mark. We've carried these weights before, but something will have to go before we pick up our ice axes and crampons. Nervous? Definitely, but still looking forward to getting started in the morning.

Off to bed now, getting up at 5:15 for a 6:00am drive to Campo on the Mexican border, should be starting to head north by 7:30.... 

Things to do in San Diego when you're ....

Sunny California

Here we are in San Diego, California, and it's ...raining. And windy. But we don't start walking until Monday, so we are hoping it improves! We had planned to mail our waterproof trousers, ice axes and crampons to ourselves a long way up the trail, but are now carrying full waterproofs with us from the start, and the snow gear is going to Warner Springs, about seven days walk away (120 miles).

We are being very well looked after by Scout and Frodo, who open their home to PCT hikers every year, and feed them and ferry them to the Mexican border to start the hike. It really is PCT Central here, with all the information and facilities we could possibly want. There are hikers from Israel, Switzerland, France, Arizona and Philadelphia, all preparing with varying degrees of nervousness to start their hike.

Walking boots versus trainers, the debate is ongoing - early signs are that the Europeans will be in boots and Americans in trainers, but it could all change!

Packing at last

After months of list-making and weeks of shopping, the time has finally come to throw everything into battered old suitcases. My lightweight rucksack is far too delicate to get thrown onto a plane on its own, hence the case.
Here's Neil in our yard, moments before it started to rain (inevitable really)!
Tomorrow we leave Kendal; spending the next few days with friends and family before flying out to San Diego on Wednesday.