Last nights stealth-camping was a success! I'm wondering if tonight's spot will be too but we'll get to that later.. Claire and I woke up in Mt. Laguna, and once again headed to Pine Coffee house and tavern, this time for breakfast! There were many more hikers this morning than there were yesterday, we heard them all come in early in the morning while we "slept in" until 7:30 comfortably in our tent :)
After an awesome breakfast and meeting a few new people, we headed to Laguna Mountain Sports and bought a new stove! They have awesome, hiker-friendly prices there, and I got a sweet deal for a better stove than the one we broke!
We also rummaged through our first "hiker-box". A box usually found at hiker hubs where other hikers toss their food that they're sick of or gear that they don't want anymore. One hiker's trash is another's treasure! I scored a whole jar of peanut butter and a brand new pair of $50 Columbia rain pants! I'm carrying these to Julian, and then forwarding them to Kennedy Meadows, the entrance to the Sierra..
After talking with some new and old friends, and gathering all the water and additional food we'd need for the next stretch, we realized it was already past noon! Time really flies in towns, that's for sure!
We quickly ran into Phillip, who we had heard about but never met. Shortly after telling him that I haven't seen a rattle yet, he saw one in the trail! He was walking in front so I missed it. But not an hour later, I finally saw my first Rattle! He was tiny and not coiled. Just slithered away once he knew we were all staring.. A little anticlimactic but I'll take it!
We saw some awesome open expanses early on, and hiked through a few burn areas. The open expanses continued all day, but unfornutaely: The wind came.
The wind came hard and fast and stayed all day. At least 45-50 mph gusts on the ridges and exposed valleys! I quickly realized I wouldn't be using my umbrella, so instead I just loaded up on the sunscreen (just like I promised mom) :)
Taking intermittent breaks crouched behind the tiniest of bushes, our bodies were feeling the hurt. The sun and dryness, along with the gale-force winds and cold gusts combined forces to kick our butts!
We finally found a rock to rest on and we saw Phillip (who had taken a longer break and we had gone on without him) and a girl named Megan.
Without going into too much detail and lengthy bore, we were in a little predicament: We had to get a certain mileage today to escape a "camping ban", which basically said we can't "remote camp" (camping in a non-designated camping spot) within 10 miles of Mt. Laguna. The camping ban ends after a little picnic area, (where camping is not permitted) right next to the only road around.
Except for this little oasis of grass and trees, there is laterally no where else to camp for miles, meaning that unless Claire and I booked 15 miles from Laguna, through the increasing winds and setting sun, we were out of luck.
We finally made it to the picnic area, after 11.31 ROUGH miles from Mt. Laguna. We knew that we couldn't camp here, but we could NOT go on..
The four of us walked over to a picnic table to set our packs down and think, and a woman approached us immediately. "Oh great", I thought, "she's managing this area and she's gonna tell us we can't stay here."
To my surprise, she comes over and tells us that she had beers in the car for us. We were stoked!! This was the first big "trail magic" that Claire and I have experienced. We went up to her car and the four of us enjoyed PBR, and some fresh tangerines and apples! The ladies name was "Moosey" a trail name she received from hiking the Appalachian trail a few years back. She has also completed the Pacfic Crest Trail and I believe the Continental Divide Trail as well!
Left to right: PBR, Megan, PBR, Phillip, "Moosey", Cabernet Sauvignon, PBR, and Claire!
After talking with "Moosey" for a bit, and forgetting about some of our aches and pains, we thanked her profusely and after she left we started searching for a good spot to camp.
There's a little road that heads down to the picnic area from the highway. I noticed that on the other side of the road there was some flat looking ground behind some trees. This is where all four of us are crammed tonight. Technically we are out of the camping-ban zone (I think). Well anyway that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
The winds are supposed to reach 70 mph gusts by tonight, with a strong wind warning lasting until sometime tomorrow. That combined with a low of 36 degrees, well tonight will be interesting to say the least!
Thanks for reading!
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