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Campo to
Lake Morena |
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April 22, 2010 It has been nearly three weeks since I could sit and write about our experiences along the trail. Already, the passing of time, along with life's numerous demands, has made the sharp, crystal-clear mental images fade along their edges. Luckily, I took a journal and wrote in it every couple days the highlights of our journey in hopes I could create something useful to reminisce about in the future. Three hours of sleep was all I was afforded before the alarm told me we had to rush to the airport; this was going to be a damn-long 16 hour day. My mother soon showed up to store her car before driving us to our 6:30am flight. My eyes, droopy and heavy, rolled as we plodded through TSA's two-hour long security line before I spied a Starbucks. I stumbled towards the green and white sign, trying desperately to keep up with Amber, where I loaded up on caffeine before the plane boarded. I was too tired to be excited as I have been through this before, but still enjoyed living vicariously through Amber's energy for the time being.
The plane took off and I let the forces lull me to sleep. An hour later I awoke to munching, just inches away, trying to relay if there was anything I wanted. I chose something caffeinated and closed my eyes again.
Our plane landed and we quickly got into our trail gear. This year, circumstances forced me to really get into the spirit of the PCT. One of those circumstances was a ride to the trailhead. By chance, I found the rider-board and talked to a trail angel named Scout. Scout was indeed an angel as he hooked Amber and I up with a ride from San Diego to Campo via 2 other angels; Three Gallon and Cucumber Boy. After changing and stuffing our packs with gear, we set out in search for a yellow pom-pom sticking out of a car window and was promptly greeted by Cucumber Boy. She had the pom-pom in her hand and a big smile on her face as she glanced over at my grinning youngster. The two blessings drove us to the post office before heading over to Scouts to meet up with other hikers and to take care of last-minute details before the long drive to the trailhead. They even brought along some alcohol (for cooking), a lighter, and water, just for us.
Our final drive was not what I anticipated as the rain turned to snow the closer we got to Campo. I was incredulous as inches of the white stuff filled our scope of vision from the speeding car's window. My growing excitement was turning to dread. We crested four thousand feet and started to descend, untying my insides slightly in hope of less snow at a lower elevation. I had been in worse, but I didn't want a winter storm to be all that Amber would experience in spring, in sunny Southern California, as her first real PCT experience. As we drove, the snow soon turned to rain and the rain to showers as we arrived at the monument. In between a shower, we said our forever thanks to the two that made getting here possible. We watched the car drive away. We were alone. It had begun.
The wind howled as we quickly donned what we needed to stay warm while moving. We shuffled away from the openness of the monument, finding shelter from the freezing winds, before snapping a quick "before" shot of our shoes.
"So this is the PCT huh? Cool!", Amber said with a smile. We strolled through Campo before Amber had to make a quick nature call. I glanced around in a fog thinking of warmer times in 2007 when the birds were singing and ants were doing what they do; but I was here again, with my best friend, living in the moment.
Amber did not like hiking in the cold, but soon warmed up as the effort kept the chilly air at bay. She was in good spirits as the yakking was never-ending. I found it to be the best way to gauge how she was feeling.
Indeed, I was living in the moment and it seemed easier than times past. Maybe it was because of our angels and the ride, or scout, or Nitro. Maybe it was because I had nearly everything I have ever loved with me, surrounding me, sans my little boy whom I was already missing.
Amber found a Yucca that she could get close enough to and took in a deep sniff. The rain had stopped and the sun was trying desperately to make an appearance, but failing as the clouds were too dark and grey to allow any beams to slip through.
The fickle weather had whispered it's secret to me. The rain was on 45 minute cycles and we knew just when to don our raingear before a passing deluge. We were making great time as we climbed above Campo, leaving the little town far behind. Amber asked how far to Lake Morena before I assured her we could not make it today. It was not the distance, but remaining daylight as the limiting factor.
We had left the monument sometime around two and since then the weather had not been too rough until now. The skies opened up as we sloshed along, squishing water out of our sneakers with every step. While on the plane, something in the back of my brain had me schmoose the stewardess for a couple of garbage bags I never thought I would need. The schmoozing was paying off in spades as the plastic bags kept our down dry while the rain showed no signs of stopping. The contrast was unreal; in 2007, I found one putrid water source in 20 miles. Now, every half mile sported a seasonal creek flowing liberally down a wash. I felt the wet working it's way down my back as I glanced behind me to see Amber rubbing her cold, red hands, trying to hold back tears. We had made it about 11.5 miles before I called it a day. I scouted for 15 minutes before finding a stealth spot, surrounded by brush, large and flat enough to pitch the tarp. Another ten minutes and I had Amber in warm clothes, under four inches of down, safe from the rain, slurping down hot soup. Sleeping came easy that night.
April 23, 2010 I awoke to a bluish tint on the inside of the tarp with the ceiling peppered in water droplets. I thought this odd as it had not rained for half the night. A slight touch confirmed a nighttime temperature in the high 20's as ice had formed in and outside of the tarp freezing everything in place. I was amazed how warm I stayed considering having to duct tape my 40 degree bag in five places the night before due to Amber's hellish cat. It was still darned cold, but I smiled and snuggled deeper into my cocoon feeling as if today was Christmas day. A stunning day awaited us as we took our time packing up. 45 minutes saw us back on the trail heading for our next home for the night in the midst of food, friends, and fun.
I tried to savor the time, but after all these years, it was Amber's turn to push me forward. She was anxious, excited, restless, even though I assured her we were over half way there and had available time for smelling the proverbial roses.
Only 30 minutes and we were on top of Hauser Mountain. It was a stunning day as I compared old mental images from the past. I wanted to head to Canada. I wanted to quit my job and leave the life I had at home and continue north, but the two loves of my life kept my mental soaring grounded. I thanked the Lord for those two blessings and the time I was given before catching up with one of them.
We started to descend into the Canyon, but I could not remember how far along the jeep track we had to walk before plummeting down towards the creek. Amber chose the first trail she saw and I followed, thinking we needed to walk a bit further. Eventually, it dead-ended into a wash. The child was driven and she insisted this was the path she had chosen, so we carefully made our way down the near-vertical wash to intersect the real trail before the final plunge to Hauser Creek.
Hauser Creek was flowing strong, but the area looked different than I remembered. The large tree I fell asleep under while listening to stories from Captain America back in 07' had fallen and the place looked like it had been bulldozed, but not by machinery. We briskly walked through the area as I kept my eyes on the trail, choosing to remember it like it had been.
We started the long draw over Morena Butte in the cool morning air. Compared to my climb in 2007, this trip seemed easy as the elevation came without effort, or at least, without any noticeable effort. Part of the reason being temperature. It was in the high 50s and with the gentle wind made for comfortable climbing. Amber enjoyed the climb as we only had about 4.5 miles left to the lake.
The trail bobbed up and down before it tilted upwards around the west side of Lake Morena. Amber smiled as the pictures I had shown her over the last three years suddenly took on new life and dimension. She finally got to see it for herself and loved the fact she made it by walking in her daddy's footsteps.
We huffed our way over the last final climb before dropping into Morena Village. We passed many hard working PCT trail crews and gave our thanks to each one of them on our way down.
Since this was day two of the PCTADZKO, things were bustling. Luckily for us, because of the weather, nothing really happened on the first day, so we had not missed anything yet. We ambled over to where my site was in 07' and quickly ran into Yogi. Yogi was floored when she found out Amber was section hiking and handed Amber a free 2010 Bandana. Amber was reserved, but eventually started saying thank you instead of just nodding with a smile. After sign-in, we set up the tarp and stowed our gear before heading to the market. Amber was now randomly jumping in place and smiling, but still too reserved at saying hello as is typical of someone who is fresh out of society.
We walked inside before I grabbed two liters of Gatorade, mostly for reminiscing. Amber didn't grab anything and just followed me back out of the store to sit where I had met Dude, Gnash and Tracy from 07'. Others showed up and sat next to us before the conversations instantly started with Trail Life being the general subject matter. I gulped Gatorade in between sentences, leaning forward on the table while looking half drunk, trying desperately to get my in-town laziness under way. Amber was as green as one got along the PCT and cautiously asked me for ice cream. I simply laughed, rolled my eyes and had to preach to her about life on the trail and the fact she had already walked nine miles before 11AM. I handed her a twenty and smiled while shaking my head, telling her to go nuts.
The child walked out of the store grinning before jumping in between all of us chatting, hiker types and slipstreamed into the conversations. She was learning quick and had a lot of experience to contribute as she is no stranger to backpacking. We talked for a while before heading back to the campground for yet more mingling.
Just after we returned, we ran into Shrek who was camped just next to us. Shrek asked if Amber was hungry before offering the largest slice of pizza I had ever seen. The pie was massive as it's diameter measured a whopping 28 inches. Amber wolfed down the pizza just before another hiker, Nymph, walked over to our site asking us if we wanted some BBQ hamburgers. We looked at each other before making a hasty dash over to her site. After our burger feast, we all waddled over to the vast, open field to huddle around the dinner tables. Burritos were on the menu tonight, but the feast would not be ready for an hour, giving us some time mingle. We found Scout and gave him a hug, for if it weren't for him, this trip may not have happened. Scout gave generosity a new meaning for Amber and I.
Dinner was served and Amber chomped for an hour straight. I did the same, but lounged, lying back in the grass, between bites as I was still full from burgers. She had a hard time fathoming the immensity of it all. There were so many people here and every one of them was like no other back home. Smiles filled our peripheral vision with laughter being the campground's ambient music. Heaven.
After gorging, we sauntered back to our tarp and friends that were set up in the area. I wanted a quick picture of our immediate site mates before the sun went down and the night time festivities began. Starting from back to front and left to right we have; Handlebar, Ladybug, Shrek, Fireball, and my best friend, Fossil. Ladybug took a real shine to Amber as they walked off, talking. Shrek and I gathered some wood that Doc had drove in before we all wandered over for Strider's quick intro and a film festival of home-made movies on the giant Tyvek screen.
After the films, We Started a large fire as I got to know my clan and the personalities that were full of life, satisfaction, and happiness. Soon, Balls showed up and since he lived so close to Hillsboro, we spent some time getting to know eachother. The night was cooling fast and more people were walking over, making Shrek pull out the Tequila and Margarita mix. Since I had only drank a single beer today, a 24oz Margarita was just what the doctor ordered. The gorgeous Tyfanni, camped at an adjacent site, shuffled over to join in the festivities before others arrived as well. Soon, there were about 15 people around our campfire before we got busted for making too much ruckus. Amber stumbled off to bed along with the others while Tyfanni and I talked into the wee hours of 2am.
April 24, 2010 Another sub-freezing morning, but I was undeterred and still on my emotional high from the day before. I woke up before Amber and fumbled my way out of my sleeping bag before grabbing my camera. I wanted to take some shots of the lake before I forgot or it was too late. The area was peaceful as not too many people were up yet as I took advantage to have the lake to myself.
Heavy rains carved out the trail as it was not like this before, but I did not care. The sun felt good on my shivering body and I was able to think, taking in everything at a snails pace. Most places I have hiked, I feel like I get the opportunity to leave home and learn something; to live in the moment in order to gain perspective about things unnoticed. This trip was different. I was home and was not looking forward at returning to the world. According to society, I had everything in the world one could want, but I did not have this; right here, right now. The people here understand this. The people in my world didn't. The people here used to be the people in my world before they came here. None of this mattered, really, as I had it now. I just did not want to let it go.
I moped back to wake Amber before breakfast was served; all the bagels one could eat. I had a lot of people to talk to today and Amber wanted to go to the Pioneering Women movie that was showing around noon which meant we had to get started early. She slept so soundly she could barely crack open her sleepy eyes over her mildly sun burnt cheeks.
Breakfast was served as hungry hikers gorged on eggs, sausage, coffee, juices, and of course, bagels with cream cheese or any other topping of your choice.
The fog lifted off the lake as I made my way over to the vendor's sites. I had to catch up with some people I know, like, Grant from Gossamer Gear, Henry from Tarptent, Ron (who lives two miles from me) from Six Moon Designs as well as Chris Willett, A.K.A. Suge, who was very helpful in getting me started in 2007. Being the gear whore I am, I had to remind myself that any new piece of gear I bought, I would have to carry and would also have to fit in my pack.
My friend, Balls, already had taken off, northbound, after we swapped personal info as he had limited time to chit-chat. Balls was one of the head honchos over at the Northwest Forest Conservancy, and as he lived near me in Hillsboro, I planned to help out with some trail work this summer. Amber headed out to the forum while I sat in the shade and talked with 30-30 for a couple hours with Percy, his K9, keeping us company. After the forum, Amber returned with a taco in her hand. I promptly interrogated her before running over to the guilty site to make a quick donation before scarfing down one myself.
I came back with a taco in hand and resumed my position in the shade, continuing my conversation with 30-30. The day was heating up, but the breeze had not, making for a very comfortable day while being lazy. Ladybug asked me if she could purchase Amber a T 'shirt as a surprise memento. Amber loves the shirt and seems to wear it every other day to school.
By four we all congregated at the large rock in front of Lake Morena for our respective class photos. (We are center'ish, top, just to the right - Amber was growing impatient for the shot)
Tonight there would be no fire, no conversations, no chatting into the early hours of the morning, for tomorrow everyone headed north. Amber and I made one last trip to the market for some hard stuff that she guzzled like a pro. After downing the whole bottle herself, she sloshed her way to the tarp for sleep. I needed some more time here and could not have it.
I wandered around the park saying goodbyes to people I had known as well as people I had just met in the last two days. I would not see most of them, possibly, ever again and this weighed heavy on my heart. A feeling of melancholy came over me as I tried to convince myself the adventure was just beginning.
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