Scissors Crossing and Julian ‘A First Time for Many Things’ – PCT 2017: A Hiking Story [03]

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Part 2 ‘Am I Really in a Desert?’

Day 4 (01/04) – Feelings of Freedom

At the Mount Laguna camp, the three girls and Matt had all left early, but Eyran and I needed to get to the post office. We posted our snow equipment forward to Idyllwild, and I also posted my old pack (and some other gear) back home. I felt lighter already!

We were about to head back to the trail, when Bethany appeared and was getting a hitch back to the campsite at the far edge of town. The driver Seth also offered us one, and we accepted (not really knowing where exactly we were going). He dropped us at the trailhead at the other end of Mount Laguna near the lookout. We suddenly realised we actually skipped about 2 miles of the PCT – oops! I was planning any many side trails anyway, so I didn’t care that much.

“Another beautiful day in paradise,” I said to Eyran as we set off. It was hard to believe just how high we were in that morning of walking along ridges – up and up! I learned I already had hiked just as high in altitude as anywhere I went in Patagonia, which was crazy as I hadn’t even hit the taller Sierra Nevada mountains yet.

We passed epic view after epic view, and were applauded by day hikers coming in the opposite direction for our intended destination north to Canada. One older lady even offered her number to me if we needed any support! People just REALLY want to help out here!

‘Freedom‘, I thought to myself once again. The feeling was real, the PCT was real, and I was just loving life. Focusing again on the trail, the reality of water was a bit of a concern towards the end of the day. There was a huge stretch with only one water source. Eyran and I had filtered some creek water at the last known (good) water source, according to the app I was using that stated the known water sources along the trail.

It was getting late, and we were thinking of camping on the top of the ridges, but the terrain was rocky and not flat. Eventually, we took a small detour to a grassy horse field called Sunrise Trailhead and camped there.

Distance hiked: 17 miles (27 km)

Total PCT hiked: 59.5 miles (96 km)

Day 5 (02/04) – Scissors Crossing

The plan today was to get to Scissors Crossing, a junction in the road where we could hitch to the small town of Julian. This was the first day we would be tested with not having a lot of water. We still had a lot of water from the previous day, and just needed to make it to the spring.

This was the desert as I’d imagined it – sand and various cacti everywhere! There were also a lot of huge towering flower spires blooming. We eventually passed the 50-mile mark – hooray! It was around here I gave Eyran the trail name ‘Echo’, as he always repeated what I said as a confirmation. It stuck well 😀

I saw another snake and a large lizard, along with many eagles and even small rabbits. For such a hostile place, there sure was a lot of life!

We made it to the spring around 2pm, and filled our almost-depleted water bottles. We now knew why some people hike early in the mornings in the desert. It was hot, and there was limited shade.

After wandering down to the flat lands below, we needed to cross to the other side on the straightest section of the trail before Scissors Crossing. A Swiss couple caught up to us, and we hiked with them until Scissors Crossing, which had been several miles ahead.

At Scissors Crossing I met two other hikers, Kyle and Bob who were both leaving the next morning. Here, Echo and I camped under the bridge where the water cache was. I chose to not set up a tent and cowboy camped for the first time on the trail. It was funny because I actually felt like a homeless person. “Well I am really…” I pondered to myself. 😛

Distance hiked: 16 miles

Total PCT hiked: 77 miles

Day 6 (03/04) – The Pie Town of Julian

Today we packed up, and headed above the bridge to hitch a ride. This would be the first hitch we actually needed to flag down. It arrived in about 30 seconds – two ladies acting as temporary trail angels whilst their husbands were on the trail. They dropped us off in Julian, the small mining town nearby. This was where we could resupply and take a break.

When we arrived, we found a place called ‘Moms Pies’, where PCT hikers get a free slice of pie and coffee – talk about magic! It was delicious 🙂 Several other hikers were there too, and we met some familiar faces: Kade and Claire, Crunchy, Jen and Leia, and a few other new faces too.

After spending most of the day socialising, resupplying and relaxing, we hitched back to the trail. Marcus the German (now called Maximus) whom I had met from Scout and Frodo’s was also there – we finally got to reunite (briefly)!

It was too windy to camp another night at Scissors Crossing, so we headed up the mountain trail and tried to find a place secluded from the wind. The desert flower bloom was one of the most extravagant that I had seen yet – amazing flowers everywhere!

We found a spot near another hiker named Medic. He could barely speak English, and was from Switzerland. He said he got his trail name because some other hiker behind him asked ‘if he was from the Red Cross’ due to having a Swiss flag hanging off his pack. 😛 I couldn’t stop laughing – it was a great trail name!

When camping, I set up just the tent inner tonight. With some time to spare, I began to sew some tears in my pants. Why do I always tear clothes whilst travelling??? Luckily, I had some rum to make boring sewing more interesting!

Distance hiked: 2 miles (3.22 km)

Total PCT hiked: 79 miles (127.14 km)

Next Post:

Part 4 ‘Early Mornings and Flower Blooms’

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