Was that trail magic that just happened?

Two weekends ago, Aaron and I went on a short backpacking trip on the PCT. Are you surprised? Didn't think so. We decided to hike another part of section A of the PCT (about 32 miles), this time from Scissors Crossing north to Warner Springs. To do a lot of these backpacking and hiking trips on the PCT we have been using two cars and parking one car at each end of our hike. For this section of the PCT, we had some difficulty finding what looked like a safe place to park at Scissors Crossing, so we called the local Sheriffs department for advice. The lady who answered the phone did much better than give us advice on where to park, she left a message with the local deputy to give us a call back. The deputy called us back and let us know that there weren't any great places to park near Scissors Crossing, especially overnight, and that he would like to volunteer to give us a ride from Warner Springs (where we parked our car) to the beginning of our hike at Scissors Crossing. How wonderful! After I got off the phone with the deputy confirming our ride to Scissors Crossing, Aaron and I couldn't help but smile real big and wonder out loud if this qualified as trail magic. I'd like to think so!

I've always heard about "trail magic" and "trail angels" (kind things done for thru-hikers to brighten and ease their day such as: maintaining water caches, rides to town and to the trail, places to stay the night, etc.), however I never really thought I would get to experience random kindness like this from random strangers without actually hiking the entire 2,650 mile trail. If nice things like this happen to Aaron and I who are just section hiking the PCT and thru-hiking the JMT, I can't even imagine what wonderful things and people thru-hikers are running into during their hikes - that must be so much fun!

The backpacking trip was wonderful. There was a big climb in the beginning to reach the top of the San Felipe Hills, after which the trail leveled off a bit and wound round the top of the range. We hiked about 16 miles before setting up camp around mile 93, which had some spectacular views of the desert below. The next day, we continued on to Warner Springs another 16 miles down the San Felipe Hills and through valleys dotted with cows and interesting groupings of rocks like Eagle Rock. Now we only have a 20 mile section of trail left before we have completed the 109.6 miles of section A(!)... maybe next weekend...

Looking out from the San Felipe Hills

Ocotillo cactus

Near the campsite at mile 93

Walking through a valley near Warner Springs

Eagle Rock (taken last year)

A few days later I volunteered to help out with Mission Trails Day, which is a once a year event held for the public. There were stands covering a range of topics (i.e. bugs found in and around the park, reptiles in the park, small mammals found in the park, geology, mountain biking in the park, etc.). There were even people selling cheese burgers, hot dogs, and snow cones, horse rides, a rock wall, and an REI tent. It was a fun event, and I was very happy to help out and promote the outdoors that I love so much. After the event, I checked House Wren nest boxes with another Mission Trails volunteer friend. There were babies in some of the nest boxes, and we also got to see some of them fledge!


The next weekend, Aaron and I decided to take it easy and enjoyed a rather relaxing few days. We flew a kite at the bay not too far from the house, and also visited the zoo. We both have annual zoo passes, and like to go for only a few hours every once in awhile right before they close. We've found this is when a lot of the animals are most active, and also it is much less crowded. Also, REI was having a sale and I finally found the sun shirt of my dreams - thin, light weight, thumb holes, hooded, and on sale! Perfect!

Bird in Scripps Aviary at the San Diego Zoo

Have you flown a kite lately??

Lovin' the outdoors

In the past, I found myself measuring all my outdoor adventures against my time spent in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park - which I would repeat in a heartbeat. As the park was 75 miles from the nearest town, I was able to focus all my attention on a landscape that was void of almost all man-made noise and light pollution (which was a brand new experience in itself), and was just so very different from anything I ever saw in Ohio or during my other travel adventures. Since moving to the southwest, I have had a hard time finding a place that I enjoy as much as Canyonlands. However, the more time I spend on the PCT, the more I'm loving it, and I think I may have finally found another place that I love just as much as Canyonlands... or perhaps, I just really love being outside.

But first, for those of you who have never been there, I'd like to share some photos I took while interning at the park so you can get a better idea why I enjoyed this place so much.

Near Squawflats Campground

 The joint trail

Taken from the doorstep of my apartment in the park

Winter time in Elephant Canyon

The night sky

This past weekend (on Mother's Day, actually), I went on a 20.2 mile hike on the PCT with Aaron and two friends. We left a car at Campo's post office and started hiking north to Lake Morena, where we had left another car. The trail was beautiful and zigged and zagged all over the landscape. It was never flat, but kept our bodies working with lots of gradual ups and downs. We hiked along mountain sides that looked out over wide valleys, made our way through some previously burnt areas that contained charred manzanitas, and lots of blooming re-growth, and bumped into a few PCT thru-hikers. The landscape was beautiful, and there was always something nice to look at: blooming flowers, mountain top views, railroad tracks, even the border in its own way. The main challenge of the day was a steep climb up to the top of Morena Butte, before winding our way down to Lake Morena. After arriving at Lake Morena, we drove back to the border to hike the 1.5 miles back to the post office to complete our 20.2 mile day, which is officially my first 20 miler.... also, in case you were wondering, we all stuck our feet under the border and "visited Mexico" again. It was just as lovely as our last visit.

Hillside with some burnt Manzanitas and blooming re-growth

A valley not too far from Campo

Lake Morena!

Besides our long Mother's Day hike, I was able to visit House Wren nest boxes again and this time got to see some tiny little baby birds. Also, I hiked around Black Mountain with another friend from Mission Trails. AND, one afternoon I returned home to find Aaron had set up a tarp in the backyard just for kicks. So we have been enjoying discussions about switching our shelter system to a tarp and bivy bags, and reading and napping under the tarp... which is, by the way, currently one of the best places to nap around the house.

Visit to Mexico

Our most recent hike was a few days ago on the PCT. We started around Penny Pines (very close to where we left off from the weekend before) and hiked up to the Sunrise Trailhead, which was just shy of 14 miles including a hike up to the top of Garnet Peak. The trail skimmed cliffs overlooking the Anza Borrego Desert and offered some phenomenal views. The hike itself was very nice, lots of rolling ups and downs. The only thing that made this hike occasionally difficult was the wind. Oh my goodness, was it windy. The weather channel told us to expect winds around 25-30 miles an hour, and I'm sure that it was gusting much faster than that while we were hiking on cliffsides. Most of the time the wind was actually behind us helping to push us along, so it wasn't too bad.

The same afternoon, we drove down to the Southern Terminus and hiked a quick 1.5 miles to Campo's post office. I really enjoyed seeing the Southern Terminus and the border with my own eyes, especially since I have only seen it in pictures. We took pictures at the Southern Terminus and explored the border as much as possible, after assuring a Border Patrol officer that we were no threat. We even stuck our feet under the border wall so we could say we had "visited Mexico."

From the top of Garnet Peak

The border

Look! See - Mexico!

PCT Southern Terminus

A little trail humor...

Also, I had mentioned a few posts back about reserving Half Dome permits. The first date to reserve permits for the month of August was May 1st at 7am. The permits sold out within minutes! I didn't get one! I panicked a bit, and made a call to the Yosemite Wilderness office. Apparently, if you already have a JMT permit this also covers a permit to summit Half Dome. I asked the man on the other end of the line to repeat this a few times, and he assured me that our JMT permit would in fact, grant us access to the top of Half Dome. He said Yosemite allows this for people or groups with backpacking permits starting near Half Dome because they recognize how difficult it can be sometimes to get a Half Dome permit. Thanks Yosemite!!