First Leg-San Diego to Mt. Laguna

I almost cannot believe that after years of planning, we’re finally doing a thru hike.

Mary and I flew into San Diego last Monday, two days before we planned to take a bus and begin the hike on Wednesday. Once we got there, we set out to pick up our supply box that we had mailed beforehand with essential gear including our trekking poles, 5 days of food, water purification and our medkits.

However, here began our bad and good luck. We could not pick up our box because it was lost in transit. This was already a bad situation before counting the lost medkits, as we needed trekking poles to pitch our tents.

Thankfully, starting this blog reconnected me with a friend in the navy band from Florida State stationed in San Diego. We are extremely grateful to Alex Charles who not only drove us to REI twice to resupply our lost gear, but also drove us to the southern terminus himself.

Day 1-From the southern terminus 7.5 Miles

Before officially starting our hike, there was one thing we had to do: stick a hand past the border wall so that we could all say we’ve been to Mexico now.

Once we began, despite a late start around 1:30, we got 7.5 down trail before setting camp. It is beautiful out here. Coming from Florida, what always strikes me about being out west is how the sky always stretches out to the horizon.

Day 2-Lake Morena, The Race For Water 15 Miles

The southwestern desert is a very unique environment, especially as we are catching it in mid March. The area has just passed its rainy season, which often lasts a few weeks a most. Though the thermometer temperature reads to be around 65°, in the sun it is far hotter, in the shade far cooler.
Everything here is adapted for harsh sun and highest possible degree of moisture capture and retention. These adaptations lead to the unique characteristics we associate with desert plants especially. Many are succulent, with hairs all over their leaves to capture moisture. Plants like sagebrush have bright blue coloring to reflect excess sunlight. There are plants that hang low to the ground where condensation is greatest and where there is the most shade. Some trees even peel off their bark to diffuse the brutal sun.

On our second day we had to make our own adaptation to the desert when we woke up with our tents and equipment blanketed with the night’s condensation, realizing later that this would be the only clean water we would see for 16 miles. With two liters of water between us we set out for the first major stop for all hikers at mile 20: Lake Morena. Under the harsh sun, we climbed and descended 2400 ft. Starting early in the day shortly after the sun rose, we made it to our first public campground by the lake.
Luxuries here after a grueling hike included some of the freshest water I have ever had, taking into account the thirst after 4 miles uphill without any. Also some damn good french fries.

Total miles: 22.5

Day 3-Lake Morena to Fred Canyon, 10 Miles

Woke up to seeing a bird I’m familar with back home: the great blue heron. In addition, we did not see the culprit, but we caught evidence of the acorn woodpecker. They drill holes into Ponderosa Pines and place acorns to store in them, often numbering in the hundreds. This trove gets them through the lean months of the year.

Starting our hike, the trail led us up the ridgeline to the Laguna Mountains. We gained another 1,000 ft of elevation today and took in some breathtaking views of the landscape. We camped at 4,300 ft, in a grove of trees by a dry stream bed. The canopies of these trees provided us with great things for our campsite. Namely, they trapped condensation, keeping us dry, and heat, providing us with our warmest night yet on the trail. The desert can get very cold!

Total Miles: 32

Day 4-Fred Canyon to Mt. Laguna 9.5 miles

Woke up to our windiest day on the trail so far. My tent stakes had shifted in the night, but held firm. Today, we’re set on going to our first town, Mt. Laguna. This is a mostly seasonal settlement in the Cleveland National Forest. Climbing another 1,800 ft, we have doubled our altitude from our start from 3k to 6k. This has had a profound effect on our environment. We have gone from desert scrub and drought to pine forests and snow.

Grateful to be stopping in a town today, as last night my sleeping pad began to malfunction in a rather unsettling way. It will periodically make very loud rupturing sounds and has a bubble forming at its head. I will be shipping it to therm-a-rest when we get our first resupply box at the post office on Monday. Until then, we are going to lay back after some great hiking. Looking forward to getting back at it tomorrow!
Be back with the next post soon, when we reach our next stop.

Total Miles: 41.5