4/11/16
Miles 42 to 52
Mood: Refreshed
Day 7 greeted us bright and early as we were expecting a 7:45 pickup for the thirty minute ride up the mountain back to Mount Laguna where we previously left the trail. On our way out the door we attempted to take a selfie with the resident horse, trigger, but he was more interested in nibbling on our jackets and scurried away before we could grab a picture.
Our ride was with a woman and daughter in their old dodge minivan. The two of them carried a nice banter in a way-too-hot van as we drove upwards. The trail darts in and out of the mountainside near the road and we were able to scope out a picnic area that would serve useful later in the day when trying to avoid a thunder storm.
Without much ado we arrived back at the single restaurant in Mount Laguna and backtracked up the road and through the deserted campground to find the junction where we had left the PCT a few days before. We let Liz take a few steps southward before helping her right the ship and continue our trek toward Canada.
After being off the trail for a couple of days it seemed to take a little bit to get our groove back. We stopped often during the first mile or two to rearrange packs, retie shoes and grab snacks that were buried deep down in our packs. We threw on Liz’s 25 minute playlist of totally epic songs and declared the rule that we shall listen to this at least once every day and that it is against the rules to stop at any point during the music! It made for a quick and easy mile.
The sights changed significantly as we strolled onward, from mountain alpine to high desert and back again. A spectacular view of the desert far below and looming mountains in the distance presented itself as we rounded a bend in the trail. It is a little nerve racking thinking that we’ll be out in that landscape in the coming days.
In case there were any questions about how liz felt about the desert.
We passed mile 50 on the trail and gave a few shouts of victory, took a picture, and kept on moving. Clouds moved in all around us and rain was evident in the distance, however we always seemed to be moving in the right direction and outran the storm long enough to set up our tents at the picnic area we saw from the car during the morning drive. The rain seemed to hold off just until the rainfly was pitched; immediately the raindrops started falling. The storm brought a little excitement with some hail and a lightning strike that was ridiiiculously close to us. No worries, we’re all good:)
[Chz-it and The Sunshine Turtle!, A crazy tree!, smiiling and things, we added the, "eh, semi", lunch spot under the platform (super cold!), 50 miles!!!]
