PCT #1: The Start, Miles 0-40

April 25th, 2022: The beginning of something grand.

The US-Mexico border was easy to see from far away as a 500-mile, 30 foot tall fence marked the spot in the sand. We had woken up at 4:45am, packed our bags, ate breakfast and then a volunteered picked us up to drive us to the monument right at the border. 

We were extremely lucky as we had just spent the last two nights at Scout and Frodos, two PCT trail angles. They host 20 hikers a night at their house in San Diego, donating so much of their time and resources. They provide an outstanding dinner and breakfast, Wi-Fi, a shipping station filled with post office boxes and most importantly, community. Each evening they hold a dinner talk which is both inspiring and informative. 

It was a cloudless day at the monument - something we were about to learn happened a lot. We took photos, said our goodbyes to hikers we had met over the last couple days and took off!

It was an unusual year, so rather than carry 6L of water, we only had to trek with 3L, saving us almost 7lbs. There was a reliable steam at mile 4.4 (7km) which was our first goal. We had fun seeing the first mile marker and then mile 3’s marker which is over railroad tracks. 

At around 9am, it was already time for our umbrellas. Mine refused to stop smacking me in the face, so we stopped frequently trying out different scenarios. Meanwhile Syd’s umbrella was just perfectly bobbing above her head as she walked in front. Infuriating. Luckily we were only one hour in and it’s hard to get angry when you are just so excited. 

At the stream we filled up to capacity, so we each had 6.2L of water and our bags now weighed almost 35 pounds. At the stream we daydreamed about doing 15 miles. It seemed very possible but once we put on our packs and the sun blazed down on us our plans began to break. 

Collecting water at our first natural water source.

It was a hard and hot first day. The sun was relentless and the hills were gruelling. For the first 8 or so miles we kept getting glimpses of the rust fence and where we had come from. We took a two hour lunch break under a tiny shrub, trying to cover as much of us as possible in the shade offered by sprigs. 

At the top of hill, after border patrol circled us in a helicopter, we decided to aim for 10 miles. We found a lovely spot on top of a mountain, and surprise, we could still see the wall. Much to our dismay, we had lost all the hikers we arrived with from Scout and Frodo’s. They were likely hanging out at mile 15. On our first night, Syd and I would camp alone.

My first tent setup on the PCT. A very sharp, Yuka plant sits on the righthand-side of the frame. We would learn to avoid their pointy leaves when camping and going off trail, but not before they had drawn blood multiple times.

The dessert reminds me of Austin, Texas. It’s very tropical, lots of green and there is always a bird chirping. For our second morning, we knew we wanted to beat the heat for the 1500 foot exposed climb into Lake Morena. We rose early, started hiking at 7:30am and didn’t stop till we got to the top. We had no issues with water and I walked into Lake Morena with over a liter of water (bad Katharine!). As Syd said - I don’t want a dehydrated hiking partner. And I certainly don’t want to be one. 

In Lake Morena, we ate fresh food (yummy burger) and showered. Not quite the same when you have to put back on dirty clothes. The designated PCT campsite wasn’t much, so we decided to hike on. We had learned a lesson from yesterday though - don’t hike in the heat of the day. With that in mind, we started the second half of our day at 3:30pm. 

It was an easy walk to our day 2 campsite and this time we lucked out, there were other hikers! We could make new friends and we did. 

The next day we leap frogged Eric, Micheal, Angler and Lightening Bolt. Yes, you read those names right. On long distance trails, like the PCT, people go by trail names - names given to them by other hikers that signify a part of who they are. It could be a memory, a weird item they brought or something they love to do. For instance, Angler loves to fly fish and is carrying a fly fishing rod. I’m still getting used to the idea- it’s hard not to find the names a little hokey.

Syd and I wanted to hit the trail even earlier, so planned to wake up a half hour earlier at 5am. It was freezing, my hands hurt as we lugged our breakfast food away so we didn’t disturb our new friends. While cooking we learned we had service and just like at home, social media was a time suck. Unbelievably, we got on the trail later than yesterday. 

Morning is still my absolute favourite time of day to hike. The sun slowly rises over the mountains, giving a warm light and casting giant shadows. The air is still cool and the miles go easy. It will be a big day - we are only going up. 

A fun perk of hiking with Syd is she studied geological engineering at university so I can point to a cool looking rock and ask - “Syd, what’s up with that pointy bit?” And she’ll give me an interesting story. We pass by lots of large rocks and Syd mentions that those rocks were likely formed from weathering. They are made of the hardest material so they stick around and survive the storms. The rocks that don’t survive form the sand we walk on. 

I get cranky today and I’m not proud of it. I forget to eat enough which always puts me in a bad mood. It’s 4pm, well after lunch and I haven’t had one snack. We’re realizing that after hiking nearly 2500 feet up hill, we have 500 feet more. 

For the first time we camp at a non-designated campsite, aka it isn’t on the map. It’s very flat with big pine trees and we camp with our new friends. We are only two miles from town and this way we avoid the town campsite.

My hiking buddy, Syd, made a YouTube video about our first day. You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/QjD24JhUhU8

Houser Creek. Syd and I battled to see who could keep their feet in the freezing water the longest. Not going to say who lost… but it wasn’t close. We would frequently stop at natural water sources to cool and hopefully repair our muscles.

Section Stats

Day 1: April 25th 0 - 11.3 (11.3 Miles)

Day 2: April 26th 11.3 - 26 (14.7 Miles)

Day 3: April 27th 26 - 39.9 (13.9 Miles)