Days 4-10: Nearing the Desert, Finding a Rhythm
April 28 – May 4, PCT miles 436 – 518
I started my first day on the actual PCT with a leisurely breakfast on a picnic table looking out over the canyon I’d worked so hard to climb the day before. On the other end of the table sat a plain pair of white cotton athletic socks, with faint red stains around both toe areas. I’d been asked on multiple occasions if they belonged to me, and each time I replied that they did not, with some relief. My feet remained comfortable in my wool Darn Tough’s, though one of my arches had started to hurt a bit. It was 18 miles to Agua Dulce, miles that I imagined would fly by with an actual trail to follow.
At first, they really did. Dramatic switchbacks cut into the hillside wound ever-lower, with each turn and view seeming more majestic than the last. It almost felt as if the views were propelling me forwards, and I wondered if the feeling would last. (Having hiked for a while longer at press time, it didn’t. Scenery fatigue is real.)
After descending into one of the valleys the trail crossed a track for Metrolink, one of Southern California’s commuter rail systems. I’d seen a train go by from above, now here I was stepping over the tracks as if they were just another random trailside obstacle. It felt good, seeing the train making its way up the grade, airplanes flying above, and now me just hiking along.
Soon afterwards the pain in my arch intensified a bit. This of course coincided with me getting tired. The 8 or so miles remaining before Agua Dulce suddenly seemed a lot longer. I trudged up hillsides covered in dry brush. I touched the official PCT completion marker. The occasion seemed less momentous than it should have been, perhaps because I’d only been on-trail for all of 10 miles. I walked through a tunnel far below the 14 freeway, complete with trickles of water and strange echoes. I hustled through Vasquez Rocks County Park, glancing at the rocks of Star Trek fame and reluctantly fielding questions from tourists out for the day. I followed shoeprints identical to my own, not knowing that in a few short weeks I’d be following (well, usually following) that same person through the Sierra.
I arrived at Hiker Heaven, and was immediately rather confused. The place is a sort of PCT institution, a family hosting hordes of hikers on their property of Agua Dulce and providing all kinds of amenities, all practically for free. I asked someone who seemed to know what was going on about how to check in, he handed me a laminated sheet that promised to answer all of my questions. Apparently I didn’t study it closely enough, because when I asked where to put the provided towel after my outdoor shower I was met with applause and someone exclaiming “You’re number 9 today!”. Turns out, the towel drop-off is clearly explained on the sheet and so the volunteers took bets on the number of clueless hikers that would ask anyway.
Being new to the trail, I was a little concerned that my fellow hikers would scoff at my starting from LA, but it turns out nobody cares. In a good way. A few even thought it was cool. On my first night, I learned how to scrounge for free leftover food and canister fuel from the hiker box. An owl fell from a tree in the yard, and a rescue was frantically coordinated.
I woke up the next morning with my foot still bothering me some. I decided to take my first ‘zero’: a day spent sitting around in one place without hiking. Doing my best to rest my foot, I slashed my planned mileage for the next segment hoping to keep healing in motion.
After 2 nights at Hiker Heaven I left Agua Dulce on a foggy morning, watching each of my new friends fly by me on the first climb out of town. I stuck to my measured pace and tried my best to step smoothly. The foot still hurt some, but I said to myself I could keep hiking as long as it steadily got better.
It did, and I hiked the section from Agua Dulce to Hikertown as a series of fairly short 8-14 mile days, spending plenty of time alone but also running into the same groups of (usually older) people every now and then.
I actually really enjoyed this stretch. Hiking slower let me really take in the Southern California landscape, a landscape that is full of life in this wet year.
After descending through fields of poppies to highway 138, I looked up and found a sign reminding me that I was still in LA County after 10 days of travel. Then my support team picked me up for a night of rest and relaxation in Lancaster. As we sped down the highway, I felt satisfied with myself and newly excited for the rest of the trip, confident that I could handle the challenge.
