Day 1-3 42 miles

Day 1-4 on trail: campo to mt laguna 42 miles

Day 1- miles 0-11 ish

Started at the terminus after taking a bus from El Cajon and walking a mile to the terminus. There we had our permits checked and signed the log book and got the pictures at the terminus. And then we were on our way! It felt and still feels surreal that we are actually here! Since California has gotten so much rain water has been plenty. We haven’t had to do more than a few mike carry. Definitely spoiled. I have really enjoyed all the plants and landscape here as well! The weather was great and it was a great first day. The body held up well!

Day 2 miles 11 to 22ish

We woke up to rain and a foggy start to the day! Not something we were expecting in the southern Cali desert! After making coffee and a bagel we packed up camp and started into lake morena, our first town stop. With all the rain and fog it made the trail feel really moody and an enjoyable walk! We spotted more new foliage and had plenty of water once again. Finally after a few hours the rain stopped but it was still chilly. We were in our base layers most of the day. Arriving in lake morena we stopped at the famous malt shop and got lunch and coffees ( it was to cold for malt) and then continued onto the trail. We hiked another 3-4 miles and set up camp early. Our bodies needed it as we both took naps as soon as camp was set up. We cooked dinner and still went to bed reasonably early!

Day 3: miles 22ish to 37 ish

The morning started chilly again. I was wearing all my warm gear as we got hiking. We hiked downhill quite a way to a water crossing and luckily was able to go over a bridge to not get our feet wet. Then it was a nice easy walk amongst fields of trees and was very pleasant. We came to another water crossing and had to go through this one. It came up to my upper thighs almost. Another thing I wasn’t expecting in the desert! There we met some fellow hikers and began hiking with them. After the water crossing started a long climb up to mt. Laguna. The climb hasn’t been to steep but some sections were pretty rocky which made the feet super sore. But the views from the climb were amazing and made up for the sore feet! We stopped at a river for lunch and Craig and I plunged into it which was refreshing! After 15 miles we found a nice area to set up camp to eat, stretch and recover for the 5 miles into town tomorrow!