March 12 – A Short Return to the Trail (Mile 59.5 → 61.5)

Thursday began like my other weekdays on this trip, with a full day of work.

By the time I finished for the day, I was debating whether I should return to the trail that evening or wait until Friday morning. My toes were still hurting, and part of me wondered if another day of rest would help. But realistically, they probably were not going to improve much in just one more day. I decided I might as well get back on the trail.

On the way to the trailhead, I made a stop at Mom’s Pies near Julian. I ordered a slice of apple pie with cheddar cheese melted on top and a coffee. It might sound like an unusual combination, but it tasted incredible and felt like the perfect pre-hike treat.

While driving past Julian toward where I had left the trail, I had a thought. Just in case there was an outdoor shop nearby, I opened Google Maps and searched for “shoes.”

To my surprise, a place popped up called Two Foot Adventures.

I called them and asked if they had size 8.5 hiking shoes in stock. They said they did. I immediately pulled over and went inside.

The woman working there was incredibly friendly. After hearing what I was dealing with, she brought out a pair of Altra Experience Wild 2s that happened to be on sale for under $100. As soon as I tried them on, the difference was obvious. They fit perfectly and felt far better than the size 8s I had been wearing.

It felt like a small miracle.

When I arrived at the parking area near the trail, I noticed two hikers looking around for water. They told me they were completely out, and the nearby water source they had planned to use had turned out to be dry.

Luckily, I had extra water stored in my Jeep. I gave them two liters each, which they were extremely grateful for. After chatting for a few minutes, they invited me to join them on the trail.

One of them was an Iraqi-born man who now lives in New Jersey named Marwan, and the other was a recent college graduate from Israel named Maya. The PCT brings together people from all over the world, and this was another example of how quickly strangers can become trail companions.

Because it was already getting late in the afternoon, we were only able to hike about two miles before the sun started to set.

But those two miles told me everything I needed to know.

My toes no longer hurt in the new shoes.

After days of pain and worry about my feet, the relief was immediate. I felt incredibly grateful that I had made that last-minute decision to stop and buy new shoes.

We found a spot to set up camp, chatted for a while, and then turned in for the night.

Although the day had been fairly warm, the temperature dropped quickly after sunset. The thermometer showed about 57°F, but for some reason it felt much colder, closer to 40°F.

I lay in my tent for nearly two hours before finally falling asleep.

When I woke up, I reached for my phone, expecting it to be around 4 AM.

It was 11:45 PM.

I was wide awake.

At that moment, I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

March 13 – Community on the Trail (Mile 61.5 → 79.4)

The night did not go particularly well.

Between midnight and 6:00 AM, I probably slept only about two hours total. I felt cold throughout the night, and once again my sleeping quilt was collecting moisture. Even though the sleep was poor, I was surprised that I did not feel completely exhausted when it was time to pack up camp and start hiking.

That morning I continued hiking with Maya and Mawan, which was a welcome change from hiking alone. Having people to talk to helps break up the monotony of long miles. Conversation makes time pass faster and gives your mind something else to focus on besides the constant rhythm of walking.

The only downside was that we moved slower than my usual pace and stopped more often so everyone could stay comfortable.

Mawan was carrying a 50-pound pack, which is extremely heavy for the PCT and clearly taking a toll on him. He mentioned that he was looking forward to reaching Julian so he could take a zero day and replace some of his heavier gear with lighter options.

After about six miles, my shoulders began hurting again from my backpack. I was getting frustrated with the recurring issue, so I jokingly asked out loud if anyone nearby happened to be a backpack expert.

As luck would have it, a hiker who was about to pass me overheard and stopped to help.

He showed me a much better way to adjust the pack. First, he had me tighten the shoulder straps and waist belt as snugly as possible so the weight sat properly on my hips. Then he explained that the front chest straps should actually be loosened slightly, adjusting them only as needed for comfort.

The change was immediate.

Once the pack was set up correctly, the shoulder pain disappeared completely. It was a simple fix, but it felt like a huge breakthrough.

About three miles before reaching the road crossing, I met another hiker named Roman, a recent high school graduate from Las Vegas. He was moving at a faster pace, and since I was ready to pick up the speed again, I asked if I could hike with him.

We continued together toward Scissors Crossing, where we planned to hitch a ride into Julian for a quick food break.

Hitchhiking took a little while. We stood there for about an hour before someone finally stopped for us. By that time, Maya and Mawan had caught up and decided to come along as well.

Once in Julian, we headed straight to Mom’s Pies after hearing that they were offering free pie slices to PCT hikers.

Not only was the rumor true, but they went even further. They were giving hikers ice cream, cheddar cheese, and cider along with the pie, completely free of charge.

Naturally, I ordered the apple pie again. I also added a spinach empanada and a Coca-Cola for good measure.

It was one of those trail moments that feels almost surreal. After days of trail food and effort, sitting down to warm food and dessert feels like an incredible luxury.

After eating, the group shifted a bit. Maya and Mawan decided to stay in Julian and take a zero day. Meanwhile, Roman and I teamed up with two other hikers named Azul and Julia.

The four of us caught a ride back to the trail with a trail angel named Sprinter, then continued hiking.

We managed another two miles before reaching a small campground tucked into a ravine.

Along the way we spotted some strange-looking spiders that resembled little beans with legs, which was both fascinating and slightly unsettling.

This was also my first time setting up camp in the dark. Using a headlamp made the process easier, but it came with its own problem: the light attracted flying insects, and I had to work hard to keep them from sneaking into my tent.

Unlike the previous night, the temperature felt much warmer.

Instead of bundling up, I ended up taking off my shirt and using my quilt loosely as a blanket.

I woke up a few times during the night but must have managed at least six hours of sleep, which felt like a big improvement.

The only thing that made me a little anxious was the terrain around our campsite. The cliffs above us were covered in loose-looking rocks and boulders, and I kept imagining one of them sliding down and landing right on my tent.

The other hikers reassured me that it was extremely unlikely. Without rain or strong wind, rockfall in that area was not really something to worry about.

Still, the thought crossed my mind more than once before I finally drifted off to sleep.

March 14 – Desert Miles and Trail Lessons (Mile 79.4 → 94.4)

I woke up around 5:30 AM, along with the rest of the group. We decided to start hiking before sunrise so we could get a good number of miles in before the day started heating up.

Two of the biggest problems I had been dealing with earlier in the week were finally resolved. My back and neck pain disappeared now that I had learned how to properly adjust my backpack, and my toe pain was gone thanks to the new shoes I bought in Julian.

But, as seems to be the theme of this hike so far, solving one issue simply revealed another.

A new pain started developing in my right ankle, where the side of my shoe was pressing against it as I walked. I suspect this was happening because the trail followed a sloped ridgeline that tilted slightly to the left. That meant my right foot was constantly landing at a slight angle, which pushed the shoe against my ankle with every step.

On top of that, the area where my toes meet the rest of my foot started becoming very sore. I was not entirely sure what was causing it, but my hiking companions suggested it might be related to the plantar fascia. Whenever I stopped and massaged the area for a few minutes, it did seem to help.

As we hiked, we frequently rotated our positions in the line.

I tried not to take the lead position too often. Partly this was because I did not want to be the first person to encounter a snake, and partly because the group was moving pretty quickly, averaging around 21-minute miles, and I did not want to slow everyone down.

My favorite spot was usually second in line.

However, rotating positions turned out to be a great way to socialize. Every time the order shifted, you naturally ended up walking next to someone different, which created opportunities for one-on-one conversations. Over the course of the day, I was able to talk individually with each of the three hikers I was traveling with.

One thing that has stood out to me so far on the PCT is how friendly and interesting everyone has been. Almost every person on the trail seems to have a unique story about how they ended up here.

The landscape also continued to change as we moved north.

Over the past 70 miles, the environment had slowly transitioned from the arid desert terrain around Campo to something greener and more varied. The early miles near the border were dominated by dry scrub, sandy soil, and scattered desert plants. As the trail climbed toward Mount Laguna, the terrain shifted to higher elevation forests with pine trees, cooler air, and rocky ridges.

By the time we descended toward the Ranchita area, the environment began blending those ecosystems. The landscape included grassy hills, scattered shrubs, chaparral, and rolling ridgelines, with expansive views across valleys and distant mountains. It felt less like a harsh desert and more like a rugged, open highland.

Not only was I learning from my own experiences on the trail, I was also learning from the hikers around me.

Near one of the water caches, Roman accidentally stepped on a cholla jumping cactus. Those things are no joke. The cactus needles latch onto anything that touches them, and they can be extremely painful to remove. We ended up using pliers and duct tape to pull the spines out.

Watching that happen was enough to teach me an important lesson: do not walk around barefoot, even for a moment.

Roman also shared a clever cooking trick. He keeps his ramen noodles in a ziplock bag, pours boiling water directly into the bag, and then places the bag inside his pot to act as a bowl. That way the pot stays clean and there is nothing to wash afterward.

I made a mental note to remember that once I eventually buy a camp stove and start cooking meals on the trail.

We managed to reach our planned campground before sunset, which was a big improvement compared to some of my earlier nights scrambling to set up camp in the dark.

While settling in, I discovered another small problem: my battery pack was completely dead. I ended up borrowing power from Julia’s battery so I could charge my phone.

That experience made me realize that a 20,000 mAh battery pack may not be enough for this kind of trip. I will probably upgrade to a 40,000 mAh pack in the future.

The wind returned that night, and it was intense.

The gusts continued all night long, rattling the tent and occasionally pushing the walls inward so they brushed against me. The constant noise made it difficult to sleep.

In the end, I probably got four or five hours of sleep at most.

Fortunately, we had crawled into our tents around 8:00 PM, and we did not plan to wake up until 5:00 AM, which at least gave us plenty of time to rest, even if the sleep itself was a bit rough.

March 15 – Meadows, Eagle Rock, and Warner Springs (Mile 94.4 → 109.5)

We woke up again before sunrise, packed up camp, and started hiking while the sky was still dim. Early starts have quickly become part of the routine. The cooler temperatures make the first few hours of hiking much more comfortable.

For the first time since starting the trail, two of my biggest issues seemed fully resolved. My back and neck felt completely fine, now that I finally understood how to adjust my backpack properly, and my toes were no longer hurting thanks to the new shoes.

My feet were still sore occasionally, especially in the area near the ball of my foot, but it was manageable. Whenever we took a break, I would sit down and massage them, which seemed to help a lot.

The group was clearly getting stronger and more comfortable with trail life. We moved at a steady pace and had already covered a lot of ground before 10 AM.

About eight miles into the morning, we reached a road crossing near Ranchita. Paula met me there so I could swap my backpacking pack for my trail running pack again. Since I would return to the RV that night, carrying the lighter setup made more sense.

I also grabbed a bag of Cuties oranges that I had stored in my Jeep and gave one to each of my three hiking companions. Fresh fruit on the trail is almost magical.

If I am being honest, though, I was also hoping the oranges might distract a little from the fact that I was lightening my load while everyone else still had to carry their full packs. Hiking with a lighter setup always feels a bit like cheating when others are hauling everything on their backs.

As we continued hiking north, the landscape began to change dramatically again.

Earlier sections of the trail near Campo were classic desert terrain, filled with dry soil, scrubby bushes, and scattered cactus. Even the climb around Mount Laguna felt rugged and exposed with rocky slopes and pine forests.

But north of Ranchita, the trail opens up into something completely different.

We walked through wide, rolling meadows covered in tall grasses and seasonal plants. The day was beautiful, with clear skies, a high of about 82°F, and a low around 65°F. A light breeze moved across the hills, causing the grasses to ripple in waves across the landscape. At times it looked almost like watching the ocean, except the waves were made of plants instead of water.

Eventually we reached one of the most iconic landmarks in this section of the PCT: Eagle Rock.

Eagle Rock is a massive natural rock formation that, from the right angle, looks strikingly like a giant eagle with its wings spread wide. It is one of those places where hikers almost always stop to take photos and admire how strangely perfect the formation looks.

Along the way we also encountered what initially looked like a rattlesnake stretched across the trail. Everyone slowed down and kept their distance while we tried to figure out what it was. After taking a closer look, we realized it was actually a gopher snake, which looks similar to a rattlesnake but is harmless.

Still, it was a good reminder to keep watching the trail carefully.

After Eagle Rock, the trail gradually transitioned again. The open meadows gave way to a more shaded section with scattered oak trees and chaparral, and eventually the trail passed alongside a small stream, a welcome sight after so many dry miles earlier in the hike.

By the time we reached Warner Springs, we had descended significantly from the higher ridgelines earlier in the day. This stretch generally trends downhill overall as hikers approach the community.

The Warner Springs Community Center marks the end of California Section A of the Pacific Crest Trail.

After days of trail food, the first stop was obvious.

I bought a burrito, some cheese, and a Poppi soda, and it tasted incredible. Real food after days of bars, dried fruit, and snacks always feels like a reward.

Even better, I was able to take a shower, my first in four days. That alone made the entire stop worthwhile.

Eventually it was time to say goodbye to the group I had been hiking with. One of the realities of long-distance hiking is that people’s schedules, pace, and plans often cause groups to split up. There is a good chance I may not see them again.

After saying our goodbyes, I drove back to my RV at Culp Valley Primitive Campground, where I will spend the next few days working, recovering, and preparing for the next stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail.