PCT Day 2 - Lake Morena

Campsite @ mi 11.4 to Campsite @ mi 22.3

April 16, 2023

Miles Hiked: 10.9

PCT Mileage: 22.3

It was much warmer last night than at the terminus. I didn’t even need to wear my base layers. I also didn’t need to attach my quilt to my pad. I just let it hang open all night. Around 5AM the Irish girl in the tent next to me started making all sorts of racket packing up. She was jacked up by the heat the day before and wanted to get ahead of it today.

I laid there a bit longer and then got up myself. Though I took my time and gently opened bags so that I didn’t make much noise. As I packed I ate my breakfast in my tent. It was a simple meal - granola, powdered milk, and protein powder.

I finished everything I could inside my tent and climbed out to do the final pack. I waved hello and kept working. As I packed the tent I made my coffee and sipped on it while I did some minor stretching.

I think the girl from Ireland name is Mattie or Maddie. It been hard for me to tell. Either way, she left. I putzed around a little longer and then Raven walked by all packed and ready to hike. I told him I’d catch up and rolled out.

Some other tents were starting to stir so I left before I got stuck behind anyone else. Right off the bat I was rewarded with a great view of the mountains with the sun just starting to shine on it. I was feeling really good. Yesterday was the perfect amount of mileage. There were no aches and pains this morning. When I woke up, I did that minor stretching to relieve any tightness that I had, but all in all the foot and hip pains from the previous day basically did not exist.

Today was all down hill at first. And then all right back up. As the trail started to gently descend the air would get super warm. Like if you walked behind a bus and you felt the exhaust blow on you. I’d hike a little further and the temperature would even out. And then a few minutes later it would get super cold like passing by an open door of a store during the summer when you felt their AC blasting.

TMI time! About 30 minutes into the morning I wouldn’t say I had to go, but thought that I had privacy, I may as well see if I can drop a bomb. I found a little game path and followed it to some rocks that were overlooking the mountains. Nothing like a poo with a view. I dropped my pack, grabbed my trowel and dug into the ground. I was blown away. It went in like butter. The softest dirt you could imagine. I dug and dug. It was the deepest cathole I ever made. Nothing like the AT where you dig an inch and hit root and then a boulder.

I assumed the position. Did the deed, packed up my TP and filled in the man sized hole I dug. What a great way to start the day. As I got back on the trail I felt like a dog after they go and then get the zoomies! I was cruising down the trail.

Another 20 minutes or so went by and I ran into Raven at a creek cooking breakfast. I stopped to fill a liter and chatted a bit and then got moving again.

Down down down I went. The trail was covered in Manzanita trees and all sorts of flowers. Every so often I’d stop to snap a pic.

I eventually made it to Hauser Creek which is where alot of people hike to on day 1. Most had cleared out by the time I got there. I hoped across the creek and put down my pack to get more water. I had a massive climb out of here and needed water to get me the 4.6 miles to Lake Morena.

As I filled up my water bladder an old lady came over to talk to me. She said she was starting a SoBo hike in June, but was out for a shakedown hike. She was nice and we chatted about this and that. I didn’t want to be rude, but I got out of there kind of quick because I wanted to get this climb done before it got too hot.

Almost immediately the trail started going up. It wasn’t the worst, but definitely the steepest so far. I kept a steady pace and never huffed and puffed. There were a group of Australians that showed up at Hauser Creek as I was leaving who I thought for sure were going to pass me, but I never saw them again.

There wasn’t many views going up or over the mountain so I just kept trucking along. Once I reached the top I took a little break, drank half my water and carried on. At this point I passed a few sets of hikers. I hadn’t seen them before. Eventually I passed some families and possibly a firefighter/EMT person doing some rounds. I knew I was getting close to Lake Morena.

Eventually I came up over a small hill and there was the lake in the distance. I’d be there in no time.

It was a casual hike down to the road that led to Lake Morena Campground and to the Oak Shores Malt Shop. I still wasn’t sure if I was going to go to the Malt Shop. I had plenty of food. Too much food in fact. I read that its pretty expensive and the people can be kind of rude to hikers. I figured I’d go to the campground first. I could dry my gear, check out the water situation, and possibly charge my phone.

A half mile before I got to the park I felt a sharp prick on my forearm. I looked down and didn’t see anything on my sleeve. I pulled up the cuff of my sleeve and a bee flew out! He stung me! I have no idea how he got in there, but he flew away like nothing happened.

I ran into the chick from Ireland when I first walked into the park. She just got there herself and sat down to cool off. I wandered around for a little while looking for the PCT Hiker camp. There were tons of people here for the weekend in their RV’s. I eventually found it at the back of the park. There was a female hiker there from England. We chatted for a bit while I laid out my gear and made a tuna wrap. She eventually went off to charge something in the bathrooms.

Once my gear was dry I packed it up and went to the bathrooms myself to charge my gear. There were about 8 hikers there relaxing in the shade. I had recognized a few from Cleef. I plugged my phone in by the sink and came back outside to wait.

The group of hikers all seemed pretty tight so I just minded my business. As I listened in on their conversation I got the sense that most of them had thru-hiked some trail in the past. A few of them were some real blowhards. I just laid back and listened. I’d go to check on my phone every so often to make sure one of the RV’ers didn’t walk off with it.

Eventually the group of hikers left one by one. Once they cleared out I went and got water from the spigot, took off my shoes, and started filtering. The water wasn’t potable here.

With my chores done and my phone at 80% I packed up and hit the trail. I had 2ish miles to go to camp. I decided against going 0.5 mi down the road to the malt shop.

Boy did things change since I first got to Lake Morena. The next 2 miles were completely exposed, but casually flat with slight hills. Every chance I had to catch some shade, I did. I even came across an unmarked water source. I downed one of the bottles I just filled and filled it back up.

It didn’t take me long to get to the camp area. There were three possible sites. All 0.1 mi from each other. I walked to each to see what was the best. Of course it was the first one. I backtracked to it and claimed the flattest site.

I felt much better today getting into camp than I did the day before. I got all set up and then walked around trying to find shade. Notes had said there was basically none so I had to work hard to get the tiniest coverage. Notes also said that you got a really good sunset here so we’ll see.

I did all that I could to kill time before dinner. In the end I just listened to the first Game of Thrones audiobook for 2 hours while trying to avoid the sun.

It turns out that the backs of your legs get a ton of sun exposure on this trail. My claves are as red as lobsters and very tender to the touch. Every time the sun beams upon them while in camp, I’d wince and try find a new place to sit to stay out of the direct sun. I think I’m going to have to wear my wind pants while hiking tomorrow to protect them.

By 4:30PM nobody had come into camp and I was getting hungry. I got my water boiled and added it to my dehydrated fettuccine alfredo. I had found a great spot to watch the sun set and went there to eat. The sun still had two hours before it would be down.

While I was eating I decided I was going to bump up the mileage tomorrow a little. Getting into camp around 1 or 2 left me with alot of free time and nothing to do. If I wasn’t on a thru-hike I’d have a couple beers with me to hold me over, but they weigh to much for this.

When I left for this hike I planned out the first 150 miles which I estimated to do in 10 days. I wanted to stick to the lower miles per day to allow my body to adjust. However, my body has felt good getting into camp and starting in the morning so I think I’m going to bump it up a little to see how it goes. Originally I planned to hike 12 tomorrow and after looking at the map I think I’m going to aim for 15.

Around 6:30 a two girls showed up and set up the behind the overlook. They did their own thing while I hung on the rock writing these post. Around 7:30 the sun was just about to dip below the ridge line behind Lake Morena. It was a beautiful sunset. I hung around for a bit as it set, then gathered my things and went to bed.