Building Momentum

After many days of slowly climbing, we split off from our friend Brian in Mt. Laguna and continued on back into the desert. Here we found some of our first great payoffs from the days of climbing. As we came down out of the Laguna mountains, we overlooked Coyote canyon, a massive desert basin define by many colors of rock. As we continued through the heat we were encountered by a mother and her daughter passing out fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies to hikers. Never has a cookie tasted so good.

The following morning we witnessed one of the best sunrises to date, slowly illuminating the magnitude of the basin below. Energized by by the sunrise, we made a good 15mi to Rodriguez Spur. By the time we arrived the wind was blowing very hard and it was difficult to set up camp. We quickly made dinner and went to bed, but with sustained winds of 30mph no one was comfortable. As our tarp does not provide a closed shelter, we were subject to blowing sand the whole night through. Never have I unintentionally eaten so much dirt. Our tarp sounded like it was being beaten by a baseball bat all night long, so by the time morning rolled around, no one was anxious to get up.  The wind was still blowing, but we broke camp and made 8mi to scissors crossing. Nearby we took shelter at the Stage coach RV park. For a small fee we secured a shelter out of the wind with 6 other people. The "Gard Shak" was little more than a glorified shed with four cotts inside, but it was safe from the wind. We all slept like babies and hit the trail late the next morning once the wind died down.

Going into another dry stretch, we carried ample water despite rumors of a water cache 14mi in. As we wrapped around the hills of San Felipe, we found those rumors to be true after a long day of hiking. We camped near the cache and prepared for another long day.

By morning the wind was picking up again, but we made 5mi before stopping for coffee and breakfast. After another 4mi, we hit the 100 mile marker, something everyone was excited about. A mile down the road and we took our lunch siesta in the shade of live oaks at Barrel springs. After our siesta, we pushed on to Eagle rock 5mi further. Without a doubt this formation of stone resembles a bird of prey. After an 18 mile day we made camp just outside of Warner Springs, where our first resupply awaits. Here we will enjoy our first zero day of the trip so far, 109 miles under our belts.

The First 40 - Rediscovering the Art of the Siesta

Our family dropped us off early in the morning at the Mexican border. After a good breakfast, we began hiking around 8:00am. We started with a strong pace despite our heavy packs, upwards of 3mph. Our friend Brian decided to join us for the first four days as well. Bringing along a ukulele, he would serenade us as we took breaks in whatever shade we could find. At the time the heat of the day set in, we found ourselves in an area that had been burned in 2010 leaving no relief from the sun. After a 5mi stretch, we jumped on the first piece of shade that we found and did not move for several hours. As we rehydrated and ate our lunch, many hikers passed us by and joined us in the shade, lured by the sound of the ukulele. After the heat began to pass, we were able to hike a few more miles, where we found good shade underneath large oak trees. Upon reaching the shade, we threw down our packs, rolled out our pads, and fell asleep. An 11mi day under our belts, we did not wake until 5:00pm. At this time we began walking around, and found a good place to camp for the evening.

As there were no reliable water sources for the first 20 miles, despite challenging terrain with considerable elevational gain, we had to conserve water. We ate dried granola for breakfast the next morning, and began hiking around 7. Soon the heat began to set back in, and the 12L of water we had packed were running low. As the heat intensified our pace slackened, but we kept moving forward towards the thought of more water. Breaks became more frequent, and by the 8th mile I was showing signs of heat exhaustion. The last mile came ever so slowly, despite being downhill. As we wandered out of the high desert into the town of Morena lake, at the first site of a faucet we dropped our packs and began drinking. As we slowly recooperated over the next 4 hours, we watched as dozens of hikers slowly emerged from the desert, equally beaten by the sun. A 75 year old crusty character named Hiker Bill secured a few campsites and began taking in all the delerious hikers. As the afternoon progressed, we met humans from all over the world, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Norway & Switzerland. Despite the celebration of life, everyone was tucked in by 8:00.

Learning lessons froms day's past, we woke up the next morning at 4:30 and began hiking by 6 with extra water. By 9, we reached Boulder Oaks campground at 6mi. Still being early in the day, we decided to push on to the next campground that we heard was 4 miles further. By noon we had hiked over that, with no shade or campground in sight. Finally we stopped, set up the tarp and made shade. Three other humans joined us, taking up every inch of available shelter. By 3:30 we we're hiking again and made the last couple miles down to Cibbits campground.

Day 4 we woke up equally early and began hiking in the dark. Watching the sunrise as we began climbing mount Laguna was an excellent way to start the day. By 11 we hit the town, the first re-supply for many hikers. A town of 60 people, Mount Laguna also supports an outfitter where many dissaatified hikers buy more gear. As the next nine miles are off limits for camping, we will sleep here tonight and push off for a longer day tomorrow.

 Cheers from the trail!
Andy & Amanda

Cross Country Beginnings

The time has arrived. Hundreds of pounds of food, months of constantly dehydrating, planning, and organizing have led up to this. Tomorrow we set out on the 2,600 mile walk that will take us from Mexico to Canada. We've re-packed everything a dozen times, argued over what was needed and what wasn't. Soon we'll figure out the hard way. With a fully loaded pack, stocked with food for 10+ days, water and fuel, my pack comes in at around 70lb, Amanda's at 55lb. Together we carry around 40lb of food, 12 litres of water. We could carry less, if we planned to re-supply more frequently, but we've opted for 10 day / 200 mile intervals. While 20 miles a day may seem ambitious, hiking will soon become our primary form of entertainment, a way to pass the long days. With this in mind, we hope to achieve 20 mile days by the end of our second week.

We will be updating our blog on a regular basis, but we also greatly anticipate the solitude of the Sierra's. With this in mind, updates may be sparse at times, but it should only indicate that we are in the great company of pinacles and canyons, rivers and deserts. We will also be carrying a satellite beacon which will upload our current position to a live and public map. The link can be found on the right hand side of our blog. Feel free to leave comments along the way, they are always welcome as this will be one of our only means of communication with life off of the trail. I hope you enjoy everything to come as much as we do.

Cheers!
Andy & Amanda