PCT Day 1: Campo to Lake Morena-feeling fresh

We dropped flipper off in a seedy part of town in Indio, CA. We spent the better part of a day getting a tow and mechanic arranged. From Indio we hit the open road south to the border. I drove my dads Jeep which is essentially an off road vehicle with over sized tires. But times are tough so we hummed our way to Lake Morena where we had full hookups for our tent. As the temperature dipped to almost freezing we were glad we had an electric blanket. Well my dad was glad. 
We woke up early Tuesday morning to get to our new job! Walking, sounds easy enough! We’ve already set a bad example by being no shows the first day, so we better be on our best behavior. We met a few of our new coworkers at the southern terminus just before 8am. Some seem a little more excited than we were, even giddy. Maybe we missed a memo. We took our mandatory southern termnius photo and set off in a northerly direction. 

Soon after starting I hear, “shoot I forgot my poles.” Matt ran back grabbed his poles and then we were off again. The first few miles were unnoteworthy as the trail winded around the town of Campo. After our 30 minute lunch break Matt remarked that the trail seemed a bit boring. Then I hear a rattle and screams from Matt as he jumped back towards me. A large angry rattlesnack made its presence known. Naturally I wanted to get a picture. As I creeped forward Matt yells, “don’t f*!k around that snake means business.” Well I hope Matt is happy because I didn’t get a good picture. This snake was pretty big too probably 4 feet long with a rattler the size of cliff bar. The rattlesnake certainly made the trail a bit more exciting as Matt proceeded to baby step his way down the trail.

Treading lightly after his rattlesnake moment

We made our way up and down the ridges and canyons and after 20 miles and 9 hours our work day was over.

A succulent for Carrie

The view down to Lake Morena