Date: 5/18/2023
Section: Mile post 7.7 to 20.0
Distance: 12.3 Miles
Moving Time: 6.04 hrs
Elevation Gain: 2,480 ft
Click here for location
We were up at 3 am true to our promise to begin today with an alpine style start. The heat of yesterday had enforced a need to try and finish up around noon and we were committed to making it happen. We decided not to cook, both wanting to make the most of the precious cool breeze all around us, but instead ate some trail mix. After the tent was put away and we had convinced ourselves that nothing was left behind we started our Stravas and were off.
The red blinking lights of far off wind turbines could be seen in the distance as we made our way along the ridge we had stopped on the day before. After about 10 minutes the trail began to switchback up to a saddle above the campsite. We slowed a little due to the rocky nature of the trail in this section but were brought to the saddle after about 20 minutes of climbing. From here the trail traveled out onto a broad plateau and the trail became flatter. Amanda and I accelerated as we passed the end point we were meant to get to the day before. Sections of wet trail suggested a spring or some other water source above but we were still okay for water so we continued on. At one of these damp sections Amanda suddenly stopped and pointed. In the middle of the damp section of trail a tiny Flammulated Owl sat looking back at us - it’s big eyes studying our two forms in the dark. After a while we moved closer and it flew off allowing us to continue on the trail.
After the owl encounter the trail turned due north and continued for another 2 miles before turning west as the Hauser Creek canyon took shape below. At 5:45 the sun started to light the sky and the birds began to sing. This is my favorite part of the day - the world is waking up and everything transitions from incredibly still to sudden activity. Just as we neared the end of the valley run and began to work on the set of large switchbacks that would deliver us down into Hauser creek, John (Long Trail) caught up to us. We chatted for a while and he said that he had heard us go by but wanted to sleep a little longer. We smiled and wished him luck and that maybe we would see him at the Lake Morena store later. The trail dropped off the first switchback to a road and followed the road for the duration of the second switchback before transitioning back to a single-track trail. The first whisps of heat were starting to come through and Amanda and I looked at each other nervously.
30 minutes or so of descent brought us into a shady section of trail at the valley with many campsites. “I bet this is where most of our cohort stayed last night,” I said to Amanda. A little further on and we found Hauser creek where we stopped for a much needed break and some water. Fighting off hordes of biting flies I took a quick dip in the creek and then pumped a few liters of water for each of us. We sat and relaxed for a time before donning our sun shirts and begrudgingly shouldering our packs, the long climb of the day before us.
From the creek we crossed a road and then started climbing, the day’s temperature making a slow but sure rise with us. As we climbed blue-belly and alligator lizards frantically ran out of our way, seeming to always be caught surprised by our approach. About 15 minutes into the climb I led us around a corner and stopped dead in my tracks as something much larger than a lizard slithered off the track. This motion was followed quickly by a medium pitched buzzing sound from the snake which quickly identified it as a rattlesnake. Later on we better identified it as a Western Diamond-back rattlesnake. Despite initially moving a short distance off the trail the snake didn’t seem to be interested in going much farther. I eyed the embankment on the opposite side which was not going to allow us room to bypass the snake. It was a standoff. We waited for about 10 minutes, throwing objects in the snakes area and stomping up close to it to see if it would move to no avail. Finally, Amanda began drumming the ground with her trekking poles as we approached which, for some reason, was the magic ticket. The snake warily made its way into the underbrush clearing our path forward.
It was only about 5 minutes later that, our nerves ratcheted to 11, we rounded the trail to encounter another snake. This one was also lazy but appeared to be non-venomous. Not wanting to take chances I gently encouraged what we later found was a California Racer off the trail so that we could continue. We never really got comfortable the rest of the day - every rustle in the bushes brought screams and sudden recoiling but that was the last snake we saw - only lizards. In addition to the 2 snakes we also saw several horned lizards which I stopped to call-out every time I saw a new one.
The climb continued and eventually flattened out as the path turned east and then north, meandering around a series of small stone hills. It was at this point that Amanda and I were both feeling pretty done with the day. This always seems to be the case - we always find ourselves feeling like it’s the end 1-2 miles before it actually is. The day had come up to temperature and I was thankful that we had at least finished the climb. Just as the heat was really starting to slow us down the path began to descend bringing us closer and closer to Lake Morena. Eventually, we were dumped out on flat ground in the vicinity of the Lake Morena State Park which we found to be highly accommodating to PCT hikers.
Once in the park, I talked to a ranger who kindly directed me to the far side of the park where a special PCT area had been set up. “You are welcome to stay as long as you like, even overnight. Just let me know if you want an actual site and I can get you hooked up.” We thanked him and walked over, breathing a collective sigh of relief to be dropping our packs and freeing our feet. “You wanna do the last ⅓ mile out to the other campground?” I asked Amanda. “Nope” is all she said back. “Sounds good - we’ll tack it on tomorrow,” I replied. A donation box for PCT hikers had been left in the gazebo nearby and we found and cooked a box of macaroni and cheese. Clouds were moving and there were expected to be some late afternoon thunderstorms but for the moment, we were just happy to have a reprieve from the sun and a chance to let our nerves cool off after an exciting day.
Sound on!
