A perfect first day, a wet first night.
Hey y’all! I’m finally writing about our first day on The Pacific Crest Trail! It took me so long because it was so wonderful that I didn’t have the words to give it the justice it deserves. I still don’t. But at some point you just gotta go for it.
Our day started at the butt crack of dawn. We quickly packed up our San Diego hotel room, equally eager for complimentary breakfast and our first day on the trail. After breakfast we hiked our giddy bums to the trolley station where we hopped aboard our ride to El Cajon Transit Center. We met another thru-hiker in El Cajon - David - who was waiting for the same bus as we were. He’s one of those ultralight guys… a single trekking pole, no tent. Yeah for real - no tent! He was a cool dude, we’re bummed we’ll probably never see him again. He’ll be in Canada before we’re even out of California.
Together, the three of us boarded our bus that would take us to the start of the trail at the border of Mexico and the U.S. in Campo, CA. That bus ride turned into two of the most entertaining and heartwarming hours of our lives. We were warmly welcomed by Kerry, the bus driver, as soon as we stepped aboard. The best way I can describe Kerry is Santa Claus, a shrink, and a convict all combined. He radiates jolly energy. He makes every single person he interacts with feel like they’re important, he makes them believe they matter. But he’s rough around the edges. He spent 25 years in prison - it was supposed to be a life sentence, but he got out early on good behavior. He says what’s on his mind, and he’ll be the first to tell you if you’re wrong. We only spent two hours with Kerry, but we feel like we’ve known him a lifetime. We wish everybody had the opportunity to meet this legend of a man.
For two hours we watched him greet every single person who stepped on the bus with the same warmth and curiosity that he greeted us with. He knew most of the people along the bus route. After they boarded, they’d take their seats and we’d be on our way, then he’d call them out one by one to catch up and check in on them. One lady told him about how excited she was to go visit her long lost best friend later in the week. Another lady spilled her heart out about her marital issues and told Kerry she plans to file for divorce. The stories go on. Then we stopped to pick up Sallie, an older lady bound to her wheelchair. Kerry lowered the wheelchair ramp then hopped off the bus to push her on and clip her safely into place. The two of them bickered and bantered back and forth, each of them loving every second of it. Sallie finally said “shut the hell up, Kerry. I wanna listen to my music.” She then put her headphones in rocked out for the rest of her ride.
Kerry dropped us off at the Campo bus station around 10:30am. We swung by the post office to send ourselves a small resupply package, and then hiked to the Southern Terminus. There we were met by Fantom, a trail angel and member of the Pacific Crest Trail Association, who welcomed us to the trail and briefed us on a few ground rules. He took our photo at the southern terminus monument, and then we were off!
It was about noon when we took our first steps along the PCT. We were pleasantly shocked by the landscape - lush and mountainous. We were under the impression we were starting in the desert, but turns out that comes a little later down the road. The views were breathtaking, wildflowers were in full bloom, and the weather was perfect for hiking. We met a bunch of other excited hikers. Spirits were high all around!
After 15 miles of humping north, we were hurting and running out of energy. We set up camp close to several other hikers. We chatted with them a bit, then cooked up some dinner - freeze dried cheese enchiladas. Maybe it was the grueling hike we’d just endured, but damn was it tasty! We were on cloud nine.
Right before heading to bed, we stood outside our tent, and in unison said, “Today was perfect”. Immediately after, I stepped towards the tent to turn in for the night and landed my foot right atop a tent stake. The darn thing punctured right through. Luckily I packed half a hospital as a first aid kit. I tended to my wound, then we were off to dreamland. A few hours later I woke up, dazed and confused, thinking I’d been captured by guerrillas who were performing Chinese water torture on me. I got my bearings about me and, to my relief, realized it was just rain. We put the rain tarp on upside down, and the leakage was landing directly on my face. Whew! A quick fix and we were back to sleep.
Day one complete. It was a dream.
We can’t wait to share more trail tails with you soon!
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