PCT Campo to Scissors Crossing

April 1999---  87 miles

Friday April 9th
It is 8 a.m. at the Monument in Campo Calif. The start of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican Border to Manning Park in B.C. Canada 2650 miles.

Here I meet my hiking partners for the first time, Gary Brambaugh and his friend of 20 years named Lon. I met Gary on the Internet and from the PCT forum, He is doing the entire trail “as a Through Hiker” someday I would like to be doing this for five or six months. Lon will be with us for the first two sections. 

They were driven to the monument by Gary's cousin Pat Forsberg and her friend Bonnie. Greg had driven me down from Yuma. Another cousin named Don and his wife will do our re-supply of food and misc. for the next 300 miles. I turned over my food boxes and my drift box to Pat who will in turn give it to Don.

We took our pictures at the Monument and kicked the border fence, it is solid to the ground and about twelve feet high and barbed wire on the top. We said our good-byes and started hiking. I am really excited and can relate to my good friend Fr. Andrews’s feelings about being here.

 Gary is 62 years old and has just retired, he is from Albany Oregon and this "through hike" has been a dream for many years. Lon is 51 and has strong legs. They both have a great sense of humor. Gary and Don have all the latest equipment. They both have cell phones and GPS . Gary has a small hand held computer and also an altimeter on his watch. He can type in an Email and send it over his cell phone. He can also receive emails. He has a condensed version of the PCT trail that I was not aware of. I feel I am in very good hands. We have hit it off just great.  

My pack is way to heavy for me and I am struggling with it. We only did twelve miles the first day. But all of us were struggling not just me. We were in bed at six-thirty p.m. It was really cold by the time we went to bed. I have cramps in my legs and don’t dare to move them. We put the tents up on the trail leaving just enough room for hikers or illegal aliens to pass by if they should come. Gary said two went by in the night, I did not hear them. We have seen no one on the trail today.   

Saturday April 10th
Wow, it was cold last night. Gary said it was twenty degrees during the night. I needed another person in the tent to keep the warmth in. We had ice all over the fly and my tent was damp inside. Last night it took me awhile to get to sleep, my legs and feet were really cold and cramping up. I woke up this morning warm but it was not a good night. Gary and Lon snore really loud. I think I will put my tent a little further away tonight.

We are now at Lake Morena Campground and will spend the night here. We have only done 11 miles today. Gary’s feet have been hurting , so he phoned the cousin Don and he came this afternoon and brought Gary's drift box with his other boots. I unloaded about five lbs. from my pack and I still feel it is too heavy for me. The climb up to Lake Morena was a struggle with the Pack, it was very hot. 

The cousins seem nice, Don brought his wife with him and at four p.m. we all went up the road to a restaurant. Hamburger and Fries and it tasted good. Gary says we are going there tomorrow at six a.m. for a good breakfast before we leave. We had a pleasant time around our neighbor’s campfire and they shared their beer with us. We were in bed about eight p.m.   

Sunday April 11th 
We are up at 5.45a.m. then walked the quarter of a mile for the big breakfast. I had a great sleep, and did not have any cramps in the legs. I slept for six hours straight and then cuddled down for the balance. I feel good this morning.  

We left Lake Morena campground at Eight a.m. Hiking to Bolder Oaks we crossed the creek four times, lots of water. At Bolder Oaks we found the store to be closed, but the water tap was still turned on so we loaded up as we had a long dry climb ahead.

We did not go very many miles today we have only done ten. Gary has decided we should drop down off the trail to Kitchen Creek. The next water is many miles away. Lon has really sore feet and Gary’s feet are much better since he got his other boots. My pack felt a lot better, but I am still trying to figure how I can get it down even further, like another five pounds. The weather has been great today and we hiked in shorts and T-shirts. I could have made it to Fred’s Canyon but Gary is very considerate. So he made the decision (because of Lon's feet) to stop here.

 Lon and Gary are two great guys and I am in good hands. I enjoy them. We had a cocktail hour tonight. They had booze called “Everclear” you can only buy it in certain states. It is 190 proof 95% Alcohol. They mix it with Kool-Aid. They said they could burn it in their stove if they ran low of fuel. Wonder what it will do to my stomach. 

I am really in good spirits today. I hiked well. Our tents were sopping wet from last night so have mine hanging up in the wind to dry out. My tent is dry now and it is getting very cold. A big storm is suppose to come in tonight and dump six–twelve inches of snow at Mt. Laguna. Gary gets an up-dated  weather forecast from a son in law each day. It is only five-thirty but is really getting cold. We have finished dinner and I am getting into my sleeping bag in the tent. The guys have done the same thing. Sure hope the rain and snow will miss us.   

Monday April 12th 
We are up at Eight a.m. I did not sleep well last night. I was cold in my sleeping bag when I went in the tent and I think I hugged myself too tight and rigid. I went to sleep at about eight p.m. when it started to rain. The wind was bitterly cold and it rained all night. I woke up at ten-thirty p.m. I am warm now, but I woke up every two hours and my body just hurts everywhere. 

It stopped raining about seven a.m. and we packed up the wet tents and took off. There is no wind now and it is blue sky also no snow fell on us. We climbed most of the day. We hiked for about two hours in shorts then the cold wind came up and the sky clouded over.

I changed into full Gortex, hat and gloves. Later on I stopped and put on Patagonia long underwear. Somewhere along the way I have lost my water shoes. I think it was from being in and out of my pack so much. What a dumb thing to do as they were also my camp shoes.   

We are hiking in a snowstorm with a very bitter wind and at 5000ft we hit the snow on the trail and lots of snow fell during the past two - three hours. We had to posthole which is really tiring so we took turns leading. I think for at least the last mile or even a little further, there was no evidence of a trail, or any markers. But we did find cross-country skiers tracks, which led us out to the road and to Burnt Ranchero Campground. 

From here we walked the road to the Mt. Laguna complex. We rented two cabins. I I had frozen feet, so I got in the bathtub for about an hour until I got warm. Then I went right into a soft bed and I am toasty warm.  Gary says as of  to-day we are only two miles behind schedule.

Tuesday April 18th   
I had a great sleep. We did not leave Laguna until nine-thirty a.m. I picked up my parcel and sent some of the food back. Also sent two letters from the Post office. One to Cathy and to Fr. Andrew. I had a letter waiting for me from Simeon, bless his heart. It was in the day’s mail the postmistress was sorting in her hand. She came running after us and gave it too me. Gary has made the decision to keep us out of the snow. We should normally have got back on the trail and climbed another 200 feet and then come back down in the snow. Instead we walked down the road for two and one half miles and picked up the trail there.

 We did not hike in any snow this way. My feet are really sore on the balls of the feet. The pavement was hard on my feet. I have no problem going up the hills but they are really starting to hurt going down the hills. Gary made the right decision and we did not have to posthole. My pack has five days of food in it now.

The walking was good for me and it seems to be getting easier. I started to look around today. We made it to Pioneer Mail Campground by two-thirty p.m. The cousins had stashed three gallons of water here for us. The Campground water was not turned on yet. We did see a trail crew working on the trail. These people do a fantastic job and without them there would be no trail to hike.

We decided to have our big meal here on the picnic table. Then we walked another two to three miles. Each of us carried another gallon of water. That was really a heavy pack for me. But I did it. We dry camped in the bushes and I am really tired. We have done over fourteen miles to-day. We had our cocktails, we call it “Our Stuff”, and was in bed by six-thirty p.m. 

Wednesday, April 14th 
A high-pressure system has moved in and the weather looks great. I woke up at six a.m. and sweet birds are singing. We were on the way by seven-fifteen a.m. It is still blue sky and we are walking through very prickly bushes. In a couple of hours we should be in Chariot canyon. It is warm out. We have camped early today two-thirty p.m. and are under a big Oak tree by a creek with No water. We packed water from a storage tank at the Chariot Canyon road. Then we came down a long thread. It is about Eighty degrees and hot going in the Canyon. I am packing one and half gallons of water now. The pack is heavy. Somewhere around here I think Fr. Andrew spent his fifth night.

 No one is really anxious to do anything in the heat of the day. My feet are becoming a disaster, blisters on the balls of the feet and on the big toes and I have open sores all the way across my foot from a rubbing in the shoe. We have tried to soften that with masking tape. I am taping the feet all over and then it seems another blister will appear at the end of the taping. 

We are relaxing, Lon is lying down and Gary is sending a message on his email. These two men are fun for me. They tease a lot but also watch out for me. I told them I have a couple of good friends who happen to be Priests. Well that started the questions. These two claim to not have any religion. I was definitely not sermonizing, just answering their questions very briefly. There is a prayer I just love and it says “Let Jesus shine through me and my actions and not my words”. Well now I have a new name, I have been elevated to “Our Lady of the Hike”. Lon says he just might get to heaven on my coat tails. 

I seem to be getting stronger and the pack is a bitch but is a doable bitch ( I think). It is becoming party of me now. My body does not hurt so much and now I just have to get these feet working. I am going to sleep out tonight beside Gary. Lon is going to put up his tent. They both snore real loud and I am told I am not so quiet either, especially when I am on my back. We will see how I do. Gary has a PocketMail.com computer but unless you are always by a phone you also need a cell phone. Because of the hot weather today we started looking for snakes. 

Thursday April 15th 
I can hardly wait to tell Fr. Andrew about my sleeping out. I made myself like a mummy and had one peek hole out of my sleeping bag. One hour later I was dying of the heat, so proceeded to take off all the extra clothes. Well the coyotes were howling and the owls were hooting, we were pelted by acorns from an animal up in the tree. The two guys were snoring loudly.   I eventually did go to sleep.

My feet are really sore now. I have bandaged them up, we were on our way at six-forty a.m. I am changing my socks every hour as they are wet. More and more blisters are appearing each time I change the socks. We are hiking in 100-degree weather and my feet are bloody. What a mess and so sore. After four hours of hiking I have made the decision to go off the trail, I cannot continue, I am actually hobbling. I cried a little and am really sad. My body has become fit but my feet have let me down. Have accepted the decision. Gary has called the cousins to come get me. At Scissors Crossing. 

I then had to get a mind set as we still have another ten or so miles to go. I got the mindset and never took my shoes off until we got to Scissors crossing and I only stopped once very briefly for something to eat and drink. It was terribly hot and it seemed like we would never get there as we could see the crossing from many miles back. The trail had to detour around some private property. The cousins came to get me and then I took off my shoes. My feet have swollen up to twice their size and I cannot walk on them. It had to be the non-breathable shoes in the heat. Oh do I wish I had my old shoes. Have done 87 miles.

I am now at a motel in El Cajon and I have phoned Greg and he will come and get me in the morning. I have accepted it is just not my time to be on the trail, disappointment and tears follow. But, I will get back on the trail when I come to Yuma next Spring. I have managed to sit on the edge of the tub and soak my feet and sponge off my dirty body. I did not realize just how dirty and dusty I am and also very sunburned. I cannot manage the hair just yet. 

Friday April 16 
 I slept really well in the motel bed, however I still cannot walk properly, just a bit on my heels. No “San Felipe Hills” for me today. Am still a little sad, cried a wee bit more. Maybe it’s just my own ego that is bruised. I don’t want to feel like a quitter. It must be my own expectations.. So, being practical and knowing I can barely walk. What the heck….another adventure to morrow. Greg came for me.