The Send Off
One of the best parts of preparing for any endurance activity is the bulking period just before you begin. My first trail angels and gracious hosts Alex & Mery were up to the challenge of feeding my insatiable hunger at their Santa Barbara casita in the days leading up to the trip. We feasted on local corn, clams, trout, and other goodies from the farmers market.
Alex and I were able to get out for a few hikes & mountain biking trips to stay loose. We were even greeted by a couple C-class transport planes flying at just a few thousand feet.
On Friday morning it was time to get on the train and head south. Amtrak didn’t make it easy of course, cancelling the second half of my train and making this a car to train to bus to another train to another car trip down to the southern terminus near Campo, CA. Waiting for me in San Diego was trail angel #2, my friend and former Divvy colleague, Jacqueline, who was kind enough to drive me to a campsite right near the border.
On day 0 my weights were:
Base weight - 15 pounds (not great, a few pounds above average)
Food weight - 15 pounds (way too much, probably could have kept this under 5)
Water weight - 4.4 pounds (2 liters to start)
At a total carry out weight of nearly 35 pounds I was above where I wanted to be but within reason. In practice, it felt like less than you’d expect just picking the bag up but along more than you’d like to have on your back with thousands of miles ahead.
Section A - Campo to Warner Springs
Day 1 started at around 5 am with a film crew taking footage of us breaking down camp and conducted a few interviews. After a nice pancake breakfast I joined a few new friends and went back to the terminus. I took some time at the border, trying to internalize the enormity of what lie ahead while simultaneously reminding myself to take it step by step, living as presently as possible. After a few minutes of setting my intention for this trip I turned around and set out north.
The first few days were spent in Cleveland National Forest, where the 40 degree temperatures, constant rain, and 30+ MPH gusts presented early challenges to both my gear and mental fortitude. While the thick fog took away most of the good view spots it also kept us cool during some of the largest climbs in this section.
Once past Mt. Laguna, we entered Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which included cacti, joshua trees, hares, quail, rattlesnakes, and sweeping views reminiscent of the Grand Canyon. The water carries in this section could be long at 20+ miles between sources.
The people have been incredible thus far. The hikers run the gamut in age, gender, race, origin, and profession. Even with all of the diversity everyone really feels like a peer, where you are constantly meeting and passing folks throughout the day. I’ve made international friends from England, Hungary, Denmark, Japan, Taiwan, and the Netherlands. Domestically, most people hail from California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Michigan. Nobody from Florida or New York yet!
Among the most impressive has been the sizable contingent of recent retirees in their 50s and 60s meeting or even exceeding the pace of those in their 20s and 30s.
Adjusting to life on the trail has been relatively easy. I’m sleeping far better than expected, save for a few storm or animal interruptions during the night. The dehydrated meals are tastier and water higher quality than I would have thought. What I didn’t anticipate was the emotional intensity on a daily basis. At least once per day, I’ve nearly been overcome with emotion at the beauty and gravity of what we’ve all set out to do. At the same time, persistent foot pain and less than desirable conditions have caused some serious soul searching. Not only have the depth of the troughs and height of the peaks been eye opening, but the speed with which you can oscillate between them.
After passing through the gold rush town of Julian for a quick resupply, we pushed over a small pass and then through eight miles of meadow into the small town of Warner Springs. On the way in we passed the 100 mile mark, a California poppy superbloom, and Eagle Rock, a spiritual site of the native peoples in this region.
With that we concluded section A of the Pacific Crest Trail. One down, twenty-eight to go!
By the numbers
What I’m Reading
One of the joys of this trip is the ability to consume incredible quantities of media. Given I’m spending most of my days on my feet I’ve been leaning into podcasts and audiobooks, but also have my kindle for evenings and rest days.
I’m trying to blend both a selection of new stories with ones I’ve always loved and wanted to revisit. Here is a list of all the books I’ve enjoyed over the past couple weeks:
“Wild” by Cheryl Strayed - Obvious intent here, one of the initial inspirations for my trek and thousands of others. While some of the absurdity of her trip was more difficult to get through this time around I loved the hiking passages.
“The Bowl of Light” by Hank Wessleman - Still my favorite book of all time, first given to me by one of my spiritual mentors Giselle Kovac, it catalogues the interactions of an American anthropologist with one of the final Hawaiian shamans who would have likely been the king of Hawaii had it maintained independence. Regardless of your spirituality I highly recommend it as a mere alternative perspective on life itself.
“The Long Walk” by Slawomir Rawicz - A memoir recounting a 4,000 mile journey after escaping from a Soviet work camp in northern Siberia (roughly 300 miles from the arctic circle), through Russia, Mongolia, the Gobi desert, Tibet, and finally over the Himalayan mountains into India. Helpful perspective on the relative difficulties of my trek given I will have food, supplies, technology, and am not an enemy of the state during the journey!
“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho - This came recommended to me by at least 4 people in the lead up to my departure. It was helpful in setting my intention for the trip.
“Travels with Charlie” by John Steinbeck - One that’s always been on the list and just felt appropriate for the moment. I enjoyed it so much, particularly his early warnings about cultural shifts that have come true, that I listened to it twice in one day.
“Desert Solitaire” by Edward Abbey - A book that was recommended to me by fellow hikers for this initial desert section. A story of Abbey’s time as a park ranger in Arches National Park in the early 1960s. Irreverent and impactful.
Ask me Anything
I’ve gotten lots of questions from everyone throughout this process. I’d love to keep that tradition going! Feel free to leave questions as comments, direct messages, text messages, etc. and I’ll do my best to answer them here.
As they always said in school, if you have a question, ask it because someone else likely has the same one!
Much love always,
Connor
It is no surprise that your journey is off to a booming start!! All of these photos, videos, descriptions and updates are incredible! Seems like you’re already finding yourself in the nature and taking in every ounce of the experience. However, I really think you could read some more books - only 6 so far?! Expecting at least a dozen in the next update!! Haha - love you miss you keep killing it Cocobean! ❤️❤️
THIS IS SO SICKK WERE SO PROUD OF U!! 🫶🫶