Intro to Southern California

Well I'm now 111 miles into my thru-hike and couldn't feel better. This morning I made my way into Warner Springs very excited for the long anticipated dip in the pools at the Warner Springs Resort, a nice shower and a night in a bed. I stopped into the post office to pick up my resupply and ask what time the resort opens. "Didn't you hear? The resort has been closed since Jan 1st." Apparently I was one of the only hikers who didn't get the memo.

However my lost zero day turned into an enjoyable half-zero. The postman offered me a ride to the Warner Springs Community Center where they have set up a great little shelter for hikers. I got to clean up a bit, grab breakfast and lunch and send my first post from the trail

5 Words to Describe Southern California

Yup, this is the desert alright. 

1) Dry: Alright no big surprise here, but this first week has give me an new definition of the word dry. Southern California dry just sucks any moisture off you leaving only dirt and salt behind. Its a dry that when you wake up there is no dew but instead my hammock and tarp crinkle as I fold them. A dry that sucks the life out of unsuspecting bushing, then it sucks out any last ounce of water, and if that wasn't enough, the sun finally sucks out any pigment left bleaching the wood dry. I started a fire in a fire pit one night and it was terrifying how quickly everything set a blaze. I would certainly never dream of starting a campfire outside of a fire ring and have a whole new respect for the forest fires you hear about in out west.

My legs before my first shower...

...and after!

2) Dirty: Dirt is everywhere. It penetrates every article of clothing covering you body in a constant layer of filth. I like to call this my desert skin. My desert skin consists of three elements; sunscreen, dirt and sweat. You see, every morning and afternoon I put on a layer of sunscreen. As I hike that sunscreen picks up all of the dirt. Then my sweat blends it all together into a wonderful sticky layer of desert skin. The best is when I go to eat and throw some hand sanitizer on my hands which basically just moves everything around. I'm sure I've already eaten at least a cupful of dirt by now. After day three though I accepted the fact that I will forever be dirty and accepted it as my new life on the PCT.

Along the trail from Campo to Warner Springs

3) Colorful: There are so many colors out here and many that you really don't see anywhere else. First are all the beautiful wildflowers in chaparral (the not quite desert ecosystem consisting of small shrubs). Then you get into the desert and see all the cacti in full bloom along with their alien cousins. Literally some of these plants look like they just do not belong on Earth.(I may or may not have yelled at some of them in the heat of the day to go back to their home planet). You also have the grasslands which have all shades of yellow and gold with some flecks of blue and purple too. Finally the rocks have so many shades of white, orange, red and brown and are constantly changing with the sun. Southern California has certainly impressed me.

Almost stepped on this little guy!

4) Alive: There are so many critters out here always scurrying across the path. I've see hawks, lizards, woodpeckers, beetles, snakes, rabbits, chipmunks, quail, rattlesnakes, and hummingbirds galore. I find it amazing how much diversity and life there is in this hostile environment. Best is when I am taking my afternoon siesta and just lying in my hammock by a watering hole watching all the birds fly around.

5) Temperature-flux: This is one of those things that I used to pride myself in elementary school for knowing that at night the desert actually gets quite cold. Well you don't understand the significance of this fact until you get out here. It is astounding how some mornings I wake up shivering in long-sleeves then just 5 hours later am dying from the heat in my sleeveless shirt. My rule of thumb is once the sun reaches 45 degrees in the sky it is no longer fun to be out hiking in the heat. I have also been taking advantage of evening and morning hiking which doesn't require as much water or exhaustion.

Me testing out my sun umbrella. It's really hot!