I had just sat my bag down at a table on the far corner of the patio (so as to not stink up the regular customers) and was walking towards the front door when I heard “Hey dear.” I didn’t think it was meant for me, but when I heard “hey hiker,” I knew I…

Hiking along a sun-soaked hillside full of bushes and rocks. Huh that shape is kind of snake-y. I’d probably use my pole to push it and then Huh what’s that buzzing noise? OH SHIT OH JEEZ OH WOW THATS A RATTLESNAKE. It’s moving. Its coiledish but that’s a rattlesnake head and it’s definitely moving and…

Saw two more rattlesnakes (one a baby) and heard a third today. It’s full eyes and ears open season now; no more walking with both earbuds in. Another good 16 mile day in the books. That kind of seems to be my sweet spot right now, 16-18. I’ll want to speed up further down the…

Pretty chill day! Had just the right amount of water from my dry camp to the next source, and kept a nice pace walking. Despite 9-10 hours of sleep last night, still got a good doze off under the shade of an oak tree for about an hour and a half. I’ve been enjoying how…

My first zero day on the trail! Planned this one in advance, wanted to get a full days rest after the 77 miles to Julian. Maddy had picked me up the night before so I spent the day in San Diego knocking out chores – some I came up with after a my first few…

Oops! Did a little more today than I intended. 18 miles and 2k vertical feet gain never felt so easy. I think it was because the grade was so slight I basically didn’t notice the increase, and I was limiting breaks in the first 14 miles to get to the first water source. Speaking of…

Early start where I had to backtrack a mile for extra water. After a dry camp I wasn’t sure if I could make it eight and a half miles to the next water source – my calf started acting up the last 5ish miles of day four. Fortunately after a brutally steep downhill to start…

Did a full 20 miles and I really feel it. Gonna try to do 17 tmw and get to Julian. Cool to get to 20, let’s see how my legs feel tmw before I decide if it was worth it lol. Saw my first rattlesnake today! It rattled at us and everything. seems like I’m…

13 something miles today and gained 3000 vertical feet. How high does one have to get before one can blame shortness of breath on the elevation rather than asthma or being out of shape? Asking for a friend. Trail looks like a gentle downhill slash flat tomorrow. Met a group of nice hikers this evening…

A day of experimenting with luxury plus photo dump Luxury one: slept in! I thought about getting up at 5ish to try and get on the road at 6 but figured with only ten miles to hike it was worth the extra snooze. 7:15 up and 8 on the trail did just fine. Luxury two:…