Mount Laguna! | Days 1 – 4

It has been an incredible first fews days! The desert sun has made the hiking hard and the days long. The views have been stunning and the people we’ve met have been great. Overall, challenging but very rewarding. Landen and I have ended each day exhausted and ready for sleep. A summary of the days below 🙂

Day 1 | Mile 0.4 – 11.4

Woke up to rain on day 1. Since we had camped at CLEEF, we decided to wait out most of the rain until 10:15am before setting out. We walked for about 45 mins in light rain/mist. Passing the mile 1 marker made everything feel very real, more real than at the Terminus.

This initial stretch of desert was different than I was expecting; there is a lot more greenery. We had a few climbs throughout the day but nothing too difficult. The midday sun really beats down on you and there is very little shade coverage. Am I ever glad I have sun gear!

We encountered lots of lizards and I almost stepped on a (non-rattle) snake. We walked to the chorus of birds through most of the day with occasional (& distant) gunfire in the background. We crossed paths with many other hikers and camped with some people from the night before and a new person from Seattle. This night on trail was colder than the first and we all woke up to significant condensation on our tents.

Day 2 | Mile 11.4 – 22.3

Descended into Hauser Canyon and took a break to collect water at the creek. It was a tough climb out; 1300 ft. in about 1.5 miles with full sun exposure. Once we reached the top, we had beautiful views of the canyon and then of Lake Morena. We stopped in Lake Morena for lunch and enjoyed a big burger, fries, and a brew. We hiked another 2.4 miles up to our camp site for the night and had a great view of the valley and lake for sunset.

Sleeping was slightly warmer than the previous night but woke up to even more condensation on the tent and sleeping bag this time.

Day 3 | Mile 22.3 – 36.1

Nearly 14 miles and it was mostly climbing with two small creek crossings – it was difficult. We detoured from the trail to swim in Kennedy (Kitchen?) Creek Waterfall. The waterfall itself was more of a gentle cascade with pools; it felt great to wash off the sand, sweat, and grime from the past few days. The water was ice cold and we collected more to filter for drinking.

After the swim, we hiked another few miles through high noon until about 1:30pm until we came to Kennedy Creek again where there was shade, room for us to dry our gear, and wait out the brunt of the afternoon heat and sun. Once rested, we hiked another ~1200 ft. elevation over 4 miles to camp.

We kept bumping into two women throughout the day when we stopped to swim and for lunch. One was in her 60’s and the other was 74! Pretty badass.

Day 4 | Mile 36.1 – 47.5 | Mount Laguna

We rolled into town around 9am after hiking up a fairly long gradual climb. At the top of the mountain we entered a pine forest that felt out of place. After all of the small shrubbery and vegetation we had seen so far, these big white pines were quite the contrast. The crisp pine smell brought me home. A small hummingbird hovered right in front of us.

In town, we did a small resupply at the general store and I picked up my first supply box from home. Being out here, I would have made some different food choices to include in the box…and I would have cut down the weight significantly. Now I’m carrying far too much food and can’t bring myself to leave some behind. So, plan is to just eat as much as I can to eliminate weight quickly (I had two Uncle Ben’s Bistro expresses for dinner tonight on top of other snacks – that’s 1 lb. gone for tomorrow, woohoo!).

In town, we met more hikers. The variety of people who are on the trail is fascinating and makes for interesting conversations. We had lunch with another hiker from Massachusetts (Bath Time) and had some good laughs.

After lunch we continued on to the Laguna Campground. There were some more long climbs through the midday heat and we overlooked the Colorado Desert (very intimidating). After letting a swarm of bees pass through, we arrived at the campground where they had showers available. My god, did that ever feel great. We wound down the night with some crib, a campfire, and good conversation with a couple we met in town.

A great day!