15.5 miles 700 D + 700 D –
Here we are.
We’re standing at the foot of the mexican border Wall. The monument is isolated in the middle of dry, dust and barren wasteland. Half an hour earlier, we left CLEEF, where we’d slept the night before, walked south, backwards and uphill on the PCT, to get to the official start.
We are only 4. An American starting solo, who won’t be staying long, a PCTA volunteer checking our PCT and “Fire” permits, and ourselves. It’s a strange moment. We’re under little stress and, above all, unable to grasp what the rest of the adventure will be like. We’ve decided to hike like “vacationers”. The end of the road is so far away that it’s best to stick to our strategy: Step by step, Day by Day. We’ll take stock every evening and adapt accordingly.
After a start, that included photos and a last look south, we were immediately in the mood. Cacti are everywhere, and we come across a harmless snake as early as miles 3. We also quickly sense that we’re going to have to be stubborn. A windless heat accompanies us on the southern slopes. As for the path, it twists and turns, and we hike little “headway”. This PCT is clearly going to be both athletic and mental. At miles 18, we come across a second snake and, more importantly, our first (and probably not last) “rattle snake”. It’s huge, noisy and downright unfriendly. In the hour that followed, Hélène flinched several times. We’re soon “Into the wild”, and it’s impressive and magical. The ravens are “giant”, twice the size of those we usually met in Europe, and the squirrels are the size of chickens. However, even if the Squirrel is magnificent and not very wild, if you’ve got peanuts, we’re still in the American spirit of the PCT, no incitement from the wildlife, just pass and go. Leave no Trace.
We’re off in the right direction, too: a few days earlier, a stressed-out, dizzyPCT rider set off backwards along the border! He was given the TrailName of Wrong Way.
Tonight we’re pretty tired, due to the weight of our packs, the miles we’ve covered and the water we’ve learned to manage. We missed a water supply, so we had to walk 2 h 00 without. We’ll have to be vigilant. At camp, we’ll have to do a minimum of washing by the stream and eat our first meal by headlamp. Not to be repeated too often. Otherwise, we’re with two Franco-Americans, Gabriel and Micha, and a Belgian, Régis, on the CampSite. Well done for immersing us in the rough and tumble of American life. Well, it’s not a bad start to our Trail Trip. Indeed, we’re sometimes puzzled when we talk to some of the locals; their accents are enough to make our eardrums bleed and we can’t understand….anything.
Tomorrow, we’re off to Lake Morena. We hope to be at the Mount Laguna for resupply in two days’ time.
