17th April 2025

The hiker shelter at CLEEF Campground was buzzing with anticipation. We joined a bench of hikers chomping on pancakes and swigging coffee. Today was the day and we all felt the thrill of it. 

We appeared to have brought the English weather with us. Grey and drizzly was not how I envisioned the desert! After another cup of coffee we departed for the Mexico border. Just like that, there was the wall: rusty red, falling and rising with the hills, flashes of green between each pole. In front of it, standing ever so tall was the southern terminus (pictured above): the official start of the PCT and the marker for mile 0. Here we were in the flesh, with nothing but 2650 miles ahead of us to Canada.

The desert was not what I had imagined. Until today, I did not know the desert could bloom. The path rolled through hills splattered with pale smooth rocks. The vegetation was thick with shades of faded green. Flowers provided pops of colour: the most spectacular of which was the California Lilac which made patches of the landscape solid blue and was an absolute pleasure to pass through as they smelled delightful.

We took many breaks, felt every gram of our overpacked bags and enjoyed the views. We had many firsts: first mile marker, first time finding a water source and filtering it, and first time wild camping. We set up tent by Hauser Creek where most of the hikers also decided to camp making it a congested tent spot. So much so a friend had to camp in the road and was disturbed at 3am by a hunter trying to drive past him!

None of today felt real: adjusting from a dream to a reality. All those years of thought and active planning and here we were, still feeling distant from the trail yet we have now covered 15 miles of it. I suspect it’ll slowly sink in over the next few days as we get into a routine. But for now, the priority is sleep and the toads are doing a great job at singing a lullaby.