18th April 2025

It rained last night, and the tent had been poorly pictched on a slope meaning our sleeping bags and mats got wet. It wasn’t the best start to the day but things quickly improved with some breakfast, coffee and company. 

Again I find myself thinking how I’ve underestimated the beauty of the desert. We ascended up through the canyon, the rocks became red, contrasting with thick green vegetation surrounding the path.

On reaching Lake Morena we stumbled upon our first lot of trail magic. Patty stood in front of her RV having set up chairs spaced around a fire, a table full of snacks, and a coffee and soup station. I helped myself to coffee and a packet of crisps overwhelmed by her generosity. It was her first time offering trail magic and she and her cat, Honey, absolutely nailed it. Trail magic was something I knew would happen, but happening so soon on our trek came as a surprise and I felt so well cared for by a stranger. 

We spent far longer here than intended. We walked to The Malt Shop for some lunch sitting in a leather bound booth enjoying easy conversation and a tuna melt before leaving Lake Morena. As we left the grey skies finally let loose and continued their weeping way into the evening.

The walk from here to Boulder Oaks passed relatively quickly. We got into a flow and soon found ourselves at camp; cold and wet, but feeling well in our bodies. We decided to camp here as there was piped water, compost toilets and designated fire pits. What more could you want? As other hikers trickled in they too joined us. With the help of a Cool Ranch Dorito, Last Strap was able to start a fire despite the continued drizzle and that’s how we spent the evening; huddled around the fire pit.

It was going to be a cold night, hitting below freezing and we hadn’t been able to dry out our sleeping bags due to the continuous rain. At around 7:30pm it stopped and we held up our bags to the fire to finally dry them. We feel very lucky to be staying somewhere with a fire pit to have dried our sleeping bags, otherwise we could have been at risk of hypothermia. There’s a popular saying among hikers that “the trail provides”. But I wonder if it’s more like the trail forces a person seek opportunities available. 

Despite the unexpected weather we’re loving it out here, caught up in the challenges and the people we’re meeting. Today we camp at mile 26.2. What a beautiful thing; we are 1% of our way through the PCT and that is both significant and insignificant in equal measure.