Last night I couldn’t manage half my giant pizza, bit woke up with a great hunger so had three more slices before 7am!

In true Hobbit style, we then went to Mom’s Pie House where they give us hikers free pie and a drink, so apple pie and ice cream for second breakfast!

After some shopping we then headed to the edge of town to get a hitch back to Scissors Crossing, took quite a while but ended up with a retired couple, Peter and Jane, who live in Palm Springs in the winter and up in Washington state in the summer.

We, along with about 10 other hikers, sat out the sun under the bridge at Scissors, until about 3pm, then headed for the 1800′ climb.

Got in about 9 miles before sunset, qualifying this as a Nero (near-zero), not a full zero day. It was a bit of a race against sunset to our intended camp spot, this is not Scotland, the sun sets in minutes down here.

Nice windless spot though, loads of stars.

Up early as the rain eased and Freddy and Dimitri had soaking kit. The night was very difficult to sleep in, and the driving rain gave me the odd fine misting of water, making it though the flysheet.

We packed up our gear, got back into our damp clothes and skittled off quite fast to warm up. Thankfully the storm was passing and we progressively got more sun and more heat.

It wasn’t an option for the others to use their tents without a chance to dry out, and would have been unpleasant for me, so we hiked the 17.9 miles through to scissors crossing and hitch to the lovely little town of Julian. Views are stunning in this section.

Took a while to get hitches, ended up in the back of a mini being driven around bendy mountain roads by two women who were probably stoned… Fun times!

Four of us are now in a very steamy, smelly room. The hiker high life.

Most hikers decided to stay put in Mount Laguna to avoid the coming storm. We had a late start after waiting for the General Store to open.

It was Lily’s 26th birthday, but sadly her knee was having problems and she left the trail to heal. We were sad to lose our Hobbit

We foolhardy Europeans kept going, beautiful scenery but the wind was building as the day went on and the rain arrived about 3pm. The rain was moderate but it was consistent and driven by string winds. Welcome to the desert…

I had a smug moment as I pulled out my goretex rain trousers, no-one else had any. We camped in the most sheltered spot we could find, in the rain, and it was a delicate operation trying to keep what needed to be dry, dry.

I succeeded, sleeping bag and nightclothes dry, but most other stuff a bit damp to wet. The others fared less well, with dry bag failures and tents giving way in the wind overnight. Living in Scotland clearly had benefits!

Up before dawn, and out hiking about 30m before sunrise. Hiking nice and easy in this temperature, the aim was to get the climb out of Hauser Canyon over and down with before the heat set in. Water very tight, but doable.

However some kind soul left a water cache just short of (now dry) Hauser Creek, and after a short water dance we gratefully glugged some and took some for the rest of the walk into Lake Morena.

With the water stress gone, the climb out the canyon was straightforward, and we happily went to the Malt Shop for breakfast burritos and plenty of liquid.

We met a local bus Driver, Kerry, a man with a colourful past who took us too his place so we could sit out the worst of the sun in comfort. Much interesting conversation!

We headed out again about 3.30pm for the 6 miles to Boulder Oaks campground to meet Amy and Austin who were doing some trail magic, so that was great.

A decent 16 miles today. We expect the weather to ease off a little soon

Austin drove us to the trailhead nice and early for a few photos at the monument. Unlike last time, there was no wind, and the spirit of Donald Trump was present thanks to the large new border wall!

The early morning walking was pleasant, five miles to the only water source in the first 20, such a contrast to 2019. I think most of us underestimated what was to come, and I certainly carried too little water.

The middle of the day was mid 30’s with intense sunshine, and a real struggle. Many stops were taken in the few shady spots to cool off a little.

Dimitri had a problem with his hip, so we stopped short to allow him to rest before it got any worse and resolved to walk before dawn next day to make the most of the cool. Water situation was such that I had a dry meal to conserve it.

Tough day.

How do I start? Well the flight to Amsterdam and the connection to Las Vegas went smoothly.

We had 1h40m to get to our LA flight. The immigration queue was HUGE. By the time we got to the desk, we were frazzled and had certainly missed our connection, but then…

The computer didn’t work for us. We were shunted off into a room of dodgy characters, shouted at for using our phones, were told to put them away and be quiet or our visas would be revoked.

Welcome to the USA!

Of course they didn’t explain what was happening at all. After over an hour they finally called us up, asked a few inane questions, stamped our passports and off we went.

The KLM reps we’re helpful in sorting out new flights, but first booked us to LA via San Francisco. I rather firmly declined their kind offer (4 flights instead of the original 2, and 24 hours travel time didn’t appeal).

So, in the end, we’re in a motel in Vegas and off to LA direct tomorrow. We were advised we could claim the hotel and compensation totally more than the original cost of the flights, so there’s a bonus!

So, I’m tired, night night, but does turn out I’m the best quizzer on the plane…

Our flight to Amsterdam was cancelled, so now going to Vegas first! Means a delay of 5 hours and an extra flight on a 737 max (wish me luck!)

Also broke my phone screen, so need a new one in the US. All good fun.

I’ve been so late in updating this blog, it turns out that moving out of a flat and renovating a house while working and preparing to hike is a but of a stretch!

Anyhow my PCT permit is for the 25th March, pretty ideal on a year where the snow pack looks to be much less than 2019.

At the start of my 2019 hike, it turned out that leaving my water filter in the aircraft hold was a critical error, leading to it immediately failing. Thankfully the amazing Austin Kindig, who I’d only just met, walked with me and filtered my water until I could get a replacement 100 miles later. A great way to make a friend, and he’s putting Freddy and I up in San Diego next week, and even driving us to the trailhead! He’ll be starting a little later, but he’s young, so will definitely catch me up…

As for kit, I’m using a new site this time: https://packstack.io/pack/2768/pct-2022. A few changes to last time; great new pack from a UK company, AtomPacks, and a less bulky, but hopefully just as warm, sleeping bag.

Now just praying for a negative COVID test.