Greetings! I am in Idylwild, CA, taking a half-day. I walked 11 miles into town today and had a huge lunch, ice cream, and will have pizza tonight. Tomorrow morning I head up San Jacinto Mt. (9,000 ft) with a few fellow PCTers. We are at mile 180 right now.
I don't have much time, but I just wanted to say that I am alive and doing well! Only a couple blisters, and they're drained and painless. I have been walking 20-25 miles each day. The first 100 were in the very HOT desert and I ran into 7 rattlesnakes, two of which looked as if they were about to strike. My mom walked with me the first day and my sister Kelsey walked with me until mile 52. This last weekend I caught a ride back to Lake Morena for the Annual Day Zero PCT Kick Off, with hundreds of other current, past, and future hikers. It was a fun event with instructional talks, gear for sale, good food, and videos. It was nice to meet the other members of the class of 2009. I am in a group of about 6 right now. There was a group of 20 of us just after the kick off but I seem to get a little bit ahead of the crowd and mix in with different groups. I have made many friends. Most of them have trail names like: Miner, Skipper, D2, Gingersnap, Ice Axe, and whatnot. I still rename trailnameless. I am holding out for a good story.
I have also maintained my reputation for carrying things I don't need. All PCTers are insanely Ultralight and I have been making fun of them and they have been making fun of me. I think i may eventually move to the dark side. I am ordering a lighter stove.
The section we are in now reminds me of the Sierra. I never realized how gorgeous southern california is. I will update again when I can!
