I awake, it’s 2 am and I can hear two hikers bussying around camp. I can’t quite tell if they’re leaving or arriving? How late did they start? And 2 am, why? I try to doze back to sleep unsuccessfully.
The sun starts to shimmer through the branches onto my tent. I’m getting better at pitching it! It’s very cozy.

I pack up in 15min and am out by 6:40. It’s a 5 mile climb up to lake Morena. Switch backs for breakfast.

I start to see other hikers! 8 so far. We leapfrog each other all the way up to the lake.

   
 

There’s water and showers at the lake campground. I get super excited about the showers but realize I need 50 cents….I don’t have any quarters. Sad. Only after I’m all ready to leave does another hiker walk past with coffee and point me to the general store. I can get change there!

I hike out of the campground with 3litters of water. I search for cell service to call Doug.

I find one bar on some tall rocks! Two hikers walk by and I knowtice they’re carying a lot more water than me…. Everything on the first section of the pct revolves around water. There isn’t much of it. I start to feel insecure about my reading of the water report (a crowd sorced webpage of the most up to date water information). Did it change since I last saw it? I check with my one bar of service…. No it’s the same… I decide it’s okay to push on to the next sorce with just the 3 litters.

The air is hot. The grass looks green but I can smell it baking in the sun.

I can feel some blisters forming on the bottom of my feet. I stop to tape them, hoping to keep them from getting worse. The dust fills my shoes. My feet look like I’ve been walking barefoot. I try to clean them to get the blister tape to stick.

I find an empty smart water bottle on the side of the trail. ‘Someone will probably want this,’ I think as I stash it safely in my pack.

I pass under a bridge and walk a long some feilds.

I come across a spring! To drink, or not to drink… That is the only question.

There’s an active spigot up the trail (according to the water report) so I pass on this water source.

I get to the spigot location and turn to see at least 12 other hikers! All huddled under  the shade of one tree. Yep, this must be where the good water is.

I join them and paint a little.

I can feel myself getting too comfy so I don’t stay long. (I like to get where I’m going, then relax). I refil my water and remember the lost smart water bottle. I hold it up,
“Did anyone lose a-”

“Me!” A hiker holds out his hands and everyone laughs.

Water. It’s super important.

I leave feeling good. And then the trail starts to gain elevation. The sun hangs high in the sky and the trees hang anywhere but over the trail. It’s super hot. I drink my water really fast. Now’s a good time to use my hiking umbrella. After some fiddling I get it to sit just right. Hooray for hiking in a patch of moving shade! Totally worth it’s weight.

I enjoy the interesting rock formations and plant life. Wish I had more time to paint but I want to get to the next water source.

The sun starts to hang low so I put the umbrella away. I catch up to another hiker named Faraday and we hike down a road to the next camp site and water source, Cribbets flat. We spot some… interesting signs along the way.

Camped out for night #2!

17.81 miles hiked today.