PCT Blog 2: Lake Morena to Mount Laguna

Ambition Meet Reality

I woke up the morning of Day 2 knowing that I may have bitten off a bit more than I could chew with my challenge hike the day before. My ankle and shoulders were both terribly sore. Add on to that my general tiredness from not yet being adjusted to my tent and I was not exactly a happy camper.

This was quickly remedied with a bacon egg and cheese sandwich from the malt shop however. After a fine breakfast, I went back to camp and quickly packed up my things. A few other hikers were planning on taking a relatively shorter day at 12 miles to Fred Canyon in order to reach Mt. Laguna the following day and shelter out an incoming storm. I didn’t really see the need to get caught up in snow this early either so I decided to follow the same plan.

One of the sunny moments on day 2.

Weather Weather Everywhere

Unfortunately to avoid the big storm, we did have to hike into some smaller weather. As we crossed the valley from Lake Morena to the lower slopes of the Mt. Laguna area, we were hit with alternating blasts of bright sunshine and rain showers. We also got to experience our first two river crossings bigger than stepping over a creek. Both of these required some precarious balancing on random logs. I got the distinct feeling that in normal circumstances that wasn’t required, but the rain the previous few days was changing circumstances.

As I ate lunch at Boulder Oaks campground, I was hit by a first in my backpacking career, hail. The storm was brief but managed to unload a large amount of the small stones on the ground, and soak my gear. Not to the point of discomfort but just mild annoyance.

Climbing Higher

Following my hail filled lunch, I set off on what would be the first big ascent of the PCT, the climb to Mt Laguna. It was going to be split into two days, and I was admittedly dreading it. Coming from an east coast background, this kind of climb would ordinarily mean steep, strenuous climbing, and a lot of pain. I wasn’t looking forward to potentially 15 miles of it over the next day and a half. The PCT showed its good fortune here however, and the climb was a fairly gentle incline for the whole rest of the day. The steepest part ended up being a side trail down to a water source. I arrived at Fred Canyon for the night feeling satisfied with my efforts. 

Ice Ice Baby

The Snowy Forest leading up to Mount Laguna

I got up early the following morning after another night of restless sleep. Eager to get to town, I quickly packed up my stuff and began the climb up to Mount Laguna. I was pretty quickly stunned as though our campsite had gotten some rain showers the night before, the higher elevations had received flurries of snow.

The snow filled chapparral was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, with cacti coated in ice lining the trail. The somehow snowy desert environment however quickly gave way to a new environment yet to be seen on trail, sub alpine pine forest. The orange ponderosa pine trees quickly filled in and one could be forgiven for forgetting that I was in a desert.

The lingering soreness from my first day was still bugging me, particularly around the shoulders. But the almost ethereal sense of being in a winter forest supposedly in a desert really helped me push through the final miles into town. That, and the promise of a burger for lunch. I made it into town around noon, and had my lunch of champions to celebrate.

Rest and Adjustments

The rest of the day in Laguna was spent resting up and adjusting my set up around what worked and what didn’t. After lunch, I quickly made my way over to the hostel I was spending the night at. Though my bunk wouldn’t be ready for a few more hours, I was able to drop my stuff off and empty out my bear canister. If I was going to be able to hold a pace that would allow me to finish the trail on time, I needed to shed the extra pounds carrying it was costing me.

The readjusted plan was now to bounce the canister through the postal system up to Kennedy Meadows while I got my trail legs under me in the desert. I’d send the can a few towns up, then forward it another few towns up until I needed it once again. Thus, I sent it from the Laguna Post office to Idyllwild, not yet knowing how this would define my next week on trail.

The rest of the day was spent lounging outside the Laguna general store, at the hostel, and having a big BBQ dinner at a local restaurant. I settled into my hostel bed that night clean, refreshed, and with a full stomach, ready for whatever came next.

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