On the first proper day of my PCT Thru Hike I began at the Southern Terminus in Campo and hiked through the Hauser Mountain Wilderness to my first night’s campsite in Hauser Canyon.
From PCT mile 0.0 to 15.4 Total: 15.4 miles 3/23
After taking a couple of “Zero Days” after Day Zero, I decided to restart my PCT Thru Hike on the final day of the four-day storm. It was easy to take a Zero when you lived less than an hour from Campo. Besides, I didn’t mind hiking in a bit of rain, but packing up in the rain, day after day, was not worth the trouble, when waiting it out was easy. The massive snow in the Los Angeles mountains already meant that I would have to skip them at the 150 mile mark anyway. And let’s not even speak of the 300% Sierra Snowpack, which made a proper Thru Hike next to impossible. The year 2023 was insane for NOBO thru hikers, especially those starting in March. I decided to approach it with the enlightened attitude known as Making the Most of a Bad Situation.
At least packing was easy: I was still packed! This time, however, I didn’t take the Southern Terminus Shuttle to Campo. Vicki drove me there early that morning, so I could start my fifteen mile hike right away.
I arrived and started hiking while the thru hikers at the campground were still drinking their morning coffee. I spoke to Paul when I arrived, and thanked him again for the ride home. Vicki was driving away when he pointed at the drizzle and mud. Did I want another ride home? We both laughed, and then I headed out. It was time to get hiking!
It didn’t take long before I realized that it was a lot wetter than I expected. The trail was mostly sand, which drained well, but there were also spots where water pooled and I had to jump in order to keep my shoes dry. I knew that it was a losing battle, but I had to try.
The first few miles went by happily. I was the only hiker on the trail, which followed along the road toward Highway 94. A bit further on and I crossed the old railroad tracks. When Vicki and I day-hiked this section, back in 2016, we actually saw the old steam train out of the Campo Railroad Museum. It’s a fun place to visit if you love trains (like me). But no such luck on this rainy morning. The tourists had wisely stayed home.
After the tracks, the trail began to climb into the Hauser Mountain Wilderness. Almost immediately, it seemed, I was faced with a water crossing. By this point my shoes and socks were already wet with raindrops that fell off the overhanging bushes along the trail, so I bit the bullet and walked across without taking off my shoes. A few days later I regretted this decision, when the blisters developed due to softened calluses (I had wrinkly bathtub feet all day), but at the time the choice made sense.
Walking along in squishing shoes wasn’t so bad, and I continued climbing. The drizzle came and went, and, other than my feet, I was dry under my rain gear. The clouds scudded by and the hiking was cool and cruisey. Hours went by. Somewhere along the way I ate my lunchtime pop-tart on the go, and the miles went by.
After crossing the Hauser Mountain ridge, the PCT began its descent into Hauser Canyon. The weather was almost succeeding in breaking up, but more pesky clouds and mist kept arriving out of the west. Just the same, I could see the day’s destination down on the canyon floor below me.
As expected, Hauser Creek was flowing strong after the recent rains. Last year, in 2022, it was bone dry, and Trail Angels had to drive in through the locked gate with gallons of water for the thru hikers. Not this time. There was mud everywhere, and I simply stomped right on through it. I stepped into the flowing creek and waggled my shoes around until all the mud was washed away. Then I carefully climbed up on the northern bank, avoiding additional mud.
Hauser Creek Road was on the far side, but the obvious camping spots were on the south side of the creek. In the mud zone. No, thanks! I walked down the road until I found a grassy patch with a semi-flat spot for my tent. It was early but I didn’t care, as I wanted to remove my shoes and socks right away. Dry feet were my goal, and if I had to sit in my tent with my legs inside a warm sleeping bag to keep them dry, well then, that’s exactly what I was going to do. So I did.
I still had plenty of water. A cool day of hiking doesn’t use very much, so I didn’t bother getting any from the creek. I only had five miles to Lake Morena, where there was plenty. I got out my stove, boiled some water, and ate my Ramen Noodles in comfort while reading my Kindle. I was re-reading “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed, which I thought was appropriate when starting a proper PCT thru hike.
All in all, other than my soggy shoes, it had been a pretty good day on the trail.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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