April 25, 2013 Day 1 on PCT: "there's a reason it's called a scenic trail and not an efficiency route": a fellow hiker's response to my comment that Lake Morena is 3.3 miles from the highway. I'm not gonna lie; there were some tears of pain and exhaustion just before reaching our first oasis. Friday and Saturday were spent recovering, learning and meeting some amazing people. Went to seminars for the basics: how to walk to prevent injury (Ryan and my knees thank you, presenter! Popping Aleve like candy.), about bears (they can shimmy a line better than a human, so hanging your food is useless) and snakes and other random, relevant information like how to cross a river without being carried away by the current. We'll need to know these things as we go.
At a burrito dinner provided by the PCTA, overheard a woman explain hunger on the PCT: "If some food drops on the ground, a day hiker throws it away; a section hiker will apply the 5 second rule, but a through- hiker will eat it and look for more!" So true.
An introduction to the people of the PCT, including Trail Angels: Liz from the PCTA offered Ryan and I a ride back to camp from the local store. He was carrying firewood (the girls carried the 30 pack of RR) and yes, we smelled and were dirty. Liz gave us a ride in her beautiful new car and apologized to us for making us wait while she registered and said hello to a friend named Gottago. A trail angel former marine named Doggers gave Kristi his sandals and checked our blisters. The dog with him is named Pi Squared (Pi and Tao can both be used in an engineering calculation, he explained, but Tao gets a more direct result. Women are the stronger sex and more complicated, thus Pi2. Pi is a female.)
We ate, we drank, we showered, we used restrooms. Overall, it was a party with new friends that we hope to see again along the trail. ~Janis (Zazu)
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