Day 8 The Sun!

 Last night was by far the best sleep we have had. We visited briefly with Brandon and Jocelyn, the couple who took the third bed, dialed in our packs, organized our food, and headed out.

We stopped at the Julian café and bakery for breakfast. I ate the PCT power bowl and a hot cider. 

Bob and Halena came into the restaurant. We have bumped into them a couple of times including the last time when we were at Mount Laguna.

We walked down the road where the highway splits in two directions and were able to pick up a hitch back to scissors crossing within about five minutes. 

Hitching a ride in an out of town along the PCT is a fairly common practice. Most of the town residents are very supportive of hikers and willing to give a ride. As I approached the car, I did snap a picture of the license plate just in case.

At 12:00 we started up the trail again. We saw barrel cacti all along the trail. Some of them are impressively tall. 

We are just beginning to see some flowering plants as well, such as the Bristly Fiddleneck with yellow flowers, the purple flowered Distant Phacelia, and Wild Canterbury Bells. 

Patches of Strigose Lotis lined the side of the trail with their small yellow flowers.

The Desert Agave shoots up a long stem with yellow flowers, beginning to bloom. The Bottlebrush sports greenish gray leaves with a yellow flower.

1 mile into the trail. I can look back and see scissors crossing, and the mountain range we had passed through yesterday.

Ocotillo have multiple thin stocks with a light green leaf beginning to sprout

This portion of trail winds steeply up the desert mountains with the occasional rugged valleys off to the side.

Clearwater Cryptantha  and Parish’s Goldeneye each have white flowers.

At 2 miles scissors crossing is still visible at the mouth of the valley far in the distance.

As we climb higher, California Junipers and African Boxthorns become a frequent site.

It’s just over 3 miles, and we stopped for a quick snack something we have not been doing because the weather has been so bad. Today sunny, slight breeze, and clear skies made for a nice break. 

I have seen California Buckwheat regularly with a dried red flower as I get higher in elevation, they seem to be coming a little more alive. 

The trail continues to steadily rise, becoming more rocky along the way.  It continues to offer incredible views.

We stopped for lunch at mile six sporting a beautiful outlook over the canyon. We both carried out gigantic cinnamon rolls from our breakfast stop at the Julian Cafe. For my main course I had a pad Thai Ramen.

The trail continues slightly up and down winding around deep rocky valleys. Another new plant I encountered was the Desert Apricot.

Pipe gates are common along the trail. Reaching one can be thought of as a mile stone along the way.

After going through the pipe gate, we transitioned to the opposite side of the range and have encountered a Sugarbush the first time we’ve seen that on the section

Yet another pipe gate, and this one is a good marker for us as camp is less than 1 1/2 miles away and we are ready. 

We arrived at our tent site at 6:30, quickly set up, dinner is soaking and then bedtime. It was a good day.

Total miles today 12.5 total trail miles 89.7

Here are my one week weight 

pictures.