There is something bittersweet about the start of the Pacific Crest Trail. I’m thrilled to see the monument marking the trail’s southern terminous. It’s the beginning of something all PCT hikers having been dreaming about and planning for months.
But just behind the monument looms the tall, ominous steel border wall plunging into valleys and spanning hills for hundreds of miles. I’ve seen it on TV and in photos, but seeing it for real in the early morning light is a bleak reminder of the struggles for survival and the death and despair that take place here in the borderlands. It reminds me of the MadMax films of chaos and conflict. It’s sad. And all day long as I’m hiking, it stays in view.
Top photo: Border Wall near PCT southern terminous. Bottom photo: Statue of Liberty with the inscription: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free.” Which one better reflects our values?
But I’m also pumped with adrenaline and excited to start the hike. I get lost immediately, and am guided back to the trail by two construction workers who are building roads that parallel the Wall. They are friendly and one shares a story about hiking with his son. It’s the first of many such encounters along the trail where people are friendly and excited to talk to you about hiking and their own experiences.
This is dry, desert country. It’s early in the year, and there’s a seasonal creek flowing about four miles away, and I stop for lunch and fill up my water bottle. Remarkably, the grass is green and wildflowers are starting to bloom. I’m blessed to have started early enough to see the desert’s brief spring.
About mile ten, I feel a blister on my right foot. Ouch. I’m learning to navigate with the Guthook App which not only is a trail map, but full of information from hikers ahead of me. It turns out a Trail Angel has left several gallons of water at Hauser Creek which is dry. I decide to set up camp along the dry creek because I’ll have enough water thanks to the angel. Plus it’s getting dark and my feet are sore.
Canti, Dave (Trailname: TableStakes)