5 April 2021
Rodriguez Spur to Scissors Crossing
PCT Mile 68.4 to 77.3

Last night was WINDY! I thought I was in a protected site, but I was not. It kept gusting any which way right through the bushes on all sides of me. My tent collapsed twice and I got very little sleep.

And the weather forecast calls for it to be even windier tonight!

So you can imagine just how motivated I was to get to Scissors Crossing so I could get a hotel room tonight in Julian.

In spite of my complaining, this morning was really beautiful and I definitely enjoyed hiking knowing that it would be a short day. Thru-hikers call these “nearos” because they are nearly zero days but do include some miles on trail.

As I was eating my cold-soaked oatmeal this morning I watched 3 hikers backtrack looking for the trail, which was helpful for me because I was also a little confused. After breakfast I played catch up and it was fun to watch them seemingly head in the opposite direction as the trail wound around every ravine.

I also found some lovely new wildflowers but taking photos of them was a bit difficult in the wind.

After winding around the north face of Granite Mountain, the trail descends to the Valle de San Felipe.

It was still windy and bizarrely quite hot with a piercing sun making 60 degree weather feel like 80. And did I mention the sand blowing in my eyes.

But I still loved it!

The valley floor was covered in goldfields, cholla, and juniper. And for the final hour I put in my headphones and listened to Grandfeathered by Pinkshinyultrablast.

At Scissors Crossing I found trail magic — a water cache and ice cold coke!

Then I followed the trail up to the road to hitch a ride to Julian. I ran into Zac who I met on Day 1 at my very first water source, and we decided to hitch together.

I was nervous about hitching — I have not done it much in my life — but we must have set some kind of record. I put out my thumb and the very first car pulled over. It was the family I passed on Day 2 right before I saw the rattlesnake! On the ride up to Julian we learned that a mom and dad did the first 77 miles with their daughter Megan, who will continue a thru-hike to Canada.

And my luck continued. There were no rooms available in Julian. I even called my family to possibly spend a night at home. But then Zac offered to share his room with me. Yay!

While we were waiting to check in, Zac and I got brunch at the Julian Cafe and then hung out at the store then went over to Mom’s where they offer free pie and ice cream to thru-hikers.

We ran into Berk and GroundScore and SnakeSkin and many other people who started the trail about the same time as us. Funny how it works that way.

We checked in, I took a nap, and the we went to Julian Beer for dinner. And there we ran into Buffalo and the gang from Gonzaga who I met on Day 1. They were there to watch the NCAA Men’s basketball final.

I made it to halftime and then got very tired so I called it a night.

Today’s hike-u

Hubris
Thought I could outwit
Winds that blew hard all day long
Then my tent collapsed