3 March 2023
PCT Mile 23 to 42

I slept great last night. It was cold but calm. I awoke to a frosty interior.

It felt good to get moving. Lake Morena was putting on a show, wrapping itself in a low fog.

At Cottonwood Creek I didn’t (yet) want to get my feet wet, so I climbed up to the road to cross on the bridge.

But it was an almost useless gesture. The trail itself is a river on the other side, banked by swamps. If not for the hard frost my feet would have gotten soaked anyway

But eventually the trail moved to higher ground, passing through silvery frosted meadows.

I was feeling so cocky in my dry feet. And then I saw this:

D’oh! Cottonwood Creek was about 80 feet wide. I pulled out my phone to see alternatives.

Two mile road walk.

Well crap! Guess I’m going swimming.

It was even deeper than I thought, reaching the bottom of my shorts. At one point I tried ascending the submerged 2×8 plank that normally is sufficient here, but I could feel it coated in ice under foot. No choice but to squelch ahead.

I made it to the other shore, dropped to the ground, and started fumbling with my shoes. Cold water hurts!

I finally got them off and used my socks to dry my feet a bit before reassembling my outfit. Slowly the sensation came back to my toes.

So much for dry feet!

Fortunately, just up trail at Boulder Oaks my buddy Double Down trail angeled me again with a food resupply and a warm burrito.

I said so long and then continued north under the interstate and up into the Lagunas.

I stopped to stretch at Kitchen Creek Road. No trail magic today, but there may be a few weekend days in April and May.

I then ascended a wonderful traverse over the next two miles. No snow, and a bit early for wildflowers, but I always love this stretch.

And then… the snow.

The snow was beautiful. At first.

But then crunchy turned slimy. A slippery mess. I slowed to a mile an hour.

I longed for shady sections where the snow held it’s shape.

And then the postholing started.

Ankle deep quickly turned thigh deep.

I dreamed of Long Canyon where I thought there would be shade. But no luck. It was 20 inches of soup the whole way.

Just like yesterday, there was water everywhere. But I didn’t want to take even a single step more than I had to. I originally planned to get water at the first spot in Long Canyon, but I hiked another hour to cover the 0.9 miles to where the PCT crosses the creek.

I took my first break in 5 hours.

Even on my Zlite pad, I sank a few inches into the snow.

I was so tired I did not bother treating my water. All I could think about was devouring the treats Double Down gave me.

I didn’t linger long. The sun was getting lower and I still needed 4 miles to get to Mt Laguna.

The 20 inches of soup became 30 inches and I travelled even slower, postholing so deep I had to crawl out sometimes.

I hoped it would be easier when I reached the pine woods near the top.

It didn’t.

It became comical. In a “he’s gone insane” kind of way.

At Mile 40 the PCT crosses Thing Valley Road. I hoped there would be 4×4 tracks. Or ATV tracks. Or ski tracks. Or maybe some hikers from the local village already broke the snow?

Nope.

Nature saved the best postholing for last. A wintry hell that lasted another mile and a half. The sun set. Night closed in.

Once Thing Valley Road got close enough to the Laguna Mountain Highway I bushwhacked up a steep slope, clawing my way through oaks and brush while postholing to my waist.

I have never been so happy to see asphalt.

It was still a mile to the Laguna Mountain Lodge. But my feet didn’t sink!

My adrenaline receded and I started to shiver, even though I had my puffy on hood and all.

It was well past dark so I signalled oncoming cars with the light from my phone. But I never felt unsafe in the two foot shoulder embanked by snow walls that reached as high as 8 feet.

Is this Southern California?

I finally made it to the lodge. And the final irony of the day was their procedure for late check-in. You have to go in a phone booth to call them to come give you the key.

But it was full of 3 feet of snow!

Tonight I sleep the sleep of the dead. Tomorrow I head back to San Diego for a few days.

But I will be back!

Today’s hike-u:

On Postholing
Snow is beautiful
Until it transforms to soup
With miles left to go