Day 1

20.3 miles.

We got to the border around 8am and we were the only ones there. We took our pictures and headed out.

It was a weird feeling finally starting the trail after so much time planning. Even now when I write this, I feel the scale of what I'm about to do still hasn't sunk in yet. I'm not sure when that will happen. It still feels like we are just out for a weekend backpack at the moment.

About 4 miles in we came up on a group of 5 who had started a little bit before us. They had stayed at a trail angel's house the night before and none of them had known each other until today. We hiked with them a little but soon split up. A girl named Prudence stayed with Brendan and I for the rest of the day. She's from Manning Park, Canada which is actually the ending town for the PCT.

The day was hot, my knee was killing me, and I got stung by a bee. But other than that it was fun. We got to Lake Morena around 5pm and walked to the grocery store to get some soda and beer.

We then headed to the campground and met a group of hikers at a campsite with an RV. The RV owner's son is hiking the trail and they are going to be following him up the trail to help him resupply. A soon as we got there they offered us some cheeseburgers they were grilling. So we ate with them and the 5 other pct hikers that were there. One of the hikers was Billy Goat. He's a famous hiker who has hiked over 30,000 miles including 8 pct thu-hikes.

There is no service here but I hope to post this in the morning. Brendan, Prudence and I plan on getting as far as we can tomirrow before the rain starts.