The first 100 miles

We made it our first 100 miles. 110 to be exact. Today we are taking our first zero day (trail lingo for a day off) and relaxing at an isolated hot spring resort in the middle of the desert.

Here's a little snipped from the first leg of our travels-

We were dropped off at the trail head by our first trail angles,(those amazing people who go out of their way to do favors for hikers-such as leave soda and water in the middle of the desert)our good friends Tess and Teal.

As we were driving through the rolling hills scattered with rocks and boulders I was reminded of driving through the West Bank in Palestine. Soon we reached the small border town of Campo where we packed up one last box to mail to ourselves along the way.

It was just a short drive from there down the dirt road to the beginning of the trail head, where old wooden posts mark the start of the trail. The land is also marked with a fence/metal wall announcing the border between the US and Mexico. Just behind the tail head lay a barbed-wire fence, from each post hung a metal plate with a phrase along the lines of "in defence of America", beyond that lay a patrol road and a 20 foot high border wall. This scene extended in either direction as far as the eye could see.

I had always wanted to visit the border and see how it compared to the one Israel is constructing in the West Bank. Standing there, about to embark on a 2600+ journey to the border of Canada it somehow seemed an odd and surreal time to be thinking about politics and foreign policy. Yet even when looking for peace and solace it is not hard to see those things about humanity which sadden me.

As we were getting ready to leave we were visited separately by a border patrol agent and two nice elderly men picking up trash along the border. As they were leaving they told us to check out their website campominutemen.com. I was surprised to learn that they were minute men, (A militant anti-immigrant group who patrols the border for immigrants)they were nice and friendly and gave us advice about the trial, than again we are all white hikers.

When we were finally ready to go we said good bye to Teal and Tess and began our trek north. That first night we hiked only 4-5 miles and made camp off the trail so as not to attracted the attention of any border patrol or immigrants who are know to travel the PCT at night. Our evening was quite and we went to bed early as to be well rested for our 5:30am wake up call.

Hiking in the desert in the morning is beautiful. The mild temperature, morning bird songs and wild flowers was not at all what I had expected from reading the guide books. I imagined hiking through a desolate, sandy, dry and shadeless desert. Instead I was surrounded by small to medium sized trees, shrubs, cacti, large boulders, and gently rolling hills. I am quickly learning the subtleties within desert environments.

The use of this portion of the PCT as a thru-way for immigrants is also present. Every mile or so for the first 30+ miles we found abandoned clothes, water bottles, food wrappers with Spanish writing and what I thought were satchels made from woven Mexican blankets with rope attached. I later learned that these "satchels" were used as booties, to cover up their shoe prints. Our friend Mark also found a peso.

Needless to say the first portion of our journey has been a wonderful and challenging adventure. Tomorrow we press on northward, hoping that the blisters have had enough time to heal and that we have packed a little more food than the last stretch. Until next time.