I woke up around 4:30 AM and was packed up by five. It was still dark. ( I should mention that I had absolutely nothing to eat since breakfast with Janet on Monday morning.) It was beautiful and the temperature was so pleasant. I was able to hike well even though my pack wasn’t packed right because I basically just threw stuff in so I could get on the road. Amazingly, I made it to the water source. The hike to it was brutal. The trail was difficult to get through because it was so brushy. Also, my feet were hurting because it was pretty steep down the entire way to get water. First, I got water then I fixed my feet. I ate a protein bar. My first bite of food. It tasted awful. The macros were excellent. 20 g of protein and 250 cal, but it did not satisfy and made me not want to eat. The trail led out of the valley – up, up, up. It was now the hottest part of the day and I was struggling. I found a rock opening I could hide in. I stayed for quite a while. A young man named Thomas came by. I asked if he would like to share my shade. He did. He is a student at UC Berkeley – space he said he didn’t even know what his final scores were yet. Because he left his pack outside. I asked if I could give him his water bottle. He was glad. He went on, but I stayed a little while longer. It was so hot. I kept on going to Lake Morena. Many people make it here on the very first night so I felt I was going very slow. Eventually, I made it to the campground – to spend the night for seven dollars cash. But, I didn’t have any quarters for the shower and I was too exhausted to find where I could get some. So, I asked a camper (not a PCT hiker) if they knew where I could exchange dollars for quarters. They weren’t sure – but the woman went to see if she had any. She felt that it was amazing that she did and she gave me the 2/4 that she found. It was enough for four minutes of a shower. I was so thankful. It was probably the most exhausted I’ve ever been. I got my shower then I went back to the PCT area of the campground and made myself some Ramen. At first, it was a little difficult to eat, but eventually, at that moment it was the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. Because I was so exhausted I went straight to bed – this time in my tent. I was too exhausted to walk to the bathrooms to brush my teeth. It was the second night in a row without brushing my teeth. (I had never missed a night brushing my teeth since being a teenager). at Lake Morena I met Lana, a boat captain from Florida and a thru-hiker named Extra.
