Bob woke all the hikers at 4 am so that we would meet his 4:30 departure time for the Mexican Border and the PCT southern terminus monument. He told us we set a record for getting ready the fastest. The ride took almost an hour so we arrived before the sun was up. The sky lightened while we woke the three hikers (Dude, Gash and Tracy) camping at the monument, took photos, signed the register and had a quick chat with the Border Patrol.

We started on the trail at 5:50 while the sun finally crawled over the ridge at 6:45. Our fingers were so cold that we pulled them into our fleece sleeves.

We saw cattle within the first hour, heard the chickens and spotted a herd of sheep in the distance. Lizards we too numerous to count, birds called and sang all day, and rabbits dashed across the trail repeatedly. One Border Agent tracked us on foot then called on his walkie-talkie that ("It's only two hikers.")

Hiking was demanding, especially in the sun. At one point we saw Hauser Creek (dry) 1000' feet below us and the trail on the other side of the Canyon rising above us. We knew we had to climb down into the canyon and back out.

We stopped to eat at Lake Morena, the site of the kickoff. We got to see several of our hiking friends while we ate. GottaGo was the first to find us, joined by Stone Dancer. We even got trail magic - tuna for our mac&cheese and a cold beer for Ken from Ron Moak, owner of Six Moon Designs. Yogi had a photo taken of her in her girly shoes and me in my scandalous crocs.

Big climbs in the relentless sun make for slow miles. We walked too slow to reach the Mt Laguna PO before it closed for the weekend. Ken finally scurried off ahead of me hoping to make the 4:00 deadline. When he really got worried he dropped his pack beside the trail and ran, picking up our box and two cokes from the store with 10 minutes to spare. I couldn't decide if he thought I should carry both packs the last 1.3 miles. Just as I was loading his pack on my front to carry I heard him calling. He had to hike the 1.3 miles back to town again!

When we reached 5000 feet the desert plants changed abruptly to a pine forest. The pines were more pleasant to hike in, even though the heat flowed up the mountains from the Anza-Borrega desert below.