Started; Boulder Oaks Camp Ground (26.0)
Ended: Mount Laguna (42.0)
Total: 16.0 Miles

We didn’t sleep well last night. There were some campers talking and drinking until 1 am. Jason yelled at them, but even that didn’t work.

When I first got out of my tent, everything was moist. I was glad that I didn’t cowboy camp! A fog came in during the middle of the night.

Jason and I have started to break down duties. I plan the day, mostly because I struggle the most with water. Jason is from an arid state and I am not. I just need more water than he does. He has a box in Mount Laguna, so that was our goal for the day.

I had a good internet connection and the weather report said a high of 67, so I was comfortable making a big push. That meant we would hike at night with our head lamps if we needed to. Postholer rates this section a difficulty of 8.7 out of ten. It has multiple climbs of 2000 feet, including a brutal climb out of Fred’s Canyon.

The initial hike went very well. Although it was difficult, along the way there was many trail angels offering oranges, Snickers, and cold drinks.

We hiked until lunch and laid out our wet gear to dry as we rested. It may have been 67 degrees in Mount Laguna, but it certainly wasn’t 67 degrees where we were.

At the base of Fred’s Canyon, there is a cool spot. Most of the hikers were congregating down there. We committed a tactical error and muddled past.

We ended up hiking for seven miles in the heat of the day uphill the whole way. It was brutal. We stopped a number of times. Eventually we reached our water source. A cool spring is an amazing reward. Jason and I rested and pounded down a liter.

Refreshed, we had a choice. It was 4 p.m. It was cooling off. We had 4 miles and 1,500 feet to go. It would be painful, but the reward would be a hot meal in a restaurant.

I yelled, “Tonight. We dine in Mount Laguna!”

I am happy to say that it was some of the sloppiest, profanity filled hiking ever done. Two old fat men digging into their “Old Man Strength”, passing younger stronger hikers in our wake.

We knew once we made it to the pine trees it was all down hill. We reached Mount Laguna at 7 p.m. We sprinted to the local restaurant. Okay, we didn’t sprint. We waddled. No good deed goes unpunished. The restaurant was closed. Dejected, we returned to camp and I ate bacon and mashed potatoes.

Jason needs to pick up a resupply box at the post office. I need to resupply breakfasts, lunches and snacks until we get to Julian in two days. After three days, I’m happy to say that other that general muscle soreness, I’m hiking at 100% health. We will hike a shorter day tomorrow.