April 21 - Day 4 - Still in San Diego

I spent the day at Scout's and Frodo's house, helping them with all the myriad of chores needed with a house full of people constantly in motion. It rained most of the day, and I was glad not to be out in it. When Scout came back from dropping off a new group of hikers at the border, he said it was snowing along the interstate out of town at 4000 feet and also at the trail head. Another couple who came to help Scout and Frodo shuttle people around said it was also snowing in Julian, which is about 75 miles north of the trail head. Which means that it's snowing in places that don't normally get snow, particularly this time of year. The rain is supposed to last all night and into tomorrow. There should be more snow, too. Obviously, the temperature has dropped substantially. The kickoff party at the Lake Morena campground should be a chilly affair. Thank God I bought a zero-degree down bag. It's going to keep me toasty.

I've done a lot of soul-searching today. My dream of thru-hiking the PCT died somewhere along the way here or on the trail. I'm trying to figure out why and how. I suspect it's just fear that is blocking my path, but I can't seem to overcome it. I've talked to a lot of people about it, particularly past female hikers like Nitro and Cucumber Boy (yes, that's a girl). They have been very Zen about it all: "If you're not feeling it, then don't do it. It will only be miserable and cause you pain."

So, here's my plan: Tomorrow, I will rent a car in San Diego. I will use it for the next 4 days to shuttle hikers to and from the trail, either from San Diego or from Lake Morena. Undoubtedly, there will be hikers on the trail who want to come off or be shuttled into a nearby town to re-group because of the weather. Thus, I will become a trail angel for the next few days. After that, I'm going to travel around California, Arizona, and Utah. I haven't been out to this side of the continent since my early 20's, and even then didn't spend time looking around. So I'm going to visit all of the national parks, like Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Sequoia, and Yosemite in California; the Grand Canyon in Arizona; and Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, and Arches in Utah. It should take me three or four weeks. Then I will fly home. After that, who knows. Probably back to work. We shall see.

I hope you all will stay with me and follow along. I'm going to go to some awesome places. I will be hiking and seeing some amazing things. I will post photos when I can.