I arrived to the trail a little over 7 thanks to the amazing transport arranged by Scout and Frodo. The Southern terminus was a flurry of activity as everyone tried to get the perfect picture.
At 0730 I started hiking and quickly overtook most of the hikers that had set off before me. Quickly Brandon turned up and we continued on together. By mile 3 we had overtaken all the hikers that started on the same day.
We made extremely good time and even with a somewhat late start we made close to 10 miles by 1000. At around 1100 we had a quick lunch break for about 45 minutes. In hindsight we should probably have taken a longer break.
At mile 15 the trail descends to the dry Hauser Creek and after crossing the creek it climbs 500 ft in about 2 miles. Before starting the ascend we stopped for 15 minutes and then pushed the rest of the way to Lake Morena.
At Lake Morena a section of the campground is dedicated to PCT hikers. We meet up with a lot of hikers that started the day before us. Quickly we decided to go on an important mission to the local grill and both devoured a burger.
Upon return to the campground we were quickly joined by a few other hikers that started with us. We all shared our experiences of the first day and for most people also how sore their muscles were. I did not really have any soreness probably thanks to my light pack.
I will be staying in Lake Morena tonight and I plan to leave early in the morning. I will probably hike alone as Brandon plans to take a short day tomorrow. I feel good so I am planning at least 20 miles tomorrow as well.