Hello all!! We have really enjoyed our hike thus far, so many great things have happened. The people on and off the trail are incredible. Lets see what we can update you on. On day one we hiked into Lake Morena which was 19.5 miles it was a intense first day. Started out pretty strong, it was surreal actually being on the trail. Plus we got showers at the end of the first day which was super awesome!

Day two we had a little off trail adventure which was fun and tiring all in one. Josh and I ended up on a horse trail only to realize we were not on the PCT. We used the Halfmile app to navigate ourselves back to the trail. It took us on a trail for a while but the we had a 1/4 mile left and had to navigate through bushes. We got a little cut up and lost one sock plus my sun umbrella but we came out of it alive, on the trail and in good spirits.

After that adventure we stayed on the trail and found our first group of friends. Kyle, Sky, Tuck, Molly, Mr. Blister, Omaha Cheesesnake, Mark and Stephen. We all met at lunch at a campground and made plans to stay together and the fun hasn't stopped since. Also at lunch Josh got his trail name..... Teabag. I asked for the bag of tea and he chucked a used bag at my face, everyone thought ti was pretty funny.

After lunch we went hiking on and ran into our first trail magic. David (photo at the bottom) was awesome! We met him on the top of a ridge where the trail crossed a road. He had fruit, cold salami, wine, beer and cold water! It was such a great morale boost and he was super duper nice! TRAIL MAGIC IS THE BEST!!!!

After that we made it into another campground for the evening, only after our buddy Mark got a little sick from heat exhaustion. We had way to many laughs in the campground and Josh and I snagged some bacon bits from Kyle which made our potatoes super yum!

Next day we hiked into Mount Laguna which was pretty fun, Josh's blisters were still being annoying at that point. Luckily my blisters had started to callous which was surprising and awesome! We went into Mount Laguna to try and get Josh new shoes, but the outfitters was closed for the day so we headed to a campground with the group. At the campground we struck another bit of magic! Todd was camping next to us and his girlfriend had gotten sick so couldn't join him. He had three days worth of food so cooked us all up some burgers, hot dogs, a steak, a baked potato and smores! If you haven't noticed we love free food.

We got up the next day and started to hike back into town to go to the outfitters which started out as a road walk. Luckily we snagged a ride thus completing our first hitch. The guy had a cat under the front seat of his car which was pretty fun, Josh thought it was a seat massage. We got into the store but didn't have any luck on the shoes for Josh. We also managed to snag another hitch back to the campground (photo below). We then managed to bust out a 14 mile hike in a little under seven hours to meet back up with the group in the most beautiful spot, it kind of looked like it belonged to prehistoric times.

The next day we hiked on some more, I know it's shocking. Josh and I found a solid hiking pace and cruised throughout the day. We made it to Scissors Crossing which was a wonderful cache. They had water, soda and beer. Josh got a beer and I got a Cactus Cooler which was a super yummy orange pineapple soda. Thank you trail angels for keeping that stocked. We hiked up the hill a little after we ate diner and did out first cowboy camping (just in a sleeping bag under the stars). It is incredible how clear the skies are out on the trail.

The next day we got up and put 14 miles in. It was rough for me but Josh did great! We stopped at another water cache and were going to be done for the day but our friend Sky motivated us to keep going. She is super awesome also! She managed to get us to hike another 10 miles and we did most of it under the stars which was a great time as well. Also Baggins joined our hiking family.

We got up this morning and but it our last 8 miles or so to get to Warner Springs. As soon as we got here we woofed down some double cheeseburgers, showered, got mail and tomorrow we get to do some laundry. Life has been great on the trail. When we have bad moments they are followed with many many good moments. I know I keep saying it but all the people out here are amazing! So much generosity from hikers and trail angels alike. Keep checking back for updates and adventure on!

-Sammy

I couldn't figure out how to label the pictures so here is the titles below. 

1. Our starting group

2. Me at mile one 

3. Josh being happy

4.David and all the trail magic

5. Cool trail

6. One clean leg and one dirty

7. Yummy cactus cooler soda!!!

8. Pretty flowers 

9. Lizard

10.The group at mile 100

11. Mile 100 :)

12. Barrel Springs 

13. Josh aka Teabag

The final countdown

So the big day has finally arrived, in less than twelve hours we will be on the trail beginning our hike. Today was an early day, starting at four this morning and we get a nice reprieve  tomorrow when we have to be up at 5. It really has been pretty amazing down here. Staying at Scout and Frodo's has been awesome, great food and hospitality... And around twenty other people starting tomorrow. Surprisingly for me at least, the nerves pretty much died down when we got to San Diego and I'm just ready to get on the trail... Or I just have yet to realize what we're about to do. Either way, it begins tomorrow at the border. Thanks to everyone for your support and hopefully we'll keep this up to date.

-porter

As for me nothing has felt real in the last day or so. As soon as we got our packs fully loaded I was calmed. Now the excitement has kicked in, luckily I'm full from all the amazing food (one of our fellow hikers is a chef, bomb curry!) so I'm ready to close my eyes and awake to the adventure of a lifetime. Thank you all for the support and love so far. Huge thanks to all the individuals at Scout and Frodo's. Josh and I get to challenge ourselves in ways we have never imagined, and with that thought we lay our heads on our last comfy bed for awhile. Adventure on.

-Sammy

The traveling has begun, sort of. We have officially moved out of Ellensburg, packed all our belonging up and now its see our friends and family time. We are so excited to hit the trail in two weeks! The last month has been a blur but everything is falling into place and this trip is becoming more and more real each day. Soon we will fly down to California to see Josh's mom, Karen, for a week and she will be our caretaker on the trail. After a week with her will fly down to San Diego on April 14th and meet our first set of trail angels, who will be making sure we get to the trail head safe and sound. The it is the big day! April 15th we hit the trail. Stay tuned for more updates and adventure on!