PCT 2007 Day 31 – San Diego – Lake Morena County Park

PCT 2007 Day 31

Stage 31 / 4-25-07
San Diego – Lake Morena County Park
53 miles; 1835.74?? total miles; ? mph avg.; 4:30+ hours
Sunny, 80 in the shade

Last night I had a lamppost right next to my site and it was super bright. It was a weird night, in that I woke up around 12 AM for some reason. I took the opportunity to answer nature’s call since I was up. I woke up at 6 AM feeling pretty tired. I packed up and was under way by 7:15 AM. My cycling computer decided not to work again so that was a bummer on the last day. It did start working again but I think it missed about 11 miles or so.

I took surface streets through Chula Vista until I hit Highway 94, which took me all the way to Campo. While in Chula Vista, I met a man named Darryl who raced on the track. He was very willing to stay with me and kept asking if the pace was too hard. He was a detective in the police force. We talked and rode for about ten minutes, my longest time riding with anyone. He was really friendly and made my morning more than the usual drag. He even gave me tips on what to expect and where to get water. Thanks Darryl!

After I left Darryl, I made good time and took his advice. I had my first snacks at a RV park on Otay Road. A few miles later I was on Rt. 94 which took me all the way to Campo, which is only 1.5 miles from the start of the PCT.

Darryl had warned me about a 5 mile climb and where it was. Knowing this, I still mistook the climb in to Barrett Junction as the climb out of it. The whole of Rt. 94 was hilly and hot. It was 80 in the shade. After the first climb, I descended into Barrett Junction and saw the climb to come. Little did I know I was only looking at a small fraction of the climb. On the way up, I stopped at two more stores for snacks. I finally summited the climb only to ungulate up and down the rest of the way to Campo.

Once to Campo, I got the scoop on how to get to the trail. I rode my bike the last 1.5 miles to the border. I could see the monument marking the start of the trail from away down the road. The emotions of being there started right away. I rode right up to the monument, took my photos and slowly made my way to Lake Morena County Park. Along the way, I stopped again to eat some taco’s and have ice cream.

The woman at the store informed me that it was uphill all the way to the park. I pulled into camp and did the usual tasks. It was weird to think I wasn’t getting up the next day and going to ride. I was invited to dinner by Meadow Ed, a well known trail angel. Even though I ate with him, I still ate again later.

It was an emotional day with lots of heat, little shade and the end of leg one of my trip.

Glove count is 50 (I saw a record high of 12 today).

Scatman

Get out there!

You can check out my Appalachian Trail or Continental Divide Trail journals too!