I can see for miles and miles...

Had a good breakfast at the lodge and prepped to hitch back out to the trail. But when we got back out on to the main drag in Julian, trail angel Ed was there and shuttled us back out. One of the things that is so different between this trail and the AT (aka green tunnel) is that the trail is so exposed. You can see for a long distance where you've been and where you're going. I don't know if you can tell where the trail is as it zigs and zags up this mountain, but it was sort of daunting first thing this morning. 

But then again, another big difference is that the AT is a footpath only. The PCT is graded for pack animals so the grade can only be about 6 or 7%. Which makes for a nice gradual climb. 

I honestly had no idea how beautiful this desert hiking could be and the vastness is breathtaking. 

Look close and you can see Murphy and Movin On, just to give you some perspective. 

Another beautiful flowering cactus just for the heck of it. Almost fluorescent!

Our plan was to go to the third gate water cache today. One of the caches we knew we could rely on . But BONUS...when we got there, there was a guy there doing trail magic! Sodas, beer and fruit. We met a few guys there from the Bay Area. When they heard we'd done the AT in 2014, they asked if we'd met Shroomer. And we had! Murphy and I had hiked a few days with him around Hanover, NH. Small small world. He's a friend of theirs and his 'actual ' name is Scott. Nope. Shroomer seems more suited to him.

Under the blue tarp in the background is a few hundred gallons of welcome water.

The trail magic powered us up and we went a few more miles than we had planned. Camping tonight in a really quiet spot up on a ridge overlooking this incredible valley. It's chilly which is perfect sleeping weather. And the view...

Speaks for itself.