PCT, Day 3

I start shortly after 7 AM. Ulli from Stuttgart passes me, and I also see Chuck and Frostbite. All of them ate at Lake Morena yesterday when I was there.

The walk is strenuous today. It gets very hot, over 30 degrees, and all day long it's just uphill. I find some shade at 11 AM and take an hour-long break. By 3 PM, I reach Mount Laguna. There's a small shop and a French-American restaurant. Frostbite, Ulli, Martin, and Chuck are there. Chuck offers me his seat as his wife is picking him up. There aren't many vegetarian options at the restaurant so I opt for a cheese fondue. It's good but not filling enough and I buy chips at the store to satisfy my hunger. I also buy 14 Snickers bars—there wasn't much variety in bars.

I realize that I'll need to head to a town called Julian; otherwise, I'll have to carry water for three days. There's no camping, and I would need to hitchhike. Lodging is expensive, and while I'm figuring out what to do, Martin and Ulli are looking for accommodation to share a room. Ulli finds one with three beds, and I ask if I could join. Frostbite also shows up and is interested. The room is 62 square meters, and an extra bed can be arranged. Ulli books the room for 224 Euros. I'm glad that the guys are covering around 20 kilometers per day as well. It's Wednesday, and we'll reach Julian by Saturday. Then I'll see how I manage room sharing with these three guys!

We stay at the Mt. Laguna campground. It is closed though but we asked and are allowed to put our tents up. No showers and restrooms. We stay at the far end of the campground. There are some spigots low near the ground. We can get water from there and I take a "spigot shower".