PCT: Week 1: Section A: Start to Warner Springs. Also, a link to the Flickr where I'll be posting photos.

Mile 0: Mom and Dad getting us started out right!

It's only week 1, and the stench has already gotten unbearable.  Other than that though, we're having a great time!

We have a few of the normal aches and pains - sore feet, achy IT band, etc. - but overall physically things are going well.  Our first few days we did about 10 miles, but since then have done between 15 - 19 daily, which is a good start and just about what we hoped to be doing at this stage.

The scenery has been unexpectedly beautiful.  We heard that SoCal was the least scenic section, but it's been amazing so far - lots of mellow hiking along ridges with massive views for days.  We've been particularly lucky because the weather has been cool the last 4 days.  There hasn't been much shade, but we haven't needed it. 

On day two, our friends Tony and Michelle from San Diego met us and gave us a massive spread of food and drinks, which was amazing!  So far we've been well taken care of - we've been into town about every two days for coffee and some warm food.  This southern stretch is pretty forgiving, with easily graded trails and relatively frequent town stops.  I think after this, we just have a couple more days to the next spot.

We've also been meeting interesting people, including Zach from Columbus, who some of you Ohio friends may recognize as the spokesman for Skyline Chili!

If you want to see some pictures, I'll be posting them on my Flickr account b/c it saves at a better resolution than Facebook.  I'll post links from there, but at the moment FB is giving me problems logging in.  The flickr link for this last section is here.
 
Today we're taking a 'near-o' in Warner Springs - a small community with not much beyond a super hospitable community center and a post office.  We walked about 4.5 miles this morning.  They have burgers here, so we might not go much more. 

Nice Welcome at Warner Springs!