{"id":21264,"date":"2026-09-23T15:34:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T22:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wandering.earth\/?p=21264"},"modified":"2026-09-23T15:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T22:34:07","slug":"pct-2026-day-4-ca-section-a-mt-laguna-or-bust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wandering.earth\/index.php\/2026\/09\/23\/pct-2026-day-4-ca-section-a-mt-laguna-or-bust\/","title":{"rendered":"`PCT 2026 Day 4 – CA section A – Mt Laguna or Bust"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The day started off pretty good until my stove wouldn\u2019t light. My fuel canister was empty. Either it was leaking, I had used more fuel over the past 3 days trying to light the gas with a faulty Piezo lighter problem, or Dicks Sporting Goods sold me a half empty canister. I made do with some food that I didn\u2019t need to heat up and set off for Mount Laguna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did rehydrate one of my rice balls, which didn\u2019t need hot water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An easy crossing of Kitchen Creek Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It wasn\u2019t too hot in the morning, but it did get hot midday and that\u2019s about when I discovered I did not have enough water to make it to the first water source on trail<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus apparently I was entering an area with unexploded munitions. Not sure which one scared me more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I thought I had more water when I started that morning and I had assumed Cibbits Flat Campground was close enough the the PCT to get water from quickly without a long detour off trail if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both turned out to be wrong assumptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I went down to the campground, I wouldn\u2019t have time to make it to Mount Laguna. And without fuel, that meant I\u2019d have to have cold snacks for dinner and breakfast again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After procrastinating for a bit, I decided to go down to the campground to get water and ask around if anyone had spare fuel in the campground. I was fortunate. I got both down there so while I couldn\u2019t make it to Mt Laguna, I could make it to Long Canyon and have hot food for dinner and breakfast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also had to overcome my first serious thoughts of aborting my hike. 3-4 days is somewhat common time frame for doubting yourself on long through hikes. I almost aborted my John Muir Trail hike in 2020 on the morning of day 4, but managed to push through my doubts at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, I also overcame that challenge. My trek would continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why did the caterpillar cross the trail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n