D2-D3 Getting used to the trail 適應步道

Day 2 第二天:

I woke up in the middle of the night to a fantastic sight: a sky full of stars and the just-past-full moon shining down on our tents.

我半夜醒來的時侯在帳篷外看到很驚人的景色：滿天繁星，滿月的月光照在大家的帳篷上。

That meant the clouds had left and the sky on Day 2 would be clear and blue. One of the things I was looking forward to the most this trip was to not being a slave to the alarm clock, so I let myself wake up on my own for Day 2. It was about 7:00 a.m., and most of the others had already packed up and left. Indeed, the weather this morning was ideal:

雲都散了所以第二天應該看得到藍天。這旅途中我最期待的事情之一是可以不用調鬧鐘，睡到自然醒就好了。今天早上7點才醒過來，太陽一小時前就出來了，其他走PCT的人也早就收好裝備並出發了。今天的天氣真好：

The goal today was to walk another 20 miles or so, to the campground at Mt. Laguna, with its promise of drinkable water, showers and restaurant food. I passed many of the same faces on the trail today, and saw a few new ones. Water sources were nicely spaced, so that I only had to carry 2L, then 2L, then 4L, but I broke a personal record by drinking 7 liters in one day! The desert heat really is powerful. The day was fairly uneventful except for one place that may or may not have a bomb lurking nearby:

今天的目標是再走32公里到下一個露營區，這樣就會有無限量飲用水，可以洗澡，也可以在餐廳吃晚餐妳。今天看到很多熟悉的人，也遇到幾位比我早一天出發的人。今天的水源比較多，水源之間分別揹了兩公升、兩公升、四公升，不像昨天一次需要揹那麼多水，不過今天總共喝了七公升，破了自己一天內喝水的紀錄，沙漠的乾熱跟我習慣的台灣氣候果然差很多。今天沒有發生什麼特別的事情，只是經過一段可能隱藏著未爆彈的路：

This trail is really different than what I'm used to in Taiwan. The grade is very, very gradual, the surface is smooth, and there are very few plants in the way.

PCT的路況跟我在台灣習慣走的百岳路線和比較冷門的中級山很不一樣，PCT的坡度都很低，路面也平坦，很少遇到擋路的植被。

This means you can cover a lot of distance in one day, and 20 to 25 miles per day is quite common, even right at the start for some people. The day ended with a nice one-mile stretch through pine forest, not desert scrub. I arrived at Mt. Laguna just in time to hit the restaurant for a massive pulled pork and coleslaw sandwich, salad, and beer. My body seemed in good shape, except for my ankles, which felt weak from several instances of almost twisting them. I think the shoes are to blame and I will have to look for a solution when I get to the next big town.

因此，一天可以走很長的距離，甚至有人一開始就可以一天內走30至40公里。今天最後一公里終於離開傳統沙漠的環境，走進一個舒適的松樹林。到了露營區的時侯剛好來得及去餐廳吃豬肉高麗菜漢堡和沙拉再配上一杯當地的啤酒。走了兩天身體狀況還算不錯，只是腳踝有點虛弱，這兩天差一點扭傷好幾次，應該是鞋子的關係，到了下一個小鎮我要想辦法解決這個問題。

Day 3 第三天:

Today we finally got to see just how high we had come already. In the morning, we arrived at an amazing viewpoint where you could see probably 50 miles away. I believe I got my first glimpse of San Jacinto Peak, and the Salton Sea.

前兩天主要在上坡，今天終於看到我們究竟爬了多高，早上到了一個漂亮的瞭望點，我猜應該看得到80公里遠的山頭，最遠看到的可能是預計8天後才會登頂的San Jacinto山，在這也看得到海平面以下的索爾頓湖。

Two important firsts happen today: trail magic, and a water situation.

今天首次發生兩件事情：trail magic與缺水。

First, the trail magic. While stopped for lunch at the Pioneer Mail Picnic Area, I met Colleen (real name) and Sinatra (trail name). Sinatra actually knew someone who had worked for Howland's Honey back in Yorkton. Small world! Anyway, a woman from San Diego was driving by and saw hikers sitting at the tables. It also happened to be her birthday and she happened to have some cake with her. She figured hikers could use a sugar boost so she she stopped to talk with us and offered us some of her chocolate cake. This is trail magic: surprises from non-hikers who want to give some encouragement or assistance, usually in the form of food and drink. She also explained a strange thing I noticed in a tree:

首先講trail magic。今天吃午餐的時侯認識了Colleen（本名）與Sinatra（綽號）。有個當地女生開車經過這個野餐休息區時看到我們，今天恰巧是她的生日，車上有巧克力生日蛋糕。她知道我們應該缺乏熱量，所以她就停好車走過來找我們聊天，也跟我們分享她的生日蛋糕，這就是所謂的 trail magic，步道外的人來步道給我們驚喜、鼓勵和協助，大多是冰飲或步道上吃不到的食物。這位女生也向我解釋我在樹上看到的東西：

Apparently, woodpeckers make holes to store acorns they've gathered right in a tree trunk.

聽她說，這些洞都是啄木鳥啄的，用來裝牠們收集的橡子，把樹當成倉庫。

Now, for the water. This picnic area was supposed to have a water tank nearby from which we could get water. We would still have to treat the water, but at least it was a water source. Well, we went over to check it out and found only leftover brown water under the faucet and nothing coming out of the faucet. The tank was empty!

現在來講缺水事件：這個公路旁邊的野餐休息區有一個儲水桶，通常登山客會在這裡取水，雖然不是自來水所以還要消毒或過濾但在步道上有這個水源還是很方便。沒想到今天水龍頭下的水槽只剩一點黑水，而打開水龍頭也沒有水流出；水桶真的沒水了。

I still had a bit leftover from the last water source but now I was regretting not having taken more. The next source was still 7 miles away and it was not a guaranteed source, either. I took some of the brown water to be treated and drunk only in case of emergency and kept walking. If there was no water 7 miles away (the source was by a highway), I would have no choice but to try hitchhiking somewhere to get water.

幸好我上一個水源的水還剩一點，當時後悔沒有在上一個水源多取一點水，畢竟下一個水源還要走11公里而且沒有辦法保證那裡今天會有水。我取了一點黑水，緊急狀況下還可以消毒來喝，然後繼續往前走。到時候如果下個水源也沒水，我只能在旁邊的公路搭便車回文明世界找水。

Luckily, there was plenty of water left at the next source and everyone could drink to their heart's content. It was also a lovely place with shade in the afternoon and a nice camping area.

幸好下個水源的水很豐沛，大家想喝多少就可以喝多少。遮陽面積大，旁邊的平地還可以容納很多帳篷，差一點直接在那裡紮營，最後決定再走幾公里。

I took a nice break but decided to push on a couple more miles. My goal was to get to Mile 63.5 but at 61.5 I saw a nice place where some others had set up camp and the sun was almost down, so I decided to stop for the day. This was the first night of just wild camping near the trail. Not a bad spot to pitch a tent:

本來要走到63.5英里處可是在前面兩英里就看到有人已經搭好帳篷，加上太陽也快下山了，所以就放棄目標在那搭帳篷。今晚算是第一次在非正式露營區睡，地方還不錯：

Today I learned that you need to be flexible and a little bit over-prepared to succeed on this trail.

我今天學到的是如果需要走完PCT並享受過程，要做好準備，每天的計畫要保留彈性。