Yes yes yes! Completed the run through Oregon in 14 days flat. I'm not such a competitive person, nor am I racing to Canada (first one who gets there is the loser) but setting a goal and hitting my mark felt good. I had a great crew of folks coming into the OC who stuck it out with me all the way to Bend/Sisters, OR where they had to jump out to get food and then got sucked into good town times. At the time it felt silly that I was pushing on with all my buddies right behind me to step into another hikerless void but within days I caught up to the first wave of my old peeps - Seahorse and Chilidog! Yes! I knew I'd been moving fast for a reason.
Had to change up the routine some to make miles. More so than in any other section I've realized how much walking has become my lifestyle. If I'm not eating, sleeping, or rearranging my stuff then I'm walking. Sun up to sun down. But it doesn't feel like a chore it's just the way it is. I get up at 5:30 before first light, get my stuff jammed into my pack, wolf down a bear claw and get walking by 6 when the sun's just starting to hit. And it doesn't feel like "Here we go again. Another long day. Gotta start walking." It's just what happens when all my stuff is packed and there's no more breakfast pastry. Automatic pilot. As thoughtless as turning on the coffee machine in the morning, or driving to work/school even though you're half asleep. And the day just rolls by as I put more miles behind me. Take a coffee break, walk some more. Each lunch, walk some more. Sit down for a snack, and walk some more... all the while seeing some amazing sites, having good conversation with other hikers, meeting new folks on the trail - ya know, living. And Oregon had some amazing sites to see. This section has been one of the most stunningly beautiful areas I've walked through on the whole trail. First all the beautiful lakes with clear swimmin' water reflecting the tall forest around them, then the Three Sisters and all the lava flows and snow capped volcanoes chained together. Then Jefferson... then Washington... then Hood... volcanoe hopping our way through the state. I'd get by one and climb a ridge to look back and when I'd turn around BAM another giant would be staring me down off in the distance. It's fun to see where you're headed, and where you've been.
Got to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood with Chilidog, Seahorse, Marmot, Roo, Goodness, and Zim and chowed down on an amazing breakfast buffet. Yes! It was a pre-border celebration anticipating dropping into the Columbia River Gorge in two short days until we heard... fire everywhere! Ok not everywhere. But the fires on the north side of Hood had just gone from manageable to humongous overnight and the PCT was in the danger zone (or atleast in the closure zone). We were the first ones to hit the roadblock so we sat down with a rep from the forest service and brainstormed a detour around the other side of the mountain. It would add about 15 miles, involve a fair amount of road walking, and put us up and down trails that laugh in the face of the PCT's mellow grades and cruiser conditions. Most rangers urged us to just thumb a ride to the river and call it a state knowing full well just how inglorious this detour would be but at this point we've come to far through too much to start skipping sections. The thruhiker compulsion got the best of us and off we went. The first section on the timberline trail was a little grueling but beautiful. Then we dropped down to a pretty major road for a 15 mile pavement section. To make the best of the situation I hitched up to a store to grab some cold drinks and snacks and brought 'em back to help entertain us through the night-hike road walk. It was pretty fun to cruise down the road at night. Not a lot of traffic and a great opportunity to all hang out while we walked. It's hard to get 10 people in a conversation when you walk in single file. But taking over that road we might as well of been sitting around someones living room chattin' it up. Lot's of good jokes and riddles got us through a long night. In the morning we finished out the pavement, got up a forest road and back to trail to drop down into the gorge.
Coming into the gorge was a really exciting time for me. I know this place. I've hiked here and lived here and have felt at home here. But I've never walked here! Coming up over the ridge and getting a look at the Columbia River with Washington on the other side brought on a realization of how far I'd come like a slap in the face... one followed by an unstoppable grin. I might actually finish this trail! For the first time on the whole trip it feels like the end is just a ways away instead of being some far-off goal that's not even worth considering yet.
Having great and long-time friends in Portland and hiking with folks that have lived in the area and have connections in Hood River was just icing on the cake. The trail down to the gorge was another reminder of how spoiled we have gotten on the PCT - some of the steepest 3 miles of trail I'd ever been on in my life. When we finally hit Cascade Locks, I tried thumbing a ride to Portland. But by then it was already pretty dark and prospects were low. So instead I went with Seahorse and Chilidog to Hood River with their friend Megan. Sweet brewery, good mexican food, right on the water, cool town. And... I finally ran into Bubbles! Hell yes! The time of chasing my friends down was finally over. We hung out for a bit before everyone crashed. The next day it was taking care of business time - puting together 5 packages of food to scatter down the trail in Washington. A tedious process but we got it done. Said goodbye for now to Chilidog and Seahorse and hitched a ride to Portland to meet up with friends and track down Boots. It all came together at the Laurelthirst with some live bluegrass and good local suds to make the reunion of old friends on trail and off even more exciting. Wound up closing the bar and headed back to my good friend Lisa's house to get some sleep. Now I'm hanging out at a coffee shop in the usual Portland fashion and getting myself excited about getting back on trail. I miss this town and would love to come back and do it even better than I did before. Maybe sometime down the road. I have other things to do for now.
So I've heard some clamoring for more photos and I'd love to get them out there because there's some really cool stuff to see from OR. But unfortunately I didn't get the chance to make it happen yet. If I have more time in town today I may give it a shot. Otherwise it might have to wait until I'm done.
Cool! One last piece of business. So I've mailed my last five boxes out and will definitely be hitting those post offices/businesses/homes. As usual, make sure you check out the how-to on mailing before hitting the PO. If you wanna send anything out here's the skinny on where I'll be:
c/o Trout Lake Grocery
PO Box 132
Trout lake, WA 98650
ETA: 9/11
c/o White Pass Rural Branch PO
at the Kracker Barrel Store
48851 US Hwy 12
Naches, WA 98937
ETA: 9/14
General Delivery
c/o Chevron Station
Snoqualmie Pass, WA 98068
ETA: 9/18
Dinsmore's Hiker Haven
(my name)
PO Box 374
Skykomish, WA 98288
ETA: 9/21
General Delivery
Stehekin, WA 98852
ETA: 9/25
That's all folks!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Oregon -The Promise Land! Mile 1730
Yeeeeehaw! We finally made it! California, see ya later. It's on to new terrain and adventure in the northwest.
Did a quick in and out at Etna and we all hit the trail hard with wide eyes set on the Oregon border. Before we got there though we had to hit the last official pit stop in California - Seiad Valley. Home of the biggest challenge on the PCT - a five pound pancake eating contest. If you get all five of these frisbees down the breakfast is on them and you enter a prestigious and small society of winners. If 200 out of 400 get to the finish of the PCT this year I'd say less than 10 will complete the challenge. Many may finish the trail, but few can eat 5 lbs of pancakes! We didn't make it in time for breakfast, but after a long night and a 4:30 wakeup that morning we were able to get to the diner before it closed at 2 for some amazing milkshakes and patty melts. Mmm. Then a little chilltime by the river and a few thousand calories out of the convenience store and we were ready to keep on walking. A big climb out of Seiad led up to some beautiful ridge walking with views of valley after valley leading all the way back to Shasta. That mountain is beautiful but I'm ready to get a new valcanoe in view.
Three good days of walking and we were lined up for a morning arrival into OR. Getting to that border was surreal. Once I saw it in the distance I immediately started racing to the finish line. Got to the sign, gave a big hoot and holler, and then took some time to try to figure out what just happened. Judging from the sign I knew that I had walked the 1700 miles or so through all of California but it was real hard to FEEL like I did. Out on the PCT it's like we're all in our own trail bubble that's somehow separate from points on the map although we do collide with towns you can point to from time to time. Thinking back I could remember all the adventure and challenges and good times I'd had to get me here but conceptualising all of it as a continuous walk from Mexico to Oregon was too big to wrap my head around. A funny feeling for sure that I'm sure will only get harder to sort through as we hit borders up north.
We did a little celebrating at the border and took the rest of the day easy - mosying to a spot not far from town. I've been rolling around with Team Molasses - Flash, Rattler, Rocky, and (sometimes) Speedbump - a crew of good folks that pride themselves on capturing faster hikers who race up from behind them but then wind up hanging out for a while 'cause they enjoy the company. I was definitely one of those hikers and fully appreciated the friendly faces and a few days of easier walking. Just before I ran into this crowd I really started burning out on walking big miles for the sake of big miles - always focusing on the goal and not on the present. Pushing hard when I was tired or hungry 'cause my watch said to, and not taking as much time to enjoy great things along the way. Just before Etna I decided to pull the plug on that strategy for now and get back to walking for the sake of walking, as opposed to just getting places. Team Molasses helped me stay true to that and now that we're all rejuvinated, we're all talking about getting back to big miles - the Oregon Challenge!
On the PCT Oregon is definitely the promise land. Along the trail, the state is known as the section where all of a sudden the trail flattens out and all of the zeros and short mile days in the Sierras get made up for in a race to the Columbia river. All of your trail sins will be pardoned and you will magically be transported to the other side, rejuvinated and ready for a hard and mysterious (cause no one one talks about it) slog through Washington.
It won't be all it's cracked up to be I'm sure. Rumors about the trail are never as glorious or severe as they're made out to be. But it is going to be cruiser terrain and a good chance to catch up on some time (and some people). Starting tomorrow morning I'll get started on what's known as the Oregon Challenge - finishing the entire state in a quick 2 weeks. It'll be quick work but hard as well. But with not a lot in the way of big views and rewarding climbs a mile marker might be just the right motivation to get through the state. Hard to believe CA took over 3 months and I'm talking about being in washington in a handful of days. But if I can push 32 miles a day including restock stops throughout the whole thing Washinton will be in sight in early September. I'm psyched to get there quick and breath more easily about finishing up before the snow starts coming down.
Time to give up the computer to some other folks at the Ashland Hostel (great spot). Not much in the way of towns in OR but I'll catch you all at the next border. Start your watches and wish me luck. See ya on the other side!
Did a quick in and out at Etna and we all hit the trail hard with wide eyes set on the Oregon border. Before we got there though we had to hit the last official pit stop in California - Seiad Valley. Home of the biggest challenge on the PCT - a five pound pancake eating contest. If you get all five of these frisbees down the breakfast is on them and you enter a prestigious and small society of winners. If 200 out of 400 get to the finish of the PCT this year I'd say less than 10 will complete the challenge. Many may finish the trail, but few can eat 5 lbs of pancakes! We didn't make it in time for breakfast, but after a long night and a 4:30 wakeup that morning we were able to get to the diner before it closed at 2 for some amazing milkshakes and patty melts. Mmm. Then a little chilltime by the river and a few thousand calories out of the convenience store and we were ready to keep on walking. A big climb out of Seiad led up to some beautiful ridge walking with views of valley after valley leading all the way back to Shasta. That mountain is beautiful but I'm ready to get a new valcanoe in view.
Three good days of walking and we were lined up for a morning arrival into OR. Getting to that border was surreal. Once I saw it in the distance I immediately started racing to the finish line. Got to the sign, gave a big hoot and holler, and then took some time to try to figure out what just happened. Judging from the sign I knew that I had walked the 1700 miles or so through all of California but it was real hard to FEEL like I did. Out on the PCT it's like we're all in our own trail bubble that's somehow separate from points on the map although we do collide with towns you can point to from time to time. Thinking back I could remember all the adventure and challenges and good times I'd had to get me here but conceptualising all of it as a continuous walk from Mexico to Oregon was too big to wrap my head around. A funny feeling for sure that I'm sure will only get harder to sort through as we hit borders up north.
We did a little celebrating at the border and took the rest of the day easy - mosying to a spot not far from town. I've been rolling around with Team Molasses - Flash, Rattler, Rocky, and (sometimes) Speedbump - a crew of good folks that pride themselves on capturing faster hikers who race up from behind them but then wind up hanging out for a while 'cause they enjoy the company. I was definitely one of those hikers and fully appreciated the friendly faces and a few days of easier walking. Just before I ran into this crowd I really started burning out on walking big miles for the sake of big miles - always focusing on the goal and not on the present. Pushing hard when I was tired or hungry 'cause my watch said to, and not taking as much time to enjoy great things along the way. Just before Etna I decided to pull the plug on that strategy for now and get back to walking for the sake of walking, as opposed to just getting places. Team Molasses helped me stay true to that and now that we're all rejuvinated, we're all talking about getting back to big miles - the Oregon Challenge!
On the PCT Oregon is definitely the promise land. Along the trail, the state is known as the section where all of a sudden the trail flattens out and all of the zeros and short mile days in the Sierras get made up for in a race to the Columbia river. All of your trail sins will be pardoned and you will magically be transported to the other side, rejuvinated and ready for a hard and mysterious (cause no one one talks about it) slog through Washington.
It won't be all it's cracked up to be I'm sure. Rumors about the trail are never as glorious or severe as they're made out to be. But it is going to be cruiser terrain and a good chance to catch up on some time (and some people). Starting tomorrow morning I'll get started on what's known as the Oregon Challenge - finishing the entire state in a quick 2 weeks. It'll be quick work but hard as well. But with not a lot in the way of big views and rewarding climbs a mile marker might be just the right motivation to get through the state. Hard to believe CA took over 3 months and I'm talking about being in washington in a handful of days. But if I can push 32 miles a day including restock stops throughout the whole thing Washinton will be in sight in early September. I'm psyched to get there quick and breath more easily about finishing up before the snow starts coming down.
Time to give up the computer to some other folks at the Ashland Hostel (great spot). Not much in the way of towns in OR but I'll catch you all at the next border. Start your watches and wish me luck. See ya on the other side!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Cruisin' through Nor-Cal Mile 1610
Holy Mole! What to say. It's been a long and lonesome stretch. After the halfway I kept truckin solo. Coming out of Chester I hit the Drakesbad resort in Lassen National Park - such generous people! They set me up with a shower, a hot spring fed pool, a cooler of the good stuff and a humongous meal at half price. I got seated with a pair of identical twins that had grown up coming to the spot with their family and a man from the bay area who was running a star watching program that night. Good company. And when I asked the owner if they might have any leftovers of an awesome prime rib family style diner he came out with a plate bigger than the first one I got. Hell ya!
From Drakesbad I did a day's walk to Old Station - a sleepy town with an RV resort and a general store. After a soda and some ice-cream I decided, "what the heck. I'll hike the next stretch of hot waterless miles tonight and get into town a day earlier than I expected." So I hit the Hat Creek Rim around 7 or 8 and hiked 'til about one in the morning, my biggest day yet - 43 miles! It seemed well worth it too after reading the registers about all the heat and blisters etc. I dropped in Burney, CA the next day, got my food, had a pizza to fill me up and was right back on the trail. I kept up the 30 mile average coming into the Dunsmuir/Mount Shasta area. Finally I ran into more hikers! The weeks of hiking solo were finally over as I came across Hans Solo, Pfiesty, and Wandering Dot. Also ran into Samurai and Frito-Ray, some section hikers working their way to Ashland. When they get there, Samurai will be done with her PCT hike! I can only imagine what that will feel like for her... and what that'll feel like for me when it's my time. Spent a bunch of time in Dunsmuir at the cool not-for-profit laundermat and then some more time at the Dunsmuir Brewery Works. Good home-made brew and awesome house-smoked ribs. Life was good. Ran back into the hikers there and wound up sticking around a little longer for some more food and beer. Samurai and Frito-Ray were super generous and picked up the tab on my second meal. Thanks again guys! Got a great ride back to the trail that night and was making miles again in the morning. Another few days of 30s and I hit more of the crowd - running into Flash, Rattler, Rocky, Anthony, Crasher, Speedbump, Holden, Quake, Unload, Cherry Picker... Lots of people! I'm definitely back in it. We all dropped into Etna, CA around the same time and after getting chores done spent a good amount of time at the Etna Brewery... great suds and good company. From here I'm looking at a hard hitch back to the trail and then just a few days to get out of this humongous state. We're Oregon bound!
From the registers I figure that Boots and Bubbles are about 3 days ahead. Bubs says she's going to be spending some time visiting friends in Oregon and I'm going take on the 2 week Oregon challenge (getting through all of OR in 14 days) so it's a recipe for running into one another. For now I'm going to enjoy the company I'm in and the miles ahead. Can't wait to hit that border and feel the first big accomplishment of the hike. We worked for it that's for sure. I'll catch you all on the other side!
From Drakesbad I did a day's walk to Old Station - a sleepy town with an RV resort and a general store. After a soda and some ice-cream I decided, "what the heck. I'll hike the next stretch of hot waterless miles tonight and get into town a day earlier than I expected." So I hit the Hat Creek Rim around 7 or 8 and hiked 'til about one in the morning, my biggest day yet - 43 miles! It seemed well worth it too after reading the registers about all the heat and blisters etc. I dropped in Burney, CA the next day, got my food, had a pizza to fill me up and was right back on the trail. I kept up the 30 mile average coming into the Dunsmuir/Mount Shasta area. Finally I ran into more hikers! The weeks of hiking solo were finally over as I came across Hans Solo, Pfiesty, and Wandering Dot. Also ran into Samurai and Frito-Ray, some section hikers working their way to Ashland. When they get there, Samurai will be done with her PCT hike! I can only imagine what that will feel like for her... and what that'll feel like for me when it's my time. Spent a bunch of time in Dunsmuir at the cool not-for-profit laundermat and then some more time at the Dunsmuir Brewery Works. Good home-made brew and awesome house-smoked ribs. Life was good. Ran back into the hikers there and wound up sticking around a little longer for some more food and beer. Samurai and Frito-Ray were super generous and picked up the tab on my second meal. Thanks again guys! Got a great ride back to the trail that night and was making miles again in the morning. Another few days of 30s and I hit more of the crowd - running into Flash, Rattler, Rocky, Anthony, Crasher, Speedbump, Holden, Quake, Unload, Cherry Picker... Lots of people! I'm definitely back in it. We all dropped into Etna, CA around the same time and after getting chores done spent a good amount of time at the Etna Brewery... great suds and good company. From here I'm looking at a hard hitch back to the trail and then just a few days to get out of this humongous state. We're Oregon bound!
From the registers I figure that Boots and Bubbles are about 3 days ahead. Bubs says she's going to be spending some time visiting friends in Oregon and I'm going take on the 2 week Oregon challenge (getting through all of OR in 14 days) so it's a recipe for running into one another. For now I'm going to enjoy the company I'm in and the miles ahead. Can't wait to hit that border and feel the first big accomplishment of the hike. We worked for it that's for sure. I'll catch you all on the other side!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Halfway and still lovin' life! Mile 1340
Been CRUISIN through northern California making miles and looking to catch up to my people (and have enough time to actually make it to California). After leaving Katherine in King's Beach (a hard decision to make. That place rocks!) I took a day and a half to blow into Sierra City, walking my first 30 mile day. Cool SMALL town with one main street that's about 2 short blocks long with one general store and 3 restaurants (two of which are bars). There are some trail angels there at Red Moose Cafe, Bill and Margaret who run the restaurant there and let hikers spend the night, use their computer, take showers, and basically help out any way they can. Awesome awesome people who seem genuinely happy to help and serve up a mean breakfast with all you can eat breakfast (and I hear a tasty BBQ rib dinner). Definitely like no greasy spoon I've been to before. Great spot, I'd love to go back sometime and hang more and help out.
Left Sierra City and took a funky "short cut" to get back to the PCT right out of the backside of down. An old forest road I guess that goes through a ton of old mines on the hill there and past a lot of private property owned by people who clearly want to be left alone (lots of signs like "beware of killer dogs" "we don't call the cops" "we have guns and know how to use them"...). I judged the signs as more bark than bite... only saw one dog and didn't see a single person before I was back on public land. Then it was cruisin' into Belden. Did some leap froggin' with a hiker named Josh but he was the only other person I saw before running into 7-11 the day I arrived in Belden. Had a hot meal, picked up my package, jumped in the river, and it was back to the trail to tackle the big climb back up to the ridge. One more big day (31 miles this time!) and then a short walk into Chester. Back in town again! This time I'm going to stick around for a couple of hours and get a shower, a couple of meals, and my new shoes. They just arrived from REI this morning right in time. I have a photo of them side by side and you'll see it was definitely time for some new tires.
Yesterday I ran through the official halfway mark of the trail. There were a lot of mixed emotions. At the time I was starting to feel a little frustrated about not catching up with my crew as soon as I'd hoped. And I've been feeling anxious about getting up to Washington quick before the snow sets in. Plus outside of a few folks here and there I've pretty much been on my own. The solitude was a welcome break but I'm back to wanting a little company to keep me motivated and to ramp up the fun out here. Anyway, I was a little down and out when I hit it but looking at the register and all the names of folks I'd traveled with along the way so far reminding me of what an awesome adventure it's been so far. To think that I have that many more good times, beautiful places, and fun adventure ahead (even if I have to do it in 2/3rds the time) was super uplifting. Now I'm back on top of my game and ready for more. I'm definitely still looking to catch up with Boots, Bubbs, and the rest of them up ahead but I'm not going to run past opportunities to have fun and meet cool people along the way. We'll all be together again soon but in the mean time I'll definitely be enjoying myself. As for Canada, if I keep cruising the way I have been it won't be a problem. Plus the word on the trail is that it only get's faster from here through Oregon. Onward and upward!
So you folks know, I'm moving faster than I planned on last time around. If you're still planning on sending something out, here are some updated dates:
Burney, CA 96013 ETA: 8/8
Mount Shasta, CA 96067 ETA: 8/12
As usual check out the mailing how-to if you want to send anything.
Left Sierra City and took a funky "short cut" to get back to the PCT right out of the backside of down. An old forest road I guess that goes through a ton of old mines on the hill there and past a lot of private property owned by people who clearly want to be left alone (lots of signs like "beware of killer dogs" "we don't call the cops" "we have guns and know how to use them"...). I judged the signs as more bark than bite... only saw one dog and didn't see a single person before I was back on public land. Then it was cruisin' into Belden. Did some leap froggin' with a hiker named Josh but he was the only other person I saw before running into 7-11 the day I arrived in Belden. Had a hot meal, picked up my package, jumped in the river, and it was back to the trail to tackle the big climb back up to the ridge. One more big day (31 miles this time!) and then a short walk into Chester. Back in town again! This time I'm going to stick around for a couple of hours and get a shower, a couple of meals, and my new shoes. They just arrived from REI this morning right in time. I have a photo of them side by side and you'll see it was definitely time for some new tires.
Yesterday I ran through the official halfway mark of the trail. There were a lot of mixed emotions. At the time I was starting to feel a little frustrated about not catching up with my crew as soon as I'd hoped. And I've been feeling anxious about getting up to Washington quick before the snow sets in. Plus outside of a few folks here and there I've pretty much been on my own. The solitude was a welcome break but I'm back to wanting a little company to keep me motivated and to ramp up the fun out here. Anyway, I was a little down and out when I hit it but looking at the register and all the names of folks I'd traveled with along the way so far reminding me of what an awesome adventure it's been so far. To think that I have that many more good times, beautiful places, and fun adventure ahead (even if I have to do it in 2/3rds the time) was super uplifting. Now I'm back on top of my game and ready for more. I'm definitely still looking to catch up with Boots, Bubbs, and the rest of them up ahead but I'm not going to run past opportunities to have fun and meet cool people along the way. We'll all be together again soon but in the mean time I'll definitely be enjoying myself. As for Canada, if I keep cruising the way I have been it won't be a problem. Plus the word on the trail is that it only get's faster from here through Oregon. Onward and upward!
So you folks know, I'm moving faster than I planned on last time around. If you're still planning on sending something out, here are some updated dates:
Burney, CA 96013 ETA: 8/8
Mount Shasta, CA 96067 ETA: 8/12
As usual check out the mailing how-to if you want to send anything.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Back on the TRAIL - mile 1158
The tides of snow have finally turned back here in Nor-Cal (I'm getting hip to the lingo). Just finished two short sections to get me to Truckee where I got in touch with my college friend Katherine who lives in King's Beach on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. I've been here for a couple nights taking care of business for the next few hundred miles and getting good R&R in - live bluegrass show, swimming in the lake, BBQ on the beach, good greasy spoon breakfast... life is good.
Coming back from NYC was harder than I thought. It was a stark difference from being surrounded by people I love and having awesome fun reunion times plus the wedding celebration extravaganza to being dropped in the middle of the mountains at Sonora Pass knowing that the folks I've been traveling with were a week ahead and expecting to be doing a lot of walking on my own. As luck turned out I ran into some friendly familiar faces right at the trail head and did some traveling with Queso, Nacho, Cerveza, and Caveman coming into South Lake Tahoe. The trail has been mellowing out for us. It's still a bit hard to follow in some spots but in general is getting back to a solid path. The tradeoff for less snow has been more bugs - the 'skitters are out! Every challenge has a silver lining I suppose though. With the snow, even though it made everything slower and harder I could never genuinely wish it away because it also made everything so damn beautiful. The bugs have a clever way of staying uncondemned as well - their deal is as long as you are walking, they'll stay off your back (and your face, and hands, and whatever other skin you're showing). But once you stop it's a feeding frenzy. Obvious solution - keeping walking! It's a good thing too that they keep us motivated seeing as how we're 3 months into a 5 month trip and just approaching the halfway point. Time to make miles my friends!
At South Lake Tahoe we got in touch with an AT-super-enthusiast, Superman, who rolls with the Riff Raff crew back east helping out hikers and keeping the good times rolling both on and off the trail. He brought the tradition out west and has been puting up hikers and showing all a good time. A bunch of us stayed in his place - the set and setting for a good time with good people and a gripping 5 dollar poker tourney that Superman came on top of (now I know why he puts up so many hikers!). Most folks decided to stay another night but in the morning I was antsy to get back to the trail after taking a week off. So I said my goodbyes to Team Fiesta and the Car Camp crew and headed back to make some miles.
So I hopped back on and had a blast walking through a beautiful section of trail in the desolation wilderness. Beautiful glacial lakes everywhere! My favorite, hands down, was Aloha lake - a humongous pile of bold blue water spotted with rock islands and surrounded by still-snow-covered peaks. The area was a little more crowded than most of the spots we've been to (and I actually got "carded" by a ranger who checked my permit. First time! It's official, I'm walking the PCT!). But that's how it works in beautiful places. If anyone has the time and is in the area I would definitely recommend checking this spot out.
I've really enjoyed walking and camping by myself this week. It was nice to have some quiet time after the hustle and bustle of my last two weeks. And now the trail is back to mind-wandering walking as opposed to the highly-focussed "where am I?" "don't slip now" "holy crap this river is huge!" stuff we've just been through. I'm headed back out today and am not sure what hikers will be out there but if I'm on my own for a few more days I won't be disappointed.
Cool! So I've been slacking in the whole "here's where I'm going to be if you want to send me stuff" department. Here's a list of the next few places I'm definitely stopping into. I should be in all of them on weekdays so no problems there. Definitely give me a call AND write me an email if you plan on sending anything out and I'll try to stay on top of that stuff. Also, make sure to check out the how-to before dropping something in the mail.
Chester, CA 96020 ETA: 8/7
Burney, CA 96013 ETA: 8/11
Mount Shasta, CA 96067 ETA: 8/16
Awesome! Thanks in advanced for anything that might come my way. Next time I'm in touch I'll be past the halfway marker, whoop whoop! Then it's Oregon on the horizon and the race to Canada is on. Catch you all later!
Coming back from NYC was harder than I thought. It was a stark difference from being surrounded by people I love and having awesome fun reunion times plus the wedding celebration extravaganza to being dropped in the middle of the mountains at Sonora Pass knowing that the folks I've been traveling with were a week ahead and expecting to be doing a lot of walking on my own. As luck turned out I ran into some friendly familiar faces right at the trail head and did some traveling with Queso, Nacho, Cerveza, and Caveman coming into South Lake Tahoe. The trail has been mellowing out for us. It's still a bit hard to follow in some spots but in general is getting back to a solid path. The tradeoff for less snow has been more bugs - the 'skitters are out! Every challenge has a silver lining I suppose though. With the snow, even though it made everything slower and harder I could never genuinely wish it away because it also made everything so damn beautiful. The bugs have a clever way of staying uncondemned as well - their deal is as long as you are walking, they'll stay off your back (and your face, and hands, and whatever other skin you're showing). But once you stop it's a feeding frenzy. Obvious solution - keeping walking! It's a good thing too that they keep us motivated seeing as how we're 3 months into a 5 month trip and just approaching the halfway point. Time to make miles my friends!
At South Lake Tahoe we got in touch with an AT-super-enthusiast, Superman, who rolls with the Riff Raff crew back east helping out hikers and keeping the good times rolling both on and off the trail. He brought the tradition out west and has been puting up hikers and showing all a good time. A bunch of us stayed in his place - the set and setting for a good time with good people and a gripping 5 dollar poker tourney that Superman came on top of (now I know why he puts up so many hikers!). Most folks decided to stay another night but in the morning I was antsy to get back to the trail after taking a week off. So I said my goodbyes to Team Fiesta and the Car Camp crew and headed back to make some miles.
So I hopped back on and had a blast walking through a beautiful section of trail in the desolation wilderness. Beautiful glacial lakes everywhere! My favorite, hands down, was Aloha lake - a humongous pile of bold blue water spotted with rock islands and surrounded by still-snow-covered peaks. The area was a little more crowded than most of the spots we've been to (and I actually got "carded" by a ranger who checked my permit. First time! It's official, I'm walking the PCT!). But that's how it works in beautiful places. If anyone has the time and is in the area I would definitely recommend checking this spot out.
I've really enjoyed walking and camping by myself this week. It was nice to have some quiet time after the hustle and bustle of my last two weeks. And now the trail is back to mind-wandering walking as opposed to the highly-focussed "where am I?" "don't slip now" "holy crap this river is huge!" stuff we've just been through. I'm headed back out today and am not sure what hikers will be out there but if I'm on my own for a few more days I won't be disappointed.
Cool! So I've been slacking in the whole "here's where I'm going to be if you want to send me stuff" department. Here's a list of the next few places I'm definitely stopping into. I should be in all of them on weekdays so no problems there. Definitely give me a call AND write me an email if you plan on sending anything out and I'll try to stay on top of that stuff. Also, make sure to check out the how-to before dropping something in the mail.
Chester, CA 96020 ETA: 8/7
Burney, CA 96013 ETA: 8/11
Mount Shasta, CA 96067 ETA: 8/16
Awesome! Thanks in advanced for anything that might come my way. Next time I'm in touch I'll be past the halfway marker, whoop whoop! Then it's Oregon on the horizon and the race to Canada is on. Catch you all later!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Father Pepe gets official in NYC - mile 1020
The last two weeks have been unlike any other since I started this trip. First, the trail:
Leaving Mammoth the general feeling rang something like, "Hey we're through most of the big stuff. We're gonna be below 10 grand for the most part and yeah, I hear there are some rivers we gotta deal with but I'm a tall guy with a steady step. It's going to be cruiser! Right?" WRONG. The hundred miles or so from Mammoth to Sonora Pass kicked our butts big time. I remember one day in particular when I couldn't believe all the crap we walked through and over to get our 15 miles in for the day. From return creek to the far side of Piute creek we did something like 6 scary crossings over rippin' "seasonal creeks" mostly on the convenient balance beams place near the trail, hopped over a pass, did a little map and compass work on the snow (now in the trees), bushwacked next to a waterfall to avoid circuitous trail miles (found the 40 foot cliff that sent the trail southward and the snow shoot that let us glisade down the thing) and wait for it, my favorite - walked through what felt like a quarter mile of chest deep water! Yeah! Big day! Clawing for those miles. Other highlights included walking on a bridge that was 3 feet deep itself to get past the lake to Falls Creek which was another trip in itself. Water water everywhere! And hell yeah you can drink it all! Hit the 1000 mile mark the day before hopping off the trail and like magic our path was revealed. Finally, some dry ground to cruise on for a little while.
This trail can be such a tease! You don't see it for a whole day and just when you're starting to get really fed up it comes back and is all like "hey baby. I'm here. I'll stay with you. Just follow me and it'll all be okay. I promise" And you come crawling back all relieved and pathetic like nothing ever happened. And right when you get your momentum going and things are back to business as usual it runs off again! What a hussy. But hey, we made it to Sonoran pass and I'm still having an awesome time!
I've heard about a lot of people skipping sections in the Sierras it all kinds of ways - bumping ahead and walking south, bumping ahead and walking to Canada with plans to come back, road walking 100 mile sections to avoid scary trail miles (really?!), etc. Maybe it's the right decision for those folks. I'm not here to judge (well maybe I judge the road walkers a little bit... just skip the section guys. It's all good). But I definitely made the right decision for me. Even if all this slow walking means not getting to Canada before the snow starts falling up north I'd be 100 percent satisfied. The walking has been great adventure and I wouldn't give it up for any trophy.
The only disappointment I've had with other folks with all the moving and shaking around is the fear mongering that's been going on the trail. If something doesn't feel comfortable or safe to you, by all means, turn around, go a different way, skip the section... do what you need to do to stay safe, happy, but still challenged. But PLEASE, don't come away from that experience and tell others that the trail is impassible or not safe. We all came out here to challenge ourselves and by the time we get off the trail we will all have pushed our comfort levels. But where and how that challenge occurs will be different for everyone. It's those moments of pushing ourselves (yeah, in a safe way) to make hard decisions, manage risks, take on physical challenges, etc. that we learn most about ourselves and what we're capable of. If you tell someone not to do something then you rob them of that experience - even if that experience is simply walking to a point, realizing you're out of your element, and turning around. That is just as valuable as successfully fording the giant river that scared the crap out of you - maybe in some ways more so. I just hate hearing about people that were planning on climbing Whitney but then heard a bunch of war stories and because of that didn't even go and look at it. I'm all for informing hikers of conditions they may face, especially if you're concerned with a particular person's abilities. But let's try to leave the ego out of it as much as possible and present the facts as close to objectively as we can so folks can make their own decisions. OK. Rant over.
So got to Sonora pass and thumbed a quick ride to Bridgeport to spend the night and get my ducks in order for heading to NYC. Yeah yeah! Wedding time. I knew the hiatus was going to be a head trip but honestly being back at home with the friends and fam has been amazing. The most shocking part was Reno! Holy crap! Coming off the trail and winding up in a windowless casino with flashing lights and ringing bells everywhere was a trip. The buffet was well worth it though! Being the minister at my sister and friend's wedding was super fun and rewarding. The ceremony went great and the festivities were a blast. Everyone's psyched about how it all worked out.
Well now it's back to the trail. I'm excited to jump back into what will prove to be a healthier lifestyle. Staying on California time was a good call - staying up late and sleeping through the morning. Thank god the metabolism is still high or there would have been a few nights there when I would have wound up passed out on the street. Trying to get to see everyone in NYC and get my kicks in is always a whirlwind but I did pretty well this time 'round. Hopefully by tomorrow night I'll be sleeping on the ground again and on my way to Tahoe. It's time to start runnin' to Canada. We'll see what the trail dishes out next.
Monday, July 4, 2011
High Sierras Part II - mile 908
Finished up the second big section of the Sierras moving from Kearsarge pass into Red Meadows and Mammoth and I'm STUFFED. Great breakfast at The Stove (gravy on everything) big ol' BBQ spot, a little pizza here and there, and just got done with the Mexican. Yeah. Food has become really important. Maybe it's going over a pass every day... maybe it's the cold weather we ran into... maybe it's the tortuous rationing going on during these long sections... but this boy's gotta eat a lot and has been doing a pretty good job. Helping speed that process along and providing good company and tasty beverages has been my cousin Mike (trail named "Cousin Mike" or "cus" for short) who came from his new spot on the west coast. It's been a good and lazy time recovering from lots of big walking.
So every day in the Sierras involves some of the biggest adventure I've ever been involved in. Big passes and lots of snow walking. Forester was exciting and all but the days only got more intense down the trail. More snow (Muir, Pinchot) steeper slopes (Mather), and lush lush canyons (Palisades). Then the big water crossings that at 6'2" I do alright in but can be exciting bringing my 5'1" friend through (you're a champ Bubbs). It's hard to do the walking and the landscape justice. You all will have to wait for the photos I'll post on my week long hiatus to NYC for my sister's wedding - crazy culture shock.
After getting over all the 12 granders we took a "wrong turn" coming down silver pass and wound up in fish creek. We had big plans to hop on a different trail to get back to the PCT at Purple Lake but when we got to the junction a mind-bending sign said PCT right, Red's Meadows left! Left?! We don't have maps that go left! Whatever, that's where we're going. If going right was the "right" way to Red's Meadows the sign would point that way. The fish creek trail was gorgeous! Awesome river, beautiful cliffs on the canyon, a warm bivy spot off some switchbacks looking over it all. Love it.
So from here it's another longer section through Yosemite to Sonoran pass. The elevations drop but word along the trail is that the rivers are gonna get big. We'll sort it all out. Boots and Bubbs are gonna hang in town for another day while I run off with Spicerack so I can catch my flight in Reno on the 12th for a whole different kind of adventure. Town has been good but I'm ready to get back on the trail. I'll catch you all up from the big apple.
So every day in the Sierras involves some of the biggest adventure I've ever been involved in. Big passes and lots of snow walking. Forester was exciting and all but the days only got more intense down the trail. More snow (Muir, Pinchot) steeper slopes (Mather), and lush lush canyons (Palisades). Then the big water crossings that at 6'2" I do alright in but can be exciting bringing my 5'1" friend through (you're a champ Bubbs). It's hard to do the walking and the landscape justice. You all will have to wait for the photos I'll post on my week long hiatus to NYC for my sister's wedding - crazy culture shock.
After getting over all the 12 granders we took a "wrong turn" coming down silver pass and wound up in fish creek. We had big plans to hop on a different trail to get back to the PCT at Purple Lake but when we got to the junction a mind-bending sign said PCT right, Red's Meadows left! Left?! We don't have maps that go left! Whatever, that's where we're going. If going right was the "right" way to Red's Meadows the sign would point that way. The fish creek trail was gorgeous! Awesome river, beautiful cliffs on the canyon, a warm bivy spot off some switchbacks looking over it all. Love it.
So from here it's another longer section through Yosemite to Sonoran pass. The elevations drop but word along the trail is that the rivers are gonna get big. We'll sort it all out. Boots and Bubbs are gonna hang in town for another day while I run off with Spicerack so I can catch my flight in Reno on the 12th for a whole different kind of adventure. Town has been good but I'm ready to get back on the trail. I'll catch you all up from the big apple.
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