Today we zeroed and gained 70 miles. Last year the lake fire ravaged the countryside and took out a huge chunk of the PCT, so we shuttled around it to Big Bear Lake. Luckily, this is the last closure well have to drive around, so I should be able to walk the rest of the way.
Steps taken today/total: 0/390,794
Miles walked today/total: 0/277.7
Elevation gained today/total: 0/30,271
Elevation lost today/total: 0/33,523
Going downhill is hard. You would think it's easier than climbing, but the constant pounding of feet landing below each other for eight hours takes its toll on your joints. Today we went downhill for 17 straight miles, on some less than stellar trail. Parts had washed out, so you need to walk with your feet at awkward angles. Eventually it flattened out on the way to Ziggy and the Bear's. Ziggy and the Bear are a couple of trail angels who have hosted 1600 hikers this season in their backyard. Sadly, this is their last year as they are moving to spend more time with their grandchildren. I'm glad I was able to meet them and be one of their last hikers.
Steps taken today/total: 43,022/390,794
Miles walked today/total: 20.3/210.8
Elevation gained today/total: 661/30,271
Elevation lost today/total: 7,166/33,523
I saw the ocean today! Granted it was from a hundred miles away from the top of the mountain, but still. The climb up to the top of Mt. San Jacinto is definitely tougher than any trail we've done so far, but that's for a reason. It's not technically part of the PCT since horses can't use it, but the 5.5 mile trail that cuts of 4.5 miles of the PCT led to some of the best views and the first snow we've had so far. Near the peak there is a stone cabin that was built in the thirties and has hundreds of signatures reaching back almost as long.
As we made our way down a fog rolled in, giving the tall pine trees an eerie feel. When we rejoined the PCT the trail was in the best condition I've experienced. It was newly maintained and was wide and flat with fresh stone supports on the sides. We crossed a beautiful waterfall with cool, clear water to drink. We camped with a few other hikers, including Snake Charmer. Snake Charmer has the best trail name story I've heard yet. In day one, a rattlesnake was on the trail and wouldn't move, so he pulled out his flute and played until the snake moved of the trail for him.
Steps taken today/total: 33,651/347,772
Miles walked today/total: 11.5/190.5
Elevation gained today/total: 3,120/29,610
Elevation lost today/total: 3,569/26,357
Today we took a nearo in town to rest and plan for upcoming trail closures. Messiah and Snack's friend Samantha flew in from Boston and will hike with us for a week. We hiked out of Idyllwild back to the PCT, but we can't go to far since we are summiting Mt. San Jacinto tomorrow and there is no camping in the mountain. Tomorrow will probably be the most strenuous day yet even though we only plan to go 12 miles. At 10,834 feet, the peak will be the highest point of the trail so far.
Steps taken today/total: 12,094/314,121
Miles walked today/total: 3/180
Elevation gained today/total: 1,756/26,496
Elevation lost today/total: 0/22,788
Today we hit the first fire closure on trail. The Mountain Fire closed about 15 miles of trail between highway 74 and Idyllwild. We hitched to town for a resupply and will take a nearo tomorrow.
Steps taken today/total: 22,468/292,027
Miles walked today/total: 9/180
Elevation gained today/total: 1,911/24,740
Elevation lost today/total: 1,003/22,788
Today shook up my plans quite a bit. When I took my afternoon break I found out that Matt was forced of the trail due to his injuries. I can't imagine what he's going through.
Steps taken today/total: 32,186/269,559
Miles walked today/total: 15.8/143.1
Elevation gained today/total: 2,158/22,829
Elevation lost today/total: 3,131/21,785
Coming out of Warner Springs has some of the best scenery we've seen yet. We walked through meadows and between oak and cottonwood trees for about five miles until we got to small mountains with a winding Creek between them. We were shooting for a campsite at 127 that ended up being better than we could have imagined. We got to the site, Mike's Place, and found that the owner and caretaker have been hosting hikers for years. They had fresh watermelon for us and cooked pizza in a brick oven a former stonemason thru hiker had built for them. We stayed up late (9:00) eating and talking around a bonfire, and tomorrow morning we will get a pancake breakfast.
Steps taken today/total: 32,458/237,373
Miles walked today/total: 17.8/127.3
Elevation gained today/total: 3,764/18,760
Elevation lost today/total: 1,876/18,454
Today was a zero day, but that doesn't mean nothing happened. I stayed at Warner Springs with Dime and the Alabama Boys. I planned potential alternate routes around wildfire areas that have closed the trail and rested my feet. For dinner, we had a welcome surprise. The school across the street had a spaghetti feed/talent show, so about thirty hikers went over to watch first and second grade children whip and nae nae. Overall, it was a pretty productive day even if I didn't get any miles in.
Steps taken today/total: 0/204,915
Miles walked today/total: 0/109.5
Elevation gained today/total: 0/15,996
Elevation lost today/total: 0/16,578
ime, the Alabama Boys, and I pushed a pretty big 26 mile day today to try to get to Warner Springs before the restaurant closed. Along the way we found a very welcome water cache with over 100 gallons of water that volunteers move up trail and a little while later, we found a small cave that we took a break from the sun in. We also hit mile 100, so I'm almost four percent done. When we got to Warner Springs, we got the worst ten dollar burgers of our lives at a country club, literally one of three buildings in the "town." tomorrow at plan on zeroing, so I should feel much less sore after.
Steps taken today/total: 44,502/204,915
Miles walked today/total: 25.90/109.5
Elevation gained today/total: 4,228/15,996
Elevation lost today/total: 4,324/16,578
What started out as the worst morning on trail quickly became one of the best days. Rain and condensation last night left me with a tarp wet in both sides so breaking camp was slippery business. Then the "completely reliable" water source at mile 68.4 leaked just enough water to get me to the highway where I hitched into Julian. I got lunch at the diner and filed up my water for the next long haul when a couple of hikers, the Alabama Boys, told me where some other hikers were. I hung out with them and got free pie from Mom's, an extremely hiker friendly pie shop. I got a ride back to the trail and put in a few more miles before setting up camp. The weather looks clear, so I'll try cowboy camping for the first time tonight. I can see headlights going across the valley and the stars are coming out.
Also, I saw a snake.
Steps taken today/total: 37,881/160,413
Miles walked today/total: 20.00/83.64
Elevation gained today/total: 2,498/11,768
Elevation lost today/total: 3,191/12,254
I walked a lot today, not much else.
Steps taken today/total: 40,159/122,532
Miles walked today/total: 20.95/63.64
Elevation gained today/total: 2,134/9,270
Elevation lost today/total: 4,318/9,063
I generally only use the word misery to describe illnesses, hangovers and to summarize other people's stories about visit to their in-laws. But today the word misery was the only way to describe the hike.
I started out after breakfast at 6:45 with 2L of water. I could have backtracked a mile to pick up extra water but I knew, according to the water reports, that Rodriguez in 9 miles would have more water. This would be the start of my problems.
I arrived at Rodriguez 9 miles later and ran into the man soon to be known as Vegas (for his home) who I had already run into a few times. He informed me that the well was empty which was unfortunate because we were still 9ish miles from the hitchhike spot to Julian, which was not originally on my scheduled stops, but had suddenly jumped up on my list because I only had half a liter left to make if 9 miles.
On the maps it showed a spring 1/2 a mile off trail and I went to scout this out but after some fruitless searching I returned to the reservoir and tried to lower a bottle to get some of the scuzzy water at the bottom. It was so shallow I was forced to concede defeat and continue 9 miles on 1/2 liter of water. The misery was just starting.
My knee was hurting less but an encore performance was being provided by both hips and left ankle, shin, shoulder and right thigh. Moving on level ground was a pleasant level of dull pain, but downhill was it's on special level of hell reserved for foolhardy hikers who didn't properly condition for the trail. Present over the top of all this was thirst so strong I had never felt it's like before. I have gone through entire weeks of band camp less thirsty than I was now
Vultures circled overhead (probably not specifically after me, but it's dramatic), the midday sun beat down mercilessly and the mountain provided no shade to hide in. Vision quests and animal spirits danced before me as I tried to hoard my slowly diminishing water. Ben Kenobi appeared to give me instructions but since he didn't offer water I didn't feel the need listen to him
All joking aside, I was in a pretty serious situation and it was made all the more serious when I caught up with Vegas and a couple I'd been hiking on and off with the last two days. They informed me that we still had six miles to to highway to Julian and offered me a shady spot to sit but I knew every second here was precious water to drink and I pressed on.
I made it another 100 yards or so when I took a poorly planned step and pain flared through my left knee. I hadn't been wearing the brace because it hadn't been acting up but now I stopped and slipped it back on, although it barely helped with the pain, which appeared seemingly at random as I walked. The pause to put on the brace allowed Vegas to catch up, and we passed the hike discussing our views on life and other things that would be been more interesting for me if I hadn't felt like I was about to die.
We still had about 4 miles to go and I had less than an 1/8 L to hold me over. I was certainly toast, or at least going to need an air evac to live through this. Suddenly Vegas pointed and said "Isn't that water?" I followed his gaze and found a half-full Nalgene bottle laying in a clearing nearby After confirming that the owner was no longer present I eagerly drained the 16 oz present. Water has never tasted so sweet and probably won't again. When we mentioned this stroke of fortune to the couple hiking nearby, the woman cryptically States "the trail provides".
Despite the water the last few miles where a miserable blur only interrupted by the end by a 3 time PCT hiker on her way to Campo who first stopped to give us water and then when we hadn't been picked by anyone going into Julian after 30 minutes she and her husband took Vegas and I into Julian where we were able to split a motel room and went to grab dinner. After dinner we met with a group of fellow hikers l which is when I was bestowed with my name.
After telling the story of my near demise the conversation moved to who has trail names. After mentioning that I didn't have on yet, Vegas looked at me and said "Almost. Because you almost didn't make it today".
I quite like this name
I spent the rest of the night joking and drinking with other PCT hikers explaining the lateness of this update. Today was demanding, grueling, and above all dangerous and seriously tested my willingness to continue to putting myself through this physically and mentally. But with fellow hikers like these to travel with I think I can manage a few more miles.
Tomorrow: Continental Breakfast and getting back to the trail.
I'm currently relaxing on top of a mountain at mile 59.5. Since I started at Mt. Laguna this morning and was only pushing for 15 miles, making it further than that by 3:30 is pretty awesome.
First thing: Regrettably my tablet died and was shipped home yesterday, and it was responsible for uploading pictures on the trail. Once I'm finished and back in civilization I'll upload all of the pictures with proper captions.
My first equipment casualty of the trip was my poor Xero Shoe sandals, which had given me leal service this past year, but no longer. They appear to have come unclipped from my pack sometime between Mt. Laguna and lunch at mile 52, and while I'll miss them, I won't be going back to look for them.
My second rattlesnake sighting was today but despite coming around the corner practically on top of him he was more than happy to get out of my way.
My knee is doing much better with the help of a knee bracenI procurement Mt. Laguna. I don't think I'll need to wear it tomorrow. I think my injuries will only get better from here.
To Sara Bailey, commenter: I don't yet have a trail name but the trip is still young.
One mile outside of Mount Laguna the light soreness in my left ankle turned into a sharp pain. After resting a bit it only got worse so we I decided to take a nearo and downs the night at Mount Laguna. Hopefully it's bearable tomorrow so I can keep moving. Since nothing interesting happened today, I'll leave a story from day one.
The first road the PCT crosses is a poorly maintained dirt road in the middle of the desert. I doubt the road sees daily or even weekly use since it is so remote. As I approached this road I saw Ethan, a hiker who stayed at Scout and Frodo's with us the night before, about 300 yards down the road. I confirmed that the trail crossed the road instead of joining it and realized that he could get miles off track without enough water to get to Lake Morena. I dumped my pack and ran down to get him back to the PCT. We got back on track and I sat down for lunch, letting him get ahead. I didn't see him for the rest of the day until mile 15 where I was resting before the big climb and he came up from behind me. I didn't remember passing him so I was confused that he was suddenly behind me. The truth revealed itself when he told me that he had taken another road that wasn't part of the PCT for a mile before he turned around. Hopefully he doesn't get lost since I haven't seen him since.
Steps taken today/total: 11,628/82,373
Miles walked today/total: 5.55/42.69
Elevation gained today/total: 1,117/7,136
Elevation lost today/total: 262/4,745
Today is a boring post, because we are staying in the motel at Mt. Laguna after going 5 miles this morning. My left leg is still tight and Jake's ankle is hurting so we decided a day to relax with nice hot showers sounded lovely. Since I don't have anything better to do, I'll try posting pictures again.
1) Jake and I at the start of the PCT on Saturday.
2) My tent (seen here wearing it's rainfly)
3) A section of trail from when I was feeling particularly beleaguered yesterday.
Since we had made such good time yesterday, Jake and I allowed ourselves to sleep in, striking camp at 8 and hitting the trail. We hit the last campground after 5.5 miles and stopped for a short break before heading off again not filling much water because Kitchen Creek, the next water source is so close by. I was carrying 2L or so
It is immediately apparent that Jake is in much better shape than I am as I briefly stopped for a picture and he disappeared behind the next outcrop and I never managed to overtake him. Fortunately I knew we would meet up again at Kitchen Creek so no need to worry.
Kitchen Creek should've only been four miles, but I never realized I had found it. At one point I saw a poor looking pond 100 ft off the trail down a bill but it didn't seem like it could be the creek and I didn't see Jake so I kept walking.
Finally after I had walked what felt like 5 or 6 miles I found a shady spot to Siesta and turned on my phone to try to figure out where I was. Turns out I was at mile 31.5 and I had totally overshot Kitchen Creek. Not only was I worried about Jake (was he waiting for me at this very moment?) but my water was starting to run low. I quickly checked the water report which showed that there was a campground .6 miles off the trail coming up, so at least I wouldn't die of thirst.
What the water report didn't mention was that the .6 miles was on a steep downhill road, meaning I had to go all the way down and then back up. Fortunately I bumped into Jake who was on his way back up from the campsite while I was on my way down so I knew I hadn't left him.
The last 5 miles of the day were a brutal uphill slog made worse by a slow nagging pain in the back of my knee and thigh that grew as the day wore on. Finally at mile 37 I found Jake setting up camp and gratefully pitched my tent nearby ate some food and flung myself into bed. As soon as I've finished with this blog post I will read some of my book (Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett) and then go to sleep. Tomorrow, Mt. Laguna awaits.
Tomorrow: Mt. Laguna resupply and a short recuperation day.
Today was a lot smoother. Funny that carrying one liter of water is easier than carrying seven. We knew we would stop in Mt. Laguna at mile 41 for food, but if we went tonight the store would be closed. Instead, we shot for a few miles short and will go in tomorrow. We did four fewer miles today, but it was pretty consistently uphill. Getting into camp early and resting was welcome.
Steps today/total: 32,895/70,745
Miles today/total: 16.64/37.14
Elevation gained today/total: 3,205/6,019
Elevation lost today/total: 1,139/4,483
Water is heavy. It weighs 2.2 pounds per liter. I never realized the implications of this until I had to carry enough to get me 20 minutes through a desert. Some experienced hikers suggested six liters, but since I'm tall I thought seven was a good idea. It wasn't. I got to Lake Morena with two and half liters to spare. That's five and a half pounds of water that did nothing but be heavy. It was also hot. With an estimated high temperature of 140 degrees, every step just added to the sweat dripping into my eyes. Also, everyone on the internet who said the first 700 miles of the PCT was flat has obviously never been to Nebraska. At mile 15 there is a climb that is steeper than anything at home and we aren't even close to the "real" mountains yet.
In short: Today sucked. It was awesome.
Steps today/total: 37,850/37,850
Miles today/total: 20.5/20.5
Elevation gained today/total: 2,814/2,814
Elevation lost today/total: 3,344/3,344
Here it is our official start of our PCT adventure. This was a day with lots of ups and downs, but ultimately it left me feeling really positive about how things will go from here.
Jake and I got split up early on, as I stopped to use the restroom shortly after our morning break and left Jake to continue ahead. Unfortunately my pack from chose that moment to pop loose forcing me to empty the pack to get the frame in place, hoping that doesn't happen again.
After fixing the backpack and set off again with a group that came up while I was working and we got to about mile 8 (this is about 10:30ish, we started about 7:15) before they stopped for a break and I continued on. Little did I know that my most fiercesome obstacle of the day would soon be upon me (or I upon it)
I was approaching a tannish long stone in the road, or so I thought it to be until I got close. In fact, it was a rattlesnake, quite a large one, sunning itself on the path. We both took notice of eachother at around the same time, I be jumping back about 3 feet (no small feet in a 45 lb pack) and he by coiling himself to strike and setting it's tail to rattling. Folks, there is a world of difference between hearing a rattlesnake sound and experiencing it in real life. It was cool, but unfortunately he was also blocking the path and I had to wait around until he finally moved into the bushes near the trail, letting me sneak past.
The rest is a blur going down canyons, going up canyons, stopping to bandage hotspots and blisters. Around 3pm a fog rolled in and suddenly everything cooled off tremendously, otherwise I doubt I would have made it to Lake Morena, but I did.
Jake and I made dinner (I having finally caught up to him, excluding one short encounter at 2) at the Lake Morena campgrounds and then we hiked up past the town and pitched camp. My new tent is awesome, btw.
All in all, we made it 20.5 miles, which was more than I was expecting to be capable of today. Now that we've made it past the waterless first 20 miles we plan to slow our pace tomorrow to give our bodies a chance to recover.
Tomorrow: We walk more slowly. Look forward to it.
This update comes from the backyard of Scout and Frodo, two trail angels who have hosted 6oo+ hikers just this year. First thing tomorrow we'll have breakfast and then it's off to the trailhead. It's finally time
Costco has been our undoing when it comes to weight. We purchased so much food that, when combined with the 6L of water we need to make it to the first water source, made for very heavy packs. Fortunately Scout and Frodo have hundreds of priority USPS boxes and we were able to send most of the food on to Warner Springs and bring only enough food to do the two days to Mt. Laguna.
While we were in Colorado I had a lot of anxiety about starting whether I would be strong enough or stubborn enough to finish, but since we got to San Diego those worries have faded, replaced with the building excitement to be underway.
Tomorrow I hope to be updating here from the trail but I can't guarantee I'll have enough cell reception to do so. If not then I'll update from Mt. Laguna in a couple days.
Tomorrow: Let's do it!
The couches in Carlos' apartment were very comfortable and so it took Jake and I longer than we intended to get a move on on our errands. As it turned out we were still too early as the Costco across the street didn't open until 10am and we were forced to amuse ourselves in the neighboring Ikea until then.
The shopping trip at Costco was productive. Too productive, in fact, as we purchased enough food to feed us for several weeks and will now have to deal with mailing it to ourselves. We returned to the apartment laden with the he spoils of our trip and then returned to the Trolley for a trip to REI (an outdoor outfitted).
Among the many minor items we needed at REI was a tarp for myself so Jake and I could survive the next 4.5 months without killing eachother for lack of space. Unfortunately they didn't have any usable tarps but fortunately they had an ultralight tent and I had a debit card and now everyone is happy.
After REI we made a stop at a nearby Walmart to get some odds and ends before riding the train home with some particularly annoying high schoolers (who wasn't at that age?). The downside to these excursions was that, while we accumulated 8.5 miles of wandering while trying to locate the REI, we also took in more sun than we bargained for and we'll have to be extra careful on the trail until that's healed.
Tomorrow: Organizing food, going to the post office to arrange said food shipments then heading out to stay overnight the the trail angels before they take us to the trailhead Saturday morning. The end of the prologue is nearly upon us.
The alarm went off at 4:15am so we could make sure we got up early enough to get through airport security. This proved unnecessary because we were through security by 5:45, but it's better to have the extra time.
The flight didn't have a lot of legroom but I was lucky that the occupant of the window seat never turned up so I got two seats to sprawl out in. The only negative of the flight was the unending wailing of a banshee child from a few rows behind me. Happily both Jake and my packs came through baggage claim unscathed.
A quick bus ride to the Green Line trolley and we were on the way to Carlos'. Carlos lives across the street from Qualcomm Stadium which made navigation much easier. Needing something to do until noon, we made a loop of the stadium (I resisted the urge to stop in the fan shop) before working our way through a pizza before heading over to the apartment. All in all we covered 7 miles in our wanderings before we got to Carlos' apartment.
One of Carlos' very nice roommates let us in to the apartment where the 4:15 wakeup (3:15 from a Cali perspective) promptly caught up with us and we crashed for the next few hours, then repacked our bags, read, and generally puttered around until Carlos got home and then we ran out for dinner at a local Mexican place.
Tomorrow: A trip to REI to pick up some last minute equipment then a walk over to the local Costco to pick up food for our first leg of the trail
*Note: Having found the device to connect my camera storage to my tablet I can include pictures now!
Last night was incredibly windy, but our tarp held this time so clearly Jake and I are learning something about setting up tarps. In that regard this climbing trip has been invaluable for testing things for the PCT. We already discovered that a single 10x10 tarp isn't enough room for two grown men, so we'll be picking up another tarp in our downtime in San Diego.
We struck camp after breakfast (more bacon on the bacon rock!) and headed back to Cactus Cliff but to our horror there was a tour group climbing the routes we were planning to use. Fortunately we were able to find some other fun routes to climb. We finished climbing around 1 and hiked back to drive to Boulder.
Pictured: Dean climbing up a route.
We hit Boulder around 6pm and very hungry. Kelsey took us to eat at a burger bar a few blocks from her apartment, and then graciously let us use her shower (one of the last for awhile). Jake and I repacked to separate our PCT and climbing gear so that the climbing gear can go home with Dean, Katie, and Jon. Now to bed before a very early flight.
Tomorrow we will be in beautiful San Diego. Hopefully.
After reaching Shelf Road in the early hours of the morning, everyone worked to get our tents and tarps pitched so we could get some sleep. In the morning Jake spearheaded possibly the greatest achievement of our time, cooking bacon on a slab of rock.
After breakfast we hiked a half mile or so up a fairly steep slope to reach Mense's Prow where we did our first climbing of the day. Due to the difficulty of many of routes we were only able to climb a little here, but after running into an regular he pointed us to Cactus Peak. It took us a while to work our way over because it was on the other side of the park but the climbing was worth it and we plan to return tomorrow.
The massive changes in height in the hikes to the climbing crags were brutal and left everyone totally wiped out, but fortunately the elevation changes on the PCT are not as severe as it is also graded for horses.
Tomorrow: Striking camp in the morning then climbing until we drive up to Boulder to crash with our friend Kelsey in anticipation of our early flight on Wednesday.
We're currently on the way to Shelf Road in Colorado for a few days of climbing until our flight to San Diego on Wednesday. Joining Jake and myself is Jon, Katie, and Dean.
Due to mother's day we left late and so, undoubtedly, will arrive late as well which is why I'm updating now.
Tomorrow should be a full day of climbing, updates to follow.
If you are reading this post and there are no other updates you are too early. Come back in a few days and there should be more posts as we get closer to the start of the trail
