Friday, May 03, 2019 - 10 miles My gear got damp overnight, as it also did the previous night. Though I slept as well as could be hoped for on two slanted surfaces and didn’t get cold, it’s unpleasant to wake in the middle of the night and find your down sleeping bag damp to …
Author: Krista/Bane
Thru-hiker, LASHer and packrafter from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Enjoys walking slowly, seeking out ice cream whenever possible, and just generally being uninspirational.
Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 49: War of Attrition
Thursday, May 02, 2019 - 5.70 miles Traffic on Lake Hughes Road was minimal this morning, so I didn't try to hitch and instead walked the 2.3 miles to town. In the store, I was impressed by the friendliness of the townspeople but not the contents of the shelves, which must have reflected the fact that …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 48: First and Only Mosquito
Wednesday, May 01, 2019 - 6.80 miles I opened my tent doors this morning to see blue sky. Hurray! The walk to Lake Hughes Road was uneventful, except that I ran into the second hiker who I had sat with at McDonalds. I interrogated her about the Mt. Baden-Powell area and which detour she had …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 47: Women in Love
Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - 13.60 miles I woke this morning to thick blowing mist that blocked views and wet my glasses until mid-afternoon. Again I wasn’t feeling the trail, so I listened to audiobooks, finishing Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence. It was a fun book because I was constantly thinking ‘WHAT IS …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 46: Leaving Hikertown
Monday, April 29, 2019 - 9.90 miles I had trouble falling asleep last night, perhaps because of the unfamiliar setting. Light began flashing through the curtains, bewildering until I heard thunder. I had expected rain, but not a thunderstorm. With rain drumming on the roof, I felt glad to be indoors. Nothing looked notably wet …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 45: Aquaduct Day
Sunday, April 28, 2019 - 17.30 miles Today was aquaduct day! I walked 17.3 miles, most of which followed the Los Angeles Aquaduct, of which eTrails provocatively states: ‘The 233-mile aqueduct, built from 1908-1913 by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power under the direction of Chief Engineer William Mulholland, has a scandalous history …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 44: The Roof is SO SHOT
Saturday, April 27, 2019 - 10 miles The wind picked up last night, howling violently down the canyon. Until it finally died away at 4:00 AM I slept intermittently, waking up every so often with my tent flapping. I had made adjustments for optimum tautness of the fabric, but there’s only so much that tautness …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 43: Tehachapi Mountains
Friday, April 26, 2019 - 13 miles I started walking at 6:15 AM to complete the climb during the cooler part of the day. https://flic.kr/p/2iwmNGj After about five miles, the trail left the wind farm and the scenery improved. The high point of the Tehachapi Mountains had lovely campsites within pinyon pines, and a trail …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 42: Most Important
Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 8.20 miles I haven’t flipflopped on a trail before and wasn’t sure how I would feel about it, but it feels exciting! Like starting a new hike. Leaving the hotel early this morning, I waited 45 minutes before being picked up by a truck driver who hadn’t heard of the …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 41: Oh the Shame
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 I had a few chores to finish this morning. I thought that temperatures in Mojave would still be modest at this time of year, but nope, the thermometer is already hitting the low thirties Celsius this week. The heat was already so oppressive by the time I finished my chores that …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 40: Zero in Mojave
Tuesday, April 23, 2019 Today was a rest/resupply day in Mojave. Wikipedia tells us ‘The town of Mojave began in 1876 as a construction camp on the Southern Pacific Railroad. From 1884 to 1889, the town was the western terminus of the 165-mile (266 km), twenty-mule team borax wagon route originating at Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. It later served as headquarters for …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 39: Been to McDonalds
Monday, April 22, 2019 - 6 miles I completed the last six miles to Highway 138 and the end of Section C. The scenery included power lines and roads, but also impressive views of the San Andreas Rift Zone and a pretty walk along Crowder Creek. https://flic.kr/p/2iwm5Jg https://flic.kr/p/2iwjWkU The trail met with Highway 138 at …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 38: Short Day
Sunday, April 21, 2019 - 5.10 miles https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49570318102/in/dateposted-public/ I took a short day today for the sake of timing: if I had walked all the way to Cajon Junction, I wouldn’t have been able to hitchhike with the assurance of reaching Mojave before dark, and I didn’t want to pay for the hotel at Cajon …
Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 37: Wilderness Somewhere
Saturday, April 20, 2019 - 14.70 miles I began walking early this morning, though not with the intention of going far. To avoid tricky snow on Mt. Baden-Powell and rising temperatures further north, I’m planning to hitch from Cajon Junction to Mojave, then hike southwards back to Cajon Junction. The post office in Mojave will …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 36: Deep Creek
Friday, April 19, 2019 - 16.30 miles I had to walk sixteen miles today, so I was on the trail by 6:45 AM. I passed three tents beside the creek, two below the first bridge and one at the Splinter Cabin trailhead. One of the hikers asked me later where I had camped, and when …
Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 35: Happy Day
Thursday, April 18, 2019 - 11.30 miles I was caught within the glut of Little Bear Springs campers this morning and it took ages for enough people to pass for the trail to settle down. Please go on mates, I need to apply Body Glide. Despite the persistent drone of human conversation the day turned …
Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 34: See Ya Later
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 - 14.40 miles The weather was perfect today, sunny and warm but not too hot. The trail provided views back to Big Bear Lake before curving behind Delamar Mountain, where it crossed a handful of easy snow patches. https://flic.kr/p/2iwgUD5 https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49569358663/in/dateposted-public/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49569378523/in/dateposted-public/ Entering the Butler II fire burn area, I ended up …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 33: Two Spigots
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 - 4.30 miles I was intending to leave early this morning, but didn’t wake up until 8:00 AM and then leisurely ate and packed, so maybe it was more ‘idea’ than ‘intention’. Moreover I had planned to take the bus to as near the edge of town as possible, and it …
Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 32: Zero #2
Monday, April 15, 2019 I took a second zero today, but still felt adverse to making resupply boxes and decided to change my resupply strategy to buying in towns + a bounce box. I also ordered specialty food from Amazon to send to the Saufley’s in Aqua Dulce - supposedly the grocery store in Aqua …
Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 31: Zero #1
Sunday, April 14, 2019 Still wiped from the last few days of walking, I was shamefully lazy today and decided to make my resupply boxes tomorrow. I did buy a few items at a Circle K a short distance along Highway 18, and don't recommend the walk from Motel 6. The road has no sidewalk …
BANE OF THE TRAIL 