Sunday, March 24, 2019 The wind was terrible overnight. Sand blew into my face when I tried to sleep facing the door, and the walls kept pushing against my sleeping bag. In the morning I apologized to Magoo, whose tent was pitched beside mine. He said with a completely straight face that he hadn’t heard …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 10: Digging for Relics
Saturday, March 23, 2019 - 3.70 miles The wind intensified several times during the night, loosening my pitch so my tent became happily flappy (I like to imagine that it’s happy making noise so that one of us is happy). The sound woke me up early and I was on the trail by 7:15 AM. The other …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 9: As Many as You Want
Friday, March 22, 2019 - 10.30 miles The condensation in my tent was frozen in the morning. I slowly ate breakfast while the sun slowly crept high enough to illuminate my tent. The sunlight made little difference in temperature but the sky was blue and the visibility flawless. I saw a second snowy mountain in …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 8: Life Is One Big Missed Opportunity
Thursday, March 21, 2019 The wind and rain continued for hours into the night. Waking up around 2:00 AM, I performed a thorough inspection of the interior of my tent. Due to being pitched on a slight slope, the back of the tent was high and the wind was blowing rain through the mesh; rain …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 7: Bizarro High Precipitation Zone
Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - 14.30 miles Dawn heralded grey skies. I'd known that rain was in the forecast, but was disappointed when I left the campground and found the views marred by low-hanging clouds, my archrival. One of my archrivals (the other one is cows). https://flic.kr/p/2iu2pE1 A strong wind was driving the mist through …
Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - 5.30 miles https://flic.kr/p/2itYNQh Because of the campground closure I abandoned my plans for a zero in Mount Laguna, deciding to instead take a nero at Mount Laguna Campground five miles down the trail. At a saddle with amazing views out over the Anza-Borrego desert, I settled in for a long …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 5: Views + Views
Monday, March 18, 2019 - 9.80 miles https://flic.kr/p/2iu2vaQ I only had nine miles to walk to Mount Laguna today, and I was planning to take a rest day there, so I walked slowly throughout the day. Near Long Canyon Creek I encountered a trio of PCTA trail runners who asked whether I had a long …
Sunday, March 17, 2019 - 12.10 miles Another hot day with substantial elevation gain and good views. I concluded that Cottonwood Creek required fording after already getting my foot wet by stepping on a useless clump of reeds. There I met Ron and Bryan, two section hikers, and we took a break together at a …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 3: Trust No One, Even Yourself
Saturday, March 16, 2019 - 11 miles https://flic.kr/p/2iu3sNz A cold night turned into a hot day. I crossed Hauser Creek, which was flowing - California had a soggy winter and I expect to see lots of running water sources and snow at higher elevations - then began a notoriously steep and exposed climb where people …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 2: Don’t Give Her That Beer
Friday, March 15, 2019 - 11.10 miles I was planning to take the bus from El Cajon to Campo ($5) this morning, but ended up getting a ride thus: when I was checking out of the motel, a man approached, asked whether I was a PCT hiker and mentioned that he was driving his brother-in-law …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 1: It’s Legal Tender
Thursday, March 14, 2019 https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49543363758/in/dateposted-public/ We didn't need more white chocolate macadamia nut in our lives I shipped off my resupply boxes this morning, using Uber again to transport them to the post office. The driver wasn’t as accommodating as the driver in Bend - he parked across the street from the hostel so I …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) Pre-Hike 6: A Machine Gave Me That
Wednesday, March 13, 2019 I took a break from preparing resupply boxes today to visit the La Brea Tar Pits, which I've wanted to see ever since first researching touristy things one might do at the PCT's endpoints. Look at this tragic scene: https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49544084357/in/dateposted-public/ Yes, your parent mammoth is trapped forever. Why do we need …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) Pre-Hike 5: Tar Pits!
Monday, March 11, 2019 A terrifying plane ride to Calgary kicked off a to-be eventful trip to Los Angeles. The wind was so strong near the ground that the pilot had to abort the first attempt at landing, and the second attempt was a scary success after which people clapped and a guy called ‘good …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) Pre-Hike 4: To Los Angeles
Friday, March 08, 2019 I've been doing some last-minute grappling with my tent. During PCT 2018, I patched most of the holes, but the zipper is worse than I had thought, with the two sides separating even after I applied a zipper lubricant (arguably the lubricant made it worse). Zpacks has this to say: If …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) Pre-Hike 3: Gear Sadventures
Thursday, March 07, 2019 https://flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49485370171/in/dateposted-public/ In keeping with my new hiking motto, 'Hike strategically', I've processed some lessons learned from PCT 2018. During that hike I spent a million hours (estimate) at every major resupply point trying to find certain items, mainly dehydrated vegetables and Knorr flavours I like, and that's madness in the age …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) Pre-Hike 2: Lessons Learned
Again this year I ended up battling for a long distance permit in the second batch. The PCTA changed the permit process this year, so that applicants are directed on release days to a third-party website that places everyone into an queue: https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49581987556/in/dateposted-public/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49581987471/in/dateposted-public/ Once the event starts, you're shown your place in line thus: …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) Pre-Hike 1: Permit Day #2
Friday, March 01, 2019 In two weeks, I'll be starting a hike of the first 1130 km/702 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (also known as the 'desert section'). In 2018, I spent four months hiking the second half-or-so of the PCT from Burney to Canada. The moon moves slowly, but it gets across the …
https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49679773013/in/dateposted-public/ No thanks, but recommendation noted. Friday, February 26, 2016 Tasmania's Overland Track, a 65 kilometre hike (82 kilometres if the walk around Lake St. Clair is included), will be a relatively short test for my right foot after a persistent injury I sustained almost two years ago. The government claims that '92 percent of …
Tuesday, February 19, 2019 Pre-concluding thoughts, I'll note that my phone still works five months after falling into the stream. The external battery started working again too. Don't give up on your wet electronics! https://flic.kr/p/2ioRNBF Northern half of the PCT in general: It's a beautiful trail. I was impressed by the overall consistency of good …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018): Concluding Thoughts
Friday, September 21, 2018 https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49539770726/in/dateposted-public/ A short entry today about my exit: I got up early this morning, ready to tackle the Crowsnest Highway. While eating disgusting trail granola, I met an Uber/Lyft driver who offered to drive me to Vancouver for $100. Nope. He then offered to drive me to Hope for free, because …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 113: Goodbye PCT
BANE OF THE TRAIL 