The theme of this hike was definitely 'Not What I Was Expecting'. I had thought that the terrain and weather conditions would be more like what I experienced on the AZT, since this PCT section is also desert terrain in a neighbouring state (don't @ me, Americans!!!) but it was totally different (I know that …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019): Concluding Thoughts
Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 13 miles Unsurprisingly, my shoulder was still hurting when I woke up this morning. I haven't taken a zero for awhile, so hopefully it just needs some rest. https://flic.kr/p/2iwU4Sc Temperatures were sweltering today and the trail was exposed as I walked towards the KOA. The North Fork Ranger Station had …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 76: Back to the KOA
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 - 17.60 miles I slept a solid eight hours and when I woke up, the temperature was warm(ish, 5:00 AM warmish) and my left shoulder/upper back was killing me. I’ve been getting a nagging ache there for awhile, but was able to ignore it before, whereas now it’s hurting every time …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 75: Well-Behaved Deer
Monday, May 27, 2019 - 11.30 miles I woke up at 4:30 AM. My tent was drooping beneath snow, so I braved the cold to brush it off before it could melt and wet my tent. Or that's what I tried to do, but immediately discovered that oops - that's not snow, that's ice! Or …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 74: Love You Zpacks and My Tent
Sunday, May 26, 2019 - 12.90 miles Waking up early with the wind, I began the 2500 ft climb up to cloud-coated Burkhart Saddle. The trail was mostly in great condition, but just below the saddle I encountered a stretch of loose and narrow footing. I met a group of weekend backpackers conveniently placed to …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 73: Better Stakes Than Poles
Saturday, May 25, 2019 - 15.90 I was sluggish in the morning and didn't start walking until 7:30 AM. Little Jimmy Spring was closer than I had thought - the data points in eTrails are funny here - and flowing strong below the trail. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49576041836/in/dateposted-public/ Little Jimmy Spring 15-20 tents were still pitched in the …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 72: Looks Like a Nightmare
Friday, May 24, 2019 - 9.20 miles Happy Mt. Baden-Powell Day! Unfortunately rain was forecast for the afternoon, since there's no perfect weather window in the Year of March in May, but I hoped to be up and over the summit by then. Quickly reaching the Vincent Gap trailhead, I began the ascent. For ~2.2 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 71: Like Someone Who Anticipates Being Eaten by Rats
Thursday, May 23, 2019 - 4 miles The hotel wouldn’t hold my backpack after I checked out in the morning, so I carried it around as I completed my remaining chores: mailing the remnants of my bounce box to the Acton KOA, leaving extra food in the hiker box and picking up a forgotten item …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 70: Hold No Hope in Your Heart
Wednesday, May 22, 2019 - 9.20 miles I got an early start today to complete the nine miles to Inspiration Point/Wrightwood before the snow began this afternoon. Despite my hatred for low-hanging clouds, I was charmed to see a cloudbow: https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49576387717/in/dateposted-public/ Great views continued in the cold. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49575478173/in/dateposted-public/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49575984606/in/dateposted-public/ I started hitting patchy snow around …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 69: When Even the Ramen Is Posh
Tuesday, May 21, 2019 - 15.80 miles Even around 3000 ft, low-hanging clouds were making themselves a nuisance this morning. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49574272676/in/dateposted-public/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49573839673/in/dateposted-public/ The temperature was cold until the sun began peeking out, then warmed to hot during the steady ~4800 ft grind uphill. I took a dirt road alternate for better views of Mt. Baldy and …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 68: It’s Late May, Okay?
Monday, May 20, 2019 - 1.70 miles I found an earwig in my tent when I woke up this morning. DIE. Frost was there too, and I waited for the friendly sun before walking to the store, which serves breakfast from 8-10 AM: all-you-can-eat pancakes with eggs, hashbrowns, sausage/bacon and orange juice (or possibly the …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 67: Give My KM People Back
Sunday, May 19, 2019 - 8.20 miles My tent was dry and the sky was blue when I woke up at 6:00 AM. That’s... not what I was promised... I had been planning to wait out the bad weather in my tent, but when no precipitation materialized except for a sprinkle of rain during breakfast, …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 66: Sittin’ on My Tractor
Friday, May 17, 2019 - 15.40 miles The wind was brutal this morning and I had to keep bracing myself with my poles. Clouds in the west were spilling over the mountains into a blue eastern sky. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49572126636/in/dateposted-public/ With the windchill the air was like ice, forcing me to put on my gloves. It turns …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 64: Windchill x 100
Thursday, May 16, 2019 Ah backtracking. You're the worst ❤ . At least I could make a day trip of this backtracking, unlike my two-day escapade returning to Ashland during PCT 2018. I packed up my food and other scented items, then set off through the low-hanging clouds and light rain towards Walker Pass. Three …
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 4.70 miles After a leisurely morning, I visited the post office to pick up my microspikes (blasted things) and walked to the bus stop to wait for the 12:30 PM bus to Walker Pass/Ridgecrest. Boston Chris joined me there and we met several friendly fellow passengers who eTrails would describe …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 62: Return of the Comb
Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - 0.70 miles https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49571609468/in/dateposted-public/ Walker Pass Campground I walked the remaining distance to Walker Pass this morning and quickly caught a ride to Lake Isabella with a fisherman. Of course I headed straight to a restaurant for breakfast, marveling at the lightness of my pack with zero food in it, and …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 61: Lake Isabella
Monday, May 13, 2019 - 16.70 miles My gorgeous view was hazy this morning, perhaps because of blowing dust. After a long stretch of forest, the PCT merged with a dirt road through hot exposed country. I was hungry and began feeling unwell. I kept thinking that the road was actually flat and the bumps …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 60: Return of the Fake Rocks
Sunday, May 12, 2019 - 12 miles The weather and scenery were wonderful again today. Near Bird Spring Pass, I met a woman who asked whether I was a section hiker because she hadn’t seen many thru-hikers stopping to take pictures. I also stop to talk to skittering lizards, whispering furtively so that no one …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 59: The Creepy Classmate
Saturday, May 11, 2019 - 15.20 miles The sky was beautifully blue when I woke up this morning. I continued through the pines to Landers Camp, which is 0.2 miles off-trail but has a tank with water presumably of better quality than the creeks surrounded by cow droppings. eTrails describes the Piute Road source as …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 58: A Photogenic Day
Friday, May 10, 2019 - 12 miles I woke during the night to flashes of light. I’ve not weathered a thunderstorm in a tent before. My poor tent - I’ve patched more of the holes, but it’s not what one would call waterproof anymore. I had trouble falling asleep again, and the lightning seemed to …
BANE OF THE TRAIL 