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
Saturday, May 18, 2019 - 21 miles The weather forecast is predicting a dump of precipitation for tonight and tomorrow, so my goal for today was to get past the high elevation section around Bear Mountain and camp in Rockhouse Basin. Unfortunately that meant walking ~21 miles, which I estimated would take me around fourteen …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 65: Automatoning
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
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 