Thursday, May 09, 2019 - 12.30 miles Another windy night, though at least the wind died away in the early hours of the morning. My tent did well despite the pole needing readjusting, but everything inside was covered with a layer of fine dust since I began the night with the doors open. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49571979856/in/dateposted-public/ All …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 56: Thanks for the Easement, but Ten Feet Sucks
Wednesday, May 08, 2019 - 11.70 miles Rather than dying away during the night, the wind switched directions so that my tent was less sheltered. My hiking pole contracted slightly with the force, plus I had pitched the tent with the pole handle facing upwards (have I mentioned yet that my pole has made a …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 55: Thou Shalt Not Flap
Tuesday, May 07, 2019 - 4.10 miles Around 4:00 AM, I woke to the sound of cars rushing past on the road above. People commuting to LA for work? I checked the forecast for Wrightwood. Two days with lots of rain, two days with a small amount of rain and some other cloudy days. I …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 54: NO LOW HANGING CLOUDS
Monday, May 06, 2019 - 9.90 miles I was only planning to walk to the Acton KOA today, so I took my time in the morning and chatted for awhile with a NOBO hiker (apparently there are other people heading SOBO but they are a mysterious, yet to be encountered species) with the excellent trail …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 53: Paling in Comparison to Ghost-Related Fanfiction
Sunday, May 05, 2019 I took a zero in Aqua Dulce today, picking up my freshly washed clothes before walking to town for breakfast. My socks were amazingly clean and soft and nice-smelling. How? The only rational conclusion is ‘sorcery’. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49571004238/in/dateposted-public/ Breakfast in Aqua Dulce At the general store, I bought supplies to supplement those …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 52: Find the Proper Grocery Store
Saturday, May 04, 2019 - 14.90 miles Butterflies showed up in amazing numbers today, favouring a certain type of bush that lined sections of the trail. Wikipedia says: 'V. Cardui [the painted lady] is known for its distinct migratory behaviour. In California, they are usually seen flying from north to north-west. These migrations appear to …
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 …
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 49: War of Attrition
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 48: First and Only Mosquito
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 47: Women in Love
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 46: Leaving Hikertown
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 45: Aquaduct Day
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 44: The Roof is SO SHOT
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 43: Tehachapi Mountains
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 42: Most Important
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 41: Oh the Shame
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 40: Zero in Mojave
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 39: Been to McDonalds
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 …
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 …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2019) 37: Wilderness Somewhere
BANE OF THE TRAIL 