27th April 2013
Zero Day
Mileage : Zero!
Today was the first full zero I've taken on the trail, and it what good. I slept in to a 7:30, it really is impossible to sleep any later when the sun comes up so 7:30 is as late as I can sleep in. Given that I get up early, I can't really stay up late anymore. On the advice of the Portlanders I tried seom Hawaiin beer, which was ok, but only got through 2 bottles before I couldn't keep my eyes open, ever the party animal it would appear.
The morning saw the christening of Ben and Thyra of the Portlander trio. Ben is extremely ginger and very nearly became Red Squirrel, however it morphed quickly to Rocky, which is slightly ironic given in terms of body shape he is the very anthesis of the Sly Rocky. Thyra acquired the name Just Geo in a roundabout way. Someone remarked in the group that it would be nice to know more about the wildlife, history and geology of the places we're passing through on the train, Thyra coming from Oregon informed everyone she sould be able to teach us about the geology of the Cascades but nothing more, hence Just Geo. This just leaves Kat and Angela without trail names.
The last thing on the schedule today was a photo of the class of 2013. The first picture of which is on the previous page, ten points if you can spot me. A better and more offical picture will be uploaded sometime in the near future.
Monday 29 April 2013
Sunday 28 April 2013
Day 7 : Nero and Kick Off
26th April 2013
Mile 106.5 to mile 109.5 : Eagle Rock to Warner Springs
Mileage : 3 miles + 1.5 bonus miles
A nero is a day where you don't hike very much, and today I only had to hike to Warner Springs in order to catch a ride to the Kick Off party, but that lift was due at 8am so it was has been driving y schedule these last few days. I broke camp at about 6am, finally got a good picture of Eagle Rock with the sun just creeping up over the horizon, and hiked up the trail until I hit Highway 79 and Warner Springs. Warner Springs does not consist of much, but crucially for PCT hikers there is a post office which receives resupply boxes. The trail does not actually pass through the town but instead skirts round it. I attempted to hitch for about 15 mins with time running out til my 8am deadline I hiked the 1.5ish miles into town to the post office. Just as I was approaching the postoffice a car drove by me slowly and a voice called out 'Patrick?' My lift, Frank, had arrived right on time. I picked up my resupply box and my ankle support which had also arrived in time, got in the car and off we drove to Kick Off.
Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off
15 years ago a group of thru-hikers started meeting up over the last weekend of April to share what information they had back then about the trail conditions of the year. It has now snowballed into somewhat of a festival providing food and lodging for all that come, seminars and lectures about the trail conditions and dealing with specific issues such as bears or rattlesnakes, provide training for those new to equipment such as ice axes and crampons (not needed this year as it has been a very low snow year), and vendors of ultra-light equipment selling their wares. I made up my mind a while ago to attend the KO after the first week. I wanted to spend a week on the trail first though in order to gain a small amount of trail experience and have a reference point for everything I learned over the weekend. I arrived at Kick Off and became just another hiker amongst the 500 or so hikers going back as far as 1977. The first point of call was a shower. Before Kick Off my last shower was at a shine camp just after Mt Laguna, over 50 miles ago. I also pulled off my leukotape from my hips and feet in order to give them time to breathe before hitting the trail again in two days time. My hips, it is fair to say, have suffered. The problem was the belt/strap that came with my hiking trousers. It would ride up over the material of my trousers, dig into my hips and then would pinch the skin with the hip pad of my rucksack. Consequently I have lines of angry looking red skin that is slowly recovering (pics to come). My feet have also suffered to some degree, although oddly my two blisters don't seem to be anywhere that hurt, so I'm content to let them be and will not pop them. Finally clean after many applications of soap I was clean enough to relinquish the shower to the next filthy hiker. By the time I had found my allocated camp site I had met back up with Kat, Mr Green and Huckleberry Fin with whom I had been hiking up to Mt Laguna. I also met back up with Ben, Thyra and Angela from Portland who I also met the first day but hadn't seen since. I will slow up over the next few days and hopefully they will all catch me up. I've decided hiking alone is not really my thing so don't mind taking the time for them to catch up. I also figure that I will be able to put in the long days later on so lower mileage days won't matter so much right now. I spent the day sorting out my kit and admiring the whole host of lightweight kit available. I am trying not to spend money on kit improvements, but it is extremely difficult. My sleeping bag is a Softie 9, and although perfectly adequate, is over a kilo heavier than most of the latest sleeping bag designs. Shedding a kilo is tempting but for the moment I'm not prepared to spend that money when I already have good kit. I did, however, decide to buyt some Dirty Girl gaiters. Dirty Girl is a former PCT thru-hiker now running several cross country ultra-marathong a year who made her own lightweight gaiters and started selliung them. Gaiters are something I've never worn before but I am now I have to say I am definitely a convert, especially in the desert. I get all sorts of small stones and sharp bits of dry grass in my socks, so much so that I have to start every half an hour or so to take off my shoes and pick them out, so I invested in a pair of psycadelic gaiters which will keep the dirt for miles to come.
Apart from the gaiters I also managed to shed some stuff. I got rid of my second torch and knife, why I had two of those I do not know. I also replaced my very new plastic mug with the bottom of a water bottle but off. I only seem to use my cup/mug for scooping water for my filter so don't need anything so heavy. It might only be a few grams but it all adds up.
My kit sorted, for the moment anyway, I attended a seminar on stress and repetative strain injuries, which gave me also sorts of things to think about in the weeks a head. As my left ankle began to hurt a couple days ago, I started using my right foot much more and now the bottom of my calf/top of my achilles tendon are hurting. It would be ironic if my achilles heel turns out to be my achilles heel. The main thing I took away from the lecture was the fact the cardio-vascular systems and muscles adapt to the trail much more quickly than tissues like ligaments or tendons, and much more quickly than the skeleton. This means after a week or so after the initial aches and pains and blisters go away I will feel like I can push much harder than I should. With this in mind, and taking into consideration my various ankle pains I have decided to reduce my mileage to 12-13 for the next week. Again I figure I will have time to make up these miles later on. I think it'll be difficult forcing myself to take it easy when I know I can push harder. We'll see what happens.
Mile 106.5 to mile 109.5 : Eagle Rock to Warner Springs
Mileage : 3 miles + 1.5 bonus miles
A nero is a day where you don't hike very much, and today I only had to hike to Warner Springs in order to catch a ride to the Kick Off party, but that lift was due at 8am so it was has been driving y schedule these last few days. I broke camp at about 6am, finally got a good picture of Eagle Rock with the sun just creeping up over the horizon, and hiked up the trail until I hit Highway 79 and Warner Springs. Warner Springs does not consist of much, but crucially for PCT hikers there is a post office which receives resupply boxes. The trail does not actually pass through the town but instead skirts round it. I attempted to hitch for about 15 mins with time running out til my 8am deadline I hiked the 1.5ish miles into town to the post office. Just as I was approaching the postoffice a car drove by me slowly and a voice called out 'Patrick?' My lift, Frank, had arrived right on time. I picked up my resupply box and my ankle support which had also arrived in time, got in the car and off we drove to Kick Off.
Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off
15 years ago a group of thru-hikers started meeting up over the last weekend of April to share what information they had back then about the trail conditions of the year. It has now snowballed into somewhat of a festival providing food and lodging for all that come, seminars and lectures about the trail conditions and dealing with specific issues such as bears or rattlesnakes, provide training for those new to equipment such as ice axes and crampons (not needed this year as it has been a very low snow year), and vendors of ultra-light equipment selling their wares. I made up my mind a while ago to attend the KO after the first week. I wanted to spend a week on the trail first though in order to gain a small amount of trail experience and have a reference point for everything I learned over the weekend. I arrived at Kick Off and became just another hiker amongst the 500 or so hikers going back as far as 1977. The first point of call was a shower. Before Kick Off my last shower was at a shine camp just after Mt Laguna, over 50 miles ago. I also pulled off my leukotape from my hips and feet in order to give them time to breathe before hitting the trail again in two days time. My hips, it is fair to say, have suffered. The problem was the belt/strap that came with my hiking trousers. It would ride up over the material of my trousers, dig into my hips and then would pinch the skin with the hip pad of my rucksack. Consequently I have lines of angry looking red skin that is slowly recovering (pics to come). My feet have also suffered to some degree, although oddly my two blisters don't seem to be anywhere that hurt, so I'm content to let them be and will not pop them. Finally clean after many applications of soap I was clean enough to relinquish the shower to the next filthy hiker. By the time I had found my allocated camp site I had met back up with Kat, Mr Green and Huckleberry Fin with whom I had been hiking up to Mt Laguna. I also met back up with Ben, Thyra and Angela from Portland who I also met the first day but hadn't seen since. I will slow up over the next few days and hopefully they will all catch me up. I've decided hiking alone is not really my thing so don't mind taking the time for them to catch up. I also figure that I will be able to put in the long days later on so lower mileage days won't matter so much right now. I spent the day sorting out my kit and admiring the whole host of lightweight kit available. I am trying not to spend money on kit improvements, but it is extremely difficult. My sleeping bag is a Softie 9, and although perfectly adequate, is over a kilo heavier than most of the latest sleeping bag designs. Shedding a kilo is tempting but for the moment I'm not prepared to spend that money when I already have good kit. I did, however, decide to buyt some Dirty Girl gaiters. Dirty Girl is a former PCT thru-hiker now running several cross country ultra-marathong a year who made her own lightweight gaiters and started selliung them. Gaiters are something I've never worn before but I am now I have to say I am definitely a convert, especially in the desert. I get all sorts of small stones and sharp bits of dry grass in my socks, so much so that I have to start every half an hour or so to take off my shoes and pick them out, so I invested in a pair of psycadelic gaiters which will keep the dirt for miles to come.
Apart from the gaiters I also managed to shed some stuff. I got rid of my second torch and knife, why I had two of those I do not know. I also replaced my very new plastic mug with the bottom of a water bottle but off. I only seem to use my cup/mug for scooping water for my filter so don't need anything so heavy. It might only be a few grams but it all adds up.
My kit sorted, for the moment anyway, I attended a seminar on stress and repetative strain injuries, which gave me also sorts of things to think about in the weeks a head. As my left ankle began to hurt a couple days ago, I started using my right foot much more and now the bottom of my calf/top of my achilles tendon are hurting. It would be ironic if my achilles heel turns out to be my achilles heel. The main thing I took away from the lecture was the fact the cardio-vascular systems and muscles adapt to the trail much more quickly than tissues like ligaments or tendons, and much more quickly than the skeleton. This means after a week or so after the initial aches and pains and blisters go away I will feel like I can push much harder than I should. With this in mind, and taking into consideration my various ankle pains I have decided to reduce my mileage to 12-13 for the next week. Again I figure I will have time to make up these miles later on. I think it'll be difficult forcing myself to take it easy when I know I can push harder. We'll see what happens.
Day 6 : Eagle Rock
25th April 2013
Mile 91.5 to mile 106.5 : Third gate cache to Eagle Rock
Mileage : 15
Today I reached the symbolic end of Section A of the PCT at Eagle Rock, just before Warner Springs.
I got up early and still tired from the previous day's nighthike. The 10 miles remains flew by pretty quickly and before long I reached the 100mile marker, wooooooo!!! Unfortunately you will all have to wait a few more days for pictures as my micro-sd to usb adapter is no more. A devised a cunning and foxlike way to attach my camera to my shoulder strap so's my camera is always close to hand, but the adaptor was inside the case and must have fallen out somewhere and I won't get a new one until Idyllwild in a few days time. Just after the 100 Mile marker I arrived at Barrel Spring, the end of the dry stretch and was looking forward to getting some sleep in some shade before pushing on in the afternoon. It was at Barrel Springs where I acquired a trail name of my own. A girl about my age struck up a conversation with me while we filtered water and once discovering where I was from asked : 'Are people from Manchester called Manchurians?' I wish I could say she was being facetious but unfortunately I don't think she was. Redtop, who the guy hiking with vodka, grinned at me and decided that my name should be The Manchurian, and it has stuck far. I'm glad I at least avoid Sirtripsalot which was given out yesterday. I slept until after 4pm and then headed out to Eagle Rock at 106.5. On the way to Eagle Rock the scenery changed dramatically, the climb the day before had been desert mountains, whereas the approach to Warner Springs saw me passing through open fields full of cows out to pasture, the scenery changes here almost with every mile. I took it slow getting to Eagle Rock and arrived just after 6pm. Eagle Rock is a rock formation in the middle of a field that actually does look like a Eagle, it's incredible! It faces east meaning I couldn't get any good pictures of it as the evening sun was right behind it, I decided that pictures were important and thus stopped for the night so's I could get a good picture in the morning.
Mile 91.5 to mile 106.5 : Third gate cache to Eagle Rock
Mileage : 15
Today I reached the symbolic end of Section A of the PCT at Eagle Rock, just before Warner Springs.
I got up early and still tired from the previous day's nighthike. The 10 miles remains flew by pretty quickly and before long I reached the 100mile marker, wooooooo!!! Unfortunately you will all have to wait a few more days for pictures as my micro-sd to usb adapter is no more. A devised a cunning and foxlike way to attach my camera to my shoulder strap so's my camera is always close to hand, but the adaptor was inside the case and must have fallen out somewhere and I won't get a new one until Idyllwild in a few days time. Just after the 100 Mile marker I arrived at Barrel Spring, the end of the dry stretch and was looking forward to getting some sleep in some shade before pushing on in the afternoon. It was at Barrel Springs where I acquired a trail name of my own. A girl about my age struck up a conversation with me while we filtered water and once discovering where I was from asked : 'Are people from Manchester called Manchurians?' I wish I could say she was being facetious but unfortunately I don't think she was. Redtop, who the guy hiking with vodka, grinned at me and decided that my name should be The Manchurian, and it has stuck far. I'm glad I at least avoid Sirtripsalot which was given out yesterday. I slept until after 4pm and then headed out to Eagle Rock at 106.5. On the way to Eagle Rock the scenery changed dramatically, the climb the day before had been desert mountains, whereas the approach to Warner Springs saw me passing through open fields full of cows out to pasture, the scenery changes here almost with every mile. I took it slow getting to Eagle Rock and arrived just after 6pm. Eagle Rock is a rock formation in the middle of a field that actually does look like a Eagle, it's incredible! It faces east meaning I couldn't get any good pictures of it as the evening sun was right behind it, I decided that pictures were important and thus stopped for the night so's I could get a good picture in the morning.
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| 100 Miles!!! |
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| It really does look like an eagle! |
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| It's possible I have my eyes closed in this shot, doh! |
Day 5 Part 2 : Nighthike
24th April 2013
Mile 78.5 to mile 91.5 : Scissors Crossing to Third gate cache
Total Mileage today : 18 miles
The night hike went well, really well in fact. I left the Julian library and stood on the road waiting for a ride, the weather wasn't quite so bad as I first thought but it was clear we were in a cloud so it was cold and clammy with no visibility. I got a hitch back to Scissors with Roz and her daughter Nicole who live in the same small community as Laura who gave me the hitch up to Julian in the first place. I got out and thanked them for the ride making sure I got all my stuff out and didn't make the same mistake as the guy this morning. I ducked back under the bridge to find Dominic there sheltering from the wind. Dominic had already put in an 18 mile day but agreed to accompany me for at least the first few miles of the night hike. As we sat eating dinner I remembered that he had already been given the trail name Sourcream the night before we left Scout and Frodo's a few days earlier. He acquired this due to the fact that in the morning before we left he ate 33/4 quarters of a bowl of what he thought was yoghurt before someone pointed out that it was infact sourcream, and the name stuck.
As we stood up to put our rucksacks on we noticed a small sign advising us not to camp under the road due to the large pack of coyotes in the area that frequent the crossing at night, I was glad to on the move.
Sourcream and I hit the trail just before 8pm and started the long climb into the San Felipe hills in the fading light. An hour later Sourcream, who by now had done over 20 miles, was feeling pretty shattered and decided to call it a day. given that by that time my day's total was only 7.5miles pressed on with the climb into the night. The trail hugged the left side of a ridge line that climbed steadily up into the hills with the desert floor getting farther and farther away as I climbed. The camber of the trail meant that more stress was put on the inside of my right ankle and sure enough before long it began to hurt. Oddly enough though the pain was comforting as it meant there was nothing acutely wrong with my other ankle that had been sore and hurting during the climb on day 2 up to Mt Laguna. My ankles are just not used to this sort of abuse after a long stretch in the office environment and are making sure I know they're taking their time to adapt to the trail. In a couple days though I'll be resting them for 2 + days during and after the Kick Off festival so as long as the pain doesn't get too bad I won't worry about them too much. Sourcream's departure after the first hour meant I was now hiking on my own for the first time. Up until now I have been hiking with others, or at least leap frogging past them throughout each day never more than a mile away from the nearest hiker. This hiking was different though, the trail was rocky and exposed to the howling wind which fortunately was mostly behind me and blowing me uphill. Although the moon shone brightly enough that i didn't need my head torch it was still difficult to see every step clearly making some of the more exposed sections more than a little hair raising. For a while I enjoyed the freedom of being on my own, I could set my own pace without ever having to wait for anyone else and could take as many or as few breaks as I wanted, but mostly i missed the company of the other hikers I'd met to date. I did however very much enjoy hiking at night. My feet don't overheat and therefore don't blister, i don't sweat very much at all and consequently only need to carry a small amount of water. I packed 4.5 litres for the the 23 miles but probably won't use it all. At 1:30am I arrived at the Third gate cache at mile 91 and decided to stop. I could have pushed farther but my feet were tired and the wind also made me worry about not being able to stay warm should I have been unable to find shelter farther up the trail. There was water at Third gate but didn't use any. My plan initially was to top up here were i running low, but it turns out over the 13 previous miles even with the climb i only used 2 litres, so should be able to do the next 10 with what i have left in my bag. I got out my groundsheet and sleeping bag and crawled into bed to get a few hours sleep before my alarm was due to go off 4 hours later for me to get up and complete the hike before the heat of the next day. A long eventful day over.
Mile 78.5 to mile 91.5 : Scissors Crossing to Third gate cache
Total Mileage today : 18 miles
The night hike went well, really well in fact. I left the Julian library and stood on the road waiting for a ride, the weather wasn't quite so bad as I first thought but it was clear we were in a cloud so it was cold and clammy with no visibility. I got a hitch back to Scissors with Roz and her daughter Nicole who live in the same small community as Laura who gave me the hitch up to Julian in the first place. I got out and thanked them for the ride making sure I got all my stuff out and didn't make the same mistake as the guy this morning. I ducked back under the bridge to find Dominic there sheltering from the wind. Dominic had already put in an 18 mile day but agreed to accompany me for at least the first few miles of the night hike. As we sat eating dinner I remembered that he had already been given the trail name Sourcream the night before we left Scout and Frodo's a few days earlier. He acquired this due to the fact that in the morning before we left he ate 33/4 quarters of a bowl of what he thought was yoghurt before someone pointed out that it was infact sourcream, and the name stuck.
As we stood up to put our rucksacks on we noticed a small sign advising us not to camp under the road due to the large pack of coyotes in the area that frequent the crossing at night, I was glad to on the move.
Sourcream and I hit the trail just before 8pm and started the long climb into the San Felipe hills in the fading light. An hour later Sourcream, who by now had done over 20 miles, was feeling pretty shattered and decided to call it a day. given that by that time my day's total was only 7.5miles pressed on with the climb into the night. The trail hugged the left side of a ridge line that climbed steadily up into the hills with the desert floor getting farther and farther away as I climbed. The camber of the trail meant that more stress was put on the inside of my right ankle and sure enough before long it began to hurt. Oddly enough though the pain was comforting as it meant there was nothing acutely wrong with my other ankle that had been sore and hurting during the climb on day 2 up to Mt Laguna. My ankles are just not used to this sort of abuse after a long stretch in the office environment and are making sure I know they're taking their time to adapt to the trail. In a couple days though I'll be resting them for 2 + days during and after the Kick Off festival so as long as the pain doesn't get too bad I won't worry about them too much. Sourcream's departure after the first hour meant I was now hiking on my own for the first time. Up until now I have been hiking with others, or at least leap frogging past them throughout each day never more than a mile away from the nearest hiker. This hiking was different though, the trail was rocky and exposed to the howling wind which fortunately was mostly behind me and blowing me uphill. Although the moon shone brightly enough that i didn't need my head torch it was still difficult to see every step clearly making some of the more exposed sections more than a little hair raising. For a while I enjoyed the freedom of being on my own, I could set my own pace without ever having to wait for anyone else and could take as many or as few breaks as I wanted, but mostly i missed the company of the other hikers I'd met to date. I did however very much enjoy hiking at night. My feet don't overheat and therefore don't blister, i don't sweat very much at all and consequently only need to carry a small amount of water. I packed 4.5 litres for the the 23 miles but probably won't use it all. At 1:30am I arrived at the Third gate cache at mile 91 and decided to stop. I could have pushed farther but my feet were tired and the wind also made me worry about not being able to stay warm should I have been unable to find shelter farther up the trail. There was water at Third gate but didn't use any. My plan initially was to top up here were i running low, but it turns out over the 13 previous miles even with the climb i only used 2 litres, so should be able to do the next 10 with what i have left in my bag. I got out my groundsheet and sleeping bag and crawled into bed to get a few hours sleep before my alarm was due to go off 4 hours later for me to get up and complete the hike before the heat of the next day. A long eventful day over.
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| Clouds flowing down from Julian |
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| The view back to Rodriquez Spur Tank near mile 68 |
Thursday 25 April 2013
Day 5 Part 1 : Julian
24th April 2013
Mile 73.5 to Mile 78.5 : The desert outcrop campsite to Scissors Crossing
Today's mileage so far : 5 miles
I'm writing this journal post from Julian, a town 13 miles west of the PCT along highway 78 which opens it's local library to PCT hikers during the hiking season, thanks Julian!
Red Top broke camp early today and was on the move before Ron and I, but we caught him at Scissors Crossing. It was an easy 5 miles in the cool of the morning, my ankle felt better but nowhere near normal and I'm glad I'll have 2 full zero days at Kick Off to rest it, until then though I'll just have to deal with the pain. I know there is nothing really wrong with it, it's just taken a bit of a battering over the last few days and is making sure I know it. We got to Scissors just before 9, and found Red Top sitting under the road sipping an ice cold beer left by a trail angel. Beer at 8:30 in the morning isn't usually my thing however the last couple days have been about arriving at Scissors crossing early in the morning for reasons I'll explain, so the 3 of us enjoyed that beer to the fullest celebrating our achievement.
Everyday so far has been hot, very hot. Before starting the trail I'd heard that most people rest during the hottest part of the day, from midday to 5pm, as during these hours it is just too hot to hike and takes a lot of energy and water to do so. Before starting I had definitely pooh-poohed this advice (Blackadder reference) thinking I'd hike through the day but have since learnt the error of my ways. I will do all I can to avoid hiking at this time, but sometimes there is no alternative. The hiking distances in the desert are determined by water, hence why yesterday was so knackering, we had no alternative option but to get to the water source as fast of possible. The same is true for for the next stretch of the hike. Between Rodriguez Spur Fire Tank at 68.5 miles and Barrel Spring at 101.5 miles, a total of 33 miles, there is no natural water. On a hot day I get through 1 litre per 3 miles or so depending on trail conditions, so a 33 mile hike would mean over 11 litres of water, which weighs a lot. The water and associated weight conundrum is a bit of a vicious circle, the more weight you carry, the more water you need, and carrying more water means more weight which means more water, and on it goes. To get around the long dry sections trail angels leave water caches along the route, some of which are more reliable than others. One of the best stocked and most reliable is under a bridge at Scissors Crossing at mile 78.5. The reason it is so well stocked is simply because it's right under the road, so getting the water there isn't problem, more remote caches however are much less reliable. It requires a lot of effort for a dedicated trail angel to keep 1 of these caches stocked, constantly hiking up and down the same section of trail with water for hikers like me. Scissors Crossing is 10 miles into the 33 mile dry stretch cutting the dry hike down to 23 miles, just about feasible during the day but not advisable. There is one more cache between Scissors and Barrel Spring, but it is remote and whether it is supplied or not is pot luck depending on the attentiveness of the trail angel who keeps it stocked, the number of hikers that are ahead of me, and the amount of water each of these hikers use, which essentially depends on the weather. The weather here changes from valley to valley, and there are a lot of early starters this year so I have to assume this cache is dry, so I've definitely got at 23 mile hike to do without water and I plan to hike it at night. At the moment there moon is so bright I don't even need a head torch to see at night, and the decreased temperatures should mean I can do it with only 3 or 4 litres of water.
Knowing I have a long hike tonight I decided to spend the day in Julian rest my legs and feet. Julian is a small mountain town several hundred metres higher in elevation than Scissors Crosssing and the desert through which I'll be hiking, and is correspondingly much cooler. I hitched a ride with Ron after a 45 minute wait, during which a pickup truck stopped to disgorge 2 hikers that I hadn't met before. In the 30 seconds that followed, the woman of the pair offered us most of a strawberry and apple from Mom's Pie, a local pie shop that looks kindly on PCT hikers, score!, and her husband realised he'd left his hiking poles in the back of the pickup truck and helpless we all watched them drive off into the distance in the back of that truck, unlucky. Hiking poles are a god-send on the trail and we all felt for this guy that had a lapse of judgement for about 5 seconds and was going to have to expend a lot of time, money, and effort to correct his error, it could really have happened to anyone and although I didn't say it I was very glad it didn't happen to me. Before we really had time to commiserate with the guy another pick-up going in our direction stopped and offered Ron and I a ride, so we jumped in and left there poor couple to deal with their pole problem, there was nothing we could have done to help them anyway. Our ride was with Laura, a local trail angel who helps hikers getting into and out off Julian. Thanks Laura! Laura dropped us at the local library and promised to come back later to take us back. The reason this is such a long post is that she didn't show up and I don't want to go outside and starting hitching once again. The library has free internet, so Ron and I sat down and started doing our web based chores.
2 minutes after sitting down Ron looked up from his computer and said 'I'm quitting the PCT'. In fairness he had said he might quit yesterday as we toiled under the sun, but I thought that was just the heat and exhaustion talking, so didn't take him seriously. I'll be sad to see him go, I enjoyed hiking with him, but each has to make his or her mind up to continue, so I didn't try and talk him out of it, I know it can't have been an easy decision.
3 hours later I am back in the library having done all my chores and seen the sites of Julian, as I said my ride hasn't turned up so have to go back out and hitch. The problem is that this when I arrived in Julian it was a beautiful spring morning when I arrived, but as can happen in spring a front has rolled in covering the mountainside with wind, rain and fog. Less than ideal hitching conditions, but down in the desert it will be perfect hiking condition, so need to get to it. The next post will probably be in a week's time if and when I make it to Idyllwild. Hope you've all enjoyed reading so far and I look forward to seeing all your comments next week. Bye for now.
Mile 73.5 to Mile 78.5 : The desert outcrop campsite to Scissors Crossing
Today's mileage so far : 5 miles
I'm writing this journal post from Julian, a town 13 miles west of the PCT along highway 78 which opens it's local library to PCT hikers during the hiking season, thanks Julian!
Red Top broke camp early today and was on the move before Ron and I, but we caught him at Scissors Crossing. It was an easy 5 miles in the cool of the morning, my ankle felt better but nowhere near normal and I'm glad I'll have 2 full zero days at Kick Off to rest it, until then though I'll just have to deal with the pain. I know there is nothing really wrong with it, it's just taken a bit of a battering over the last few days and is making sure I know it. We got to Scissors just before 9, and found Red Top sitting under the road sipping an ice cold beer left by a trail angel. Beer at 8:30 in the morning isn't usually my thing however the last couple days have been about arriving at Scissors crossing early in the morning for reasons I'll explain, so the 3 of us enjoyed that beer to the fullest celebrating our achievement.
Everyday so far has been hot, very hot. Before starting the trail I'd heard that most people rest during the hottest part of the day, from midday to 5pm, as during these hours it is just too hot to hike and takes a lot of energy and water to do so. Before starting I had definitely pooh-poohed this advice (Blackadder reference) thinking I'd hike through the day but have since learnt the error of my ways. I will do all I can to avoid hiking at this time, but sometimes there is no alternative. The hiking distances in the desert are determined by water, hence why yesterday was so knackering, we had no alternative option but to get to the water source as fast of possible. The same is true for for the next stretch of the hike. Between Rodriguez Spur Fire Tank at 68.5 miles and Barrel Spring at 101.5 miles, a total of 33 miles, there is no natural water. On a hot day I get through 1 litre per 3 miles or so depending on trail conditions, so a 33 mile hike would mean over 11 litres of water, which weighs a lot. The water and associated weight conundrum is a bit of a vicious circle, the more weight you carry, the more water you need, and carrying more water means more weight which means more water, and on it goes. To get around the long dry sections trail angels leave water caches along the route, some of which are more reliable than others. One of the best stocked and most reliable is under a bridge at Scissors Crossing at mile 78.5. The reason it is so well stocked is simply because it's right under the road, so getting the water there isn't problem, more remote caches however are much less reliable. It requires a lot of effort for a dedicated trail angel to keep 1 of these caches stocked, constantly hiking up and down the same section of trail with water for hikers like me. Scissors Crossing is 10 miles into the 33 mile dry stretch cutting the dry hike down to 23 miles, just about feasible during the day but not advisable. There is one more cache between Scissors and Barrel Spring, but it is remote and whether it is supplied or not is pot luck depending on the attentiveness of the trail angel who keeps it stocked, the number of hikers that are ahead of me, and the amount of water each of these hikers use, which essentially depends on the weather. The weather here changes from valley to valley, and there are a lot of early starters this year so I have to assume this cache is dry, so I've definitely got at 23 mile hike to do without water and I plan to hike it at night. At the moment there moon is so bright I don't even need a head torch to see at night, and the decreased temperatures should mean I can do it with only 3 or 4 litres of water.
Knowing I have a long hike tonight I decided to spend the day in Julian rest my legs and feet. Julian is a small mountain town several hundred metres higher in elevation than Scissors Crosssing and the desert through which I'll be hiking, and is correspondingly much cooler. I hitched a ride with Ron after a 45 minute wait, during which a pickup truck stopped to disgorge 2 hikers that I hadn't met before. In the 30 seconds that followed, the woman of the pair offered us most of a strawberry and apple from Mom's Pie, a local pie shop that looks kindly on PCT hikers, score!, and her husband realised he'd left his hiking poles in the back of the pickup truck and helpless we all watched them drive off into the distance in the back of that truck, unlucky. Hiking poles are a god-send on the trail and we all felt for this guy that had a lapse of judgement for about 5 seconds and was going to have to expend a lot of time, money, and effort to correct his error, it could really have happened to anyone and although I didn't say it I was very glad it didn't happen to me. Before we really had time to commiserate with the guy another pick-up going in our direction stopped and offered Ron and I a ride, so we jumped in and left there poor couple to deal with their pole problem, there was nothing we could have done to help them anyway. Our ride was with Laura, a local trail angel who helps hikers getting into and out off Julian. Thanks Laura! Laura dropped us at the local library and promised to come back later to take us back. The reason this is such a long post is that she didn't show up and I don't want to go outside and starting hitching once again. The library has free internet, so Ron and I sat down and started doing our web based chores.
2 minutes after sitting down Ron looked up from his computer and said 'I'm quitting the PCT'. In fairness he had said he might quit yesterday as we toiled under the sun, but I thought that was just the heat and exhaustion talking, so didn't take him seriously. I'll be sad to see him go, I enjoyed hiking with him, but each has to make his or her mind up to continue, so I didn't try and talk him out of it, I know it can't have been an easy decision.
3 hours later I am back in the library having done all my chores and seen the sites of Julian, as I said my ride hasn't turned up so have to go back out and hitch. The problem is that this when I arrived in Julian it was a beautiful spring morning when I arrived, but as can happen in spring a front has rolled in covering the mountainside with wind, rain and fog. Less than ideal hitching conditions, but down in the desert it will be perfect hiking condition, so need to get to it. The next post will probably be in a week's time if and when I make it to Idyllwild. Hope you've all enjoyed reading so far and I look forward to seeing all your comments next week. Bye for now.
Day 4 : Back to the desert
24th April 2013
Mile 53.5 to Mile 73.5 : Pioneer Springs to a small campsite overlooking Scissors Crossing
Today's Mileage : 20 miles.
To saw Ron and I waking up on our ledge overlooking the Anza-Borrego desert park, what a sunrise. It was such an exposed location that the sun shone hard on us right from the word go. I broke camp early determined to get the next waterless stretch to Rodriguez Spur Fire Tank, a distance of 15 miles, before the heat of the day. The first 9 miles were easy, the last 6 difficult. At the beginning we were averaging 3 miles an hour, a fantastic speed made possible by the cool high altitude early morning breeze and temperatures. We made it to mile 62 by 10am, just shy of the pct daily goal of 10 before 10. The next 6 miles were tough, very tough. My ankle was really starting to cause me pain, the trail for a lot of the last 3 days is slightly higher under the left foot as we've been contoring round hills and mountains, and the inside of my left ankle is took the full brunt of it and is now quite sore. The first of the next 6 miles was a steep descent, and it was like walking into an oven, we had no choice though but to carry on. We each only had 1.5 litres of water so there was no stopping, we had to get to the Rodriguez Spur Fire Tank where the water report assured us we could resupply on water. 5 miles is something I can usually cover in about 2 miles, but it took us more than 3, we staggered up to the water tank at 13:15 hot, tired and thirsty. My ankle was now not being helped by the extremely rocky terrain forcing it to bend everywhich way with each step, it was almost too painfull even after a couple vitamin I tablets. There was no shade at the fire tank except for the 30cm shadow cast by the tank itself, so Ron and lay almost hugging it for the next 4 hours as it slowly grew as the sun sank. By 5:30 my ankle was much recovered and it was cool enough to start moving again, so we set off again towards our next goal, a small campsite on an outcrop of rock overlooking the desert floor and scissors crossing at mile 73. I should say here that campsite here means there is enough space to sleep, nothing more. We made it tired but pleased at the end of a long and knackering day, I wonder how often I'll use those adjectives to describe a day on the PCT. Soon after we arrived at the campsite we were joined by Red Top, a 21 year old american college grad taking some time off before work. We sat talking to him in the evening while we ate before settling down for another night under the stars. His parting shot for the night was 'who wants some vodka?' He was carrying about half a litre of vodka with him using it as fuel for his stove, antiseptic for injuries, and to help knock him out every night. I don't usually drink vodka but enjoyed swigging it it with him while listening to the sound of Cayotes somewhere in the night on the desert floor below us. I hope they don't climb mountains otherwise they'll find 3 tasty treats waiting for them at the top of this one.
Mile 53.5 to Mile 73.5 : Pioneer Springs to a small campsite overlooking Scissors Crossing
Today's Mileage : 20 miles.
To saw Ron and I waking up on our ledge overlooking the Anza-Borrego desert park, what a sunrise. It was such an exposed location that the sun shone hard on us right from the word go. I broke camp early determined to get the next waterless stretch to Rodriguez Spur Fire Tank, a distance of 15 miles, before the heat of the day. The first 9 miles were easy, the last 6 difficult. At the beginning we were averaging 3 miles an hour, a fantastic speed made possible by the cool high altitude early morning breeze and temperatures. We made it to mile 62 by 10am, just shy of the pct daily goal of 10 before 10. The next 6 miles were tough, very tough. My ankle was really starting to cause me pain, the trail for a lot of the last 3 days is slightly higher under the left foot as we've been contoring round hills and mountains, and the inside of my left ankle is took the full brunt of it and is now quite sore. The first of the next 6 miles was a steep descent, and it was like walking into an oven, we had no choice though but to carry on. We each only had 1.5 litres of water so there was no stopping, we had to get to the Rodriguez Spur Fire Tank where the water report assured us we could resupply on water. 5 miles is something I can usually cover in about 2 miles, but it took us more than 3, we staggered up to the water tank at 13:15 hot, tired and thirsty. My ankle was now not being helped by the extremely rocky terrain forcing it to bend everywhich way with each step, it was almost too painfull even after a couple vitamin I tablets. There was no shade at the fire tank except for the 30cm shadow cast by the tank itself, so Ron and lay almost hugging it for the next 4 hours as it slowly grew as the sun sank. By 5:30 my ankle was much recovered and it was cool enough to start moving again, so we set off again towards our next goal, a small campsite on an outcrop of rock overlooking the desert floor and scissors crossing at mile 73. I should say here that campsite here means there is enough space to sleep, nothing more. We made it tired but pleased at the end of a long and knackering day, I wonder how often I'll use those adjectives to describe a day on the PCT. Soon after we arrived at the campsite we were joined by Red Top, a 21 year old american college grad taking some time off before work. We sat talking to him in the evening while we ate before settling down for another night under the stars. His parting shot for the night was 'who wants some vodka?' He was carrying about half a litre of vodka with him using it as fuel for his stove, antiseptic for injuries, and to help knock him out every night. I don't usually drink vodka but enjoyed swigging it it with him while listening to the sound of Cayotes somewhere in the night on the desert floor below us. I hope they don't climb mountains otherwise they'll find 3 tasty treats waiting for them at the top of this one.
Wednesday 24 April 2013
Day 2 : the first aches and pains
21st April 2013
Mile 20 to mile 37 : Lake Morena to Long Creek
Today's mileage : 17 miles.
Today began well enough, my alarm want off just after 6am and 40 minutes later i was on the trail. The aim today was to to get to a campsite at mile 36, and do as many of those miles as early as possible. As i set off i could feel all the aches and pains resulting from the ordeal that was yesterday. My main complaint is chafing on my hips caused my belt, so i discarded it and taped over the sore bits. I also have two liner blisters that got the tape treatment, it really is wondrous stuff leukotape.
The first 6 miles were gorgeous, i was fresh and fullbof energy, and the sun was still low makinfor perfect hiking conditions. 2 hours later they were done. I was feeling pretty confident after that but unfortunately it all went downhill from there, or rather uphill. The next 10 miles went up up and up, at the same time it got hotter and hotter. Thankfully halfway there was a rest spot by a small stream, but alas no shade.
After spending too long by the steam i pushed on, determined to get the miles done, but the heat was almost too much. I finally made it to the shade that i knew was waiting me and mile 36 and collapsed in a heap, too knackered to do much of anything. What i'm finding most difficult about the heat is not the water, although hat is a problem, rather the lack of electrolytes. I am losing all the vital salts and cqn't replace them fast enough leaving me peeing buckets but still feeling dehydrated and weak. At Mt Laguna tomorrow i'm going to try and get hold.of some salt additives for water but i'm not hopeful. I spent 2 hours recovering fRom he hot section, ate.my dinner early to give me some energy and decided to push on one more mile to a water source. During this last mile my left ankle started to hurt, and i'm worried about it. I had thought it would be my knees that give me problems, i've taped it up and am hoping that the rest tonight and the relatively easy day tomorrow should sort it out.
Mile 20 to mile 37 : Lake Morena to Long Creek
Today's mileage : 17 miles.
Today began well enough, my alarm want off just after 6am and 40 minutes later i was on the trail. The aim today was to to get to a campsite at mile 36, and do as many of those miles as early as possible. As i set off i could feel all the aches and pains resulting from the ordeal that was yesterday. My main complaint is chafing on my hips caused my belt, so i discarded it and taped over the sore bits. I also have two liner blisters that got the tape treatment, it really is wondrous stuff leukotape.
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| Ancient Americian Indian grindingg stones near mile 26 just after Burnt Oak Campground |
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| Lunch by a beautiful stream but in the full glare of the midday sun. On the left is Alan and on the right Minow. |
Day 1 : And so it begins...
Saturday 20th April
Mile 0 to Mile 20 : Campo to Lake Morena
Mileage : 20 trail miles + .75 bonus miles = 20.75
What a day, it took 10.5 hours for me to cover the 20 miles on day 1, the waking speeds were pretty constant at around 2.5mph, but it was impossible to maintain that throughout the day due to intense heat. The day was one of extreme highs, like when we all got dropped off at the Southern terminal monument and the enormity of the challenge finally sank in, and deep, deep lows, like when we got to the first major climb at the end of the day running low on water and having to go up a steep exposed slope in the hot afternoon sun.
The day started with the alarms going off at 5:30. Nobody had slept very well, i kept having wired dreams; one in which i missed the alarms and got left behind, and another in which the put was actually in France, and all there was for resupply was foie gras and red wine. Weird. We piled into the cars and left in convoy, arriving at the border start point just after 7. After the obligatory photos we hit the trail.
My Pacific Crest TRail hike started at 7:30 20/04/2013.
The first 5 miles were really pleasant, the morning air was cool, and everyone was in high spirits. Both of those lasted til about 10:00, when the trail began a gradual ascent contoring round a large hill. Even that early in the morning the heat was intense, and here was no breeze to provide respite as we we ascending the leward side. I realised pretty quickly i didn't have enough water to get me through the day. Frodo said take 5, but instead i took 6, and by 13:00 i was down to 1.5 litre. At this point the trail descends into Hauser Canyon before climbing back.up the other side. The climb was only about 360 odd metres, but it was south facing slope and totally exposed.
With my water running low i knew i was going to be severely dehydrated gettin to Lake Morena. At the bottom of the canyon is a usually dry crew bed, no-one was expecting water, so there were heart-felt sighs of relief when next to the trail a small post-it note said there was water in the creek nearby. I imagined a pretty, gurgling creek winding its way down the canyon, but the reality was somewhat different, a sulphury smelling barely moving slime filled stagnant trickle of water greeted us when we made.our way down to the creek bed. But there were no other choice, it was this or nothing. After scrambling down to the water, trying as best as possible to avoid he poison oak that was everywhere, I got out my filter and a few minutes later had litres of perfectly potable water, albeit with a residual sulphury smell of rotten eggs. Water bottles replenished, the slope became just like any other, although as this was the last hill of the day the ascent was slow going. The slope was covex, with a summit hat never seemed to materialisse, but when it finally did i got a fanatic view of Lake Morena below. The final miles were painful, but worth the effort, Lake Morena hqd a fully equipped camping ground meaning i got to go to bed clean, which is quite a luxury on the PCT. After tending to my wounds, one blister and some rucksack hip chafing, it was time.for bed, the plan is to get up at 5:30 again and be on the move by 6 tomorrow will be a max of 16 miles so inshallah i should be finished just after midday. That's all for now, the first day has been fun, but it was intense, so need all the sleep i can got to prepare for tomorrow.
Mile 0 to Mile 20 : Campo to Lake Morena
Mileage : 20 trail miles + .75 bonus miles = 20.75
What a day, it took 10.5 hours for me to cover the 20 miles on day 1, the waking speeds were pretty constant at around 2.5mph, but it was impossible to maintain that throughout the day due to intense heat. The day was one of extreme highs, like when we all got dropped off at the Southern terminal monument and the enormity of the challenge finally sank in, and deep, deep lows, like when we got to the first major climb at the end of the day running low on water and having to go up a steep exposed slope in the hot afternoon sun.
The day started with the alarms going off at 5:30. Nobody had slept very well, i kept having wired dreams; one in which i missed the alarms and got left behind, and another in which the put was actually in France, and all there was for resupply was foie gras and red wine. Weird. We piled into the cars and left in convoy, arriving at the border start point just after 7. After the obligatory photos we hit the trail.
My Pacific Crest TRail hike started at 7:30 20/04/2013.
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| The adventure begins! |
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| The class of 20th April 2013, I've met so many people so far on the trail I don't remember all the names, i'll put them in when I meet them again, but for the moment from right to me are Dominic, Mr Green, JT and Ben. On the far left is Cat. |
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| Mile 1! |
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| My photography skills are improving! |
The first 5 miles were really pleasant, the morning air was cool, and everyone was in high spirits. Both of those lasted til about 10:00, when the trail began a gradual ascent contoring round a large hill. Even that early in the morning the heat was intense, and here was no breeze to provide respite as we we ascending the leward side. I realised pretty quickly i didn't have enough water to get me through the day. Frodo said take 5, but instead i took 6, and by 13:00 i was down to 1.5 litre. At this point the trail descends into Hauser Canyon before climbing back.up the other side. The climb was only about 360 odd metres, but it was south facing slope and totally exposed.
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| The first real climb, 350 metres totally exposed to the hot desert sun. |
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| The first view of Lake Morena after a long first day |
A word on the other hikers I've met so far
It seems like I've already found a hiker 'family', the members thus far are :
Cat - a solo hiker from the west coast but living in New Zealand
Mr Green - a solo hiker with a penchant for the green and a trail name to match
Ron aka T-rex - all the way from Germany Ron got his name in the first 5 minutes as he does a victory Michael Jackson Thriller victory dance when he gets to the top of a hill, but clearly isn't that convincing as someone mistook it for a T-rex impression
Huckleberry Finn - more to come
Minow - more to come
Dominic - a canadian with an accent stright out of Canadian Bacon.
Day 3 : Mt Laguna
22nd April 2013
Mile 36 to mile 53.5 : Long canyon to pioneer sunrise trail.
Today's mileage : 17.5 trail miles.
I was cold last night, one of our party had a thermometer and said it got below freezing, and i could well believe him as it turns out we were sleeping in a cold sink, oops. Cowboy camping on my second night was maybe not the smartest move. I got up late, telling myself that the sun would soon warm me up, but knowing full well that early morning is the best time for making miles. I hit the trail at 7:30 and climbed the remaining 2 miles to the Mt Laguna plateau. The scenery change was bizarre, one minute climbing through chaparrel, and the next ambling through shady pine forest groves.
The morning ended at the Mt Laguna general store where i met about 10 hikers waiting out the hottest part of the day. Given my previous 2 days experience hiking in the heat i decided to do the same. There also happened to be a hiking shop doing roaring trade flogging anything and everything to ill prepared hikers, and i'm sorry to say i joined their ranks. I hadn't worn my 30 euro decathlon rain jacket (although perhaps should have last night) since i started and decided it had to go. It weighs about half a kilo and that is just way too much. The camping store relieved me of 100 dollars and in exchange i received a very snazzy wind jacket weighing in at less that 100 grams, doing well so far. I also managed to pick up a stickpic, which is a little gizmo that mates my camera with my hiking pole meaning i can take pictures of myself without having to spend hours trying to balance my camera on a rock everytime i want a photo of myself. Pleased as punch with my new purchases i set about my last chore which was to mail my now defunct jacket to Idyllwild, along with my hiking trousers. I've realised that my khaki shorts are weigh to heavy (couldn't resist the pun here) and will change them for some lightweight gym shorts at Idyllwild when i pick my bounce box. However in the interim I've decided to wear them as the trousers make my legs over heat so the trousers went in the mail along with the jacket. Now however i only have one pair of shorts to last me another 8 days, i hope it doesn't get cold in between.
At 4pm i left Mt Laguna with T-rex, aka Ron the German. T-rex acquired his name as he has a sort of victory dance that he does when he finishes a day's hiking that looks a bit like a move from thriller, but someone mistook it for a T-rex impression and it has now stuck. Over the next 2 hours we traced he edge o the Mt Laguna plateau, on the left cool pine forests, and on the right jaw dropping views of the Anza Borrego desert park and the Salton Sea in the far distance. It was a perfect temperature to hike in. An hour or so later we came across the rest of my current hiking group setting up camp overlooking the desert, very idyllic, however T-rex and i decided to push on. Through goal tomorrow is to get to a campsite at mile 73, so any opportunity to get a head start on it had to be taken. We set off into the dusk light, and before long were hiking at speeding the cool evening mountain air, half an hour later however the wind picked up, so much so it was almost picking us up. We reached a water cache at mine 53 around 9:30 and started looking for a campsite. The wind was just too strong though and we decided to press on hoping to find somewhere to stop for the night. We soon realised we wernt going to find anywhere and decided to just sleep on the trail, so that's what we did. We found a sheltered stretch of trail and slept under the stars and a narrow ledge between the mountain on our left and the desert floor far below us, talk about a room with a view!
Mile 36 to mile 53.5 : Long canyon to pioneer sunrise trail.
Today's mileage : 17.5 trail miles.
I was cold last night, one of our party had a thermometer and said it got below freezing, and i could well believe him as it turns out we were sleeping in a cold sink, oops. Cowboy camping on my second night was maybe not the smartest move. I got up late, telling myself that the sun would soon warm me up, but knowing full well that early morning is the best time for making miles. I hit the trail at 7:30 and climbed the remaining 2 miles to the Mt Laguna plateau. The scenery change was bizarre, one minute climbing through chaparrel, and the next ambling through shady pine forest groves.
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| From the hot desert to shady pine forests at Mt Laguna |
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| The PCT hugs the edge of the Mt Laguna plateau and although my little point and shoot camera doesn't show it, I could see all the way to the Salton Sea. |
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| The fam waiting out the heat of the day at Mt Laguna. From lfet to right : Ron, JT, Huckleberry Finn, Cat, Domonic and Minow. |
At 4pm i left Mt Laguna with T-rex, aka Ron the German. T-rex acquired his name as he has a sort of victory dance that he does when he finishes a day's hiking that looks a bit like a move from thriller, but someone mistook it for a T-rex impression and it has now stuck. Over the next 2 hours we traced he edge o the Mt Laguna plateau, on the left cool pine forests, and on the right jaw dropping views of the Anza Borrego desert park and the Salton Sea in the far distance. It was a perfect temperature to hike in. An hour or so later we came across the rest of my current hiking group setting up camp overlooking the desert, very idyllic, however T-rex and i decided to push on. Through goal tomorrow is to get to a campsite at mile 73, so any opportunity to get a head start on it had to be taken. We set off into the dusk light, and before long were hiking at speeding the cool evening mountain air, half an hour later however the wind picked up, so much so it was almost picking us up. We reached a water cache at mine 53 around 9:30 and started looking for a campsite. The wind was just too strong though and we decided to press on hoping to find somewhere to stop for the night. We soon realised we wernt going to find anywhere and decided to just sleep on the trail, so that's what we did. We found a sheltered stretch of trail and slept under the stars and a narrow ledge between the mountain on our left and the desert floor far below us, talk about a room with a view!
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| The first Stickpic photo, it works! |
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| The view of Anza-Borrego desert park from Mt Laguna |
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| Ron and I at Pioneer springs during the last couple miles of the day. |
Saturday 20 April 2013
D - 1 : PCT Eve
In 10 hours I will be walking the PCT, I can't quite believe it. It has been an actioned packed last day, getting all the final jobs done. The first major chore of the day involved sealing my tent. I had my tent sent directly to Scout and Frodo's place as getting it delivered to Paris proved too difficult a task for Chronoposte. Getting it delivered directly to the US meant I put it up for the first time yesterday, a less than ideal situation given I'll be using it pretty much everyday for the next 5 months. It also meant that it was not sealed. When I opened up the box Frodo asked me whether or not it was sealed, a question to which i respond : quoi? Why wouldn't it be sealed, it's a tent! I had no idea what she was on about. It turns though that in the US when you buy a new tent the seals along all the main stitching lines aren't watertight, bizarre or what? I managed to get a lift to a local camping shop and set about making my tent watertight. I hope I did a good job, I don't want to find out 'no' in a couple weeks time in the middle of a thunderstorm. Ah well, nothing I can do about it now, the proof of the sealing will be in the enjoyment of dry gear.
The person who gave me a lift was Scout and Frodo's daughter Nikki. Nikki, untill recently, lived in York, had a boyfriend from Sheffield, was about to move to Manchester, specifically Chorleton, has done the Didsbury dozen, and work in Stockport. This won't mean a great deal to most people reading this blog, but for those for whom it does make sense, the world is small! Very small indeed! Unfortunately, or fortunately depending how you imagine what working in Stockport would be like, she encountered some very poor HR people in whichever company she was supposed to be working for, so won't get to enjoy life in that highly sought-after suburb of Manchester.
In addition to the tent sealant, I also managed to buy some cheapy flip flops, and acquire some gortex rain trousers and a ground sheet from the hiker box. Hiker boxes are an Aladdin's cave of hiking food and paraphernalia and exist along the length of the PCT into which which people deposit all their surplus equipment and food, and from which other people like me pick out choice titbits after rummaging through them, as everything in them is fair game. Sometimes they are filled with everything you need for the days ahead, meaning you don't have to come off the trail for an expensive and time consuming resupply, but other times they are filled with the equivalent of the toffee chocolates from a selection box that no-one ever wants to eat.
With those last jobs done I did my final packing and weighed in. Egads! My base weight is 9 kg, I'm carrying 6kgs of food to last me up to Warner Springs 109 miles and 6 days up the trail, and I've decided to take 6kgs of water bringing my 1st day's pack weight to 21kg. EGADS!!! For comparison most others are weighing in at least 3kgs less than me, and sometimes as much as 5. I am going to have to start rethinking my weight. There are a couple reasons why my rucksack is heavier than the norm, I'm carrying food for 6 days, whereas most are resupplying 3 days in reducing their weight by 3kgs (the PCT requires 4000-6000 calories everyday, and ideally this shouldn't weight any more than 1kg, a difficult task given 1kg of pure fat is 9000kgs, it doesn't leave much room for anything else). Most people are also carrying less water, but I've decided I'm going to play it safe tomorrow as it is supposed to be a real scorcher, and i really don't want to run out of water on the first day. I reckon as well that I can reduce my base weight by in the future by swopping my shorts for some more running/gym type shorts, and also by investing in a lighter rainjacket. I reckon in 2 weeks time my average rucksack weight will be 17-18ish kgs, but tomorrow I have to endure the full 21kgs.
Everyone that I mentioned in my last post hit the trail today, so today I've met a whole new group that I'll be starting out with tomorrow, and I haven't remembered oall their names yet, I'll have time to do that in the weeks to come. The aim is to get to Lake Morena, 20ish miles into the trail, a big ask for the first day. After that I plan to do more like 15 for 2 weeks or so, to let the body adjust, but tomorrow will the first of many lot hot days under the californian sun as I head towards to the cooler Sierra Nevada some 700ish miles up the trail. A looooong way.
This will be the last post I make for several days as I don't think I'll have internet connection until I get to Warner Springs next weekend, so wish me luck!
The person who gave me a lift was Scout and Frodo's daughter Nikki. Nikki, untill recently, lived in York, had a boyfriend from Sheffield, was about to move to Manchester, specifically Chorleton, has done the Didsbury dozen, and work in Stockport. This won't mean a great deal to most people reading this blog, but for those for whom it does make sense, the world is small! Very small indeed! Unfortunately, or fortunately depending how you imagine what working in Stockport would be like, she encountered some very poor HR people in whichever company she was supposed to be working for, so won't get to enjoy life in that highly sought-after suburb of Manchester.
In addition to the tent sealant, I also managed to buy some cheapy flip flops, and acquire some gortex rain trousers and a ground sheet from the hiker box. Hiker boxes are an Aladdin's cave of hiking food and paraphernalia and exist along the length of the PCT into which which people deposit all their surplus equipment and food, and from which other people like me pick out choice titbits after rummaging through them, as everything in them is fair game. Sometimes they are filled with everything you need for the days ahead, meaning you don't have to come off the trail for an expensive and time consuming resupply, but other times they are filled with the equivalent of the toffee chocolates from a selection box that no-one ever wants to eat.
With those last jobs done I did my final packing and weighed in. Egads! My base weight is 9 kg, I'm carrying 6kgs of food to last me up to Warner Springs 109 miles and 6 days up the trail, and I've decided to take 6kgs of water bringing my 1st day's pack weight to 21kg. EGADS!!! For comparison most others are weighing in at least 3kgs less than me, and sometimes as much as 5. I am going to have to start rethinking my weight. There are a couple reasons why my rucksack is heavier than the norm, I'm carrying food for 6 days, whereas most are resupplying 3 days in reducing their weight by 3kgs (the PCT requires 4000-6000 calories everyday, and ideally this shouldn't weight any more than 1kg, a difficult task given 1kg of pure fat is 9000kgs, it doesn't leave much room for anything else). Most people are also carrying less water, but I've decided I'm going to play it safe tomorrow as it is supposed to be a real scorcher, and i really don't want to run out of water on the first day. I reckon as well that I can reduce my base weight by in the future by swopping my shorts for some more running/gym type shorts, and also by investing in a lighter rainjacket. I reckon in 2 weeks time my average rucksack weight will be 17-18ish kgs, but tomorrow I have to endure the full 21kgs.
Everyone that I mentioned in my last post hit the trail today, so today I've met a whole new group that I'll be starting out with tomorrow, and I haven't remembered oall their names yet, I'll have time to do that in the weeks to come. The aim is to get to Lake Morena, 20ish miles into the trail, a big ask for the first day. After that I plan to do more like 15 for 2 weeks or so, to let the body adjust, but tomorrow will the first of many lot hot days under the californian sun as I head towards to the cooler Sierra Nevada some 700ish miles up the trail. A looooong way.
This will be the last post I make for several days as I don't think I'll have internet connection until I get to Warner Springs next weekend, so wish me luck!
Friday 19 April 2013
D - 2 : Scout and Frodo
I was up bright and early again this morning, as jet lag is taking its toll on me. I packed up two boxes of extra clothes that I'll need after my hike but are not of much use til then while I'm on the trail. I was told at the post office this morning that as long as I don't open the boxes at each post office, I can forward them on for free, so inshallah the boxes will follow me all the way up to Canada having paid for postage only to Idyllwild! Boom!
Having said my goodbyes to Kathryn and Nick, and having sorted my boxes, I headed to Scout and Frodo's place in northern San Diego. Scout and Frodo are legends among PCT hikers, and rightly so. Ten or so years ago they hiked the PCT and fell in love with it, experienced the goodwill of so many people along the trail that they decided they would pay that good will forward. So for about 6 weeks every year they open their house up to tens (and sometimes hundreds!!) of aspiring PCT hikers. They pick hikers up from airports, trainstations and bus stations, feed them, give them lodging for a couple days, and then take everyone to the start point in convoy every morning ready to start the trail. How amazing is that? They provide all of this for free, and actively refuse any sort of payment. Instead they ask that people make a donation to the Pacific Crest Trail Association, which oversees the trails upkeep. They are definitely going to be a difficult trail angel act to follow for anyone else that helps me out in the future. The bar has been set, and it has been set.
I also met a bunch (appologies for the american terminology) of other hikers for the first time, and so far I've met: Ron, Kim, Wendy, Chris, Laura, Greg, Matt, Luke and Ryan, and there is one more that will arrive later this evening. All of them are heading out early tomorrow morning, meaning I'll be meeting a whole new group who will start with me on saturday! It has been great meeting other hikers for the first time as up until now for all my contact with hikers has been via online forums. We are from all over, in the group that I met today between us we have Americans, Canadians, a German and me a Brit. It feels like the calm before the storm, all of us comparing equipment, secretly thinking 'why didnt I think of that?' when someone brings out the latest in lightweight hiking technology. Most of the current group are new to long distance hiking, which is comforting as it means we'll all be in the same boat dealing with the day to day life on the trail. The excitement is really mounting now as I'm less than 36 hours away, bed time now though.
Having said my goodbyes to Kathryn and Nick, and having sorted my boxes, I headed to Scout and Frodo's place in northern San Diego. Scout and Frodo are legends among PCT hikers, and rightly so. Ten or so years ago they hiked the PCT and fell in love with it, experienced the goodwill of so many people along the trail that they decided they would pay that good will forward. So for about 6 weeks every year they open their house up to tens (and sometimes hundreds!!) of aspiring PCT hikers. They pick hikers up from airports, trainstations and bus stations, feed them, give them lodging for a couple days, and then take everyone to the start point in convoy every morning ready to start the trail. How amazing is that? They provide all of this for free, and actively refuse any sort of payment. Instead they ask that people make a donation to the Pacific Crest Trail Association, which oversees the trails upkeep. They are definitely going to be a difficult trail angel act to follow for anyone else that helps me out in the future. The bar has been set, and it has been set.
I also met a bunch (appologies for the american terminology) of other hikers for the first time, and so far I've met: Ron, Kim, Wendy, Chris, Laura, Greg, Matt, Luke and Ryan, and there is one more that will arrive later this evening. All of them are heading out early tomorrow morning, meaning I'll be meeting a whole new group who will start with me on saturday! It has been great meeting other hikers for the first time as up until now for all my contact with hikers has been via online forums. We are from all over, in the group that I met today between us we have Americans, Canadians, a German and me a Brit. It feels like the calm before the storm, all of us comparing equipment, secretly thinking 'why didnt I think of that?' when someone brings out the latest in lightweight hiking technology. Most of the current group are new to long distance hiking, which is comforting as it means we'll all be in the same boat dealing with the day to day life on the trail. The excitement is really mounting now as I'm less than 36 hours away, bed time now though.
D - 3 : Final chores
I woke up this morning at about 7am, as my jet lag won't keep me asleep any longer than that. I am staying with Kathryn and Nick, who have been kind enough to put me up for two nights while I get over jet lag and do my last chores. I am so glad I didnt have to stay in a hostel for those first few nights, I've had nightmares where all my stuff gets nicked in a hostel so am very grateful to have been able to stay with Kathryn and Nick.
Today I managed to get 1 of the last 3 bits of kit that I didnt get as part of my planning. I am still missing a sleeping pad and camp flip flops but am now the proud owner of a new set of Leki hiking poles. Hiking poles are a crucial bit of kit for me, as they will definitely give me extra power on ascents, and help take the shock off my knees on descents. One of my hiking poles will also double as a tent pole, saving some weight. I was a bit surprised at the price, 115 dollars, more than I wanted to spend, but there was no way around it really.
Apart from the final bits of missing equipment, the other stuff I had to buy today was stuff like painkillers, suncream etc which I thought would be cheaper here than in France. I also had to buy a new phone, as it turns out my french mobile doesnt work here, so I've had to invest in a new cheapy phone that I'll use for emergency calls and the like.
I had hoped to have a few hours free to explore downtown San Diego, and perhaps go to the beach, but it doesn't look like I'll have time in the end, which is unfortunate, but I knew before I arrived I wouldnt be able to do much sightseeing.
Today I managed to get 1 of the last 3 bits of kit that I didnt get as part of my planning. I am still missing a sleeping pad and camp flip flops but am now the proud owner of a new set of Leki hiking poles. Hiking poles are a crucial bit of kit for me, as they will definitely give me extra power on ascents, and help take the shock off my knees on descents. One of my hiking poles will also double as a tent pole, saving some weight. I was a bit surprised at the price, 115 dollars, more than I wanted to spend, but there was no way around it really.
Apart from the final bits of missing equipment, the other stuff I had to buy today was stuff like painkillers, suncream etc which I thought would be cheaper here than in France. I also had to buy a new phone, as it turns out my french mobile doesnt work here, so I've had to invest in a new cheapy phone that I'll use for emergency calls and the like.
I had hoped to have a few hours free to explore downtown San Diego, and perhaps go to the beach, but it doesn't look like I'll have time in the end, which is unfortunate, but I knew before I arrived I wouldnt be able to do much sightseeing.
Wednesday 17 April 2013
D - 4 : San Diego!
Today is the startfm of my PCT adventure. True i won't actually start the trail til Saturday, but today is the day i leave Paris. Leaving Paris and, more importantly, saying goodbye to Sophie turned about to be a lot harder than I thought it would be, and i'm trying not to think about too much. Instead i'm focusing on the 3 flights i have today. The first is a relatively short hop from France to Iceland, the second a rather longer hop to Seattle, with the third being another shorter flight to San Diego. As i write i am somewhere over Canada about an hour out of Seattle, and i'm starting to feel the tiredness kicking in. It is about 2am Paris time, and i've been up about 20 hours. I never really sleep on flights, so i know it'll be another 8 hours or so before i am able to get some real sleep.
We've just taken off now from Seattle and in the fading evening light i can see the cascades below me. I know most of the prominent peaks by sight from all the research i did months ago but seeing them on Google earth isn't quite the same as seeing them for real. So far i've managed to pick out mt rainier, mt st helens, mt mcadams and mt hood. There are dozens if others down there, but the aforementioned are all extinct volcanoes which really stick.out from the surrounding forests. It'll be months before i see them again, and when i do i'll be on foot water in them get closer and closer day after day, it sounds pretty horrific now that i think about it, but i'm sure it'll amazing watching them come in go in my rear view mirror.
Final thought from my first day : The flight from Seattle to san Diego takes about two and a half hours, the hike back will take 5 months, what have i got myself into?
Saturday 6 April 2013
D-14 It's starting to feel real now.
Two weeks today at about this time i should be at Lake Mornena at the end of my first day on the PCT. I have no doubt that my feet will hurt and my shoulders will ache but all being well I'll be 32kms closer to Canada!
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