Day 93 to 94 - JJ's Cafe and Hat Creek Rim

July 27 -28
Day 93 to 94
Miles:  25+30
Total Miles:  1408

Mt. Shasta from Hat Creek Rim

The morning of July 27th started with a can't-miss breakfast at the Drakesbad Guest House.  Jubel and I then made an escape, leaving the camp near Drakesbad at 10:30 AM, feeling the pull of the trail.  Old Station was our next stop and we made it to the "trailer park" after a long flat hike past OHV roads, tree farms, hunting trails, far off gun-shots accompanying our hike much of the way.  Besides some great views of Lassen today, the scenery in trees and the trail flat.  The Old Station trailer park turned out to be a big trailer campground (I was imagining a retirement community) and the neighboring burger joint was closed when we arrived.  We cowboy camped in a pine tree forest past the trailer park on a thick layer of pine needles - a soft bed.

Day 90 - Entering the Cascades

July 24
Day 90
Miles:  25
Total Miles:  1315

First Views of Mt. Lassen at Sunset (center)

The climb out of Belden and the north fork of the Feather River was long - twelve miles - and took me to an altitude of 7,000 feet from a starting point of of 2,000 feet at the river .  I left, as planned, before that orange hydrogen flame-ball in the sky penetrated through the trees to the canyon wall where I would zig-zag up out of the poison oak covered canyon and reach, at last, the first volcanic rock encrusted ridges and peaks of the Cascades.

Day 85 - The Sierra Buttes Fire Tower

July 19
Day 85
Miles:  11
Total Miles:  1208

Jubel arrived in Sierra City today at about noon.  After he resupplied with food from the general store we accepted a ride from the Red Moose Inn owner to the trail, and then headed north up to the Sierra Buttes - a series of jagged crags overlooking Sierra City and upper and lower Sardine Lakes and surrounding valleys.  This was a steep hike but it soon revealed some beautiful views.

Day 78 to 80 - Echo Lake to Donner Pass

July 13 - July 14

Day 78 to 80

Miles:  0+21 + 25 

Total Miles:  1140

Seven days off from a long distance trail can be a great opportunity to recover, but only a surface level recovery - In seven days my feet have only begun to heal.  The pain upon standing in the morning continued and actually became worse during this time.  Joint pain was increasing as well - my body must have recognized this first opportunity of more than a couple of rest days and decided I must be done with this business of hiking

Day 41 - Thirty Mile Club!

June 5, 2012

Day 41
Miles: 30
Total Miles: 681

Ben keeping the pace with his american flag

My first thirty mile day!  Ben T. and I hiked out of Okie Girl's camp after coffee and donuts.  From the start I had the energy to keep up with Ben - probably due to the donuts and coffee breakfast.  We hit three large inclines today but kept the pace up to pull thirty miles out by the time the sun set at Chimney Creek Campground.  At the campground we both threw down our bags on top of picnic tables and rested for the next days hike which would take us all the way to Kennedy Meadows.  Sierras, here we come!

Mile 666...

Day 15 - Down, Down, Down!

Day 15
May 9, 2012
Miles:  27
Total Miles:  211

View of San Jacinto from the north side about half-way through my descent

From my camp site last night at about 9,600 feet near the summit, I descended toward the desert floor all day today to a low point of about 1,200 feet.  Yes, that's right, it was a jarring and hot 8,400 foot descent in one day!  No wonder my knee pain is back!  If you don't hike or run often, you may not realize that it's the downhill portions that are often the most painful and difficult on your joints and feet.  It was also VERY hot (I don't know how hot, but others who knew say 100+) with very little shade once I descnded down below the tree line.  This was also my longest mile day so far at 27 miles.  I really did not have too many options but to get to I-10 where I knew trail angels Ziggy and The Bear would take me in and provide shade and water.

They actually provided much more - a hot saline foot bath, ice-cream and brownies!  I cowboy camped in their back yard with other hikers.  I believe I was the 286th hiker they had taken in this season so far - with the big wave still a few days behind me.

In Ziggy's registration form they asked my name, email and another innocuous request that gave me pause:  "Purpose for Hike".  I wrote, "to find my purpose in life."  This is not truly accurate but I did not know of an easier way to express why I am doing this hike.  I could fill pages with a response - and maybe I will at some point but that will have to do for now.

Ziggy & The Bear

Day 14 - Summiting Mt. Jacinto

May 8, 2012
Day 14
Miles:  5
Total Miles:  184

San Jacinto Peak!

An amazing day!  I summited my first major peak on the trail - Mt. Jacinto.  Mt. Jacinto is the second highest peak in southern California at approx. 10,800 feet.  The miles above do not reflect the miles hiked today as they exclude the 2.5 mile climb from Idylwild to the PCT.  From the junction, the trail continues on an alternate PCT route that is 6.2 miles (skipping about 4 PCT miles) that summit's Jacinto.  The trail reconnects to the PCT at mile 185.  So in total, I believe I hiked close to 10 "vertical" miles before camping about a mile or so before the alternate trail reconnects to the main PCT trail.

I arrived at the summit late - at about 7 PM - which forced me to make a quick decent down the other side to find a flat place to camp before it got completely dark.  Snow covered up to 50% of the ground at that altitude and often disguised the trail's zigs and zags, forcing me to carefully observe footprints in the snow to avoid going off trail.  This can be a bit scary when you're the only one at the top of a mountain in the dark with the temperature beginning to plummet.  I missed the main spur trail connection coming down off the peak and went a quarter mile in the wrong direction (which would have brought me down the mountain the same way I had come up) before I realized my mistake and backtracked.  Even a quarter mile is a costly mistake when you have to climb UP in the dark to find the correct trail and you are already dead-tired.  I found the sign marking the western descent just barely visible a foot above the snow line with a red hanker-chief tied to the top.  Relieved, I quickly moved down to find a suitable camping spot which I found at 8 PM in a designated camping area requiring a state permit.  Nobody was there and most of the ground was covered in snow, but I decided that to keep hiking in the dark could be a big mistake, so I setup my tent and set in for the night.

Just a day earlier near this same spot a hiker had gone missing and search teams were sent out.  This same night as I began to fall asleep in my tent, I heard a helicopter fluttering above in the dark and mega-phone blaring into the night.  I could not make out what was said but I can only imagine another day hiker lost and cold and without the proper gear stumbling around in the cold dark forest.  I slept comfortably knowing I had everything I needed in my pack.

click to see full size

Cabin built by the Peace Corps on the top of Mt. Jacinto

click to see full size

Day 11 - Climbing Hell

Day 11
May 6, 2012
Miles:  18
Total Miles:  175

click to see full size

Hikers enjoying dinner at camp 4 miles from Saddle Junction in the San Jacintos

Today was the most physically challenging day yet.  I climbed up into the San Jacinto Mountains (San Bernardino Forest) from 5500 feet elevation to about 8200 feet elevation.  The entire day was one steep section after another.  The original plan was to get to mile 179 at Saddle Junction, but a few miles early and after an exceptionally steep section, I crawled into a nice camp site that looked too good to pass up.  Each mile up here is like 2-3 miles on more level terrain.  Each step is like climbing stairs - and often you find yourself using hiking poles to literally pull yourself up the trail.  Each short level section holds brief moments of release when your legs can relax and, for a few seconds, you can stand upright instead of in the forward hunched-over climbing posture. 

The site had amazing views from over 8000 feet above the desert floor.  Water was short - I barely had enough to make dinner - but tomorrow would bring water only a few miles down the trail at a spring.

Day 10 - Paradise Cafe!

Day 10
May 4, 2012
Miles:  23
Total Miles:  157

 

Tarzan and Little Steps cooking up trail magic

I did eighteen miles before one o'clock and it was so worth it!!  Seeing the highway from a few miles back up the trail, I noticed a couple of campers and tents - trail angels!  As I limped toward Highway 78 and the tents, Tarzan and Little Steps asked me - "would you like an omelet?"  Well...how do you answer that when you just hiked eighteen miles over some of the driest terrain so far on the trail with only food bars and nut mix to feed your hunger?  I dropped my pack and Tarzan handed me a mushroom spinach omelet wrapped in a tortilla and topped with salsa.  Little Steps handed me a margarita.  These guys must get a kick out of seeing the faces of dirty staggering hikers come to the end of a trail when they have just been handed what he/she desires most in the world.  I got a laugh from the others when I exclaimed enthusiastically, "Why yes I WOULD like an omelet!"  Dr. Sol also had his tent setup and was doing foot repair for in-need hikers. My feet, other than being sore and sensitive, were fine.  No blisters yet!

What drove me to do these 18 miles before lunch, however, was a little place down the highway called Paradise Cafe.  The thought of this place and the lore of the "best burger on the trail" had been fueling me for the entire morning.  After the omelet and margarita, I walked the half-mile to the cafe and ordered a chocolate milk and a "Jose Burger" with sweet potato fries, and a Paradise Amber beer to wash it down.  All was VERY Delicious!

At 5 o'clock, I begrudgingly left the tents at the highway and ambled down the trail another two hours where I camped near the trail.

Day 9 - A Guy Named Mike

Day 9
May 4, 2012
Miles:  21
Total Miles:  134

"A Guy Named Mike's" water tank

Well, yesterday was supposed to be a zero day at Warner Springs but I hiked another two miles after leaving the Community Center and camped out at mile 113 near a babbling brook, along with several others.  Today I had a blistering morning after starting out at 7:30.  I hiked fourteen miles by 10 o'clock and rested in "guy named Mikes" yard up in the hills.  He wasn't home but he opens his porch and water tank to thru-hikers.  The yard is a little suspect, with saws and hatchets hanging up and a skeet shooting setup.  But it was greatly needed after a long morning of hiking with minimal shade.  I headed out at 3:45 and put in another seven miles before hunkering down in a sandy spot by the trail. 

Word from others is that at mile 152 there is a cafe that has a great reputation as a great place for burgers!  I am so looking forward to it!  If they smell me they may turn me away!  Eight days without a shower - another milestone!! 

A couple more days to Idylwild!

Day 8 - Nero in Warner Springs

Day 8
May 3, 2012
Miles:  12
Total Miles:  113

Posing in front of Eagle Rock at mile 106

Took a "Nero Day" today in Warner Springs.  The community center here really set us up:  bathrooms, burgers for $5, internet, coffee, a small supply room and a hiker box.  I was able to resupply for the next few days to Idylwild using the small supply store and hiker boxes.  Unfortunately, no camping or showers here tonight so I hiked up the trail a few miles to camp.  I'm hoping my feet are less sore tomorrow after a half day off the trail. 

More angels came up the trail today bringing gatorade and lunch to Eagle Rock back at mile 106.  I missed lunch but they filled my mug with lemonade!

Day 6 & 7 - Wind!

Day 7
May 2, 2012
Miles:  23
Total Miles:  101

A couple of crazy days of wind!  Yesterday, at the Sunrise Trail-head campsite, I only got a few hours of sleep due to high winds throughout the night.  My tent blew down on top of me several times due to the sandy ground not holding tent stakes.  The early evening was peaceful and I did not expect the wind to pick up in the night.  Let me tell you, it is extremely frustrating and uncomfortable to have to get out of a warm sleeping bag after hiking poles fall on you, put on warm clothes and run around your tent in the middle of the night, in the dark, in the wind, trying to secure it while the wind throws it this way and that.  I finally determined I needed to turn my tent 90 degrees so that it wasn't acting as a sail in the wind.  I also tied the leading side to my half empty pack for additional security as an anchor! 

I woke up miserable with a few hours of sleep and packed up in the still gusty wind and trumped off down the trail cursing.  No sleep, no breakfast...what kind of experience is this?  Well, a little misery is all part of the experience and I can look back on this a week later with a smile.  Hiking took me many windy miles this day across the mountain to a water spigot where I cooked up some instant potatoes and tuna and ate them in tortillas.  Then came the ten mile descent down into the San Felipe desert to Scissors Crossing at Highway 78.  I ended up camping near the overpass in some trees and bushes to protect from the still ferocious wind.  Magellan, Laura, IPod and the Kiwi - Trip were also at the underpass.  Trip hitched to Julian and brought back a whole apple pie, which he shared with hikers!

In the morning on May 2nd I started off at seven AM and hiked five hours up out of the desert to a water cache.  The afternoon was spent hiking the remaining ten miles to Barrel Springs near the town of Warner Springs, just nine miles away.  An amazing thing keeps happening in these first few hundred miles - trail angels!  Fantastic trail angels were waiting for us at Barrel Springs in a couple RV's in a parking lot off the side of the road with beer, gatorade, CHILI DOGS and a seat by a fire!  What an amazing treat after completing my longest hiking day yet, 23 miles.  They had coffee and bagels for breakfast - who could ask for more?  Sometimes I feel like I'm being treated like a rock star while hiking the trail.  So much generosity.

The Barrel Springs Trail Angels

Another first - I crossed 100 miles today!

Days 4 and 5 - Mt. Laguna

Day 5
April 30, 2012
Miles:  17
Total Miles:  59

Tonight I setup camp near Sunrise Trailhead at approx. mile 59.5.  The camping is in a field next to a water spigot powered by solar cells.  Apparently, the solar power draws up water from a well beneath.  There are numerous other campers here tonight including Mike(Just Retired) who I shared a campsite with at KO.

I hiked mostly on my own today and enjoyed the solitude.  Scenery north across the desert was amazing! (trying to post video to this blog but having technical difficulties...)  The scenery changes everyday and even several times a day so it's exciting to see what's next.  There are approximately 3 more days hiking to Warner Springs where I will resupply at the Community Center in town.  My feet and legs are strong - feet are sore but no blisters after the initial two small blisters on Day 1.  The left knee that was concerning me is giving me no trouble now.  I am trying to do some stretches each night to keep the joints flexible but i am more likely to just lay down and crash after a long day of hiking.  Since Warner Springs is closed besides the post office and community center, it looks like Julien is the place to take a zero day.  I may or may not do that.  My clothes need to be washed and a shower would be really nice, but not essential.  After four days without a shower, I am learning to embrace being dirty and smelly.  After a few days you just don't pay attention anymore - an interesting transition from a daily shower habit.  I'm sure I will test my limits of cleanliness this summer more than once.

Yesterday, Day 4, I camped at Mt. Laguna at the Burnt Rancheria Campground.  There was a group of us including Magellan and Breeze, Pekka (Oreido?) and the orignal group that I started off with out of Lake Moreno.  The campsites were $20/night but can include up to 8 people per site.  The father of another hiker booked two sites in advance and refused reimbursement when I offered.  Another example of trail magic. 

View of the desert from Mt. Laguna

Dinner last night was a beef burrito from the Mt. Laguna store, and dinner tonight was dehydrated chicken burritos and rice (burritos seem to be a theme so far...)  I am saving the Bananna Pudding desert from Mountain House for another day.  Weather is sunny but not too warm - the Marmot Sawtooth sleeping bag is keeping me cozy at night - almost too warm!

Hikers taking a break at the Mt. Laguna store

Desert Wildflowers

Day 3 - Boulder Oaks Campground

Day 3
April 28, 2012
Miles:  6
Total Miles: 26

Yesterday (Friday) was spent at Lake Moreno enjoying Burritos for dinner and other trail-angel magic for breakfast (coffee) and luch (tacos from Thomas Figueroa).  Today, Saturday, after a few burgers cooked up at the lake, I took my first trepedacious steps north past Lake Moreno and am now camping with a group of about 6 in the Boulder Oaks Campground 6 miles north at mile 26.1.  Everything is going great so far and I am learning my way around my gear and how much water to carry.  I have the capacity to carry 6 liters of water (a 3 liter bladder, 2 liter platypus and 1 liter platypus).  I am finding that I  need approximately 1 liter for every 3 miles or so - give or take based on weather and elevation changes, etc..  It's a challenge to carry the right volume of water...too much and you end up carrying an extra several un-needed pounds and arrive at your next water stop with several liters.  Too little and you risk being dehydrated.  I think I'll take it cautiously for now and carry more than I think I need until I get the hang of what my body needs on these hot desert hikes.

View from the trail several miles north of Lake Moreno

Day 1 - ADZKO (Annual Day Zero Kick Off)!

Day 1
April 26, 2012
Miles:  20
Total Miles:  20

Today was a good day!  After starting at Campo under windy and rainy skies at 7:30 AM, I hiked the full 20 miles to Lake Moreno by 4:30 PM.  I think my feet and knees were just about at their limits as I could have stopped after 15 miles in.  It was a brutal descent and climb out of Hauser Creek to complete the day.  I have two or three days to heal and let my feet strengthen at the Kick Off Event at Lake Moreno.  My feet suffered only the start of two minor blisters between the big toe and the second toe, on both feet.  I have a big, big toe and this area always rubs on long walks.  I used moleskin at the half-way point to protect it from further blistering - worked like a charm.

I hiked near a woman named Gypsy Girl for much of the hike, but skipped around with the group as people rested and took breaks through-out the day.  I met Jeff Kish who blew past me midway through the hike...I had chatted with him online before the hike and had hoped to meet up with him at some point.  He had a light pack and was making quick progress.  Later I learned he had already been to Lake Moreno and was free of his tent and a few other items on this days hike.  At Lake Moreno I met others I knew only by their name and Facebook profile picture:  Kolby "Condor" Kirk and Andrew Schleff.  After arriving in Lake Moreno I shared a campsite with a great group of younger hikers - Laura, Bryce, Christy and others. 

View of Lake Moreno coming in from Campo

On a walk with Andrew back from the local store, a great couple pulled us over to their RV and fed us pork burritos and beer!  The Trail Magic on this trail continues to amaze me.  Another mis-step:  I forgot to pick up the two cannisters stoves I had reserved from Scout/Frodo that was going to get me through the first week on the trail.  Instead, I found a few at KO without any trouble.  The organization at KO was fantastic.  Everybody there - 2012 thru-hikers, past thru-hikers, trail angels and all others put on an incredible event and made sure we were all taken care of.  This amazing community has come together send us off in style on our five month walk to Canada!

Saturday Dinner of Burgers, Potato Salad and Brownies!

Winter Training Hike: Bear Canyon Trail-Coronado National Forest

View at the beginning of Bear Canyon Trail

There are some really unique hikes in southern Arizona that you will not find anywhere else.  One popular local area is Sabino Canyon Recreation Area in the Coronado National Forest, which includes Bear Canyon Trail (aka:  Seven Falls Trail), Sabino Canyon Trail and many others.  Sabino is only 30 minutes from downtown Tucson and therefore very popular with locals - up to 1.25 millions visitors a year.  These trails also connect to Mt. Lemmon and the Santa Catalina Mountains.  It is possible to hike through several different eco-zones; from lowland deserts up into the "sky island" forests of pine, fir and spruce trees.  This is the elevation equivalent of hiking from Mexico to Canada.  What a great way to train for an ACTUAL Mexico to Canada PCT thru-hike!