On the road again. I am here at Snoqualmie rested from my zero and eating breakfast before I hit trail. My goal of hiking at Rock Stove's and Medium Pace's pace to catch old friends proved to be successful. I made it to the Summit Inn and my hiker family from northern Cali and Oregon were here.
I am still a little behind some of them because I took a zero the day they left, but I needed the rest. Something about hiking 250 miles in boots that are not wide enough for your feet in nine days causes some pain. Now that I am all rested up and after cutting up my boots even more to make space for my toes I am ready to bust out another 250 miles to the Canadian terminus. It still trips me out to think that in less than two weeks I will have finished the trail.
This section of Washington is considered to be "ugly" and there is a fair amount of clear cut I traveled through, but the sunshine and beautiful sights continue. The part I am getting excited about is supposedly from here on out the trail gets very scenic. Even if I do have to climb 6,000 feet and drop 3,000 feet later on today...
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Dude I broke your dad's window.
I need glow sticks and possibly ecstasy...
Holy crap Washington thus far is AMAZING. I didn't think anything could top the high sierras for beauty, but the Mt. Adams and Goat Rocks wilderness are doing a pretty damn good job in making me think otherwise. Not only have the sights been outrageous but I have been eating thimble berries and huckleberries left and right. AND trail magic every day. Honestly Oregon, I love you but we're slacking on the magic. But back to my original statement about glow sticks and ecstasy.
I did a massive audio reformat when I was home. I downloaded all of the available episodes of "We're Alive" my zombie podcast (still amazing) and bought a new ipod. As much as I hated dropping money on the pod I do have to admit that the new iPod nano is sweet. It's touch screen, has a clip (super useful), and a great battery life. It is about four-five times more battery life than my old pod. But I digress. My reason for needing glow sticks and drugs is because of a new podcast I found. It's the David Guettea podcast and it's an hour long trans techno mix. Hiking at five in the morning to thumping techno would definitely be enhanced with the addition of rave paraphernalia.
This leg was breathtaking, both metaphorically and literally. In these last 150ish miles I have climbed up 29,000+ ft and dropped 27,000+ ft. As wonderful as the sights were, I definitely had to earn them. Not to mention my shoe curse continues. My new boots, though super supportive, are not wide enough for my feet. The pain has gotten so unbearable that I have cut pieces off the boot here at White Pass in order to keep hiking. So no more waterproof boot...sad face.
Well I am taking a break at Kracker Berral store before I continue and try to catch Fairway and Macho Taco or possibly the Beards, some hiker friends who are ahead by a couple of days. This feat proves to be very hard because they hike my pace. Also being so close to the end of the trail, playing catch up is even trickier. I am currently hiking with other hikers who pull 32 mile days. So I figure I'll hike with them and either catch up or finish early on trail. Regardless of what happens T-350 miles (ish).
Holy crap Washington thus far is AMAZING. I didn't think anything could top the high sierras for beauty, but the Mt. Adams and Goat Rocks wilderness are doing a pretty damn good job in making me think otherwise. Not only have the sights been outrageous but I have been eating thimble berries and huckleberries left and right. AND trail magic every day. Honestly Oregon, I love you but we're slacking on the magic. But back to my original statement about glow sticks and ecstasy.
I did a massive audio reformat when I was home. I downloaded all of the available episodes of "We're Alive" my zombie podcast (still amazing) and bought a new ipod. As much as I hated dropping money on the pod I do have to admit that the new iPod nano is sweet. It's touch screen, has a clip (super useful), and a great battery life. It is about four-five times more battery life than my old pod. But I digress. My reason for needing glow sticks and drugs is because of a new podcast I found. It's the David Guettea podcast and it's an hour long trans techno mix. Hiking at five in the morning to thumping techno would definitely be enhanced with the addition of rave paraphernalia.
This leg was breathtaking, both metaphorically and literally. In these last 150ish miles I have climbed up 29,000+ ft and dropped 27,000+ ft. As wonderful as the sights were, I definitely had to earn them. Not to mention my shoe curse continues. My new boots, though super supportive, are not wide enough for my feet. The pain has gotten so unbearable that I have cut pieces off the boot here at White Pass in order to keep hiking. So no more waterproof boot...sad face.
Well I am taking a break at Kracker Berral store before I continue and try to catch Fairway and Macho Taco or possibly the Beards, some hiker friends who are ahead by a couple of days. This feat proves to be very hard because they hike my pace. Also being so close to the end of the trail, playing catch up is even trickier. I am currently hiking with other hikers who pull 32 mile days. So I figure I'll hike with them and either catch up or finish early on trail. Regardless of what happens T-350 miles (ish).
Saturday, August 18, 2012
It's been emotional
Home sweet home!
I have walked from Mexico back to the Portland area. Talk about a feeling of accomplishment, sore tired legs aside I am starting to get antsy to get back on trail. I love using my own computer and love being among loving friends and family. However my journey is not done, in fact I am on the final approach with three-four weeks to go. There is no way I would feel OK if I stayed too long. Tomorrow I will get myself ready to move north, say hi/goodbye to friends and on the 20th keep trekking.
In my last post I mentioned attempting to pull my first 40 mile day on trail. Well I can finally and happily say I knocked 40 miles out of the park with my 45 mile day. I walked from Timberline Lodge all the way to Cascade Locks. Yes most of this leg was down hill, but I did have to climb up around 3,000 feet as well as descend close to 6,000. The day took me 18 hours with only an hour or two of breaks. I am not the fastest hiker (consistently about three miles an hour) but at this stage of the game I can just keep going.
This is not the first time I have attempted to walk a 40. Each time I have done an attempt I stop around 33-36 saying, "I hurt....why am I doing this?" and then quit. I just didn't have the motivation to walk the extra 1-3 hours. I think yesterday was different because of my time hiking with Poulo. Taking it slow for those five days built up almost an anxiety to move further distances. It's that classic hiker instinct I have. So between that and my natural competitiveness to hike a much greater distance than Poulo (for he did hike a 30 with me) I knocked out my old record of a 35 mile day for a 45.
I feel this was a great leg to do it on for I have hiked all this terrain before and by hiking these long hours I was able to see parts of Mt. Hood and the Columbia River George in ways I have never seen them before. Well now it is the fourth quarter and Canada is just around the bend. I see success and I am excited to reach my goal, however not journeys end. Being in town today made me realize how much I will miss the through hiker lifestyle. But if nothing else, the camp world has taught me that all things have an end. Canada is my end. I am at least lucky enough to have ODS to turn to right after I get off of trail and I feel that will help me adjust back to "normal" life.
Well onwards and northwards away from home and towards monolith 78.
I have walked from Mexico back to the Portland area. Talk about a feeling of accomplishment, sore tired legs aside I am starting to get antsy to get back on trail. I love using my own computer and love being among loving friends and family. However my journey is not done, in fact I am on the final approach with three-four weeks to go. There is no way I would feel OK if I stayed too long. Tomorrow I will get myself ready to move north, say hi/goodbye to friends and on the 20th keep trekking.
In my last post I mentioned attempting to pull my first 40 mile day on trail. Well I can finally and happily say I knocked 40 miles out of the park with my 45 mile day. I walked from Timberline Lodge all the way to Cascade Locks. Yes most of this leg was down hill, but I did have to climb up around 3,000 feet as well as descend close to 6,000. The day took me 18 hours with only an hour or two of breaks. I am not the fastest hiker (consistently about three miles an hour) but at this stage of the game I can just keep going.
This is not the first time I have attempted to walk a 40. Each time I have done an attempt I stop around 33-36 saying, "I hurt....why am I doing this?" and then quit. I just didn't have the motivation to walk the extra 1-3 hours. I think yesterday was different because of my time hiking with Poulo. Taking it slow for those five days built up almost an anxiety to move further distances. It's that classic hiker instinct I have. So between that and my natural competitiveness to hike a much greater distance than Poulo (for he did hike a 30 with me) I knocked out my old record of a 35 mile day for a 45.
I feel this was a great leg to do it on for I have hiked all this terrain before and by hiking these long hours I was able to see parts of Mt. Hood and the Columbia River George in ways I have never seen them before. Well now it is the fourth quarter and Canada is just around the bend. I see success and I am excited to reach my goal, however not journeys end. Being in town today made me realize how much I will miss the through hiker lifestyle. But if nothing else, the camp world has taught me that all things have an end. Canada is my end. I am at least lucky enough to have ODS to turn to right after I get off of trail and I feel that will help me adjust back to "normal" life.
Well onwards and northwards away from home and towards monolith 78.
I am the bat
What a beautiful leg!
I have enjoyed this leg of the PCT much more than any I have in a long time. As much as I hate to admit this (for I don't want to inflate his ego), much of that enjoyment came from hiking with Poulo. The reason for this is because a) it's always nice to hike with a good friend b) it has been a while since I have hiked next to someone (I'll explain that in more detail in a second) and c) I hiked less miles and thus was able to enjoy more sights and sleep in. What I mean about hiking next to someone is to have company while hiking. For the last 1100 miles I have hiked with people in the sense that I see them in camp or at brakes, but we all hike different paces and thus hike alone during the day. Which is fine in my opinion, but it is nice to have someone there. When you see a sight or animal or even do something dumb, it is enjoyable to share that experience vs. talking about it at camp. It also leads to more photos being taken and assuming my camera didn't corrupt them I will have a good upload when I get to Portland in a couple of days.
Poulo also joined me for a very special part of the PCT: the part i have already hiked. Timothy lake, Little Creator Lake, and Mt. Hood are all parts of trail I have done before. So in many ways I finally feel like I am home in the Pacific Northwest. It also helps that I finally saw a western red cedar (my favorite tree) which makes me happy.
This leg went from Big Lake Youth camp to Mt. Hood. My favorite part was the views. Back in winter I was able to see from my office "window" (the lineup line for snowboard lessons a Timberline lodge) Mt. Jefferson, Three Finger Jack and North Sister. Then on trail while standing on a pass next to North Sister see all the way to Mt. Hood. Now I have hiked that 100 miles of trail and I feel accomplished.
This leg has also started a trend that is not scary as in the sense of danger but fear of trail closures for I have now out ran seven forest fires on the PCT this year. The most recent of which was when Poulo and I passed the wilderness boundary between Mt. Hood and Jefferson. There was a fire that we didn't see until we were at the top of the pass (and consequently next to the fire) that was probably less that a mile away as the crow flies. Let us just say that it made for interesting camping. Poulo was dead tired (almost as if he had only been on trail for a day instead of three plus months) so we stopped early...right where we could see the smoke about two-three miles away. I only stopped because we could see in the trees and feel on our skin that the prevailing winds were driving the fire away from us. That didn't however stop me from double checking multiple times during the night that we were safe. Hopefully this trend continues in that the forest fires happen after I hike through a section. Though I would prefer that they didn't happen at all for my time in the B and B complex burnout was not very enjoyable...at all.
Well my next stop is Portland for R&R and a much needed shower. I may also pull my first 40 mile day on trial. That will depend on motivation and five hour energy drinks.
I have enjoyed this leg of the PCT much more than any I have in a long time. As much as I hate to admit this (for I don't want to inflate his ego), much of that enjoyment came from hiking with Poulo. The reason for this is because a) it's always nice to hike with a good friend b) it has been a while since I have hiked next to someone (I'll explain that in more detail in a second) and c) I hiked less miles and thus was able to enjoy more sights and sleep in. What I mean about hiking next to someone is to have company while hiking. For the last 1100 miles I have hiked with people in the sense that I see them in camp or at brakes, but we all hike different paces and thus hike alone during the day. Which is fine in my opinion, but it is nice to have someone there. When you see a sight or animal or even do something dumb, it is enjoyable to share that experience vs. talking about it at camp. It also leads to more photos being taken and assuming my camera didn't corrupt them I will have a good upload when I get to Portland in a couple of days.
Poulo also joined me for a very special part of the PCT: the part i have already hiked. Timothy lake, Little Creator Lake, and Mt. Hood are all parts of trail I have done before. So in many ways I finally feel like I am home in the Pacific Northwest. It also helps that I finally saw a western red cedar (my favorite tree) which makes me happy.
This leg went from Big Lake Youth camp to Mt. Hood. My favorite part was the views. Back in winter I was able to see from my office "window" (the lineup line for snowboard lessons a Timberline lodge) Mt. Jefferson, Three Finger Jack and North Sister. Then on trail while standing on a pass next to North Sister see all the way to Mt. Hood. Now I have hiked that 100 miles of trail and I feel accomplished.
This leg has also started a trend that is not scary as in the sense of danger but fear of trail closures for I have now out ran seven forest fires on the PCT this year. The most recent of which was when Poulo and I passed the wilderness boundary between Mt. Hood and Jefferson. There was a fire that we didn't see until we were at the top of the pass (and consequently next to the fire) that was probably less that a mile away as the crow flies. Let us just say that it made for interesting camping. Poulo was dead tired (almost as if he had only been on trail for a day instead of three plus months) so we stopped early...right where we could see the smoke about two-three miles away. I only stopped because we could see in the trees and feel on our skin that the prevailing winds were driving the fire away from us. That didn't however stop me from double checking multiple times during the night that we were safe. Hopefully this trend continues in that the forest fires happen after I hike through a section. Though I would prefer that they didn't happen at all for my time in the B and B complex burnout was not very enjoyable...at all.
Well my next stop is Portland for R&R and a much needed shower. I may also pull my first 40 mile day on trial. That will depend on motivation and five hour energy drinks.
You shot the invisable man!
When the trail goes up I go up, when the trail goes down I go down. Not only is that a mantra I constantly repeat to myself to keep me hiking, but it is also a metaphor moods. I just came off a low point of my hike that essentially lasted from Ashland to Shelter Cove. The illness I was battling and my worst mistake on trail (hiking in Chaco's) made the first half of Oregon really challenging.
Thankfully and somewhat ironically this was also the easiest part of the PCT terrain wise. I am very glad the terrain was what it was for I don't know if I could have hiked if it was like the Sierras. On the flip side, I could have hiked so far so fast in good shoes and illness free!
Well now I am waiting for Poulo at Big Lake Youth Camp and I can happily report that I am in amazing spirits. Luckily in Shelter Cove I ran into trail magic. Which always improves ones mood. Especially when it involves a wonderful person named Roadrunner and his lovely wife making us hikers burgers, pancakes, eggs, coffee, and most importantly brownies. They also helped me to treat my feet and gave me enough ibuprofen so that I could hike. My feet were actually swelling pretty badly.
On the next day I slowed my pace and saw many beautiful lakes that I wished I could have swam in though I had no time and well mosquitoes. But the day after things started to really get nice. My health had improved and spirits lifted as I made a last minute decision to go Elk Lake resort where I got a tasty beer and a delicious (though expensive) burger. The best part was they had great internet so I was able to download a ton of podcasts. I now have more than enough episodes for Science Friday, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, All Songs Considered, and We're Alive (zombie apocalypse radio drama...amazing!) to keep me entertained until Portland.
After leaving Elk Lake this leg really became fun. I had great entertainment which helps pass the time. I was hiking in the Three Sisters wilderness so I had views again, and hiking with a hiker (Andrew) so I had great conversation as well. The lava fields by sisters are out of control and I highly recommend checking them out.
Well now I am at Big Lake Youth Camp and the staff have been nothing but charitable to me. I will later eat dinner and lunch and have high hopes for both, but for now I will take a shower and clean my clothes while I wait for Poulo.
Who is bringing me back my Keens thank god.
Thankfully and somewhat ironically this was also the easiest part of the PCT terrain wise. I am very glad the terrain was what it was for I don't know if I could have hiked if it was like the Sierras. On the flip side, I could have hiked so far so fast in good shoes and illness free!
Well now I am waiting for Poulo at Big Lake Youth Camp and I can happily report that I am in amazing spirits. Luckily in Shelter Cove I ran into trail magic. Which always improves ones mood. Especially when it involves a wonderful person named Roadrunner and his lovely wife making us hikers burgers, pancakes, eggs, coffee, and most importantly brownies. They also helped me to treat my feet and gave me enough ibuprofen so that I could hike. My feet were actually swelling pretty badly.
On the next day I slowed my pace and saw many beautiful lakes that I wished I could have swam in though I had no time and well mosquitoes. But the day after things started to really get nice. My health had improved and spirits lifted as I made a last minute decision to go Elk Lake resort where I got a tasty beer and a delicious (though expensive) burger. The best part was they had great internet so I was able to download a ton of podcasts. I now have more than enough episodes for Science Friday, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, All Songs Considered, and We're Alive (zombie apocalypse radio drama...amazing!) to keep me entertained until Portland.
After leaving Elk Lake this leg really became fun. I had great entertainment which helps pass the time. I was hiking in the Three Sisters wilderness so I had views again, and hiking with a hiker (Andrew) so I had great conversation as well. The lava fields by sisters are out of control and I highly recommend checking them out.
Well now I am at Big Lake Youth Camp and the staff have been nothing but charitable to me. I will later eat dinner and lunch and have high hopes for both, but for now I will take a shower and clean my clothes while I wait for Poulo.
Who is bringing me back my Keens thank god.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Milk was a bad choice on a hot day.
I have the crummies in my tummy.
I am not sure what happened to me in Ashland but ever since that town I have been in poor health and thus a sour mood more often than not. I do my best yo not let my spirits down but it is hard when you are being molested by mosquitoes worse than the sierras, have debilitating stomach cramps (from illness) and took a gamble on hiking in Chacos and lost. Not to mention the salt in the wound of loosing my iPod on the trail...that happened when bush whacking near creator lake and a tree yanked out my headphones. I thought the iPod was secure...I was wrong.
I move on though! Luckily this issue coincides with me hiking with Poulo for the next week or so. This means I have to slow down for his virgin feet, but hopefully it will give my body some much needed recovery time. As ill of a mood I find myself in at times I know it is only temporary and if nothing else pride will keep me moving until the end.
On happier notes:
Creator Lake was beautiful. Granted I knew this from when I was there last fall, but this time I was able to sleep on the rim and watch the sunrise. My only regret was that there is a 27 mile dry stretch after the lake so I was not able to hang out as long as I would have liked. Luckily the 27 mile dry stretch had cloud cover most of the way making it a much more enjoyable experience and those clouds became a very exciting thunder/hail/crazy hail storm that evening. Apparently my tent is capable of handling 1/2 golf ball sized prices of hail.
Well as I write this I am waiting for laundry at Shelter Cove resort. Pretty much the half way point for Oregon...that was quick.
I am not sure what happened to me in Ashland but ever since that town I have been in poor health and thus a sour mood more often than not. I do my best yo not let my spirits down but it is hard when you are being molested by mosquitoes worse than the sierras, have debilitating stomach cramps (from illness) and took a gamble on hiking in Chacos and lost. Not to mention the salt in the wound of loosing my iPod on the trail...that happened when bush whacking near creator lake and a tree yanked out my headphones. I thought the iPod was secure...I was wrong.
I move on though! Luckily this issue coincides with me hiking with Poulo for the next week or so. This means I have to slow down for his virgin feet, but hopefully it will give my body some much needed recovery time. As ill of a mood I find myself in at times I know it is only temporary and if nothing else pride will keep me moving until the end.
On happier notes:
Creator Lake was beautiful. Granted I knew this from when I was there last fall, but this time I was able to sleep on the rim and watch the sunrise. My only regret was that there is a 27 mile dry stretch after the lake so I was not able to hang out as long as I would have liked. Luckily the 27 mile dry stretch had cloud cover most of the way making it a much more enjoyable experience and those clouds became a very exciting thunder/hail/crazy hail storm that evening. Apparently my tent is capable of handling 1/2 golf ball sized prices of hail.
Well as I write this I am waiting for laundry at Shelter Cove resort. Pretty much the half way point for Oregon...that was quick.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)