Trail Thoughts: Trail Family

One question I was asked by many people before I started my journey was "will you be hiking alone or with others?" I told everyone who asked that I was starting with the girls from Team Broad Adventure (who are now referred to  as the Rough Riders FYI) but I very well may make friends of trail. Well as it turned out the Rough Riders wanted to spend some time alone back at Big Bear and I started hiking "solo."

Hiking solo on the PCT means you are hiking among a group of friends from 2-20 in number. Yes if you truly want to spend time alone you can but if you want company to hike with or at least camp with, just hang out near water. Some hikers like to travel with a group and make group decisions and etc. Others like myself like to ride solo and form new blobs of friends from town to town. I personally have been hiking with a new group of people pretty much every week. Some people I see most days others I only catch in town. But no matter what, friends are all around.

A trail family is like a slinky in many ways. There are people on the edges who you only see every once in a while in places like town, and there are others who you see most everyday. You may hike with a person for a month, not see them for 500 miles and then they pop up in the next town. It's a very cool experience because you always feel welcome no matter where you are.

It is very possible that my experience on trial is due to the high number of hikers this year, because I have yet to feel lonely on trail, there are too many people. If anything it is hard to get some time to your own. I guess what I am trying to say is people out here are awesome and in the words of a fellow hiker Sunday Stroll, "I guess douche bags don't like to through hike."

When did we end up in Disneyland?

Progress update:

Hiking through the intense desert  part one complete. This involves lots of night hiking, doing 28-35 mile days and sleeping for close to 12 hours when you finally get into town. I am currently in Mojave a little east of the trail but basically mile 558. Even though the sun has been murderous in this leg of the journey, I must admit that it has been one of my favorite legs of the trip so far.

This leg started off with me being able to be an ULDB (Ultra Light Douche Bag) followed by the Anderson's who are also known as Casa de Luna. There I did some of the most intense chilling in my life. Casa de Luna is often referred to as a hiker black hole , where you come in and end up staying a week to a month. Everyday is very relaxed with good people, beer, painting rocks, food, Frisbee golf, and more. I was able to hang out with old friends on trail and meet many new ones. I ended up leaving Casa de Luna after three days and two nights which is considered quick by most hikers, but when the trail calls you listen.

 I am also hiking with a completely different group of people this leg of my journey. My old crew did not want to convert to the midnight marauder strategy of hiking like myself. So a new friend on trail, (Jugs...it's about as dirty as Bladder Pillow) who is probably one of the coolest people I have met thus far, and I started hiking the night.

This strategy of hiking can be a tough one. at night you want to sleep and it's difficult to do so during the day. The big plus side is no sun. Our first night from Casa de Luna we did about 16 miles (1 am) to camp. We then tried to do a "short" stretch in the cool morning and ended up doing 10ish miles for water. Exhausted  and hot we took a siesta until it cooled and did another 10 miles to water. Here at a place called Hiker Town we met up with other hikers, took a small break and pushed onwards into the night. This time we were accompanied with Candy Man and Woodey two of Jug's hiker family. We ended up pushing till midnight and let exhaustion take over and called our day done at 28ish miles...big mistake.

Where we were was the valley floor and the sun was brutal by 7am and murderous by 10am. After getting to shade where it was a cool 97.5 degrees we sat down drank, slept, and ate only moving if needed. During that time we all decided that pulling a 35 mile day (hiking for another 25 miles after the 10 we just did) was preferable to the sun we just experienced. So at 7pm we pushed, and finally by 4:30 in the pre dawn morning we arrive at Oak Spring road for a hitch.

As I said, even then, the sun was amazingly hot, doing that section at night was gorgeous, and made this section very enjoyable.

Trail Thoughts: UL vs. Regular packs

This day and age with all of the fun goodies and technology hiking in a pair of jeans with a 70 pound backpack is pretty much a thing of the past. However a growing trend among backpackers is to become ultra light (UL). What UL means is that your base wait on your pack is 10 pounds or less. The base weight on a pack are all things that will not change from town to town...basically everything except for food and water.  The idea behind UL is that less weight on your back the happier you are and the further you can hike. The down side to this strategy is at night or when you take a break you are often cold. On the flip side a regular pack can have a 25 pound base weight but when you get to camp you have luxuries like fleece pants. So the question is UL or regular?

Well for me I decided on regular. My thought is I am living out of my backpack for five plus months so I want those small comforts. The down side of this is when I put in 25 pounds of food into my pack for the Sierras I will be hating life.

 I did recently get to do a stint as an UL packer on the way to one of the trail angels in the area. From the Soufley's to the Anderson's is about 25 miles and I was lucky enough to be able to make that trek UL when a fellow hiker had his car move his stuff from one house to the next. Seeing an opportunity I asked if I could have my stuff transported as well and lucky for me, I could. So for that 25 mile stretch I got my taste of UL and I am not going to lie it was pretty sweet. The only things I carried was a water bottle, a jacket to hold the bottle and my trekking polls. It didn't matter what the trail threw at me, I demolished it. Even though I only had a liter of water on me, I was moving so fast that reaching the next water source took no time at all. I definitely felt a bit smug as  I flew past fellow hikers, but that bliss was only for a day. I am now back to my sturdy pack and all the joys of comfort and...weight.

By the beard of Zeus!

Progress update:

Agua Dulce: mile 454 if this were Oregon I would be finished right now, but it's California so I have about another 1,300 mile to go...this is a really big state. I am currently at a trail angels place known as Hiker Haven aka the Soufley's yet another instance of amazing people on trail.

I am currently hiking just ahead of the peak in the parabola for hiker density, but I am also at the tail end of my hiker wave so when I was nearing Hiker Haven I heard  it was full, but in true trail angel style the farm next door opened up to us and I was given a couch to sleep on, free food and permission to forge berry's eat fresh eggs, and drink whole unpasteurized goats milk. I also got a much needed shower/clothes washing. I can't say it enough, we hikers are spoiled.

I have also traded in my acics shoes after only a month of use because they were destroyed. Another angel named Ted took us into town to a REI for the refit, later I will do my Sierra shopping and then it's time to go to the Anderson's (another trail angel) for a memorial day party, and rumor has it that they can party there.

This leg has also made for a rather interesting trail highlight. Due to poodle dogbush detours we ended up on a 15 plus mile road walk. This walk went through a major section of the station fire burn. While walking I
definitely felt a sense of somber from all the dead forest, but what really caught me off guard was the LA fire camp. When I was walking on the road that was falling apart from all the heat damage during the fire I came across a memorial. This was for two firefighters who died during the fire, one of which was the fire marshal. I thought it was strange at first because that isn't a front line person but then I saw the camp. The devastation was surreal. It felt akin to a post apocalyptic ghost town. This was a complex that was big enough to be a small town and it was utterly destroyed. With much curiosity I explored the area and eventually moved on. It will definitely be something that will remember for a while.

Life is good and I am still kicking ass and taking names.

Why does the desert hate me?

As I have mentioned before one thing you quickly realize when walking in the the desert is that everything seems to be ornery and pissed off. The animals want to bite you, the insects try to sting you, and the plants will stab or poison you. Not to mention the sun tries to fry you and there is no water to be found. Granted the desert is one of the more beautiful places I have ever been and the flora and fauna fascinate me...even the poisonous ones. Also hiking at dawn and dusk is wonderful. It's just the hours in between that are rough. 

Most of the fauna are nice enough and let you know that they are upset. Bees buzz at you, snakes rattle, and so on, but plants are a different story. Plants can't move nor make sounds, thus they sit and wait for you to get to close and hurt you. Spiny and poky plants can hurt but seldom do they seem to do worse then scratch. However, the poisonous plants are the ones to be weary of. Many of you who have hiked with me in the wilderness know of my arch nemesis, also known as poison oak. I have come into contact with this plant many times over the years and have dealt with rashes lasting for months. Needless to say I am not a fan. These experiences have helped me to develop and almost uncanny ability to detect oak from far away. Those of you who are not familiar with the plant may not know about its ability to fool you. Poison oak can be small or big, have red or green leaves, leaves shaped like an oak tree or round, glossy oily leaves or mat ones, look like a little plant or a shrub or even a vine, and at times almost a tree. On top of it all oak gives you that wonderful rash to help you remember it.

When starting on day one I had hopes that I would not encounter oak, at least not at first. Those dreams were taken away at about mile 10. Accepting the fact I would have to deal with oak I continued my hike knowing I'll probably get a rash at some point on trail. Then when approaching mile 250 I met a new plant that makes poison oak look like a pussy cat.

Poodle dogbush is not a plant to be messed with. It looks friendly enough, but contact can leave you with massive welts that have put hikers into hospitals in years past. This plant can lay dormant for a 100 years and then sprout up after a fire. Well a few years ago the Station fire took out much of the land from mile 353-435. Over the last couple of years poodle dogbush has been sprouting up and taking over the land. It has gotten so bad that part of the PCT is closed for hiker safety. Let me tell you playing don't touch the poodle on an infested trail is a stressful experience.

Thankfully we are out of the worst of it and soon the Sierras will take us out of the desert. It has been a wonderful section and enjoyable...but I am ready to say goodbye.

Back at scene 34...

Progress update:

Well I have made it to Writewood mile 370. Soon I will stop going west and continue north again...There are times when you feel like the makers of this trail were twisted. Life is good, the views are amazing, company enjoyable, and my feet are in constant agony.
This leg of the trail I finally started pushing for 20 miles a day. For the most part it is very doable, however my feet are not as tough as I would like them to be. This has led to many fun and exciting blisters that cause me to limp around camp at the end of the day. This is also known as the "hiker shuffle."

This leg of the journey has had many highlights but the two best parts were hitting first hot springs on trail and as much as I hate to admit it McDonald's. The hot springs was a funny situation. When I was at kick off back in April we were told about a detour at Deep Creek because a bridge was "unsafe." At first I was very supportive about following the rules, but every story I kept hearing, as my travels took me closer to Deep Creek, was "the bridge is fine." The more I heard the the less enticing the detour sounded because it was a road walk instead of the PCT. Then I found out a very important piece of information they failed to mention at kick off. The PCT takes you to a hot springs where the detour does not. Well the decision turn right and go to hot springs was simple enough to make. When I finally did get to the bridge in question I found out the it was so "broken" that the work crew fixing it was standing on the bridge AND using it as their anchor to rappel down the the creek and grab water to mix their concrete.

As for the McDonald's all I can say it was there and delicious. I may or may not have eaten 4 mcdoubles, 1 mcchicken, 1 lrg fries, 1 ice cream cone, 1 mcflurry, and 4 lrg sodas during my seven hours of sitting by Cajone Pass...and yes it was worth it.

As I said we have about 80 miles until we go north again. It is also where we meet the trail angels known as the Anderson's (aka Casa de Luna). Apparently that is where the party is at. Now I am off to shower and probably eat more.

Trail Thoughts: Food

First of all a couple of PSA announcements. I have realized while writing in my blog in town that every time I am about to start typing any idea in my head disappears and all I end up writing about is "Well I hike really far this week..." Well for me that is boring to type, and if I am bored you probably are too. To fix this I am starting a new segment called Trail Thoughts. For some unknown reason when you are hiking for 8-10 hours a days you seem to have time to think. So now when I think of a topic that gives insight to life on the trail, I  jot it down.

The second announcement is I am no longer trying to have movie quotes for all my blog titles...it's too much work. I may throw in nonsensical quotes for trail progress reports, but that's it.

Food,

At the best of times we humans are quite fond of food. It almost seems like if we don't consume it we would die or something. Well when you are on trail food becomes an obsession.  Conversation almost always reverts back to food. As you hike you often think about your next break so you can eat more food. Food is what allows you to climb, be happy, and warm. On trail there are two types of food: trail food and town food.

Trail food is what keeps you alive and going to the next town. Often it is light, dehydrated, and lackluster. The amount of Knorrs, mac-n-cheese, and oatmeal you eat is rather sad. Quickly you dream of fresh veggies, burgers, butter, and more. In groups hikers talk about favorite restaurants and every item discussed sounds better then the last. That brings me to town food.

In town it is very easy to spend too much money. One reason for this is the fantastic food items you can grab. It is rather a cool experience, normally when you see the caloric value on a menu, you shy away from big numbers, but on a through hike..."What the fajita salad is 1600 calories?!? I'll take that and a milkshake!" the body wants food and you are eager to provide. When we were in Big Bear there was a restaurant called the Grizzly Manor. The food actually was epic in a true sense of the word. The meal I got was called the Blob. Here is what this gut bomb entailed: A platter of biscuits and gravy topped with bacon, two goose sized eggs, and probably a pound of cheese. I am positive this thing was 2000-3000 calories. Not only did I clean my plate, but I helped take on some platter sized pancakes from another epic breakfast.

Food is one of my favorite things and I kind of feel like the main reason why I hike is so I can eat things that normally make America obese. Without it you don't function and I rue the day when i have to start paying attention to what I consume.

She has huge...tracks of land

Big Bear City! Mile 266, it's starting to feel like I am on a really long hike or something. Even though Idlewild was less than a week ago it was miles of elevation ago as well...To get out of Idlewild we had to climb from 6000ft to 8300ft, then we decided to summit the second highest peak in Southern California and slack packed up to the San Jacinto peak at 10,800+ft. The views were spectacular and not only could we see San Gordinio (where we were headed) but the valley floor about 10,000 feet below us. And yes we did hike all the way down to 1,000 ft to cross a desert. A desert that was as windy and hot as I would imagine satin's crack to be, just to climb back up to about 9,000ft to get to Big Bear. I guess this is how you earn your trail legs for the Sierras...

Lessons learned so far this trip:

1. Siestas are the best invention ever, and to hike in the desert between 11:00am-3:00pm is just stupid.
2. If you have a rock in your shoe, stop and take it out. It's worth it. 
3. It's really hard to climb up hills when your hungry, I mean really hard. 
4. All desert flora and fauna are pissed off and want to hurt you with thorns or poison
5. Taking zero days (where you don't hike the PCT at all) are needed and almost as important as hiking. 

Never mind Camelot tis a silly place

Today marks the first legitimate town stop of the trip! It also means that my bruised blistered feet get a much needed rest day. well here are some of the highlights thus far...

• Cinco De Mayo party at trail angel Mike's place
• six days strait of trail magic from angels
• First rain/lightning/hail storm of the trip
• Wildflowers blooming everywhere
• Rattle snake encounters
• First night hiking of trip
• Camping in scenic locations every night
• Climbing 4500 vertical feet since Warner Springs (2500+ of it done yesterday)
• Standing on a  8300 foot cliff side look at the world 7000 feet below you
• TREES! I didn't realize I missed those
• First snow encounter of the trip

So far this hike feels more like a vacation than serious backpacking. I know I said this before, but the amount of support from strangers is so cool! The magic comes in various forms. It started with chili dogs and beer a Barrel Springs. Then the community as Warner Springs welcomed us. The next day many of us hiked up to Trail Angel Mike's where we were greeted with beer, amazing chicken, lots of other food, and games. After that we hiked and came across a water catch bursting with full jugs making it so we didn't have to carry 10 pounds of H2O on us at all times. On the next day we were given avocados, oranges, and water by highway 74. Finally we were given a ride into Idlewild from another trail angel. As I said we get some love.

Yesterday marked the day where the hiking became serious. we are in the San Juncto mountains and they are beautiful. When I am not being lazy I'll post pictures. The trail actually hikes the crest of these mountains giving some amazing views of the land below. It also means hard hiking. The trail just went up and up and up and up and well up. Not to mention the wind kept trying to blow us off the mountain. That said, it has been my most favorite locations thus far on the trip.

The rainstorm also was a great highlight. The day started hot (around 95 degrees) so we took a siesta to wait for it to cool. Well round 3:00pm we noticed some clouds coming in and as they grew thicker we decided it was time to leave. By 4:00 the rain started to drip, and then fall, and then poor...and then hail. It dumped for about and hour and we did have lightning strike about 1/2 a second away from us, but it was fun and a nice change from hot desert sun. Plus the smells were so strong afterword.

I guess what I am trying to say is I am loving life right now. I know it sucks to be me.

I love Lamp.

Well actually I love bladder pillow but more on that later.

I have officially arrived in my first "town": Warner Springs at mile 109. This last week has been full of amazing people, stories, views, and blisters. A few of the highlights thus far are:

• 70 plus degree weather every day.
• lots and lots of sunshine
• a beautifully grated trail that is visible up to 40 miles ahead.
• butterflies dancing in front of me
• cowboy camping every night and watching the stars
• making it past the 100 mile marker
• Eagle Rock
• arriving at Barrel Springs after 20 miles of no water and seeing a sign saying "Want a cold beer?" "How about a free chili dog?" "Come on over!"

This experience has been nothing like I have done in my life. As I said in my last post, the generosity of the Trail Angels is astounding and gives me hope in humanity. Even here at Warner Springs. This is normally a hot spring town, but due to legal issues the springs are closed. However there is food, supplies, and showers for through hikers thanks to the community center. Plus all proceeds goes to the local school. Right now I am gearing up for the next leg of the trip which is at Idlewild at mile 180. Getting an opportunity to clean, blog, and get a ton of free food that other hikers don't want (aka the hiker box) is greatly appreciated. 

Well I mentioned earlier that I love bladder pillow. Well for those of you who are not in the know. When doing a through hike it is common for other hikers to give you a trail name. Well because of my enthusiasm of my bladder pillow my fellow hikers decided that my trail name is Bladder Pillow. It is definitely an unique name on trail. Why is the bladder pillow so epic? well let's do a pro con list.

Pro's

1. perfect pitch for your head
2. if thirsty at night you can drink with little effort
3. on a hot day can use for napping and cool back of your head
4. a waterbed just for you head

Con's

1. there are none, the bladder pillow is amazing.

Well I need to make way for other hikers, more posts to come. 

Inconceivable!!!

Hello world! First official post on trail. This is being done via windows phone so if you see a typo it's not my fault. If you see grammatical errors, well I am a bio major for a reason. The flight down to San Diego went without a hitch. Met up with Kara and Liddell bought food and then played in a park. Not going to lie 80 degree weather is a nice change.

While waiting for Kara's friend Kristine to get off of work we were able to play in a park. During our time we did such activities as the museum of photographic arts (MOPA!) and stick prices of bark into road signs. After a quick tour of Whale's Vagina (as the Romans referred to San Diego) we crashed so we could ready us for the day ahead. On Thursday the journey began in style. We met up with Pancho the gentlemen extraordinaire who gave us a ride to Campo. Take a look at his business card it is pretty much the best one ever.

The hike was much simpler then I expected. I would say no more difficult than doing 20 miles in the West Hills near Portland Oregon. We actually lucked out and had a beautiful cloudy cool day to hike vs the heat you normally get, though that didn't stop me from burning.

The kick off has definitely been worth while to go to. Lots of information for hikers as well as free food, gear, community, and magic. You here a lot about "trial magic" when prepping for the PCT but you don't really understand until you are here. Trail magic is when people spend tons of time and money for you so that you can live your dream. I am getting free camping, food, and knowledge because of the generosity of the people at the ADZPCTKO (Annual Day Zero PCT Kick Off). There is a trail angel (a person gives magic) named Scout, his wife and others who took in over 200 through hiker hopefuls fed them and housed them because they wanted to. They even refused compensation when people tried to give it. That is trail magic.

Well tomorrow morning starts the real adventure. We are starting slow to avoid breaking our selves and avoid heat. Next post will probably be in Warner Springs.

Oh and awesome notes. There is a hiker this year named Peru. She is my botany professor from PSU (that is Lisa K. Fox and Hillary if you are reading this).

I am also  volunteering to help with a pika study during my hike. I am sending in locations of evidence while I am on trail. So if I see them or evidence of them I contact adventures and scientists for conservation with info so they can use the data for climatic change research...COOL!

Pancho's card may come later, slow connection here.