I don't trust horses, they wear one shoe for life. I mean seriously who makes that kind of commitment to a shoe!

Hello world!

For once I am actually writing a blog at a computer! who knew that it is easier to write thing on a full sized keyboard. I am currently in Sierra City taking a nearo. I am not sure if I every explained what that is. A nearo is when you role into a town after hiking very few miles. So today I did about four miles into town. I am taking a break, resupplying and will be back on trail in the morning...after coffee. Speaking of coffee I should be getting my french press in my mail drop! (thank you papi) I decided that since I don't have to lug around that damned 2.5 lbs bear box I might as well carry the weight in something I will find useful.

Well I finally have uploaded photos!!! I am at Red Moose Cafe where a couple of trail angels have accommodations set up including internet that is worth something. It's nice to finally back up all of my photos from the Sierras. I don't remember if I mentioned this, but I forgot my camera way back at the Anderson's. Thus I have no photos From there to Kennedy Meadows witch is a bit over 300 miles. However when I did get my camera back it came with all kinds of photos from Casa de Luna that I was not there for, including the infamous "chocolate wrestling" event. So enjoy them, there are a couple of movies that I threw up on Facebook to rub in how spectacular my trip is.

This leg has been interesting for me. I have somehow managed to blow past pretty much everyone I know. I am way in the front of the pack with only like 30 PCT hikers ahead. I still meet new groups and they are fun, but they are not hiking a pace I want to hike. Jugs and the boys were hiking that pace however they staid in Mammoth longer and I have not heard from them since...sad days. The strange thing is I really don't feel like I am hiking all that fast. I am averaging around 25 miles a day which doesn't seem like all that much to me. The irony is that since I am rolling solo I hike more because well what else do I have to do? Thus I get further and further ahead of the people I know. Eventually I'll have to make a choice: do I hike alone or wait  for people I know and slow my pace? Right now I am doing it alone in hopes I'll bump into a person who has a similar hiking style, but we'll see how long I will keep that up.

The 4th was a riveting experience on trail. I was in bed by 8:30 woot! I was in the Peter Grub hut which is a Sierra Club ski hut built back in the 1930's. I rolled in there by myself, however a number hikers came in who were about 300 miles ahead of me back at kick off. It's always fun to meet people you have only heard of by their signatures in registers.

Lastly I have some sorrowful news...my hydration bladder has suffered a mortal wound. holes have sprung in the plastic making it impossible to use it for a pillow. My name sake and constant companion, my identity, has be forsaken. R.I.P. platypus, you have served me well.

I hear their menstruations attract bears

Ok I'll be honest, I have been waiting to use that quote for a long time. I am currently at mile ~1100 in South Lake Tahoe, which by the way is a massive lake. And this leg of my journey allowed me to see something really special, but I'll get to that.

This leg started at Kennedy Meadows when Dirty Brown, Anteater, and I hitched back to trail, the others did not seem like they were going anywhere quickly and I was ready to go. This section has proven to be much easier than the last section(s) for there were no passes, and being able to see the trail is always a plus. At first I was hiking with my companions, but I wanted to pull bigger miles so soon I was on my own. However this did give me the opportunity to read my book and see more wildlife.

The first day out I pulled a 28ish mile day so that I would be in a better position for South Lake. As the day progressed a hurt knee and a long day slowly pulled my spirits down. I kept pushing but I was not in the best mental state. Then I came across a couple of day hikers who told me that there was some magic about 6-8 miles down the trail. So I pushed more. Every part of me wanted to stop, but I knew if I pushed it would be worth it. So when I finally came up to trail angel Doug who cooked me eggs, gave me coffee, coke, cereal, milk, and bread I felt like a king. Magic really does go a long way to make you feel better. After that short break the thought of pushing an extra six miles seemed like nothing. Hiking after coffee=amazing. 

The next day however was the true highlight of the leg. For that's when I got my first bear sighting on trail. The day started off like any other with my morning ritual of eating breakfast, reading and doing everything possible without leaving my sleeping back. Then when I had no other options I packed up and hit trail. There was nothing of note until I was descending some switchbacks. While going down (and ironically eating gummy bears) I saw him. A beautiful black bear meandering up the trail. I must have been down wind because he had no clue I was there. Tingling with excitement I stood frozen watching and eventually got a couple of blurred shot of him (camera fail). At about 100 feet he looked up, saw me and I waved. This was sufficient enough to scare him down the hill. Considering this whole trip I have wanted a bear sighting and considering I never got on in the high sierras, I was ecstatic.

Well the rest of this leg was without event and once I am recovered here I will push on, though I may wait for friends, getting a little tired of myself. It's one of the downsides about hiking faster than the big heard of hikers, less friends on trail.

The High Sierras part six: Conclusion

The sierras ended much like they began at Kennedy Meadows. This time the resort not the town. There was definitely a sense of bitter sweet when I woke up the morning I hiked the last pass (Sanora Pass). This climb was a big one, but I climbed with vigor. Unlike the previous passes the terrain on Sanora looked very different. The rocks were different, the views different, it was the trails way of saying goodbye. I also was hiking with a new group of hikers that I have not seen before. The crew consisting of Cool Ranch, Capitan, Lola, Pea Trap, Lamarki, Esteas, Dirty Brown, and Anteater. This fun crew and I crushed the 13 miles from Sanora to Sonara Pass road. On our way Down we were treated to some cool treats.

The first treat was....TRAIL MAGIC!!! I haven't seen any magic since mile 700 and it was some of the coolest magic yet. We were given food, beer and love from lamas. That's right lamas. Trail angel Lama Greg was exercising his pack lamas and decided to carry food up for us hikers. It was a surprise to come across trail magic when hiking down, but Greg told us to eat up, so of course we did.

Then soon after Lama Greg I started hearing drumming. Confused but intrigued I kept going and I came to the road I saw a Native American  drum circle Playing. Well after a few questions we found out that it was for an annual 500 mile relay race they were conducting.

After  enjoying our morning, cheering on the runners, we then preceded to work on hitching a ride. Never have I hitched in such a large group of people. The strategy to such a situation is all the guys sit to the side and let the girls flag down the cars. Why? because it cuts wait time down by half. Well after about an hour we had not one, not two, but three cars come over the pass all going to Kennedy Meadows Resort. Happy with our luck we jumped in and rode to a hot meal.

I am sad to say goodbye the the high sierras, but there are so many sights still to see.

Trail Thoughts: Mile 1,000!

And I would walk 1,000 miles
And I would walk a 1,000 more
Just to be the man who walked 2,700 miles
To fall down at Canada's door

I did it. It seems like a huge benchmark and yet I am still about 1,700 miles shy of the end. In some ways it feels like it has gone by far to quickly and in others it feels like I have so far to go. Regardless it feels great to say "yeah I walked a 1,000 miles."

One trend that I have noticed about my hike however is my ability to role my ankle every 100 miles. Yes with out fail every 100 miles I role my ankle. And if for some reason I don't role it, it ends up happening multiple times the next 100. It's an average I really hate. It happens on my bum ankle that I sprained back in 8th grade and it's something I have been dealing with ever since. But on trail where I hike all day it happens more often then I like. And let me tell you I have taken some good spills because of it.

The worst was at mile 900 where I full on fell on my face because I was hiking so fast down a hill. Fortunately no permanent damage thus far *fingers crossed* but as I said I have about 1,700 to go...

The High Sierras part five: Yosemite

While I was in Mammoth, like I do in most towns, I looked in my guide book to see what lay ahead. Normally the information has been relatively useless because of how dry of a snow year it has been. However I did notice one thing that caught my eye. It was a note from a previous hiker named Joker. What he basically said was the section of trail I was about to embark on was one of the hardest for him both physically and emotionally and in some ways I agree. The trail started out easy enough as far as the sierras go. The cool part about Yosemite is it is like a condensed version of Kings Canyon. You climb pass after pass but they aren't as big as in Kings Canyon, but you still get spectacular views. Yosemite is full of alpine meadows and lakes. All this beauty came at a price though. The passes are not kindly to feet. All the jagged rocks, steep climbs and steeper descents are tough on the legs. Also when you go down two-three passes in one day you become tired.

 What made this a difficult section of trail was not the terrain however it was the trail makers. Ironically Yosemite has been the worst labeled section of trail of this whole trip. During my stay I encountered three official signs saying I was indeed on the PCT. I had to mostly depend on myself and other hikers who would etched in PCT on the trail signs. But the worst part was how the trail would flat out disappear. I would be hiking along enjoying the views when all of the sudden the trail vanished. I would look left and then right and nothing. Each time I would have to spend five minutes walking in circles trying to find the bloody trail.

The worst of all these trail searches was on Monday the 25th. That day I wanted to do 25ish miles to allow me a better set up to get into northern Kennedy Meadows (different then the town at mile 700). This day would have included four passes along with the high mileage. I knew it would be a challenge but I didn't mind. The day actually started quite wonderfully. The first pass went without a hitch, and the following canyon was a sight in the morning sun, but it was during the decent down that things started to go awry. The first time I really lost trail and bushwhacked was due to a fallen tree. Granted this instance was my fault. Without looking at my map I pushed down the hill, however the trail went left to avoid what I ended hiking which was steep rocks that became a cliff. Well 20 minutes later along with a whole assortment of curses I did end up back on trail.

My next endeavor with bushwhacking came at the bottom of the same canyon. This section proved to be a challenge not just to me but to many hikers. This part of the trail was in a swampy area full of downed trees. At fist I did ok, but somewhere in a creek while being molested by mosquitoes I realized the trail went a different direction. In part to get out of the creek and in part to find sanctuary from the blood suckers, I dashed up a ravine to sunny rock. Like vampires the mosquitoes seem to prefer the dark and shade. Lucky this time the trail was only about thirty feet away and a simple find.

The last bushwhack on the other hand proved to be the most frustrating experience on trail yet. It started with a lovely stroll by a creek. Until this point I had a rule: When hiking by a creek, life is good. This proved to be the exception. As I was walking along the trail it yet again vanished. This had happened many times before, but normally the trail was just ahead. This time though, I could not find it. Full or rage I stormed around. Up the rock I was on, across the creek, I could not find it. Eventually after some extravagant curses and a moment with my GPS I knew it had to be near. So I ventured until I finally found trail. Excited and relieved I followed the very well maintained trail. This trail led up to another exquisite alpine meadow with granite outcroppings. As I hiked along enjoying the views I started to feel off. All day I had been following a fellow hiker name Big Wuss who was wearing Brook's Cascadias and I hadn't seen those treads for a while. Well as this sense of unease built I eventually decided to stop and check my location via GPS. Well as the GPS gained a lock on my location I compared it to my map. As I read my Easting coordinate my heart sank and when I read my Northing it plummeted. For I was on a entirely different trail then the PCT and had been for the last half hour. Infuriated about hiking 1-2 mile off trail that I would have to re-hike to get back on trail I stormed off. Never have I hiked so fast. Steaming I came back to my original junction and of course there were no signs saying what trail I was on nor could I see any other down trail. Fed up I gave up on the PCT, put in a goto  function on my GPS and plowed into the woods. As time progressed my frustrations changed to despair. I was tired, I knew the trail was close, yet I could not find it. At one point, feeling defeated, I sat down to orient myself to my map. After analyzing it for a few minutes I realized the trail had to be on the other side of the ravine I was sitting by. And right as I looked up I saw no other than Big Wuss walking along the trail.  Excited, relieved, and happy I scurried up to true trail. Fortunately I managed to stay on trail for the next pass and the rest of the day. But needless to say I only managed 20 miles that day...on the PCT.

The rest of my Yosemite experience was much smoother partially because from that point on if I lost trail I stopped and looked until I found it again, no matter how long it took.

On a side note, as soon as I left Yosemite boom there were again trail signs for the PCT *sigh*. Also I kid you not I saw a hare that was at least two feet big. No joke, it was massive.

Trail Thoughts: Those goram mosquitoes

One thing about the sierras is that it is a wild wilderness full of beautiful lakes, streams and creeks. However this also comes with a drawback. It is prime mosquito habitat. Nowhere in Oregon have I seen them this bad. These bastards will land on you while you are hiking and have no remorse. But the really scary part is apparently this year they aren't to bad.

Well I guess it's the trade off you make for wilderness and at least they don't have any diseases up here. But if you find yourself in the sierras make sure you have two items. A) a tent, very important for mosquito free sanctuary and B) DEET. I am normally anti chemical, but this stuff is amazing I went from the brink of a mental breakdown to happy because after application they stop landing on you. I literally ate lunch with hundreds of them swarming me, but was bite free due to DEET.

That said it would have been nice to jump in those lakes...if not for the molestation I would have received at the hands of bloodsuckers.

The High Sierras part four: On to Tuolumne

Being in Mammoth was an interesting experience. Not because of the town, I actually liked the town (yet another ski town and the runs looked pretty fantastic) , but because of being back in civilization. I really appreciated being out in the woods away from television, cars and marketing. So to come into a town where it's everywhere was over stimulating. That said the bakery in town was amazing.

After I left Mammoth I had one more pass before entering Yosemite. I left alone because Jugs wanted to wait for some friends who were behind us. But the hike was yet again beautiful. The first thing I came across was the Post Pile national monument. It a basaltic rock formation where the basalt cools slowly giving the rocks a columned look. If you haven't seen it before it is pretty neat, and I'll admit that it is a better example of columnar basalt than I have ever seen, but living near the Columbia River George it's nothing new to me.

The lakes coming up to and over the pass were also something else. My favorite was 1,000 Islands lake that was, as you guessed, a lake full of islands. The real treat however was finally coming into Yosemite. This has been a point of interest for me for a very long time and being able to walk in an open flat valley up to the Tuolumne campground was a nice way to end that leg of the journey. However I did not realize the challenges that Yosemite had in store.

Trail Thoughts: When did I become a badass?

When you are hiking the PCT you don't feel particularly special. Climbing up hills is tiring, down hills hurts your feet and the only burning questions in your day are "should I eat my snack now or in a hour?" or "do I need water here or can I wait?"  So when you role into a town and happen to mention that you came from Mexico and are walking to Canada it feels strange to have people look at you like you're some kind of superhero.

I mean I don't feel like a badass. I still suck wind climbing the passes in the Sierras and feel tired at the end of a long day. But when you come across some John Muir Trail (JMT) hikers you realize, yeah I am hiking way faster and further. I think the point that most resonates to me as the switch between being a hiker and this is my life was coming over Forester Pass. Forester is the highest point on the PCT and when walking down the north side there was a point where I had my trekking poles in one hand and my other in my pocket as I strolled down to tree line. It was a very odd feeling once I realized how I was walking. I discovered then that this isn't some dream for me now, it's my life. Yes that takes away some of the nostalgia of the PCT for me, but at the same time THIS IS MY LIFE! How cool is that.

So if hanging out in the woods is considered to be "hardcore" then I guess I am pretty awesome. But honestly I am only interested in is where the next creek crossing is...

The high Sierras part three: The blow down

Well in case you haven't noticed I am still alive and kicking. Today I rolled into Mammoth another ski town about nine miles off trail. Granted I had to hike in four of those miles, but I am here and I am fed. You may have also noticed that it's been a while since I updated. Well there was no way I was going to allow myself to be contacted by the outside world while I was in the sierras.

The stretch from VVR  to Mammoth was a challenging one but absolutely beautiful. During my 25 mile day yesterday there was about 10,000ft of elevation change, three passes climbed and many trees across the trail.

For those of you who don't know there was a huge windstorm in the sierras last winter. I'm talking about 180mph wind storms. This has led to large sections of forest to be blown down. The worst of it is at Reds Meadow where 2/3 of the trees went down. Granted the forest looked like it went through a bad burn in that section, but that's not the point  the point is trail crews kick ass. Yes I had to navigate around some tree fall and yes it got exciting. But where the trees are the worst (like ten feet high of blow down) the trail has been cleared by the hard working trail crews.

Of course the cleanup is a work in progress which means I had to hike into town vs take a bus, but it is worth it. The trail is wonderful, resting feels fabulous, and someday I will upload a butt load of photos. For now I will keep waiting for the trolley.

The high Sierras part two: Muir Pass

How to describe Muir pass, it's hard. Well to start, La Conte valley that leads to Muir pass is nothing short of amazing.

 As I said before the high Sierras is a series of climbing one pass, walking through a glorious valley and then climbing the next pass. Well La Conte valley is by far the most beautiful section of trail I have hiked thus far. It starts at two very beautiful lakes after Mather pass. Just when you think the morning can't get any better you come to the top of Bishop Pass. Walking north bound you don't have to climb Bishop, just descend. However the view from Bishop into La Conte valley is astounding. To either side of you is granite cliffs where you can see water cascading down to the valley floor. In the middle is clear evidence of glaciation because the valley is U shaped. As you come into La Conte you are greeted by old growth forests that are alive with birds and mammals. Your hike moves parallel a creek that tumbles over rocks creating fantastic waterfalls. The water is always clear, cold and delicious. It is difficult to walk because the sights are so impressive. Then when you come to the climb up Muir pass you are struck with an odd combination of feelings. On e one hand it is clearly the best sights of the trip. On the other hand you are climbing 3,500 plus feet over seven miles on what feels like a never ending ascent. False peak after false peak the trail never seems to come to a summit. Then after one last ice covered lake there it is, Muir hut. Built in honor of John Muir this hut is at the very top and a welcome sight for any hiker. I know for fact that words and photos are incapable of capturing how truly amazing this section of trail was, but trust me when I say this will be one of the top highlights of the trail and the the John Muir Trail is worth hiking just for this valley.  

Right now I am at Vermillion Valley Resort. This completes the long stint in the backwoods...sort of. I can't post until Mammoth in 30 miles but here is where civilization is and my resupply. The plan was to take this section slow and only do 15 mile days...but Jugs and I have averaged close to 20+, so life goes. I know all to soon I will be in Northern Cali and I will be missing the sights here. Before that happens though I will get to see Yosemite and I know that will be amazing.

The high Sierras: part 1

Holy cow...just holy cow. It is really hard to describe how amazing the high sierras are. Every day since I left Kennedy Meadows I have been blown away with spectacular views. Each morning I wake up to some magnificent cliff overhead and in a pristine alpine forest. I have attempted to take photos to share but I already know that A) my dinky little camera won't do them justice and B) photos can't capture feeling of being out here.

Well for this leg of the journey hikers have one of two options. They can either spend five-six days in the back country, hike/hitch to a town and then spend another five-six days in the back country. The other option is to do one big strait shot of 11 days to Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) and resupply there. Since I have never done a super long stint in the back country before I opted for option two. Not to mention that there isn't a better place to hang out in the wilderness than when hiking through a national park.

As of right now I am in Kings Canyon National Park just after Mather pass. In the sierras you basically hike through one valley climb over a pass, and then hike through the next. Thus far I have done four, Forester (the highest part of the PCT at 13,200ft), Glenn pass, Pincho pass, and Mather. Each one is a heck of a climb and the elevation isn't helping, but the views are in incredible. My favorite part is each time you come to a pass all you see is cliff face all around you. It always seems like the trail is impassable right until you arrive at the start of the climb. Forester was my favorite because it really looked like a dead end.

Lastly I have to admit that I am now apart of the 14,000ft high club. I took a zero day at Crab Tree meadows so that I could summit Mt. Whitney. At about 14,500ft it is the highest peak in the lower 48. Jugs and I left at 12:30 am in order to see the sunrise and man was it worth it. I will upload photos and the video I took when I can. Banana Pants (another hiker) also took photos and his camera is way better than mine, so I will try to get those as well.

Well I have more pressing needs right now like enjoying some epic scenery, so until next time.

Well that certainly shows the diversity of the word

KEN-NE-DY MEADOWS!!!

Here I am at mile 702 yet again chilling at a trail angels place who is to nice to us hiker trash. This leg of the journey not only marks the start of the sierras, but the end of Southern California. We have completed 25% of our journey to Canada and it feels like time has flown by. This leg involved the most intensive hiking thus far with an average day of 27 miles. The new pace is rigorous, but it has been fun catching up to people I have not seen since kick off.

One of my favorite parts of this trip is that no matter how well you plan your journey mother nature has a way of telling you what your schedule really looks like. We started this leg in continuation of the night hike schedule. The first ten miles out of Mojave went great, however when climbing out of highway 58 we were bombarded with 80 plus mph winds. Around midnight I decided that hiking was stupid and dove into a juniper bush to sleep out the wind. The rest of my companions kept the good fight and hiked all night, however even with a three hour nap I still rolled into camp only an hour after them...so I think I win.

Since I am officially done with Southern California I think it's time for highlights and challenge moments on trail.

Top five trail highlights:

1. The San Jacinto wilderness. This section of trail was absolutely beautiful and worth all the work. It was also a nice change from the desert
2. Hiking into the dawn. There have been a few nights where I have gotten up early and hiked as the sun comes up. The transition from night to day is lovely and makes the desert worth while to hike.
3. Big Bear City. That town was so much fun. The hostel was lively with hikers and joint cooking, not to mention the best restaurant on trail thus far.
4. Casa de Luna. The people, the chilling, I can already tell the memories from that place will last a life time.
5. The first day in the sierras. This happened this last leg. On June 4th I woke up at 3am and started hiking. I was immediately treated to a partial lunar eclipse that led to a fantastic sunrise. Lastly the alpine forest I was hiking in was breath taking. It was also a day that ended with a moon rise. I think it was the first time I have seen a moon set and rise In the same day.

Most challenging days on trail:

1. Hiking down to Cajon pass with the biggest blisters yet. I had two blisters on my right foot that made it so I could not walk. I had to push and had little water on a hot day, but at least I got McDonald's.
2. Poodle dogbush. I am not a fan of the plant and doing the poodle limbo was pretty stressful.
3. June 5th. The whole night Jugs and I were shivering in our bags unable to sleep due to 80-100mph winds slapping against my tent. At 6am we got out into that wind was fought it for the next four hours during a 29 mile day. We were exhausted all day but had to push. Luckily 12 hours later, at 7pm we rolled into camp and were treated to some serious trail magic of food and beer. I also was able to catch the tail end of the Venuses transit across the sun. If you missed it to bad it won't happen again in our life times.

Well SoCal has been wonderful, but I am ready to say goodbye to the desert and hello to the high sierras.