Greetings readers!
I hope we didn't have any of you too worried. The dangers of the sub-transient, hiker trash lifestyle are many and with not hearing from us for so long it would be easy to imagine us stuck at the bottom of some mountain chasm somewhere, sawing through our own arms. Luckily that isn't the case. I apologize for our aloofness, but for the last few weeks we've been in the wildest places of the trip, with fewer resupply stops and wi-fi in short supply.
But we're back now and eager to tell you about what's been going on in our lives. Last time I wrote to you from Lone Pine, a little town near the base of Mt Whitney. I didn't get to spend much time here because I had a lot of mountains to climb over and not a lot of time to do it. I had planned to take 6 days to go the 127 miles or so to Mammoth Lakes to meet Kim, my girlfriend, so time was of the essence. Off into the High Sierras I went. We've seen some pretty amazing views over the last few months, but the Sierras took the cake. Everyday was filled with picturesque peaks, towering waterfalls, cascading rivers and vast turquoise lakes so clear that you could seen the glimmering of the hundreds of swimming trouts. I'm talking postcard worthy stuff, the type of beauty you look up on the Internet and put as the background on your computer screen. This was my home for a week. It was unbelievable. But it wasn't all scenery and sunshine, I had to work my ass off to get through it. Most days I had to climb over 2 passes, which meant going up 3000 or 4000 feet, coming right back down, and doing it all over again later in the day. It really kicked the shit out ya, but as hard as it was, I really enjoyed the passes. Most of them were between 12 or 13 thousand feet above sea level, higher than the tree line, where its raw ad barren and there is nothing but rock, water and ice and the little tufts of plants that grow among them. It was absolutely worth the work it took to get over them.
I was pushing myself to my limit every day and a few days before Mammoth I hit my wall. I was sore, I was tired, the mosquitos were relentless and for the first time of the trip I questioned why I was here. There was a few days where I actually thought about quitting. One of those days was the first time I got lost in the mountains. Like I said In the last post, I went off alone to get to Mammoth to see Kim which meant leaving my friends and their maps behind. I was having a really bad day and in my despair I took a wrong turn down a side trail which brought me 6 miles out of my way. I would have been oblivious to this and would have been really screwed had I not been stopped by some section hikers who, after a bit of conversation realized I screwed up and told me how to get to the Vermillion Valley Resort. I had planned on putting in a bunch more miles and skip VVR all together, but after the shitty day I'd been having it was nice to get some beers in me and have a bed to sleep in. Even with my unplanned detour I managed to make it to Mammoth the next day, what a relief. I really needed to get out of the mountains by this point and even better was that I'd get to see Kim again after 2 long months. I ended up spending almost a week in Mammoth, which was an awesome little mountain town. The first few days I had a great time with Kim and her parents, lounging in the hotel, seeing the sights and eating real food and much of the rest of the week was spent celebrating, I finally reunited with the rest of the team, we celebrated Canada day, we celebrated America day and just had an overall fun time. But before we knew it it was all over and it was time to hit the trail again and for Kim, it was time to hit the trail for the first time.
Next stop Yosemite.
Happy Trails,
Mike
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Saturday 23 June 2012
Day ?- Mile 790: A Date with a Lady Named Whitney
Hey hey,
I'm back, I was reluctant to have to leave the mountains, but alas, I had to come to town to resupply so lucky for all you avid readers it also means I get a chance to update you on the comings and goings of our lives!
I have to begin by saying that the Sierra Mountains are absolutely amazing. When we first left Kennedy Meadows I was extatic to finally see grass again, after almost 2 months of being in the desert, seeing nothing but sand and scrub, lush green meadows were the stuff of dreams. But the Sierras delivered on the grass and much more. The hiking has been great, we've seen and experienced some pretty sweet stuff, we watched hundreds of cliff swallows jet in and out of little mud nests under a bridge, we've seen marmots and deers, and the most spectacular views of my life. But things really got good once we approached Whitney and the PCT joined with the JMT (John Muir Trail). It had been my plan since before coming out here to climb Whitney at night and watch the sun rise from the summit. We had fallen a little bit behind out planned pace however, and it didn't seem likely that the timing was going to work out, and we would have had to summit the mountain the next day. I must admit, I was pretty bummed about it. So I walked and I thought about it and decided that I wasn't going to pass up an experience like that. I decided to leave Jesse and the guys for a while, push to Crabtree Meadows where I would set up base camp, nap for a few hours and then push my way up the mountain at 1 am. And that's exactly what I did. Fortunately for me, even though my regular crew wasn't into the idea I wasn't alone in my endeavor. So I teamed up with Agassi, Snow Turtle, Bolt, Navi, Natty, Bacon Bit, Fall Risk, Hollywood and The Indiana Boys, we got as much sleep as we could manage, threw on our headlamps and made our way up the mountain. The trail we climbed was the easiest route up the mountain, but it was a steep 7 mile, 3000 foot climb. It was rocky, icy at points and we were in a race with the sun. On top of that, the thinning air really took a toll on me. Breathing was more laboured, I suffered from bouts of dizziness and nausea and because of these things, I almost stumbled right off the edge of the mountain a few times. But I sucked it up, stayed determined and fought on. It was around 4:15 that I began to see light peaking over some peaks, and I still wasn't at the summit. So I put myself in high gear, pushed as hard as I've ever pushed myself and got to the summit as the clouds were just begining to turn orange. I had made it, I was the first one at the top (besides Itchy and Scratchy who were ballsy enough to spend the night up there and all that was left to do was sit and wait for the sun to really make an appearance.
I really have to say that this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I sat on the edge of the mountain 14,500ft above sea level, the highest point in the lower 48 states. I just sat and watched as the sun rose over the horizon, filling all the valleys and nooks, revealing an expanse of mountains all around me that I hadn't seen on the dark climb up. It was absolutely breathtaking. We all sat and relished in the view for a while but there was more hiking to do, so down I went. After a long labourour walk, and a lot a chats with day walkers and JMTers going up, I took a much deserved nap and continued on.
With Whitney behind me it was time to climb Forester pass, the highest point on the actual PCT and make my way through King's Canyon. What an amazing place it is. I have never seen water more beautiful in my life. It's an amazing shade of green and crystal clear. Seriously guys, words and pictures don't even do justice to the landscape I've had the priviledge to walk through. If you ever have the opportunity to hike the Sierras you have to all promise me you will take it. It will change your life. I could ramble on all day about it, but I need to find a hitch back up the mountains and get to the trail again. In a few days I will be in Mammoth Lakes where I will redevous with the guys and be joined by my girlfriend Kim. I'm sure there will be plenty to talk about then. So stay tuned.
Happy Trails,
Mike
Ps. I don't have many Whitney pictures because in the low light my Iphone pictures didn't really turn out. But once Kim joins me we will actually be able to take some decent pictures.
I'm back, I was reluctant to have to leave the mountains, but alas, I had to come to town to resupply so lucky for all you avid readers it also means I get a chance to update you on the comings and goings of our lives!
I have to begin by saying that the Sierra Mountains are absolutely amazing. When we first left Kennedy Meadows I was extatic to finally see grass again, after almost 2 months of being in the desert, seeing nothing but sand and scrub, lush green meadows were the stuff of dreams. But the Sierras delivered on the grass and much more. The hiking has been great, we've seen and experienced some pretty sweet stuff, we watched hundreds of cliff swallows jet in and out of little mud nests under a bridge, we've seen marmots and deers, and the most spectacular views of my life. But things really got good once we approached Whitney and the PCT joined with the JMT (John Muir Trail). It had been my plan since before coming out here to climb Whitney at night and watch the sun rise from the summit. We had fallen a little bit behind out planned pace however, and it didn't seem likely that the timing was going to work out, and we would have had to summit the mountain the next day. I must admit, I was pretty bummed about it. So I walked and I thought about it and decided that I wasn't going to pass up an experience like that. I decided to leave Jesse and the guys for a while, push to Crabtree Meadows where I would set up base camp, nap for a few hours and then push my way up the mountain at 1 am. And that's exactly what I did. Fortunately for me, even though my regular crew wasn't into the idea I wasn't alone in my endeavor. So I teamed up with Agassi, Snow Turtle, Bolt, Navi, Natty, Bacon Bit, Fall Risk, Hollywood and The Indiana Boys, we got as much sleep as we could manage, threw on our headlamps and made our way up the mountain. The trail we climbed was the easiest route up the mountain, but it was a steep 7 mile, 3000 foot climb. It was rocky, icy at points and we were in a race with the sun. On top of that, the thinning air really took a toll on me. Breathing was more laboured, I suffered from bouts of dizziness and nausea and because of these things, I almost stumbled right off the edge of the mountain a few times. But I sucked it up, stayed determined and fought on. It was around 4:15 that I began to see light peaking over some peaks, and I still wasn't at the summit. So I put myself in high gear, pushed as hard as I've ever pushed myself and got to the summit as the clouds were just begining to turn orange. I had made it, I was the first one at the top (besides Itchy and Scratchy who were ballsy enough to spend the night up there and all that was left to do was sit and wait for the sun to really make an appearance.
I really have to say that this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I sat on the edge of the mountain 14,500ft above sea level, the highest point in the lower 48 states. I just sat and watched as the sun rose over the horizon, filling all the valleys and nooks, revealing an expanse of mountains all around me that I hadn't seen on the dark climb up. It was absolutely breathtaking. We all sat and relished in the view for a while but there was more hiking to do, so down I went. After a long labourour walk, and a lot a chats with day walkers and JMTers going up, I took a much deserved nap and continued on.
With Whitney behind me it was time to climb Forester pass, the highest point on the actual PCT and make my way through King's Canyon. What an amazing place it is. I have never seen water more beautiful in my life. It's an amazing shade of green and crystal clear. Seriously guys, words and pictures don't even do justice to the landscape I've had the priviledge to walk through. If you ever have the opportunity to hike the Sierras you have to all promise me you will take it. It will change your life. I could ramble on all day about it, but I need to find a hitch back up the mountains and get to the trail again. In a few days I will be in Mammoth Lakes where I will redevous with the guys and be joined by my girlfriend Kim. I'm sure there will be plenty to talk about then. So stay tuned.
Happy Trails,
Mike
Ps. I don't have many Whitney pictures because in the low light my Iphone pictures didn't really turn out. But once Kim joins me we will actually be able to take some decent pictures.
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| At the summit |
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| Triumphant, waiting for the sun |
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| View from the top |
 |
| Forester Pass |
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| Bullfrog Lake |
Saturday 16 June 2012
Greetings,
Internet access has been shotty to say the least, so this post is a little bit overdue I think. Since Schmitty posted with updates until Casa de Luna in Green Valley, and he's too lazy to post today I'll be picking up where he left off.
A few days after the Anderson's we arrived in Hikertown. None of us really knew what to expect, but we had heard various tidbits about it here and there. It ended up being a pretty sweet spot to relax for a day and a half or so. The place was essentially a replica western town complete with post office, general store, and sheriff's office. There was also a common lounge area with a kitchen in another building and multiple trailers to for hikers to crash in. We had planned to spend one night at Hikertown, but when Damsel and her dog Lucy needed a ride to the Bakersfield airport Tyler, Mike, Wannes and I jumped at the opportunity for an impromptu road trip in the borrowed Hikertown Explorer. We made the trip, and ate at Chilli's in Bakersfield getting Wannes his first taste of their baby back ribs. Needless to say he was impressed. Traffic on the way back and some crazy weather blowing in kept us in Hikertown for a second night.
Fully rested, we were up and away by 6:00 am heading across the Mojave. As luck would have it the weather that had been blowing in the night before had held and we walked a good half day through an overcast and extremely windy desert following the path of the LA Aqueduct for a good portion. The sun came out after that but the wind persisted and we successfully crossed the Mojave in relative comfort as opposed to the expected triple digit temperatures. This section was also absolutely crowded with wind turbines that to our dismay were not turning in spite of the fierce winds.
Five days or so from Hikertown we reached the highway and a hitch into the nearby town of Mojave. Movave isn't much to write home about, but we relaxed a couple nights, bought food, and packed it away for carrying and to be mail ahead to Kennedy Meadows.
After leaving Mojave we walked our longest stretch between stops yet. A solid seven days, and the final seven of the desert section of the PCT, thankfully. A few days into this stretch we came across a few guys exploring the mountain and from what I gathered trying to talk with other people on some old sort of radios. Regardless, they were very interested in what we were all about and six of us all scored a cold beer, Fritos, and some cookies. A good day.
A couple days after that we had the good fortune of stumbling on some more trail magic. At Walker Pass mile 651, a PCT veteran and trail angel named Jackalope and her son Bear-bait were at the campground serving up three meals a day, water, sodas, cold beers, and some handy PCT advice. Again our intentions were to eat and run, but every time we were about to get motivated and leave there seemed to be another meal just cooked, or a cooler of cold beer just arrived. We spent a full 24 hrs there, and headed out towards Kennedy Meadows very full, and very satisfied.
We are current in Kennedy Meadows mile 702. It's a tiny town with a general store and one more trail angel. Tom has a sweet set up here and its one of his computers that I'm posting from. A total of 11 trailers are on the place, with tons of lounging areas, flat spots for tent pitching, and even a movie theatre with couches and seats terraced all around. We'll likely spend another night here and head off into the High Sierras tomorrow morning. I can confidently say that each and every member of our party has had their fill of the desert. I personally cannot even convey with words hows happy I am to be heading into the mountains, and out of the heat.
There are some staggering climbs, beautiful vistas, and we're hopeful for some sweet wildlife viewing in our future. Schmitty's going to post some pictures later today of some of the stuff we've seen thus far and stay tuned for the mountain scenery shots. I've still been unsuccessful in uploading any of my 300 some pictures. Should be interesting to finally see them whenever I get the chance.
I'll leave it at that for now,
Take care all
Internet access has been shotty to say the least, so this post is a little bit overdue I think. Since Schmitty posted with updates until Casa de Luna in Green Valley, and he's too lazy to post today I'll be picking up where he left off.
A few days after the Anderson's we arrived in Hikertown. None of us really knew what to expect, but we had heard various tidbits about it here and there. It ended up being a pretty sweet spot to relax for a day and a half or so. The place was essentially a replica western town complete with post office, general store, and sheriff's office. There was also a common lounge area with a kitchen in another building and multiple trailers to for hikers to crash in. We had planned to spend one night at Hikertown, but when Damsel and her dog Lucy needed a ride to the Bakersfield airport Tyler, Mike, Wannes and I jumped at the opportunity for an impromptu road trip in the borrowed Hikertown Explorer. We made the trip, and ate at Chilli's in Bakersfield getting Wannes his first taste of their baby back ribs. Needless to say he was impressed. Traffic on the way back and some crazy weather blowing in kept us in Hikertown for a second night.
 |
| Hikertown |
 |
| The Mojave |
After leaving Mojave we walked our longest stretch between stops yet. A solid seven days, and the final seven of the desert section of the PCT, thankfully. A few days into this stretch we came across a few guys exploring the mountain and from what I gathered trying to talk with other people on some old sort of radios. Regardless, they were very interested in what we were all about and six of us all scored a cold beer, Fritos, and some cookies. A good day.
A couple days after that we had the good fortune of stumbling on some more trail magic. At Walker Pass mile 651, a PCT veteran and trail angel named Jackalope and her son Bear-bait were at the campground serving up three meals a day, water, sodas, cold beers, and some handy PCT advice. Again our intentions were to eat and run, but every time we were about to get motivated and leave there seemed to be another meal just cooked, or a cooler of cold beer just arrived. We spent a full 24 hrs there, and headed out towards Kennedy Meadows very full, and very satisfied.
We are current in Kennedy Meadows mile 702. It's a tiny town with a general store and one more trail angel. Tom has a sweet set up here and its one of his computers that I'm posting from. A total of 11 trailers are on the place, with tons of lounging areas, flat spots for tent pitching, and even a movie theatre with couches and seats terraced all around. We'll likely spend another night here and head off into the High Sierras tomorrow morning. I can confidently say that each and every member of our party has had their fill of the desert. I personally cannot even convey with words hows happy I am to be heading into the mountains, and out of the heat.
There are some staggering climbs, beautiful vistas, and we're hopeful for some sweet wildlife viewing in our future. Schmitty's going to post some pictures later today of some of the stuff we've seen thus far and stay tuned for the mountain scenery shots. I've still been unsuccessful in uploading any of my 300 some pictures. Should be interesting to finally see them whenever I get the chance.
I'll leave it at that for now,
Take care all
Monday 4 June 2012
Day 39- Mile 478: Casa de Luna
This is an interesting stretch of the trail. Over a span of less than 75 miles, there are 3 substantial trail angel houses. First we had the Saufley's, Hiker Heaven. Hiker Heaven was orderly and well organized. Showers, laundry service and rides to town were all on a tight schedule, the bunk tents were kept spic and span. They even had a post office running out of their garage. Hiker Heaven ran like a well oiled machine. Then just 24 miles up the trail we meet Terri and Joe Anderson, the proprietors of Casa de Luna, yet another spot to not hike, and easily one of the most unforgettable spots on the whole trail.
We left Hiker Heaven around 8:30pm, it was a 24 mile stretch in a notoriously hot section, so we decide to beat the heat and do the whole hike at night. Jesse, Waffles and Gator called it a night around 4am but Tyler and I pressed on. With nothing but a power nap at 630am, we made it to the road early that morning where we happened to meet Terri and a van full of hikers she was dropping back off at the trail. She greeted us with big hugs and drove us to her home. This place was nothing like the Saufleys'. We pulled up to a house where chairs couches and tables littered the front lawn and driveway. There was a big 'Casa de Luna Class of 2012' banner hanging on the garage that everyone signed and about 25 people lounging around. The van doors opened to a slow clap that erupted into roars of cheers and applause as soon as we got out of the car... It turns out that's how everyone is greeted at Casa de Luna, but it still makes a guy feel good. So I got out, set up my sleeping bag in a nice spot in the magic manzanita forest in the back and then joined the crowd again for pancakes and beer. Let me remind you, this was at about 9 in the morning and everyone had a beer in their hand, or in the case of Hollywood, 3... I knew I was going to like it here, an boy did it ever deliver. It was great to catch up with everyone again and the atmosphere was awesome. We got pancakes in the morning, taco salad in the evening and the beer never stopped flowing.. except for when it was replaced by Sunny D and rum.
This next part sounds a little unbelievable, I understand that, but you'll just have to trust me. Never in my life have I been witness to a small man in a bikini top, 2 girls in bathing suits and an older, very very drunk woman with a red mohawk and a tutu (Terri) wrestle in a kiddy pool filled with chocolate syrup. I lived in a university town for 6 years and never saw such a spectacle until I decided to live in the woods for 5 months. Go figure. Apparently the chocolate wrestling happens only once a year at the Andersons'. Its hard to say what made that night the special night. It may have been the music in the air, the gravitational pull from Venus, or the 4 giant jars of tequila we drank. But regardless of its cause, we had a pretty unreal 2 days there.
Joe and Terri are awesome people, they genuinely care about each and every person that comes through and the PCT experience wouldn't be the same if we hadn't met them. There is a reason they call their house a vortex, it's hard to pry yourself away. But it's what we had to do. It's onto new peaks, new valleys and new places to not hike. The 500mile mark, Hikertown and the Mojave lie north, and that's what we're after.
Happy trails,
Mike
Ps. It seems like I'll always be posting from my phone. I don't think it's possible to format or label pictures I post from here, so I'll just have to post them as they are. Hopefully it's not to hard to figure out what they are, or too bothersome to see so large. But the people demand pictures. So pictures they shall receive!
Pictures from top to bottom:
-A chilly lizard, lounging out
-Some mountains or something
-These cool butterflies were everywhere
- A cool night time snake
-Hiker trash at Casa de Luna!
We left Hiker Heaven around 8:30pm, it was a 24 mile stretch in a notoriously hot section, so we decide to beat the heat and do the whole hike at night. Jesse, Waffles and Gator called it a night around 4am but Tyler and I pressed on. With nothing but a power nap at 630am, we made it to the road early that morning where we happened to meet Terri and a van full of hikers she was dropping back off at the trail. She greeted us with big hugs and drove us to her home. This place was nothing like the Saufleys'. We pulled up to a house where chairs couches and tables littered the front lawn and driveway. There was a big 'Casa de Luna Class of 2012' banner hanging on the garage that everyone signed and about 25 people lounging around. The van doors opened to a slow clap that erupted into roars of cheers and applause as soon as we got out of the car... It turns out that's how everyone is greeted at Casa de Luna, but it still makes a guy feel good. So I got out, set up my sleeping bag in a nice spot in the magic manzanita forest in the back and then joined the crowd again for pancakes and beer. Let me remind you, this was at about 9 in the morning and everyone had a beer in their hand, or in the case of Hollywood, 3... I knew I was going to like it here, an boy did it ever deliver. It was great to catch up with everyone again and the atmosphere was awesome. We got pancakes in the morning, taco salad in the evening and the beer never stopped flowing.. except for when it was replaced by Sunny D and rum.
This next part sounds a little unbelievable, I understand that, but you'll just have to trust me. Never in my life have I been witness to a small man in a bikini top, 2 girls in bathing suits and an older, very very drunk woman with a red mohawk and a tutu (Terri) wrestle in a kiddy pool filled with chocolate syrup. I lived in a university town for 6 years and never saw such a spectacle until I decided to live in the woods for 5 months. Go figure. Apparently the chocolate wrestling happens only once a year at the Andersons'. Its hard to say what made that night the special night. It may have been the music in the air, the gravitational pull from Venus, or the 4 giant jars of tequila we drank. But regardless of its cause, we had a pretty unreal 2 days there.
Joe and Terri are awesome people, they genuinely care about each and every person that comes through and the PCT experience wouldn't be the same if we hadn't met them. There is a reason they call their house a vortex, it's hard to pry yourself away. But it's what we had to do. It's onto new peaks, new valleys and new places to not hike. The 500mile mark, Hikertown and the Mojave lie north, and that's what we're after.
Happy trails,
Mike
Ps. It seems like I'll always be posting from my phone. I don't think it's possible to format or label pictures I post from here, so I'll just have to post them as they are. Hopefully it's not to hard to figure out what they are, or too bothersome to see so large. But the people demand pictures. So pictures they shall receive!
Pictures from top to bottom:
-A chilly lizard, lounging out
-Some mountains or something
-These cool butterflies were everywhere
- A cool night time snake
-Hiker trash at Casa de Luna!
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Day 32: Mile 454- Hiker Heaven
Hello again everyone,
We are here in Aqua Dulce CA., writing to you from Hiker Heaven. You're probably all sick of hearing me blabber on about trail magic, but this place is sweet. It's home to the Saufly's a great couple who completely decked out their property for us. We're talking 10 big heavy duty tents with 4 cots in each, 2 campers, one with a kitchen and shower, they do our laundry, have about 20 loaner bikes to take into town and basically everything a hiker would want or need. So naturally we've spent much of yesterday and all of today hanging out here, catching up with the people we haven't seen for a while, restocking on supplies, getting some much needed R and R, and in our typical fashion... getting drunk.
But now let me try and recall all the events leading up to this point. We left Wrightwood and set out to conquer Mt. Baden Powell. The bad weather rolling in kept many hikers in town for another night, but being the bad ass mountain men we are, we pushed on. It was a pretty awesome climb though. There was a heavy fog and high winds from the minute we hit the trail head, but once we got to the top we were being blasted with 60 mph gusts of winds, trying to knock us off the path and bouncing chunks of ice off our faces. We missed out on what could have been a great view, but it was a much mroe thrilling experience climbing it when we did. We got down the other side, set up camp and tried to warm up around the fire before settling in for a cold icy night. The next day was a little better, the fog and wind settled down a bit and we set off again. This day wasn't too out of the ordinary, although I did accidentally send half my trekking pole down a hill trying to play pinecone baseball, and I had a bit of an accident with my alcohol stove and fuel bottle that ended up shooting a stream of flaming alcohol 10 feet and set the grass on fire. But I found my pole and we got the fire taken care of quickly. No harm no foul. We also met a cool couple in a camp ground we walked through, JR and Rose, who made us delicious PB&J's and promised next year thru-hikers some pasta dinner trail magic. Cool people.
Now it's time for some rest at the Saufly's before heading out to Casa de Luna, home of the Anderson's, and yet another place to not hike.
We are here in Aqua Dulce CA., writing to you from Hiker Heaven. You're probably all sick of hearing me blabber on about trail magic, but this place is sweet. It's home to the Saufly's a great couple who completely decked out their property for us. We're talking 10 big heavy duty tents with 4 cots in each, 2 campers, one with a kitchen and shower, they do our laundry, have about 20 loaner bikes to take into town and basically everything a hiker would want or need. So naturally we've spent much of yesterday and all of today hanging out here, catching up with the people we haven't seen for a while, restocking on supplies, getting some much needed R and R, and in our typical fashion... getting drunk.
But now let me try and recall all the events leading up to this point. We left Wrightwood and set out to conquer Mt. Baden Powell. The bad weather rolling in kept many hikers in town for another night, but being the bad ass mountain men we are, we pushed on. It was a pretty awesome climb though. There was a heavy fog and high winds from the minute we hit the trail head, but once we got to the top we were being blasted with 60 mph gusts of winds, trying to knock us off the path and bouncing chunks of ice off our faces. We missed out on what could have been a great view, but it was a much mroe thrilling experience climbing it when we did. We got down the other side, set up camp and tried to warm up around the fire before settling in for a cold icy night. The next day was a little better, the fog and wind settled down a bit and we set off again. This day wasn't too out of the ordinary, although I did accidentally send half my trekking pole down a hill trying to play pinecone baseball, and I had a bit of an accident with my alcohol stove and fuel bottle that ended up shooting a stream of flaming alcohol 10 feet and set the grass on fire. But I found my pole and we got the fire taken care of quickly. No harm no foul. We also met a cool couple in a camp ground we walked through, JR and Rose, who made us delicious PB&J's and promised next year thru-hikers some pasta dinner trail magic. Cool people.
Now it's time for some rest at the Saufly's before heading out to Casa de Luna, home of the Anderson's, and yet another place to not hike.
Thursday 24 May 2012
Greetings from Wrightwood, CA.
Mile 369 and goin strong. After a day relaxing at the McDonalds at Cajon Pass and enjoying a couple too many iced coffees we hiked a short 5 miles and made camp right on the San Andreas fault. Yesterday morning we rose early and started a 6000 ft climb up into the mountains on our way to Wrightwood. Although at the time it seemed as though we'd be climbing forever we made some pretty stellar time and covered the 21 miles from our camp to town by 4 o clock in the afternoon. Everyone seems to be getting their hikers legs under them and our pace is picking up without being too detrimental to our bodies.
After hiking down the steep Acorn Trail into town we set about getting some candy, and cold drinks. The hardware store had a list of Trail Angels who offer beds, laundry, internet, rides etc. etc. Just as we were about to start making some calls to try and find a home for the night a gentleman pulled up to us in front of the grocery store, introduced himself as Jeff and offered us a roof for the night. We promptly accepted and hopped in the car for a short mile ride down the highway to his place. Jeff showed us to our quarters, a cosy little room above his garage, gave a tour of his house and told us to help ourselves to whatever. We chatted a bit and shortly afterwards he took off for his sons graduation ceremony telling us as he left that the old white pickup in the driveway has the keys in it and feel free to take it into town should we need to. I probably sound like a broken record but once again we were all blown away by his tremendous kindness.
Last night we met up with a bunch of other hikers at the Yodeler for some beer and eats. A good dozen of us occupied the patio for a good majority of the evening. Needless to say those of them that have seen us today cruising around in our sweet old Toyota are thoroughly jealous.
We plan to spend a good portion of the day enjoying all Wrightwood has to offer, and by that I mean the library and the grocery store. Tonight around 6 we'll be meeting up with Bobby once again, and he'll be hiking a four-day section with us all the way to Aqua Dulce.
I apologize to all of you who'd like to see more pictures, I have yet to find a computer that'll let me connect my camera and do some uploading. Someday hopefully.
I'm sure there are plenty of details about the past weeks that I've left out and I'll leave it to Schmitty to pick up my slack in his post.
So long,
Jesse
Mile 369 and goin strong. After a day relaxing at the McDonalds at Cajon Pass and enjoying a couple too many iced coffees we hiked a short 5 miles and made camp right on the San Andreas fault. Yesterday morning we rose early and started a 6000 ft climb up into the mountains on our way to Wrightwood. Although at the time it seemed as though we'd be climbing forever we made some pretty stellar time and covered the 21 miles from our camp to town by 4 o clock in the afternoon. Everyone seems to be getting their hikers legs under them and our pace is picking up without being too detrimental to our bodies.
After hiking down the steep Acorn Trail into town we set about getting some candy, and cold drinks. The hardware store had a list of Trail Angels who offer beds, laundry, internet, rides etc. etc. Just as we were about to start making some calls to try and find a home for the night a gentleman pulled up to us in front of the grocery store, introduced himself as Jeff and offered us a roof for the night. We promptly accepted and hopped in the car for a short mile ride down the highway to his place. Jeff showed us to our quarters, a cosy little room above his garage, gave a tour of his house and told us to help ourselves to whatever. We chatted a bit and shortly afterwards he took off for his sons graduation ceremony telling us as he left that the old white pickup in the driveway has the keys in it and feel free to take it into town should we need to. I probably sound like a broken record but once again we were all blown away by his tremendous kindness.
Last night we met up with a bunch of other hikers at the Yodeler for some beer and eats. A good dozen of us occupied the patio for a good majority of the evening. Needless to say those of them that have seen us today cruising around in our sweet old Toyota are thoroughly jealous.
We plan to spend a good portion of the day enjoying all Wrightwood has to offer, and by that I mean the library and the grocery store. Tonight around 6 we'll be meeting up with Bobby once again, and he'll be hiking a four-day section with us all the way to Aqua Dulce.
I apologize to all of you who'd like to see more pictures, I have yet to find a computer that'll let me connect my camera and do some uploading. Someday hopefully.
I'm sure there are plenty of details about the past weeks that I've left out and I'll leave it to Schmitty to pick up my slack in his post.
So long,
Jesse
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Rough times, fighting through
Hey hey,
Writing this post on the unfamiliar iPhone keypad so I'll keep it short and sweet. Climbing down off of San Jacinto and then back up into the San Bernadinos all within two days really played hell on an old knee injury from work. that compounded with drinking some questionable, not so potable water, upset the old stomach and I had a rough few days. A much needed zero day in Big Bear Lake got me back on my feet.
Currently sitting at McDonald's at Cajon Pass, roughly mile 342. We hiked a couple days along beautiful Deep Creek, and from up on the ridge gazing down into the crystal clear waters it wasn't hard to pick out the shadows of tons of rainbow trout and get me longing for the feel of my fly rod in my hands.
Wrightwood is a day away and hopefully I'll be able to write a more substantial post at that point.
I'll sign off with a shout out and a huge thank you to Megan Osbourne for purchasing and sending me a new set of trekking poles. Couldn't have kept going without them.
Until next time,
Jesse
Writing this post on the unfamiliar iPhone keypad so I'll keep it short and sweet. Climbing down off of San Jacinto and then back up into the San Bernadinos all within two days really played hell on an old knee injury from work. that compounded with drinking some questionable, not so potable water, upset the old stomach and I had a rough few days. A much needed zero day in Big Bear Lake got me back on my feet.
Currently sitting at McDonald's at Cajon Pass, roughly mile 342. We hiked a couple days along beautiful Deep Creek, and from up on the ridge gazing down into the crystal clear waters it wasn't hard to pick out the shadows of tons of rainbow trout and get me longing for the feel of my fly rod in my hands.
Wrightwood is a day away and hopefully I'll be able to write a more substantial post at that point.
I'll sign off with a shout out and a huge thank you to Megan Osbourne for purchasing and sending me a new set of trekking poles. Couldn't have kept going without them.
Until next time,
Jesse
Day 22: Mile 298- Cheesecake Friday
Today was a special day, which, in my eyes definitely warrants a special post that will be posted at a later date. Today my friends, was the inauguration of Cheesecake Friday, the day which will no doubt be the highlight of the week.
After leaving Ziggy and the Bear's, things have been awesome, don't get me wrong, but they've been fairly ordinary compared to what we've been dealing with lately. Theres been a lot of climbing mountains, going back down, wandering through thick forests and then back down to the heat of the desert. Today was cool though, we spent all day walking through a forest that had burnt down a few years ago. It's pretty neat looking across from one ridge to the next, seeing tall black trees with no foliage. All that was living was the undergrowth and the saplings and shrubs that were taking advantage of the available sun. It also made me very conscious of the fact that these forests are like tinderboxes and only I can prevent forest fires.
Anyways, we found a nice flatish spot to camp down by a stream and while Jesse, Waffles, Gator, Kaboos and I sat around our fire, Tyler was busy working away in the darkness, diligent at his craft, putting together the surprise he had been talking about for a week. I had never imagined getting trail cheesecake, let alone such amazing trail cheesecake. He made it from completely dry ingredients, powdered mix, powdered milk, he let it chill in the cold stream until it was perfect and oh was it ever perfect. You have to understand something, we dont eat well out here. It's a good day when you mix mashed potato flakes with your ramen noodles for dinner. So this was beyond imagination. I'm still not sure exactly how he did it, but I'm happy that he did. Now it's just 7 days until next cheesecake Friday. I'm pumped.
Happy Trails,
Mike
Ps Still don't think I can format pictures well from my phone, but here is a picture of Big Bear Lake, with Mt San Gorgonio in the background, and then one of the charred forest.
After leaving Ziggy and the Bear's, things have been awesome, don't get me wrong, but they've been fairly ordinary compared to what we've been dealing with lately. Theres been a lot of climbing mountains, going back down, wandering through thick forests and then back down to the heat of the desert. Today was cool though, we spent all day walking through a forest that had burnt down a few years ago. It's pretty neat looking across from one ridge to the next, seeing tall black trees with no foliage. All that was living was the undergrowth and the saplings and shrubs that were taking advantage of the available sun. It also made me very conscious of the fact that these forests are like tinderboxes and only I can prevent forest fires.
Anyways, we found a nice flatish spot to camp down by a stream and while Jesse, Waffles, Gator, Kaboos and I sat around our fire, Tyler was busy working away in the darkness, diligent at his craft, putting together the surprise he had been talking about for a week. I had never imagined getting trail cheesecake, let alone such amazing trail cheesecake. He made it from completely dry ingredients, powdered mix, powdered milk, he let it chill in the cold stream until it was perfect and oh was it ever perfect. You have to understand something, we dont eat well out here. It's a good day when you mix mashed potato flakes with your ramen noodles for dinner. So this was beyond imagination. I'm still not sure exactly how he did it, but I'm happy that he did. Now it's just 7 days until next cheesecake Friday. I'm pumped.
Happy Trails,
Mike
Ps Still don't think I can format pictures well from my phone, but here is a picture of Big Bear Lake, with Mt San Gorgonio in the background, and then one of the charred forest.
Sunday 13 May 2012
Day 17: Mile 210- Ziggy and the Bear
Yesterday we were on top of the world, prancing around atop the San Jacinto Mountains, traversing areas of snow, gazing through a canopy of towering pines and enjoying the cool satisfaction of the abundant mountain springs... That was just yesterday, a simpler time, a better time. Now we're back in the desert, and it's super hot.
We left Idyllwild and climbed back up the Devil's Slide Trail to get back into the mountains. It was a slow day after our first full zero day. We had planed on going only a meager 13 miles, but that was cut short once we again heard from our friend Bobby, who said he was in the area... and that he was hiking in beer. So we made it about 6 miles before setting up camp and having a few beers around a nice fire.
The next day we headed down. We had heard a lot of horror stories of Fuller Ridge, the first stage of our descent, where in high snow years people have gotten lost or even died. Lucky for us, its been a pretty tame year snow wise and we got down without a hitch. After that came a tedious 15 mile trek down 6000 feet to the base of the mountain and boy did the weather change quick. It wasn't long before the desert species started to appear again and the heat started kicking in. I'll say again, downhill is worse than uphill, especially when you're without water and the sun is baking you. But after a few run ins with a couple rattle snakes and being attacked by the swarm of bees who apparently ambushed many hikers like me, I finally made it to the water fountain waiting at the bottom. It nearly brought a tear to my eye. We spent the night there. It was a warm night and after the hard day we had I slept like a baby.
This morning we set out early with the plan to walk 5 miles to the home of trail angels Ziggy and the Bear, where Jesse would pick up a package he had waiting and then we'd continue on. We are at Ziggy and the Bear's now, we got here a little before 10am and its now after 3pm and there is no sign of movement. That's because holy shit is it ever hot. The idea of walking through the desert in 40 degree heat isn't so appealing when you're sitting in a comfy chair under a shade tent getting a complimentary foot bath enjoying cold drinks and abundant snacks. Plus we aren't alone, there are about 25 of us who've been bumming around all day. We are going to try and drag ourselves away once it gets cooler, if that ever happens. But until then we are going to keep enjoying the company of our fellow hikers, the shade of our tent and the generosity of Ziggy and the Bear. Now I'll actually talk to you in Big Bear.
Happy Trails,
Mike
We left Idyllwild and climbed back up the Devil's Slide Trail to get back into the mountains. It was a slow day after our first full zero day. We had planed on going only a meager 13 miles, but that was cut short once we again heard from our friend Bobby, who said he was in the area... and that he was hiking in beer. So we made it about 6 miles before setting up camp and having a few beers around a nice fire.
The next day we headed down. We had heard a lot of horror stories of Fuller Ridge, the first stage of our descent, where in high snow years people have gotten lost or even died. Lucky for us, its been a pretty tame year snow wise and we got down without a hitch. After that came a tedious 15 mile trek down 6000 feet to the base of the mountain and boy did the weather change quick. It wasn't long before the desert species started to appear again and the heat started kicking in. I'll say again, downhill is worse than uphill, especially when you're without water and the sun is baking you. But after a few run ins with a couple rattle snakes and being attacked by the swarm of bees who apparently ambushed many hikers like me, I finally made it to the water fountain waiting at the bottom. It nearly brought a tear to my eye. We spent the night there. It was a warm night and after the hard day we had I slept like a baby.
This morning we set out early with the plan to walk 5 miles to the home of trail angels Ziggy and the Bear, where Jesse would pick up a package he had waiting and then we'd continue on. We are at Ziggy and the Bear's now, we got here a little before 10am and its now after 3pm and there is no sign of movement. That's because holy shit is it ever hot. The idea of walking through the desert in 40 degree heat isn't so appealing when you're sitting in a comfy chair under a shade tent getting a complimentary foot bath enjoying cold drinks and abundant snacks. Plus we aren't alone, there are about 25 of us who've been bumming around all day. We are going to try and drag ourselves away once it gets cooler, if that ever happens. But until then we are going to keep enjoying the company of our fellow hikers, the shade of our tent and the generosity of Ziggy and the Bear. Now I'll actually talk to you in Big Bear.
Happy Trails,
Mike
Friday 11 May 2012
Day 15: Mile 178- A Well Deserved Break
Walking takes longer than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short to waste on speed.
-Edward Abbey
We're back, hope you didn't miss us too much.
I first just wanted to thank you all. It seems like a lot of people are getting behind us here. It seems like every time I talk to family or friends from home, they tell me about someone else they know who are reading the blog and getting excited about what we're doing. We've been getting a lot of positive feedback and it's nice to know that we have so many people backing us. So thank you all! Keep checking back and we'll try to always have something for you to read about. You guys are sweet.
Let's catch back up where we left off, which I believe was Warner Springs. Warner springs was a nice little stop off. The make shift hiker/ refugee camp that was set up for us was a great place to take a load off, reevaluate gear and catch up with friends who we fell behind on the trail. We had planned on leaving the next day and making some decent miles, but as we were about to leave we got a call from Bobby, a local section hiker we met at the kick off, who said we was on his way to Warner Springs. It was Cinco de Mayo, and the night of supermoon, the brightest moon of the year. Even if you don't celebrate Cinco de Mayo, you don't not celebrate supermoon. So our plans of making progress on the trail turned to driving back into town for Mexican food and beer and stocking up for the night to come. We ended up only 5 miles or so up on the trail, in a nice sandy clearing in the woods, where our roaring fire and our make-shift stream beer cooler caught the attention of fellow hikers and before we knew it we had a crew of about 12, bathing in the radiant glow of supermoon... And endless shots of whiskey and tequila. I definitely didn't think we'd be partying on the trail like we partied at home, but supermoon is capable of great things.
The next day, after a slow start, we parted ways with Bobby and made for the San Jacinto mountains. We hiked up ridges and back down, going through phases of chaparral shrubland and oak and pine forests, which is really one of the coolest parts of this section. Every time we change elevation the environment around us changes, seeing the different communities of plants and animals is really neat. It definitely keeps things interesting.
This wouldn't be a PCT story without trail magic, and about 18 miles past Warner Springs a gracious Trail Angel opened his house to us and put out a great spread of food and enough beers to get everyone on the trail feeling loose. Then we hiked up. Up and up and up. The beginning of the San Jacinto mountains are some of the steepest parts of the PCT and at times it really took a toll on us. I definitely cursed the trail a few times when we were hiking uphill for hours, going up hundreds of feet in elevation, getting dehydrated and tired. But rehydrating wasn't as simple as just stopping to fill up at a stream. There was just a few springs on the mountain and they were all 1/4 to a full mile off the trail and at least 500 feet lower in elevation... A royal pain in the ass. Eventually we made it to the top where all the hardships paid off. It was gorgeous up there. Huge granite peaks and patches of snow amid the giant hardwoods gave us some of the best scenery of the trail so far, a nice preview of what the Sierras have in store for us and a surprisingly breathtaking nighttime view of Palm Springs lit up like a Christmas tree. It was also here where we discovered trundling, the act of rolling large stones down mountainsides... Yes there is actually a word for it, I couldn't believe it either. But being able to throw a rock down the slope and hear it roll for 30 seconds before getting out of earshot was a really. Oil experience and gave us a sense of how high up we were.
Now we are in Idyllwild. A great little mountain town. We've spent the last day and a half relaxing in a nice little cabin we rented, watching movies, eating pizza and enjoying chairs again... Never underestimate a comfortable back rest. You'll miss it when it's gone.
Well I think that pretty much sums up our last few days. I know it's a little long-winded, but we won't have Internet again for another 6 days or so, so you'll have plenty of time to read it before our next post.
See you in Big Bear,
Happy Trails,
Mike
... Here are a few pictures from this last section. Im writing this from my phone and can't figure out how to format them or add captions. I'll learn. But at least this is better than nothing!
-Edward Abbey
We're back, hope you didn't miss us too much.
I first just wanted to thank you all. It seems like a lot of people are getting behind us here. It seems like every time I talk to family or friends from home, they tell me about someone else they know who are reading the blog and getting excited about what we're doing. We've been getting a lot of positive feedback and it's nice to know that we have so many people backing us. So thank you all! Keep checking back and we'll try to always have something for you to read about. You guys are sweet.
Let's catch back up where we left off, which I believe was Warner Springs. Warner springs was a nice little stop off. The make shift hiker/ refugee camp that was set up for us was a great place to take a load off, reevaluate gear and catch up with friends who we fell behind on the trail. We had planned on leaving the next day and making some decent miles, but as we were about to leave we got a call from Bobby, a local section hiker we met at the kick off, who said we was on his way to Warner Springs. It was Cinco de Mayo, and the night of supermoon, the brightest moon of the year. Even if you don't celebrate Cinco de Mayo, you don't not celebrate supermoon. So our plans of making progress on the trail turned to driving back into town for Mexican food and beer and stocking up for the night to come. We ended up only 5 miles or so up on the trail, in a nice sandy clearing in the woods, where our roaring fire and our make-shift stream beer cooler caught the attention of fellow hikers and before we knew it we had a crew of about 12, bathing in the radiant glow of supermoon... And endless shots of whiskey and tequila. I definitely didn't think we'd be partying on the trail like we partied at home, but supermoon is capable of great things.
The next day, after a slow start, we parted ways with Bobby and made for the San Jacinto mountains. We hiked up ridges and back down, going through phases of chaparral shrubland and oak and pine forests, which is really one of the coolest parts of this section. Every time we change elevation the environment around us changes, seeing the different communities of plants and animals is really neat. It definitely keeps things interesting.
This wouldn't be a PCT story without trail magic, and about 18 miles past Warner Springs a gracious Trail Angel opened his house to us and put out a great spread of food and enough beers to get everyone on the trail feeling loose. Then we hiked up. Up and up and up. The beginning of the San Jacinto mountains are some of the steepest parts of the PCT and at times it really took a toll on us. I definitely cursed the trail a few times when we were hiking uphill for hours, going up hundreds of feet in elevation, getting dehydrated and tired. But rehydrating wasn't as simple as just stopping to fill up at a stream. There was just a few springs on the mountain and they were all 1/4 to a full mile off the trail and at least 500 feet lower in elevation... A royal pain in the ass. Eventually we made it to the top where all the hardships paid off. It was gorgeous up there. Huge granite peaks and patches of snow amid the giant hardwoods gave us some of the best scenery of the trail so far, a nice preview of what the Sierras have in store for us and a surprisingly breathtaking nighttime view of Palm Springs lit up like a Christmas tree. It was also here where we discovered trundling, the act of rolling large stones down mountainsides... Yes there is actually a word for it, I couldn't believe it either. But being able to throw a rock down the slope and hear it roll for 30 seconds before getting out of earshot was a really. Oil experience and gave us a sense of how high up we were.
Now we are in Idyllwild. A great little mountain town. We've spent the last day and a half relaxing in a nice little cabin we rented, watching movies, eating pizza and enjoying chairs again... Never underestimate a comfortable back rest. You'll miss it when it's gone.
Well I think that pretty much sums up our last few days. I know it's a little long-winded, but we won't have Internet again for another 6 days or so, so you'll have plenty of time to read it before our next post.
See you in Big Bear,
Happy Trails,
Mike
... Here are a few pictures from this last section. Im writing this from my phone and can't figure out how to format them or add captions. I'll learn. But at least this is better than nothing!
Friday 4 May 2012
Day 8: Mile 109- "I believe of magic"
Trail Angel (noun): A kind hearted individual who goes out of their way to perform trail magic; unprecedented good deeds, usually in the form of items of luxury or necessity, to hikers on the trail.
Well yesterday we passed 2 great milestones, we did our first 20+ mile day, as we hiked 21 miles from Scissors Crossing to Barrow Springs and we also surpased the 100 mile mark.
But more important than that, I think, are the things we are learning on the trail. I had heard before we came out here that hiking the PCT will restore your faith in humanity and already I can see that it's true. I'm talking about trail magic, people. It's real. Believe it.
I know Jesse touched on this in his post, but I really wanted to get this point across. Despite what you may think, there are great people out there. People who see others with seemingly unatainable goals, walking from Mexico to Canada and instead of calling them crazy, they do whatever they can to help them accomplish it. The last few days have been full of magic. We had to do nothing more than walk to the side of the road before a nice lady pulled over and drove us into town where we were welcomed with open arms by the locals and given free lunch followed by LITERALLY the best apple pie I've ever had. Then, after an unnecessary 5 dollar discount on the price of my new monocular (after leaving my binoculars under a tree about 30 miles earlier), we were again picked up at the side of the road without even having time to put out our thumb.
Once we got back to the trail we hiked another few miles of a 28 mile "waterless stretch" to find 50 gallons of fresh water waiting in a cache for us. Water unnamed heroes had hiked all the way in there and left for us, not even expecting a thank you. You would think that would have to be the end of the magic right? Think again, as we pushed on to Barrow Springs we began seeing signs on the trees, motivating us to go on with the promise of cold beer and oh did they deliver. We got there to find RVs set up around a roaring fire, hotdogs, chilli and ice cold beers basically being forced on us. It nearly brought a tear to my eye. This morning, once we woke up we were welcomed back to the RVs for some fruit, bagels and coffee before we graciously thanked these great souls and hit the trail again.
And now we're in Warner Springs, where the community centre has opened it's doors to us, setting up a resupply shop for us, giving us access to showers, computers, cooking us burgers and allowing us a place to stay the night. I'd say I don't want to leave this place, but I've heard rumors of a Cinco de Mayo party being held for us 18 miles up the path.
So, folks, what I'm getting at here is take a lesson from the great trail angels of the PCT. Be good to the people around you, no matter who they are, because it feels good to be kind and it feels even better at the recieving end. If the real world could be as close knit and caring as the PCT and the trial community, it would be a much more pleasant place to be. Trust me on this.
Happy Trails,
Mike
Also, me and Jesse are going to ocme up with a better system for our posts to avoid redundancy posting things twice. So stay tuned for that.
Well yesterday we passed 2 great milestones, we did our first 20+ mile day, as we hiked 21 miles from Scissors Crossing to Barrow Springs and we also surpased the 100 mile mark.
But more important than that, I think, are the things we are learning on the trail. I had heard before we came out here that hiking the PCT will restore your faith in humanity and already I can see that it's true. I'm talking about trail magic, people. It's real. Believe it.
I know Jesse touched on this in his post, but I really wanted to get this point across. Despite what you may think, there are great people out there. People who see others with seemingly unatainable goals, walking from Mexico to Canada and instead of calling them crazy, they do whatever they can to help them accomplish it. The last few days have been full of magic. We had to do nothing more than walk to the side of the road before a nice lady pulled over and drove us into town where we were welcomed with open arms by the locals and given free lunch followed by LITERALLY the best apple pie I've ever had. Then, after an unnecessary 5 dollar discount on the price of my new monocular (after leaving my binoculars under a tree about 30 miles earlier), we were again picked up at the side of the road without even having time to put out our thumb.
Once we got back to the trail we hiked another few miles of a 28 mile "waterless stretch" to find 50 gallons of fresh water waiting in a cache for us. Water unnamed heroes had hiked all the way in there and left for us, not even expecting a thank you. You would think that would have to be the end of the magic right? Think again, as we pushed on to Barrow Springs we began seeing signs on the trees, motivating us to go on with the promise of cold beer and oh did they deliver. We got there to find RVs set up around a roaring fire, hotdogs, chilli and ice cold beers basically being forced on us. It nearly brought a tear to my eye. This morning, once we woke up we were welcomed back to the RVs for some fruit, bagels and coffee before we graciously thanked these great souls and hit the trail again.
And now we're in Warner Springs, where the community centre has opened it's doors to us, setting up a resupply shop for us, giving us access to showers, computers, cooking us burgers and allowing us a place to stay the night. I'd say I don't want to leave this place, but I've heard rumors of a Cinco de Mayo party being held for us 18 miles up the path.
So, folks, what I'm getting at here is take a lesson from the great trail angels of the PCT. Be good to the people around you, no matter who they are, because it feels good to be kind and it feels even better at the recieving end. If the real world could be as close knit and caring as the PCT and the trial community, it would be a much more pleasant place to be. Trust me on this.
Happy Trails,
Mike
Also, me and Jesse are going to ocme up with a better system for our posts to avoid redundancy posting things twice. So stay tuned for that.
Greetings from Warner Springs, CA
May 4/12
Mike, Tyler, Wannes and I strolled into Warner Springs today around noon. Last night we broke the 100 mile mark and are all pretty stoked about it. Coming into camp last night around 7:30 at Boulder Springs we were in for a pleasant surprise as we had our first experience with "trail magic." A few older couples had set quite the reception for us. Two RV's, and a trailer, with a fire pit, chilli dogs, desserts, cold beer, and chairs! I had nearly forgotten what it felt like to sit in one. This morning they also provided us with an awesome bagel breakfast, with fresh fruit and hot coffee. Again we can't all help but be blown away by the generosity and kindness we've received from complete strangers. Not to mention the loads of information I got from a couple of the old men about the tremendous fishing that I'm going to be in for when we reach Kennedy Meadows, CA and the Sierra Nevadas. I cannot wait.
The day before last we made our first try at hitch-hiking, and am pleased to report we had some great success. We made our way into and out of a little town called Julian, CA and altogether hitch-hiked for less than 30 seconds. This town was something else. I felt like I had walked into the old west. The tiny little town has a main drag that seems as though its been unchanged since the town was founded. Famous for apple pie, we couldn't leave town without trying a slice, and luckily there was one fine establishment owned by a fellow hiker that was offering free lunch, with pie and ice cream. Amazing!
Instead of continuing on and leaving nothing for Mike to write about I'm going to cut myself off here and hopefully I haven't used up all the relevant blogging info. From now on I think we'll take turns posting in an attempt to lessen the overlap and still give you all a complete and concise account of our time.
Mike, Tyler, Wannes and I strolled into Warner Springs today around noon. Last night we broke the 100 mile mark and are all pretty stoked about it. Coming into camp last night around 7:30 at Boulder Springs we were in for a pleasant surprise as we had our first experience with "trail magic." A few older couples had set quite the reception for us. Two RV's, and a trailer, with a fire pit, chilli dogs, desserts, cold beer, and chairs! I had nearly forgotten what it felt like to sit in one. This morning they also provided us with an awesome bagel breakfast, with fresh fruit and hot coffee. Again we can't all help but be blown away by the generosity and kindness we've received from complete strangers. Not to mention the loads of information I got from a couple of the old men about the tremendous fishing that I'm going to be in for when we reach Kennedy Meadows, CA and the Sierra Nevadas. I cannot wait.
The day before last we made our first try at hitch-hiking, and am pleased to report we had some great success. We made our way into and out of a little town called Julian, CA and altogether hitch-hiked for less than 30 seconds. This town was something else. I felt like I had walked into the old west. The tiny little town has a main drag that seems as though its been unchanged since the town was founded. Famous for apple pie, we couldn't leave town without trying a slice, and luckily there was one fine establishment owned by a fellow hiker that was offering free lunch, with pie and ice cream. Amazing!
Instead of continuing on and leaving nothing for Mike to write about I'm going to cut myself off here and hopefully I haven't used up all the relevant blogging info. From now on I think we'll take turns posting in an attempt to lessen the overlap and still give you all a complete and concise account of our time.
Wednesday 2 May 2012
Wed, May 2/12
Hey everybody.
It's only been a week and a day since we left home and this is our first opportunity to use the internet and get an update here for you folks. Already so much has happened I hardly know where to begin. Condensing a week on the PCT into a blog post that wont take you too long to read seems like a daunting task at this point but I'm going to give it a shot anyway.
Let's take it back to San Diego. Turns out a couple other guys in our hostel were PCT hikers as well. Tyler from North Dakota and Wanna from Bruges, Belgium. Naturally Mike and I hooked up with them as soon as we found out that they were in the same boat as us. Our last night at the hostel was also a hostel pub-crawl night, and although the weather was rainy and we only "crawled" to one pub, it was a good night anyway.
The next morning Tyler, Wannes, Mike and I headed out together and caught a trolley across San Diego to a transit station from which we hopped a bus to Campo, CA and the Mexican border. They're pretty serious down here and I can't even count how many border patrol jeeps, cars, ATVs and officers we saw in that first evening alone. From the border we hiked a few hours, and roughly 5 miles into the dessert before camping. The last few hours before setting up camp we hiked in the dark, headlamps lighting the way and we had already learned one effective strategy for making progress while avoiding the daytime heat of the dessert. Leaving our first nights camp on Friday morning we covered a cool 16 miles to Lake Morena and the kickoff party by 2 o clock in the afternoon. While there attended a couple talks on PCT flora and fauna, and watched bunch of documentaries made by previous hikers. Mostly though, we focussed on partying with the other hikers and getting to know them. As we headed North to Lake Morena from the border we crossed paths with a southbound hiker finishing up the 20 miles between Lake Morena and the border that he hadnt walked last year. His name is Bobby and we met up with him again at the kickoff. The kickoff was a good time to iron out any last minute gear kinks, and it's a good thing we took the opportunity to do so. I realized that I was missing a key component to my stove, and Mike realized that he had purchased the wrong fuel for his. We had pretty well come to terms with the fact that we wouldn't be eating any hot meals until our next opportunity to purchase what we needed and right our wrongs. Soon after this realization we said goodbye to Bobby and made plans to meet up in Kennedy Meadows later in the summer to hike the Sierras together. After getting home to San Deigo and showering Bobby was restless and decided to return to the kickoff party, and wouldn't you know it, brought with him an extra stove for Mike and I to share. I know I speak for Mike as well when I say that I was blown away by this unprompted act of kindness. Gratitude was coupled with relief that we wouldn't have to go four days without a hot meal. At our next resupply stop in Mt. Laguna I buy my missing fuel bottle, and Mike his missing fuel, and then we mail Bobby back his stove.
I could go on all day describing everything that's happened to us, but that would get redundant. Not to mention the fact that there's probably a serious amount of overlap between mine and Mike's posts. So I'll leave you with some final perspective on our journey thus far.
The scenery down here, the dessert, the mountains are like nothing I have ever seen before. It seems every corner you come around there is something new and amazing to see. Dessert wildlife abounds, and I've lost count of how many snakes, lizards, horn toads, birds, ground squirrels, and rabbits that we've crossed paths with. I can confidently say that the most memorable was nearly stepping on a rattle snake that was sunbathing in the middle of the trail two days ago. I was leading our little hiking party and literally got within two strides before his well camoflaged body caught my eye, at which point I stopped dead, he gave a little rattle, and slithered his way off the trail. Close one to say the least haha.
What is striking me more at this point than the inexplicable beauty of the landscape through which we walk, is where my mind has gone during the long hours of walking. I've been surprised at how few things my mind continuously goes back to, and it makes me think that those must be the most important. Apart from some choice food items, there aren't many material things about life back home that I find myself missing very much if at all. My family and friends are constantly on my mind. What they're doing, how they're doing etc. etc.
It's one hell of a long way back to Canada, but knowing that every step that I take is one that brings me closer to seeing all the important people in my life again is a notion that keeps me motivated. Love you all, and thanks.
Our next opportunity to access the internet is a mystery at this point, so stay tuned for new posts whenever they may be coming.
Hey everybody.
It's only been a week and a day since we left home and this is our first opportunity to use the internet and get an update here for you folks. Already so much has happened I hardly know where to begin. Condensing a week on the PCT into a blog post that wont take you too long to read seems like a daunting task at this point but I'm going to give it a shot anyway.
Let's take it back to San Diego. Turns out a couple other guys in our hostel were PCT hikers as well. Tyler from North Dakota and Wanna from Bruges, Belgium. Naturally Mike and I hooked up with them as soon as we found out that they were in the same boat as us. Our last night at the hostel was also a hostel pub-crawl night, and although the weather was rainy and we only "crawled" to one pub, it was a good night anyway.
The next morning Tyler, Wannes, Mike and I headed out together and caught a trolley across San Diego to a transit station from which we hopped a bus to Campo, CA and the Mexican border. They're pretty serious down here and I can't even count how many border patrol jeeps, cars, ATVs and officers we saw in that first evening alone. From the border we hiked a few hours, and roughly 5 miles into the dessert before camping. The last few hours before setting up camp we hiked in the dark, headlamps lighting the way and we had already learned one effective strategy for making progress while avoiding the daytime heat of the dessert. Leaving our first nights camp on Friday morning we covered a cool 16 miles to Lake Morena and the kickoff party by 2 o clock in the afternoon. While there attended a couple talks on PCT flora and fauna, and watched bunch of documentaries made by previous hikers. Mostly though, we focussed on partying with the other hikers and getting to know them. As we headed North to Lake Morena from the border we crossed paths with a southbound hiker finishing up the 20 miles between Lake Morena and the border that he hadnt walked last year. His name is Bobby and we met up with him again at the kickoff. The kickoff was a good time to iron out any last minute gear kinks, and it's a good thing we took the opportunity to do so. I realized that I was missing a key component to my stove, and Mike realized that he had purchased the wrong fuel for his. We had pretty well come to terms with the fact that we wouldn't be eating any hot meals until our next opportunity to purchase what we needed and right our wrongs. Soon after this realization we said goodbye to Bobby and made plans to meet up in Kennedy Meadows later in the summer to hike the Sierras together. After getting home to San Deigo and showering Bobby was restless and decided to return to the kickoff party, and wouldn't you know it, brought with him an extra stove for Mike and I to share. I know I speak for Mike as well when I say that I was blown away by this unprompted act of kindness. Gratitude was coupled with relief that we wouldn't have to go four days without a hot meal. At our next resupply stop in Mt. Laguna I buy my missing fuel bottle, and Mike his missing fuel, and then we mail Bobby back his stove.
I could go on all day describing everything that's happened to us, but that would get redundant. Not to mention the fact that there's probably a serious amount of overlap between mine and Mike's posts. So I'll leave you with some final perspective on our journey thus far.
The scenery down here, the dessert, the mountains are like nothing I have ever seen before. It seems every corner you come around there is something new and amazing to see. Dessert wildlife abounds, and I've lost count of how many snakes, lizards, horn toads, birds, ground squirrels, and rabbits that we've crossed paths with. I can confidently say that the most memorable was nearly stepping on a rattle snake that was sunbathing in the middle of the trail two days ago. I was leading our little hiking party and literally got within two strides before his well camoflaged body caught my eye, at which point I stopped dead, he gave a little rattle, and slithered his way off the trail. Close one to say the least haha.
What is striking me more at this point than the inexplicable beauty of the landscape through which we walk, is where my mind has gone during the long hours of walking. I've been surprised at how few things my mind continuously goes back to, and it makes me think that those must be the most important. Apart from some choice food items, there aren't many material things about life back home that I find myself missing very much if at all. My family and friends are constantly on my mind. What they're doing, how they're doing etc. etc.
It's one hell of a long way back to Canada, but knowing that every step that I take is one that brings me closer to seeing all the important people in my life again is a notion that keeps me motivated. Love you all, and thanks.
Our next opportunity to access the internet is a mystery at this point, so stay tuned for new posts whenever they may be coming.
Mile 77
I'm sure you all have been at the edge of your seats, checking back hourly, eagerly waiting another post to let you know how we are. Well the wait is over! We have been without internet for a while. Strangly, the mountains don't have very good WiFi. But we just hitched into a little town called Julian, which luckily had a library we could use. Because we haven't really posted anything about our trip yet, we are going to do something a little different and Jesse and I are both going to just write about our experience so far, so there may be some overlap, but that's just something you'll have to deal with.
I guess I'll start where we left off, at the hostel. We ended up being able to go to the zoo, it turned out to be a beautiful day to spend at a beautiful zoo. It was deffinitely a world class place. They also happened to sell big goofy straw hats, exactly the hiking hat I wanted. So I am now hiking in style.
When we got back to the hostel we met 2 fellow PCT hikers, Wannes and Tyler, both awesome guys who have been hiking with us since and hopefully will be for some time to come... But we will get to the actual hike soon. That night was one for the books. We set off for a pubcrawl put on by the hostel, which ended up being just a bunch of us going to the bar downstairs, but it was still great. We ended up at some local guys house. A guy too strange to even put into words, but after playing with his giant hamster wheel for his cats, watching the spy movie trailers he put together about them and learning about his crippling poor history with women, we had a night we will never be able to fully describe, but will never forget.
The next day we set out for Campo, the beginning of the trail, it looked like a war zone with the high metal fences, barbed wire and army of border gaurds trying to keep Mexico in Mexico and America in America. But we treked on. After a few hours of night hiking and a few hours the next day, we made it to the kick off party that gets thrown for the hikers each year. It was amazing, hundreds of hikers to talk to, things to learn and free food to eat. Plus alcohol is cheap here in America, and with a store just a few minutes away, it made for a good weekend of campground camping.
Since then we've walked another 57 miles or so over the past few days. The sights we've been seeing are amazing, the scenery seems to change every time we climb a pass or around a ridge. The living is simple. It's amazing to go from a life full of gadgets and time wasting to having nothing to do but walk. Nothing to do but make it as far as you can, making sure to take a few hours around lunch to sleep in the sun, or have conversations with the people you meet. But then its back to walking, climbing up mountains then climbing back down (which is much, much worse than climbing up) taking it all in as you go.
Because everyone set off around the kick off at the same time, there is a realatively large pack of people all heading north around the same time. So we've had a lot of opportunities to meet new people from all over the place and they've all been pretty great. Our main crew is Jesse and I with our new friends Wannes, from Belgium and Tyler who says he's from North Dakota but seems to travel so much it'd be hard for him to call one place home. On top of our main crew there is a group of about 20 or so who we regularly see on the trail or camp with at night. As time goes on the pack will split up I'm sure. But for now I'm really enjoying the comradery of the experience.
I should probably stop here, it's hard to describe everything we've been seeing and doing. But with this novel I've been writing and Jesse's on top of it, you'll have a lot to read. I'm not sure when we'll be able to update this again, but stay tuned.
Happy Trails,
Mike
I guess I'll start where we left off, at the hostel. We ended up being able to go to the zoo, it turned out to be a beautiful day to spend at a beautiful zoo. It was deffinitely a world class place. They also happened to sell big goofy straw hats, exactly the hiking hat I wanted. So I am now hiking in style.
When we got back to the hostel we met 2 fellow PCT hikers, Wannes and Tyler, both awesome guys who have been hiking with us since and hopefully will be for some time to come... But we will get to the actual hike soon. That night was one for the books. We set off for a pubcrawl put on by the hostel, which ended up being just a bunch of us going to the bar downstairs, but it was still great. We ended up at some local guys house. A guy too strange to even put into words, but after playing with his giant hamster wheel for his cats, watching the spy movie trailers he put together about them and learning about his crippling poor history with women, we had a night we will never be able to fully describe, but will never forget.
The next day we set out for Campo, the beginning of the trail, it looked like a war zone with the high metal fences, barbed wire and army of border gaurds trying to keep Mexico in Mexico and America in America. But we treked on. After a few hours of night hiking and a few hours the next day, we made it to the kick off party that gets thrown for the hikers each year. It was amazing, hundreds of hikers to talk to, things to learn and free food to eat. Plus alcohol is cheap here in America, and with a store just a few minutes away, it made for a good weekend of campground camping.
Since then we've walked another 57 miles or so over the past few days. The sights we've been seeing are amazing, the scenery seems to change every time we climb a pass or around a ridge. The living is simple. It's amazing to go from a life full of gadgets and time wasting to having nothing to do but walk. Nothing to do but make it as far as you can, making sure to take a few hours around lunch to sleep in the sun, or have conversations with the people you meet. But then its back to walking, climbing up mountains then climbing back down (which is much, much worse than climbing up) taking it all in as you go.
Because everyone set off around the kick off at the same time, there is a realatively large pack of people all heading north around the same time. So we've had a lot of opportunities to meet new people from all over the place and they've all been pretty great. Our main crew is Jesse and I with our new friends Wannes, from Belgium and Tyler who says he's from North Dakota but seems to travel so much it'd be hard for him to call one place home. On top of our main crew there is a group of about 20 or so who we regularly see on the trail or camp with at night. As time goes on the pack will split up I'm sure. But for now I'm really enjoying the comradery of the experience.
I should probably stop here, it's hard to describe everything we've been seeing and doing. But with this novel I've been writing and Jesse's on top of it, you'll have a lot to read. I'm not sure when we'll be able to update this again, but stay tuned.
Happy Trails,
Mike
Wednesday 25 April 2012
San Diego: getting there....
Well after a full days worth of flying, and killing time in aiports we've successfully completed the first and in all likelihood the easiest leg of our journey. As the previous post indicates, the Washington-Dulles airport has some pretty pricey beers. Good thing there aren't anymore airports in our forseeable future.
Our plane landed an hour early last night, so after collecting up our baggage and grabbing a post card or two we decided we may as well just get down to it and walk from the airport to our hostel. A cool 3.5 miles, easy as pie. We hiked around San Diego bay taking in the tall ships, submarines, and old steamers docked there. We kept a vigilant eye out for marine wildlife, but save for a small crab skittering across the rocks we didn't see too much. What the bay lacked in sea lions, and cool marine life it definitely made up for in homeless men sleeping along the shore.
Lucky D's hostel is a pretty sweet spot, and the atmosphere is great. It's quite sizeable and theres seems as though there are at least a couple dozen other residents right now. Lucky us, we just happened to arrive on free dinner night, and with complimentary breakfast this morning we haven't had to shell out too much cash as of yet.
Today we plan to tie up all loose ends, grabbing up the last couple bits of gear and supplies that we'll need before we hit the trail head tomorrow. The weather's pretty gloomy right now and looks as though it may be a rainy one. Unofrtunatelty the San Diego Zoo may have to be put aside for another, less rainy day.
The hostel's computers aren't seeming exactly compatible with my GoPro camera at this point, so pictures and videos are coming whenever we find ourselves a less ancient computer on which to upload them. Stay tuned, and since this is San Diego also "stay classy."
--Jesse
Our plane landed an hour early last night, so after collecting up our baggage and grabbing a post card or two we decided we may as well just get down to it and walk from the airport to our hostel. A cool 3.5 miles, easy as pie. We hiked around San Diego bay taking in the tall ships, submarines, and old steamers docked there. We kept a vigilant eye out for marine wildlife, but save for a small crab skittering across the rocks we didn't see too much. What the bay lacked in sea lions, and cool marine life it definitely made up for in homeless men sleeping along the shore.
Lucky D's hostel is a pretty sweet spot, and the atmosphere is great. It's quite sizeable and theres seems as though there are at least a couple dozen other residents right now. Lucky us, we just happened to arrive on free dinner night, and with complimentary breakfast this morning we haven't had to shell out too much cash as of yet.
Today we plan to tie up all loose ends, grabbing up the last couple bits of gear and supplies that we'll need before we hit the trail head tomorrow. The weather's pretty gloomy right now and looks as though it may be a rainy one. Unofrtunatelty the San Diego Zoo may have to be put aside for another, less rainy day.
The hostel's computers aren't seeming exactly compatible with my GoPro camera at this point, so pictures and videos are coming whenever we find ourselves a less ancient computer on which to upload them. Stay tuned, and since this is San Diego also "stay classy."
--Jesse
Tuesday 24 April 2012
Let's get this stone rolling...
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
-Henry David Thoreau
Well, it has begun. I had meant to post something before we actually hit the road, but when I began to write at 530 this morning after not sleeping a wink, everything I wrote down ended up being total crap... So you're welcome. Hopefully anything I spew out now, sitting in the airport, after drinking some unreasonably expensive beer, sucks a little less.
The fact remains however, that this trip is officially underway. Although with everything happening over the past week or so, one could argue that I've been in the thick of it for days. This week has been interesting. Its been a week full of great times and hard times. I got to spend the week unemployed, waking up when I want, hanging out with awesome people all day, brewery tours, bowling, croquet socials, conversation over dinners and conversation over liquor. But they all ended in the inevitable goodbye.. some for months, others for years and some even forever. It's been difficult, but having to deal with these hard times has really left me humbled, put things into prospective for mecand left me driven, determined to get to BC and make everyone back home proud.
The only thing that stands in our way now is 1 flight and a couple buses (and a super fun day at the zoo to come tomorrow, which I'm stoked on) and then it'll finally be time spit in mother nature's smug face and show her that we call the shots. Stay tuned for more from me, but hopefully Jesse will have something for you soon too.
Happy trails!
(Side bar: I may start signing off with happy trails haha)
Mike
-Henry David Thoreau
Well, it has begun. I had meant to post something before we actually hit the road, but when I began to write at 530 this morning after not sleeping a wink, everything I wrote down ended up being total crap... So you're welcome. Hopefully anything I spew out now, sitting in the airport, after drinking some unreasonably expensive beer, sucks a little less.
The fact remains however, that this trip is officially underway. Although with everything happening over the past week or so, one could argue that I've been in the thick of it for days. This week has been interesting. Its been a week full of great times and hard times. I got to spend the week unemployed, waking up when I want, hanging out with awesome people all day, brewery tours, bowling, croquet socials, conversation over dinners and conversation over liquor. But they all ended in the inevitable goodbye.. some for months, others for years and some even forever. It's been difficult, but having to deal with these hard times has really left me humbled, put things into prospective for mecand left me driven, determined to get to BC and make everyone back home proud.
The only thing that stands in our way now is 1 flight and a couple buses (and a super fun day at the zoo to come tomorrow, which I'm stoked on) and then it'll finally be time spit in mother nature's smug face and show her that we call the shots. Stay tuned for more from me, but hopefully Jesse will have something for you soon too.
Happy trails!
(Side bar: I may start signing off with happy trails haha)
Mike
Sunday 1 April 2012
Hikin on the Bruce
Well guys, I know I haven't posted for a while, but I'm back! And with the trip less than a month away you can expect to see more in the coming days.
Jesse and I have both been doing what we can to tie up the loose ends that are left and really get ourselves into hike mode. So last weekend my girlfriend, Kim, and I, headed north to spend 3 days sauntering along the bluffs of Georgian Bay, hiking through Lion's Head Provincial Nature Reserve. It was a nice little taste of what's to come and basically just a wicked way to spend a weekend.
We were a little discouraged on the way up, because of the rainy forecast we thought was unavoidable. But lucked out when we didn't get a drop of rain our entire trip (even though I was really looking forward to taking my awesomely handsome rain skirt for a test drive). Even with no rain though, we learned that the forces of nature are nothing to take lightly. After a great day of hiking, taking time to gaze off the cliffs at the turquoise water below us, we finally settled for the night on a cobble stone beach, where the sounds of crashing waves and a chorus of frogs in a nearby pond lulled us to sleep... Until the piercing cold kicked in and made sure we didn't sleep a wink for the rest of the night. It was good though, we learned not to be cocky, layer up according to the conditions and chose our site carefully. I wouldn't change it for the world.
The next few days were also great, more great scenery, great terrain, napping in the sun, reading by the lake sitting by a roaring fire (which if anyone from the Bruce Trail Association asks, we didn't light). Not a bad time of life. One major highlight for me, was finding what I still firmly believe are the tracks of an Eastern Cougar, a very rare and newly reestablished species to the area. Now I say STILL believe, because Kim showed the pictures we took to an MNR biologist who dismissed them as black bear tracks. But I don't buy it. Black bears have 5 toes, these have 4, which I think rules out a bear outright. Plus I have a zoology degree.. So I'm totally right.
*Edit* :... I think it might be a black bear. Hey, nobody's perfect...
All in all, it was a great trip. Hopefully I'll be able to get outside for more little adventures before we ship out. So stay posted for more!
Also, I'd like to welcome those of you reading that got directed here from the pcta website. It's nice to get some traffic through here that aren't just friends and family, so please keep checking back!
.jpg) |
| I loved the Bluffs |
We were a little discouraged on the way up, because of the rainy forecast we thought was unavoidable. But lucked out when we didn't get a drop of rain our entire trip (even though I was really looking forward to taking my awesomely handsome rain skirt for a test drive). Even with no rain though, we learned that the forces of nature are nothing to take lightly. After a great day of hiking, taking time to gaze off the cliffs at the turquoise water below us, we finally settled for the night on a cobble stone beach, where the sounds of crashing waves and a chorus of frogs in a nearby pond lulled us to sleep... Until the piercing cold kicked in and made sure we didn't sleep a wink for the rest of the night. It was good though, we learned not to be cocky, layer up according to the conditions and chose our site carefully. I wouldn't change it for the world.
.jpg) |
| The View from Our Campsite |
 |
| Two Happy Hikers |
All in all, it was a great trip. Hopefully I'll be able to get outside for more little adventures before we ship out. So stay posted for more!
Also, I'd like to welcome those of you reading that got directed here from the pcta website. It's nice to get some traffic through here that aren't just friends and family, so please keep checking back!
Tuesday 28 February 2012
Welcome To Our Blog!
Hello everyone and welcome to our blog!
After months of looking ahead, talking about the time we'll spend on the tail as if it would never come, the day is quickly creeping up. Our gear has been bought, our town stops have been planned and our permits have been applied for. I'd like to say that all we have left to do is sit back and wait for our April 24th flight to San Diego, but the truth is, planning and preparing for a hike of this magnitude consumes you. There is always another blog to read, a gear list to look over or a final consideration to make. Not to mention all the day hikes and time spent at the gym trying to prepare physically for an undertaking like this.
I, Mike, will likely be the primary voice of this blog, mostly because it's registered under my gmail account. But hopefully Jesse puts his 2 cents in here whenever he can. Both of us are pretty new to blogging, and speaking for myself, I can say I'm not the greatest writer out there. But I will do my best to keep things interesting. I worry that any prehike posts I make may be lacking in substance, but I'm sure once we are out in the thick of it, the quality of our experiences will make for an entertaining read even if the writing is sub-par.
So I encourage anyone reading this to subscribe, or at least check back regularly, so you can follow our exploits and other general trail shenanigans. And please, don't hesitate to leave a comment or shoot us a message because this will be our major outlet for contact with the real world while we're away and we'd love to hear from everyone. A few encouraging words while morale is low will do wonders for our mental health, I'm sure.
That's all for now, talk to y'all soon
After months of looking ahead, talking about the time we'll spend on the tail as if it would never come, the day is quickly creeping up. Our gear has been bought, our town stops have been planned and our permits have been applied for. I'd like to say that all we have left to do is sit back and wait for our April 24th flight to San Diego, but the truth is, planning and preparing for a hike of this magnitude consumes you. There is always another blog to read, a gear list to look over or a final consideration to make. Not to mention all the day hikes and time spent at the gym trying to prepare physically for an undertaking like this.
I, Mike, will likely be the primary voice of this blog, mostly because it's registered under my gmail account. But hopefully Jesse puts his 2 cents in here whenever he can. Both of us are pretty new to blogging, and speaking for myself, I can say I'm not the greatest writer out there. But I will do my best to keep things interesting. I worry that any prehike posts I make may be lacking in substance, but I'm sure once we are out in the thick of it, the quality of our experiences will make for an entertaining read even if the writing is sub-par.
So I encourage anyone reading this to subscribe, or at least check back regularly, so you can follow our exploits and other general trail shenanigans. And please, don't hesitate to leave a comment or shoot us a message because this will be our major outlet for contact with the real world while we're away and we'd love to hear from everyone. A few encouraging words while morale is low will do wonders for our mental health, I'm sure.
That's all for now, talk to y'all soon
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