20 Jun Day 57 – The Rock Drill

At mile 1477.4. Hiked 22.3 miles today.

PCT hikers cross ledges blasted out of rock and stop to photograph the dramatic trail with a view, sbut they usually don’t wonder who built it or how. Today I met the person that built these trails. Ted Tobiason blasted the rock where he is seen posing. He worked for a company under contract with the Forest Service to do excavations needed for the PCT. Ted carried around a 125 lb rock drill with a 3 ft drill bit. He would drill anywhere from 6 inches to 3 feet deep depending on how he needed to do the job. There needed to be width clearance for a horse and height clearance for a man mounted on a horse. Ted looks like he could still carry around a 125 pound rock drill.

Here are some beautiful ledges the trail crossed where I was hiking early this morning. I didn’t know it at the time, but Ted most likely built these.

Here is a wide open path.

Here you can see the trail cut into the mountainside and escarpment as it stretches into the distance.

Lush creek bank aquatic plant life.

Bridge over McCloud River.

McCloud River 

Lilies 

People: 

Sharing a tent site tonight with Shortcut and Ridge Route. Met MudFutz (SOBO and flipping back to Ashland) who where’s sandals for hiking and has thru-hiked the AT. He is hiking with his wife, Safety Chute and Milkshake and 2 others I didn’t meet. They are doing 17 miles per day average, but varying mileage to selecti the beat most scenic spots. Lot of swimming in mountain lakes. 

Early this morning I met Brightside and Wit. They are retired teachers from Alaska living in a small town east of Fairbanks. 

Met a young married couple named Mess and Molasses. They lived in Paris and have a blog of their travels at ourperpetualdscovery.com .