Category: PCT Thru Hike

Flipped to Walker Pass and hiking south toward Hikertown. Hiked 21.1
PCT miles. At mile 583.3.

There was strange weather today. Coyboy camping again, I awoke early seing stars through the tall pines, but no stars in the western sky. After hiking a mile or so I crested a minor ridge and I saw a blanket of clouds on mountains below with some other clouds skirting the hill just ahead.

Weather was normal when I saw this long lived oak tree in the early morning.

A little more hiking and I was in this weather. The clouds swept through and the trees gathered and dropped the moisture. For the next 6 hours, I was walking through clouds and tree rain. The pines seem particularly adept at sweeping up cloud moisture. In places water began to run down the trail. I wore my rain jacket and fleece pants and allowed my hands to become near numb before a complete pack search for my gloves. The gloves were in the food bag, not their normal place. When I eventually found them, I recalled having placing them there to keep them dry. When my hands warmed I was once again able to use them in snaps, buckles, and zippers.

I finally crossed another ridge where there was a weather tower and a little blue sky. The wind increased as the skies cleared. It stayed cool all day long. Soon I thought I saw an apparition through the mists and realized that there were windmills rotating nearby. I. Left the clouds behind and entered the land of blue sky and wind. With clear skies, miles of windmills.appeared. Other hikers, all northbound, hardly believed it when I reported that I had been hiking through rain all day and that could expect the same. It is clear to me now how the Mojave is so dry. These mountains soak up and wring out all of the clouds before the can reach the Mojave.

Here I looked back toward the distant cloud that covered rainy mountains I had earlier hiked.

Here I look back from an even greater distance.

 

The last several days I had wondered which NOBO (northbound) hiker that I knew would be the first that I would meet on my flip hike to the south. This person would be a worthy hiker who had either managed to pass me and/or stay ahead of all the other hikers that I met along the way. Near the end of the day II met this worthy hiker. It was Lady, an AT thru-hiking they-hiking veteran., who had accomplished this feat even after taking a double zero. Congratulations Lady! I’d give you a patch or something if I had an actual award for this. Before the end of the day I saw previous trail meets Baby Lungs, who was at Hikertown when cousin Margaret bestowed cornucopia of trail magic. He had since met Lady.

Here are the trail flowers of the day which were found near the end of the day not far from some windmills.

Flipped to Walker Pass and hiking south toward Hikertown. Hiked 23.9
PCT miles. At mile 604.4.

Today I felt much better. I had an early start shortly before sunrise. I took a couple of Ibuprofen with the idea it could help prevent left shoulder pain. I was also made comfortable with the thought that thanks to my stomach my pack weight was decreasing. I took care to do a series of shoulder stretches as I hiked and believe it or not, this was the first day in weeks that I was free of shoulder pain.

Here is a mountain that appears to have stains of yellow. Those are actually thousands of yellow flowers.

 

Here is a snake.

Here is another snake.

Here is a rattlesnake. That makes 3 snakes today, 4 Rattlesnakes so far, and 12 snakes in all on this hike. I thought I had good video of the rattler, but I was not recording, AGAIN! The second time I messed up trying to video a rattlesnake.

Here is a photo from the top of a long climb. I felt like I had to show I did it. After all, it was so much work. Overall, the trail was easy and I had a great deal of level and descent.

Hiking south, I should eventually see people I know that are headed north. Not yet, though, I am seeing a lot of people heading north for their reckoning with an early entry in the snowy cold Sierras. A few of these people will be there before the end of April. The last couple of days have turned cooler. How cold would that be in the Sierras at over 10,000 feet.

Here are some trees I love They turn and twist and branch out. I need to find out the name for these trees. If you know these trees, post a comment.

I had thought that the rest of the way to Hikertown wouldn’t involve large trees. I’m actually camping in trees tonight. Here is a photo of tall pines.

Here are flowers along the trail. I can’t express the variety and mixes of flowers. There are violet, white, blue, red, and multiple shades of yellow. There are tiny flowers that accent the arrangement of larger flowers and everything is set in a landscape of stones, boulders, and rock outcroppings. It is better experienced, than photographed.

Day 31

Flipped to Walker Pass and hiking south toward Hikertown. Hiked south 15.3 PCT miles. At mile 628.5.

At Mcgiver Cabin the annual one week outting of Kenny Majors and friends was taking place. Kenny’s family had built the cabin on land that it had mineral rights for. His family has been visiting for generations. The group is very welcoming to PCT hikers and offered myself and others to share their breakfast. Even though I already had my morning oatmeal, I joined the group for 2 plates of scrambled eggs, French toast, bacon, sausage, milk, and orange juice. Thank you!

Here is the group at the cabin. Followed by the serving line, then Wendy and the Lost Boys eating with Uphill.

 

Another attempt at lizard portraiture.

Some of the landscape.

Sunset at my camp.

 

 

 

Flipped to Walker Pass and hiking south toward Hikertown. Hiked 8.3 PCT miles. At mile 643.8.

I decided to flip, or skip forward and hike back. This means that starting today at mile 651.3 (Walker Pass), I will walk the next 133.5 miles in the south direction until mile 517.8 (Hikertown, Hwy 138).

The reason I’ve flipped is that I plan to fly back to Atlanta for a few weeks and with cousin Margaret’s help, it is more convenient and predictable to get to LAX airport from Hikertown, than Walker Pass. I’ll take the train from Metrolink station in Lancaster to Union Station in LA.

The bus (395 Eastern Sierra Transit) only runs once per day from Lancaster to Inoykern. I caught it at 2pm, then waited in Inoykern for several hours for the Kern Transit 227 which leaves at 7:05 pm. It was 7:45 pm by the time I was in the trail at Walker Pass. Since it quickly became dark, I only have one photo, other than the snapshots in my mind. I hiked until I arrived at Mcgiver cabin at 10:45pm.

Here I am enjoying the large turkey omelette at Crazy Ottos. I’m sorry to say that I couldn’t eat the whole thing.

Hiked 15.4 miles today.  At mile 517.6

Early this morning I hiked into Hikertown where I met my cousin Margaret of Lancaster, CA who arrived with loads of trail magic for me and the other lucky hikers who happened to be at Hikertown. After devouring the 2 Burger King whoppers she brought me (credit to Cousin Ed for the hamburger idea) and saving apples and veggies with hummus dip for afternoon snack (credit to Cousin Kate for that trail magic idea), we drove to Lancaster for shower, laundry, more food, and more than I could name here.

I have changed the hike plan a bit to take better advantage of Cousin Margaret’s local support. Tomorrow, she will drop me off at Metrolink where I will ride the 395 South bus to Inoykern from which Kern transit will take me to Walker Pass at around mile 650. I will hike south on the PCT to Hikertown where I will get off the trail for a few weeks to go back home. In later May, I will resume my hike north from Walker pass, but loaded down with ice axe and bear vault. Thanks to all of the O’Neal cousins for your support!

My daughter, Rebecca, has friends that thru-hiked the PCT last year. They had something called 10 by 10, where they would hike 10 miles by 10 am. With my early start, I finally managed a 10 by 10, actually completing 13.2 miles by 10 am. In the desert I’m going to need make 10 by 10’s routine with early starts every day and rest from the heat in the middle of the day.

The morning walk through newly pruned oak trees on mountainside grassy fields felt like walking through a park, but  the lower branches had been pruned for fire control, not to create a pleasant open space. 

 

Here a a few light yellow daisies that I liked. The trail on the lower slopes above the desert were covered with flowers of many types and colors. I was surprised when’s cousin Margaret told me that the dryness has made it a bad year for the yellow/orange California poppies. If so, I’d like to see a good flower year.

 

The landscape changes.

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Here I’m walking the ling straight line for the first time. 

Here is Hikertown, another refuge for hikers.

Today I hiked 20 miles.At mile 502.4.

The PCT is always surprising me. Nearing th Mojave valley, I expect to walk through desert and I did for a short while in the morning, but everything quickly changed as I began to move into trees. I saw a greater diversity of plant life here on the edge of the Mojave. Here is so sort of weeping pine Inhad not seen until now.

Here is an arid view in the morning.

As I drew closer to the Mojave desert, everyuaround me greened  up and I was soon seeing trees. Some tops of mountain outcrops looked like puttknygreens from a distance.

I sat under a lone tall pine for rest and a snack. After a while some type of biting ant was attacking.I moved on, but carried some ants with me. One www inside my sock and I could feel it gnawing my toe so I stopped, took off boot and sock and found the culprit.

I also had my first experience on the trail with gnats that flew in a cloud around my face when they weren’t landing on my face.

Saw two more snakes so now I am up to 9 snakes, three of which are poisonous. Here is the shorter of the 2 snakes I saw today. The orhyr appeared to be at least 4 feet long.

Campsite

 

Sunssr

Here is where I reached 500 miles.

 

Heee is a view of the Mojave.

 

Herenis poison Oak.