Category: PCT Thru Hike

Hiked 21.2 miles today, At mile 156

Here is a sample of my diet and calorie burn. I started the hike weighing 167 pounds. I think I’ll need to eat more than this to maintain weight.

Ate a breakfast of 2 pop tarts and a cup of cold coffee then hiked nearly 11 miles to a water tank and picnic table where I had peanut butter on a sandwich thin. Then I hiked 6.5 miles to the highway, caught a ride to the Paradise Cafe where I really ate. There, I made up for the two previous tiny meals by having a turkey burger, fries, and 2 beers. After Paradise, I hiked another 4 miles after which I had a small pack of tuna and two tortillas.

I have now lost all of the hiker buddies that I previously made. I may have the pleasant surprise of unexpectedly seeing them down the trail. Today, I met a nice assortment of trail angels, section hikers, thru-hikers, and day hikers. Rob, a section hiker hitched a ride together to a popular spot with hikers, the Paradise Cafe. Tiki joined us. We got a table and as other hikers streamed in, they joined us. Hi to “Out” and “Back”! Comment on this blog post if you have trouble emailing me. John and Mogli from Alabama showed up a little later. Mogli wears a tie while hiking. Finally Spicy Charlie arrived.  All of us enjoyed each other’s company at Paradise. 

Up next is Idyllwild, the trail detour, and Mt San Jacinto.

The most important event today wasn’t on the trail. It was my wedding anniversary. I’ve been married to Sandra for 31 awesome years and not only do I love and miss her, but she is the best and most understanding person you will ever meet. Understanding enough to abide my 5 – 6 month absence.

I’m in my sleeping bag. The stars are overhead. Mountains are visible in the distance as I lay in an open landscape of boulders. At this elevation, about 5200 feet, there are nearby groves of pines. It also promises to be colder than the desert i have recently slept in.

Here are some photo highlights.

Still sleeping campers on the PCT

First encounter of this type of cactus since climbing the San Felipe ridge after Scissors Crossing.

Underground Cistern. Rain runs off a cement collection area into the Cistern

Water Cache – There is a registration book to record date, name, and how much you took. I recorded that I took none here.

Perfect beach sand with some decorative boulders and plant. It could be a high priced tiki bar.

Trailside flowers. These grew on only one hill. I never saw them again.

Trail looks like it could crumble into this gorge.

Boulders populate area near where I am camping tonight.

Enormous pine cone. Nice to see real trees again.

Hiked 20 miles, At mile 94.4

Cowboy camped in the desert and woke Easter morn to a full moon setting over a mountain.

At the road before Scissors Crossing there was a trail angel named Lindsey. She had brought the famous Julian Apple Pies. What a 2nd breakfast! At 0.8 miles further on was the water cache. Here a trail angel had left Coors Light so I had a beer for my 3rd breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a pipe gate. You see them a lot on the PCT. They only open a tiny bit. Enough to let a skinny human through and keep a cow from coming through even if the gate is left open.

 

 

 

I am in my sleeping bag as I type and at over 4000 ft on top of a mountain, my hands are getting cold. So I’ll just place rest of the photos below and let you figure them out.

 

 

 

 

Hiked 18.5 miles, at mile 74.5

Other hikers had selected earlier tent sites with good views. Though beautiful tent sites, they were exposed to an increasingly brisk wind. One after another, I bypassed these exposed sites and hiked on in search of a site that was more sheltered from the wind. I had entered the real desert with cactus and spiny things all around. I soon learned to be careful when laying down my pack. My sitting pad had already picked up some barbs which brushed onto my finger. To avoid these cactus hazards, the best option was to stick to official tent sites. It was 6 pm so I had decided that wind or not, I would not bypass the next tent site. That site at mile 73.1 turned out to be level, roomy, well sheltered from the wind, and clear of cactus growth. It was perfect, but at this time of day, I would have accepted much less. Very excited about my good find, I walked off the trail for a quick glance at the site. I was met by a rattlesnake. Maybe, this site wasn’t so perfect after all. I hiked on.

Yesterday I met Three-Cats, Double Check, and Wolf Legs. They had just finished lunch and were packing. Double Check said, “You get the Fritos?” Today, I have started thinking about Fritos. It is all I can think about. I’ve descended a great deal from the mountains and I am now in the desert. Something about the desert that makes me crave Fritos.

I’m hearing about thru hikers that got off the trail, cashed it in, gave up the ghost. One was rescued off Mt San Jacinto when a slip on the ice caused an ankle injury. A brother of someone I was hiking with for a while quit the trail only 20 miles in. He had blisters. He had never really hiked before.

I just figured out why the heat was bothering me so much. I had been drinking so much water, but not replacing electrolytes. The Frito craving gave me the clue. I thought a bit and recalled that I had an electrolyte powder for diarrhea in my medkit. I took a long break in the shade and ate salty tuna fish and drank my electrolyte and rested.

Morning photos at Oroflamme Canyon. Moon setting, Sunrise, and Camper Meditating.

Flowers and Cactii

• 

The Trail

Mountain

Hiked 18.2 miles today, At mile 55.9

I don’t know what I’ve come to, but after 4 days I’m already sleeping under a rock. I’m camping above Oriflamme Canyon and the usual tent spots are taken. I found a small open patch near the edge of a high dropoff. I tried, but couldn’t get my tarp to stay up in the wind, so I moved back under a boulder a little larger than a Ford F350. There, I snuggled up to the side of the rock where there was just a little less wind.

Today, I took advantage of the cooler hours in the early morn and early evening and I felt much better. 

There was great scenery everywhere. I looked out across miles of desert that lay thousands of feet below. I could spot the Salton Sea to the east and a snow-capped mountain to the North. Here are a few photo highlights.

I reached higher elevation and at Mt Laguna and saw the first pine trees of this hike. I loved relaxing in the shade of these tall trees.

Here is the trail

 

 

 

The trail was sometimes near the edge of a drop-off.

 

Here are some Mountain views. 

This is my bed for the night.

Here is the view from my camp spot.