Idyllwild to Big Bear City

Toby 7 Comments

110(ish) miles – 4/19/18(ish) – 4/24/18

As soon as I got into Idyllwild I made my way to the Idyllwild Brew Pub and had a burger with a few beers. I got settled in at the Fireside Inn, took a long shower and stretched out in a big comfy bed which felt amazing after the long hot hike in.

I spent the next day and a half relaxing, eating and getting ready for the next stretch of the trail to Big Bear City. The entire time my tummy was still not happy with me, but I felt fine otherwise. I kept thinking “ok, that has to be the end of it” since I felt fine otherwise but was continuously proven wrong.

After my day off I headed up the Taquitz Peak trail, just north of where the PCT fire closure ended. This trail has a fair bit of gain so it took me some time to make it back to the PCT, but the views along the way we’re amazing.

As I approached Saddle Junction my tummy issues returned again. I pushed on, digging a few holes along the way until I made it to Strawberry Junction, which somehow had a porta-potty, a very welcomed sight. I set up camp and made use of the facilities multiple times that night. The next day I made the wise decision to return to Idyllwild to see a doctor, this time via the Deer Springs trail.

I managed to get in to see the doctor right away, whom had already seen 3 injured PCT hikers that morning. After a quick conversation he gave a couple prescriptions, advised a couple days of rest and sent me on my way. So back to the Fireside Inn I went, this time I stayed in a room with a tub! After picking up my meds and some tummy friendly foods I settled in and binge watched Catfish. I continued to rest, catch up with friends and family about my ordeal, eat bland food and make use of the tub.

The day I headed back to the trail it was snowing so I stopped for a real breakfast and lunch on my way out of town while it passed, my tummy handled both without issue. I got a hitch back to Deer Springs trail and got back on the PCT, which had patches of snow from earlier in the day. This is when the clouds and wind started to roll in.

I pushed past my intended campsite for a lower elevation even though I wanted to stop, I had some miles to make up as well. Along the way I passed an older, somewhat heavy, man from Alabama that asked where the desert was. He didn’t look like he was having fun. When I arrived at my destination for the night it was pretty cold, even at the lower elevation. I ate dinner, beef jerky andpeanut butter m&m’s in my tent as struggled to get warm.

The next morning I got moving quickly and started down the mountain towards I-10. Once I continued down it warmed up quickly and returned to the desert landscape from earlier on the trail. Luckily it wasn’t too hot but I still drank water like a fish trying to stay hydrated. The downhill hiking got a little tedious so I started listening to a podcast, which proved to be hazardous as I walked right by a rattlesnake and didn’t even notice it. It wasn’t until I heard a loud shriek behind me that I took out my earbuds and went back to take a look

When I finally made it to the bottom I arrived at a water faucet where I was able refill my water before pushing through the dry sandy stretch to I-10. On my way I thought about setting up camp but seeing all the giant windmills made me push on, camping in the wind isn’t fun. A southbound hiker at the water faucet mentioned that she had seen a bunch of hikers camp under the interstate, where there was a small water cache. When I arrived at the overpass the sound didn’t seem “too bad”. I took a break and weighed my options, wind or noise. It was then when the train came by, I decided to move on.

Just as I hit a road a truck with three guys pulled up and tried to give me a beer, I had to decline as one of the medications I was taking would apparently make me projectile vomit if I had any alcohol. The guys said they had just finished hiking a section of the PCT and we’re going to set up and cook food for passing hikers. I returned to under the interstate with them and chatted as they cooked up some burgers in a frying pan. While their gesture was nice their company was less than desirable, they had maybe done 100 miles but talked like they had done the entire trail. However, since they made me a burger I felt obligated to talk to them. It’s at this point I made the mistake of deciding to sleep under I-10. It was loud and I didn’t get much sleep.

The next day I started the climb out of the valley and really felt it, I had next to no energy. I pushed on to the office of a wind farm that had a small shelter and water for PCT hikers. They even had WiFi. The next push up hill was rough, even though it was still early it still felt hot. I could tell that despite drinking a lot of water I was dehydrated. I pushed on until I hit the junction for the Whitewater Persevere, once I saw the river I immediately got in, it felt amazing.

O

nce I got to the persevere I sat down in the shade and decided I needed to stop for the day. There were toilets, potable water and plenty of room to camp. I spent the rest of the day rehydrating and eyeballing all the food people had brought for picnics.

The next morning was an early start to beat the heat. The trail crossed a big, mostly dry, river bed before pushing into the hills and then dropping down the other side where it followed a creek lined with trees.

Most of the day was a climb but the trees provided plenty of shade and being next a creek meant that I didn’t have to carry as much water.I took a nice long break under a giant tree stretched out on my tent footprint.

Towards the end of the day the trees gave way to open exposed trail and the creek disappeared the trail before I made camp next to a much smaller creek.

In the morning I started my day by making a pretty intense climb up to a spring where I collected enough water for a 15 mile dry stretch. I pushed uphil to the abandoned Coon Creek Cabin and had lunch before making another up hill push before before starting the decent into Big Bear.

On the way I passed a private zoo where they keep and train animals for movies. I saw one sad looking bear, so sad I didn’t even take a picture. A little further down I came across a cache supplied by Papa Smurf and Mountain Mama. Then I came across a trail couch. It was a day full of random trail attractions. After a few more miles of downhill I ended the day at Arrastre campsite where a surprising amount of hikers ended up at, the most I’ve camped with on trail.

The final day before Big Bear was a short one, only about 10 miles, and mostly downhill. Although I was surprised by a few uphill stretches.

I arrived at the I-18 junction just before Papa Smurf showed up dropping hikers off at the trail. I caught a ride with him and spent most of the day visiting with other hikers, doing laundry, buying food, eating food and even stopping at a Starbucks. Tonight I get to sleep at Papa Smurf’s & Mountain Mama’s in a sweet bunkbed.

Warner Springs to Idyllwild

Toby 1 Comment

76 miles 4/11/18 – 4/14/18

Woke up a little later than normal and packed up, making the most of the bathroom and running water at the Warner Springs Resource Center before heading out guided by my headlamp. I made my way through a field before being greeted by the most beautiful sunrise of my hike so far.

The trail entered a wooded area and crossed a creek a few times as it continued up into the mountains with incredible views.

After a good amount of climbing the trail entered a boulder field with some pretty giant boulders, some of which provided some shade which was a nice break from midday heat.

I ended up at the key destination for the day “Mike’s Place”, where hikers could get some water and just hang out. It was an eclectic house tucked up in the mountains with all sorts of random things. There were hammocks set up, a porch to hang out on and even a dart board. I didn’t get a chance to meet Mike but the caretaker / cook was friendly. He said “I’m here to cook and make sure you guys don’t burn the place down”.

After an extended break I decided to push on even though hikers we’re more than welcome to camp at Mike’s. There was still daylight and I wanted to get a few more miles in. I heard that there was a windstorm coming and was hoping to find a spot a little more protected from the wind. All stocked up with water I climbed back up and over a ridge before I found a place to camp after another 20+ mile day. And the windstorm did arrive with force. My tent held up but was a little noisy in the wind, I was too tired to care and still managed to sleep well.

The next morning I continued to on as the trail dipped and climbed until I reached trail angel Mary’s place, an awesome little rest area for hikers with a water tank, picnic tables, a tiny library and the “Muir John”.

After lunch I hiked a few more miles and set up camp for the night. The next morning I made the short hike down to the Paradise Valley Cafe arriving just before they opened. They were nice enough to let us hikers in early because it was a bit cold outside. Fully fueled up on coffee and a giant breakfast burrito I tackled the beautiful climb into the mountains towards Idyllwild.

On my way I made a mile long, very steep, detour down to a spring for water. For some reason I felt that since the water was from a spring I didn’t need to filter it, a mistake that would come back to bite me. Due to a fire in 2013, which still has part of the PCT closed, I would have to take an alternate route into Idyllwild. I made my way to the junction and camped. The wind kicked up again and I had a rude awaking in the middle of the night when I experienced the effects of unfiltered water.

The following morning I struggled while following the detour into Idyllwild where I had luckily planned to take a day off.

Julian To Warner Springs

Toby 3 Comments

32.5 miles 4/8/18 – 4/10/18

After some great sleep in the hotel I made my way down to Mom’s for the free slice of pie they give to PCT hikers. I got it to go because I had other plans for my hunger. At approximately 8:30am I destroyed the all you can eat buffet at the hotel, bacon, eggs, sausage, fruit, all went in my stomach. I then went back to my room so I could wash my clothes and soak in the tub. As I was leaving I ate the piece of pie from Mom’s.

On my way out of town I stopped by Carmen’s, a restaurant that let’s hikers sleep there after closing, but I just stopped by for the free hug and see some puppies. I also saw a few other hikers I started out with. I then hitchiked with much more success than the day before. A nice woman was shuttling hikers to and from scissors crossing, no sketchy pick-up truck today. At the water cache under the highway two former hikers we’re making quesadillas and handing out donuts. As good as that sounded my stomach was still full of breakfast and pie.

The trail started with a bunch of fully exposed switchbacks up the side of a hill. While sleeping in was nice starting to hike around 1:30pm wasn’t. I was able to use my slightly broken umbrella but the wind kept catching it. The plan was to only go 9 miles before setting up camp. Something that seemed so easy ended up being strenuous because of the heat and elevation gain.

I drank through most of my water and wasn’t feeling that great. The rested feeling had gone away comep at about 4pm realized that I hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast. After a Snickers bar and a couple spoonfuls of Nutella I started to feel better. I set up camp and talked to a hiker from San Diego named Steve (not to be confused with Steve the unicorn) over my dinner of tuna in a tortilla and called it a night.

The next morning I started hiking at 5:30am headed to a water cache 5 miles ahead, which I arrived at just as I ran out of water. Luckily there was more than enough.

I took a short break and then continued down the trail which seemed to snake through the hills forever. Just as I thought I was going to go over the top it would just go around another hill that was hiding behind the first. While it was still warm it wasn’t as bad as it had been. I put on podcast and powered on, remembering to eat snacks along the way.

I was so focused I missed the 100 mile marker on my way into camp at Barrel Spring as the trail dropped into a lush green valley. I thought about pushing the extra 8 miles into Warner Springs but decided to take it easy for the night instead, my feet were a little sore.

I set up my tent and relaxed, grazing on all the extra food I had as I’d be picking up a resupply box the next day in Warner Springs. A number of hikers that I had met previously made their way in camp and we all ended up eating together. As I crawled into my tent I started hearing a bunch of frogs being extra loud. I still managed to pass out right away.

It was difficult to get out of my tent the next morning even though I slept in an hour. The trail entered a pasture full of cows that didn’t want anything to do with me, I just wanted to pet one. Feeling rejected I moved on through the green pasture and gentle hills, a very welcomed change. I moved through flat open meadows with fantastic views. A little while later I made my way to Eagle Rock, which I think looks more like a dragon.

The trail then dropped down next to a creek with plenty of shade from the surrounding trees. I saw a couple rabbits run across the trail in front of me. A short while later I made it to my destination, Warner Springs. The Warner Springs Resource Center was set up for hikers, you could take a bucket shower, charge anything that needed to be charged or just sit in air conditioning.

As soon as I got inside someone was getting a group together to go to the Post Office so I jumped on the opportunity and went with. I picked up my resupply box which somehow ended covered in stickers and quickly realized I had too much food. So what did I do? I ignored the problem and went to have pizza and beer at the restaurant next door. When I made it back to the resource center I set up my tent and sorted through all my food. I put a good amount in the hiker box but still ended up with a lot of food too carry. How could I part with my gummy bears and Cheetos?

I took the coldest bucket shower ever (on purpose), charged up my electronics and visited with other hikers, some of which I hadn’t seen since the day I started. Still full from lunch I made myself eat some of the heavier items in my food bag for dinner. I was still left with too much food. Luckily I only have to carry two liters of water for the next stretch, which should help with weight.

Lake Morena to Julian

Toby 3 Comments

57 miles – 4/4/18 to 4/7/l8

I woke up at 4:30 and next thing I knew I was packing up all my gear to start hiking again. Some hiker that was up all night started telling me about how all the rabbits started running around at the same time and how it reminded him of the Teletubbies.

Once I started hiking I did see a good number of rabbits as set out to put in an 16 mile day. Luckily starting early meant it was nice and cool. The first 6 miles were pretty flat and ran along a highway before leading to a campground. From there the trail started going up. Nothing crazy but once the sun was in full effect it was a little tedious. A few miles later I made my way down a short side trail to a small waterfall, which I immediately swam around in.

After an extended break at the waterfall I continued along the edge of the canyon where I ran into a bunch and navy dudes walking down into the canyon carrying rifles. Must have been training. The trail then crosses a highway and continues to climb, fully exposed to the sun. While I was taking a break a naked man hiked by and said hello as if was something he did everyday.

The trail became rocky and continued up snaking through the hills. Looking down into the valley I could see the highway I crossed earlier off in the distance. At one point the trail crossed through an area that may have had undetonated explosives. After a bit more uphill hiking I started looking for a camping site and eventually stopped after hiking 17 miles.

I set up my tent, filtered some water from a nearby stream and had a delicious dinner of instant mashed potatoes. It ended up being pretty windy all night but was fairly warm. Also, no condensation in my tent!

In the morning I packed up, ate some breakfast and headed out around 5am. Hiking in the dark is a nice break from being oppressed by the sun. I passed a bunch of hikers still asleep in their tents on my way up the trail. Shortly after it became light I entered a forest with a bunch of pine trees. It wasn’t quite possible samples as the ones back home but it was a nice change.

Instead of heading into Mt. Laguna I stayed on the trail and filled up my water at a somewhat random water fountain on the trail. The pine trees gave way to hillsides of short bushes (I should remember what it’s called but I don’t) before arriving at a view point overlooking the desert, which might have been the windiest place on Earth. After following the trail back down, and up, I arrived at highway viewpoint, which provided some nice shade underneath. When talking to other hikers I heard that the faucet at one of the upcoming water sources was broke. I’d need to summon my inner camel to make it though the following 24 miles. I continued on and just before the dry stretch filled up 6 liters of water at a picnic area.

This is where I met two notable hikers. The first just went by “Rick”. He kind of reminds me of Cotton from King of the Hill. He went on about he’s hiked the PCT 9 years in a row (although never completely) and gave constant unsolicited advice most of which I already knew. He was a crotchety old man who hated the book Wild and thought trail names were dumb. Enter “Metric Ton”. As soon as Rick told Metic Ton his thoughts on trail names and he just went by “Rick” without missing a beat he responded “Hi Rick, nice to meet you, they call me Metric Ton”. He had earned that name for a reason, his pack was 90lbs, after cutting down from 100 lbs, well more than twice what I’m carrying. Metric Ton was a really friendly guy, who kind of reminded me of Anthony Bourdain, he was like the anti Rick.

In full camel mode I continued on unit I hit 19 miles for the day. The camping spot I was aiming for was extremely windy, no way I could set up my tent there. Luckily, I was able to find another one nearby that was somewhat protected from the wind. I set up my tent and cold soaking some pasta for dinner. This time I didn’t allow enough time for it to soak so the past was a bit crunchy but ok otherwise. I went to bed a bit early knowing that the goal for the next day was Scissors Crossing, which was 21 miles away.

I woke up at 4:30am packed up, had breakfast and started hiking around 5:15am, in the dark. Hiking as the sunrises is magical, watching every thing light up and glow golden as you make your way down the trail. As I came to the top of a hill I spotted Metic Ton on the side of the trail. He said that it was way too windy to set up a tent and that he ended up cowboy camping. He also mentioned that he plans on dropping 10lbs from his pack, taking him down to 80.

Further down the trail I started to be passed by trail runners, it was simple sort of race apparently. I kept hiking and hiking, and it kept getting hotter and hotter. The trail was pretty consistent with occasional views of the desert below. I ended up in some sort of hiking trance. My feet were tired but I pushed on. Eventually it became hot enough that I got out my umbrella. That, however, was very short lived as a gust of wind flipped it out and broke one of the spokes (after further inspection it will still work). Knowing there wouldn’t be a water source until mile 21 of the day I rationed my water as I struggled with the heat. I discovered a hat with a mesh back wasn’t my best decision as my head is pretty sunburnt.

The last 4 miles of the day seemed to stretch on forever but I reached a junction where a trail angel had left some water and fruit. I drank some water, ate an orange, and pushed through to the scissor crossing where I’d planned to hitchike to Julian 13 miles away.

At first it seemed like getting a ride might a while until a guy in a beat up pick-up truck pulled over and waved. He told me that he wasn’t trying to give me a ride but did anyway. I’m guessing he wanted to give Sisse a ride. We hopped in the back, which was full of random junk and rode until he had to turn off the highway, leaving us with 2 miles to go. We started hitchhiking again and a guy named Matt gave us a ride the rest of the way into town. He had hiked the PCT in 2015 and was planning on hiking it again next year. He said he was giving hikers rides trying to build up his trail karma.

It took me some time to find a place to stay but ended up at Orchard Hill Country Inn. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend but it was well worth it. I arrived at happy hour and got a couple free beers and snacks. The staff was extremely friendly Later I made my way into town and grabbed a burger for dinner, which came with a slice of apple pie, before returning to my room, taking a showerand passing out.

Campo to Lake Morena

Toby 6 Comments

20 miles – 4/3/18 – 4/4/18

I must have used my Seattle super powers to summon clouds to Campo as I set out to start my hike, it wasn’t the intense sun I was expecting, it was nice and cool and carrying 42 lbs on my back seamed pretty easy. About an hour or so in the clouds were defeated by the sun and it suddenly felt very hot even though it was only in the upper 70s. I was so glad I decided to bring an umbrella for the sun, it was like my own personal cloud.

The trail started out nice flat before hitting a stream about 4 miles in where I refilled a liter of water to bring me back up to the 6 (12 lbs) I started out with. This stream would be the only source of water until mile 20. A little further on the trail started to climb up a hill with only a few shaded areas. As I continued up I was able to look down into a lush green valley with a lake and some nice trees providing plenty of shade. It seemed so close but was not close at all. I took a drink if my nice warm water before heading on.

I took a few short breaks to eat, stretch and air my feet out. At one point I was yelled at by an angry rattle snake hiding under a rock. Eventually it started fell really hot even with my umbrella. I was sweating buckets but it did make my shirt feeling nice and cool. I decided to stop around mile 11 set up camp with Sisse and smurf (a trail name I gave her because her blue shirt and hair and white hat) even though it was only 2pm.

The sun made my tent feel like an oven so I resorted to sitting in a small patch of shade for a while, occasionally getting up to stretch my legs. All in all I felt pretty good but slightly dehydrated, I guess I was being overly conservative with my water. Eventually I decided to eat dinner, which was some cold soaked Alfredo pasta that I started at the stream back at miles 4. I figured the heat would make it nice and warm, which it did, but I put in too much water. That combination of excess water, heat and time caused the noodles to dissolve into paste. With the excess water I felt like I was eating paste soup. I did eat it all though. Hopefully I figure out this whole cold soaking thing soon, I kind of have to.

When I crawled into my tent I discovered that the slick material my tent is made out of allows my sleeping pad to slide all over the place, any time I’d move it would move underneath me. This became pretty annoying but I did manage to get a good amount of sleep. However, in the morning I discovered a good amount of condensation inside my tent. I though having one side open would prevent that, it did not. Not only was the condensation on the inside of my tent but also on my sleeping bag. I wiped up what I could and packed up before heading out. I would later find out that the condensation was an issue for everyone.

I continued on down to Hauser Creek, which was dry, before pushing up the side of a sun exposed hill with a noticeable amount of elevation gain. At the top someone had left a few jugs of water for thirsty hikers, luckily I had more than enough water to make it to Lake Morena. I felt challenged to drink all it because I had carried it for 20 miles.

Once I arrived at the Lake Morena I was so happy to find an abundance of water taps and showers. After setting up my tent I walked into town with Sisse and grabbed lunch, a double bacon cheeseburger and a strawberry banana milkshake. So good. After returning to camp I took an amazing shower and helped sissie eat the rest of her large pizza she had gotten for lunch as dinner. Then, as I was writing this, a hiker walked up and asked “Do you like pizza?” offering me a slice of his large pizza. I couldn’t pass it up.

Today I’m going to kick it up a notch and ramp up to 15 mile days with a stop in Julian before continuing on to my next official stop at Warner springs. Luckily I’ll only have to carry 2 liters of water this time.

Scout & Frodo

Toby 3 Comments

These two are amazing. Each year this couple and a group of volunteers host hikers before they set on the Pacific Crest Trail. Not only do they give you a place to stay but they feed you, will pick you up at the airport and provideth a wealth of information before you head out on the trail.. before diving you to the actual trailhead in the morning. They are some of the nicest people I’ve ever come across.

The night I stayed with Scout & Frodo there were 42 hikers total. This hiking season alone they will host over 1,100 hikers from all over the world. Including someone that lives 5 minutes away from where I grew up.

They offer a few rooms in their house, space in giant tents outside and even space in a tree fort. While I wished I had ended up in the tree fort I got to stay in one of the giant tents, which even had a charging station.

It was fantastic to meet hikers from all around the world. Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Australia and some others I don’t recall. Everyone there was really awesome, except creepy dude who was just creepy.

After getting up at 5am, packing up and having breakfast we all made the hour long drive to the trailhead and I started my hike. While I was pretty nervous before I got to Scout and Frodo’s that all went away when I got there. Oh, and they do this at no charge and will not accept donations or gifts.

It’s amazing out here…

To San Diego

Toby 2 Comments

The last few days have been stressful. My stomach has been in knots as I got ready to head out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. I’ve said my goodbyes and drank way too much at my send off party. I’ve finished prepping my resupply boxes, practiced setting up my tent and have packed everything into my backpack. I even shaved my head and got a couple tanning sessions in. Luckily as I finished getting ready today the stress subsided and my excitement has ramped up. Having everything in your life change is a difficult thing to navigate through for sure.

I’m now sitting in SeaTac airport waiting to board my one way flight to San Diego for a few days of relaxing before heading out to conquer the PCT. Tomorrow will be a day of relaxation as I mentally prepare for what’s ahead. I’m purposely not planning anything as I really want to make sure that I have time to adjust. Although, I’ve been thinking about the beach and Mexican food. Monday I’ll head over to stay with Scout & Frodo, a couple that generously hosts PCT hikers before giving them a ride to the trailhead in the morning. I think there are 34 of us, including some international hikers, staying with them Monday night.

After that I’ll begin my new life of hiking and sleeping in a tent (with the occasional nights in a hotel). This blog will be the best way to keep up to date on my trek. Once I hit the trail I’ll begin posting videos as well as normal blog post and pictures. You can also follow me on Instagram for more of the day to day updates, I’ll be using the Stories feature a lot. If you are curious about where I’m at the Map link in the menu will give give you a map with my current location. You can also send me messages through the contact form or through Instagram. Also, don’t forget to click the Donate link and make a contribution to the Alzheimer’s association if you haven’t already. If you already have, thank you!!

Even though there are way to many of you to list here I want to thank everyone who has helped me get here and given me words of support and wisdom. Especially Cristina, my parents and my brother. I love you all and am so grateful to have you in my life. I couldn’t do this without you!

Two Weeks

Toby 1 Comment

Three more days of work, eleven days until I fly to San Diego and fourteen days until I start hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Something that has, for over a year, seemed so far away is now right around the corner, even though it sill doesn’t feel real. I fully expect that sometime between now and when I arrive at the trailhead I will have a full on panic attack. Ok, maybe not a full on panic attack but I know the reality of the situation will hit me hard. I’ve had the occasional thoughts of “What the hell am I doing?!” but they seem to pass quickly. The excitement easily defeats the nerves.

Perhaps what lies ahead hasn’t hit me yet as I have had plenty of other things to keep my mind occupied. Moving out of where Cristina and I were living and putting everything in storage, wrapping things up at work, writing a blog post for the Alzheimer Association and spending time with friends and family. Cristina and I also managed to make a quick trip to Portland to visit the Columbia / Mountain Hardware / prAna company store to pick up a few last minute clothing items for the hike. This was a little tricky as I’ve managed to cultivate a fair amount of mass, fat is fuel, to bridge the gap when I fine tune my diet on the trail. It felt weird buying pants that were a bit tight but I fully expect that the pounds will melt off in the desert.

Another thing that keeps my mind occupied are the things I need to do before I ago. At the top of that list is putting together 11 resupply boxes for various stops along the trail where resupply options are limited or non-existent. I recently attempted to go shopping for all the things I would need for the resupply boxes but noticed that I was I was filling my shopping cart with things that that would be prevalent along the trail at other resupply stops. Realizing that I would probably get sick of those things I decided that I needed to rethink what I want to fill my resupply boxes and ditched my half full shopping cart. I also need to practice setting up my tent. Yes, that’s right, it’s 14 days until I start a 5 month hike and I haven’t even setup the tent i’ll be taking with me once. I haven’t even taken it out of it’s stuff sack. Luckily it’s pretty simple and looks easy to set up. What is probably the most surprising thing I have left to do is go tanning, yes, tanning. Just to get a base. Since my journey starts in sunny Southern California and my skin is accustomed to the continuously overcast Pacific Northwest I’m hoping that a base tan will help keep me from getting extremely sunburned. There are a few other small loose ends to tie up as well but they aren’t that interesting, I mean who would want read about travel toothpaste anyways?

However, what i’m looking forward to the most before I leave is my upcoming send off this Saturday. Cristina even made a limited run of prints for the occasion as well. It will be great to see most of my friends and family before I head out. Maybe that’s when things will start to feel real. Hopefully I don’t have a panic attack.

The Plan

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One of the questions I get asked the most is how long it take me to hike the entire Pacific Crest trail. My go to answer has been “about five months”. However, up until just a few days ago that was just a rough estimate. Over the past few weeks I have been slowly putting my plan together, calculating how long it will take me to get to certain points on the trail, figuring out where and how I will resupply, documenting the details about each town I will stop in and of course, how long it will take me to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail.

Planning out a hike that will take “about five months” may seem like quite the undertaking but luckily there are a few resources that help make things a lot easier. The first and what I found the be the most helpful is Craig’s PCT Planner.  This site allows you to easily create a plan by just entering a few pieces of data such as your start date and hiking pace. After creating your initial plan you can then make adjustments section by section, selecting the towns you want to stop in and where and when you plan to take a day off and get some rest, or maybe just spend a little extra time. One thing that is extremely helpful is being able to enter notes about each section including the towns you plan on stopping in.  While it automatically selects popular resupply points along the trial when you first create your plan you’ll definitely want to make some adjustments and add in additional information.

 

For the information side of things I used two different resources, Yogi’s Pacific Crest Trail Handbook and Halfway Anywhere’s 2017 Pacific Crest Trail Thru-hiker Survey Let’s start with Yogi’s PCT Handbook; it’s AMAZING! At $40 it may seem a little expensive but it’s well worth every penny.  The first half of the book is a lot of great information about everything form logistics to gear to personal care and what to expect during your hike form the perspective of multiple different (and hardcore) thru-hikers.  The second half the book is detailed data about the towns and trial tips, post office information, where to resupply, town maps, restaurant information, you name it. To give you an example of how detailed information it will include things such as “the vending machine in the lobby has candy for $1.25” and phone numbers of Trail Angles that will give you a ride and / or let you stay at their home.

 

The other wealth of information  Halfway Anywhere’s PCT Survey. This survey contains a lot of great information gathered from those that hiked the Pacific Crest Trail the previous year.  This really helped me determine where I wanted to stop resupply and when I would need to have a resupply box mailed. In addition to the resupply information the survey covers everything from gear to how long it took hikers to complete the PCT. If you’re interested in what i’m getting myself into take a moment to check it out.

With those resources I built out my plan with detailed notes about each stop along the way. While i’m sure i’ll tweak it a little bit, adding bits of information or account for when i’ll need to hike into a town, here is a summary:

US/Mexico Border to Manning Park
4-3-18 to 9-9-18 (5.3 months)
(northbound hike)
Days
138.3 days walking
2.0 on trail layover days
19.2 in town layover days
(11.0 in town “zero” days)
159.4 Total days
Averages
without layovers: 19.3 mi/day 2,280 ft/day
with layovers: 16.7 mi/day 1,978 ft/day
Trail
Base Distance: 2,663.5 mi
Extra Distance: 0.0 mi
Total Distance: 2,663.5 mi
Base Elevation gain: 315,313 ft
Extra EG: 0 ft
Total Elevation gain: 315,313 ft
Resupply count: 30
To see my detailed plan, with notes, click here.

Note: Since my notes include how to mail things to me along the way I should note that even though I’ve captured post office information that doesn’t mean i’ll be stopping in that post office.  If you are kind enough to feel the need to mail me something shoot for the towns that include “Mail Resupply” in the notes and don’t mail anything too far in advance. Also, shoot me a message using the contact form so I know that I should expect something.  

Since it’s not an exact science I was a bit conservative in regards to my pace. There will be days where i’m faster than planned and days I will be slower or not hike at all. I may change the towns I stop in or be re-routed due to forest fires. A lot can change. So while my current plan is to finish on September 9th, it still is “about five months”.

Working The Kinks Out

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Most of the hikes I’m used to range anywhere between 6 and 12 miles with a decent amount of elevation gain. However, on the Pacific Crest Trail I will being over 20 in a day once I hit my stride.  When you cover that much distance, day after day, you’ll start to notice things you wouldn’t after a day hike or weekend backpacking trip. That slight poke in you’re used to ignoring will  back will eventually feel like you’re being stabbed, that odd spot in your hiking shoe will make your feet scream. Even your clothes can become an issue, the chaffing struggle is real.

To try to get ahead of these things as much as I can I’ve been throwing all my PCT gear in my backpack and racking up some serious miles, trying to identify the pain points and adjust accordingly. My go-to spot is the Iron Horse Trail just outside North Bend, WA.  Not only is it close by but it’s long, flat and has some nice views.  Since it’s flat I can keep my pace up and really get some serious miles in.

The long flat hikes also allow me to calculate my base pace, which is currently around 3.5 miles an hour. 8 hours of hiking would put me at around 26 miles, 26 flat miles. Since the PCT is far from flat i’ll be using my base pace along with the elevation gain to calculate the distance I plan to cover each day.

During my first hike on the Iron Horse I covered 14 miles without stopping and discovered a few problem areas with my pack which came very apparent near the end. My backpack was unbalanced and the edge of my sleeping pad was poking me in the back.  I made adjustments and returned, covering 17 miles without issue, other than being a little sore, I don’t know if  I’ve ever gone 17 miles without stopping before.  I was feeling good about where I was at and decided that I was ready to add some elevation into the mix. It was also nice to practice things like snacking and drinking as I hiked as well as charging my phone and taking photos along the way.

Before taking off on my next hike I took some time to really look at what I was carrying in my backpack. To do this I turned to Lighterpack.com to track everything. I broke out a scale and weighed everything, logging and categorizing each item. I wasn’t too happy with where my base weight ended up and slimmed down what I was carrying.  The sleeping clothes I was bringing weighed over 1lb, I decided that my sleeping bag liner would keep my sleeping bag just as clean at a fraction of the weight. I didn’t need the small shovel or an extra flashlight.  I cut down what I was bringing to exactly what I needed.  Here is how everything weighed out (Click here to see a detailed list of what makes up my base weight). I’ll  continue to refine what i’ll be carrying with me and update the list as I go.

With my base weight  at 15 lbs and 3.5 ounces, with room to improve, I was feeling pretty good about where things were.  Per the 2017 PCT Thru Hiker Survey at Halfway Anywhere the average base weight hikers started with last year was 19.49 lbs and the average base weight they finished with was 16.51 lbs.  If you’re a data nerd or just want to understand more the PCT hikers last year, take a closer look at the 2017 PCT Survey, there is some really interesting information, at least I think so.

With my backpack and base weight dialed in I ventured to one of my favorite spots, Squak Mountain.  With a diverse network of trails it’s easy to hike as much as you want with plenty of challenging bits if you know where to go.  In 3 hours I covered 9.24 miles with a decent amount of elevation gain and loss. Unfortunately my fit bit didn’t seem to want to track elevation that day.  However, my pace only decreased slightly with the added elevation.  Next time i’ll use my actual GPS, which I still need to figure out.

From here on out i’ll be getting out and hiking with all my gear every chance I get, starting to practice setting up everything and packing it all up again as well. The more I figure out before I hit the PCT the better, hiking the trail itself will be enough of a challenge.