Tag: Pacific Crest Trail

Independence to Bishop

Toby Leave a comment

61 miles – 6/9/18 – 6/13/18

While in Independence, which was not much of a town at all, I the bus back to Lone Pine to resupply and revisit some of my “old stomping grounds” since I spent so much time there. Since the bus only ran three times a day and resupplying doesn’t take that long, I stopped by the Frosty Chalet for a milkshake before trying to hitch hike back to Independence. On my way I noticed a large group of hikers trying to hitch hike and figured that it would probably take me a while to get a ride as they would intercept any rides. However, it turns out that people who give rides also like milkshakes. Right as I started to hitch a couple that I saw inside the Frosty Chalet pulled out and offered a ride. Turns out that they were a couple from Tennessee that were road tripping across the united states, hiking and climbing along the way.

Before heading back to the trial I had some amazing french toast for breakfast in a make shift restaurant inside a co-op which was only open a few days a week . I then hitchhiked back to the trail that would take me back to the PCT, I ended up getting a ride from a really friendly guy that shared a lot of history about the area.

The climb back up Kearsarge Pass was easier than expected, it seemed like it was gong to be hard going as I was coming down a few days earlier. Once I got to the top it got a bit windy, so windy that it my hat got blown off my head and carried over the peak. I spent a good 10 minutes looking for it trying not to side down towards the lake below. I eventually found it around the other side. I hiked a bit further to the junction with the PCT and set up camp for the night ready to go over Glen Pass in the morning.

The hike up Glen pass was fairly easy, just the random bits of snow to deal with along the way as the trail passed a few small lakes.

However, coming down the other side was a bit challenging. While I could tell where the trail was the switchbacks were buried in snow. Instead, the easiest path down followed a ridge of exposed rock, which wasn’t too difficult to move through except the parts that really icy with frozen melt water. I slipped and fell on my ass twice, luckily my backpack helped break my fall.

As I continued down a found a great stretch of snow to glissade down. I was exited to slide down the snow like a penguin, except on my butt instead of my belly. I was so exited in fact I forgot that I needed to use my ice axe to control my speed. I ended up going too fast and having to bail out with only my hands to stop me. which ended up getting scrapped up.

Once I cleared the snow I made it to Rae Lakes, which were really beautiful. At one point I was greeted by a surprise water crossing where one lake drained into another.

As I continued on I had a couple more water crossings. Luckily one river had a suspension bridge over it. The bridge itself was limited to one person crossing at the time and swayed about when crossed. After crossing the bridge I started to climb back up and continued up a couple miles, past the 800 mile marker, to get a jump on Pinchot Pass.

In hindsight I wish I would have gotten a bit closer to Pinchot Pass the day before. While the climb up to the pass started as expected it became hard to follow as I hit the snow fields . The path in the snow field would go in what seemed like the right direction but you would then spot an exposed portion of the trail further up or down from where you were, which made for some annoying transitions between the two.

Once at the top descent was easy with micro-spikes. There were random patches of snow as the trail passed a handful of lakes.

As the trail continued down it crossed a couple large creeks and a full on river at the bottom. The river was the trickiest water crossing yet but I obviously made it across.

I climbed up a few more miles and crossed a few more streams before setting up camp a couple miles from Mather Pass (are you seeing a pattern here?), which has a reputation of being somewhat terrifying because of its large head wall. As I was in my tent trying to fall asleep I saw a helicopter come in from the west. It flew up into the mountains and then back down, circling before dropping down out of sight. It seemed to be back by there river I crossed earlier in the day. Suddenly the possibility of serious injury came to the front of my mind and the thought of Mather Pass made my anxiety kick in.

Luckily Mather Pass was nothing to be afraid off, it was mostly snow free and while the switchbacks were tight I at no point felt a fear of heights. The way down was a bit tricky as it was still pretty snow covered, following one set of boot prints in the snow would lead to a melted out section where I had to scramble down.

As the trail cleared it winded down next down to some lakes and a creek that would eventually join to become the middle fork of the king river. All was well until I hit a series of switchbacks which seemed like they would never end. After getting to the bottom of the switch backs there were a number of interesting water crossings due to snow melt. I hit the low point before starting the climb back up towards the next pass. However, instead of continuing on I would be taking Bishop pass out to the city of Bishop where I would take a bus to Reno to meet up with Cristina. I continued on to the ranger station (which wasn’t manned) at the junction with Bishop Pass. I thought about calling it a day but decided to push up the pass a couple miles to get a jump on the following day as Bishop Pass was a little more substantial than the previous bail out points.

In the morning I was greeted by an immediate water crossing, nothing like wet feet as you get ready to hike in the snow. The steep switchbacks gave way to an amazing alpine area with small ponds before hitting more snow on the way to the top of the pass.

The drop down from the top was manageable with a few scrambles due to snow cover and the hike out had some breathtaking views and stunning lakes. The closer I got to the trailhead the more day hikers I saw. Shortly after arriving at the parking lot I was able to catch a ride down into Bishop which was extremely hot, at least to me.

A few days later, after sampling the restaurants in Bishop, I hopped on the bus to Reno where I’d meet up with Cristina. However, I also had to say to my hiking partner Sisse, her visa was up and she had to return to Denmark. The following day Cristina arrived and we enjoyed a couple days at the Peppermill Casino which included a much needed spa day and a massage.

Lone Pine to Independence

Toby Leave a comment

45 Miles – 6/2/18 – 6/6/18

It’s easy to end up spending a few days in Lone Pine, which is exactly what I did. Plenty of places to eat including a couple amazing taco trucks., When I tried to hitch back to the trailhead I didn’t have much luck so I took a break and had a beer. After a beer or two I decided that it would probably be easier to hitch out in the morning so I stayed another night and ate more tacos.

The next morning I was able to catch a ride back to the trailhead by a couple from LA doing an overnight trip. In the Sierra. Once I got back to the PCT I hiked up to Chicken Lake where I stopped for lunch before continuing a few more miles before camping for the night.

In the morning I hiked up to the Crabtree ranger station and set up camp in the early afternoon. I had heard of hikers camping a little closer to Mt. Whitney at Guitar Lake but my understanding is that the ranger station was as close as I could get with just my PCT permit. I’m sure I could have camped at Guitar lake and been OK but the ranger station also had a pit toilet, which is a rare find on the trail. The idea was to take it easy and rest before hiking up Mt. Whitney the following morning. However, my tent turns into an oven in direct sunlight so I wasn’t able to get much rest before the sun calmed down. I did get to hang out on porch of the ranger station, which was nice.

When my alarm went off at 2am I only grabbed the things I would need to get up Mt. Whitney, ate a quick breakfast and headed out. It was nice being able to leave my tent set up and carry a lighter pack since I would be returning to the ranger station. Hiking in the dark was a little annoying but it was fun to see other hikers headlamps on the side of the mountain as they headed up the trail.

I crossed a few small snow fields on my way to the switch backs up the mountain. Once on the switch backs there were random patches of snow and ice but nothing too tricky. After reaching the junction summit the snow became a little more prevalent but still nothing too challenging. The sun started to rise and lit up the mountains as I made my way up to the summit around 6am. I was a bit intimidated by Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous united states, but it ended up being easier than I had feared. There were a handful of other hikers at the summit enjoying the view, I stayed for a little while and had a snack before starting to head back down. I’m always cautious of snow getting too soft and making the descent tricky.

On my way down there were a good amount of people heading up, which was a little surprising. As I headed back to the ranger station I was able to see all the scenery I passed in the dark which made it feel completely new.

I got back to camp around 11am and tried to spend as much time as I could in my tent before it turned into a sauna again. Once it cooled down I quickly fell asleep and even slept in a bit in the morning.

In the morning I packed up and hiked a mere 9 miles to the base of Forrester Pass, the highest point on the actual PCT. On the way I went over Bighorn Plateau and crossed a couple large streams which required getting my feet wet. Once across the last water crossing I set up camp, making sure that my tent had plenty of shade.

I once again woke up early, luckily not at 2am, and headed up to the pass. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I was prepared for a hard climb. The first few miles were nothing crazy, just a few snowy bits. However, once I got to the bottom of the final push up to the pass there was a good amount of snow making it tricky to find the trail. Luckily it was still frozen making it easy to hike on. Since it was difficult to spot the trail I scrambled between patches of snow and rocks until I made my way to the switchbacks which were snow free, with the exception of the chute right before the top of the pass.

Once at the top I was able to see down into Kings Canyon National Park, which was stunning, even with all the snow I’d have to deal with. Surprisingly getting down wasn’t too bad, there were plenty of footprints that made great steps and we’re easy to follow.

When I got further down into the canyon I was awestruck. It felt like I finally entered the Sierra, even though I already technically had days ago. I hiked along a large “creek” and the trail was pretty tame.

Knowing that I’d be heading out to Independence the following day I decided to push a little more and get into town a day early. There were a few water crossings and another climb up to Kearsarge Pass, which was luckily snow free.

The trail to the pass was beautiful, passing by a few lakes. The climb over the pass wasn’t technically that difficult but after going over Forrester in the morning it felt like it. Once at the top of the pass I was able to get a sliver of service and called a motel that was able to pick me up from the trailhead. Somehow the guy pulled up just as I was getting to the trailhead and I rode back down into the hot desert. I checked into the motel, took a shower and got some sleep.

Tehachapi to Kennedy Meadows

Toby 1 Comment

135 miles – 5/17/18 – 5/25/18

In my last post I forgot to mention that I was given a trail name, two actually. The first one was “Bloodhound” because I can always find great spots for a break or to set up camp. I tried it out for a couple days but it didn’t feel right. I was then given “Strider” because apparently I can just stride up climbs with my long legs

I spent my time in Tehachapi the same way I do whenever I stay in a town, eating and being lazy. I’ll usually get sucked in to binge watching some reality TV show like Catfish or Naked and Afraid. However the hotel I stayed at had a hot tub and a pool, so that got added into the mix. My favorite place I ate in Tehachapi was Red House BBQ, some of the best BBQ I’ve had in a long time. The town itself was pretty spread out so I got a few rides from the one Uber driver and when she wasn’t around called the taxi company which only seemed to have one car. I was able to tell because one of the mirrors was broken off.

Before heading back to the trail I grabbed some of the breakfast at the hotel, stealing a bunch of hot sauce packets and jelly. The same Uber driver showed up to give me a ride back to the trail where I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in weeks, the creepy guy from the start of my hike. He didn’t exactly remember me and was heading into town which was a relief.

I started down the trail which ran along the highway. A guy that was pulled over on the side of the highway asked me if I needed anything, stated that he had everything I could want, I settled on a Dr Pepper. He told me that he just quit his job and was going on a road trip before finding somewhere to start new.

Loaded up on sugar I followed the trail back into the hills. After reaching the top things became a little more wooded. It didn’t get as warm as I had hoped so when I found a place to camp I crawled right into my sleeping bag and ate dinner.

The following morning I actually slept in! All the way to 7:30am, which is an hour and a half later than usual. After eating breakfast I made the short hike to a spring to fill up a gallon of water. Generally I shoot for a liter for every 5 miles and I was going 20 with no other water sources on the way.

I started out hiking through pretty exposed areas and after a couple good climbs, passing the 600 mile marker, ended up in a forest. I found a spot to camp at another spring.

From the spring the trail winded through a nice wooded area before dropping down to a campground full of people riding dirt bikes and shooting guns. I used the bathroom (always a welcome amenity) and filled up my water. The climb out of the campground went through a burnt but rocky section. At the top there was a great view of the mountains ahead before beginning the desent back down to the desert.

At the bottom I came across a giant water cache, easily over 100 gallons, which was a welcome sight as the next water source was still a few miles ahead with a 2 mile detour. The climb after the water cache wasn’t too drastic on paper but the heat and sandy trail made it less than fun. When I hit 20 miles for the day I was ready to set up camp but as much as I wanted to I was unable to find a good enough spot. I pushed on for a couple more miles and found a nice spot under a joshua tree.

In the morning it was just a handful of miles to the next giant water cache. However, I once again found myself climbing up a sandy trail. Once I arrived at the junction with the water cache I was very excited to see a group of people hanging out under a tent. It was some trail magic! A couple of trail angels were set up with all kinds of stuff they were very eager to have consumed, so I helped. I had a Coke, a Gatorade, a Dr. Pepper, carrots and celery, Pringles and a couple of granola bars. I was now more than ready to power up the next hill, which I did easily.

At the top I stopped for a nice long lunch before heading down the back of the hill. On my way I ran into the trail angles from earlier hiking up! They said there was a surprise at the bottom. I headed down the switchbacks and at the bottom I spotted one of their coolers filled with soda! I drank another Coke and a root beer.

The next bit of the trail was wooded and a bit grassy before joining with a very worn dirt road, which was not very fun to walk on. I followed the crappy dirt road to a campsite with a somewhat creepy cabin. For the first time in a while I decided to set up my tent instead of cowboy camping and settled in for the night.

After a few miles of morning hiking, with a few great views, I arrived at Walker Pass ready to hitch into Lake Isabella for the day. However, this proved to be more difficult than I expected. After about 30 minutes of unsuccessful hitchhiking some more hikers showed up trying to get a ride as well. One guy took a ride to a town in the opposite direction. There were no Uber or Lyft drivers to be found, I imagine one could make a killing from hikers alone. I started to consider trying to get a ride to the town in the opposite direction a van showed up to drop off a couple hikers.

The van was covered with all sorts of paint and the hashtag #greatfuldad. The driver was a deadhead that was giving rides while he waited to meet up with his daughter who was hiking the trail. He busted out some paint and markers and told everyone to sign his van, which we did. Afterwards we all pilled in and made the 30 minute drive to Lake Isabella.

I checked into a very basic and outdated motel which I wouldn’t stay in if I wasn’t spending most of my nights outside. The owner was friendly and even kept a hiker box full of random things. Lake Isabella itself, while it had a few good spots, seemed like a notable portion of the population were on meth. Despite this, I decided to spend a second night there as based on what I heard from others the conditions in the Sierras was still causing hikers to bail out and planning on taking a week off before planning on attempting to go back in. I figured another day of rest, and another day for conditions to improve, would be a good idea.

When I finally left Lake Isabella it was early. After waking up at 4:15am I walked a mile to catch the 5:20am bus back to the trail. The bus only ran 3 days a week, three times a day. Not surprisingly the only riders were sleepy hikers. Once back at the trail I climbed back up, this time into mountians. At one point I could look back down into the desert hoping it would be the last time I would see it.

The trail continued it’s trend of climbing up and then dropping back down a couple times before I reached a campsite at the top of one of the climbs. Being in an area with more peaks than hills made me happy and excited to get into the Sierras.

The next day followed the same pattern of ascending and descending before a long winding drop into a valley. I spent the night next to a trickling stream where a bear had been a problem last year. I guess the bear decided to move on because there was no sign of one.

The next morning I hiked the last 10 breathtaking miles into Kennedy Meadows. I’ll be taking a day off here, I can only make it so far north because of snow so I’ll be taking it slow until I meet up with Cristina in Reno. Since I won’t be able to hike that far north I’ll have to bail out of the Sierra and take a bus into Reno.

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.

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!

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”.