June 27th: I woke up in the morning with Mt. Whitney staring me down. Oh, how I wanted to stand on that summit; the highest peak in the lower 48 states at an altitude of 14,505. Despite my excitement to begin climbing I had a small amount of concern. I knew I begin to feel altitude sickness around 9,500ft and the thought of how I would potentially feel 5,000 feet higher than that was draining my excitement a little. I was worried that I was going to get to a certain point up the mountain and not be able to continue because my breathing would become too short....or that I would even black out completely. My plan of attack for the mountain was to simply take it slowly. I climbed the fist mile before I stopped for a moment to eat breakfast. After that I hiked another 2.6 miles to Guitar lake where I had second breakfast. From guitar lake I hiked 1.4 miles to the trail junction of the Whitney portal trail. I had some lunch there and trucked up the remaining 1.9 miles to the summit! It was one hell of a view! By the time I got to the top I was feeling pretty decent. Once I could see the summit I knew I was going to make it and my body started pumping with adrenaline so upon summiting I was buzzing with positive energy. Some of the views I got while climbing up were even more spectacular than the views from the top. I'll probably write more about Whitney at some point but at the moment I'm being distracted by the hiker conversations around me.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
June 25th and 26th: altitude sickness and cold nights.
June 25th: I woke up this morning with just as bad as a headache as I had when I went to sleep. The altitude was really bothering me all day today. Straight off in the morning I climbed higher than I had ever climbed before and my breath became so short I actually became a little scared. I kept pushing through to the top and almost immediately started climbing down. It wasn't until the last climb of the day, however, that I really experienced the worst of the altitude adjustment. I was climbing up Cottonwood pass and past it to Chicken Spring Lake when a gust of wind lifted my rain jacket up a a bit and the delerium made me feel like I was an airplane. I spent the entire evening feeling completely drunk off of altitude (while hiking with my arms out flying like an airplane). It was a rough night with the headache and limited breathing.
June 26th: Today instead of an airplane I was an Oscar Meyer Weener. I Hiked to and camped at the base of Mt. Whitney.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Sunday, June 24th: Cow Stampede
Sunday, June 24th: There is nothing like being woken up in the morning to the sound of a cow stampede! I don't believe I can recall another morning where I have had such the pleasure. At first I had no idea what the noises were. It took me a while for the cows to get closer before I knew what was happening.
Despite my early wake up call from the cows I still didn't get moving until around 8:30am. It took me until noon to hike 5 miles! It WAS all uphill but 5 miles should NEVER take 3 1/2 hours. The reason for the delay was because I was climbing from 8,000ft to 11,000 and I apparently have altitude sickness. My muscles became weak, my vision started to blur and blacken, I became nauseous, and started to experience some delerium. I had to take very small steps and concentrate on my breathing. After 3 1/2 hours of this I finally made it to the top for some lunch.
After lunch I hiked another 11 miles and am now camping above 10,000ft. It seems that any altitude above 9,000ft gives me a constant headache. It's definitely an Excedrin Migraine kinda night.
Saturday, June 23rd: goodbye Kennedy Meadows
Saturday June 23rd: I didn't leave Kennedy Meadows until after 9am and I sure as hell wasn't moving very quickly when I did. My pack was full to the brim with 8 days of food (heavy on the food for each day at that), a bear canister, a wind shell that I just had sent to me, and two liters of water. With all the new gear and the mandatory bear canister my pack weighed 40 pounds!! I drank a liter right away to bring it down two pounds but it didn't feel much lighter. Normally my pack weighs in somewhere around 27-28 pounds so it was a challenge for sure! I've been trying to eat the food up quickly, however, I need to remember to save enough to last me the next 7 days. All in all today was slow going. Todays miles = 17.
There is a woman in the trail named "Listener" and she has been the biggest inspiration to me on this trail so far. She is 74 years old, out here by herself, and does her best to keep up enough miles to be able to finish the trail. She is soft spoken and doesn't seem to speak unless she really has something to say. Just she, as she is, is inspiring. She weighs probably 105 pounds and lugs around a pack running close to 30-35 pounds. She never complains. She hikes what she can and I'm damn sure shes pushing herself out her more than anyone else I've met. She is the kindest woman also which is a bonus to her sheer awesomeness! Everytime I see her I realize there is no complaint I could make that she could not top and that keeps my mount shut. I have the pleasure of camping with this woman tonight. She wasn't sure if she was going to make it to the camp we were going to tonight and Baboon and I were really rooting for her. So much so that Baboon sped ahead so he could get to the camp first and start a fire in hopes that the sight or smell of it would give her the last push she needed to get to camp. Upon arriving at camp she said she could see the fire from a ways back and it was then that she knew she could make it!
Tonight is our first night with our bear canisters and most of us our still sleeping with our food. Protocol for the canisters is to put ALL your food in them (although, nobody's food will fit) and place them some 200 yards from where you are camping. Only one person out of us 5 did that. That was the person that got their food played with by a bear tonight. It was around an hour after we went to bed when I heard what sounded like a hungry bear throwing around a bear can. After a while it gave up on getting the food and went about its business elsewhere. It never came overly close to any of our tents that had the bear cans and extra food in them. Although, the sound of the bear raised my nerves quite a bit. I tired to wake Monkey up by saying his name. I got a mumbled "Spins" in return before I could hear him rolling back over in his tent and immediately falling back to sleep. It took me a while to fall back asleep...
Friday, June 22, 2012
Friday, June 22nd: Happy Hour
One good thing (among many) that came from spending an extra day in Kennedy Meadows is that my trail runners (shoes) came in the mail from Solomon!!! I threw my old ones in the hiker box immediately. Now all I have to do is figure out my tent situation and I'll be all set with gear. The bear vault (bear proof container for food) is going to work with my gear but barley. I have a 46 liter pack...which translates for, not big enough to be lugging around a bear vault. I had to do some serious rearranging of my pack and gear for it to be able to even fit inside my pack. I almost had to strap it in between the base of my pack and the brain (top pocket that straps onto the base of the pack). They make a 58 liter version of the pack I have and right about now I am really wishing I had that pack instead of mine. Not one more item could fit in my pack if I tired. It will be this way for the next 350 miles until I can ditch the bear vault and go back to using my waterproof food bag.
All I really accomplished today was a decent amount of ice cream eating. Whats nice about Kennedy Meadows is that besides the general store there is no where to spend any money. So, its not been too damaging of a "town" stay. I'm planning out getting out of here either late tonight or early tomorrow morning....early....before I get sucked back in with 7 o'clock coffee and pancakes.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Thurday, June 21st: Hike naked day!
Kennedy Meadows is the official end of the 702.2 mile desert section of the PCT!! Although, the official start of the Sierra's is not for anther day or so of hiking.
Now that I am officially OUT of the desert (yippie!) I can say that despite the fact that I am very happy to have experience it in all its glory that I am pretty confident I will never desire to hike 700 miles in the desert again! I will share a few things that the desert has taught me:
1) Do not hug Joshua Trees! They are sharp. For that matter, everything that grows in the desert is sharp and its best not to attempt to hug any of it.
2) Don't let the red ants fool you! Even though there appears NOT to be any red aunts where you are setting up your camp its right when you decide not to set up your tent and instead cowboy camp under the stars that the queen releases her militia to attack in full force!
3) Red ant bites make big welts on your skin that itch and burn for upwards of a day and a half.
4) Do not rope swing into a hot spring where there is poison oak!
5) Do not wait to start hiking for the day until the high noon sun. Hike earlier!
6) Do not put on chap stick in the middle of the day. The wax turns to liquid and runs down your face causing it to burn.
7) There are in fact white squirrels in the world.
8) Do not try to set up your tent in a wind farm.
9) Check your shoes for scorpions in the morning BEFORE you put your feet in them.
10) Watch your step! (Baboon was inches from stepping on a snakes head and didn't even notice until I told him so)
11) It CAN rain in the desert.
12) Hiking on sand is miserable.
13) The sunrises and sunsets are absolutely amazing in the desert!
14) No human being is designed to live in the desert. (all of you who do are crazy!)
15) Try to avoid being outside in the desert when you have a fever.
* I realized the other day that in a few days when I am standing on the summit of Mt. Whitney (the tallest peak in the lower 48 states) that I will have hiked; I will have backpacked over 3,000 miles of mountainous back country trail!!*
Wednesday, June 20th: Kennedy Meadows
The general store had my packages! I received one from my mother which contained a bear can from my good friend Adam and my rain gear. The other package that was here waiting for me was the one I sent which had my food resupply in it. I was expecting one other package from Solomon with my new shoes but unfortunately it hadn't arrived yet. I called Solomon while in Tehachapi and had them send a new pair of FREE shoes to Kennedy Meadows due to the fact that my current shoes have pretty much retired from their hiking career. They are tired and want to go to shoe heaven. Looks like I will be entering the Sierra's (the most difficult and unpredictable section of trail) with dead shoes and a tent that does not close. I'll make it work somehow.
After I got to Kennedy Meadows I sat, drank soda, sat some more, drank more soda, ate, showered, did laundry, ate ice cream, and sat. It was beautiful!
There is a man named Tom who lives in Kennedy Meadows who owns many trailers that he has placed all over his land. He allows hikers to claim a trailer for the night and use his computers. He also has an outdoor movie projection screen set up that hes plays movies on every night. Tonight he made a big batch of spaghetti for all the hikers (and a veg version for me!) and tomorrow morning is pancakes. I'm definitely enjoying my time here in Kennedy Meadows.
Tuesday, June 19th: Uphill all day
I was getting ready to go to sleep and in the process of closing up my tent and getting organized I realized that the zipper on my tent is broken! It usually snags a little but if I'm careful with it it will close no problem. It's been like this ever since NY on the AT. However, tonight it broke completely. I no longer can zip my tent up. which kind of defeats the purpose of having a tent. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it at this point. I'm just going to have to deal with it until I can get somewhere where I can get it fixed or buy a new tent...although, new tents are upwards off 300 dollars for one suitable for the trail. :-(
Monday, June 18th: Sleeping in
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Sunday, June 17th
Sunday June 17th: Happy Fathers day to all the fathers out there. I thought yesterday was Sunday therefore making it Fathers Day in my mind. I was upset because I did not have any service while up on the particular mountain range I was on yesterday and I could not call my father or grandfather. However, it wasn't until I arrived in town today that I was informed that TODAY was Sunday! So I didn't miss the Fathers day calls after all! I went all week being a day off. Thats what happens when you live in the mountains without any real outside information. You truly do loose track of time and days.
Today was a wonderful day. I woke up relatively around the time I was planning on (which almost never happens) and was hiking by 5:25am. I hiked 15 miles by 10:45am including 2 hours of breaks for water re-up. I stood at the road leading to the town of Lake Isabella for 1 hour and 10 minutes attempting to get to hitch and heres why... Coming out of Tehachapi CA (which was the last town) I knew I had a potential 8 day resupply to get to Kennedy Meadows (which is just before the beginning of the Sierra Nevada Mountains). I also knew that carrying 8 days of food coupled with all the water I was going to carry was going to be difficult. So, I resupplied lightly, both in weight and actually quantity. I thought I was so clever. My pack felt as good as it could have for the situation when coming out of town. It wasn't two days into the 140 mile stretch that I realized that I did NOT have enough food to make it all the way to Kennedy Meadows. In fact I figured I was 2 1/2 days short! I had a moment of intense panic when I realized that I was stuck in the middle of nowhere without enough food to get myself to....somewhere with food. Alas! I realized that if I could make it to Walker Pass I could potentially hitch hike 37 miles on highway 178 to the town of Lake Isabella. Which takes me back to why I was standing on the side of the hot blacktop in the noon sun and heat of the desert for an hour and 10 minutes. I was getting slightly frustrated with how difficult the hitch was proving to be right as a truck pulled up on the side of the road and the nice couple inside agreed to take us to Lake Isabella! Marvin and Debbie proved to be one of the friendliest hitches I've ever gotten in my life....and I've gotten more than I could ever count. They drove myself and 3 other repulsively smelly hikers 37 miles to town. Upon arriving close to town they informed us that if we wanted they could swing by and pick us back up on their way out of town and drive us back to the trail. Two of the hikers were planning on staying a night in town but Baboon and I excitedly agreed.
We arrived in town around 2:45pm and immediately hit up the Burger King. I got a veggie burger, sweet potato fries, and a soda. Then off to the grocery store. Because I was only buying food for two and 1/2 days I wasn't overly concerned about weight. Thus the apple, banana, orange, 1 pound of fresh California dates, 4 bran muffins, and an entire 1 pound bag of tootsie pops... among other items!!
After that was all settled Marvin and Debbie kept their word and picked us up at the grocery store and took us back to the trail. There is potential to meet back up with them sometime around Independence (9 days from now). I'm really hoping we can make that work out. I'd love to get to know these kind people a little better. Thank you Marvin and Debbie!!
Todays miles: 17
One last thought: There are three things that remain constant when attempting to read the elevation profile for the PCT
1.) When the line is flat it REALLY means that you are going to go uphill
2.) When the line is already uphill it means that its just really going to suck.
3.) When the line is downhill it means that you are going to hike a series of both ups and downs with perhaps slightly more downhill so that you 'technically' end at a lower point than where you started. F*ck you elevation profile. You are a lying bitch!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Saturday, June 16
June 16th: Todays miles = 21. It was HOT today! I didn't get started hiking until 6:30 despite my efforts to be hiking by 5:15. I was under the impression that today was going to be a rather difficult day of hiking and I wanted to get a head start on the day. Turns out it wasn't too bad. The only part that was really challenging was the 2,000ft climb in the last few miles of the day. Normally a climb like that isn't too bad but starting it after having already hiked 18 miles makes it significantly more difficult.
The water situation has still been pretty rough. For the past 3 or 4 days the water has been 20 miles apart. I was determined not to run out today so I carried 4 1/2 liters from the camp spot this morning to the next water. Then 5 liters of water from there to my camp spot for tonight. Both those water sources were water cashes. Trail angels occasionally leave cashes of water in stretches where there would otherwise be none. Without those last few cashes hikers would NOT make it through this section of desert. I didn't want to count on them but no matter the amount of water I could have taken it would not have been enough. I drank 9 liters of water today (thats 2.38 gallons) and I peed twice. Your body sucks the water up so quickly. I've been thirsty for days. Never has my thirst been quenched since I left the last town.
The first 5 or so miles this morning were really pretty. There was random Joshua trees scattered along the trail and it made for a good sunrise! Even though the trail was ALL sand again today I actually found a way to enjoy the hike. Its refreshing when hiking feels like a hobby again and not a job.
The code word is....spaghetti.
Friday June 15th: last night (Thursday) I saw my first trail skunk! I saw something moving and looked over to see the source of the noise. My initial thought was that it was a bear. I had entered bear area that morning and was on the lookout all day yesterday. Turns out it was just a skunk moseying his way around my camp. I left him alone. He left me alone. We were both happy.
This morning I hiked 6 miles to the first water source. During that 6 miles I entered Sequoia National Forrest, saw baby ducklings scurrying along the trail trying to avoid my step, saw a brown bears ass after it had just climbed down from a tree, heard many grouse, saw butterflies mating, saw three cows, and was scared to death by an unknown noise that I'm assuming was a bear wanting me to leave his home as soon as possible....I needed no convincing. It was just 5 miles after I entered Sequoia that I exited it and found myself back in the barren waste land of the desert. For 5 tiny miles I got to walk amongst trees....trees (sigh).
At mile 9 today I discovered what appeared to be a murky, swamp like body of water, and a Baboon swimming in it! It wasn't long before I joined him in the task of cooling and 'cleaning' myself off. You know your in the desert when a murky, swamp like pool of water not only meets the acceptable requirements of a swimming hole but exceeds them. I also bottled up some of that very water, added my treatment, and drank it up as I hiked another 11 miles to my camp spot for tonight. Todays miles = 20. I have no complaints about my home for this evening. I'm perched up on a mountain with a 360 view of more mountains (barren and desert though they may be), watching the setting sun shine its red and orange rays into the clouds. I have water. I have a full belly. I know this evenings code word for if a bear is invading our camp....
June 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th
Monday June 11th: I managed to make it to the post office and send out my food boxes for Kennedy Meadows and Independence. While at the post office I learned that there was a bus that left from the bus stop downtown Tehachapi which took you to the trail head. I talked a very nice lady (who was at the post office picking up her mail order glue for a quilting project she was doing) into giving me a ride to Kmart, which was very close to the bus stop. While at Kmart I decided I wanted pizza for lunch before catching the bus to the trail so I walked a mile to Hungry Howies and got just that. After walking back to the Kmart area and getting a soda from Burger King I realized just how awful I was beginning to feel. For days leading up to this moment I had felt very tired and uncomfortable but I thought it was just being a thru-hiker. It was at this moment, however, that I realized I was getting sick. Baboon and I walked 7/10ths of a mile to the Ranch motel and got a room for the night. Before I could even realize I had laid down I was out cold. I Slept 8pm to 8am.
Tuesday June 12th: At 8am I still had a fever of about 102, if not higher but I was hungry (which was a good sign). So, I walked the 3/10ths of a mile to the bakery and got a bagel for breakfast. After breakfast and the walk back to the motel I discovered that my glands were all swollen and my throat hurt like I was getting strep throat, AND my whole body was covered with HIVES....everywhere except my face. I uncomfortably slept the rest of the day away. Baboon has an account of us going to the grocery store and getting food for dinner....I barely remember this. I was in a fever haze.
Wednesday June 13th: When I woke up in the morning all I wanted to do was go back to sleep and sleep all of Thursday away also. Even though I felt like shit still I felt better than the day before and that was enough of an excuse for me to pull my ass out of bed and pack my things. I caught the 10:47 bus to the trail and hiked a tiny 11 miles before all my energy was spent.
Thursday June 14th: This morning I started to finally feel a little better again. The only issue with today was the lack of water. There has only been water about every 20 miles or so and you know, its the desert. Its hot! I only had a few sips of water this morning and I had another 7 miles to hike until the next water. I made it and boy was I happy to see the tank....even if it did look....questionable. I sat there and drank three liters and packed up 4 more liters for the next 20 miles. I'm at camp now wishing I had taken 5 because I'm terribly thirsty and I only have 1 liter left and 7 miles to hike tomorrow morning before more water. Miles today = 20. Before hiking in the desert I thought I knew what it meant to be thirsty. My standard is forever changed!
Stress fracture, shin splint, infected poison oak, poodle dog bush, foot infection, hives, fever, dizziness, throat infection, pinched nerve in my back.....I'm taking bets on whats next!!
Monday, June 11, 2012
June 9th and 10th
Saturday (6/9): I woke up on the ridge of a mountain with a complete view of the desert floor and a wind farm! I had decent motivation because I knew that coffee and a shower was only 11 miles away. The hike to the road went by really quickly, however, the last 4 or 5 miles were difficult. The trail went right through the wind farm that was part of my morning view. Now, if a location is windy enough to harness energy you would think that someone on the trail crew would say, that might really suck to hike through. Perhaps that was the determining factor in building the trail there. The PCT likes to take the most roundabout and absurd way of getting from one point to the other.
Once I got to the road Monkey was being asked a series of questions from the Tehachapi search and rescue team. The questions were about a man that supposedly was injured and needed to be rescued. The team was running around frantically getting there gear all set up while Baboon was answering questions like: did he have a hat on? Did he have a cell phone? Did he have enough water? I was a bit confused about the situation because if Baboon had passed a man needing to be rescued then surly I would have passed him also. It wasn't until the onslaught of questions were over that I was informed that it was a training exercise and Baboon and been solicited to play along. In return for the cooperation we got a ride to town in the search and rescue Bronco. The lady drove us to the post office then to the motel. I just hung out in the motel most of the night relaxing until I went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner.
Sunday (6/10): Lazy day. All I really did was go to the grocery store to buy 22 days worth of food.
Today: I'm going to head over to the post office and get the boxes of food sent out to Kennedy and Independence. Then back to the trail
Friday, June 8, 2012
June 7th and 8th.
Thursday June 7th: I didn't really get up too early again. When its chilly in the morning I really have a hard time getting moving. The morning hike was not too bad. I hiked 7 miles to a place called hiker town. A couple owns the property and on it have small buildings and streets, as if it were a real town. The buildings have signs on them, for example: post office, barber shop, market, and so on. It looked like a small town out of the 1800s. They had many dogs running around the land and a puppy! They also had chickens and roosters that roamed free throughout the little town. There was one chicken that sat in the window sill almost the entire time I was there. I got to shower but had to put my dirty clothes back on. It was better than not showering at all. I hung out there almost the entire day from 10:30-6:30. At 6:30pm I decided to hike out into the Mojave desert floor and night hike the 18 miles to the next water. I made it 11 miles before I was falling asleep while hiking. It was exactly like when your driving...late and dark and your eyes close themselves. Before you know it your jerking yourself awake. The same sensation was happening to me while hiking. Thats when I just walked over to the side of the trail and went to sleep. I didn't eat. I didn't drink. I just slept. Total miles: 19
Friday June 8th (today): I woke up early and comfortable! The weather was warm so I had no trouble getting my things together. I was nervous that the sun was going to come out in full force and scorch down on me while finishing up the last miles of the Mojave. I hiked pretty quickly to the water source but I didn't have much energy. I think it had to do with skipping dinner last night. I filled up my belly with water and took a nap for a while underneath a bridge before hiking to my lunch spot. I also took a nap at the lunch spot. I hated the trail today! Most of the day was hiking on sand, just as if you were on the beach. The wind was brutal. I had a hard time keeping myself upright... let along hiking. Although it was all made better by the whole wheat bagel thin-pesto-grilled cheese I made on my camp stove. I found a packet of pesto in the hiker box at hiker town and tonight for dinner I managed to make a pesto grilled cheese in the lid of my cook pot. It took a bit of fenessing because I didn't have oil to keep it from burning. Slow cooking it with my cook pot pressing down on it like a panini did the trick! It worked surprisingly well and was delicious! Total miles: 17
Tomorrow I'm going to wake up, make my coffee, and hike 11 miles to the road to the town of Tehachapi. I've been looking forward to my mothers homemade snickerdoodles that are sitting in a box for me at the post office. I'm going to sit in town, drink soda, and stuff as many cookies into my face as I can. After that proves successful I have to shop for my next three re-supplies. Tehachapi to Kennedy Meadows. Kennedy Meadows to Independence. Independence to....wherever is next. Both Kennedy Meadows and Independence don't particularly have decent resupply options therefore I have to mail boxes ahead. Kennedy Meadows is the last stop before the Sierras so I have to make sure I don't screw up my food. The Sierras would not be the best place to run out of food.
Sleep....dreaming of snickerdoodles....
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Mile 500....finally.
This morning(Wednesday 6/6) I REALLY did not want to get out of my sleeping bag. I almost refused and spent the entire day in it but instead I hiked 22 miles. The only real highlight of today was crossing the 500 mile mark. Although it wasn't as exciting as I was anticipating. I saw it, took a picture, and hiked on. Other than that it was just a solid day of nice hiking.
Tomorrow is the Mojave desert floor. It's suppose to be the hottest section of trail. It's about a 30 mile stretch with little to no water and no shade. Once you start hiking through it you pretty much have to continue until you get back into the mountains. Tomorrow might be a long day... I'm hoping to avoid night hiking but it looks like the temp tomorrow is going to be pretty brutal. I may end up doing 7 miles to a water/shade area right before the 30 mile stretch begins, sleep there in the afternoon, then bust through the 30 miles with the moonlight.
Poison oak update: healing well.
Infection update: healing well....enough
Stress fracture update: hurts like a bitch but able to hike.
