Category: Pacific Crest Trail

October 23rd, 2018 Spitler TH to mm 168.5 (rejoining PCT after closure) to Muirwood mm 145.5 Distance: 23 miles plus 4.7 miles to town 0830 – 2000 I had arranged to meet Lorraine, our Trail Angel, at 8 am and the grocery opened at 7 am. So Stellar and I went there to get breakfast burritos. I also ate a huge pecan cinnamon roll that I got at a bakery the day before. It was as big as my 2 hands. I was so stuffed after all this food that I barely ate anything until the afternoon. With all these town stops, I am no longer loosing weight and may actually be gaining. We met Lorraine and were shortly at[…]

October 22nd, 2018 Fuller Ridge mm 189 to mm 179.5, then Devils Slide and Ernie Maxwell Trail to Idyllwild due to fire closure. Distance: 9.5 miles plus 6 miles to town 0610 – 1300 I had to go into town today since the trail is still closed for 11 miles from a 2013 fire. There are many side trails from the north end. To get back on the trail south of the closure, there is a detour on dirt roads. Thus a continuous footpath into and out of town could be achieved. Unfortunately, another fire closed the dirt road route this year. Now the only way to get back to the trail is by traveling along 2 narrow,  busy highways[…]

October 21st, 2018 Whitewater Preserve mm 218.5 to Fuller Ridge mm 189 Distance: 29.5 miles plus .5 mile from preserve. 0630 – 1820 First, if my memory serves me right, I wanted to point out that I finished the Te Araroa in 108 days and today is my 108th day on the PCT. It would have been cool if I finished both trails in the same time but I will be within a week. Not bad for a trail that is nearly 800 miles longer. Secondly, today was like clearing a huge hurdle, perhaps the last big challenge. I was a bit intimidated by the massive climb and lack of water to end the day, but it wasn’t so bad.[…]

October 20th, 2018 Mm 253 to Whitewater Preserve mm 218.5 Distance: 34.5 miles plus .5 mile to preserve. 0630 – 1800 I set a new record for distance hiked in one day, but only by half a mile. I have done several 34 and 34.5 mile days but today I finally got to 35. I pushed hard to make it to a conservation preserve and it was totally worth it…more about that later. It was cold, as usual, in the morning. I could feel that the ground was frozen in places. Mt Gorgonio caught the morning sun and showed off its snow cap beautifully. I got nice views looking back at the Angeles forest / mountains and forward to the[…]

October 19th, 2018 Mm 278.5 to mm 253 Distance: 25.5 miles 0630 – 1900 For once, I resisted the pull of town today. I went into Big Bear, got my business done, and got back on the trail to get the miles in. After 3 days, I am just 1 mile shy of my 30 mile a day average. Now I have just 9 more days to keep up this pace. Besides my flight home, I am also motivated by an upcoming trip to Spain. I leave for that shortly after I get back. It feels weird to be planning for anything beyond the PCT but it’s time. There is life after the trail…though I’m leery of it. I am[…]

October 18th, 2018 Deep Creek bridge mm 310 to mm 278.5 Distance: 31.5 miles 0630 – 1830 Today was all about going uphill…but gradually. We gained more than 7000′ over 29 miles, going from about 3000′ in elevation up to just shy of 8000′. Consequently, we didn’t do as many miles as hoped for but that’s ok. I think this was the longest continuous stretch going uphill so far. We continued up the canyon and shortly came to some hot springs. We found Kuba packing up there. I tried some of the pools but they were way too tepid for my taste. I need my hot springs to be “mother of dragons” hot. Perhaps in the middle of the day[…]

October 17th, 2018 Cajon Pass Interstate 15 mm 342 to Deep Creek bridge mm 310 Distance: 32 miles 0800 – 1830 Overnight, I bought a one-way ticket from Phoenix to Miami for the 31st. So now I have a deadline. If I average 30 miles a day, I will make it to the border by the 28th…just 12 more days, including this one. It’s probably not realistic to do this, since I also have to factor in town stops. But we’ll see. The hotel had a good continental breakfast, so we were able to stuff ourselves before resuming the trail. I was glad to get away from all the hub-bub of that busy interstate. The noise quickly disappeared as the[…]

October 16th, 2018 Grassy Hollow Visitor Center mm 370 to Cajon Pass Interstate 15 mm 342 Distance: 28 miles plus a couple miles walking around town 0620 – 1600 I stayed warm overnight but it was very cold out. I even took a benadryl so that I would sleep through the night. The wind continued to rage. I left on all my layers starting out in the morning, including my tights. I was contemplating going into the town of Wrightwood, since I needed groceries and batteries for my Spot device. One mile from camp was a highway where I could hitch. But I got there at 7 am and there was no traffic. I couldn’t bear to stand around in[…]

October 15th, 2018 Three Points trailhead mm 403 to Grassy Hollow Visitor Center mm 370 Distance: 33 miles plus 1 extra mile on mandatory alternate 0610 – 1855 The wind rose up fierce overnight and I had a hard time sleeping. My tent was pretty protected but I still had to get up to search for rocks to cover the stakes. Even then, the fabric was vibrating violently and bashing me in the head. I was awake at 3 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. So I started my routine at 4 am. During that time, my front stake pulled out twice and the tent swallowed me. Then I thought my tent stuff bag blew away and I spent[…]

October 14th, 2018 North Fork Station mm 436 to Three Points trailhead mm 403 Distance: 33 miles 0640 – 1800 Everything was soaked in the morning and I packed a very wet tent. But the sky was clear and we were treated to a unique scene. There were clouds in the valleys, making it look like the ocean had come in to swallow everything but the mountain peaks. We were now atop a series of islands. It was a stunning sight to behold. We climbed and descended a lot today…8100′ up and 6500′ down. It was tiring but at least it stayed relatively cool all day. For lunch, we came to a trailhead with a water spigot…the first water since[…]