Category: Pacific Crest Trail

October 13th, 2018 Agua Dulce mm 454.5 to North Fork Station mm 436 Distance: 18.5 1145 – 1830 This 100th day was a great one! The title will make more sense later. But first, there were a couple details I left out from yesterday. I didn’t describe my encounter with Cornelius. If you’ll recall from previous blogs, I have a thing for chickens (and ducks, geese, peacocks, and… lots of birds). But especially roosters. Well, the Saufleys had a flock and so I asked Donna if I could catch one. Her reply was ‘good luck, you’ll have to get past Cornelius first.’ Ah, I thought, even better is a sassy rooster. To preface, she did warn me profusely about how[…]

October 12th, 2018 Lake Hughes rd mm 485.5 to Agua Dulce mm 554.5, then Hiker Heaven Distance: 31 miles plus 2 miles walking back and forth to Hiker Heaven 0545 – 1600 I was awake around 4 am, so I just started my morning routine a bit earlier. It was nice to get such an early start on the trail, but of course Stellar and Salty beat me to it. It was a cool morning and also partly cloudy most of the day. The desert conditions continue to be easy on us. About 10 miles in, there was a fire station with a water spigot. It had a warning about Ecoli, so I filtered the water. This appeared to be[…]

October 11th, 2018 HWY 138 mm 517.5 to Lake Hughes rd mm 485.5 Distance: 32 miles 0715 – 1800 I was up even earlier than usually because I wanted to make sure I got a breakfast burrito as soon as the store opened at 5 am. I got one with chorizo and it was huge and delicious. The owner was ready to drive us at 6:30 am and we were back on the trail by 7 am. I was hoping to get at least 30 miles for the day, so I hiked fast. I was also feeling energized by all the food I had eaten. We left the desert for the hills, which were surprisingly forested at the top. The[…]

October 10th, 2018 Gamble Spring Canyon Mm 545 to HWY 138 mm 517.5, then ride to Weeville Market and Grill Distance: 27.5 miles 0605 – 1500 I was typing up my blog in the morning dark, as usual, when Stellar came by and whispered into my tent that we should probably get a head start to ensure that there would be water left at the next cache. With 8 of us at camp and a few more just ahead and behind, he had a point. I laughed to myself that going southbound was suddenly starting to be competitive…but not really. I packed faster than usual and was on the trail by 6 am. Stellar and Salty had already left but[…]

October 9th, 2018 Mm 566.5 to Gamble Spring Canyon mm 545 Distance: 21.5 miles 1015 – 1830 We had a leisurely morning at the house. Stellar needed to wait until the PO opened to get his resupply and new shoes. I used the time to order some new shoes for our next stop, Agua Dulce. We also played a lot with the 2 dogs, Piper the poodle and Dallas the boxer. It’s great to spend time with pets. Kuba and Piper playing ball Cory drove us to the PO and we picked up Lator Gator, who was walking along the road. As we were leaving the PO, we saw Cheesy Poof and Legit walking in (they are the 2 women[…]

October 8th, 2018 Mm 587.5 to mm 566.5 then ride to Tehachapi Distance: 21 miles 0615 – 1430 I slept well in my camp among the scrub, with the wind turbines standing watch on the ridge above. They make a low and constant hum…good white noise. I would not be opposed to having them in my backyard. I also heard a great horned owl a few times, otherwise it was still. At Golden Oaks spring, I ran into Toc again. He has hiked the PCT and other trails several times already and appears to be a bit of a trailebrity (trail celebrity). This was his first time going SOBO. He gave me some tips on upcoming sections. It’s nice to[…]

October 7th, 2018 Mm 620 to mm 587.5 Distance: 32.5 miles 0600 – 1800 I woke up and started doing my usual routine in the morning. Everything was covered in condensation, especially my quilt, which doesn’t make sense at all. I guess because there are no trees? Moisture was settling on any surface it could find. It was as bad as the conditions I normally find in the everglades and Big Cypress. The desert is a wet place at night, apparently??? The morning was absolutely still and very dark. I heard a few coyotes and an owl, otherwise, not a peep or scuffle. I was working on the blog for a good while when I glanced at the time…it was[…]

October 6th, 2018 Walker Pass mm 652 to mm 620 Distance: 32 miles 0730 – 1830 After packing the calories and having a great visit with Josh and his family, it was time to get back on the trail. I had some trepidation about this section, since it is the driest and I am still unarmed with the croudsourced commentary from guthooks. I looked into buying the desert section of the app but the way things are divided, I would also have to buy the Sierra section to cover just the trail from Walker Pass to Tehachapi. I just downloaded the old-fashioned water report instead. It is a pdf that someone maintains weekly/monthly based off reports from other hikers. They[…]

October 5th, 2018 Zero day Distance: NONE! Josh drove me around all day and it was awesome. I felt a bit guilty about taking another zero after just taking one in Bishop, but I can justify it when I need the calories. I weighed myself when I got in and I was at 121 lbs. A day later, the scale was saying I picked up 3 lbs! It doesn’t surprise me, since I stuffed my face all day. Josh was very kind to drive me around for all my errands. I went to Walgreens, Dollar General, a barber, the post office, and the grocery store. We stopped to have lunch at a AYCE Chinese buffet. He had to wait for[…]

October 4th, 2018 Mm 673 to Walker Pass mm 652 Distance: 21 miles 0620 – 1830 I woke up in a fog, not speaking figuratively but literally. It hadn’t rained overnight but everything was damp and the peaks were all enshrouded by clouds. I rolled up my tent along with half the desert that was stuck to the bottom of it. I love carrying around extra weight in detritus. I quickly hiked below the cloud line and enjoyed views of the sun hitting the peaks in the distance. The mist that was clinging to the nearby peaks reminded me of a scene from the cloud forests of Monte Verde, Costa Rica, not Southern California. But in general, these hills have[…]