Twig Adventures

October 21st, 2018Whitewater Preserve mm 218.5 to Fuller Ridge mm 189Distance: 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 was my 108th day on the PCT. It would have been cool if I finished both trails in the same time but I will be done within a week. Not bad for a trail that was 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. The trail[…]

October 20th, 2018Mm 253 to Whitewater Preserve mm 218.5Distance: 34.5 miles plus .5 mile to preserve.0630 – 1800 I set my new record for distance hiked in one day, but only by half a mile. I’d 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 desert valleys I would[…]

October 19th, 2018Mm 278.5 to mm 253Distance: 25.5 miles0630 – 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 was just 1 mile shy of my 30 mile a day average. I had just 9 more days to keep up this pace. Besides my flight home, I was also motivated by an upcoming trip to Spain. I needed to leave for that shortly after I got back. It felt weird to be planning for anything beyond the PCT. There was life after the trail…though I was leery of it. I was torn in half by[…]

October 18th, 2018Deep Creek bridge mm 310 to mm 278.5Distance: 31.5 miles0630 – 1830 Today was all about going uphill…but gradually. I gained more than 7000′ over 29 miles, going from about 3000′ in elevation up to just shy of 8000′. Consequently, I 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. I continued up the canyon and shortly came to some hot springs. I 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 they were fine[…]

October 17th, 2018Cajon Pass Interstate 15 mm 342 to Deep Creek bridge mm 310Distance: 32 miles0800 – 1830 Overnight, I bought a one-way ticket from Phoenix to Miami for the 31st… now I had a deadline. If I averaged 30 miles a day, I would make it to the border by the 28th…just 12 more days, including this one. It probably wasn’t realistic to do this, since I also had to factor in town stops. I was feeling very optimistic, I guess. The hotel had a good continental breakfast, so I was able to stuff myself 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, 2018Grassy Hollow Visitor Center mm 370 to Cajon Pass Interstate 15 mm 342Distance: 28 miles plus a couple miles walking around town0620 – 1600 I stayed warm overnight but it was very cold outside. 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 the wind and[…]

October 15th, 2018Three Points trailhead mm 403 to Grassy Hollow Visitor Center mm 370Distance: 33 miles plus 1 extra mile on mandatory alternate0610 – 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 some time looking[…]

October 14th, 2018North Fork Station mm 436 to Three Points trailhead mm 403Distance: 33 miles0640 – 1800 Everything was soaked in the morning and I packed a very wet tent. But the sky was clear and I was 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. I was now atop a series of islands. It was a stunning sight to behold. I 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, I came to a trailhead with a water spigot…the first water since camp 17 miles[…]

October 13th, 2018Agua Dulce mm 454.5 to North Fork Station mm 436Distance: 18.51145 – 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. Readers will recall from previous blogs, I have a thing for catching 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 that they have a sassy rooster. To preface, she did warn me profusely about how[…]

October 12th, 2018Lake Hughes rd mm 485.5 to Agua Dulce mm 554.5, then Hiker HeavenDistance: 31 miles plus 2 miles walking back and forth to Hiker Heaven0545 – 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. It was a cool morning and also partly cloudy most of the day. The desert conditions continued to be easy. 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 the last water source for the next 20 miles but I only grabbed 1.5 liters.[…]