Twig Adventures

PCBCRT Day 42: On Cruise Control

Tuesday, Aug 15th, 2023, 0620-1930PCT SOBO mm 1102 to mm 113331.7 miles, Gain 3890′, Loss 3410′, elevation 6500′ I wouldn’t call it rain exactly, but it did spatter off and on all night. I was worried about more thunderstorms. The wind did pick up at times but there was no more lightning, thank goodness. I imagined the rain instantly evaporating as soon as it hit my tent and sure enough, everything was bone dry in the morning. But it was enough to have washed away previous footsteps, so for once the PCT felt…unused. It was exceptional quiet all day. I ran into the first NOBO around 8 am, then 4 more around lunch. There was a trickle of about 5[…]

Read more

PCBCRT Day 41: Off Script & Much In Motion

Monday, Aug 14th, 2023, 0630-2030Stuart Fork Trail to Trinity Resort, then Scott mtn HWY 3 to PCT SOBO mm11025 + 7.5 miles, Gain 1160′, Loss 1170′, elevation 6040′ I began my day with a rough idea how it might go down, but almost zero knowledge of what I was jumping into. I was off script, but that’s what I loved about thru-hiking, it sometimes forced me to be flexible and open to just seeing what happens. My Hiking Project app at least told me that I had about 4 miles left of the trail, all downhill. I guessed the rest of the road to HWY 3 was 1-2 miles. The Trinity Alps Resort was listed on the map, so I[…]

Read more

PCBCRT Day 38: The Russian Wilderness

Friday, Aug 11th, 2023, 1330-1835Etna Hwy to Bingham Lake13 miles, Gain 2980′, Loss 2100′, elevation 6870′ I could leave first thing in the morning, pretending I didn’t even visit town, just as I had planned. Or, I could do a proper town stop by lingering and eating lots of food. Which do you think I did? For starters, I found an extra shower token, so I woke up to a hot shower. While rummaging through the hiker box, I also found a bag of spare earbud gummies, which were the perfect replacement for one I lost. I also found a like-new pair of sun gloves, made from the fancy Outdoor Research glacier material that’s cooling when wet. I couldn’t believe[…]

Read more

PCBCRT Day 37: Marble Mountains & Unplanned Town Stop

Thursday, Aug 10th, 2023, 0640-1930Paradise Lake to Etna Hwy, then hitch to Etna29.5 miles, Gain 5660′, Loss 5810′, elevation 6010′ I was surprised the deer didn’t bother me overnight. I made sure to pee really far away from my tent, so that seemed to do the trick. Maybe I was just too tired from the climb the day before to even notice them. I got a pretty late start, but still made almost 10 miles by 10 am. The morning was fantastic, with the landscape being so much better than I remembered it. Actually seeing the Marble Mountains was incredible. They were characterized by these white bands of marble, so dramatically different than the surrounding peaks. I couldn’t even see[…]

Read more

PCBCRT Day 36: Running up that Hill

Wednesday, Aug 9th, 2023, 0610-1730Seiad Valley (Brian’s Place) to Paradise Lake, BFT mm 147.525 miles, Gain 6880′, Loss 2170′, elevation 6110′ The best way to break a vortex is to get out early! I was actually hoping for a 5 am dark start but 6 am was good enough. Everyone else was still asleep and the morning perfectly cool…what a change from 100 degrees the day before! With a 6000′ climb over nearly 20 miles, I couldn’t imagine a better tactic than what I employed. I walked the road as fast as I could, eating the 4 miles in 1 hour. I said goodbye to the Klamath river for the second time…I passed it a week before while hiking the[…]

Read more

PCBCRT Day 34 & 35: Seiad Valley Vortex

Monday, Aug 7th to Tuesday Aug 8th, 2023Double Zero I didn’t plan to double zero in Seiad Valley, I didn’t even plan to zero at all. Truth be told, there wasn’t much going on in the town. Last time it was only worthy of an in-and-out. But the RV park had good wifi and a comfortable porch, so I was able to get some work done. Aside from the monumental task of keeping up with this blog, I needed to send some texts, emails, update socials, and most importantly, order new shoes. I bought a pair on Ebay for $65 total, which was actually a bit more than I normally paid for them. I had several pairs at home but[…]

Read more

PCBCRT Day 33: Bigfoot Meets the PCT

Sunday, Aug 6th, 2023, 0710-1400Azalea Lake to Seiad Valley, BFT mm 12118 miles, Gain 2370′, Loss 6400′, elevation 1370′ I planned for an early start but ran into my camping mate, Bob, just as I was leaving. We got to chatting, so it was well after 7 am when I finally left camp. He was so proud to be on his first solo backpacking trip, so I encouraged him to check out the Oregon Coast Trail. I’d regret my delay later, when I realized the Seiad Valley cafe closed at 2 pm. But I wasn’t feeling the pull of a town day just yet. I had 9 miles of non-PCT trail still to go, which I knew could be slow[…]

Read more

The Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail Introduction

This is a rough sketch of the Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail…PCBCRT. (I know, my scribbling looks a little like blood dripping…sorry about that. It ended up being a good proxy for how my legs looked after some bushwacking along the route.) I ‘invented’ this roughly 1200 mile route as a conglomeration of 4 distinct long distance trails, stringing together parts or all of the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT), Bigfoot Trail (BFT), Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). I made-up the name to include a portion of each trail’s official name, paying homage to a common misconception, emphasized by the “Pacific Coast” part. That’s because about half the public mistakenly calls the Pacific Crest Trail the[…]

Read more

2022 Year In Review

I wanted to do recap of all my hiking in 2022, which is something I should’ve been doing since I started this blog in 2017. Maybe I’ll do some back-posts over the next winter season to cover years 2017-2021. I like collecting stats in one tidy place. Call it ego or whatever, really I just want to keep track of everything for personal reflections. 2022 was a pretty busy year! I thru-hiked one specialty route, the Mogollon Rim Trail (MRT, courtesy of Brett Tucker and Melissa Spencer) and also one official National Scenic Trail, the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT). These 2 thru-hikes were quite different from each other and afforded a very wide array of habitats, conditions, and experiences. They[…]

Read more

2022 ALDHA-West Gathering / Triple Crown Awards

Saturday, September 24th, 2022, Keystone, Colorado I just wanted to do a quick post about the 2022 ALDHA-West Gathering. This is an annual event where hikers are honored for having completed the Triple Crown of Hiking: the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail. I actually completed this trilogy the year prior, but given my Aug-Nov southbound hike of the AT, it was too late to submit my accomplishments for that year. I guess it was meant to be, since having the Gathering in CO aligned perfectly a visit to my home state after the PNT. A hiker friend, Tim Sharp (aka Nine Lives), gave me a ride to and from the event. I only attended one day[…]

Read more