Twig Adventures

Tag: thru-hiking

PCBCRT Day 36: Running up that Hill

Bigfoot Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Pacific Crest Trail

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[…]

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PCBCRT Day 34 & 35: Seiad Valley Vortex

Bigfoot Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Pacific Crest Trail

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[…]

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PCBCRT Day 33: Bigfoot Meets the PCT

Bigfoot Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Pacific Crest Trail

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[…]

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PCBCRT Day 32: Along the Border

Bigfoot Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail

Saturday, Aug 5th, 2023, 0620-2000Poker Flats to Azalea Lake, BFT mm 10330 miles, Gain 5690′, Loss 5325′, elevation 5400′ Those dang deer really gave me the business overnight. I kept waking with a start whenever they passed by close. One even knocked my full water bottle off the picnic table. I should have brought everything inside my tent so I didn’t worry about things. I hung my second trekking pole in a tree and even then I was concerned they might pull it down. They will chew the grips and run off with any clothing items, including socks. I was even worried about my shoes, but unfortunately I have a strict rule about not putting those in my tent because[…]

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PCBCRT Day 31: Clear Creek Redemption

Bigfoot Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail

Friday, Aug 4th, 2023, 0640-1930West Clear Creek to Poker Flats, BFT mm 7320 miles, Gain 5590′, Loss 3440′, elevation 5040′ I woke feeling pretty bruised and battered, not looking forward to more of the same abuse. I had a mile and a half to the junction with Clear Creek, where I hoped the trail might improve. But first I had to backtrack 200 yards to find the trail again. Good thing I stopped when I did the previous day because there was about a mile more of bad blowdowns, which would have been the nail in my coffin. I could barely have taken another step, I was so tired. Being in such a state leads to bad outcomes, as evidence of[…]

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PCBCRT Day 30: Bigfoot on my Back

Bigfoot Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail

Thursday, Aug 3rd, 2023, 0615-1930Harrington Creek to West Fork Clear Creek, BFT mm 53.215 miles, Gain 6510′, Loss 4950′, elevation 2907′ There was no Bigfoot again, or any other large animals overnight. I heard nothing but the river…the next best white noise after surf. As remote as this place was, it seemed like a good spot to find a Bigfoot. Apparently they are quite stealthy, having never left one shred of DNA evidence. But I crept up on a bear, so maybe I could be as stealthy as Bigfoot. As for my day, it was one of those I’d rather not talk about. Extensive burn areas, endless blowdowns, bushwhacking, and constant trail finding. I expected to do battle with rough[…]

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PCBCRT Day 29: Into the Mountains and the Heat

Bigfoot Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail

Wednesday, Aug 2nd, 2023, 0620-1840Little Bald Hills Trailhead to Harrington Creek, BFT mm 3828 miles, Gain 6420′, Loss 5190′, elevation 1365′ Bigfoot didn’t bother me overnight, nor did anything else. I enjoyed the easy trail leading to some balds first thing in the morning. The path was wide, well graded and maintained. I knew this would probably be the best trail until I hit the PCT in 100 miles, so I tried to savor it. It was probably the biggest climb I’d done this trip but it felt pretty easy. My pack was very heavy with food, though. At the top, I tried to get one last glance of the ocean, but it was covered in fog. It was bittersweet[…]

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PCBCRT Day 28: Bigfoot Trail…Into the Shadow of the Titans

Bigfoot Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail

Tuesday, Aug 1st, 2023, 1500-1830Crescent City center to Little Bald Hills Trailhead, BFT mm 9.89 miles, Gain 800′, Loss 680′, elevation 125′ I wish I could say that my first night in a real bed in almost 3 weeks was restful but it was only so so. The bed, room and everything else was fine, I was just troubled by all that I wanted to get done the next morning. More than anything, I think I was just anxious to get back on track, to be making forward progress on a trail. It just gave me so much satisfaction to be moving with a clear goal in mind. I don’t know where this urge came from and whether it was[…]

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PCBCRT Day 26 & 27: Redwoods Wrap-up & Return to Crescent City

Bigfoot Trail, Oregon Coast Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail

Sunday, July 30th, 2023, 0630-1700Gold Bluffs Beach Campground to Elk Creek hiker biker camp12 miles, Gain 1400′, Loss 1000′, elevation 700′ The beach campground was really quite nice, despite the smell of urine around my site. I’ll take quiet over anything else. The night before, some kids invited everyone in the campground to play capture the flag on the beach…with glow sticks. It sounded like fun and I almost joined in, but was too tired once it got dark…hiker midnight. I thought I might hear them playing the game, but the surf drowned out all other noises. While packing, I was reminded of another reason I didn’t like camping on the beach: centipedes! I could stare down aggressive dogs and[…]

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PCBCRT Day 25: Redwoods Redemption Day

Oregon Coast Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail

Saturday, July 29th, 2023, 0630-1700Flint Ridge to Gold Bluffs Beach Campground 18 miles, Gain 1000′, Loss 1400′, elevation 10′(My mileage also reflects the side trip I took). I had some anxious and \ or reflective thoughts overnight. I was even wondering if I wanted to continue on with my thru-hike. I think a combination of not being around other hikers, taking this detour, and being a month into the trip put me in a funk. I was also tired of smelling my funk. As I laid down to sleep, I kept getting a whiff of something bad, and I couldn’t tell if it was my gear or body or both. I guess going 2 weeks without machine washing any of[…]

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