PCT

May 16, 2011

• driven to under I-10 by Anders. Cop checked us out.  On trail by 4:15.  Camped in high wind at 7.  

May 17, 2011

• Up at 5:30.  Really windy night.

• 11:15: met up with RICK from Lake Morena.  First question: "Do you have a cigarette?"  Former alcoholic, arthritis, back surgery last year - replaced two disks, built titanium cage around spine to hold it all together.  Last year hiked to Big Bear; this year will try for Kennedy Meadows.  Carrying around 50 lbs.  Waiting on trail while he goes back to find his camera he dropped while chasing his water bottle down the river.  Still very windy, but not too cold - 4000 ft.  Supposed to get some rain today & tomorrow; so far the clouds have stayed west of us.  Crossing my fingers it won't get too wet.

• 4:00: 232.  Also: Rick had blood in urine - hip belt squeezing kidneys?  Arrived at Creekside Camp 6:30 - thank you RICK for knowing about this place.  235, 6110 ft.  Clouds rolling in, will it rain?  Hot chocolate, mashed potatoes with tuna and bacon bits.  Yum!  RICK made a great fire, nobody else here.  19.5, new record!  And stopped often for snacks, water, looking for RICK's camera.  RICK took like a banshee when he couldn't find it, he was so mad.  Developed conspiracy theories against PCT hikers as well.  Camera discovered later in creek (ruined) by PCT hiker, returned to RICK. So much for the theories.

May 18, 2011

• Good morning weather.  WHISTLING MOOSE joined us after a horrible night walk in occasional rain and lots of wind. We had scattered showers, but this morning clear skies to the north and west, clouds behind.  Will try for 15 m today, same tomorrow to arrive at highway 18 & hitch to Big Bear City Thursday.  Talked about UPCHUCK.  SKYWALKER trying to make Big Bear by today - 35 miles.

• Couple of days ago descended from around 8000 ft to 1300 ft in 15 m of switchbacks.  Lowest point on trail until Columbia River gorge.  Somebody said this was the biggest, steepest descent in n. America.

• WHISTLING MOOSE says he lost 15 pounds - not hungry!

• Got going at 9 - latest ever.  RICK having troubles with clothing: switching from t-shirt, cotton flannel shirt, and down vest every few minutes, plus altitude (going up to around 9000), plus worried about snow ahead.  I bid him farewell around 10:30.

• 11:30 Mission Spring turnoff: 239.3.  Met PEPPER and MACE - from Israel, just finished army stints.  They met BILLY GOAT there.

• 12:50 - Cal Ranch hiking trail - 242

• 6:00 - AMAZING MAGIC by Big Bear Hostel.  Drinks, fresh fruit, canned goods, cookies.  Met COOKIE MONSTER there.  We agreed: best trail magic yet.

• Stealth camped at 253 - cold!   Will make it to Big Bear City tomorrow (around 12 miles).  18 mile day.

May 19, 2011

• Up at 5:30, out by 7.  Cold night; water frozen in plastic containers.  12 m to Highway 18.  Thermometer: 20 F. Passed cages with grizzly bears and big cats. Arrived Highway 18 at noon; cab called by another hiker took 5 of us  for $4 each to Nature's Inn. ED greeted us.  $25 for a king bed and huge tub with balcony.

• Got a hitch into town from KEVIN.  23 years old, ex-marine and current handyman.  Refuses to walk unless he has to.  In Iraq carried 200 lb - machine gun plus ammo.  (Is this possible?)

• Saw HALF STEP, daughter, and FLASH, just checking out.  Hah, caught up with them after three zero days for Edie's memorial.  FLASH's 21-year-old sister and a Mexican friend will join them for the hike.  I may catch up with them again later.

• To Do list:

  • pick up new tent at P.O.

  • mail postcards

  • order thermos

  • order WindClime shirt

  • Talk to Steripen guys

  • Provision

  • how to get voicemail?

  • call solar panel guy: any hints on making it work better?

  • call Nicki, Irv, John

  • change voicemail message

  • clean iPhone

• just learned from waiters at Thelma's: bears are a training center for movie bears.

• Israeli hikers said to do the INT - Israeli National Trail.  They met BILLY GOAT doing it last year - even stayed with one of their mothers

• weight: 175 lb.

• ordered new Steripen from Amazon, ship to home (current one's lamp no longer lights).

• ordered WindClime from Amazon.

May 20, 2011

• spent night with FOOT LOCKER.  typing Notebook # 1 into iPhone this morning.  Terribly sore left wrist (sprained?  spider bite?). Took Vicodin, which worked beautifully (so far).  Picked up new tent at P.O. yesterday.  Heavier & bigger bag, but I'll stick with it: comfort over ultralight!

TO DO:

• mail old tent home

• mail postcards to Nicki, kids, and Caren

• new lighter

• fuel

• Spent last night with FOOT LOCKER, who forgot to pay his share of room.  Roomies MACE and PEPPER are pissed.

• Mile 265.3 - need to provision to Cajon Pass (342.1): 77 miles in around 4 days.

• Now in backpack: 3 breakfasts, 1 dinner.  Base weight around 21 pounds!

• Met FOR NOW at Nature's Inn.  Friends of LIL' STEPS.

• 1:40 Hitched ride to trailhead.  Local guy who didn't know where trailhead was, just out for a drive with his dog.

• Weighed pack with full platypus, 1 coke, 1 liter gatorade, fuel: 32 lb.

• 2:45 Doble Springs Trail Camp.  267.8 m.

• 5:45 275 m.  Van Dugen.  Camping in this site by the river with WHISTLING GOOSE.  This afternoon was a steady climb, to 7200 ft. Chilly, but clear skies.  The storm has passed.  MOOSE reports that someone found RICK's camera, but in the river, so probably busted.  At least RICK will no longer suspect every PCT hiker behind him.

• Pitched my new Big Agnes 2 person fly tent for the first time.  Lots of stakes, but a pretty nice design; so much more room than my Lunar Solo!  And only about a pound heavier.  Now thinking about a new pack... Maybe the lightweight Osprey I have admired?  Comfort, esp. hips & shoulders, is paramount, even if it costs another pound or two.

• LI AN and JUSTINE just arrived (8:10).  Met them some time before when I was hiking with LIL' STEPS.  SLOW N EASY camping down river a ways.

• Discouraging at beginning of day: first several hours from trailhead are parallel to and just above the road I hitched 5 miles on this morning.  Could have gone up another road from town for 2 miles and joined the PCT many miles N or trailhead.

May 21, 2011

• On by 7:30.  20 m today?

• noon - Little Bear Springs Trail Camp 284.6.

• 5:30 Bench camp.  294.5, 19.5 m

May 22, 2011

• Up at 5:30, trail by 6:30.  Slept out cowboy style.

• 8:00 Bridge detour:

3N34C to 3N34

Right to 173

Right again

Follow red signs

• 2:45 Detour done - back on trail.  314.5

• Found note for FLASH, FLAME & WISA: campground 15 m from here tonight - SILVER... - dead heads - call.

• 5:00 Called it a day, stealth camped beside Grass Valley Creek - 317.  22.5 m - New Record!  But Sunday on 3N34 was amazingly different.  Lots of off-the-road vehicles, folks shooting off guns, detour road designed for vehicles, not hikers. Up down up down, scramble off to side when hear a motorcycle coming.  Very little shade, very little (good) water.  Have to watch it now that I've thrown the old Steripen away (should have sent it to company to find out why it failed).  Will use my only backup - ancient iodine tablets - until Hal sends new one.

• Met SAFARI going wrong way yesterday - aptly named: bush hat, 2-pocket khaki shirt, knee shorts, Aussie accent.  He hadn't seen anybody since 6 AM, nor any PCT trail signs at Holcomb Crossing, so retraced path until encountered me.  I set him straight.  He was looking for WHISTLING GOOSE.  I told him we camped together the previous night.

• MACE and PEPPER had to hitch from Big Bear City to an REI store further out fog the mountains to buy fuel for their Jetboil.

• Camping without fly tonight, and pretty windy.  This will be a nice test.  Sure hope it doesn't rain.

• Falling asleep around 8 is usually no problem. Still wake up 2-3 times to pee, but fall right back asleep.  Must be getting used to the new life.  No ailments yet.

• Saw 0 hikers all day today.  Nice.

• Dropped from 5000 to 3500 today.  It will be a very hot walk tomorrow, with little water and shade.  Pines replaced by ceanothus, yucca, lots of yellow and white wildflowers.  Saw big brown snake crossing road with head up, lurching it forward a few inches at a time, with body following in lurches as well.  As soon as it reached the grass on the side of the trail, it switched to glide bode, and was gone.  Lots of birds, butterflies.  My campsite is covered with tiny yellow flowers, and I can hear the river.  Life is good.

May 23, 2011

Up at 5:30, on trail by 6:30.  Caren/Hal list:

 - Steripen

 - windbreaker

 - tent stakes

 - Nido

 - coffee

 - pills

 - iPhone covers

 - notebook

 - water purifier

 - parmesan cheese

 - EDD

 - mirror

 - picture to artist I met in Agua Dulce.

• 9:15 Trail Magic: fruit.  But yesterday SAFARI wrote that he found potato salad, cake, etc.  I hope he was just bs-ing.

• 12:30 Met mother/daughter (one named SISTER SUE) - tall, blond.  On a mission: to get to McDonalds in Cajon.  Blustery, some fog: sure beats the normal heat here.

• 4:30 McDonalds!  There was even an official looking Forestry Service style sign on the trail with the entry "McDonalds -> 0.2 miles".  Had their biggest, most caloric burger, then BANDIT gave me to orders of Chicken McNuggets - after 4 hours at McDonald's, he couldn't eat any more.

• 7:24 Sign on trail: "Don't touch Poodle Dog Bush.", and a few yards further there they are, on both sides of the trail, tall with purple flowers near top.  Only time I've ever seen this plant.

• 8:45 Arrived at Swarthout Canyon Road (348).  31 m.  New Record!  3600 ft.  HALF STEP, daughter, HOME MADE and POST OP, BANDIT & buddy, lots of others.  Need to go 21 m (369.5) to hitch to Wrightwood.

• Speculation on whether I am the oldest on hike this year.

May 24, 2011

• 6:30 on trail.  Goodbye to HALF STEP, et. al.

• 10:30 met SPICE RACK today.  6000 ft climb.  Ran out of water near top, but started to be cooler, and found snow banks.  Crossed ski runs to arrive at Hiway 2, near panoramic overview.  Picked up almost instantly by KIM WOOD.  She offered to put me up in her trailer.  Then drove me to the pizza place, where the owner gave us pizza and salad, because KIM had given him some trekking poles once.  Then watched the finals of American Idol with Kim, her partner Heather, and their adopted children OLIVIA (12) and CALLA (9).  Plus two dogs, several cats, and hamsters.  Great family.  When I arrived I drank in fairly rapid succession 6 large glasses of ice water.  I was more dehydrated than I felt.

• Still thirsty after going to bed.

May 25, 2011

• Thirsty when I woke up.  Into town for enormous breakfast at the Grizzly Cafe, then across to the bakery for a cinnamon roll and chocolate shake.  Fuel at hardware store sold by the ounce.  Got velcro tape for the stove, mailed postcards, repaired shoes with super glue on busted stitches.  Reprovisioned for haul to Agua Dulce.  Warm day - glad I wasn't hiking.  Tomorrow promises to be cooler.

• Still thirsty during day.  Must have been really dehydrated.  RESOLUTION: Drink as much as possible as often as possible.

• Lots of hikers in town.  Wrightwood may be the coolest, friendliest town yet.  Sitting at their dining room table, kids practicing piano, dogs and cats wandering about.

• Met FLAME and BUSTED MAGIC at Methodist Camp.  Picked up by trail angels Bill and Luana Henry, along with CRASHER, SERENITY, and SOFT WALKER (likes to walk barefoot about a third of the time, in sandals the rest of the time)

• Dinner by trail angels: steaks, carrots, corn on the cob, salad, mushrooms, salsa and chips, apple pie with ice cream, etc.  Served maybe 15 of us, and most of us had seconds.

• At dinner HALF STEP and BUSTED MAGIC told of accidentally not taking the horrible motorcycle-riddled detour and enjoying a beautiful safe walk along a river valley, leading to excellent hot springs populated by a couple of nude male hikers. BUSTED MAGIC kept repeating with awestruck tone: "Like two Greek gods..."

• TOPSY TURVY and husband showed up later - he was the Gram Weenie who thought my keyboard was too heavy at the Kickoff Weekend.

• FOOT LOCKER here as well.

May 26, 2011

• Met NADER and SKEETER at 10 on trail.  Turned me on to Airplane Mode for my iPhone.  He's one month yonder than I, but GREY GHOST is reputed to be 69.  Thank god I'm not the oldest...

• FUCKING GENTLE SPIRIT fainted on the trail - abcess.

• Mike (NADER) will send me pictures of San Jacinto blizzard.

• 6:00 Arrived at Little Jimmy campground - 7400 ft, 384 m, 14.5 m.  Tough slog up snowy slopes of Mt. Baden-Powell.  Big warnings of bears - maybe I'll put my food in one of the fireplaces?

• Weighed myself this morning: 167 lb: down 13 lbs!

• Learned about Airplane Mode from Nader: good for minimizing power usage while listening to music, but not sure it helps anything else.

• Grizzlies and big cats in cages before Big Bear City.  Story that a hiker walked beside cages at dusk without noticing them just when a lion started its evening roar.

• In Big Bear newspaper: 12 year old resident in Guinness Book of records for youngest climber of Mt. Everest - 12.

May 28, 2011

• Country Breakfast at Newcomb's.  Back on road at 9.  Walked 1 mile back to trail.  Then hiked alone most of the day.

• Big black angry rattlesnake surprised me on side of trail (I jumped).  Then king snake a 1/4 m later.

• Finally caught up with NADER and SKEETER on long station fire detour.  Found water at tiny trickle at side of road.  Left them at 5 PM for 3 more uphill hours to shady campsite.  Camped beside IGUANA and KINDERGARTEN COP.  Very windy night, but tent held fine.  Liking it more and more.

425.7, 23 m.

May 29, 2011

• Up at 5; cooking inside new tent, peeing in cup at night.  Works great!

• Hiked all day thru station fire (2009: 160,000 acres), but great wildflowers.  Cool, often very windy.  Down to KOA campground by 5.  Snacks, then $5 for tent site.  Only SWISS MISS, and later KINDERGARTEN COP and IGUANA.  Place packed with Memorial Day celebrants.  442.2, 19 m.  Only 10 more miles to Agua Dulce.  Lion roars last night from neighboring wildlife center - Shimbala.

• KINDERGARTEN COP told of hiking challenge from Hiker Heaven to the Andersons: 24 miles, 24 hours, 24 beers (others slack pack your pack, you carry only the beers).  I learned later that 4 tried, and all made it

TO DO:

- floss

- earphone cover

- toothpaste

- write Dana: where house key is hidden

- Happy Anniversary card

- check birthdays of relatives

- safety pins for drying stuff

- shoes worn out?

- write Dan, Nader

- socks

- Carlsbad zip code

- what batteries do I have/need?

- Download more maps to iPhone

- digital zoom experiment

- photos with location info?f

- plastic spoon

- Dad's voting record on PCT creation

- EDD (write Caren).

- New data maps

- how to focus iPhone camera

- Write Dr. wipe

• 10:30 RHINE passed me.  Had lost 3 weeks because of leg injuries, but he's already made it up.  Animal.

• 12:38 Sweetwater cafe in Ague Dulce.  Talking with REINE - teaches art.  Will send her the plant picture she liked later.

• Met GOURMET at Mexican restaurant, where I enjoyed a second meal - which I was unable to finish.

• Stealth camped on hilltop after couple of hours of painful, hot, uphill drudgery.  Must do 19 m to get to Anderson's, 6 miles to their water cache.  459.5, 15 m.

May 30, 2011

May 31, 2011

• Up early, nice and cool.  Met HANNES (German) and ROCKFISH (new haircut) on trail.

• Passing and getting passed by HANNES and ROCKFISH, through modestly descending easy trail bordered by manzanita and fields of oats, occasional yuccas.  Finally arrived at Ranger statlon, callJune 1., 2011ed Andersons, and the Mrs. picked us up a few minutes later.  Pitched tent about 100 yards up winding path amongst pitched tents and huge manzanitas beside and arching over the paths.  CRICKET ran here carrying only water in 6 hours - 25 miles - but he's a runner.  Several guys did the 24 challenge, including BANDIT (from Santa Barbara - heavy set): "It was easy.  Ran out of beer 6 miles before end."

Here: 479

Country Store (package): 518

Mohave: 560

Kennedy Meadows: 700

Lone Pine: 750

Independence: 790

Vermillion: 877

220 miles to Kennedy Meadows: arrive around June 12 with 18 mile days.

Met NACHO at back table.

478.6, 19 m.