We did it! Trip 24 is finished.

I'm almost half way to Canada. Below is my trip report.

PCT 24 Journal
Echo Lake to Belden, Ca 192 miles
It took 12 days to get to Belden. We had a zero day in Sierra City which was wonderful and a day at the Sierra Club Claire Tappan Lodge at Donner Pass which was amazing. Rachel Ginsburg friend and trail angel extraordinaire took us to Echo Lake. It was Bittersweet to not have Bill Redman there. We’d done all but one of the sections from Campo together. He had important knee surgery and I hope to walk with him next year. Paul Freiman joined me or I him. Known to many as Capt. Bivy he had a lot of experience and a great attitude for this section.
Eight miles out late in the afternoon took us past Aloha Lake to a camp above Heather Lake that had a sweet waterfall above it. Lots of day hikers. Great views right off the bat. Saw very big earthbound bird. Paul said Turkey. I said giant Grouse. But why didn’t it fly? No pictures. A rodent chewed a hole into my food bag and had some trail mix.
The next day, a hard one, took us over Dick’s Pass and up to Richardson Lake. Ran into people running 28 miles in one day. I thought I was in shape. I was a little dehydrated because of my refusal to filter from standing water. You get goofy quickly without water. The lake water tasted fishy but it was clean. Slept for 9 hours and barely moved.
Picked up a buddy for the day, Jeff Smith. Retired professor. We walked 22 miles, his personal best, and walked right by creek because I read the handbook wrong. Still we found a creek to wash and filter from at the end of the day. Bill’s Pepsi can stove burns a long time. My Tortellini is always cooked right. Got my first blister on the PCT. Left inside heel. Fixed it with Duct Tape and triple antibiotic.

Paul is hurting today. Always takes a few days to acclimate. His pack is too heavy. Back bothering him but he troops on. Saw one of our favorite things on the trail. Lady hikers out for the day with a dog. Beauty itself. Reached Soda Springs. Quick hitch to the P.O. and a quicker one to Claire Tappan. Best deal on the PCT yet. $50.00 a person. Clean bed, shower, dinner, breakfast and a packed lunch. Human food and human contact. You have to help out here. I set the tables twice. The namesake of this Sierra Club Lodge said that outdoor people are “good sorts” and he’s right. Two of them wanted to take us back to the trailhead the next morning. Wonderful experience. I performed some magic at breakfast.
Peter took us to the trailhead. First time I’ve met a venture capitalist. Walked past Castle Peak to our packed lunch at Peter Grubb hut. Lovely location in a meadow. Must be a skier’s paradise. Ran into a forest recon crew of two. They had a notebook of all the blowdowns in that section and they were carrying a crosscut saw to do what they could on the trail. Heard it ring before we saw them. Spent the night at White Rock Creek. Maybe the prettiest campsite in recent hikes. Mosquitoes can sting through your clothes though. First time I was really affected by the little buggers. Paul’s feeling stronger.
Biggest day ever. 28 miles into Sierra City. Thought it would be shorter but kept going and going. Plenty of ups even with the notes showing down. Ran into Tammy and Asa coming down from Cascade Locks headed for Whitney. Tammy was talking about staying clean. Must be tougher on the ladies. She realized one day she stunk too. She’s from South Carolina. With her home drawl she said “Oh my God I smell like a boy!” Saw a doe, Paul saw a bear (I haven’t seen one yet on the trail) and two rattlesnakes mating. They did not want to move. Frozen in excitement. I believe the guy was thinking. “I been waiting to do this my entire snake life and I’m not going anywhere.” They finally slithered, still attached, off the trail in a rain of rocks. We were wiped out by the time we got to Highway 49. Picked up by a Forest Service Biologist on vacation. Went to the Buckhorn Restaurant and Inn. I couldn’t stop talking and Paul hardly muttered a word. Funny how we act when fatigued. I had my town ball cap from Soda Springs. We look and smell awful but I seem to think a cap makes me less objectionable.

Sierra City is the place I’d bring the family. What a sweet spot. Two blocks or so of Sierra fun. We met great people. Picked up our supplies at the P.O. and bought some groceries during the next day in town. Donated my protein bars. Never take them again. Ugh! It became obvious that the place is run by strong women. Except for Larry at the store women are in charge. Love a strong woman but not a weak man. Bartender at the Buckhorn. “I can’t get my husband to go ice fishing or snowmobiling with me. He wants to sit on his ass all day.” I’d go with her.
Hitched out of town early. Trail angel Jim Duffy gave us a ride after he took his blind dog for a walk. Hit the Sierra Buttes early. We powered up the mountain. Paul had hit his stride and zoomed ahead. A day hiker’s haven we met a man and his extended family going up for the 30th time on the far side. We road walked for the first time in memory, confusing. You have to read the handbook carefully. I love a duck on the trail. Helpful but often unnecessary. I call them “courtesy ducks.” Saw a “water duck” pointing to a spring.
Some hard climbs today in this section. Volcanic rocks everywhere. Water scarce. Put my sock on, felt something, found a 1 ¼” flying bug, lovely. On my now annual hike the body becomes a roaring furnace. A fat burning machine. I’m always refining trail food to make it as healthy as possible but it is the only time you can overwhelm calories with exercise. I lost five pounds on this trip. Paul must eat twice what I do in town. He’s amazing. Sample meal. Giant turkey sandwich. Polish Dog. Bag of chips. Pint of Ben and Jerry’s. The rest of my bag of chips. Bag of Twizzlers and 3 Dr. Peppers, not diet.
We descended into the Middle Feather River Canyon. “Delightful Spring” was a mere trickle. Saw one of the most amazing bridges on the trail. Haven’t been able to get my mind around how they haul in and build this stuff in the wilderness. I swam in a “fantastic pool” in the river. It was wonderful. I got a swim and a bath. We hiked to Bear Creek for a camp above it.

A huge climb today. In fact two. 2700 feet up to the rim and on to the alternate route through Bucks Lake. Five miles of road walking. Met Petrie with a 70 pound pack and a good attitude. Nancy Williams did Trail Angel duty for the first time this year. Haskins Store has real Turkey Sandwiches. We walked to Bucks Summit and put in another 1000 feet to get to our last camp. I lay in my Tarptent surrounded by large black ants and spiders. I’ve gotten used to them and they don’t bother me. My wife would never have anything to do with this. She might be the sane one.
The last day brought us through some sweet forest walking with the first cows in this section. 16 easy miles but a huge leg pounding descent into Belden at the end. 36 switchbacks. The hiking days never exceeded 80 degrees but it was a 100 at the end. I’m at 1289 miles from Campo. What a project. Canada or bust. Another gauntlet of giant Poison Oak. Belden Town resort is well run by Karen. Food good and beer cold. Took a shower to not offend Rachel back to the Oakland Airport.
Not as hard as the Sierra sections behind us but the most mile for me, 192. We averaged 17 miles a day in 12 days. A very nice journey.

The next section.

Hello friends and hikers.

The next segment on the PCT for me begins August 15th at Echo Lake. Number 24 since Campo. I have two weeks to make it to Belden, Ca, 192 miles! My biggest segment yet. For the first time I'll be flying to an airport to hike a section. I'm getting picked up in Oakland by Rachel Ginsburg, friend, hiker and trail angel. (She puts in another whole week this year at Sierra City helping through hikers.) New friend and hiker Sheila O' Rourke will pick us up at the end.

Trying to figure out best places for resupply. Lot's of choices but don't want to wait a day for a post office to open.

Sad news is Bill Redman my best hiking buddy, advisor and sage will pass on the hike this year. He had knee surgery and is progressing well but no hiking per the doctor for nine months. Good news is Paul Freiman (Capt. Bivy) will join me. He has an amazing knowledge of the trail with a can do attitude.. He also has huge hiking experience. Bagged a ton of peaks too. Looking forward to getting to know him better.

We may make a push for Chester or Old Station if things go well. We'll see.
Let me know about your plans for summer adventures.

Pacific Crest Trail Segment 23 – August 17th through the 27th of 2008

Tuolumne Meadows to Echo Lake. 152 miles.
Here is a short video of places along the way video.
Here are the photos Bill and I took.

152 miles of the PCT anywhere is a physical, mental and logistical challenge. I spend many hours over the month or so before the big walk planning, preparing, packing and getting in even better shape. Except for the last section along the John Muir Trail this part was as uninhabited as any we’ve been through so far. Twice I relied on day hikers to take out a message to my family. I never got a cell signal till the last day above Lake Tahoe. We did it in 9 days. It was hard but didn’t beat me up like the last section. I lost 7 pounds. I ate quite a bit not enough obviously. Having 10 days worth of food forced us to choose with care. No more couscous for me for a while but macadamia nuts are still great.
We got a ride from Echo Lake back to the Tuolumne Meadows trailhead from Rachel Ginsburg super trail angel, hiker, friend etc. (more later) We couldn’t have pulled off the car shuttle better. We went through a terrific thunderstorm on the way to the trailhead. We saw a fire started by a lightening strike. Rachel didn’t join on the night hike to Glen Aulin. Walking 6 miles in the dark to get a jump on the mileage was not her cup of tea. We arrived at about 11:00PM and no matter what they say you can’t hike at night with a full moon; use your headlamp. Lot’s of indistinct trails over solid rocks; camped near a bear box which we used. The next day we lit out for the territories. The first few days are a roller coaster of climbs, passes and deep canyons. Lots of pack trains out there and saw a mule stampede that made us step off the trail. The cowboys were right behind and a few hours later the mules came by again in tow. Like me the mules get free and they head for the barn.
Everyday I was able to bathe in a lake or creek except one, a great joy. Only a few of the passes come close to the height and difficulty of the last section. Heard Clark’s Nutcracker annoying scream at Bensen Pass. Like crows they are part of the bird Mafia. Had a two mountain pass day and with the ups and downs, the altitude, felt weak. Passed a pretty lake with a freaked out duck. Didn’t see the chicks or eggs but were sure that she was protecting them. Lot’s of deer. Very tame except for the skittish youngsters. They know they have no worries from us. Some pretty Aspens here. First among equals in beauty. Surprised to see some scrubby desert like microclimates above 9000 feet. A real diversity of plant life, deep forest and the occasional moonscape. Bill thought he saw some beauty that equaled the Grand Canyon on a small scale. I’d agree. Noble Canyon had a compact version of an Anasazi cliff dwelling. Some terrific trail work along the way including diversionary channels for runoff that resemble trail junctions. I think I counted six deep canyons in a few days. 2000 feet descents in a mile or two with commensurate ups. Best to do them in the morning when it is cool. You just can’t schedule a hike like that. I had about 36 pounds to start with everything. Had a few nights, one in Grace Meadow, with lots of condensation. Dried off tent and bag at lunch. Never seen such moisture before. Nearly freezing in the morning. Bad camping spot.
Trails in meadows often turn into ruts. You can be walking 4 to 6 inches below the meadow floor. I trip and stumble and can’t figure what to do with my poles. Finally I shortened the poles to compensate for the depth. Started seeing cows. They must be grandfathered in because they tear up the ground and soil the creeks but this is real grass fed beef. Don’t know where you can get it but someday I’ll find it and give it a try. Saw a 15 person Sierra Club group. Probably more brains in one group than anybody on the whole section. I entertained them for about 10 minutes with jokes and questions. Sorry I wasn’t part of this group. They had a bear GORP attack the previous night but had enough food between them to go on. We never hung out food but sealed it in multiple bags and put it at our feet. First 15 mile day. Hey we’re in Volcanic areas now. The handbook says less granite and more Volcanic rock for the next 400 miles. Some amazing piles of rock as a result of eruptions along the way. The day before and after Sonora Pass was amazing. Incredible views, high altitude, dramatic sheer cliffs, narrow passes and big ups and downs; I’ll bet` we could see 200 miles. Coming down to Sonora Pass a heavily laden pair going up asked “do you have everything you need in there?” I said “looks like you have everything you need in your packs.” “Do you have a beer?” One said “if your name is Dana there is a beer down at the pass.” I said “My name is Dana!” Turns out Rachel Ginsburg put two bottles of Heineken at Sonora Pass for us. What a sweetheart. Met Angie the Forest Service Ranger from Utah on a busman’s holiday at the pass. She was in the area for a fire but things had calmed down and she was free to wander. “This is beautiful here.” We agreed. We went back above 10000 feet that night and camped at the highest point of the trip. Ran into a group of trail guerillas who only maintain the PCT. They were filthy young people with ecological degrees starting their life with a summer in the wilderness. We thanked them for their work. They ended their arduous day by hiking up a local peak. Saw some grouse the next day. Big bird! Good eating? Nobody on the trail today. Have seen 53 people so far. A fraction of the 600 last year. We bathe daily, wash our clothes, cook hot meals lunch and dinner. We’re passing a few roads now and saw 19 people, mostly day hikers near Highway 4. Only a couple of long distance hikers, two of which were recent graduates of “U Dub” or the University of Washington. I asked “what are you going to do now that you are grown up?” She said “I’m not grown up. Look at this pack. I am a Nomad now.” I woke up that night and saw the best firmament ever. It was glorious. Even with my worsening eyesight. We walked by the very windy “Nipple” on the next to the last day and passed the Lost Lakes before camping by the “Lakelets” below. I made a mistake and passed an easy water source. We were dry, windblown, and exhausted at the end of the day. Had a flyby by a flyboy in a jet and what a sound. Great lake where I washed on a submerged rock and filtered all the water we needed as a mea culpa. Got a signal and called my daughter and son. Wife was out but called me later. The last day we did a 20 mile or so to finish off. Saw two hikers, passed Carson Pass, fabulous views into Tahoe and the southern Reno valley and long beautiful meadows. The last hiker was a young lady in a two piece black athletic bikini miles from anywhere. I figure we deserved that. She said “You’re the only people I’ve seen all day.” I said “you’re the second person and best thing we’ve seen all day.” There was a huge, slow, rocky, descent in a canyon before we got to Highway 50 and a Ski resort. You needed to be a Billy Goat to move quickly. Deep forest and couple of miles to the shores of Echo Lake and my car. The worlds best trail store is at the boat rack. Packed with goodies, fresh vegetables and fruit and a place for a good burger. They guy who delivered the produce gave us a peach and some desserts, nice. Bill and I walked to the center of the dam at Echo Lake, high fived, and made a promise to come back next year for the next segment.
PCT hiking is running a marathon everyday for 10 days. Bill says it is half a marathon. Regardless we’re starting a business: Bill and Dana’s 10 day, 10 pound fat loss program: tent, backpack, sleeping bag and food extra. The adventure is not the view but the challenge. The view is spectacular however. You see beauty and places no one will every see. The scale of nature is moving. Wilderness means being virtually alone. A handful of people every few miles. California is big, really big. 30 million people but drive 30 miles from anywhere and be alone.

Article on my PCT talk from the San Diego Reader

Hot, Miserable, Amazing
By Barbarella | Published Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008 San Diego Reader

“The first thing I learned was that the man who has water on the mountain is king,” says hiking enthusiast Dana Law. “Water is absolutely the most important thing you’ll have in Southern California, because this really is the land without water. When I saw my first mountain spring I was totally shocked. It’s the most amazing, unusual thing I’d ever seen.”
On Wednesday, February 13, Law will appear at the La Jolla/Riford Library to talk about his experience hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. “This is one of three national scenic trails; it encompasses the entire U.S. West Coast beginning right here in San Diego County at the border in Campo,” explains Law. “It’s a connection of mountains and desert roughly 2650 miles long, all the way to the Canadian border in Washington State.” Law, a self-employed fitness buff, has hiked 974 miles of the trail over the course of 22 separate journeys. He learned of the trail from another hiker in 2003 while on an 11-day, 140-mile “sea to sea” course from Torrey Pines to the Salton Sea.
Law experienced his first emergency on a hike in May 2004. “It was 80 degrees the day before and 80 degrees the day after, but it turned out to be 100 degrees on the day we left.” When the trio of men set out, they made a pact to speak up about any adverse condition or health problem. Several miles in, one man began to look sick. “He kept being a guy and saying, ‘I’m fine,’ but then he collapsed.” Law climbed to the top of the nearest peak and called 911. “He had to be airlifted with a helicopter. It turned out he had heat prostration. He was running on too little water.”
Law, who hikes Cowles Mountain twice a week with a 25-pound backpack to stay in shape, says he is “constantly morphing and tweaking techniques to survive.” In addition to finding the proper shoes (hiking boots are out, tennis shoes are in), Law thinks the most difficult hiking hurdle is the ongoing struggle to reduce the weight of his pack. “One of the first trips I took, my pack with water and food was about 45 pounds, which was much too much — I was totally wiped out after only a few days. In the Sierras I had a 38-pound pack with about seven days’ worth of food. An average pack these days shouldn’t be much higher than about 25 pounds.” New technology in hiking gear has helped. Law’s old pack weighed 4.5 pounds, but his new “ultralight” bag weighs only 2 pounds.
One danger for which Law has learned to prepare is hypothermia. “Staying dry is absolutely essential to your success and health and happiness. You don’t even have to be that cold — it could be 40 degrees and you might think that’s not freezing, but think of what your body temperature average is. If it’s 40 degrees and you’re wet and you start shaking, you could lose your life in the middle of nowhere.”
In Law’s experience, it’s heat that causes more problems than cold. On several occasions, he and his team realized that they had gone too far in hot weather. The worst of these may be the time when they covered 15 miles in one day across the Cajon Pass on the way to Las Vegas. “We went up 4000 feet in 15 miles, and it was incredibly hard. It was hot, it was miserable, it was the most challenging thing we’d ever done physically in our lives.” Of other hot-day treks, Law says, “I’ve had nausea and weakness. Sometimes I’ve collapsed at the end of the day and curled up, speechless in a ball for an hour.”
Oddly enough, at no time during any of his journeys has Law suffered a blister. He does not attribute this to his shoes (trail-running tennis shoes), but to the high state of physical conditioning he maintains. At 53, Law is the youngest of his hiking partners. Despite his conditioning and experience, he is not immune to making mistakes. While entering the southern Sierras, Law fell behind his friends and admitted he wasn’t feeling well. When they arrived at the nearest stopping point, Law passed out. “Twelve hours later, I woke up in the same position.” In this case, Law believes he had consumed too much water. “People get sick from drinking too much water. Remember the woman in that contest who died?” (In January 2007, a 28-year-old died after participating in a water-drinking contest on a radio station in Sacramento.)
Hiking enthusiasts love to trade information about their favorite gear, as evidenced on numerous online forums. Aside from his MP3 player, which Law says helps him get to sleep in his tent, the one piece of gear he treasures above all others is his bandanna. “You can filter water with it, keep your face covered, and wipe the sweat off.”
— Barbarella

Here is a detailed map of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Pacific Crest Trail Map

PCT trip 22 August 5th through the 17th. 171 miles.

Click on the links for photos and videos.

Our sections get farther and farther away. We have walked every step of the PCT consecutively north from Campo, Ca. It now means it really takes a whole day to get to the trailhead. In this case we had to drop off a car at Tuolumne Meadows, spend a night in the backpacker’s campground, and get a ride to Onion Valley near Independence to reenter the trail. There was a search on up in the Yosemite area for a lost hiker. The rangers didn’t have time to talk. Our driver was Rachel Ginsburg of Oakland. She was my “blind date” early this year when I picked her up at the San Diego for a ride to a PCT segment here in San Diego. I have a lot to do to make up for her help on this long section. Getting back to our latest section means walking over Kearsarge Pass, just west of Independence which itself is over 11000 feet. It wasn’t easy getting out last year and a bit harder getting in. I am in good shape but none of us could be prepared for the altitude. Ray Ellis got up there first after one of my water bottles sprung a leak and I fell back. I rearranged my pack and Rachel accompanied me for an hour. Paul Freiman went up before me but I caught up to him in a little while. He started feeling unwell quickly; something that would bother him for most of the trip. This is a dramatic spot, one of the great views of the Sierras. Once we joined up at the pass we descended past a section which had been recently rerouted and improved.

Our first night was spent at the northern junction above Charlotte Lake. I shoehorned my tent into a tight space and realized I should have placed us at the bigger junction. At my first dinner I found out I had forgotten my salmon. Fortunately between jerky and protein bars I was fine.

Our first true mountain pass the next morning was Glen Pass. At the time it seemed incredibly challenging but as the hike progressed it was remembered a merely as a good warm up. Most passes are bleak rocky ascents into a treeless world. Some like Selden Pass have a beautiful run up. Still they are an alien place. After Glen Pass we passed through Rae Lakes a fine area and crossed our first creek ford. In this case a lake outlet. We were reminded how difficult it must be for early or wet season hikers to cross these things. It is dangerous, time consuming and scary. For me it was sobering.

On day two we ran into a hiker looking for the local Forest Ranger. A diabetic man on Taboose Pass had collapsed and needed help. He said that two doctors were with him, which should be no surprise because of the talent, experience, and quality of the people out hiking. We saw a helicopter fly over later and found out the next day he was in the hospital and doing fine. Saw 103 people on the first full day and 28 women.

I bent one of my hiking poles going up Pinchot Pass which was a bitch with a dozen switchbacks up a nearly vertical rock slide of talus; like walking through steep gravel pit. Many are what I have deemed “Landslide Trails.” Steep rocky trails in a gravel pit. One earthquake and the pass would be blocked. Water is scarcer this year and we make sure to get plenty when we need it. We did Pinchot and Mather in one day. It was too big a chunk. We ran into a very clean hiker: shaved, sparkling, a real scout who said “one pass a day for me.” He was a bit smug. We passed one cool suspension bridge over I believe South Forks Woods Creek. Only one person at a time passes while it swings back and forth. I keep saying to myself “keep looking straight ahead”, spooky. I had blown out two of my three Platypus water bottles. Ray gave me a Nalgene bottle that I used for the rest of the trip. I have to buy new bottles for each trip or risk having none.

The Muir trail section of the PCT is a roller coaster, a pass, a deep valley, steep climbs and descents, a pass and so on. Most of them are beautiful but difficult. Descending in to Deer Meadow we saw patches of dead trees. This was sad because the flora in the Sierras is in such good shape. I thought it was the Bark Beetle but turned out it was fire damage. It appeared a lightening attack had centered itself there.

Paul Freiman decided to fall back and hike at a more comfortable pace to reduce his discomfort from the altitude. His plan was to exit earlier and meet us at the end. I got pretty sick of my protein bars by this time. We always find a food we can’t stand on a trip. I could never get enough beef jerky but later replaced my food bars with Snickers at Vermillion Valley Resort , heaven! We are averaging 11 hour days. Brief stops for water and a short lunch. Before Muir Pass we had the largest campsite, Big Pete Meadow. An early stop, good wash from the creek and lots of really nice people to talk to. There are lot’s of sharp interesting people on the trail. It is a self selected group of educated, aware, motivated people. One lady, a newbie, with a big dream who had struggled in that day over Bishop Pass asked “will Muir Pass be hard?” I told her I hadn’t been there but they were all hard. Very few minorities except for the Asian’s mostly of American extraction. Are white people in general the most likely to enjoy outdoor pursuits? Is this a cultural thing? Ran into to two African Americans both youths with scout groups. I have seen lots of people with fishing poles but only one person with fish.

We had a late camp one night at high altitude above the Palisades Lake near a feeder creek. It was near freezing in the morning. It is never easy to get out of the sleeping bag when there is a chill. Saw a naked man on a rock fresh from a bath, female co hiker looking on. We descended the Golden Staircase which is blasted out of the rock in a narrow canyon. The handbook says that it was the last section of the Muir trail to be finished and I can see why. We expected summer rains on this trip but it never happened. We had blue skies almost every day. Saw two other people with ULA Catalyst packs. Like me they had changed from the ultra light packs that just don’t carry enough weight. It is a lot more comfortable too.

I like the Sierras but don’t always see the beauty others find. Muir Pass was really a long hard slog but quite a pay off with the view. The Muir hut is one cool thing. Bigger than I imagined. Must have been a heck of a project. Saw Marmots and their babies.

We crossed a lot of rivers on this trip. Most of them were quite low. I can’t imagine trying to cross them in a normal season of snow and rain. It must be quite difficult for early season hikers. I had to take off my shoes once and those rocks hurt bare feet. Only reason I could imagine taking ugly Crocks. I have never had camp shoes.

It got a bit frosty on a couple of mornings. I have 20 degree down bag and I was toasty except for the coldest night. I felt the chill a little.

Ran into a guy who had named himself Wilderness Destroyer the day before when the Rangers asked him to move his tent farther away from the river and trail. He cussed a lot about the situation. Claims he dared the Rangers to give him a ticket. Don’t believe him. I think he is a coward and had the conversation in his tiny head. Ran into a nerd hiker who had just “bushwhacked cross-country.” I got the feeling he felt real winners had what it took to go cross-country. I’d like to try it sometime but not by myself.

Ran into our first Pack Train. There are hikers up here with small packs doing about 10 miles a day that are supported in every way by pack trains. Tents, food, fuel and anything else except the basics is carried for them. I wouldn’t do this plan but it still sounds like a sweet deal. Horses have a pretty good deal up here too. They can poop on the trail. Forgot the riders name but he had 8 horses and mules packed to the gills.

Near Selden Pass I tripped and fell flat on my face. Banged up my legs and right knee. It would be so easy to get hurt up here. I was carrying my poles while walking on a flat rocky trail and promised myself it wouldn’t happen again. Quite a scare but I was fine. You have to pay attention all the time. You can’t spend too much time sightseeing when you are walking. Selden had the best approach to a pass. Two wonderfully pretty lakes and the perfect forest. It reminded me a bit of some of the trees in the San Bernardino’s that all the same height with no messy forest floor; like a Christmas tree farm. This bit of Eden was enhanced by another beautiful pigtailed hiker who wanted to talk. I think these young women see me as a father figure. I can go with that. They all remind me of my daughter anyway.

My friend and former co hiker Bill Redman is a few days ahead of us on the trail. He has become my PR agent telling several groups we were behind him and describing us. Three groups of hikers recognized me from his description. I feel like a celebrity. I wear a bandana over my face when I hike to protect myself from the sun. I think that is what Bill has told them to look for. One lady who didn’t know me said “you look gangster” and another guy said “I thought I was going to be robbed.” I cover up completely when I hike. I wear long sleeves, long pants, gloves, big hat, sun block and the bandana. The sun is the devil to the skin. We are getting plenty of Vitamin D just being out there. Young hikers look awfully good but the older hikers with a lifetime of sun worship look like a wrinkled leather bags. Not a pretty picture.

Every time I unload my pack it looks like I getting ready for a yard sale. What a mess of bags and detritus. The contents are organized and essential but it doesn’t look like it.
My legs are really starting to ache at night. This was an eleven day trip but I could see a through hiker could never heal with one zero day. This is the hardest consistent physical effort I have ever done and that is saying a lot.

We got to Mono Creek and peeled off to Edison Lake for a ferry to Vermillion Valley Resort. The lake is very low. I heard it was 30 feet below normal. It is pretty surreal. You walk about a mile across mud flats to a place deep enough for the pick up. Three low life young people drinking beer arrived with the Ferry. 15 hikers filled up the ferry which is a euphemism. It is a flat pontoon boat. The pilot put his empty bottle of Stone Ale at his feet and lost control of it as it rolled about and he did foot ballet to keep it there. Most of us looked at each other in stunned silence. I suppose it is difficult to find good help in the middle of nowhere but this was the low end. The “Resort” was a scream. Like a trailer park after an earthquake. The food was great and the young losers that picked us up turned out to nice enough just lost early in life. We suspected the owner who was in town getting supplies lost control when he left the property; when the cats away the mice play. You do get a free tent cabin to sleep in the first night. The chef, waitress and store manager were fine people. After I went to sleep Ray sat at the campfire and watched a bear attack the camp looking for chow. They fired some sort of cherry bomb gun at it with mixed success. We had time to meet some cool people at VVR. One lady, an American living in Oman, we get our help as she comes into the dry Southland.

Going north on the trail means 90 percent of the hikers pass you quickly going the other way so having time to meet people is special. We ran into Paul Freiman getting on the “ferry” when we left. He is doing better. After getting back on the trail had a very stiff climb which ended with 53 switchbacks on the other side of the mountain. Hiking the Muir/PCT trail is a roller coaster. I pitied the people going up that side even though we had done the same in other places. Not long after we stopped for water and creature the size of a fox run by with a small squirrel in its mouth. It must have been his dinner. Saw several deer.

Silver Pass was a gentle climb and pretty one too. There is a notch at the top that turns out to be the pass. Bill Redman’s PR got me recognized by two hiking ladies my age near the top. This trail is becoming very dusty. One particular day I found I had a fine layer of dust on everything.

We had a scare the day before Reds Meadow. In the morning we were climbing up out of Tully Hole and I said to Ray “it is pretty hazy today.” Later it got worse and I smelled smoke. At Lake Virginia the sky was completely socked in. The first trail gossip we heard turned out to be correct. He said that a Ranger told him it was from the fires near Santa Barbara. For a few hours though we were trying to figure out how we would escape a Sierra Fire. This was a big day for us, 18.5 miles into Reds Meadow. The last 10 miles is pretty pleasant walking. It was good to have a hot meal and a free hot springs shower. The old building has no lights and I had to leave the door open a crack to wash up but it was wonderful. I met owner of the restaurant, store and stables: Bob Tanner. He has run the place for the last 47 years. He has had three strokes and moves at a snails pace with a cane but his mind is great. He doesn’t think that Ansel Adams deserved a forest. He says that he and his buddies did more for the Sierras’ by blocking the Trans Sierra Highway that was going to be built from the Owens Valley to Fresno in the 1960’s, very interesting guy.

Leaving Red’s the next day we walked past the Devil’s Postpile. Having seen it as a child in the nineteen sixties it does, as one older hiker said to me, “look smaller now.” It still is a remarkable geologic site. After Agnew Meadow there is a steep climb into higher altitude but virtually treeless. There is a lot of water here. This mountain must be a big sponge. The view of the Minarets and Shadow Lake is breathtaking. The skies were still hazy from the fire. I will find a picture of the view we had and post it here. My photo wouldn’t have done it justice. As I mentioned before I quickly get my fill of the beauty of nature after hiking for days but this transcended it. The Muir Trail which splits from the PCT after Red’s rejoins it in this section.

We camped at Badger Lake off trail after we met the Badger Lake Chamber of Commerce. This was a family that was camping there and insisted we meet them later. We went to the lake and kept hearing them say “over here, over here” and then never saw them again. Except for a few fisherman it was empty. My feet were in good shape. Haven’t had a blister in all these miles but my legs started to ache at night in the tent. Thank goodness for ibuprofen. Did I mention catch and release fishing is silly. You should eat them unless they are too small. Not that I am fishing. What a lousy hobby if you can’t eat the result.

We came down into Thousand Island Lakes the next morning and I missed a turn and wasted an hour touring the shoreline. When we finally got out of there I tried not to turn back and look at it. I was afraid I’d turn into dressing.

Our last pass was Donahue and it looked like a piece of cake on paper but it is a pile of rocks on both sides. It is a real leg beater. I got really tired going up to the summit. I didn’t want to slow down because some clouds were coming in and I didn’t want to get stuck up there in a storm. I waited for Ray and said “let’s get the hell off this pass before something happens.” He said “I don’t care if it rains.” I replied “who cares about rain.” Descending from Donahue is rougher than ascending. Both sides are very rocky but the north side is bone shaking and knee jarring. Just when you can’t take it anymore it smoothes out to flat Lyell Canyon the best way to finish this section. We spent the night at the trail for Vogelsang High Sierra Camp. I thought I saw a Bigfoot but it turned out to be a teenager. The last day was very chilly till the sun came into the canyon and then an easy short walk to Tuolumne Meadows. We ran into Paul Freiman early just as he said and to our surprise Bill Redman who was hanging around for a permit to go. We had a tough but fulfilling hike. As soon as I was done I started thinking about the next segment north to Lake Tahoe. Often I can’t wait for a hike to end but then….

I was reading about poetry in a history of Japan. The poet-scholar Tsurayuki said “In a world full of things man strives to find words to express the impression left on his heart by sight and sound.” The impression I have is that the Sierras are dramatic, stark, beautiful and inhospitable right below the surface. We only have a small window in which we can pass fairly safely. The biggest impression for me was the achievement of finishing this section. Personal accomplishment moves me more than nature. I could never be a poet.

Pacific Crest Trail trip 21 – August 18th through August 25th, 2006. 87 Miles.

See the photos here:

Pacific Crest Trail Hike 21

Aug 18, 2006 - 197 Photos

This was the longest trip yet. We spent seven days on the trail and took a ton of food. As always it took a bit of work dropping off a vehicle at the end and getting back to Kennedy Meadows. We hired Gary from Ridgecrest to take us to Kennedy. It took about 10 hours to pull it off and then we walked 11 miles. The weather was nice for the whole trip. I don't think it got much above 80 degrees. We passed and saw Beck and Monache Meadows. There was a controlled burn in this area that made the view a little murky. There never was a real clear day because of other fires. We are all carrying about 40lbs with food and bear canisters. It is the law up here and three extra pounds. I immediately felt the extra weight. I decided to bring my Mariposa Pack and it is overloaded. I took a chance with a light pack that turned out well. There is a lot of water up here. I think the farthest distance between water sources is seven miles and that is a miracle after 700 miles in Southern California. This is still cow country. We saw a big black object near the South Kern. Our eyes are old enough that for a while we thought it was a bear. Only a bovine. At the South Kern River we ran into a Sierra Club group that had bagged Olancha Peak. A guy came up to us in the dark and recommended we camp on the other side of the river. He thought we were part of his group and frankly he was a little nosy. After he found out we weren't with him he kept giving us advice. He turned me off. We were at 8000 or so feet and the stars were awesome. We got frost the next morning and our water bladders were frozen. It was a reminder to sleep with your water bottles. You can't filter water either with frozen tubes. Our first leg took us a long way up Cow Canyon. We filtered along the way: 14 hard miles today. We did see a lot of skunk cabbage. It was a bit hard to follow the trail in places because the whole area is so recently wet that every bush and plant is growing like a weed. There are still some wildflowers at higher altitudes which is a pleasure. We crossed Gomez Meadow on a causeway (a word I like to use) that keeps your feet out of the swampy meadow. A sheepherder carved a man smoking a pipe on a tree here about 100 years ago. I like ancient graffiti. We took a long to time to go the eight miles to pass the turn off for Olancha Peak and then down into Death Canyon. Our camp location that night was sensibly set by Bill before a 2000 foot climb that next day. I have developed a rash again on my lower back from the heavy pack. I think it is from the pack. I put duct tape on it and wrapped my fleece around my waist to stop its progress. The big climb on the 20th gave us a great view of Owens Valley to the east and the White Mountains. Perhaps we shall investigate them some day. We ran into Dave Drew recently retired from the Alaska DOT doing a section. Most of the hiking today followed a ridge that had several places to go off trail for water. I watched them all closely so we could get water at the last possible one, Dutch Meadow, to reduce water weight and then I missed it. We had to walk to Corpsman Creek to get water and we were thrilled when we saw it. We passed Trail Pass Trail. We needed a good camping spot and we found it at the edge of Poison Meadow which had a beautiful view east and west here.

On the 21st after Cottonwood Pass we passed Chicken Spring Lake. This beautiful lake with surrounding dramatic rocks called cirques marked the beginning of uniquely Sierran views. We had a big up after this and walked through a nasty section of rocks and sand. It slows you down and beats up your feet. There were some great views of mountains to the west. We passed a young couple. The women was pregnant and seemed to be far along. It couldn't be too long until a hiker baby was born. Another hiker, Bill, was starting his JMT trek from Cottonwood Pass. He was way overloaded and later we shared our water so he could survive to the next source. This day was the shortest. We slowly descended into Rock Creek, one beautiful place. We were alone when we arrived but soon there were 20 other hikers in the campground, a Sierra Club group, some older Boy Scouts with dads and a few strays. Bill, Ray and I were able to wash off very well in the river and even do some laundry. This has to be one of the more idyllic places we have ever been. One guy in the Sierra group figured out Bill's age and accomplishments and went on and on about how amazing he was. It made his day or week. It was nice to have some company to talk to. Saw our first Ranger who wanted to see our permits and bear canister. I showed her everything she needed while washing Ray's hair. She looked at the permit and said, "Where's Manning?" I explained it was the Canadian border. We attained Guyot Peak by 9:00AM the morning of the 22nd on the way to Crabtree Meadow. 3800 foot gain today which is the biggest of the hike. At 1:00PM today we met the John Muir Trail. The PCT and JMT join each other for 176 miles. It came after Crabtree Meadow which has a terrific view of the mountains to the east including Whitney. We had a big tiring climb up to the Bighorn Plateau that we were sure was badly routed. I renamed it "What's the Point" but it turned out to be the best way. Most of all our hiking has been at ten or eleven thousand feet, often above the tree line. The plateau has a 360 view of every mountain range within 50 miles. I saw my first Marmot. Our camp was at the crossing of Tyndale Creek which appears to run through blocks of rock stacked like Legos. I found a personal pool protected from the rushing water. It was wonderful. I almost got clean. We put our food in a Bear Box for the first time, a bear canister in a bear box, funny.

The next day we went over Forrester Pass after passing through a land of mystery and beauty. It was a something out of Tolkien. We passed creeks, ponds, grass, views of Whitney and patches of snow, some of which was watermelon snow, pink from algae. It reminded me of a Chinese contemplative garden. Now we have seen what they try to recreate in an urban setting. We met a very attractive lady, a Veterinarian from Canada, on the way up, obviously a veteran hiker. We took her picture and Bill and I were smitten. The trail over Forester Pass is a remarkable achievement. In places it seems to be carved out of the rock. Huge boulders everywhere. A nineteen year old died in 1930 when it was built and there is a plaque commemorating his death. We all felt very strong going up to the highest point on the PCT. There were at least eight hikers coming up the other way when we arrived. This turned into a flood of people we passed in the next few hours. Most of them loaded to the gills. I was worried that we had too much weight but almost everyone else had to be carrying ten to twenty pounds more. I felt sorry for them. I passed through a strip of snow covering the trail and the guys decided to walk around it on the talus. Bill said "you seem to be doing well" and then I fell on my butt. Soft landing and I was fine. Pride goeth
before the snow fall. There are lots of lakes here and many have a beaten path to them. I am sure the angling is good because we can see the fish hitting the surface. We descended into Vidette Meadows in a lovely treed area with Bubb's Creek nearby. We passed a lot of small streams and near the end of the meadow there were about six in a row which must be a record. We took a long break near the end of the day for a meal, washing and rest before climbing steeply out of the canyon. We saw a batch of lightly loaded hikers on the way up. There was a large pack train near the bottom and we deduced that they had been dropped off near the top to get the hiking experience. This climb was hard. We arrived about 7:00PM for our final camp near the junction of Kearsarge Pass and Charlotte Lake trails. We started the walk over Kearsarge early the next morning. It was Ray's 61st birthday. There are several lakes near and below the trail on both sides. Several feeder streams cross the trail. We never had to take off our shoes to ford a stream on this trip. The way out of a Sierra hike is a familiar one now with a sharp climb to a place in a rock wall and then down. There was good stream of hikers passing us on the way down. The first had a fishing pole and a Labrador. A Lab seems like the perfect trail dog and happy to be hiking. It is a long way down to the parking lot. We arrived about 11:00AM. I saw 154 hikers on this trip. The Sierras are pristine. People seem to be taking careful care in their travels. This was tough hiking. The views are becoming more beautiful and dramatic. It don't think, with snow pack, that we will be able to continue our journey for at least 10 or 11 months but we hope to get in some kind of trip in the meantime.