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8/26/2017: Pond at Mile 2148.3 to Panther Creek Mile 2179.7

Today began at water and ended at water. Sherpa and I woke next to the sun rising over the pond we camped beside and packed our things. We started the day with a steep climb and as we looked over our left shoulders we could see a power plant on the edge of the Columbia river. Sherpa and I were wondering if it was a power plant when we approached our campsite after leaving Stevenson the day before, but could only see the lights from it, as we got to camp at dusk.

On the way up, at some point I got ahead of Sherpa and I found myself about 20 yards from a herd of elk that were grazing in the valley and opposite slope of where I was. I must have gotten ahead a bit because I stood there filming for a while and hoping that Sherpa would join me so she could see them too. Unfortunately I tried to get a closer look and started to move in the direction of the elk and for every one step that I toward the elk, they took twenty steps away. Eventually the heard dispersed and were out of sight so begrudgingly I began walking again. I was really hoping to show them to Sherpa but, as always, breathtaking moments are fleeting. At some point along the way, Sherpa and I met up at a trail junction and continued to finish our climb.

Soon after we reached the apex of our ascent, we crossed a barren stretch of logged land with a forest service road running down the middle of it. Off in the distance we could see the snow-covered Mt. Saint Helen’s or Louwala-Clough.

I was really impressed and excited by how green Washington is and we spent much of our day crossing beautiful streams and bridges and most of the trail felt kind to our feet. We had lunch at Snag creek and then continued on hoping to camp at Wind River. We crossed some more streams and bridges including Trout Creek.

The camping at Wind River seemed hot and muggy so we decided to continue to Panther Creek. Also there was a possibility of trail magic because it was next to a campground. Furthermore, I was excited because I figured there would be a privy.

As we approached Panther Creek we were hiking on a flat section and we happened upon Hollywood, another PCT hiker. He rejoined the trail at kind of an awkward moment because he was stopped on the trail and just about to get on as we were passing. He looked like he was going to be a fast hiker so Sherpa let him go ahead of us.

We talked with him for a while and it was soon apparent that he hikes at a much more leisurely pace than the two of us do. Occasionally Sherpa and I exchanged glances and it was starting to get comical. I entertain myself when she gets in these predicaments because instead of saying something she often attempts to communicate telepathically that we need to get by.

Eventually though she did speak up and we were on our way again, though we only had a short distance to go and before long we arrived at the trail junction to the southern part of the campground. I split off from Sherpa to see if I could find a trash can to ditch my trash and use the privy. I found myself entering a really trashy camping situation and they told me there wasn’t a privy.

I was disappointed but wanted to get away from the campsite in complete disarray. It looked really run down and the campers staying there left camping gear, food, and trash all over their site.

I met Sherpa at the trail and we continued on to the site just before Panther Creek just a short distance away. We expected to find lots of available camping but discovered that we had entered a bubble of sorts and all the obvious sites were occupied.

We continued on about 100 yards until we arrived at the creek itself and a nice bridge. There was about 3 or 4 hikers there sitting and smoking and I asked if they planned on staying there, to which they replied that they were heading on a short distance. I quickly claimed the flattest spot only a few yards from the bridge and at a trail junction. There were lots of people around coming and going but I knew they would eventually clear out and we could be in peace and it would be a nice spot.

At some point we saw Yote and 2.Toe slip by us and we greeted them. They went on to find camping down the junction trail, where I discovered earlier that there was some really nice primitive, pay camping only a few hundred yards away.

Sherpa began setting up the tent and I went down to the stream to collect water. There I found a very shocking site. A woman was passed out leaning against a drunk man on the side of the stream and the man was attempting to lift her. She was nearly unresponsive and he kept trying to pick her up. I asked if they needed help and I was really at a loss as to what to do. The two of them were really drunk and I had no way of telling if the woman was safe.

The man said they were fine and that she just had too much to drink. I considered asking Sherpa to push the SOS button on her GPS unit. In retrospect I probably should have done so but I didn’t want to raise an alarm unless there was one. The situation took me off guard and I think it will take research for me to know what the right thing to do in this predicament would be. That being said, I kept my eye on them and there were lots of other day hikers who seemed less than concerned observing the situation. So at least my complacence was not singular.

Sherpa and I talked about what we should do and at some point it became obvious that both the man and the woman wanted to get back to their tent but the woman could not walk because of how drunk she was. The man kept picking her up and dropping her and I could see that soon she was going to be injured. Sherpa and I walked over and nearly demanded that we help get her away from the water’s edge and back to her tent.

With Sherpa watching our path, I lifted the woman up and the man and I started to walk her back to the tent. The tent was about 40 yards from the water’s edge and soon I found myself supporting both the woman and the man as we walked to the tent. We set her down as gently as we could and then I tried to make it as clear as possible to the woman and the man, that if they should need help or anything to come get me or call out.

Sherpa and I returned to the tent stunned and talked about what we had done. Had we just helped this man abduct this woman? I very much doubt that she was in real danger except from being dropped all over the place by a drunk fool, but if I ever encounter this type of situation, I will get help from professionals if they are available. It was scary.

Our episode was over, and so was our day. We were glad to avoid tragedy and serious drama. Sherpa and I got into our tents and were soon fast asleep like little hiker babies.

 

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8/16/2017: Thielsen Creek Tentsite Mile 1853.6 to Summit Lake Tentsite Mile 1886.8

Today we reached the highest point on the PCT in Oregon and Washington so it was a good day. Sherpa and I woke and packed our things, Tofu was already on her way down the trail. We descended the slope on the trail to Thielsen Creek. We filled our bottles from the glacier water that flowed from the north side of Mount Thielsen. It was some of the coldest water I put my hands into on the trail. We continued on to ascend the short and pleasant climb to reach the highest point on the PCT in Oregon and Washington.

The highest point was funny and anticlimactic and we reached it around 8:30 am. It felt like we were in a pasture and I started to think that all of Oregon and Washington was going to be rolling hills. That is ok with me because, so far, the trail in Oregon has been really enjoyable and beautiful. The highest point was no exception.

We did get some amazing views as we continued our traverse. Oregon has been surprisingly dry thus far and we had to carry water nearly 16 miles though we could see a lake in the distance.

I remember thinking how we passed through so many seemingly isolated ecosystems in Oregon. It reminded me of southern Vermont on the Appalachian Trail. We would pass into a forested area where all the trees had the same type off moss, then we would pass into another area where all the trees had the same tumors. It was striking and I it was some of the most enjoyable trail we have experienced.

At some point we caught up with Tofu and agreed that we would camp at Summit Lake a few miles ahead. We were pleasantly surprised when we reached a hidden junction and we found ourselves on a long, narrow outcropping that was teardrop shaped. It had flat and well groomed campsites and clear access to the water’s edge. We took in the site and decided to rinse off in the lake.

I jumped in and Sherpa did her usual dance before getting into the water and eventually got a quick dip and got out. We were worried that Tofu was going to miss the junction where we got off the trail and sure enough we heard her voice clearly from across the water.

She was a few hundred yards away but we could hear her as if she was only a few feet away. She was talking to another couple that was camped on the shore. We called to her to tell her where we were and convinced her to join us after she rinsed off.

We got out and hung our clothes. Tofu joined us and we all ate dinner and chatted. Sherpa and I went into our tents just after sunset and we occasionally called out random comments to Tofu who was only a few feet away.

Eventually we settled and it was time for sleep. We passed out in no time and slept like little hiker babies.

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8/14/2017: Bridge and Tentsite at Mile 1771.0 to Annie Creek Sno-Park Shelter

Today was a classic long distance trail experience. We faced a long day of at least 30 miles, followed by the necessity to exit via a forest service road, due to the Blanket Creek Fire. Our plan was to hike to a junction touted as the last, and best place to exit the trail in order to get around the fire and get to Crater Lake. Based on our research we felt pretty good about our chances of getting a hitch and eating burgers by sundown.

We started out the day early and with a gentle climb as we entered the the Sky Lakes Wilderness. In fact, most of the day was moderate and went by quickly. We didn’t stop for lunch until we had already gone around 26 miles. We walked on volcanic rock and traversed over exposed vistas that were truly amazing.

After lunch we walked for a little while longer and I noticed that someone had marked the 1800 mile marker. This is a huge milestone for us. The end feels so near and obtainable. We were feeling a little mixed however because there were rumors that we were going to have to miss Crater Lake due to the adjacent fire.

Soon we reached the Seven Mile Junction where we planned to exit the trail and noticed that there was a sign that said that the trail was closed from the Crater Lake National Park. The signs for the closure were very confusing, especially since there was no clear indication where the park officially begins on the maps. Luckily, the trail provides and there was flags indicating that we needed to exit at our planned junction.

We hiked briskly the couple of miles down the side trail, which was largely pleasant due to it being mostly flat and slightly downhill.  We reached the forest service road and to our surprise it looked as though it was a very infrequently travelled road. The only indication of what we were supposed to do was in the form of a hand drawn map on a pizza box, made by god knows who. Sherpa was very annoyed with the trail organizers / fire service for closing the trail and providing no assistance as to how to detour beyond a contrived pizza box map.

I could see her point because it could be really easy to get lost in such a remote location, especially since the pizza box map indicated areas where you would have to bushwhack to save time. It is a perfect scenario for a confused hiker to get lost and become another statistic and a news story. Regardless, I didn’t mind as much and I suggested that we unpack and camp by the road and figure it out in the morning.

We had already hiked 34 miles and I felt that, even though it was early, it was probably going to be a suffer fest if we continued. We decided instead to lallygag a few more minutes and check out the surrounding area to see if we could see any signs of civilization. On the map we saw a campground nearby but we realized quickly that it was a very primitive and rarely used campground. I walked down the road a bit this way and that and just as I was about to give up, I saw something that made my heart leap.

There, a few hundred yards away, was an Australian Shepherd bounding down a nearby trail. I called to Sherpa to prepare herself to trap some day hikers. Clopping down after the dog was a beautiful horse, followed by another horse and more dogs. On the horses were two cowboys. I jogged over to Sherpa and asked her if she would talk to them, which she did. They seemed confused as to why we would need a ride because we were standing right next to a car, but we explained that we were hiking the PCT. The two cowboys, Jamie and Hera, agreed to take us and we said we could follow them the mile back to their truck.

We were so excited and got a chance to talk about it on our way down the forest service road a couple hundred yards behind them. The trail always provides. The PCT is a logistically challenging trail, but you wouldn’t know it because of the generosity of these two Mexican-American cowboys.

After a mile or so we rounded a corner and found Jamie and Hera standing next to their truck and they offered us Gatorade and beers. We gratefully accepted. They were so delicious! We talked for a little while about our experience and asked them a lot of questions about cowboy life. Hera breaks in ponies and horses for a living, and Jamie shoes horses. They have my dream profession, I told them, and I meant it.

We piled in the car and began our descent into the valley. The valley was very flat and it reminded me of the Oregon Trail. It was grasslands as far as the eye could see. I wish I had taken pictures because it was an amazing sight to behold.

We chatted along the way and then made a quick stop to drop off Hera and his horse, then continued on our way to the road junction where Jamie would drop us off to continue our hitch to Crater Lake from Fort Klamath. Jamie was heading in the opposite direction but offered to wait if we wanted to. We declined and thanked him again and Jamie gave us another drink for the road, which I promptly stuffed into my bag.

We crossed the street to a hotel that advertised hotels and camping but it looked as though the front desk was closed. We tried to hitch for a while, but without success and we started to get worried, though my beer wasn’t even empty yet, but it was getting dark. We started to try to find accommodations where we were by calling any hotel within a reasonable distance of the intersection. We tried every number in google but all were booked or busy. The Inn, right next to us, turned out the lights when I rapped on the door.

We kept trying different numbers till Sherpa made a connection. Heidi, at the Aspen Inn, graciously offered to give us a ride to shelter. She scooped us up in no time and we had the one of the most memorable 15 minutes of the trail with a complete stranger. Second of the day.

Heidi told us all about how she had purchased the Aspen Inn with her partner and then moved out here. Sometime after her partner passed. It was a heartbreaking and sweet story. She had a new partner, who, she seemed to indicate, she loved very much and it was going well.

She also got down to business as soon as we entered her cool, old truck. She said there is a great shelter that we could stay at but we would have to hitch in the morning. We said that would be wonderful. We had no idea. She pulled into a drive that was littered with campers parked here and there and up to a log cabin with a plastic door. We thanked her and said our goodbyes and she invited us to come see her.

We pushed aside the hanging plastic and we heard dogs barking and at first were to shy to barge in, but desperation took over and we pushed our way in. The cabin was amazing. It was clean and dry. There were picnic tables, outlets, a fireplace, lights, and plenty of room to lay our pads and gear. The porta-potties were only 50 feet away and we were set for the night.

It was an amazing end to a potentially complicated, but ultimately simple and rewarding day. We set up our pads, watched a show, turned out the lights and slept like little hiker babies.

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7/11/2017 Tentsite at Mile 1425.3 to Burney Mountain Guest Ranch at Mile 1407.2

Today was a great day for both of us. We had hiked our first official 30 yesterday and that only left us with 18 miles to the Burney Mountain Guest Ranch with the Burney Falls and State Park General Store at the half way point. I could tell it was going to be a rewarding day.

We woke up at 6 and were walking by 7 with only a few bug bites. I was really plugged into the BBC space podcast all morning, as I was most of the day the day before.  The podcast isn’t “good”,  it is really just a random collection of broadcasts by the BBC that they must have simply tagged as space related. That being said, it has really spiked my curiosity by frustrating me with a lack of detail. I am realizing on this trail an old desire to become a scientist is still very much alive in me. I am not sure I could stomach the public sector though my conscience really protests against the private sector.  The first BBC podcast I listened to was about the history and significance of the study of Infinity. It was such a poor podcast in some ways because it was so high level and elementary but it was sufficient to leave me wanting more. As I have been listening it has been very easy for me to see how math, science, art, and philosophy have always been intrinsically linked and I am eager be a part of that development.

My favorite topic they discussed was Zeno’s paradoxes. Especially the Dichotomy argument, where essentially if you attempt to go from a point A to a point B, you will have to go half the distance of A and B. And in order to continue to get to B you will have to go half the remaining distance, and so on. It raises so many wonderful questions about our conscious finite and unconscious infinite experiences that have still yet to be fully answered. In fact, the phrase “and so on” in it of itself is an amazing feet of human consciousness. The fact that we can contemplate a summarized and approximated version of infinity is both striking and beautiful to me. It also has special significance in a seemingly never ending walk each day that suddenly comes to a close.

After just 3 hours and 3 podcasts we arrived at Burney Falls and we were not disappointed. First, because of hiker priorities, we went to the General Store for ice cream, soda, and a real bathroom! After we were refreshed and relaxed we walked down to the falls and wow what a gorgeous scene that awaited us. It was like out of a hidden corner of Hawaii or something to that effect.

We took a few pictures and hit the road to the ranch. Unfortunately as soon as we walked a mile away I immediately had to go to the bathroom again so I broke off on my own and Sherpa on her own.

I caught her a few hours later at a wonderful trail magic with snacks and lemonde! I really needed it because we entered a section of hot, red, volcanic rock and with little water. I only had one sip left of water to get me through the next 3 miles which I was planning on rationing. Apparently Sherpa was in the same boat. We stopped for a few minutes and then gobbled up the next couple of miles to the Ranch.

The Ranch was .3ish off the trail and when we arrived it was very hot and so we were eager to get in the shade. Immediately we were greeted by the owner and manager with ice cream. The best part of all was seeing old friends. Rise, Shine, and Snake Bite were there to greet us and as always they were there with smiles and hugs. Which when you are smelly and not fit for society feel so welcoming, friendly, and kind. They are all sisters and I am amazed at how well they have supported and strengthen each other throughout their trail experience.   They seem as though they are not sisters so much as really good friends. It was the highlight of our experience at the ranch to sit and talk with them.

We soon settled in and washed ourselves and our clothes. Then we sat down for a wonderful potato bar and salad dinner then spent some QT at the pool. After the pool we were just about to get in our tents when we saw 2.Toe and Yote! We were so excited to see our trail family again. It is not the same without them. They have only been a short distance behind us this whole section bumping into all the Nobos we have seen only a little while after us. We helped point out all the amenities and then turned in.

Once in our tent we chatted for a while and fell asleep….. like little hiker babies.

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7/9/2017 Squaw Valley Creek Mile 1482.1 to Gold Creek 1455.6

This morning was very peaceful leaving camp and walking over the bridge heading south on the trail. The moon had made a major appearance during the night and woke us both up. It was as if a single headlight was being held over our heads at 45 degrees and shining right into our eyes. You could have read a newspaper in our tent. I was awake for about 45 minutes but not disturbed by it at all. Lately my anxiety about being able to fall asleep after waking in the night has been low because my body is so tired that I am confident that if I can settle my body, my mind will follow.

We were walking through dense trees littering giant pine cones and several times we encountered deer on the trail that were only mildly amused that we were near them.  We both love deer sightings and so we stick around as long as they do. It’s really fun to watch how excited Sherpa gets. That being said, we didn’t take a lot of additional breaks with the exception of Sherpa trying to figure out how to make her bag feel better. We had hoped that swapping her bag out would correct what seemed to be a bent frame causing it to drift to the left of her back. It turns out that this bag model appears to just not fit her well and so she is constantly dealing with discomfort. She is, as always, full of determination and finds a way through the struggles. All hikers experience a measure of pain daily on the trail so learning to manage it is par for the course. Though it doesn’t make any individual case any less stressful or difficult.


The first half of the day was pretty smooth but toward the latter half we began a climb that we would  be on for nearly the remainder of the day.  It was hot and humid and we were slogging our way for a sold two hours before we stopped at a cold stream called Butcherknife Creek for lunch.  Halfway up the climb to our rest spot, we encountered some Nobos that said their was a sign for trail magic / beers and we should ask around in the parking lot. I really didn’t feel like stopping midway up a difficult climb to get beers because I knew it would make me feel even more sluggish. Sherpa on the other hand was disappointed because she was excited about the prospect, though when we arrived there was no one obviously handing out beers. So we hiked on to our lunch target. During lunch, we both were really able to dig into our food bags because we had slightly over-packed for this stretch heading into the Burney Mountain Guest Ranch.

The stream was wonderful and refreshing and we both really enjoyed lunch and washed ourselves in the stream. I even laid down flat in one of the deeper pools and the water left me breathless. It was so fresh and so cold we couldn’t get enough. We also saw smallish snake bathing on a rock that we politely asked to move after taking a poor picture.

After lunch we packed up and began tackling the last 6 miles of our slog. It was hot and sticky but we were grateful to be on the last leg of our journey for the day. When we approached the top we decided to keep our target destination which would put us at 26.5 for the day. Anything over a marathon feels good these days.

We just had over a 2 miles to camp and we descended into our first big views of the day and it was very pretty. I was thinking that I was grateful we weren’t walking this section in midday because of its exposure.

Soon we reached the junction to Gold Creek and I noticed that we had 4G! So exciting to have a little internet. I quickly checked Facebook and the gram and realized I had nothing to do but it was exciting to get a little worldly comfort. I switched it off and we walked the .2ish to the stream. We were both very tired so we made camp and got water at the very overgrown stream as quickly as we could. The bugs started picking up so after dinner we jumped into bed and soon, after some chatting, we were asleep like little hiker babies.

 

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6/17/2017 Tentsite at 724.8 to Trail Pass, Lone Pine 745.3

Today was a hell of a slog followed by beer and burgers. We only had 20 miles to get to Lone Pine where we needed to take a zero in order to get our resupply packages. It was probably a lazy move to resupply again so soon after Kennedy Meadows but Sherpa and I are not fans of long food carries and decisions you make before the trail, don’t always make the most sense once you start walking. It was also a sad day because we would have to set our little Tofu free into the wild as she is too hard core and doesn’t like going into town every second day. She was smart enough and didn’t have to resupply in Lone Pine so she would hike on with Bam Bam and most likely Boathouse and Vice.

We woke up late around 6 am because Tofu didn’t show up the night before. Sherpa and I had made a hasty decision to push on passed our agreed site around 17 miles, or so we thought. Actually the site was at 20 miles and the next campsite was around 24 miles. We covered a lot of elevation gain plus she wasn’t sure if we had passed her so she had camped a little before us with another couple. She of course caught us before we were really even out of our tents. She looked a little sad and annoyed that we didn’t send her a message that we went on but she was also getting harassed by a horde of mosquitoes and needed some deet.

Sherpa and I both carry 99% deet because it is magic and the only tool against a constant barrage of biting bugs. We were happy to share and also wanted to do something nice for our long lost friend who we would abandon again in a couple hours. So so sad.  It was surprising how soon after Kennedy Meadows that the bugs are a real problem so we were doing a lot of sharing throughout the day.

After a few minutes the Tofu took off, followed by Sherpa, myself, then Yote and 2.Toe. I only went about a mile then had to charge into the woods to do my daily ritual. When homage had been paid I hiked for a few miles and caught up to Yote and 2.Toe and they were having a grand time. They had some good blue grassy music playing and we were all so pumped to be high up and seeing some really breathtaking scenery. I walked with them for a couple miles and then they had to peel off to make an offering of their own.

Leaving the two worshipers behind I wandered through a high valley for a few miles and daydreamed as I meandered towards the first climb of the day. Just before the uphill and a 10 mile dry stretch I stopped to fill water at a stream. It was kind of odd, this was the first time I actually had to check the water report on my own for a while. Everyone is usually so vocal about the water situations I unusually am only looking to verify what everyone is talking about. Feeling a little overly proud of myself, I filled up my bottles carrying 1.7 liters and then turned around to find Sherpa, Bam Bam, and Tofu only a few yards away chilling hard in the shade.

They said they had yelled for me but the stream was narrow but noisy so I hadn’t heard. I sat with them and Tofu commented on how well the deet was working and asked if she could buy it off me. I said she could have it, especially since it was an old bottle that I made from two other old bottles and we were heading to town.

Soon we filled out of our comfy spot, this time Sherpa and I walked together and we began a long gradual assent in the heat of the morning. Apparently in the valley it was over 100 degrees so even at 10,000+ feet we were feeling quite warm. The climb gradually began to feel like a slog and we were really starting to feel the elevation though it wasn’t as bad as I imagined.

We took a break at a gorgeous view just at the summit of the climb. Bam Bam howled down to us from some prominent rock formations above and I dropped my pack and joined him. Below we could see Lone Pine and a large LA Watershed laying in a flat valley, sandwiched between the Sierra and a range that borders Death Valley. It was a breathtaking site.

I snapped some photos then I crawled over some snow piles and joined Sherpa at another amazing and flat view point. Soon we were joined by Tofu, 2.Toe and Yote. We all relaxed in the shade and sun, each according to their constitution and chatted.

I ate a ridiculously large lunch and then Sherpa and I took off and headed down into the valley. I thought that this descent was going to feel good after all that climbing but I had eaten so much food that I was falling asleep while walking! It is such a strange and difficult sensation. It feels exactly like driving while tired when you are drifting but trying desperately to stay awake. I was tottering down the trail and it was more difficult to walk than on the hard climb earlier that day. After an hour or so I regained control just in time for another climb. I was also running low on water, our multiple breaks took their toll on my already slim water rations. Sherpa was in the same boat and by the time we reached a cowy stream we were both down to the last drop and very parched.

Sherpa was very kind and shared a dirty mint with me to help stretch the water a little further. I had to spit out the sand and dirt but it really did help get me the few more miles needed.

We filled up at the stream and then walked a couple miles to a spring where we had planned to wait for Yote, 2.Toe, and Tofu. Yote and 2.Toe showed up but we didn’t stay long enough to see Tofu. We were anxious to get to the parking lot for prime hitching so we told Yote and 2.Toe if they saw her to say all kinds of Hiker Bully remarks.

We had 2 miles to the junction to Horseshoe Meadow and I got ahead of Sherpa. After the junction the trail split at a small sign. I continued own without really inspecting the sign and realized a mile or two later, that I was alone.  I turned back and raced back up the slope and anxiously looked for signs of Sherpa or the split. When I reached the split I decided that she probably took it and so I hurried down the trail watching the ground for signs of her tread.

Sherpa has a very distinct tread print that has a Keen brand on it. The brand is very small though so it only shows up in fine dirt. We were on pea sized gravel so I was having a very tough time tracking her. I did see signs that made me hopeful but I wasn’t confident for at least a mile. That was a scary mile!

Just as I started to be sure of myself I saw Yote and 2.Toe who were very surprised that I popped out behind them. I explained and then we marched on to find Sherpa.

She was waiting on us in the parking lot and she already had scored a Shasta and a ride!

We were greeted by Matt who is a freelance photographer living out of his truck and working at the lone pine gear shop. Matt had all kinds of great climbing gear so I was really excited and he took us flying down a winding road that descends 6000 ft in 23 miles. It was a gorgeous and scary descent. Mainly because we weren’t used to the road more so than any criticism of his driving abilities.

When we reached town he took us to the gear shop where they had set up a really nice little hiker hang out. There we met two other hikers and the owner. The best news of the day for Sherpa was that she could exchange her Darn Tuff socks at the store! She did that and Yote and 2.Toe did some shopping then we all drifted over to the Mt Whitney Cafe for burgers and beer!

We polished off 2 pitchers and then went back to the gear shop to grab our bags and find a stealth campsite. Matt took pity on us and gave us a ride just out of town where we found some good flat spots.

We set up our gear under the stars and then went to bed. I slept for a few hours but then woke up around 2 or 3 and could not for the life of me go back to sleep. The wind was whipping and the air gave me an unquenchable cotton mouth and dry nose. Eventually I gave up and started researching and finding constellations. I found the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, North Star, Sirius, Lupus, and a few others in spite of a very bright moon. At around 5 a.m. I gave up and walked around where we were camping. A quarter mile away I discovered a small campground next to a narrow rushing creek. There were lots of sleeping cowboy campers next to their cars and remnants of a big party last night.

Sherpa, by contrast, slept like a little hiker baby.

 

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6/15/2017 Zero Day at Kennedy Meadows

Not too much to report today. Basically we spent the day lounging and clapping for hikers as they came in. In the morning Yote and I went to breakfast and got trapped at the Grumpy Bear, a breakfast joint about 3 miles from the general store where we were staying. We took one of the first shuttles out and then they were apparently cleaning the truck so we didn’t get back till late in the afternoon.

A couple games of hearts, Coors Lights, and burgers later it was evening. I had been waiting all day for the shade to reach the large driveway so we could play frisbee. As soon as there was just enough shade for me to stand under on one side and someone else on the other, I asked Yote to play. He agreed and we started tossing it around. Before long we had a rotating group of players having fun running around the dusty parking lot. The highlight of the day was when Vice put a beer bottle on his head and Yote send a disk flying and knocked it off! It was hilarious. Vice is a brave man willing to sacrifice his body for a little entertainment.

Sherpa went to bed as soon as it started getting dark and I spent a few minutes talking with Vice, Boathouse, Bam Bam, Tofu, and two other hikers then we all made our way over to the fire where people were sharing the best moment of the day. I walked up after Vice had just gone and shared the frisbee bottle story and apparently he had just done the same so we got a laugh.

I listened to a few more stories and then headed to my tent where I met Sherpa and before long we were asleep like little hiker babies.

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6/13/2017 Spanish Needle Creek 668.7 to South Kern 698.1

I woke today to find I had been betrayed by my love. I opened my bag to discover that I had been Iced in the night. I hadn’t even suspected that I would be the victim of her Watermelon Mimosa malice but the evidence was there in front of me.  Thus began my epic struggle to Ice someone else before Kennedy Meadows. We packed up and of course Tofu left first followed by us leaving 2.Toe and Yote.

I don’t remember anything too special about the early miles but we eventually came across a nice stream where Curry was relaxing. We had passed Tofu at some point and so did Tidy and Megaphone who showed up soon after followed by Tofu, then Yote and 2.Toe. It was a nice shady relaxing spot and about half of our planned miles were already done so we stayed a while.

2.Toe was laying down facing away from the sun and the group and so as Sherpa and I went to leave, I slipped the Ice into her pack and made the shh sign to Yote, who graciously complied. Then Sherpa, who hadn’t seen the drop, unknowingly said “You better not sleep or you might get iced.” Which was perfect because it later made her seem complicit in the mini act of hiker bullying. A few miles later they caught up to us and we learned that Yote had been Iced only moments after she discovered my treachery.

He apparently was trying to be generous and offered to carry the glass bottle up the steep climb ahead and 2.Toe refused. But as soon as his back was turned she plunged in the icy blade right into his pack. He ended up carrying it up after all.

The descent was difficult because it was so hard and repetitive, but it was also very exciting because we could see the snow capped mountains of the Sierra for the first time!

We met them fairly early at our planned stopping site but had heard that a bear was harassing hikers and it was super early so we decided to push on after a break. While we were resting in a narrow column of shade created by some dense bushes, Yote bestowed his cool blessing on Shepa’s pack. She never even suspected a thing and discovered it just as we were leaving.

5 miles later we came to the South Kern river, only 5 miles from Kennedy Meadows! We looked around for a while for a campsite but they were difficult to find. While I was graciously walking up and down the trail to find flat ground, Sherpa took full advantage of my kindness and kindly Iced my pack. It was a long day that ended 29 miles from where we started but I felt we had come full circle.

Despite a stressful day of treasonous acts we had completed almost 700 miles of trail and we laid our heads down and slept like little hiker babies.

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6/11/2017 McIver’s Cabin 643.8 to Walker Pass 652.0

Today was an easy day. We only had 8.2 miles to Walker Pass, where we planned to head to Lake Isabella. We had heard good things about Lake Isabella and we were looking forward to a town stop and a resupply. Some people skipped this resupply because it is known as a long hitch. The closest town is over 30 miles from the trail. Some hikers carried enough food from Tehachapi to get them all the way to Kennedy Meadows. We, on the other hand, love light packs and so of course we planned on stopping.

8.2 miles flew by in no time with much of the same desert conditions that we had been experiencing. It was a bit windy, but nothing like the passed day or two. A quarter mile from the road at Walker Pass, we found some hikers and a bunch of trail magic with tons of donuts. This has been an abundant trail!

While Sherpa, Tofu, and I were waiting for Yote and 2.Toe to show up, a Hungarian hiker walked up. He was a hiker I met a couple days ago because he had dropped his water bottle and I chased him down to return it. He was very grateful as we were in supposedly a really dry stretch. Of course there were water caches so he was in no real danger either way. Regardless, he was very scared and now we were good friends.

I could tell he was still not having a good time and he told me in broken English that he was getting off trail at Kennedy Meadows. He said that the PCT was too hard and he was done. It is interesting how different people have such different experiences in relatively the same environments. We all have our own struggles and there are more and more people leaving the trail for this reason or that reason. The snow in the Sierra Nevada is an excuse for many people and I don’t judge  anyone for making the decision to leave. I know it is one of the hardest decisions to live with after the trail.  As a hiker, you have invested so much time, energy, and money towards one aim and you are deciding to give it up. That has a cost of its own that likely weighs on everyone differently but it is significant.

Yote and 2.Toe showed up and the five of us headed to the road.

We were really excited to be at Walker Pass and 

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6/9/2017 Spring mile 602.1 to Tent Site 624.3

Today was the day of Joshua Trees. Though we started in a beautiful pine forest we eventually descended to the hot desert with Joshua Trees everywhere with large clusters of fruit all over them.

Sherpa and I woke up around 5:30 and I packed up and walked a couple miles into a pine forest and caught up to the three of them at a stream where we filled up our bottles and then moved on. A couple miles later the trail led us to a road crossing where we noticed a can parked oddly and we thought it had wrecked.

When we rounded the corner we saw that it was trail magic! Santa’s Little Helper was there taking time off his hike to do trail magic out of his rental car. He had sodas and snacks and we pigged out for about 15 minutes.  Santa’s Little Helper was telling us he got out at Walker Pass and was waiting for the conditions to improve. He also said he would take a siesta every day under a Joshua Tree.  Both Sherpa and I were thinking to ourselves , “those trees are so small, how can you siesta under those?”

We were on our way and I spent some time chatting with the Jew Crew from Israel. That made the miles to by quickly and it was nice because the heat was kicking up.  After a while Sherpa caught up and we left them under the shade of a large rock.

We hiked a few more miles in the zone and came to Kelso Road where we heard there was a water cache. We all met up and and sure enough the only shade there was a Joshua Tree, where ironically we spent a few hours in the shade.

Sherpa and I were watching a movie when a hiker rolled up with a Mojave Green Rattlesnake in his hand. He said that the snake charged him and he stepped on its head. He was afraid it would bite him so he cut off its head!

I could tell from his tone and my tramily agreed that he was sad and felt he had to do what he did. All in all I am happy he didn’t have a $100,000 medical bill and have to leave the trail. I am sorry that the snake had to die but the outcome was respectable considering the circumstance.

After admiring the Mojave Green we packed up and were on our way. Pretty soon the wind picked up significantly. It was a bit of a grind dealing with such fierce, dry wind.

We arrived at camp pretty early and it seemed at first that our site was out of the wind. After we had spent a few minutes there it was apparent that it just felt sheltered because we had endured such a blustery climb. It turned out to be a very windy spot and it was hard to cook because our stoves kept blowing out.

Tofu and then 2.Toe and Yote showed up and made camp as well. They seemed pretty annoyed with the wind as well. We did our usual heckling of each other and then got into our tents.

Sherpa and I watched the rest of our movie and then switched off our phone and slept like little hiker babies.