Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Naked Backpacker, Rattlesnake, 92 Miles


Saturday, April 26- Zero Day

I was planning to hike a couple more days before another zero, but a snowstorm was predicted and we decided to go back to the good company of the Rainville's. I am leaving the range of the Rainville's now, and will miss their fun, food, and friendship. It will still be Theresa's home base for the next month. Sharleen sewed up my ripped hiking pants, so I will no longer be mooning any hikers following me. The Rainville's have been trail angels like no others!  


April 27th- Sunday- Above Big Bear Lake. 

The storm turned out to be mild. A few inches up high, and it was gone quickly as I started dropping in elevation. 
Coulter pine cones are always impressive. 

This turned into a 23 mile day, I was happy it was relatively gentle terrain, and I was well rested from yesterday's zero. 

April 28th-Monday-Deep Creek


Deep Creek is the most substantial waterway yet along the trail. 

Another milestone is reached by hitting the 300 mile mark. 

I had heard many times of the hot springs at Deep Creek. They were fantastic. There are different pools of different temperatures. It was amazingly refreshing and revitalizing. There were a few folks around. Being seven miles from a road keeps most folks away. This area obviously gets extensive use, there was more trash along the trail than anywhere else so far. 

The Deep Creek pools are clothing optional. So there were no real surprises there. A few miles down the trail I was surprised. 
I was standing on the far side of this footbridge visiting with Hot Foot, a fellow thru-hiker. A backpacker hiked up to us wearing nothing but a backpack and tennis shoes. We were in a hot area now, and the noon sun was scorching. I probably should have offered sunscreen. Also, there was poison oak along the trail that is virtually unavoidable. That poor guy was smiling when he went by us, but I think his future looks bleak. I have been told the longest day of the year, Summer solstice, is supposedly naked hiking day. I was convinced before, and I'm more convinced now, this was not meant for fifty and sixty year old guys.

Silverwood Lake. 
Vultures were hovering, I decided it was time to start hiking a little faster. 

I got a 24 mile day in, thanks to Theresa being there at 14 miles and my being able to reduce my pack weight. 

Tuesday-April 29-Cajon Pass, and a bit beyond. 

This snake gave me a little startle today, but the rattlesnake about a mile further down the trail downright scared me. There were no pictures of that big boy!
The trail goes right under this huge power transmission line tower. 
This huge culvert/storm runoff underneath Interstate 15, is the PCT. It curves, and even midday, and with eyes having trouble adjusting, is dark and cool.

Another 20 plus mile day puts me at mile 347. The last three days were gentle downhill grades. Tomorrow goes up quite a bit to the Wrightwood ski area. 

Wednesday-April 30th-Uphill to Wrightwood

The immediate rise in elevation gave a nice view of Mormon Rocks and I-15 at Cajon Pass. 

When I gained elevation I started coming across bigcone Douglas-fir for the first time on the hike. 
This large holding pond on the top of a ridge confused me until I saw the top of a ski lift just beyond. This must be used for making snow. 

The Cajon Pass area was memorable to me because of the massive Panorama Fire of 1980. The Santa Ana winds were strong, just like they were as I was hiking through that area this time.  On the fire I was involved in a dicey structure protection assignment.  That fire was notable for me because Jerry Brown was the Governor then, and he wandered through fire camp.  I was interviewed then by a TV reporter from LA, but was left on the cutting room floor. 

The winds are nasty, real nasty, and there's a fire burning south now outside of Rancho Cucamonga.  Some things never change. 

 It was nice to start seeing deer tracks, and even a few does in this stretch. For much of this trip so far wildlife sightings have consisted of lizards, snakes, jackrabbits, chipmunks, and squirrels.

Sunday I hiked about 20 miles before seeing anyone else. It was great. That changed when I got to the Deep Creek Hot Springs area. 

Now I have a trail name. It took a while for one to develop. Because this hike is for The Painted Turtle, many thought Turtle was an obvious choice. There's a group hiking the trail this year who are calling themselves, coincidentally, Team Turtle. They aren't associated with The Painted Turtle. While hiking with me near Big Bear, Mike came up with the Spanish word for turtle, Tortuga. After good discussion, Tortuga was decided on as my trail name. My full name will be Tortuga Pintada, Painted Turtle.

Last week Theresa (BSCM) related that at the pace I've been going it would take me ten months to finish the trail. So, these last four days I picked up the pace and hiked 92 miles. I'm in Wrightwood now, May 1, taking a zero day and relaxing (and getting caught up on my blog).  

Thank you to everyone for all of the support. Your kind words, encouragement, and donations to The Painted Turtle are making this hike even more fun!  Relaxing now at Mile 369. Tortuga


Saturday, April 26, 2014

Up, Up, and Up


This stretch of the trail, with an elevation change from 1,200' to 8,000', is described as "...the largest northbound climb on the entire trail."  The following trail profile indicates the challenge. 
Wednesday, April 23rd, starting at mile 232. 

Mike Rainville and I made plans to meet again tomorrow, Thursday, for a ten mile day hike in a more picturesque area than he'd hiked before. The plan was for me to meet Mike at mile 255 at 9:00 a.m. This meant I needed a 23 mile day, right after a 21 mile day. It seemed to be a challenging plan, but doable. 

I woke up late, about 6:30 a.m., Pathfinder and Tour de Plant were long gone. I found out later that Pathfinder sets her alarm for 4:30 each morning and gets going quickly. I was moving slow. I stopped before long and cooked some beef stew because I needed more energy. The pack was heavy as I was carrying extra water. I was moving real slow with the steady long climb. After about five hours I was realizing it may be a problem getting to the rendezvous point with Mike on Thursday morning. About 1:00 p.m. I crossed a small dirt two-track road, and two sets of hikers.  Off to one side was Legs and Nature, and I went over to tie in with Pathfinder, Tour de Plant, and Hemlock on the other. Pathfinder was in some distress. They had been working on plans and made contact for assistance with her Spot type device, which had texting capabilities. She had been vomiting, and was very cold in her down jacket, even though she was in the midday sun. The situation was under control, they understood someone was driving up to take her to the clinic in Big Bear City.  Pathfinder was feeling somewhat better now that she wasn't climbing up that ungodly mountain while sick. Hemlock stayed with Pathfinder, and Tour de Plant and I headed out. Tour de Plant had to get to their next rendevous point to get resupply goods for her and Pathfinder. After hiking about a mile we heard the helicopter. 
It was the Search and Rescue helicopter. I'm sure Parhfinder was shocked as her situation wasn't that serious. She had plenty of water, was on a road, was feeling absolutely stable, and had assistance. There was no place to land a helicopter.  The helicopter hovered for about a half hour.  I later learned a vehicle did come soon and gave her a ride out. Pathfinder intends to bump forward when she starts feeling better to continue hiking with Tour de Plant. This made for a little trail excitement. 

There was still adverse grade ahead. I was tired. By 5:30 p.m. I was exhausted, and I had only completed 14 miles for the day. My feet were cramping. I stopped at Coon Creek Cabin, an historic Forest Service cabin.  
I was still nine miles short of where I planned to meet Mike at 9:00 a.m..  There wasn't cell phone coverage.  I cooked and ate a bunch. Legs and Nature showed up. It was cold, and I climbed in to my sleeping bag about 6:30  p.m.. 

Before I fell asleep six or seven more thru-hikers I hadn't met before showed up. There was a lot of friendly banter, then I fell soundly asleep.

Thursday, April 24th. 

At 2:00 a.m. I woke up, worried about being late meeting Mike. Finally at 3:00 a.m. I got up, and I started hiking at 3:25 a.m..  At about 4:00 a.m. I woke up a sleeping hiker, Mert, along the trail. Last week I had scared some night hikers, now it was Mert's chance to scare the bejeebers out of me. I did a dance similar to the one I do when almost stepping on a snake on the trail. Imagine moves similar to an old Three Stooges movie.  

Along this night hike I passed a private zoo with bears and apparently lions. It's supposed to be more impressive in daylight. All I saw of this site was tall fences. Because I've seen animals in cages before I'm not too disappointed to have missed this attraction. 

I felt so much better than last night!  It was cold, but I had all I needed to hike comfortably. Soon it became evident I would make it on time.  After about seven miles, with dawn on the horizon, there was Trail Magic. 
This old garbage container with soda, and a couch, made for a welcome site. I pulled out my sleeping bag and napped for a bit until the sun came up. This couch felt so good. The Pepsi tasted amazing at that point. I was able to tie in with Mike after about nine miles ready for our hike. 

Mike and I had a relaxing hike through a nice portion of the San Bernardino National Forest. 
It was fun to chat with Mike and have someone to share this unique and beautiful country with for a ten mile portion. Theresa (BSCM) picked up Mike and took him back to his car. I did two more miles giving me an acceptable 21 mile day. 

During today's hike I passed the 1/10th point on my journey!  The trail is 2650 miles long, and I made it past mile 265. We're also nearly ten percent of the way to the fundraising goal too!

Theresa and I drove down to Big Bear City so I could take a shower at the hostel and eat a big meal at the Sizzler. We settled in for a comfortable evening in the camper shell.

Friday, April 25

I didn't want to wake up. BSCM could have been called Cattle Prod, or Crow Bar, in her efforts to get me moving at 5:30 a.m..  After a couple of cups of coffee, and some food, I hit the trail at 6:50 a.m..  

It was so hard to get moving, but then felt so good when I got moving. It was cool enough that it was easy to move fast. I was slack packing so I didn't have much weight on my back. There was one 1000 foot elevation rise, but it wasn't bad with such a light pack. It seemed like a good day to again try a 10 by 10. The race was on!

It helped immensely that the trail tread was in good shape. 
A few days ago, when I was in the desert near Banning Pass while taking a break in the heat, a thru-hiker told me he planned to go snow skiing when he got to Big Bear City. He had been told it's higher elevation and they make snow there. I expressed my skepticism. I mentioned to him something about a drought. Here are pictures of the ski areas on the far side of Big Bear Lake. In another year some spring skiing may be possible, but not in 2014. 
The trail does provide for some nice views of Big Bear Lake. 
I was successful with the 10 by 10 challenge. I made it about 10.3 miles with five minutes to spare. The success is somewhat tainted because it wasn't with a full pack, and because I knew today was a nero and I didn't have to worry about pacing myself. We headed down to Beaumont to see Jaclyn Rainville, who will be flying back to Seattle on Saturday. 

I had skipped visiting at the well-known trail angels, Ziggy and The Bear, in the community of Whitewater near Interstate 10 last week. I didn't think it was a big deal, and I had the ultimate personal trail angels, the Rainvilles, spoiling me rotten just a few miles down the road in Beaumont. I did get razzed about this apparent unofficial trail sin of not checking in. Previously my daughter, Hotshot, told me I must stop in at Ziggy's too, but I ignored her.  So, since I had a little time before touching bases with the Rainvilles again, I drove again down to Whitewater. My picture was taken (it's similar to an "arrest photo," holding the small whiteboard up on my chest with my "number" on it) and I got these trail angel's contact information. I was number 286 for this season. There are 285 signed up ahead of me attempting to thru-hike PCT this summer. This is early in the season too. 

This weekend is the Annual Day Zero  Pacific Crest Trail Kick-Off (ADZPCTKO) way south in Lake Morena. ADZPCTKO is the traditional starting for PCT thru-hikers. Many on the trail are going back for it. Now the "bubble" will begin hiking north. I went to the kick-off two years ago and decided not to go back this year     There was good information there and I am glad I went once for the information provided.

A snowstorm hit the Big Bear area Friday night. Taking an unexpected zero while the storm passes, in the comfort of the Rainville's trail angel abode, was my decision for Saturday. On hold now until Sunday at mile 278. 

Friday, April 25, 2014

Zero, Nero, then Go!

TRAIL DEFINITIONS- The unofficial version. 

Zero, or Zero Day:  Not hiking at all. Resting. Recovering. Preparing.

Nero:  Not hiking much, but getting some mileage in. A single digit mile count for the day is definitely a nero. Hiking only half a day is definitely a nero. Apparently if you've made it to Oregon you may consider a 20 mile day a nero, if they are easy miles. For me now, any 20 mile day is NOT a nero. 

Trail Angel:  Anyone who helps a hiker. They may provide water, food, rides, medical help, encouragement, etc. 

Trail Magic:  Goodies provided by trail angels. 

Cowboy Camping: Not using a tent. Just using an air mattress and sleeping bag to plop for the night in my case. 

10 by 10:  Hiking ten miles by ten in the morning. This is a goal of some hikers and helps to ensure one can get a high mileage day. 

Hiker Trash:  This is not a negative term. All hikers look rough after a while, and this is nearly a term of endearment. 

Slack Packing:  When you don't carry all of your gear for any portion of the trail. The ultimate slack packing is when Staci (Hotshot) carried my full pack for about four miles up, out of Scissors Crossing, and I just strolled. I slack pack often when Theresa (BSCM) can drive the truck to the next road crossing of the trail. It means there are many times my load is reduced because I don't have to carry as much food or water, and times I don't have to carry sleeping gear because the truck, with camper shell and bed, are waiting at the next road crossing. I love it!  I know I'm spoiled by it when it's available. Some purists look down on slack packing, but, HYOH. It works for me. A couple of hikers have secretly admitted their envy of the support I'm given. By the way, Theresa (BSCM) helps other Hiker Trash at those crossings too. 

HYOH:  Hike Your Own Hike. A version of the sixties "do your own thing."  My goal is to step every step from Mexico to Canada. I intend to make deviations from the original route when there are closures, but still hike the entire way. 

Trail Names:  Most PCT hikers have trail names, mine hasn't evolved yet. 

Sunday, April 21st-Zero Day-Easter. I was ready for a break after a tough day Saturday. Theresa and I had Easter lunch in Riverside with my bother Burt, his spouse Charles, and Charles' mother Julie. Then we sat in the hot tub, which felt FANTASTIC!

We left Riverside to meet with family from all over who happened to be converging on San Diego during spring break for Sea World, the beach, and other kid friendly fun. My nephew Steven was down from Alaska, my sister-in-law Terri, my niece Sarah, and her new baby Kenzie were down from Fortuna in Northern California, and my great nieces Kyleigh and Kyndra were over from Mesa, Arizona. Even though it was a short visit, it was great to see them all. 

Monday, April 22nd-Nero. 

After breakfast with the entire clan in San Diego, we headed northeast, back toward the trail. We stopped in Sun City to visit Jerry and Kay Aria. 

On the trail there are Trail Angels, in life there are Life Angels. Jerry and Kay are my Life Angels. They officially took me in when I was 16 years old, but they were really there even long before that, and have always been there (more than fifty years now!). They are the grandparents to my three daughters, who just adore them. The trail could always use more Trail Angels, and life could always use more Life Angels. 



After leaving the Aria's, (I believe I was victorious in the card games), we went to Beaumont, picked up Mike Rainville, and headed for a few miles on the trail. This was an ultimate Nero. We hiked at Banning Pass, and went under railroad tracks, and crossed under Interstate 10. With the windmills, the railroad, and the interstate and the small community of Whitewater, this was not a typical day on the PCT.  My cell phone rang as I was under the freeway, it was my friend Jonathan Klein from Montana. When Jonathan retired he took an 800 mile canoe/kayak trip into the wilds of Canada. It seemed ironic that when Jonathan, of all people, happened to get in touch with me it was at the most industrial part of the trail so far, where I had a literal traffic jam overhead, and a train going by. 

I met two other thru-hikers under I-10. Pathfinder and Tour de Plant, two women from the southeast. Tour de Plant is a retired school administrator from Fulton County, Georgia. This was a site you would expect to meet homeless people.  You meet the most eclectic bunch of folks on the trail. 

This was the ultimate slack packing day, and my feet and muscles were nearly recovered from the nasty Fuller Ridge day on Saturday. 

Tuesday, April 23, and GO


After staying in the comfort of the Rainville's house I headed for the trail early, and started the hike right at 6:00 a.m..  Everything felt fantasic, the breeze was at my back, it was either flat, or gently sloping upward, there was more desert flora, it doesn't get better than this.  I decided to try to get my first 10 by 10. I started walking with thru-hiker Barrel, who is younger, stronger, and faster than I. We met some folks walking out of the Whitewater Reserve and had a great short conversation before heading on. I knew it was going to be close. Right at 10:00 I checked the app on my phone to see if I had made it. I had made it 9.97 miles at 10:00. I was three hundredths of a mile short!  158.4 feet short. So close, but no cigars.
I met a southbound section hiker, Brian, a mechanical engineer from North Carolina, who is doing a two week chunk of the trail this year. He's trying to complete the PCT one section at a time over the years. Next year he is planning on doing his two weeks in the Etna vicinity in Northern California. We exchanged information, and maybe we'll be able to touch bases again in 2015. 

This was a 21 mile day, I camped at mile 232. Pathfinder and Tour de plant were also camped preparing for a lot of elevation gain tomorrow. 

Monday, April 21, 2014

San Jacinto Wilderness, then down

I had a great brunch in the community of Idyllwild Friday, April 18, Staci (Hotshot), Theresa (Bat Shit Crazy Mama-BSCM), Mike and Sharleen Rainville, Bill and Cheryl Caldon and I ate and visited at a comfortable and fun restaurant. Idyllwild is a great little town. Folks are very friendly. 
Cheryl taught in Etna about 25 years ago with Mike, Sharleen, and BSCM,  She has lived in Idyllwild since leaving Etna. 

One last goodbye to Hotshot as she will be leaving the trail to start her season as a real hotshot with the Salmon River Hotshots in Northern California.  There were some huge trees in Idyllwild and the San Jacinto Wilderness. What a contrast to the desert just south, and the desert I would be hitting the next day.

The trail from Idyllwild up to the PCT is called the Devil's Slide. Up that stretch I thought of my friend from West Yellowstone, Montana, Cavan Fitzsimmons. He's the District Ranger on the Hebgen Lake Ranger District of the Gallatin National Forest. We were on a day hike on the Continental Divide Trail, I fortuitously forgot a day pack, and he carried my load. He teased me about this ever since.  The reality is Cavan literally, and figuratively, helped me carry my load often. Friends make life great.  It would be nice to have Cavan around for this stretch.
    The trail went up to 9,000 feet elevation. It got cold and hailed, I hiked until dark and sat up camp about 10 feet off the trail at about 8,500 feet.
    At about 3:30 a,m. I heard voices and saw two headlamps in the trail. I said "good morning" when they got next to me. Their leaping, flailing reaction wasn't what I had intended, but it was quite funny. Some like to night hike, and they apparently were trying to beat the heat of the desert coming later in the day. I couldn't sleep after that incident so I got up at 4:30, and was on the trail by 5:00. 
There is not a lot of snow this year, that's an obvious understatement. I took pictures of the few patches of snow. 
Saturday, April 19th, was the toughest day yet on the trail. The descent from 8,500 feet to 1,200 elevation down Fuller Ridge and down to the desert and Banning Pass was tough. I planned for a 24 mile day, but only made it 22 miles. 
The scenery changed drastically through the day. 
I hadn't seen a horned toad since I was a kid, so this was fun to see. 
Another milepost, I made it past mile 200. 
     Theresa (BSCM) and Sharleen Rainville picked me up a few miles south my goal, Interstate 10. I was so glad to see that blue truck!  Blisters on my feet, sore muscles, and it's time to let the body take a day off. That long downhill was tougher on me than I would have thought. Sunday will be a zero day. 


Friday, April 18, 2014

Goatheads, glass, and trail angels


Hotshot (aka my daughter Staci) joined me on the trail for three days of hiking April 15th, 16th, and 17th. We put in about 51 miles, and I enjoyed it so much!
Mid day Tuesday the 15th we encountered trail angels at Mike Herrara's house. Other folks staffed this ultimate trail angel stop.  Sloppy Joes, Gatorade, and most importantly, water were in abundance. We really hadn't seen many hikers along the trail and this is where they were all gathering. It was nice to visit. Hotshot met up briefly with her friend, Acorn, from the Appalachian Trail. I took a mid day nap, and was teased by Hotshot that I was truly looking like "hiker trash".  Apparently sleeping on concrete with a background of five gallon gas cans and garbage bins in the middle of the day qualified me as being hiker trash.

My feet were commented on while I was there. Most hikers' feet are a blistered, taped, filthy mess. The one trail angel said my feet looked too nice. Two years ago when I hiked the first 110 miles of the PCT with Hotshot my feet took a beating. This year I'm doing all kinds of things to make them better. I got orthotics, really good socks, I trade out my socks every couple of hours and let the sweaty pair dry as I'm hiking (the desert dries things out fast!).  I stop whenever I get a hot spot. The final part of my foot care regimen is using a Gold Bond non-friction stick (like a deodorant stick). This has drastically cut down on the blisters between the toes. I did finally get my first blister, a small one between toes, at about mile 170.
The 15th we slept in open spot in the chaparral not far off the trail. Not much flat space is needed to camp. 

The morning of the 16th I discovered Hotshot gets ready and moving way faster than I do in the morning!  It's a sign of an experienced thru hiker. We still got on the trail a little after 7:00 a.m., and hiked in cool temperatures for a while in the morning. 
The desert is starting to bloom, but it's not at it's full glory yet. It should be soon. 
Hotshot having fun on the trail. If I tried this I would break!
Wednesday night, the 16th was interesting. Hotshot and I hiked about 16 miles and had an early dinner and rested at the Paradise Cafe. There is a section of the trail closed due to last years Mountain Fire so we now had a re-route of about 17 miles of road walking ahead of us. We decided to get a couple of miles in before we called it a day. As we hiked there was no place to camp, it didn't seem at all appropriate to camp in their front yards or pastures if these really nice homes. It then became dark and it became imperative for us to find something. Finally this abandoned falling down dwelling was on our left. It looked functional for the evening. In the morning we could tell it was a sea of goat heads and broken glass. We got out of there and were hiking by 6:05. 
Road walking isn't as good as hiking on a trail but I got to see some nice area I had never seen before. Right after seeing this sign for the Esperanza Firefighters Memorial Highway we stopped at a Forest Service fire station and by chance a Forest Service friend, Chris Fogle, was there!  We had worked together on the You Will Not Stand Alone project, and had presented together. He and the Battalion Chief there were able to help Hotshot and I out with Forest Service and trail stuff we needed.

We then met up with Theresa (Bat Shit Crazy Mama is her trail name) in Idyllwild for lunch and an evening with Mike and Sharleen Rainville. Hotshot will now fly back to her real life and prepare to start work as a Salmon River Hotshot for the summer. I loved having Hotshot hike with me the last few days. Maybe we can hike together for a day or two when I hit Northern California!