For anyone interested, I will be posting photos for Central California (The Sierras) at:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.843604103579.2337881.12820170&l=401e587cb5
To give you a brief update, I have completed two legs through the High Sierras (Kennedy Meadows to Bishop via Kearsarge Pass, Bishop to Mammoth via Reds Meadow). I have one last push through the High Sierras (Mammoth to Bridgeport via Sonora Pass) followed by a few more days to finish the northern fringe of the Sierras (Bridgeport to Minden via Echo Lake Resort). Between running miscellaneous errands (e.g., food shopping, sleeping, eating, more sleeping and eating, replacing the trekking poles that I lost during a botched river crossing, etc.), I haven't really had time to compose an account for the past two weeks of adventure. I will be sure to post something decent by the time I make it to Tahoe. It's been an amazing but incredibly challenging two weeks so far, and it will be interesting to see what the remainder of my time in the Sierras will bring.
Best Regards,
Matt
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Done With Southern California!
After making it just past the 700 mile and one-month markers for my PCT trek, I am finally done with the Southern California section! Good riddance to the desert, to the sand, and to carrying way too much water; hello to the snow, to the ice, and to the beauty of the High Sierras! I am posting from a trailer-internet-cafe at Kennedy Meadows after making the last two desert forays from Agua Dulce.
The first stretch from Agua Dulce to Tehachapi was fairly pleasant. After leaving the Saufleys and pushing on for a quick 24 miles, I was sucked back into the trail magic scene by going to the home of the Andersons in Green Valley. I was originally hoping to push on to make 30 miles after leaving Hiker Heaven, but I had heard too many stories about the Andersons to pass up the detour. The note at the trail/road crossing describing taco salad dinner and pancakes + coffee breakfast for hikers only added to the temptation. I figured a few extra hours/miles wouldn't make any difference in the long run. Whereas Agua Dulce/the Saufleys/Hiker Heaven is more like a hostel, the Andersons was much more of a party scene. Campfires, music, coolers of beer, etc. - it was a good time.
Shortly after leaving the Andersons, I arrived at the edge of the infamous Mojave Desert. Everyone has heard horror stories about crossing the ~20 miles of shadeless, sandy, expanse in sweltering heat - but I lucked out with the weather yet again. The wind was blowing strong the whole time and I don't think the thermometer budged above 70 degrees! Heck, I almost had to put on my windbreaker after lunch. The only dangers were boredom from the flat terrain and the prickliness of joshua trees. I teamed up with two hikers named Kristen and Eurotrash for conversation to keep the boredom at bay. As for the joshua trees, I made the mistake (one that I am not likely to repeat) of standing up underneath of one after taking my lunch break.
After surviving the "dreaded" Mojave, I traversed the windy Tehachapi Mountains past countless wind turbines (GE, Micon, Vestas, and several other unmarked designs) to strike my next resupply point: Tehachapi.
Tehachapi was a fairly nice town as far as trail stops go, but it was not exactly set-up with hikers in mind. The grocery store, lodging/bakery/restaurants, and post office were each at opposite corners of town from each other. Fuel was also very difficult to come by. I was excited to get my MSR Pocket Rocket canister stove from REI in the mail, but I had to bounce it ahead to Independence and stick with my alcohol stove on account of not finding any fuel canisters. As for the alcohol stove, I had to call around before finally nabbing one of the last three bottles of HEET at the local Auto Zone. Despite these minor difficulties, it was a great place to stop. First, there was an AMAZING German bakery at the center of town (quite possibly the best bakery I have ever been to, although hiker hunger might have skewed my judgement). The cashier/owner knew I was a hiker the instant I pulled out my "wallet" (plastic bag containing cash and cards). Second, I had a great place to stay for the night. Long story short, I called a friend of a friend of a friend (an acoustics technician for GE's wind division I believe) from my days as a GE co-op and he was more than happy to take me into his family's house for the night. So while most hikers were either camping at the trailhead or paying $70+ a night for a hotel room, I was treated to the guest room at a house in Bear Valley and what must've been a pound of beef stroganoff (in addition to being a successful attorney, the GE contact's wife was also a great cook). Currently, his wife has the local covenant of nuns praying for her because she's fighting a proposal that would clear-cut old-growth oaks on the last natural ridgeline around town to completely surround Tehachapi with wind farms (usually she's on the "other side" trying to convince people to sign wind farm land leases). It's interesting to consider the trade-offs that one has to make when considering alternative forms of energy. Sure it's sustainable, but there's no such thing as utility-scale power that doesn't have some impact on the natural environment.
My personal journal doesn't have much to say about the three days after Tehachapi other than "sucks", "sand", "wind", "no water", "no f&$ing water", and several more permutations of the f-bomb. I was so eager to blast through my last leg of Southern California and start the Sierras (technically I was already in the southern verge of the Sierras) - but the desert wasn't giving up without a fight. This was one of the driest stretches of the trip and I decided to carry 8 liters for the first two days since I was afraid to trust my life to the water caches (jugs of water left on the trail by various benefactors; some are more reliable/better maintained than others). I was not happy with lugging this weight up and down the sandiest terrain that I've encountered to-date (at least the Mojave was flat and you could hike on top of the concrete Los Angeles aqueduct). The heat and sun also picked up, so summer has finally arrived in the Sierras to think on the bright side. The only saving grace of this section was an incredible bit of trail magic at Walker Pass. Warner Springs Monty, the famous (published PCT author) Yogi, and a number of other trail angels got together at the campground to throw an EPIC cook-out. After getting pissed-off with cows blocking the trail in several locations and leaving tons of poop on most of the places where I wanted to camp the past few days, I made sure to grab two hamburgers before pitching camp. I'll spare a full accounting of the menu, but I will say that the quantity and diversity of food consumed by myself and the 20 or so other hikers there was obscene.
After Walker Pass, it was a quick two-day push before I arrived, after one month and just over 700 miles of hiking, at Kennedy Meadows. Assuming my snow gear and food make the trip from the Inyokern post office to the general store today, I hope to strike out for the High Sierras tomorrow morning. After weeks of chatting with other hikers about their plans and thoughts on the snow conditions, my apprehension has been mostly replaced with excitement. Sure, going will be made a lot slower once I hit the snow fields and icy passes - but the terrain will be beautiful and the technical challenges rewarding. There are also a lot of other hikers heading out the next few days, so I don't think I will have trouble buddying up with a group. Dirtmongerer (a trail crew supervisor from Montana) has already offered to recruit me into his group of fast hikers leaving two days from now while Jacob and Waldo are heading out tomorrow. Ideally, I should leave tomorrow since I imagine I'll need to spend some time practicing self-arrests and other snow skills at the first few snow fields I encounter (thus if I leave a day ahead of Dirtmongerer, him and the rest of his group will probably catch me by the time I'm comfortable with the mountaineering skills I'll need for the rest of the Sierras). However, I'm at the mercy of the US Postal Service for the time being: my package with boots, microspikes, ice ax, maps, and food is important to say the least. Until then, I'm just relaxing at the general store, doing laundry for the first time since Agua Dulce, and stocking up on calories for the trials ahead. Over and out for now.
The first stretch from Agua Dulce to Tehachapi was fairly pleasant. After leaving the Saufleys and pushing on for a quick 24 miles, I was sucked back into the trail magic scene by going to the home of the Andersons in Green Valley. I was originally hoping to push on to make 30 miles after leaving Hiker Heaven, but I had heard too many stories about the Andersons to pass up the detour. The note at the trail/road crossing describing taco salad dinner and pancakes + coffee breakfast for hikers only added to the temptation. I figured a few extra hours/miles wouldn't make any difference in the long run. Whereas Agua Dulce/the Saufleys/Hiker Heaven is more like a hostel, the Andersons was much more of a party scene. Campfires, music, coolers of beer, etc. - it was a good time.
Shortly after leaving the Andersons, I arrived at the edge of the infamous Mojave Desert. Everyone has heard horror stories about crossing the ~20 miles of shadeless, sandy, expanse in sweltering heat - but I lucked out with the weather yet again. The wind was blowing strong the whole time and I don't think the thermometer budged above 70 degrees! Heck, I almost had to put on my windbreaker after lunch. The only dangers were boredom from the flat terrain and the prickliness of joshua trees. I teamed up with two hikers named Kristen and Eurotrash for conversation to keep the boredom at bay. As for the joshua trees, I made the mistake (one that I am not likely to repeat) of standing up underneath of one after taking my lunch break.
After surviving the "dreaded" Mojave, I traversed the windy Tehachapi Mountains past countless wind turbines (GE, Micon, Vestas, and several other unmarked designs) to strike my next resupply point: Tehachapi.
Tehachapi was a fairly nice town as far as trail stops go, but it was not exactly set-up with hikers in mind. The grocery store, lodging/bakery/restaurants, and post office were each at opposite corners of town from each other. Fuel was also very difficult to come by. I was excited to get my MSR Pocket Rocket canister stove from REI in the mail, but I had to bounce it ahead to Independence and stick with my alcohol stove on account of not finding any fuel canisters. As for the alcohol stove, I had to call around before finally nabbing one of the last three bottles of HEET at the local Auto Zone. Despite these minor difficulties, it was a great place to stop. First, there was an AMAZING German bakery at the center of town (quite possibly the best bakery I have ever been to, although hiker hunger might have skewed my judgement). The cashier/owner knew I was a hiker the instant I pulled out my "wallet" (plastic bag containing cash and cards). Second, I had a great place to stay for the night. Long story short, I called a friend of a friend of a friend (an acoustics technician for GE's wind division I believe) from my days as a GE co-op and he was more than happy to take me into his family's house for the night. So while most hikers were either camping at the trailhead or paying $70+ a night for a hotel room, I was treated to the guest room at a house in Bear Valley and what must've been a pound of beef stroganoff (in addition to being a successful attorney, the GE contact's wife was also a great cook). Currently, his wife has the local covenant of nuns praying for her because she's fighting a proposal that would clear-cut old-growth oaks on the last natural ridgeline around town to completely surround Tehachapi with wind farms (usually she's on the "other side" trying to convince people to sign wind farm land leases). It's interesting to consider the trade-offs that one has to make when considering alternative forms of energy. Sure it's sustainable, but there's no such thing as utility-scale power that doesn't have some impact on the natural environment.
My personal journal doesn't have much to say about the three days after Tehachapi other than "sucks", "sand", "wind", "no water", "no f&$ing water", and several more permutations of the f-bomb. I was so eager to blast through my last leg of Southern California and start the Sierras (technically I was already in the southern verge of the Sierras) - but the desert wasn't giving up without a fight. This was one of the driest stretches of the trip and I decided to carry 8 liters for the first two days since I was afraid to trust my life to the water caches (jugs of water left on the trail by various benefactors; some are more reliable/better maintained than others). I was not happy with lugging this weight up and down the sandiest terrain that I've encountered to-date (at least the Mojave was flat and you could hike on top of the concrete Los Angeles aqueduct). The heat and sun also picked up, so summer has finally arrived in the Sierras to think on the bright side. The only saving grace of this section was an incredible bit of trail magic at Walker Pass. Warner Springs Monty, the famous (published PCT author) Yogi, and a number of other trail angels got together at the campground to throw an EPIC cook-out. After getting pissed-off with cows blocking the trail in several locations and leaving tons of poop on most of the places where I wanted to camp the past few days, I made sure to grab two hamburgers before pitching camp. I'll spare a full accounting of the menu, but I will say that the quantity and diversity of food consumed by myself and the 20 or so other hikers there was obscene.
After Walker Pass, it was a quick two-day push before I arrived, after one month and just over 700 miles of hiking, at Kennedy Meadows. Assuming my snow gear and food make the trip from the Inyokern post office to the general store today, I hope to strike out for the High Sierras tomorrow morning. After weeks of chatting with other hikers about their plans and thoughts on the snow conditions, my apprehension has been mostly replaced with excitement. Sure, going will be made a lot slower once I hit the snow fields and icy passes - but the terrain will be beautiful and the technical challenges rewarding. There are also a lot of other hikers heading out the next few days, so I don't think I will have trouble buddying up with a group. Dirtmongerer (a trail crew supervisor from Montana) has already offered to recruit me into his group of fast hikers leaving two days from now while Jacob and Waldo are heading out tomorrow. Ideally, I should leave tomorrow since I imagine I'll need to spend some time practicing self-arrests and other snow skills at the first few snow fields I encounter (thus if I leave a day ahead of Dirtmongerer, him and the rest of his group will probably catch me by the time I'm comfortable with the mountaineering skills I'll need for the rest of the Sierras). However, I'm at the mercy of the US Postal Service for the time being: my package with boots, microspikes, ice ax, maps, and food is important to say the least. Until then, I'm just relaxing at the general store, doing laundry for the first time since Agua Dulce, and stocking up on calories for the trials ahead. Over and out for now.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Hello from Hiker Heaven (The Saufleys in Agua Dulce)
Well it would appear that I have made it another 200 miles since Big Bear Lake and am still trekking strong. Of course it's hard not to feel energized when you've been eating ~5,000 calories/day (regardless of whether it's a trail day or a "zero" in town). I started off from Big Bear Lake after cleaning my plates for the "Polar Bear Special" at the Grizzly Manor Cafe. Me and another hiker about my age and size (Jeff) walked in hoping to fuel up before hitting the trail, and we were not disappointed. Other guys twice our size couldn't finish this plate, but we each had no problem downing two massive pancakes, three eggs, three thick-cut strips of bacon, and what must've been a half-pound of hashbrowns (and let's not forget the coffee)! Hiker hunger has set in, but I've managed to stabilize at my triathlon "race weight".
From Big Bear Lake, the miles and the days flew by pretty quickly. Other than seeing a bobcat and a few rattlesnakes, the first few days were uneventful. Just as I was getting tired of walking through flat desert brushland, I turned a corner and found myself looking down a long descent to Cajon Pass (intersects with I-15). Upon hitting the highway, I detoured to the famous (among PCT hikers anyway) McDonalds which was half-filled with other hikers. I managed to save my money (and reduce pack weight) by sticking to my trail food, but it was good to rest-up for a few hours. My sense of urgency to push on was somewhat diminished when I realized that I had bounced a box to Wrightwood on Memorial Day (I'd be stuck in town for two days anyway).
From Big Bear Lake, the miles and the days flew by pretty quickly. Other than seeing a bobcat and a few rattlesnakes, the first few days were uneventful. Just as I was getting tired of walking through flat desert brushland, I turned a corner and found myself looking down a long descent to Cajon Pass (intersects with I-15). Upon hitting the highway, I detoured to the famous (among PCT hikers anyway) McDonalds which was half-filled with other hikers. I managed to save my money (and reduce pack weight) by sticking to my trail food, but it was good to rest-up for a few hours. My sense of urgency to push on was somewhat diminished when I realized that I had bounced a box to Wrightwood on Memorial Day (I'd be stuck in town for two days anyway).
After leaving the McDonalds, I started up a long ascent not realizing that the group I was hiking with had just taken a zero-day at the Best Western near the McDonalds (thus they were starting with fresh legs and a long rest while I had already put in over 15 miles for the day). So we climbed and climbed with few breaks, but it was good conversation to learn about various odds and ends of thru-hiking from what I would consider trail veterans (one of the guys, "Little Budda", had hiked the AT plus the International AT and one of the famous trails in Spain). On account of not finding any suitable campsites, we just pitched our shelters ON the trail to create a verifiable tent city.
The next day started off cold, and it only got colder as we climbed to ~9,000 feet to brave strong winds and a light sprinkling of snow. Although the conditions were a strong disincentive to stopping and observing the scenery, it was interesting to look out over the mountaintops and frost-covered trees. Although I was disappointed at losing an extra day in Wrightwood on account of waiting for mail and it being Memorial Day, extra rest never hurt anyone. A local trail angel (retired teacher who now volunteers with the Forest Service) offered to take me into her home, so I had a warm place to stay for two nights. It's amazing how people are so willing to open up their homes, give rides to/from trailheads, and/or provide food to hikers along the trail! The hospitality that I've encountered in my short time on the trail thus far has definitely helped to restore my faith in the fact that there are a lot of good-natured people out there. I was also able to slack-pack about five miles of trail on Memorial Day with a friend from LA who came up to visit.
After finally leaving Wrightwood, I immediately began the ascent of Mt. Baden Powell. I was initially planning to road walk around this section on account of the snow, but I decided against it since the 15 or so hikers ahead of me had no worries at all. In hindsight, I probably should've listened to my gut. There was quite a bit of snow going up, some of which was long and steep. I was fortunate to start in the afternoon when it wasn't quite that icy, but it was still slow-going without the "proper" gear. Nevertheless, I made it up with just my running shoes and trekking poles in one piece. It was probably good mental preparation for the Sierras, and at least then I'll have hiking boots + microspikes and an ice-axe.
After getting the summit out of the way, the next few days into Agua Dulce were easy. It was mostly downhill (although there was a lot of up-and-down) with a lot of crawling over fallen trees (burned during a wildfire in 2009). So I pulled into Agua Dulce mid-morning today and headed straight to "Hiker Heaven", the home of the Saufleys (local trail angles). Simply put, this place lives up to its name. They've got cots and large tents in their backyard, an entire building with showers, kitchen, and computer dedicated to hikers, and laundry service (I guess they've recruited a few of their friends to help with the operation; volunteers actually take your dirty items and wash them for you the second you arrive here). It's tempting to stay longer, but I think I'm ready to go for Tehachapi tomorrow morning.
The last item on my to-do list before leaving is to arrange for my snow gear to be shipped to Kennedy Meadows before I enter the Sierras. I was talking with other hikers about whether or not we should detour the Sierras and return later, but it seems like the consensus is to go straight on through. The fact of the matter is that everywhere got slammed with snow this year and there's nowhere to run. Sure, we could skip around the Sierras - but we'd just hit snow somewhere else. So I'm going to brave the Sierras during this high snow year since I'll at least have the company of the other thru-hikers. After all, what's the difference between walking on one foot of snow and ten feet? I'm not sure when I'll post again since I've only got one more stop before the Sierras, but I'll get around to it at some point. Until then, I've got more miles to cover...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)