The Home Stretch... Literally.

All my boxes are packed and I'm ready to go!  Sometime tomorrow morning, I'll be off on that dusty old trail, once again.  I'm now in the final leg, Washington.  There are big changes ahead.  The biggest of them all...  THE WEATHER!

It's likely that by Wednesday, I'll see my first drops of precipitation since sometime in May.  California was dry and surprisingly, Oregon too!  But Washington is looking to be wet.

The forecast for Skamania county on Thursday says a 40% chance.  What that actually means, is that 40% of the time it will rain.  I'm mentally preparing for the entire state.  But I'm sure it will rain less than half the time.  I know it could rain almost the entire way too!  

Trail rumors are abound once again with regards to the difficulty of Washington.  I've heard that from the Columbia to Trout Lake is easy.  I've also heard that it's easy all the way to Snoqualmie.  Maybe I should look at some maps?  Nah.  I enjoy the surprise!  

In other news, I found my other Backwoods hat in my closet this afternoon.  I'm stoked about that since my last hat was lost in Sierra City.  I'm keeping the Grateful Dead hat given to me by another hiker, Rusty; despite not knowing any of their songs or dances.  

Anyhow, it's time to cut up this pizza and stuff it in my food bag.  I can't wait to eat it on trail.  

Happy Trailz,

Jerry

Oregon, almost complete

It's crazy to think that I spent over three months in California trudging up and down mountains, dealing with the heat, having a long water or food carry, OR coping with all three at once.  Oregon has been a vacation compared to what I had to deal with in California (well, I also have some rock solid legs, I didn't have those in California).  Now I have less than fifty miles separating myself from the motherland and it's all downhill from here.  

This morning was a race up Mt. Hood to grab their breakfast buffet (10 miles and 2,600ft).  It was easily the healthiest and most delicious meal I've had on trail.  I probably stuffed down 4,000 calories worth of food.   I felt like I was about to vomit and had to rest outside, to get some fresh air.  But you know what?  The pain was worth it.  I feel like all that nutritional goodness is repairing my body.  I don't feel like a zombie anymore!

By Sunday I'll be in Washington taking a day off and prepping for the doom and gloom that is to come.  I'm expecting the worst but am hoping for the best.  The Evergreen State can get some nasty weather and a few days ago, I decided to get a stove.  

I've been without a warm meal most days on trail.  "Stove-less" is what it's called and I wouldn't recommend it.  It's only benefit is that you save some time prepping a meal but that's it.  The weight of a stove is definitely worth it.  I got it mainly for COFFEE since that drug is the ultimate game changer.

Happy trails,

Jerry

Half done with Oregon

I'm flying through Oregon and it has to be one of the most under rated sections so far.  If youve ever seen a documentary on the PCT you know it goes; desert, Sierras, ?????, ????, and then Washington (but only the last bits).  NorCal and Oregon have been awesome.  The grade isn't too intense and doing a high mile day is sort of easy...

I say "sort of" because the sun is rising much later.  Last night I told the fellow hikers I was camping with "ok guys, I'll get up at 5am".  If you've been hiking with me, you'll know that I've been saying this since the Sierras.  I never get up at 5am.  I haven't since the desert but last night was special.  We had setup camp about nine miles from a youth camp run by Seventh Day Adventists.  Breakfast was on my mind.  Although they are vegetarians, I could probably still get an omlet or cereal.

I stressed all night about getting sleep and thinking about eggs that I hardly slept.  Much like a child waiting for Christmas morning.  For thirty minutes, I watched the walls of my tent breath before my alarm went off.

Five O'clock finally rolled around and I was on trail forty five minutes later.  The sun wasn't up until about 630.  Sunrise is probably six but with the mountains in the way, it took a bit longer for the sunshine to hit me.  I forgot how late the sun rises in this part of America.  In Japan, it was always super early in the summer.  The sun was up by five or even earlier.  I remember walking around at 430 one morning with enough light to see.  

Geez, long tangent.  The staff were absent at the youth camp and no omelets were available.

Anyhow, here I am with about ten miles until I hit 2,000.  I'll be passing that mark in a few hours.  

Until next time!

-Jerry

Now Entering Cascadia

I'm about 100 miles from Oregon but I have made it to Cascadia.  A place where trees are as dense as a Q-Tips. 

You know you're in Cascadia when things start getting weird.  

Some people living around Mt. Shasta believe in Lamarians.  A race of people or aliens that are invisible and harvest magical crystals.  Once upon hearing this, I knew I was home.  There are strange things that happen in these woods...

But I've never felt more at home!  There is an odd sense of comfort I have out here.  The fragrance of the forest brings me back.  It's a smell I have missed for six years.

For the past 1500 miles, I've had a horrible cough and stuffy nose.  I must have breathed in too much dirt or allergic to something.  Since going passed Mt. Lassen and entering into the Cascades, my respiratory issues have been starting to vanish.  Horray!

Well, that's about all I can think of.  I'll be hitting the trail again this afternoon.  See ya!

-Jerry

Halfway Done

Yesterday I finally passed the halfway mark.  It took me eighty five days!  Don't worry and freak out and say "Oh no Jerry, you're only halfway and still have 1,300 miles to go and it snows in Washington and you'll die because you'll get there late and run on sentence!"

I'm up to a twenty five mile minimum day (except today and yesterday) which means 100 miles goes by fast.  As I approach Oregon, I'm hoping I'm doing thirties!  

Lost my hat!

I wish I had some more insight on what's going on but my brain and body are on over drive. 

Day 79 - Here in Sierra City

The daily grind has begun.  Since South Lake Tahoe, I've been aiming to complete twenty five miles, everyday.  It's  exhausting and recently, mind numbingly boring.  The scenery has changed.  I was spoiled in the high sierras.  Now I'm walking through the forest without any views.  I'm sure I'll be fine after a few days.  It'll just take some time to adjust.

Everyone else is picking up their pace as well.  There are also a lot of quitters or it at least appears that way.  The herd has seemed to thin out.  When I was hiking in the desert, I could see fifty other PCT hikers in a day.  Now, at most I see ten.  

Anyhow, I thought there was more to write but my brain is fried.  Hunger and exhaustion is a real thing folks!  Well, I have about five hundred miles until Oregon!  See you soon! 

Day 18 - 28

Ten days is a whole lot to cover.  Thankfully I have a physical journal to keep track of all that's happened. Life on the trail is a blur.  Everyday is similar to the last but completely different.   Time starts to get weird and it's difficult to put into words how strange it becomes.  If I was able to recall from memory the last ten days, it would feel like I'm recalling ten weeks.  I'll try my best to write about this time warp.  

Day 19, I left Big Bear with Flash.  I have written about him before where I called him Squirrel.  But now he has an official trail name which I'll be using.  He gets it from an aweful looking old lady silk shirt he wears. Trail names are given but the person who revives the name can decide to keep it or not.  

The previous names he had was meat tosser or squirrel.  It refers to an incident at Warner Springs.  He found a decaying squirrel in the campground.  This prompted him to grab a trekking pole, stab the squirrel, and chuck it over the fence.  Everyone at hobo town cheered in approval.  He also got names which he didn't like.  Flash was the one that stuck.

Sorry, I got off topic!  

We left Big Bear....

            The trail was super easy this day. It was extremely gradual and mostly down hill.  We put in around seventeen miles that day.  There were three quarters of a dozen people at the campsite and I decided to cowboy camp.

I awoke the next day to a nearly black but green bird walking a top me.  Flash said this bird had an odd chirp.  No one seemed to care about his observation.  I was the last to leave camp when I glanced down and saw the bird.  It opened its lips and the sound of 8-bit swords clashing together came out of its mouth.  That was the one and only time I heard the sword bird. 

Flash did the best job he could do and thinks the bird is called a Shiny Cow Bird.  If anyone is a bird person, research into this bird would greatly be appreciated.

Day 20 saw us leaving a forested area and now back to the desert. The climb was moderate.  We came to an area with a hot springs.  I didn't feel like going in as there we a ton of people and sunset was in a few hours.  We heard rumors of a storm so staying long wasn't an option.  There were also nudists in the area. Sweet!

There was a trail angel around mile 317 that was handing out root beer floats.  That made my day.  His name is Coopertone and he's a retired guy having fun.  He also moved his location a few days ago to mile 444 or so and did the same thing.  Having a snack surprise like that is fantastic.  Trail angels enhance the experience.

Anyhow, that day I made it to Silverwood lake. 

I had a nice dip and camped a few miles from this location.

After the lake, it was time to make it to everyones' favorite restaurant, McDonalds.  This was in El Cajon.  There were about thirty hikers already there when I arrived.  The restaurant was humid and stinky.  Since its along the interstate, most customers are just passing through.  The looks of confusion and disgust on some peoples' faces was amusing.  I ended up eatting roughly 3000 calories. I felt disgusting immediately after but the next day, it put a spring in my step.

It was time to get back into the mountains and forest.  The beginning of the day it was cold, foggy, and windy.  I was somewhere around in the 7,000ft range.  These was the beginning of the San Gabriel mountains.  

I had a quick resupply in Writewood then back on the trail in less than three hours. I camped with a bunch of folks at a place called goose hallow.  Being that it's higher elevation, there were clouds aka fog throughout the night.  It was also below or near freezing with wind chill.  For whatever reason, I decided to cowboy camp.  Despite those conditions, I was kept awake by a snoring camper.  I forgot to put in my earplugs.

The next day began summiting Baden-Powell; a wonderful 9k+ mountain that overlooks LA, in the fog.  The entire day was foggy. I didn't bother taking pictures.

Here are some photos from then until now.

There are far too many details I'm missing.  I hope I will have the time later to write about them.  Tapping this out on a smartphone isn't fun.  But no worries everyone, I'm doing fine.  I'm at hiker heaven and will leave for the trail again tomorrow.  

Day 13-17?

I Day 13 started off with a long walk from Idylwilld to the park of San Jacinto.  This is the second highest mountain I have climbed next to Mt. Fuji.

10,834 feet.  I think Fuji is just a few hundred feet taller.  The big difference between the two was Jacinto didn't have vending machines and crowds at the top.

Just some amazing views. 

I was happy to get rid of twelve once a of weight.

Since it was a struggle getting to the top, Squirrel and I camped at 9,000 feet. 

The next day (14) was a chore.  It meant descending to 1,300ft. 

This was such a mental mind game.  It's one of many I have experienced on the trail.  Imagine being able to see five miles but you know you have to go fourteen miles to get to that point but it's going to take maybe eight hours because it's about 100f outside.  That was my day. 

But hey, I got a nice view of San Jacinto.

I gave cowboy camping another try and it was amazing.  Everytime I woke up, I saw a million stars.  I did it the following two nights.  I was able to finally see the Milky Way Galaxy.  Amazing.  

Day 15 started out rough.  This was another 100 degree day and I had to stop at 11am or so.  But I found the most amazing place to beat the heat.  It was so great, I didn't even take a photo.  

Squirrel found some shade next to a shallow creek.  The shadow from the willow tree covered part of the creek.  I laid down in about three inches of water starring at the leaves move in the wind for about two hours.  I had my sun umbrella ready when the shadow moved to much.  I got a little sun burn but I think it was well worth it.  

I took little to no photos the rest of the day as my battery life for everything was super low.

Day 16 started the torture from Mission Creek to Yucca valley.  This was a detour, an in official one that wasn't endorsed by the PCTA. 

Squirrel and I started early at 4:45am.  We walked with G-String for about seven miles.  Walking up highway 62 was gross.  We walked on the side of the road in sand for about three miles uphill.  Finally we hit a circle K where I could get some nasty hot dogs.  Then began more mental torture, the last nine miles to Yucca Valley.

I could see the nine miles ahead of me.  It was all uphill.  Squirrel, G-String, and I beat the heat but from the Circle K to Yucca Valley, it was all in the sun.  Torture.  That was about three hours, looking at the same spot, dodging traffic, uphill, on pavement.  But I did it.  

We lost G-string at the circle K. I heard through the grapevine he was with two Mexican gals and an American gal so he was probably ok.  

Squirrel and I had lunch at a Mexican place where mostly who're people are.  That was weird, not enough food, and the manager who was Mexican wasn't that friendly which is weird.  

We met up with an Aussie.  We were planning to stay at a hotel but the prices were hiked because of a music festival at Joshua Tree.  No way we were paying that price.  

The Quartet of Four, a group we've kept pace with stayed at a hotel.  But unfortunately the ice cream duo couldn't flip the bill.

Dejected we sat at a chevron contemplating out next move.  We thought, "let's camel up, 8 liters of water, a day and a half of food, and head out.  We'll have to camp illegally but we can do it."  We got everything ready for this next phase but had to wait out the sun. We had hours.  After two hours of sitting, a park ranger pulled up and asked if we were thru hikers.  He told us we could camp eight miles up the road at pioneertown preserve.  There was fresh water and bathrooms.  This dude made out crappy situation turn into a great one.

The two of us poured out half our water and waited until 5pm to set out.  We got there a bit after 8.  The ranger bought fruit, pizza, and beer.  I should mention, the people in Yucca valley inherited PCT hikers but the kindness of everyone blew me away.  Cars were always pulling over asking if we needed a ride or help.  This has been true for most of the trail but in this area, it was over the top.

After another night of cowboy camping, it was onto day 17.

(I'm low on time so I'll finish up quick)

The first ten miles were awesome.  Nice people and Joshua trees everywhere.  The second fifteen or so, terrible.  The PCT is home and being on a road where you can't have your own thoughts or a place to rest are agonizing.  I got tired of moving over for Jeep Rubicons.  Plus, what a lazy and lame way to enjoy the outdoors.  I understand dirt bikes but an SUV seems boring.  

At 5pm we hit the PCT again after two days, home.

Today, we made it to big bear.  We got a hitch from Hiker One.  An old fellow on an oxygen tank.  He's sectioned hiked parts of the PCT and has done the JMT.  As I heard his stories about his love of the outdoors I could hear a reggae version of "Knocking on Heavens" door playing over the stereo.  The dude has cancer.  He wanted to hike the PCT when he retired but cancer got in the way.  That's some heavy stuff.

Well, I have many more things to say but I'm tired of typing.  Off on the trail tomorrow!

  

Day 11

Today was quite the day today.  It's going to be hard for me to recall as my mind is a blur.  I have been hiking a lot today, over twenty five miles. 

I started with squirrel at 155.  We pushed it really hard.  We got to 6800 feet, the highest this far on the PCT.  

At mile 162 or so we had to take a detour due to a forest fire in 2013. 

That meant a lot of road walking 

but there still was incredible views.

Eventually we made it to Idylwylld.  I have no clue how to spell it.  

Day 10

After yesterday's fiasco of horrible weather, today was looking up.  I had clouds all day with occasional sun breaks.  I started hiking around 7:30 which is pretty late.  Most of the hills I had today were fairly mild.  The big issue was my feet.  Yesterday's 22 miles of torture resulted in my feet having much more pain than they were used to. I had a slow start.  

I made it past the 150 mile marker after noon.  Then I made my way to Paradise Valley Cafe for lunch.  Many of the people  I've been hiking on and off with were there.  I had a wonderful burger and after an hour hit the trail.  I went with Squirrel, the same guy who I hiked with over the mountains yesterday.

We got a quick hitch a mile down the road.  Now we're about three miles up the trail, somewhere at 154 or so.  Tomorrow is going to be a rough day but the weather should be fair.

Outside of the day to day mileage I'm doing good.  I smell so nasty.  Besides the slight pain in my feet, I might have a rash on them.  I washed my socks again, so I'll see if tomorrow that helps.  

Mentally, I'm doing good.  Its crazy to think how into this trail you have to be to stay on.  I have so many daily chores and routines I have to do.  Those come in between the ten hours I have to hike everyday.  I've never been this constantly involved in something.  Here it's 8pm and that's very late.  Time to get rest.

Day 9

Today I went twenty to miles.  I couldn't have done it alone.  I went with another hiker I met on the trail.  He's from Sacramento.

Anyhow, the day started off early at 6:30.  The weather was cool and cloudy.  As we got higher, the weather changed.  It rained and got cold.  Sorry for the simplicity of the blog but I just finished it today.  Overall, 22 miles.  

In the mountains there was a surprise.  A house.  It had food. Trail angel, Mike.  He nice. Cold food but ok. Me cold. Hands not work. Eat food. Warm up. Get water. Say thank you. Leave. Decended hill, set up camp. Mile 138.4

It late. 7:25. Go to bed. Bye.