Monthly Archives: May 2024

Week 3: Bear Springs CA, to Kennedy Meadows, CA

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Week 3 Mileage: 254.5

Ups, Downs and Friggin’ Wind

I’m writing this before the end of my week. The reason being, is that I’m at Kennedy Meadows just before the start of the Sierra and I will not have service until I reach Mammoth Lakes, CA (about 6 days.) The mileage total for this week will be plugged in then.

Anyway, after Bear Springs I pushed really hard through this section trying to make it to Hiker Town in East bum fuck dessert land to resupply. The trail would twist and turn up and down huge mountains all day. The sun was cooking me but I was able to pull a solid 38 for the day. Friday at 4pm I reached my destination where about 25 hikers were chilling out. I got a shuttle to the  market and after dropping $150 on 5 days worth of food and a double cheeseburger with roast beef sub on the side, I headed back, packed up and left with about 12 other hikers. This stretch leading out of  Hiker Town follows the L.A. aqueduct for a bit then peels off east towards this enormous windmill farm. It’s popular to do this section at night due to the exposure. The other 12 hiked on, to the next water source 17 miles out, but I only did 6 miles finishing with 37 for the day.

Early the next morning, I hiked hard, being blasted by wind all the way to Tehachapi, CA. My tent collapsed on me in the middle of the night but I was too tired to fix it, so I just slept, buried in my tent for 3 hours. The next morning I crossed the interstate and did the big climb out. Once at the top, the trail was a cruiser downhill for a while and I was able to hike late and do a 39. I had hiked a Portion with a cool Norwegian named “Kachow.”

Water sources are just okay, I’m comfortable doing 10 miles with 2 liters now. Making it to a spring the next morning, I reevaluated my food. It was low and I was over a 100 miles from Kennedy meadows. After huge wind blowing me around all day, and two 15-plus mile water carries, I arrived at Birds Spring Pass. There was a water cache, but no food. I mentioned this to a guy and he said he had plenty of food and was getting off the next day. He loaded me up. I was also running low on T.P. The cache had some and I was so relieved (no pun intended). I had been worried that one of my socks was going to have to become my toilet paper. I finished at the top of a mountain, wind whipping, tent again collapsing. Without much sleep, I was on the trail at 5:30 a.m.

Eating breakfast on the side of the trail at 7:30, I met a Brazilian named Bruno. Cool dude living in Amsterdam. We hiked most of the day together. I finished with 38 miles and woke up and was on the trail at 4:30 am. I had 29 miles to do to before arriving at Kennedy Meadows before the store and grill closed at 5. I made it by 3:30. I replaced my shoes for the first time after doing about 703.2 miles in just over 20 days. My average being 34.7 up to this point.

I have my axe, micro spikes and bear canister now. 6 days of food and 202 miles to get through the first half of the Sierra. Everything feels good, and I just found out a bridge is washed out at mile 850. Not sure how I’m going to get across, but I’ll deal with that when I get there. Just so you all know, I won’t be able to update my location for a while because of the no-service thing. Adios!

 

Week 2: Mission Creek, CA to Bear Springs, CA

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Week 2 Mileage: 248.2

Swingin’ D**ks and Saggin’ T**s

Starting week 2, the Mission Creek section should’ve been a cruiser past Big Bear, it wasn’t. It was washed out for 15 miles from a storm last year. Walking a river bed and crisscrossing small streams and rivers made the 30 mile day go on forever.

I left Alec the Mormon the next morning. The pace was too much. Alone again, I starting pushing hard and two days later and averaging 35.5 miles per day, I arrived at Deep Creek Hot Springs. Just my luck it was a Saturday and the nudists were in full affect. Up to that point I’d seen enough snakes on the trail and didn’t need to deal with that so I pushed on another 2 miles and cowboy camped on a ledge.

The following day, I crossed Cajun Pass then crushed McDonald’s, resupplied, and stayed over night. The next day, a huge uphill past Wrightwood, and a visit from my buddy Fish who is a Great Western Looper. He gave me some Intel on the Sierra and we hung out for a bit. Got going around 7:15 and made it to the base of Mt. Baden Powell by 9 pm.

Woke up excited the next morning for the climb( my 4th time). Ignoring all the rookie fear mongering about needing micro spikes and ice axes, I took off. Not before opening the privy on a dude doing his morning constitutional.

I made it through the snowpack and summitted in 1 hour and 45 mins. Some sketchy stuff but nothing crazy. Just a lot of down followed by a lot of up. Roughly 9,000 feet of elevation gain that day.

I needed to resupply at the  KOA campground in Acton, CA the next day.  I realized, while I was in my tent that night, that the campground store closed at 7 pm and I was 38 miles away. Not wanting to wait until they opened the next morning I left camp at 4:45 am and made the 38 miles by 5:30 pm. A ton of hikers there looking like zombies. After eating frozen processed garbage and resupplying, I left and did another 5 miles out, closing my first 40+ at 42.5 miles.

The next morning, I cruised through Agua Dulce, and proceeded to do the long, hot exposed uphill to Bear Springs to close out my week just shy of 250 miles.

 

Week 1: PCT Southern Terminus to Mission Creek, CA

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Week 1 Mileage: 215

Sore Feet, Sore Knees

After a great stay with “Scout” and “Frodo” in San Diego, I hopped on the shuttle and headed to the border. Met a couple thru hiker dudes, “Ghost” and “Nancy Drew” who knew a friend of mine. After getting our permits checked by the PCTA fuzz at the border I set my GPS and headed out on May 2nd at 11:54 am. It was a hot day down there, but we pushed hard and were able to knock out 20 miles. The temperature dropped and my tent was wet from the dew. The other guys had decided to cowboy camp and I don’t think they slept too good that first night.

After saying goodbye to them, I head out of camp at 5:30 AM. My feet were sore from the first day and that continued for the next 5 days. The break in period for my thru hikes always seem to take forever. My brain is saying “Go Go Go!”. My body on the other hand, is saying “Go Fuck Yourself!” First full day ended with a 36.9 mile day.

Into Mt. Laguna for some microwaved burritos and chocolate milk. An old timer said a storm was coming the following day so I pushed hard out of there. Made it to the road crossing for Julian, CA the following afternoon and after a solid pull up and out, I arrived at the PCT campsite at 8 pm. Camped with a YouTuber named Rosa, who told me I should have a channel. I told her I have enough trouble trying to figure out Instagram and went to sleep. The rain came in the morning and as I hiked from there, the wind picked up hard. Blowing 50 mph with rain, the temperature dropped significantly. The storm ended by 10 and after changing my socks and breaking my headphones, I made it to Warner Springs by 1 PM. Hitched to the gas station, ate some more pleasant microwaved food, bought a 3-day resupply and headed out. Met up with a kid who started on the same day as me, a Mormon from Utah named Alec. He asked if he could hike with me, I said,  “sure, as long as cigarette smoke and swearing like a truck driver doesn’t bother you”.  After 32 that day we called it. The following day was complete sun exposure in the desert and a late finish just before the approach up to Mt. San Jacinto.

The next morning, while looking at the next 30 miles, I realized the only water sources on the trail were going to be 1 mile down ravines, off the trail. We opted to carry the 2 1/2 liters we each had for the next 20 miles. Slowdowns, loose rock and snow pack made for an extremely tough 28.7 mile day. We camped at 9,000 ft and the next morning, skirted the summit. Crossing a river, I slipped on an ice-covered rock and sent my phone flying out of my strap pocket, into the river. Gone — or so I thought. As I preceded to scream every expletive in the book, Alec reached his hand into a little whirlpool and found my phone! The waterproof case held up. The only damage done was that this poor kid was going to have to answer to Joseph Smith on Judgment day about why he decided to hike with me.

Finding out about a Noro Virus outbreak up ahead on the trail and my knees screaming from the snow-packed downhills, we made the decision to Uber into Banning, CA and get a hotel, resupply, and get some In and Out Burger.

Clean and recharged, we were back on the trail by 9 the next morning and finished out the week a bit before Mission Creek at 215 miles. Just over a 30 mile average. It certainly isn’t a record breaking week, but soon the break-in process will be over and the big miles will start.