Week 8 Mileage: 274.7

Total PCT Mileage: 1897.5

Winged Devils!

I wanted to get to Seiad Valley in the morning. This would require 27.8 miles to a campsite just before the start of the road that led into town. It was 1 pm. Luckily, after about 6 miles the trail would go down for a long time. Not a big fan of this section, a lot of burn areas with blowdowns, a lot of overgrowth. Just a section of trail that doesn’t get a lot of maintenance. Last time through here I picked 7 ticks off me and got poison ivy on my pecker. I wasn’t looking forward to this.

I Pushed hard and arrived at 11:30 pm, sleeping by midnight. The next day, got into town, grabbed my new shoes, ate a big breakfast, showered, laundered and did a 2 day resupply. This climb out is always tough. 6-plus miles of switch backs, not much shade and water sources spread out between 3-8 miles. Of course, it was 11 am when I started making my way up the hill, and of course I blew past the first water source, not realizing it until I was too far past. With 2 sips of water left, I made it to the spring. Unfortunately it was trickling out weaker than Tom Hanks bladder infection in The Green Mile. Cooking under the sun, I finally filled and pushed hard to get 33-plusmiles and make it to Alex Hole Spring by 10:30. I was picking up my next box at Callahan’s Lodge, a nice hotel a mile off trail near Ashland, OR. I arrived at the California/ Oregon border just past 9 am on the tail end if my 50th day on trail. Almost 1,700 miles in 50 days, not bad.

34.4 miles to Callahan’s by 8 pm. I grabbed my box and did another 4 miles out. No snow now. I was able to crush miles getting into the 40’s. Crater Lake had my box, but they still got me for 15 bucks on deet. Out of there, I hit snow up high around the lake and cruised down to lower elevation with a 38 for the day. Into the Mt. Thielsen Wilderness, I got snow again for 12 miles. The snowpack level seems to be lingering around 5,800 feet. Half my days through this section are spent in snow but I’m able to make up miles on the low stuff. I’ve been dealing with the holy trinity of bullshit in this area, snow, blowdowns, and winged devils. Mosquitoes are starting to become a nuisance, but they do make me hike faster, not wanting to stop. I pushed hard into Diamond Peak Wilderness and ended my week with my highest mileage so far. Now it’s on to Shelter Cove for a resupply and the rest of Oregon.

California Stats

• 1692.8 miles
• 33.3 MPD avg
• Resupplies: 14
• Showers: 7
• Laundry: 6 times
• Water Treatment: 6 times
• Shoes: 3 pairs
• Cigs: 24 packs
• Nero Days: 2
• Zero Days: 0

Week 7 Mileage: 267.4

NO JUNK FOOD! …but they had cigs

This section I needed to crush. It was flat-ish through Burney Falls, and I really could make up some miles. It’s a high desert, so water isn’t plentiful, but the easy terrain meant I could get to the next source quick. Pulling big miles into Old Station, I charged my stuff, ate, filled my h20 and headed out. Finished with a 41.5-mile day. I didn’t sleep well. Cowboy camping with mosquitos buzzing is tough and I gelt it the next day. 4 hours of sleep after 40 miles isn’t ideal. After a couple days, I arrived at Burney Mountain Guest Ranch, a new spot on the trail in a good location between Old Station and Burney Falls. I met the owners and resupplied. They had a saltwater swimming pool and all kinds of amenities. The owner gave me some sun block, chips and guacamole and by 6:15, I was on my way. Didn’t make it more than 6 miles again and crashed. I’ve got to start hiking later.

Other than some overgrown sections of trail and ripping my puffy, I made it smoothly to the highway leading into Mt. Shasta at 6:30 am, did a 2-mile road walk and resupplied at Ameratti’s Market. I wanted something different than hiker food. Shitty gas station food was my plan; hot dogs, foil wrapped breakfast sandwiches. Any of that overprocessed American crap that causes cancer and makes everyone fat. BRING IT ON! They had none of that. Nothing, not even microwave burritos. I was very disappointed.  I probably stopped at the only convenience store in the whole country without any of that food. I settled for a loaf of bread and made pb&j’s.

Back on trail, with a 10 mile climb and 155 miles to Seiad Valley. It was hot, I had a full resupply. It went on and on forever. I do like this section of trail, it’s kinda like the Sierra with no snow. Scree rock and switchbacks, the trail leading up and over passes that aren’t too bad. Biggest week yet!

Week 6 Mileage: 236.4

Burn zones, straw grass and rotisserie chicken….

Okay, so just barely getting 200 miles in a week was starting to irritate me. Yeah sure, the snow had been slowing me down, but c’mon, I needed a break and I needed a big week. I was hoping I had taken enough food from Kennedy Meadows North to make it to Sierra City, a small town only a mile off trail. But the snow not only caused me to not make my miles, but to burn more calories and eat more food. I was going into Truckee after muscling my way over Squaw Valley Ski Resort and Sugar Bowl. I arrived at Donner Pass just after noon. (Yes, the pass is named after the cannibal family, that’s where it happened.) I hitched in, went straight to the Safe Way, grabbed a ready to eat rotisserie chicken, a sushi roll, 3 large donuts, a pint of B& J’s and a quart of milk. I sat in the shade on the sidewalk and mowed. Took a quick power nap, resupplied, grabbed new socks at the outfitter and was back on trail by 4.

The trail was snow-free until I crossed the interstate and then it started again. Rather than trying to follow the trail under the snow, I did a lot of ‘as the crow flies’ routes. Bee-lining it down to where the trail would cross a river. The next day at 6 pm I made it to Sierra city. I didn’t go in, just ate and talked with ” Half Step” a New Hampshire dude whose wife was meeting him up the trail. She arrived, gave me a Pepsi and 3 oranges, and I was off. 7.8 mile uphill, snow-free, then 3 miles downhill, snow-filled. I called it after a 40 mile day and pitched my tent.

I wasn’t going to make it to Belden before their store closed so I took a detour off the trail at Bucks Lake, had some food, charged my stuff, and headed out. The burn areas were starting to get bad from the 2021 fires. Blowdowns, loose rock and soot everywhere. Any tree or rock I’d touch would get my hands black. The trail had a lot of overgrowth heading down into Velden but I made it there by 8:30 am. There were 2 hikers hanging outside the bar, drinking Modelo’s, smoking cigarettes and nursing a hangover. “Camel” from France and “Bookeeper” from Ohio. I talked with them for a bit then headed out. I’m not a big fan of this section. Once I crossed the road, I had a 14-mile uphill, made worse by the fact that it was getting into the hot part of the day and because of the forest fires from ’21, no shade. Also, the straw grass kept sticking into my socks and I would have to stop periodically and pull them out. I finally made it to the top to find snowpack, which caused me to slip and fell 15 feet. From there, the trail was a twisting mess of slowdowns and burn. The next morning, I arrived at the PCT halfway point. 40.5 days, 1,324 miles. I didn’t stick around, I needed to get to Chester. Between the deet and sun block, all the dust and soot had caked onto me, and after 10 days I desperately needed a shower. After hitching in, I showered, put my laundry in and headed to the market. Grabbed lunch and resupplied, not just for the upcoming stretch but for Oregon as well. I headed over to the post office and got my package. 3 pairs of shoes, a new sun hoodie and an inflatable pillow. I sent 3 pairs of shoes up the trail and separate boxes of food to spots along the trail. This would save me time and money later on. After getting back on trail at 5 pm I was tired. I had high hopes of doing 12-15 miles out of Chester, but after 6.5, I pitched my tent and died.

I woke up refreshed and was able to make good miles to finish out the week. Not the 35 average I was hoping for but close. I’m gaining.

40 days, 20 hours, 38 minutes

Week 5 Mileage: 200

A Bunch of Aunts, a Bunch of Calories…and Yes, Snow

I had 16.7 miles to make it to Donahue Pass and enter Yosemite. Normally not difficult from 1pm, but these weren’t normal conditions. Standing between me and the entry point was Island Pass. I would consider this one of the easier passes, add in the snow however, and it becomes a tough slog. After losing the trail more times than I can count, I arrived at the top of Donahue at 8:30 pm and carefully made my way down the north side, following footprints.  The snow was deep, with every step sinking down to my knee. I camped next to a pond 36 miles into my day.

Yosemite was a ghost town except for the winged devils (mosquitoes) that have decided to make their presents known. Apparently, Yosemite suffered a lot of damage due to last year’s record snow and they still were dealing with it; hence the late opening. Cruising through Tuolumne Meadows, I was moving pretty well, taking advantage of the nonexistent snowpack, but it soon returned, and my pace was slowed. Passed a couple who were turning around because they thought the rivers were too dangerous to cross. I arrived at the river an hour later. Raging, sure, impassable, no. The next one was worse and the one after that even sketchier. I passed a hiker named ” Smash” who started April 22. He said I was the first person to pass him. I also Passed a Czech guy named “2 Packs.” They camped a couple miles before Benson Pass.  I still had a few hours and I used all of them to reach the top. Snowpack and switchbacks down.  I finally found a dry spot to pitch my tent for the night.

The next day’s goal was Dorothy Lake Pass, which is the northern boundary of Yosemite. There was a lot of rivers to cross. Steep, snow covered switchbacks to navigate and of course, no trail blazes. Because VVR had burned me on the charging station I had to be very careful with my phone usage until Sonora Pass. No music, podcasts and only navigation if I absolutely needed it (which was a lot of the time.) I had a windy, cold night at Dorothy and woke up early. I had 19.7 miles to go, with 19% battery left and 7 packets of oatmeal and one pack of Ramen. After some great ups and downs, some glissades and foot sliding, I reached Sonora at 2:30. Got a hitch from some bike packers in a sprinter van. She rode the brakes the whole way down this sketchy road, and we arrived at 3 pm.

I was Starving! Here’s my food rundown for the 19 hours I was at Kennedy Meadows North: 2 string cheeses, a Starbucks Frappuccino, bag of Doritos, PCT Triple cheeseburger w/ fries, a coke, ice cream sandwich, “Bomb” burrito, 24 Oz prime rib w/ baked potato, corn, 2 rolls, an Indian pudding, root beer, 2 eggs, home fries, 2 pieces of toast, 2 cups of coffee, and a V8 juice. Yeah, that’s about it.

All the ladies there took great care of this emaciated, hairy hiker. Suzy gave me extra fries and rolls. Carrol gave me an extra shower token and antibiotic lotion for my sun burn. Bonnie gave me my own room to check in early. Barbie packed my ice axe and bear canister to send home, and uncle Gary and Aunt Sandy got me on the shuttle. I love this place. Also, they are a pack station with horses, so cowboys and cowgirls were around.  Sara from Louisiana rubbed apple cider vinegar on my cracked and blistered ankles. Outwardly I was acting calm, inwardly, I was crying like a 2-year-old who just lost their binky. I think she may have had the hots for me. LOL.  I mean c’mon, I’m 6’3″ 110 pounds with a scraggly beard.

My shoes were done, blown out by the Sierra. It wouldn’t be for more than 300 miles before I picked up my new pair. They happened to have some for sale. My size, and cheap. A pair of Brooks Cascadia for $60. They retail for $150.

Back on the trail at 11am. More snow, but able to follow footprints. I caught the German named “Smokey Bear” that night at camp. And then again, the next night, after taking the wrong turn down a canyon. After some hard days, I finished the week, again just over 200 miles. Soon I’ll be out of snow until Oregon and picking up my pace!

Week 4 Mileage: 200.5

No Bridges, No Food

I had to do the reroute from memory. I’d follow the Darwin Bench Trail for a mile until it ended, then make my way through the pass. There were 2 lakes I’d split, then navigate up a boulder field and onto a plateau. From there, make my way around a lake and ascend the pass. There wasn’t too much snow in the middle of all this and the pass didn’t look too intimidating until I got close. I had to scramble along some rocks because there wasn’t any room between them and the lake to safely walk. I used my ice axe to hike the snowfield leading to the pass. From there, up about 75 feet, scramble another 100 through rocks, and another 50 to the top. Then it was straight off the front to a glissade, traverse 200 yards left, another glissade, and a short hike down to another lake. From there, I hiked another hour to reach Piute Creek Trail and followed that 10 miles to rejoin the PCT. A lot of streams, creeks, and rivers to ford, some rushing pretty good, and I made it back by 8:30. I was curious to see how badly damaged the bridge was and you can image my astonishment when I arrived there to see it completely intact. Had they replaced the bridge since I left Kennedy Meadows? I was pissed. I had just lost half a day and eaten more of my food. The wind was completely taken out of my sails and instead of pushing on another 3 miles, I pitched my tent and just wanted to forget about the day.

Woke up still annoyed about the bridge thing and within 10 minutes, missed a trail junction and ended up .6 miles off trail. I hiked up a steep hill and rejoined it. While changing out of my warm gear, (I wear pants to start in the morning when it’s cold) a fellow hiker arrived. A Czech guy named Jan. I told him how I couldn’t believe the bridge was already replaced. He told me that was the wrong bridge. Wow, did I feel stupid! So, it was on to VVR (Vermilion Valley Resort). I needed food. I only had 5 packs of oatmeal and 1 Snicker’s Bar for 30 miles. I made it by 5:30 but was feeling pretty rough by then. I ate 2 huge plates of food, resupplied and camped there for the night. Met a few hikers. One named “Die Hard” who took pity on my lack of cigarettes, being that VVR did not have any, and gave me some of his.

I left at 6 AM. The charging station was turned off at 10 PM the night before so my phone and power banks didn’t have a lot of juice. It was going to be tough for the 4.5 days to Kennedy Meadows North. After 6.7 miles of side trail to get back to the PCT, I eventually started my assault of Selden Pass. It was a long slog; post-holing, slipping, sliding through sun cups all the way to the top. It took over 5 hours to do less than 10 miles. but that’s how it went. Over Solver Pass that way too. By the time the week was winding down, I was spent. Trying to carry a 30- mile average through this snow was tough, and I needed to get, at the very least, 200 miles for the week. The next morning, I was up and on the trail at 5. Everything was going relatively smooth until mile 912.2. The big bridge was severely damaged. I hadn’t even bothered to look at my map ahead. I just assumed I had already passed the bridge that was out. I guess there were 2. I had two options: hike back 3 miles and take a long road alternate, or shimmy across what was left of this bridge. I chose the latter. I put all my electronics in a plastic bag and in my bear can, sinched my pack up high and shimmied across the thing. I ripped my shirt, got a couple splinters and some rubbing burns on my knees, but I made it across. After 5 minutes of gathering myself, I was pushing hard up the trail. The clock was ticking, and I needed to make 200. The last bit of trail was switchbacks uphill with a lot of slowdowns. This trail is fighting me for every mile! I ended with 200.5 and took a 1-hour break. That section really kicked my ass.

Week 4 Mileage: 200.5

Snowpack, Reroute and No Food

To finish up week 3, I left Kennedy Meadows (South) and started back up the trail at 6:15 am. My pack was the heaviest it’s going to be. Adding my bear canister, ice axe, micro spikes, 6 days of food and 3 packs of cigarettes, it weighed in at just about 30 pounds. That might not seem like a lot, but I don’t use a waist belt and I’m doing big miles. Finishing out the week at the Kern River and Monache Pass, I closed with 254.5 miles for the week. Solid for the desert, but I knew those numbers weren’t going to be attainable for this next section.

From here I had about 8,000 feet of elevation gain to do. The trail twisted and turned up, then down, and then up again. I ended the day with a 32.9.  Camp was above 10,000 feet and I paid for it with cold. I’ve lost some down since my last hike so I would venture to guess my sleeping bag is more like a 30 degree than a 10 degree now. The following day I started to hit sporadic sections of snowpack. Trying to avoid them only added to my day when the trail went left, and I went right. I must remember to not do that. Finished with a 34.9 just before a river and had 9.7 miles in the morning to get to the top of Forester Pass — the first and the highest through this stretch. My shoes and socks were frozen in the morning. Ahh, the joys of thru hiking! The last two times I’ve hiked the Sierra, ’21 & ’22, the snowpack would start between 1-2 miles before each pass and continue another 1-2 miles after each one. This time it was 5-6 miles. I hoped that maybe it was just this Forester section. For now, however, it was a long, painful slog to the top. I passed about 8 hikers on my way up and we all converged on top. One dude, “Lost Boy”,  was also doing a triple crown hike. Not for any record, but he added the AZT in between the AT and the PCT.  I’d been hearing about him for a while, and finally caught the man. He looked a little beat, and when I lit a cigarette he said, ” hey man, I’ll give you all my food for one of those!”.  I gave him 2 and didn’t take any food, which I will later regret.

Off the top, down into the Valley. More snow, creek crossings and route finding. Slow going and I was limited to about 2 miles per hour, .7 off my normal pace. After having lunch with that crew, “Lost Boy” mentioned that VVR was open (Vermilion Valley Resort). It’s a campground resupply in the Sierra about 7 miles off trail. It’s about 25 miles before Mammoth and I figured if the snowpack continued like this, I might need food sooner than I packed for. I left and headed for Glen Pass, about 8 miles away. The snow continued. Post-holing through sun cups in the middle of the day is rough. Slipping, sliding, tripping, falling. It’s so hard to get a rhythm and pace. Like hiking in Pennsyltucky, but instead of annoying rocks it’s collapsible snow bowls. After a steep ascent up the final pitch with some loose rock and scree and snow, I reached the top of Glen Pass at 5:30 pm. The descent of this one is always the most nerve racking. It’s about 200 yards off the top along a 70-degree snow slope with a 1,000 foot run out to a lake. This would be considered a NO-FALL ZONE. After 15 minutes, I was across and down. Feeling good as I approached the bottom, I stepped too close to a rock and my leg went down 3 feet into a hole, banging my shin and cutting my leg. After a few choice words, I made it to another rock to sit. I looked up and watched for 5 minutes as another hiker made the sketchy descent off Glen. Then I was off again, post-holing, river crossing, slipping and sliding my way to camp. The trail in this section is great when there isn’t a lot of snow, it weaves onto little islands that you’re meandering through for miles. It’s really hard to navigate when the trail in covered 80% of the time. By 9:30, I was wrecked. I didn’t even make 30 miles, but in the Sierra, you got what the trail will give you. I was 10 miles from Pinchot Pass.

I was up early. Pinchot isn’t a technical pass. Actually, it’s one of the easiest in my opinion, and after 5 long hours I was on top and moving along towards my favorite Pass, Mather. Approaching it, I could see a lot of snow on the South face. The trail does this long, sweeping line around the base and weaves switchbacks to the top. However, it was all covered in snow and that didn’t seem like the right approach this time. As I got closer to the base, I saw 5 hikers chatting. They flagged me down. They were discussing whether they should do the pass at that time or wait until the morning. I told them I was going then. They also asked me what I was going to do about the bridge washout at mile 254. I told them about Skurka’s Over the Top Route. They said from what they heard it was very dangerous and hikers who had attempted it were forced to turn around. They showed me this alternate route starting at Darwin Bench trail head at mile 251. It looked good. I committed it to memory, told them good luck and headed for the pass. They asked me how long I thought it would take.  I said an hour. The line I chose was direct — about 300 feet straight up and then it cuts to the right onto the first rocks. Scramble up 20 feet and traverse right. From there, directly up 100 feet, traverse another 50, and 30 more to the top. I was there in 30 minutes. I gave them a wave from the top and glissaded a few times down and off. Then a couple 100-foot butt slides to celebrate the later day accomplishment. Also, looking down through the valley, I could see the snow FINALLY letting up. Between that and having a safer reroute due to the washout,  I was in good spirits and finished the day just shy of 32 miles and 2 mountain passes.

On the trail at 5 a.m., I was 10 miles from Muir Pass and 17 from the reroute. It was going to be a big day. Muir isn’t my favorite pass. Yes it has a stone hut at the top that hikers clam bake in, but it’s a long-ass slog to it. The snow did end for a total of 13 miles through the valley so that was nice, but it returned for Muir and didn’t end until I reached Darwin Bench Trail and the reroute alternate.

TBC in Week 4, Part 2