Day 87, 31 July, mile 1,329 (50% of the trail)

I've made the difficult decision of skipping 84 miles to get up to Burney. This brings my total mileage voluntarily skipped to 117 miles or about 5 days of hiking.

I'm losing my mind in Chester. There isn't even a movie theatre here. I need to move North somehow even if my knee can't bear it. So I'm taking a bus to Redding, then another to Burney.

I should be able to finish before October if my knee holds up. If it doesn't then I'll probably shelve this thru-hike. I'm mainly just a mountaineer. No magical PCT mysticism from this guy. 

Day 84, 28 July, mile 1,329 (50% of the trail)

Still letting the knee heal up in Chester. It got markedly better in the past two days, so I'm going to wait it out on the trail. I may still skip up 100 miles or so. I've been on a regimen of icing, popping Advils, and doing quad sets that strengthen my inner quads to correct my knee tracking. It's not 💯 yet, but it's at the point where heading back to Southern California wouldn't be worth it. 

Finally met Rabies yesterday. He's 16 and trying to set a record as the youngest unsupported thru-hiker. Tea Time was a profoundly bored Israeli hiker waiting for a pick up from his girlfriend. I watched him walk into the field and attempt a handstand before toppling over. Smoked some incredibly strong hash with Butterscotch, whose standard refrain on any female hiker is, "She was looking sexy." Everyone's in great shape at this point so I can't disagree. Animal Style, whom I haven't seen since Whitney, showed us his tattered flag of Israel. He's got a spare hanging off his pack

Day 80, 25 July, mile 1,329 (50% of the trail)

Can't sleep because I drank too much coffee this morning, so, blog time. I'm in Chester, which is a small town in Northern California, 8 miles from the PCT. I've decided I'm going to let my knee heal completely before I return to the trail. This may take several days. The worst case is it takes several weeks and I end up needing physical therapy to get the kneecap tracking right. In that case I'd need to put off completing the PCT for another year. Huge downer. I've made it halfway, which is pretty incredible though. There was a hiker this year doing his second PCT thru-hike. 100 miles into the trail he tripped, fell, and broke his wrist. Another hiker in 2013 broke his ankle on day 1. It can happen to anyone, and there's an element of luck in successfully completing a thru. My mistake was pretty much bad decision making though. I wanted to race through NorCal and Oregon, pushing to complete 27, 28, and 29 mile days heading into Sierra City, a good bump up from my previous days in the mid-20s. It was just too much too soon.

This delay in my hiking pace means I'm seeing people on the trail whom I haven't seen since the desert. Most of the time, I don't remember them, but they almost always remember me, maybe because I'm one of like eight people of color on the trail. I'm usually good with names, but all these white lanky bearded dudes in sunglasses blend into each other.

Earlier today, I ran into the guy who gave me a ride into Quincy. He's a Swiss-French section-hiker with limited English, but he does this amazing rapid charades thing that I'm able to understand almost as well. Nice guy who's enjoying his retirement and can't stand driving an automatic on hilly California roads.

Random gear notes. I got the Helinox Passport 120 cm adjustable trekking poles. These are the lightest poles I've ever tried, possibly lighter than most carbon poles despite being aluminum. Only downside is the length is too short for most pole-supported shelters, but I've got my BD Alpine Carbon Cork poles for that. These will be my speed poles, I love being able to whip them forward each step. The Big Agnes Copper Spur is working well. The inner mesh tent pitches very quickly and the pole design seems to handle winds well. The tent comes with taped seams and is overall a more polished product than TarpTents. I haven't used the rain fly much, but it is a little annoying to put on the tent and stake out, versus the pre-connected fly on my TarpTent. It's a tradeoff I guess, just gotta be zen about my tent pitching.

Day 76, 20 July 2016, mile 1,275 (48% of the trail)

(I'll no longer attempt to summarize every day. I'm hoping this will make blogging less of a chore for me and make me post more frequently.)

Hiked a whopping 10 miles today. My knee still feels a little tweaked, and it was getting worse as the day went on. Tomorrow there's a 4,000' descent into Belden. This will be a real test as to whether I can continue in this state. I'm trying to mentally brace myself for a 1-2 week trail break, if that is what I need to recover. It kills me to interrupt my hike like this, but sometimes you don't have a choice. People can require surgery for this kind of thing. Knee problems can be trip ending.

If I do take a 1-2 week break, when I return I'll have to skip up something like 200 miles to reach the Northern terminus in time. In that period, I'll lose my "trail legs" and be doing low miles for a few weeks. If I still finish in late September, I can do the sections I skipped this year. I'm not a purist, but I am a completist.

I ran into some other injured hikers in Quincy. There was a father whose son wasn't feeling great due to a heart condition. They're taking at least a week off, hitching to Chico (100ish miles away) and renting a car to drive down the PCH. Amazing they made it this far; they also summited Denali (guided) two years ago. Good guys both of them. Moulson is a Canadian with a knee tendon issue. He's ending his hike, and figures that he needs surgery not just a break. Really funny, good natured person and I'm sad to see him go. This portion of the trail is shaping up to be the thru-hiker graveyard I've heard it to be. It's around the halfway point, and has little scenery. Spirits are noticeably drained. Still better than the AT I bet.

A lot of people say the trail is humbling. Usually this refers to the physical strain, a little to the mental. It's also really humbling because of the strong people you meet who don't make it or who give you invaluable advice, reminding you of how little you know. I went into this as a strong and experienced backpacker but now I'm saddled with an overuse injury. Wilderness trips definitely have an ego diminishing effect.

Days 66-75, miles 1,101-1,235 (47% of the trail)

I've been in the small mountain town of Quincy, California for five days waiting out a nasty case of chondromalacia patella. This is a common overuse injury affecting the knee. This has really stressed me out, since I'm way behind my trail friends and these town stays are expensive. I was hoping to return to the trail today (now with a knee brace and new trekking poles), but there's still some pain when I fully contract my leg and I'd hate to aggravate it. If it does get worse, I'll probably go to Reno by bus (several hours away), rent a car and take a week off. I'd have to adjust my trail schedule to skip 100 miles ahead, and do those miles later. This is a real test of patience. All I did was hike for about 10% longer per day for three days and boom, I could barely walk because my knee was killing me and swelling. There's a guideline in running that you shouldn't increase your mileage more than 10% per week. I should probably follow that from now on. 

Days 61-65, miles 907-1101 (42% of the trail)

I'm camped a few miles from the city of South Lake Tahoe. Took a zero there and ran errands. Also watched Purge 3. Junk food and film are way more enjoyable on the trail. Shared a hostel room with two Australian tourists who were honestly pretty annoying. Glad to be back on the trail. I'm officially done with the Sierra Nevada and now in NorCal. There's a lot of talk about how much hotter and flatter it'll be. Also, how much more boring the scenery. I passed by Lake Aloha though today, which was gorgeous. White capped waves.

Getting here from Kennedy Meadows North was pretty nice. The mountains gave way to columns of volcanic rock and meadows. It was a weird mix of desert and alpine.

Gear Report

I sent home my ice axe, waterproof socks, wool gloves, hiking pants, and microspikes. The waterproof socks were a last minute addition that I didn't see on any gear lists before the trail, but were mentioned in a PCT 2016 Facebook group as being helpful in the Sierra. They worked really well, and while they did wet out eventually, my feet generally stayed much warmer. I'd definitely recommend them for average and above snow years. Also received my Patagonia Alpine Houdini pants. These things are super light and trim fitting.

The big change is my shelter. I ordered a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL1 tent and groundsheet. This weighs about the same as my TarpTent Moment DW, but is freestanding and less finicky to pitch. It has a side entrance unlike the even lighter Fly Creek. What's the deal with pitching the Moment DW using its two stakes? Well, there are a lot of straps to tighten, but the main thing is that the silnylon loses tension when it gets cold. So a taut tent when you go to bed becomes a loose, flappy, and weak tent a few hours later. And then the winds pick up and one end collapses. I've got a lot more to say about Henry Shires's TarpTents. The geometries are really innovative and his tents are affordable. They just sacrifice a bit too much livability for me, with the sagging and condensation, which are well known drawbacks. His tents tend to review really well but get swapped out for something more conventional by normal backpackers. This is my third TarpTent, and probably my last.

Injury Report

Some pain and tingling in my right glute. I think it's a pinched nerve from my pack not being fitted right. Adjusted pack straps and hip belt to position my pack higher on my back. Weird soreness inside my left knee joint. Almost feels like a muscle tear, but I don't recall ever feeling the initial tear. Really, really hope it's not a tear, because that could knock me out for over a week

Days 54-60, miles 907-1,031 (39% of the trail)

It's around 6 pm and I'm making dinner on the trail. I'm calling it a short day because I'm just not feeling it today. Hiked 14 miles from Kennedy Meadows North resort (not to be confused with the Kennedy Meadows at mile 702, the entry point to the Sierra). There, I sent home my 2-lb bear canister and had an excellent prime rib. A guy at the next table over asked if we were PCTers, then put two bottles of wine on our table. I was ok with this.

The trail from Mammoth Lakes was pretty hard. The mountain passes were lower but still tiring, and there were many creek fords. I walked through knee deep water several times per day, in addition to flooded sections of trail every twenty minutes. I'm a little concerned about trench foot. Also, tons of mosquitoes.

I passed through Yosemite National Park. Decided to skip it because it's an annoying tourist trap this time of year, and I had just backpacked there two months ago.

The final mountain pass was the dreaded Sonora. I read a week ago about a woman there who slipped on the steep snow, hit some rocks, and had to call an ambulance. This was a tough descent. The north face was very steep and covered in packed snow. It was not very tracked out, so the three hikers part-way down were sitting on their butts, carefully lowering themselves down while holding rocks. There was also an *insane* glissade track from the top. It was super steep, like a black diamond ski run, and had a boulder filled runout at the bottom. One of the hikers who did it had a nasty ice burn from wearing running shorts, and told us she left blood in the snow. I went down the boring way, using my ice axe to steady myself and kicking in steps with my heels. A little tricky in sneakers, but it was an uneventful descent for me.

Now I'm 60 miles from South Lake Tahoe, where I'll take a zero. Still deciding on a buffet to hit up. Probably Harrah's or the sushi one. Hiker hunger has kind of been a bust for me. I get hungrier, but it's not like I'm finishing off multiple entrées at once. Yogi's guide exaggerated everything.