These posts will probably become less frequent, as I'm usually too tired to blog. It's not from lack of noteworthy events. The trail is dense with experiences and I can't imagine how the next four months will be. I have trouble distilling just the past four days, but here goes.
From Warner Springs I hiked solo into the desert, eventually dropping into a tiny town with a hiker friendly restaurant. Met Hunk (Canada) and Diesel (USA) there. We had burgers, milkshakes, and beer before deciding to camp there that night. In the morning I left alone. The fire detour route took an awful road walk (after walking on soft ground all day, pavement just jolts your spine), so I thumbed a ride from the first car I saw. He wasn't headed to my final destination so I had to hitch again, this time jumping into the back of a pickup with three other hikers including Diesel and Hunk. We stopped at a small store before deciding to press on into Idyllwild 5 miles away. In the morning, D proposed tagging San Jacinto peak (10,734') that day then descending back onto the PCT. This was a more aggressive plan than mine of walking around town and maybe catching a movie. We summitted in 4.5 hours with overnight packs, brisk. Met one dayhiker at the top, a Native American looking fellow with a wood hiking staff. Diesel, who has dealt with altitude sickness before, was relieved that we saw him too.
The next day we descended 7,000' to the desert floor. On the way, we cris-crossed a duo from New Zealand with Aarn packs. We dodged some incoming weather and caught some watermelon trail magic at the bottom. We figured out that Chik-fil-a is so good because the hate adds to the flavor. Yet another fire closure affected the trail, so we caught a hitch to the San Bernardino transit center and took a bus to Big Bear, bypassing about 60 miles of the PCT.
Big Bear was a big nero. Resupplied at Vons and hitched to mile 266 at 6 pm, hiking three miles before knocking out. Brian had the incredible find of watermelon Pop-tarts. Pop-tarts in the past were something I consumed at my lowest points, but they (and anything else you find in a vending machine) work well as trail foods. High calories, and flavors engineered to be non-sating. Anything crunchy stored in a pack becomes powder after a few days, which a hiker can easily funnel into their mouth. I do this, many hikers do too.
More trail names are showing up. Hustler, Socks, and Whiskey Bag have the best stories I've heard thus far. Whiskey Bag poured a pint of whiskey into a ziplock bag to save weight, which leaked all over her stuff when she put it in her pack. The others will go unmentioned for now.
Shoes
We are witness to a seismic shift in PCT footwear as almost everyone is either currently wearing or switching to Altra Lone Peaks. The store person in Idyllwild said they were selling twenty pairs of Altras for every pair of Brooks Cascadias (the thru-hiker shoe for many years). I've been wearing them since day 1 of the PCT and gotta say, they just make sense. The wide toe box makes a world of a difference, the gaiter Velcro patch is long overdue, and after 220 miles of hiking almost all of the lugs are intact. One hiker predicts that next year, every trail running shoe company will have their copycat shoe, which I think is likely.
From Warner Springs I hiked solo into the desert, eventually dropping into a tiny town with a hiker friendly restaurant. Met Hunk (Canada) and Diesel (USA) there. We had burgers, milkshakes, and beer before deciding to camp there that night. In the morning I left alone. The fire detour route took an awful road walk (after walking on soft ground all day, pavement just jolts your spine), so I thumbed a ride from the first car I saw. He wasn't headed to my final destination so I had to hitch again, this time jumping into the back of a pickup with three other hikers including Diesel and Hunk. We stopped at a small store before deciding to press on into Idyllwild 5 miles away. In the morning, D proposed tagging San Jacinto peak (10,734') that day then descending back onto the PCT. This was a more aggressive plan than mine of walking around town and maybe catching a movie. We summitted in 4.5 hours with overnight packs, brisk. Met one dayhiker at the top, a Native American looking fellow with a wood hiking staff. Diesel, who has dealt with altitude sickness before, was relieved that we saw him too.
The next day we descended 7,000' to the desert floor. On the way, we cris-crossed a duo from New Zealand with Aarn packs. We dodged some incoming weather and caught some watermelon trail magic at the bottom. We figured out that Chik-fil-a is so good because the hate adds to the flavor. Yet another fire closure affected the trail, so we caught a hitch to the San Bernardino transit center and took a bus to Big Bear, bypassing about 60 miles of the PCT.
Big Bear was a big nero. Resupplied at Vons and hitched to mile 266 at 6 pm, hiking three miles before knocking out. Brian had the incredible find of watermelon Pop-tarts. Pop-tarts in the past were something I consumed at my lowest points, but they (and anything else you find in a vending machine) work well as trail foods. High calories, and flavors engineered to be non-sating. Anything crunchy stored in a pack becomes powder after a few days, which a hiker can easily funnel into their mouth. I do this, many hikers do too.
More trail names are showing up. Hustler, Socks, and Whiskey Bag have the best stories I've heard thus far. Whiskey Bag poured a pint of whiskey into a ziplock bag to save weight, which leaked all over her stuff when she put it in her pack. The others will go unmentioned for now.
Shoes
We are witness to a seismic shift in PCT footwear as almost everyone is either currently wearing or switching to Altra Lone Peaks. The store person in Idyllwild said they were selling twenty pairs of Altras for every pair of Brooks Cascadias (the thru-hiker shoe for many years). I've been wearing them since day 1 of the PCT and gotta say, they just make sense. The wide toe box makes a world of a difference, the gaiter Velcro patch is long overdue, and after 220 miles of hiking almost all of the lugs are intact. One hiker predicts that next year, every trail running shoe company will have their copycat shoe, which I think is likely.
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