All posts by Don

Hiking, PCT2015

April 15 – PCT Mile 109 to 124

The breakfast provided by Warner Springs Recreation Center was great and as I left, and I was the first the leave, I announced to everyone that I would see them soon when they passed me. And indeed, everyone but one did pass me that day. Glide did not pass me that day and I wondered about that but not for long. So on leaving the Recreation Center you head out to the North 40 and bypass the city of Warner Springs (really just bypass walking on a busy highway) and walk in the fields for about 2 miles to the other side of town where you cross Hwy 79 again. It is a real easy first 2 miles especially in the early morning with no heat. A different story in the afternoon and it is 104 as I had found out on one of my training walks, but today was easy. Saw my first rattle snake during this 2 mile section. It was a small one, that was just resting across the path. I took a picture and just walked around him. You will find out tomorrow why I am not posting any pictures (no, I am not psychic and I can’t tell the future, but since I am writing these posts after the fact there are things that I know). After crossing the Hwy you start heading towards the mountains and it is pleasant walk again for a mile or two but then it starts heading up and the heading up never seems to end. A nice enough uphill walk however as there are lots of trees for most of it and you are crossing streams and in the shade. Almost everyone when they leave Warner Springs plans on making it to the first major Trail Angel along the PCT which is the residence of Mike Herrera. Here you can get all the water you need, linger in the shade of his trees, camp in his yard and they even will fix a real meal for you to eat. His place is at mile 127. As you can see from the title I fell 3 miles short of this goal and I camped among the huge pink boulders in the desert just before his place. I was just too slow on the constant assent of the mountain to make it all the way. I heard later they (most of the crew I was with in Warner Springs) had a great meal that night.

Lenora’s Note:
It is group photo day for the RCIA Team and I’m sorry to have my picture taken without Don there. I leave for the mountain tomorrow and today I am baking breakfast treats and making Irish stew so it can freeze overnight for the trip up the mountain. It will be a special Cursillo, my first chance to work on a team in CA and I have asked to be a “Coffee Angel” although I have no idea what that will mean I hope my duties will give me some time to work on my final exam. I also want to check on Jennifer Mitchell who is making her Cursillo weekend. The plan is for Don to join me for Closura on Sunday then I will return him to the trail. So far this hiking adventure is going great for me. I figure I got the trauma out of the way by wrecking the car on day 1 and now I can relax and enjoy the journey. My prayer time is mostly filled with requests today and knowing how many are praying with me for Don’s safety really affects my prayer as I find myself attuned more than usual to the praying for the needs of others. I miss our morning reading time since I have noone to discuss my reflections with. Having a prayer partner is a wonderful gift and I am so grateful.

Hiking, PCT2015

April 14 – PCT Mile 91 to 109

I had lots of energy today and enjoyed the entire walk into Warner Springs. I felt better going up the hills but still have some annoying cramping in my left shoulder blade. Never happened during the training at all but now I have to stop at times. I was getting some really serious bruising along my sides from the backpack straps as well but while I was home Lenora fashioned a buffer I can put around my waist from the towel that I carry. Little bit of time at the sewing machine and cutting a strap in two and I had a cushion that I could tighten lightly around my waist and shelter my poor tender too-fat middle from the straps. The last mile or two into Warner Springs is really nice. Walking along a stream that has a lot of trees and shade and is pretty much flat. Getting to Warner Springs, I see an older and a younger man walking towards me. It was the guy that wondering about me at 3rd gate (Glide) and his nephew. He says that the Warner Springs recreation center was closed but you could camp there but they were not going because they did not want to camp with all the other people there. They were backtracking to find a good camping site. I decided to go on to the recreation center just to check it out and sure enough there was a large group camping under the oak trees there and when I walked in a young man immediately came over and indicated I could join them. Very nice, but I said I have been told that I snore pretty loud and so I will camp over yonder (about 50 yards away). I’m wondering why Glide did not notice it… The center was closed but their showers were outside and working and so I took luke warm shower and tried to clean some clothes. Hung them out to dry and then walked over to the main bunch. A really good group of people. Marathon John and Happy Feet were there. The young man that greeted me was Alex. His friend was called “Solar” caused he carried a solar power station. There was Spencer, also very young. An man named “Fix it” because he could fix anything that was broken on a backpack it seems. A young lady named “Claw Hammer”. There was also an older couple and I don’t remember there names but there motto was “Because we can”. I laugh when I think of that motto (read my first post). Almost everyone had foot problems. “Claw Hammer” was the worst as she had two blisters rather than two feet. Seriously bad. “Solar” also had pretty bad troubles but found a pair of shoes in the hiker box that fit him better and was going to give them a try. On the trail, if something is not working you get rid of it (leave in hiker box for others that might have use for it). Apparently the shoes did not work for someone but Solar was going to make use of them. Turns out the school next door was having a fund raiser which was an enchilada dinner and so we all went over to the school and had a great dinner. I felt sorry that Glide and his nephew did not stay around.

The next morning at 9, the center fixed a breakfast for all that stayed around that long (I did). It was bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Great way to get started although I felt I was wasting time waiting for it. So the breakfast was $6 and turns out the shower was $6. Both are really optional but are suggested. I gave them a bit more and thanked them for providing such a great service.

Lenora’s Note:
Same old, same old off trail for me. Old Testament class final is a take home and I am anxious to get started.

Hiking, PCT2015

April 13 – PCT Mile 77 to 91

So what happened between April 8 and April 13 and what happened to miles 42 and 77? Well, I had already planned for a religious seminar for part of this time and decided to take an extra day off to be with Lenora and find out how she really was doing and if I was even going to continue. Turns out she is a trooper and did not want me to stop and convinced me that everything would be fine and the religious seminar (Cursillo) was fantastic. So then the decision was to pick up where I left off OR to pick up where I should have been. This was an easy decision for at least this time because I miles between 42 and 77 I have already done in training last year and it is pretty important I keep to my schedule in order to be able to take Sundays off and get to church.

Mile 77 starts at Hwy 78 just east of Julian and is an interesting start. You immediately start zig zagging up the side of the mountain and after hiking for about an hour and you look down and you have not made any headway in the North direction. You can just look down at where you started directly below you. But every trail mile counts even when you make no headway towards Canada. Once you get to elevation you simply walk along the side of mountain generally gaining a little in elevation along the way until you finally reach a saddle and pass to the other side of the mountain. Then it is down to the floor and back up again. Repeat until you get tired. I got tired at a place called the 3rd gate (because there are gates on sections of the trail sometimes and this was the 3rd such gate on this section of the trail… clever). This also happens to be a spot where there is a huge water cache. Trail angels lug out water to remote places in the desert just for us hikers. Decided to stop here for the night. On the way I met an interesting guy named “Marathon John”. He is retired and approaching 60 in age but a very experienced and fast hiker. He also seems to require practically no water. When I met him we had 7 miles to go to 3rd gate and he had less than 1 liter of water remaining. I on the other had still had 3 liters of water. I asked if he needed more and he said 1 liter was plenty and lectured me on carrying too much water. Foolish to lug water to water he says. Now he did the 7 miles in 2 hours. I did the 7 miles in 3.5 hours. Along the way I met another happy hiker and his name was “Happy Feet”. He said his name did not reflect the state of his feet which were blistered but that he did a jig at some point in the trail and got his name. He seemed happy with the name. A young man who would rather hike than go to school. He did the Appalachian trail two years ago and then went to a year of school and is now doing the PCT. Happy Feet was young and full of energy. When I made it to 3rd gate and the water cache both Marathon John and Happy Feet were there and waiting indicating they were wondering how long it was going to take me go get there. We talked a bit and they continued hiking while I decided to spend the night there. I had what I thought was a good nights sleep but in the morning this guy comes over to me and asks me if I am OK. Sure….. why? Well, he says, because you snored like a bear till midnight and then I never heard you again and so I wondered if you were up all night!! So, I slept great, but apparently this poor guy did not sleep a wink first because I was snoring (like a bear of all things) and then I wasn’t snoring. Poor guy. Turns out his trail name is “Glide” which I found out later on in the trail when our paths crossed again (He did not camp next to me the next time).

Lenora’s Note:
We are easing into this adventure. 3 days hiking followed by 4 days off. It really helps me get ready for the weeks to come. I’m still heavily involved in the Church directory project and need to be home whenever possible so when Don starts again I rush back to Escondido to take care of home chores. I am still in school and working on keeping up with my reading so I can be prepared for the final. School was more fun when we were attending class together.

Hiking, PCT2015

April 8 – PCT Mile 30 to 42

This is exactly the same hike I described in one of my training hikes. During training the weather was pretty bad but today the weather was about as perfect as you can want for hiking in the desert. It was in the lower 60’s and clear with a slight wind. I remembered how this section of the PCT kicked my ass during the training walk and I was hoping that today would be different. From my performance so far, I had no reason really to expect it would be any easier and in fact it was not. It is just a lot of uphill hiking and I am having a hard time catching my breath, so I stop quite often. I don’t stop for long periods of time but enough so that 2 miles per hour is about as fast as I get. Anyway, I have decided that I will stay in a motel in Mt. Laguna and call Lenora and ask her to see if she can get a reservation and wanted to come up and spend the night and then we would go home the next day. So rather than hiking on Thursday till the end the day, I will spend it at home with Lenora and then that night go to the spiritual retreat weekend. Lenora is able to make the reservations but gets a little attitude from the guy she was talking to. Something about you husband is a big boy now and should be able to make his own reservations. Pretty funny. Eventually he does allow the reservations to be made. There was not a lot of traffic on this portion of the trail today. I suspect everyone that started on the 6th and 7th has already passed me and of course those to started today have not caught up yet :). One person did pass me while I was stopping to catch my breath. He was doing the PCT piece meal and this year he was doing the two sections that he had remaining to complete the trail. His name was Daniel with a trail name of Toucan and perhaps he could see something in my eyes because he gave me a lot of encouragement about how the trail would become more scenic and that as time went on I would get more energy. Basically this is going to get easier so keep it up. There was also a runner who passed me running up the trail with weights in his hands and then before I got to Mt. Laguna this same runner passed me going back down. I was not amused. Just keep moving one foot in front of the other and eventually made it to the Pine trees that signal that Mt. Laguna is near and coming from the desert into the Pines there was an over whelming smell of Pine. Do not remember having that sensation last time I did this trail but it was welcoming and invigorating this time. I got to Mt. Laguna, exited the trail and made it to main road and not 60 seconds later, Lenora drove by. Amazing timing. We had a good night.

Lenora’s Note:
A hiking day for Don but a 0 day for me. Thankful for another day to rest. Air bags really pack a wallop. Chest hurts when I take a full breath and the bruises from air bags and seat belt are very colorful. I am so happy Don decides to stop in Mt. Laguna but I leave home anxious to make it up there in time to check in at the lodge before the store closes. Looking forward to the weekend. Don will be home all day before going to Whispering Winds for Cursillo and I will get to join him on Sunday. Busy day repairing things and fashioning a hiking pad for his backpack.

Friday is Adoration Day and I love the time with Jesus and spend much of it in praise for our blessings while asking for continued protection for Don. I also get to pray for the men on the Cursillo retreat. The time passes so quickly and I am reluctant to leave.

Saturday Don is hiking and I am at Women’s Ministry with my chest still hurting so I let them convince me to get checked out. I go to the urgent care center and the doc tells me there is no evidence of fracture but my ribs are bruised and it will take about 3 weeks to feel better. I am relieved and determined to take it all in stride.

Sunday is closura and Don is ready to be done so I meet him ‘on the mountain’ at the end of the Men’s Cursillo weekend.

Hiking, PCT2015

April 7 – PCT Mile 17 to 30

After a fairly good night of sleep, I do the final 3 miles in Lake Morena which has a very nice campground with showers. When I was doing my training I met a couple and one piece of advice from them was to shower every chance you get. Never pass up a chance for a shower. So, I wandered into the campground and took a nice luke warm navy shower and I felt terrific. Ready to go and so I did. The terrific feeling did not last very long for some reason and it was not long until I was just dead tired and traveling very slow. By the time I had gone 9 miles I found myself at Boulder Oak Camp Ground (very close to interstate 8) and was thinking of stopping. However after resting there for about an hour and having an almost cooked meal I decided to go on. Let me explain the almost cooked meal. For the longest time, I was not going to take a stove on this trip at all. I was going to eat trail mix while on the trail and just have hot food on Sunday and on Saturdays when I was in civilization. However, I was convinced by Mark from Church that I was insane. I needed to have a stove and something other than trail mix. After some thought I did relent and bought a pocket-rocket stove and some food I could cook along the way just by putting boiling water into a pouch of food and waiting. How hard can that be? This pocket-rocket can boil a cup of water in 60 seconds!! So I set this up and put the water in my cup and fired up the rocket and watched and watched and watched…. nothing… I put my finger into the water and it was still cool… I know that sometimes there are exaggerations in marketing but we were going on 5 minutes and nothing. Finally after 10 minutes and turning the rocket up to full throttle I was able to get bubbles on the bottom of the cup and the water was warm. So I just used the warm water and put it into the pouch and waiting the amount of time specified for the cooking to happen. This was a vegetable-noodle dish and the vegies were OK but the noodles were still crunchy. When I bought the cup I just bought the one that was the right size and was the lightest one I could fine. Taking a close look at the cup, it says “double walled” on it. It is an insulating cup and not a cooking cup!!! By the way, it does a GREAT job at insulating. There was not way that water in that cup was every going to boil. When I got to Mt. Laguna, I bought a new cup and everything works just as advertised now. After eating and resting I decided to keep going and went on another 4 miles or so. Of course those last 4 miles were all up hill and an increase of 1000 feet in elevation. Why is a mountain always in the way? This would be much easier if it actually was the Pacific Coast Trail. Along the way, I met another nice and very young couple, Crow and Brett. They were way faster than I was and we passed each other twice only because Brett seemed to have some issues with blisters. Once they passed me for the last time I have never seen them again or seen their names. I learned on this day that Lenora had an accident after dropping me off on Monday but did not want to tell me until we could talk. I had called her while at Boulder Creek and so I was told. She was OK she said and I should not stop or do anything crazy. I was not so sure, crazy is in my nature. Since I was going to take Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off for a spiritual weekend (Cursillo), I decided to take Thursday off as well and make sure Lenora was going to be ok.

Lenora’s Note:
I had been struggling with how to tell Don about the accident and just did not know how to describe it in a note. When he called the first thing he told me was that he had been praying the Chaplet Of Divine Mercy for me as he hiked all day yesterday. I knew then that I could tell him and remind both of us that we are not alone on this journey. God is good (all the time 🙂 ). It was good to be able to reassure him that I am well and I spent this day resting and recovering.

Hiking, PCT2015

April 6 – PCT Mile 0 to 17

So I wanted to get started early on the trail and so Lenora and I got up about 3 and drove to the start of the trail. Actually, it wasn’t that easy, driving to the start of the trail that is. It is very easy to get with 2.2 miles of the start where the trail crosses Hwy 94 and that was a very tempting place to start. I noticed others did start at this point when I passed by here about 1.5 hours later. However, I wanted to start at the actual start and tried to get there. There are just places where you can go left or right on a dirt road and I always seem to make the wrong decisions as these points. After going down 1 such bad decision and turning around we met a Border Patrol car and he asked “Where are you TRYING to go?”. I actually laughed because his tone indicated he was tired of watching me be lost. So he pointed out where we should go and I headed that way and there must have been more than 1 way to get there because when we got to the right spot THERE HE WAS WAITING FOR US. I guess he was just making sure I did not make a wrong turn again. So here we on the road and the monument that marks the start (or the end I suppose if you choose to start in Canada) is just up the trail about 100 feet or so. So Lenora and I pray and I get out and get all my gear on and head up the trail to the monument. I take a picture of it and the reason why you don’t see that picture will become clear later. So NOW, standing at the monument, WHERE do I go. I really have only 3 options. The reason why I don’t have 4 is because in one direction is this huge fence that our country has built for unknown reasons really. I know that its only purpose right now that I can figure out is it tells me that I don’t want to go that way. BUT there are trails that lead in the other 3 directions and really no sign to indicate which of these trails in the right one. I could go down the same trail I came up from the car but I was SURE that was not the right way. Earlier we had seen where the trail had crossed the dirt road and I assumed that the trail was crossing from the east to the west. The monument was on the east side of the road and so I figured I wanted to there start on the trail going basically north or the trail going basically east thinking it would curve and cross the road. But I start going basically north and figure out (because my phone tells me I am not on the trail any longer) that was wrong. So then I go back and go east and again for the same reason figure out I was wrong. So then I simply walk back on the trail to the road and there on the other side of the road Lenora and I was on is a PCT sign. In my defense it was still dark. But finally I was walking on the trail and all was good and the trail crossed the road up a bit crossing from the west to the east. No way of knowing why I figured it was just the opposite when we past this point while driving.

I am not sure when other people started or where they started from but after about 3 hours of walking I am pretty sure that EVERYONE has passed me by. Almost everyone was in a big hurry and most did not even say HI as they passed. They were on a mission I suspect to get to the next point which for most was probably Lake Morena at the 20 mile mark. It made me think about my earlier life when the only thing important to me was getting from Point A to Point B and never pay attention or enjoy the journey between the points. There was only 1 other couple that was as slow as I was and we kept crossing paths along the way. They would rest and I would pass. I would rest and they would pass. We talked a bit but not much. I wish I would have gotten their story as I’ll bet it was interesting. After about the 5th time of crossing paths and I passed while they were resting, I never saw them again. And, I have never seen them sign in at any of the ledgers where you can sign in and make comments. Jennifer and Junior may not have had an REI Gary (previous post) like I had and may have had no idea what they were getting themselves into. I pray they are OK and even that they are still on the trail but just not the ledger signing types. You may be saying at this point, well if you passed them then why would they sign a ledger ahead of you? I say that because I am writing this after the fact and I ended up taking Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. In that amount of time I figure they would have passed my position.

So during the first 15 miles you ascend 1442 feet and descend 2042 feet and you end up at a place called Hauser Creek. This is a beautiful place to stop and camp if you are tired because what looms ahead at this point is a mountain to climb and an increase in elevation of about 1400 feet. I should have stopped because it was late BUT I had heard it was going to be a bit chilly and you don’t want to camp in the valley on a cold night. So I decided to start the climb. It was not a good decision but it worked out. Hiking up it did start to get colder and the wind started blowing and I was even going slower that normal. Finally I decided I was just not going to make it and I started to look for wide places in the trail where I could camp even if I blocked the trail a bit. I found such a spot and was ready to give it a try when a little voice said to look a little further. So I left my pack there and hiked a bit more up and around a corner and amazing there was a beautiful spot for camping and so I went back and got my pack and dragged it to the new location and set up tent. End of first day, about 17 miles. At the end, I was a disappointed that I did not get any further than I did AND I was disappointed that I cared. I really don’t care when or if I make it to Canada. The journey is the point. I prayed all day long. It was a great day.

Lenora’s Note:
We are so excited for the adventure to begin we are up by 3AM an on the road before 4. Not easy to find the memorial that marks the start or clear what to do once you reach that point but I know what I need to do. I pray for God’s blessing and protection for my adventurer and drive away as he begins to walk up the trail (I have no idea he is going the wrong way so I drive away happy that his adventure is underway). I head home to gather up my ‘gear’ for my day and then have a hour working out in the park with Dani, my favorite trainer. Quick rinse off and I rush down to Carol’s for our regular Monday Stitch-In. Tonight I’ve been invited to a small reception for Archbishop Cordeleone and I decide to head home to rest a bit since I will be out late.

It takes me over 4 hours to make the 25 minute drive home since about two miles from home I fall asleep at the wheel and crash my new car into a chain link fence at the Palm nursery. No one is hurt but the car needs to be towed OnStar works great and police an tow truck are dispatched to my location, quick to dispatch, slow to arrive. A wonderful young couple who saw me drive off the road stay with me until the police arrive and they are able to describe what they saw to the police. I am so grateful. My Guardian Angel must have been on high alert since I did not get hurt or hurt anyone else and there was someone who saw what happened and was willing to tell the story to the police. But I finally have to get a ride the rest of the way home so I call my trusty friend and faithful rescue angel Joan to come and take me home. I never make it to the reception.

Now I wonder, how do I tell Don without sending him into a panic???? Scarlet O’Hara provides the answer, “I will worry about that tomorrow.”

New car loses fight with chain link fence.
New car loses fight with chain link fence.
PCT2015

Preparations for the PCT

Link

So…. in order to do this PCT thing I had to make some decision about work.  Being gone for 7 months from work is not something that most managers would understand.  So I had to think about taking a leave of absence or just deciding to retire.  The company policy just made it so that it was most reasonable for me to just retire.  If at the end of 7 months, I want to continue working, and if I am of any value, then the company will hire me back anyway.  So, I decided to retire on April 1st.  I have been working with and for my manger for 20+ years and it was a very hard decision to retire.   I love the man and it was very hard to decide to leave him which is how I was viewing the decision.  The whole point of this was at my retirement luncheon, he looked at me and said…. this PCT trip took a lot of planning didn’t it?  I  smiled and nodded and I knew what he was thinking.  He thought I had held out on him for 20+ years, that I was indeed capable of planning.  Planning has never been my strong suit.   Not my strong suit is an exaggeration because it has really never been my weak suit either.  As a matter of fact, planning is just not a suit that has ever been in my closet.  That is a suit I expected others to wear for me.  But in order to walk the PCT, a normal person does have to do planning.  What do you eat, where do you camp, where do you take a day off, were do you get supplies, were do you sleep each night, what do you take on each part of the hike… where do you need more water, where do you need more food.

I am blessed in that Lenora, though not walking, is doing this trail with me and I am blessed in that I am walking for 6 days and taking the 7th day off to rest.  As I said, if it was good enough for God, it is good enough for me.  So that guided a lot of my planning.  I planned to walk for 5 or 6 days, however it worked out, so that on the 7th I could rest and be with Lenora and go to church  and get resupplied for the next 6 days. You can see the current planning at: https://farm-life.net/dads-pct-adventure/  You can see where I will be and at each location, I expect all of you who read this to be there and for there to be a grand party.

After reading a couple books and many blogs, I decided what my plan was going to be.  My primary food was going to be a trail mix.  Now most people would get tired of eating the same food over and over and over again, but I don’t expect to ever tire of this trail mix.  Why?  Because I am boring and therefore nothing ever bores me.   The trail mix was something I found on that wonderful thing that Al Gore invented, the internet.  Perhaps you have heard of it.  Here is the link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022645117#post2

I made 20 batches of this mix.  In case are wondering here are the amounts of “stuff” needed.  55 pounds of apricots, 49.5 pounds of cashews, 22 pounds of sesame sticks, 16.5 pounds of banana chips, 13.75 pounds of each of almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds,  11 pounds of cranberries, 11 pounds of blueberries (my addition),  5.5 pounds of chocolate.  I mixed it, divided it into a days rations, and packaged it.  I SURE AS HELL HOPE I LIKE IT!!  Anyway that along with toilet paper, sun screen, batteries, tooth paste, deodorant (just in case I need it), water purification drops, sun screen… etc.. are all packaged into boxes ready to be mailed to resupply addresses or personally delivered by my angel and companion Lenora.  I also have 1 packed of smoked salmon for each day…. actually I have a package of salmon for 5 of the 6 days.  I’m wondering why I decided to skip a day each week.  Perhaps that goes back to my lack of planning.

Speaking of that, Fred I love you!!   Fred made this all possible.  You see Fred was my manager for 20+ years.  He was always there when I was down.  When I doubted my ability, Fred was there to boost me. He was my manager and my friend.  Now he is just my friend and that makes all the difference.  There will be a number of people I pray for during this adventure.  Fred will be among them.   Fred may not know it but he was the light of Christ.

Today is April 4th and is Holy Saturday.

John 1:14  14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth

Tomorrow Christ will rise from the dead.  Christ will destroy death.  On Monday I will begin my journey.  I will pray for all of you who believe that Jesus is our Lord and our God and especially for those who don’t believe.

PCT2015

Some PCT Training Hikes

As mentioned in previous post, thanks to Gary at REI, I decided to delay the full blown PCT hike for a year and to spend a year in training.  There were 4 training walks that were memorable for one reason or another.

  1. From Hwy 8 to Mt. Laguna — Mile 30 to Mile 42:  This was  my first hike that was in full blown gear and I was going to go as far as I could and then camp and then return to where I started the next day.   So I drove to where I wanted to start and got there pretty early; about 5 in the morning.  It was 40 degrees with about a 20 mile per hour wind and it was raining.  I sat in the car and had a long talk with myself.   Various conversations about how the weather was not going to be perfect for every day of my walk, probably not even most, and therefore this was something I needed to experience.   Thought of my Dad who had endured 3 years in a Japanese POW camp.  Thought of Dad and how he always finished what he started.  How in California he got the yard of our first house ready to plant lawn by preparing the soil 1 pitchfork at a time, over and over.  How in Atlanta he finished our basement and had to put in a drain and broke through the cement floor by swinging a sledge hammer against that cement over and over.  There were lots of thoughts of my Dad this day.  Finally I got out the car and put on the rain gear (thanks Gary again) and started the hike.  About 30 minutes into the hike, the rain turned to snow and then turned to hail.  Again thoughts of Dad and just putting one foot in front of the other and keep going.  How hard can it be.  I was walking along and suddenly a thru hiker caught up to me.  A young girl (in her 20’s) and she was soaked and in short pants.  We talked a bit and then she bolted on to get to Mt. Laguna so she could get a hotel room for the night.  This would have probably been her 2nd day on the trail.  I never saw her again but she moved much faster than I was moving.  Most people move much faster than I do.  I’m a stroller.  I was passed by probably 6 other hikers that day.  This part of the trail is pretty much up hill all the way.  3000 foot gain in elevation.  By the time I made it to Mt. Laguna I was totally exhausted.  No way I was going to put up a tent.  I went into town, stopped at the first place that looked to offer some place to stay and rented a cabin.  Below is a picture of the scene when getting Mt. Laguna and the cabin I ended up renting for the night.   I recalled the words of Gary at REI: “The PCT will kick your ass”.  At this point it was definitely PCT:1 and Don:0.  The next morning  I got up early and went back (and gratefully down) to my starting point.  I had no issues and felt great getting back to the car.  On the way back I crossed the path of 100’s of people who were starting the trail.  Turns out it was the 2014 Kick off day.  One guy talking to me said “I’ll bet you came out here to get a little isolation.  Not today”.  I thought that the new boots solved the foot issue because me feet were fine.  I thought wrong however and my feet were only fine after this hike because it was cold and swelling was minimized.  IMG_0859IMG_0860
  2. From Mt. Laguna to Hwy 78 just west of Julian — Mile 42 to Mile 78:  This was pretty much a full 2 day hike from where I left off at Mt. Laguna to the Hwy 78.   A lot of up’s (3500 feet) and downs (7200 feet) and it was hot.  I met 2 hikers during these two days as our paths keep crossing each other.  We did not hike at the same rate or rest for the same amounts of time but it seemed to turn out that we kept on passing each other.  They would walk faster and rest longer.  I would walk slower and rest for shorter periods of time and so we just keep seeing each other.   One of these guys is from Seattle and is a composer.  He was walking the PCT to get recordings for the sounds on the PCT and was (and has now) composed music to go along with those sounds.  Go check it out at: http://natevansmusic.com.  Being from Seattle, Nat was not really ready for the heat of the desert and the constant need for water.  By the end of the 2nd day both he and I were in pretty bad shape.  He needed electrolytes and my feet had only one sensation ….. PAIN.  Lenora picked us up, we went into Julian for dinner and about 5 gallons of water during the meal and Nat came home with us for some needed rest.  The next morning I took him back to the trail and he continued and FINISHED.  Nat and I helped each other that day.  I think it is the type of thing that happens on the PCT all the time.   A little research and I figured out I needed to have at least 1 extra size in the boot.  Bought new boots of the right size (11.5) and have not had any issue with my feet since.   Even though I was in pretty bad shape because of the feet, I figured it was a draw this time.
  3. From Warner Springs to Chihuahua Road — Mile 111 to Mile 127: If you remember from an earlier post, I had walked part of this before but without a full pack.  This time I was actually going to go MUCH further than I ended up going but it turns out I was overly optimistic about the number of miles I could do.  I realized I was not going to reach my destination and so stopped at Chihuahua road where Lenora could pick me up.  So I walked for 1 day, camped out, and then started walking towards civilization along the road where Lenora could get me.  Sounds easy enough doesn’t it.  Turns out however that for some reason the maps have this location all wrong and the roads don’t go where they say they are going and are not named what they say they are named.  At some point walking along the road I was in a valley and looking up way on the ridge I could see my car.  I knew Lenora was trying to figure out where to go.  I was jumping up and down and waving my hands but I was really too far way.  I saw her pull out from the parking space and turn the other way.   So I kept walking and about an hour and 2 miles later, I see Lenora coming back up the road.  The really nice thing about this road, is at the civilization end of this road is a wonderful winery called Hawk Watch.  A must go for anyone who likes wine.  It was at this time however we realized we needed some way of communicating.  There was NO telephone service in this area.  Decision was sort-of kind-of made to get a satellite phone.  Note:  In February of 2015 a young man started walking the PCT Trail at Anza heading south towards the border.  He was just out for a training walk as I had been.   Something happened and he has not to this day been found.  They found all his equipment at Chihuahua road but no other sign.  They think he may have removed equipment and then tried to get elevation to get a phone signal.  There is just nothing there as I mentioned.   Pray for this young man: http://www.cbs8.com/story/28247958/search-terminated-for-missing-hiker
  4. From Kennedy Meadows North into High Sierra — Mile 702 to Mile 720:  I had intended to go much further on this training hike. This was going to be a 5 day and 4 night hike from Kennedy Meadows to Lone Pine.  However, I was way too optimistic at how many miles I could do at elevation.  What a difference 7000 feet make.   Going uphill constantly at elevation was something I did not do well at all.  The first day I only made 9 miles and the next day about 11.   There were two points when I called on God for some guidance.  I had heard from Nat and others that Kennedy Meadows is the point where water is no longer an issue.  There is water EVERYWHERE.  I suspect that is true in June when Nat was hiking this area but in August in one of the driest years in California in the middle of a drought, there is NOT water everywhere.  I packed as if there would be.   I passed a stream early on and thought nothing of it and just kept walking to the next water point.  It was dry, so on to the next water point, it was dry.  Ok…. God, if you would like me to continue with this hike today could you please help me with the water situation.  Not 200 yards further along the trail, 2 birds few right in front of my face and went down the valley into some bushes.  I looked down and saw other birds there and realized they were probably after water as well.  So I unloaded and climbed down to the bushes and on the other side of the brush was a pool of water and just above that another pool of water that was dripping into the lower one.  There was no water above the upper pool and no water below the lower pool.  Climbed back up to my pack, go all my water containers, and filled them with water.  Thanks God.   Towards the end of the second day, I am thinking that I am not making good enough progress to reach the goal where Lenora could pick me up.  Ok… God, I’m not sure I can make it where I need to be in time.  Wondering if you can give a sign about turning around.  Not much further there is a giant tree that has fallen across the trail.  I can’t get under it or go around it on either side.  So off with the pack and I’m able to slide it under the tree and I can get over the tree and when I try to put the pack back on I just have a lot of trouble.  Keeps getting caught on something.  I start laughing and say OK, I guess this is sign enough.  Slide the pack back under the tree, climb over, put pack on without issue, and start back towards Kennedy Meadows.  Now we have an issue.  Lenora does not expect to pick me up at Kennedy Meadows and of course there is no service and there is also no service at Kennedy Meadows and that satellite phone I talked about getting has not been gotten yet.   I did and do have a Delorme InReach device which can send text messages but because of various issues those were not getting through either.  Of dozens of messages I sent, Lenora got one which was “I’m turning around”.  Of the multiple dozens of messages Lenora sent I got about five from five different devices and they all said “Are you getting my messages”. It is now hilarious but was maddening at the time.  I got back to Kennedy Meadows the next day very late in the day and Lenora had decided she might as well see if I had meant turning back completely and so drove to Kennedy Meadows.  As I was walking towards town (which isn’t much) on the main road (which isn’t much) and the sun was setting I see the car come over the hill.  We hugged, we laughed, I now have a satellite phone.
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The Decision to Hike the PCT

My memory being what it is (bad), I can’t say exactly when I decided to do the PCT, but it would have been about this time last year.  I know that I was just sitting at work, minding my own business, and the urge, the thought, the message came to me that I should hike the PCT.  I really do not remember reading anything that would have put the notion into my head in any way, but I suspect I must have.  But it was clear that I had to walk to PCT and I thought I had to do it now, and I was going to do just that.

I decided to see what it was like and my first hike started at Warner Springs.  When doing the complete PCT, Warner Springs is at about the 100 mile mark.  So, I went for a walk one early morning figuring I would walk north on the PCT for half the day and then turn around and come back.  It was a pleasant walk that starts out level, then meanders up and around some small hills and then crosses a gently flowing stream 4 or 5 times before it heads up into the mountains.  Easy enough and after walking half the day, I turned around and started going down the mountain.  It did not take very long before my toes were so sore that I could hardly put any pressure on them.   The size 10.5 shoes that I had worn pretty much my whole life suddenly were very snug and my toes were slamming into the front of the shoe with every step.  About half way down I had to modify as best I could my walk to avoid putting the front part of my foot on the ground.  Should have a video of me trying to descend the mountain trail by walking on my heels.  In that short period of time, perhaps 12 miles, I was already disabled.  That fact did not change the fact that I was doing the PCT right now.  It should have and it would have changed the mind of any rational being, but it did not affect me.  By the time I got back home, three toe nails were already black and so sore that they could not be touched.  Not the greatest beginning but as I was to learn it is not an un-common beginning.  I was lucky (blessed) that my experience was on a test hike and not on the first day of actually walking the PCT, becoming basically disabled after 10 miles and looking at 2650 miles to go!!  This first test was also just with a basic little backpack.

I then decided that my next test would have to be a full blown training hike with complete hiking backpack, tent, pad, etc.  Full blown simulation.  (A description of some of my training hikes in the next post).  Of course, I had NONE of this stuff.  I have never backpacked before.   Time for a visit to REI.   Not my first visit to REI and I have always enjoyed shopping there to get clothes and “stuff” for various birding trips.  However I was exceeding lucky (blessed) on this trip as I hooked up with Gary, a very fit employee about my age who was a backpacker.   I told him I needed some backpacking supplies such as a backpack and tent.  Ok he said, what are you planning to do?  I’m going to hike the PCT.  Ok he said, when?   This year.  Ok he said, have you ever done an backpacking before?  No.  OOOOOOKKKKKKKK he said.   So we went over and he picked out the backpack that he thought would be best for me and for the PCT.  We then went over and he helped pick up a tent and pad that he thought would be best for the PCT.  Then he said, you really think you should hike this year? Yes.  OK, then we went over and helped me pick out some trekking poles and some water proof bags to hold “stuff” in, and talked to me about stoves and food supplies.  Then he said, if you have never done this before, it my personal opinion that it would not be best for you to do the PCT this year.  You need to get some experience first.  The PCT will kick your ass.  I smiled and nodded.  Ok, water bottles, water storage, water purification, emergency equipment, rain gear.  Then he said, I would not feel good about myself if I let you walk out of here without saying again that you should not try to walk the PCT this year.  You need to try it out first on small adventures to get trained up and to make sure you even like it.  Thank you, I said, I will think about it.  Ok he said and on we went, socks, gloves, hats, boots (size 10.5, the same size I have worn my entire life).

I have been back to REI many times in the last year to resupply and to get more “stuff”.  I have never seen Gary again.  I look for him each time because I want and need to thank him and give him a big hug.  Why?  Because Gary spent hours with me that day to get ready and cared about what I was planning to do and cared enough to give me counsel.  Because Gary was right.  I was not physically ready, I was not mentally ready, and I was not spiritually ready at that time to do the PCT.   In the last year a lot has changed for the better and I am now ready.

Thanks Gary!!

P.S.  The 10.5 boots did not help the toe situation at all of course.  It was not the shoe but the size that was the issue.  After reading more about the PCT and the miserable time a lot of people have with feet at the beginning it was clear.  The feet swell when you are walking in heat all day long.  You need to get a boot that is at least 1 size larger.  I now have size 11.5 boots and have had no issues with either blisters or bruised toes.

PCT2015

Why are you hiking the PCT?

I mentioned in my last post that I was walking the PCT to “To find out more about myself and my relationship with God” but that there was more to it.  This is not meant as a justification for walking as  I do not feel that any justification is necessary.   This is an explanation for those that are confounded by it or just plain curious.

I think if you asked each person on the PCT why they were hiking the PCT you would get a different answer from each person you asked.  Therefore  each reason is unique and that is cool.  I have a unique story to tell… yay!!!

There is a 3 fold reason why I am walking the PCT.  The overall encompassing reason is to get closer to God.  To speak with God every chance I get.  To see and marvel at the world that God created and gave to us to live on.  I believe at this point in time I am doing God’s will and that He has something out there for me.  But the 3 sub-reasons are:

  1. One of the reasons for walking the PCT has the same answer as the question “Why does a dog lick himself?”.  BECAUSE HE CAN.  I am walking the PCT because I can.   I am physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially able to walk the trail this year.   Not all of those factors would have been true last year (when I thought I would walk the trail — more on that in my next post) and may not be true again.  I expect that walking the trail will actually help me in 3 of those areas as well.  At the end I believe I will be stronger physically, stronger mentally, stronger spiritually.
  2. My mother died at a very young age and some years after that my dad gave me the following advice.  Do not put your dreams on hold for some future thing to happen.  He said that he and my mom had many plans for what they were going to do in the future and that future date just never happened.  Lenora and I have been pretty good with that advice and generally followed our dreams.  However we always talked about walking the Appalachian Trail while back east and when we came west and found out about the PCT wanted to walk it…. together.  The walking together is not going to happen because of some hip issues but Lenora and I are doing this together.   Lenora has been there for all the planning, all the training, and will be there for most Sundays so that we can go to Church together.  Basically she is putting her life on hold so that we can do the PCT.  The only difference is that I get to walk while she patiently waits for me to reach the next destination.  I have the easy part.
  3. When faced with a decision especially a decision that has moral implications but also represents a sacrifice I have always been fond of the statement “If not you, who?  If not now, when?”.   The last part applies to the PCT.  If not now, when?  Similar to reason 2 but biblical.  There are many Bible verses that apply but these two are my favorites.
    Luke 12:16-21 “Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” ’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”  
     Matthew 24:36-44 “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.  For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.  Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
    So like I said, similar to 2 but biblical.  Don’t put off your dreams because you just never know.  If not now, when?