Category Archives: Hiking

Hiking, PCT2022

Aug 3 2022 PCT Between 347 to 361

Leave a comment

I have a great nights sleep and get up and get ready to go by 5:30. I snap the following picture of the desert below. Wow…. what a view.

Looking down to the desert in early morning. Looks a bit different than yesterday in the light

I make pretty good time while it is still cool and at about 6:30 I come to a camping spot. Probably very handy for those that are making the 20 mile climb up.

Nice spot if someone needed to set up camp

Still around 6:30 I take the picture below. The sun is just coming up and the desert at this time of day is beautiful.

Desert in the morning. Golden hills of California.

At about 7:30 I get to another camp in the desert. This is the only place I know on the PCT where there are signs marking and naming them. I wonder who Hachey is and if he maintains these camp sites year after year. I could not find any information about these sites. They are probably used but since there is no water near-by. Perhaps a trail angel puts a water cache at these areas during the prime hiking season for this section.

Another camping spot. Now only if there were some water

At about 11:30 it is just plain hot and there is no shade to be found. I snap the picture below and my attitude has changed. The hills are not golden, the hills are dead.

Later in the day. MUCH HOTTER. Not golden, rather dead!

At noon I finally find some shade. If I take off my pack I can squeeze most of my upper body into that little cave and get a little shade. That is exactly what I do.

Whose idea was it to hike the desert in August? I actually crawl into little hole for some shade

It is really dangerously hot. The trail gets down to the desert flow in about 5 miles as Swathout Canyon road. That also happens to be about 5 miles short of I15. I ask Martha to meet me there rather than at I15. She gets there earlier than I do and starts to walk the trail to meet me. After about a mile she does exactly that and she has brought some water with yet that I drink right away. She wonders why anyone would want to do this. She has walked one of the most miserable miles on the PCT.

California is a done deal. We now drive to Tucson to pick up Lenora and all of us head to Washington. On the way we see a Diamondbacks baseball game in Phoenix and a Mariners baseball game in Seattle.

Hiking, PCT2022

Aug 1 2022 PCT Between 374 to 386

Leave a comment

Martha brings me back to Islip Saddle early in the morning. At the beginning of the trail we have the sign below. I keep wondering why I can’t seem to get a good picture of it and I remember latter that I still had my headlamp on in red light mode. Seems appropriate for the sign however.

No Problem

Martha captures the start of my hike with my headlamp still on. Just a red light moving up the hill.

Spooky

A little later I take a picture of the sign below. Headlamp still on!! I’m climbing up to the top of Mt. Baden-Powell.

Vincent Gap is goal for today. Must climb pesky mountain first
I’m making great progress

Just love the PCT in the morning!! Do you wonder why I never get a picture of a sunset? Because by the time the sun sets I have generally been asleep for at least 2 hours.

Sunrise on the PCT
Early morning view

I kept going past the plant below and one time brushed up against it and ended up with spines in my pants. A nasty little plant.

Golden Chestnut. Sharp spines of this pretty plant

Working my way up to the top of Mt. Baden-Powell I take some pictures.

Tree on left has had a hard life
Looking down into the desert

The video below is me at the top of this part of the world. And now it is time to start the long walk back down to Vincents Gap along Hwy 2. 4 miles down about a 13% grade. Lots and lots of switchbacks. There are some people I see on the way down that are working their way to the top and some that just go up part way and make a lot of noise and then walk back down to Vincent gap.

View from Mount Baden-Powell

About 2 hours from the top I see a couple deer and manage the get a picture of the backside of one. Can you see it?

Find the deer

I finally make it down to Vincent Gap on Hwy 2 which has a picnic table and toilets. I make sure of each. Martha has left a cache of water here as well and so I fill up on water and camp here for the night. Pretty good day of hiking. Nice views at the top of the mountain.

Hiking, PCT2022

July 31 2022 PCT Between 386 to 404

Leave a comment

The plan all along was for Martha to pick me and transport me around the closure of the PCT to protect an endangered species. Now this section of the PCT has been closed as long as I can remember and YET there are still no good options go get past the closure. The PCT organization lists 3 BAD options for getting around this closure. Might be about time to figure out a good option since I don’t think this frog is going away. So Martha actually transports me from mile 403 to 390 and provides me with the trail magic and some cold water.

Trail closed

Signs are nice

So after I am dropped of I have two significant ascents to overcome. One of them is 3.4 miles with an average incline of 13%. It takes me forever! I have have to stop often just to try to catch my breath and get my heart to settle down. The first real test of my lungs and I don’t like the result. But I eventually make it to the top. Takes me over 3 hours to do 3.4 miles. About a mile an hour. Try to walk on a treadmill set at 1 mile per hour. It will drive you crazy.

Looking down at San Gabriel Canyon

After getting to the top it is back to go back down. That is a little faster and I end up back on Hwy 2 at Islap Saddle. Martha has actually enjoyed the area this whole time and picks me up and takes me back to Palmdale to sleep in the hotel for the night. Next morning she brings me back.

Hiking, PCT2022

July 30 2022 PCT Between 404 to 415

Leave a comment

Had a good first night on the trail and get started around 5:30 in the morning. Love the mornings. Full of energy and generally cool weather. The sign below is really quite nice. Almost looks new.

Signs are nice

After about 2 hours I think I might be emerging from the barren desert and coming into some high desert that will at least afford some shade. Nice to see the big trees

Some Trees coming out of lower desert

Another hour later I come to this little stream that has a trickle of water. I can put my glass down there and leave it for awhile to get filled. Only takes a minute. Then I can use my life-straw to drink it. The lift-straw is very handy as I can use it to get water immediately and don’t have to wait the 30 minutes it takes for the purifier to work.

Nice trickle of water caught in my water bottle

About 30 minutes later a rattlesnake slithers across the path and down into the brush. He was pretty loud and did not appreciate me at all. Coiled up a bit while I was looking at him and while I tried to get his picture.

Zoom in to see Diamond Back Rattler. He don’t like me much

The rest of the day was not all the eventful. Pretty much all uphill and I was passed by many locals out for walk. None of them were equipped for overnight camping and so I was not worried about getting a camp site. There are no PCT hikers here this time of year. They are generally in this area in late April or May.

Got to a good place to camp and it started to rain very lightly while I was setting up camp. This was a pleasant surprise as I did not think it ever rained in California. I got a double rainbow just beyond my camp site. You can tells I’m still pretty much is a desert environment.

A little rain and honored with a double rainbow
Hiking, PCT2022

July 29, 2022 PCT Between 415 to 418.6

Image Leave a comment

This is the final year of the PCT and the point of this year is to fill in a couple areas where I was off the trail because of injury or because of fire. In 2015 (the first year) I had to go off the trial because I burned my knee by spilling boiling water on it. I was off trail for a week and when I went back on the trail I continued from where I would have been if I had not taken the time off. That section is 80 miles and starts at Cahon Pass by the famous McDonalds on Interstate 15 and extends into the Angeles National Forest and past the Wrightwood Ski Resort. The second section is 200 miles and is up in Washington and goes from Snoqualmie on Interstate 90 up to Rainy Pass on Hwy 20.

Mid August is a good time to be in Washington and it turns out Lenora had a needlework conference in Tucson at the end of July and so Lenora and Martha and I figure that is a good time to start California. While Lenora is at the conference, I will do the 80 mile California section and then we will all head up to Washington and finish it off.

Lenora helped me train to get ready for this by hiking with me in Georgia. There was a 5 mile hike to a Lodge in the mountains. 5 in and 5 back for a nice 10 mile hike. We started doing this pretty soon after having COVID and I was shocked at how little stamina I had. I would run out of breath and have to rest going up the modest hills on this hike. At one point Lenora mentioned she was worried about me and I told her I was worried as well. I got a little stronger each time but not much. BUT, I was still determined to finish the PCT and so we kept the plans.

Martha and I drive from Tucson up to California and for logistical reasons decide to stay in Palmdale CA which is very near the end point of my hike. Since we are there we decide to actual start at the end (north) and hike south. Turns out to be a very good decision and it puts 20 miles of my hike in the desert going mostly downhill rather than mostly uphill.

Here I am starting out towards the end of the day. Starting at the Mill Creek Fire Station on the Angeles Forest Hwy. Just want to get a few miles in. However it is over ninety degrees. Yes, I am starting my hike in the desert in August with perhaps weak lungs. What could go wrong 🙂 The good news is that a large portion of this section is very close to Hwy 2 just north of Los Angeles and crosses it multiple times. There are many places I can be picked up if necessary.

Ready to go
And so it begins

The first part of the trail here is uphill but not drastically so. Even so, I only make it a little over 3 miles before I get to a camp site and decide to quit. On the way up, I pass 2 older ladies who indicate I am the first person they have seen all day. But they say that tomorrow is the weekend and all the crazies come out. I can see the lights of Palmdale from my campsite.

Campsite first night of PCT 2022

Hiking, PCT2022

Aug 2 2022 PCT Between 361 to 374

Leave a comment

After a good nights sleep the trail today takes me up from Vincent Gap to the Wrightwood ski lifts. Other than around the ski lifts the trail does not look too steep. After that I have the long mostly downhill walk back into the desert and to Cahon Pass. It will take two days and today I only want to get the the top so I can start my way down tomorrow.

Around 6 in the morning I come to the little section of the trail shown below. It reminds me so much of the PCT just at it enters into Warner Springs early on in the trail.

This reminds me of winding around in trees by Warner Springs California

Around 8 in the morning I get Grassy Hollow Visitor Center which is deserted. There are restrooms there and one of them is open. Suppose to be water here but I did not find any and Martha warned be I would not. Spent a little time here and had a snack before moving on. Looked at the sign below and pondered how many miles I had hiked.

Love this sign!

Around 10 I get to one of the Wrightwood lifts and just need to take a picture of the board of rules.

I don’t ski. Too many rules. Wrightwood Ski Resort

Around 11 I get to some ski lifts. Really wish they were working and I would ride them to the top.

Wrightwood Ski Lift

At 12:30 I take the picture below. I have no idea why. At this time my brain in oxygen deprived and I’m sure I saw something very interesting. Perhaps Big Foot?

There is a lovely amount of contrast in this picture

Around 2 pm Martha meets me on a dirt road to bring me supplies for the walk back into the desert. I get fed diet cokes and quarter pounder with cheese. I get there a little before her and decide to lay down for a nap while I wait. I literally just lie down on the dirt with a rock under my head and fall off to sleep. Just before Martha arrives another hiker comes by and he sees me lying on the road and figures something is wrong. He yells which wakes me up and I look around but can’t see anything and then he comes rushing down the trail worried that I am hurt. About the same time Martha arrives and I tell him that I was just waiting for her to arrive with some supplies. He is greatly relieved and spends the next 45 minutes talking with us and comparing knifes with Martha. He was not a PCT hiker but just a local that liked to hike the area. It was all pretty amusing. I got fed and watered and supplied and continued on.

At 3:30 I am leaving Angeles and entering San Bernardino National Forest.

Entering new National Forest

Not sure how much of a destination Wrightwood is on the PCT. It is a cute town and is probably a good spot for resupply. I have 21.5 miles to go to I15 and termination of this section. Most of that will happen tomorrow.s

Only 21.5 miles to do for this 2022 California PCT Adventure

Got to the top where I am about to start the descent to I15 and decide to stop and take some pictures of where I will be hiking tomorrow. I expect it to be very hot and so I hope to get an early start and get some miles before the sun comes up.

Camp set up right along the ridge

Way down there is Interstate 15. Tomorrows destination.
From campsite looking down into the desert

Hiking, PCT2020

Sep 12, 2020 PCT Between 2198 and 2207

1 Comment

I sleep a hour later than usual but put a rush on to get packed up and moving. The smoke was really thick all night and I want to get out of here. Just not healthy to be sucking in all this smoke. I head out towards Blue Lake and run into tree after tree after tree being down on the trail. For each one I have to find a way around the tree(s). A couple images.

  • PCT 2207 to 2198. Downed trees
  • PCT 2207 to 2198. Downed trees
Downed Trees

I finally get to Blue Lake. A very long 2 mile hike because of the trees on the trail. I decide to stop and have my breakfast. As I am eating, Paul comes from the camping area and expresses how happy he is too see me. Says he has not seen anyone for 12 hours and wonders if we were the only one not to get the message. He wants to hike together which I think is also a good idea. Strength in numbers. At this point we both plan on getting the Trout Creek and then have Martha and Matt get us out.

I look at the map and notice a trailhead that is about 10 miles away that I think Martha and Matt can get to. Trout creek is about 30 miles and would take us 2 days. I message Martha and Matt and Matt finds the location of the trailhead and indicates that they can get us there. Paul and I both decide the faster we can get out of here the better. We have no idea where the fire is but the fact that the place is deserted and the smoke is so heavy it is just not healthy to be out. Here are a couple pictures of the smoke two interesting looking “lakes” that are flagged as being water sources.

  • PCT 2207 to 2198. The view
  • PCT 2207 to 2198. First view of sun in two days
  • PCT 2207 to 2198. Meadow
  • PCT 2207 to 2198. Water source. Green Lake
  • PCT 2207 to 2198. Water source. Sheep Lake

I meet a north bound PCT thru hiker named “Trooper” and we talk for awhile. He started the PCT on March 17th which is pretty early. I asked if he got past Mount San Jacinto in southern California before the big storms. He said that he got there a week after the young PCT hiker fell to his death and the place was still treacherous. That he slipped and thought he was going to fall to his death but caught himself and after a nights pause in the nearby town of Idlewyld went back up and was able to finish. He said one other time he thought he was going to die was in the High Sierras where he was traversing some ice and his spikes were not able to penetrate it and he slipped and again thought it was over, but caught himself. He gave God credit for saving his life both times. I told him that I saw God everywhere on the PCT and asked him about that and he agreed. He said one of the reasons he was hiking the trail was to see Gods creation before it was all gone. He told me Oregon was an almost totally burned out area on the PCT. Said it was a bit of a depressing place to hike. Burned forests and lava flows. I told him he had some majestic views ahead of him and hoped the smoke cleared so he could see them.

Just before we get to the trailhead extraction point, I do see one thing that makes me smile. Someone took the time to record a milestone in their progress with pine cones.

PCT 2207 to 2198. North bounder marking a milestone

Paul and I get to the trailhead about 45 minutes before Martha and Matt arrive. A forest ranger comes in to post some signs. He indicates that the forest has been closed for 3 days but they are allowing PCT’ers to continue. He says they don’t recommend it because the smoke alone is just not healthy but they don’t try to stop PCT’ers. Really hard for me to understand. Paul was the source of the oranges back at Trout Lake and Martha and Matt repay him by bringing us burgers and frys and cokes. On the way to get us Martha and Matt picked up a hitching PCT’er who wanted to hike from the trailhead to Trout Lake. He was advised against it. He ignored the advice. He had two burgers and 3 beers from Martha and Matt and started his hike. We give Paul a ride back to where he left his car and then start to head back to Oroville. Oroville is 1/2 mile from the Canadian Border. Pauls car was next to the Columbia River next to the Oregon Border. We drove for 7 hours and there was heavy smoke in the air the entire way.

California, Oregon, and Washington are basically on fire. Oregon has closed all the forests and the PCT. California has closed all the forests and the PCT. The PCT still seems to be open in Washington even though some of the forests have been closed.

Hiking, PCT2020

Sep 11, 2020 PCT Between 2207 and 2224

Leave a comment

I try to delay getting up in the morning because there are two hikers that are camped right next to me. I’m really not very good at waiting. I try to pack up with minimal noise and I don’t do my usual breakfast in camp but wait till later to avoid waking anyone up.

The smell of smoke is pretty heavy in the air but it is still dark. By the time it lightens I can see that there is a lot of smoke in the air. Still figuring it just blew in from the other fires. It is just that the smell is a bit heavy and that makes me wonder.

PCT 2224 and 2207. Early morning verification

Around 11:30 I enter into the Indian Heaven Wilderness within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The Indian Heaven Wilderness is 20,784 acres and has over 150 lakes. It was established in 1984 under President Ronald Regan. The Gifford Pinchot National Forest is 1,368,300 acres established in 1897 under President Grover Cleveland.

PCT 2224 and 2207. Indian Heaven Wilderness

There are not any pictures from this day as I was forest most of the day but all the smoke was so heavy that no meaningful scenic photo could be taken. I start of see the toll of the huge wind storm we had over labor day as there are fresh trees down on the path.

  • PCT 2224 and 2207. Lots of downed trees
  • PCT 2224 and 2207. Lots of downed trees

It was a good hiking day. I meet one thru hike named “Prof” who indicates that he is sick of hiking and just wants it to be over. He has to be at White Pass in two days to meet his fiancee and that is pretty much impossible. Indicates he is going into Trout Lake and try to find someone willing to driver him over to White Pass. Near the end of the day I meet another hiker named Paul who is just doing a small section of the trail. Basically the same small section he is doing. We meet at Bear Lake which is a beautiful lake. He is going on to Blue Lake about 3 miles away and I’m going to stop at Junction Lake about 1 mile away.

Both of use are concerned about the amount of smoke and how strong it smells. While I am setting up camp another hiker comes through and he indicates there are two fires that are pretty close. One fire at the Oregon Washington border has the trail closed for 10 miles on either side. There is another fire that he says is visible from Blue Lake. At this point I send a message to Lenora, Martha, and Matt asking if they can find out any information.

Turns out there is a new fire that is about 5 miles west of me. Big Hollow fire that has already consumed 12000 acres. It is almost impossible to get information about these fires in real time. Information is posted every 12 hours and as fast as these fires move, that just does not do any good. Martha and Matt decide they need to head out as it may be necessary to get me off the PCT. It is a 7 hour drive and as they are driving they get to see some fires in action.

It is a stressful night as we try to communicate what is happening. I’m not sure if I should continue south or go back north. It has been pretty dry up to where I am and so going back north does not give me any escape if the fire moves faster than expected. I can continue south which has a number of lakes for protection if the fire gets to the PCT. Really can’t sleep and keep getting out of my tent to see if I can see any glow. The first time I get out I think my glasses have fogged over but they haven’t. It is just the smoke. Finally about 2 am they have gathered enough information that we decide I should continue south and that the fire is not expected to move any closer to the PCT. At that point I am able to get to sleep and do so until about 5 am.

Hiking, PCT2020

Sep 10, 2020 PCT Between 2224 and 2229

Leave a comment
Send off number 6

So the idea on this hike is to connect the dots between Trout Creek, which I got to at the start of August and Trout Lake where I ended up a few days ago. It is about a 52 mile stretch. We had to delay doing this because over the labor day weekend, Washington basically caught on fire. There were extremely high winds and a lot of people recreating and apparently that resulted in numerous fires. One of the big ones was just south of us in the town of Omak and has the major south bound road (Hwy 97) closed. We had to wait for that to reopen. We travel down to Trout Lake where I need to start and it is about a 7 hour drive. Most of that drive we are in pretty heavy smoke. We can see the devastation from the road as we travel. When we get to Trout Lake and the PCT the smoke is really pretty light and it seems save to everyone to continue. At this point there are no fires to the south which is where I am heading.

At the start of the trail here a trail angel has left bags of oranges. After Martha gives me a blessing, I grab an orange and head out. It is about 3 pm and I want to get to Trout Lake Creek (5 miles) to camp tonight. I will meet the trail angel that left the oranges later in the hike and we will return the favor.

The hike to Trout Lake Creek is an up and down affair. Nothing serious and I arrive in a little after 2 hours. Pass the nice little meadow along the way and I plant that I have not noticed before

PCT 2229 to 2224. Nice little meadow
PCT 2229 to 2224. Bunchberry dogwood

Trout Lake Creek is a wonderful campsite. Probably one of the best I have encountered on the PCT that was not a public camp. I have not seen anyone on the trail and there is nobody at the campsite when I get there and I figure I might have the place to myself. I figure wrong as after I am settled and trying to sleep, a couple campers come in. Then a couple more. Then a couple more. In the end we are tent cheek to tent cheek. Below are some images of the camp.

  • PCT 2229 to 2224. Tentsite at Trout Lake Creek
  • PCT 2229 to 2224. Tentsite at Trout Lake Creek
  • PCT 2229 to 2224. Trout Lake Creek

During the middle of the night I woke up and I could smell smoke. Figured it was just blowing in from one of the many fires. Went back to sleep.

Hiking, PCT2020

Sep 6, 2020 PCT Between 2229 and 2242

Leave a comment

Get an earlier than normal start and again have a delayed breakfast because getting water from the muddy and silty Lewis River did not appeal. But there is Riley Creek in a couple miles where I can get good water and have my normal breakfast. I do start out the day with Spam and tortilla smothered with ranch dressing at the camp site however and after the breakfast I am loaded up for some serious hiking. Unfortunately, a lot of the day was spent in a burn zone that I would be told was from a fire in 2016. Very hot and so I tried to do quickly. Eventually got back into forest and spent the rest of time in shade until arriving at Hwy 23 and the Trout Lake pick up point. I arrived early but there was a trail angel at Hwy 23 who gave me a 13 mile ride into the town of Trout Lake where Lenora, Martha, and Matt picked me up. I had met Dave, the trail angel, a little earlier than Hwy 23 as he was out to take some pictures and visit the memorial site of a PCT hiker that was killed on the trail by a falling tree in 2019. He was simply standing a bridge with a hiking partner when a tree fell and hit him and killed him.

I tipped Gary for giving me a ride and then he had a couple hikers get into his truck for a ride back to the PCT and Hwy 23. Dave has helped about 250 hikers this year. The numbers are down he says as in a normal year he would have helped 1000 hikers by now.

Trout Lake is a PCT destination because it is a good resupply point, has a nice grocery store, and a cafe with shakes and cheeseburgers. I had 2 huckleberry shakes, a cheeseburger, 2 glasses of water, and 3 diet cokes.

It was glorious to see Lenora, Martha and Matt when they arrived. They had lunch/dinner at the cafe and then we started the long drive back to Oroville.

  • PCT 2242 to 2229. Early moring moon
  • PCT 2242 to 2229. Squirreltail
  • PCT 2242 to 2229. Red Fescue