Our Adventures

I think I may finally be done with the PCT.  Over the past two years I have done roughly 800 miles (from Campo to Independence).  I got off the trail June 1 to spend some time with my family (my wife and I  went to Mexico and New Orleans with my brother and his wife). And, while I definitely miss it, I think it is time to start planning the next adventure (the Great Loop is looking good…).

I learned a lot. Mostly about people. Mostly about what you really need. Everything I “needed” for five weeks I carried on my back and weighed less than 15 pounds (not counting food or water), which is pretty cool! Most people, Americans anyhow, have never been hungry. Most take clean, abundant water for granted. Most people have no clue what they really need. I know. I need about 1L of water for every five miles I walk. I need about 2 lbs of food a day (including at least 2 Twizzlers). I need a warm place to sleep on cold nights. And that’s pretty much it.

And the people. Strangers gave me rides, gave me food, gave me water. Just about everyone I met was nicer than I had any right to expect. The trail angels were crazy nice. Scout and Frodo and the Hiker Heaven folks and Ziggy and The Bear. They open their homes to strangers. Every year. And the other hikers were great. You become part of a rolling community.

Okay – some random memories from the trail this year…

• Walking down to the North Fork Ranger station saw OB (Orange Blossom) sitting just off the trail.

Me: “Hey, OB, how’s it going.”
OB: “Okay – just stopped to do a little surgery.”
Me: “Blisters?”
OB: “No, I got an abscess on my waist from my pack. So I just lanced it and was draining it.”
Me: “Sounds like fun.”
OB: “Not really, but very satisfying”

• Overheard at Hiker Heaven…”Yeah, that one 50 mile day really wiped me out… Probably not a good idea.” 50 miles??!!?
• A  Hiker Heaven helper, Burning Time, explaining why he had done the PCT more than once…”Well, did it the first time and got home and my wife said she was leaving me. Bitch! So I did it again!”
• I saw the Milky Way one moonless night. I have only seen it a handful of times.
• Hikers at the Acton KOA explaining their system for eating the microwave meals sold in the the little store there..”You zap the burrito and then the little pizza. Then you roll the burrito in the pizza and eat it like a taco….”
• Butterfly to me one morning….”wake up bitch!”
• List of injuries other hikers told me they had:
  • Blisters (of course).
  • Septic blisters (more than one hiker)
  • “Swollen foot”
  • Achilles strain
  • Shin splints
  • Sprained ankle
  • Unexplained, strange, pains in various parts of the feet
  • Swollen knees (I saw several people with knee braces)
  • Stomach issues (maybe Giardia).
  • Cuboid Subluxation
• And, of course, with our lovely health system, I ran into at least one hiker (from Israel I believe) that should have been at a clinic but was not going because of the money.
• Bear (of Ziggy and the Bear) to a hiker who asked him if he could go along after overhearing The Bear say he was going to the store: “No.” Hiker: “Why not?” Bear: “I don’t want my car to stink.” Hiker: “Oh… Okay.”
• Me, to a day hiker near the Devils Punch Bowl when asked where I started: “ The Mexican border.”

Hiker: “No!”
Me:        “Uhmmm…yes.”
Hiker:  “Where do you sleep?”
Me (looking around): “Anyplace flat.”
Hiker:   “No! Where do you go to the bathroom?”
Me:         “Anyplace kinda flat.”
Hiker:    “NO! What about showers?”
Me:          “Showers?”
She just walked away shaking her head which was too bad because she smelled really nice. Much nicer than Butterfly anyhow.

• 73, to me, when I said I was thinking of taking an extra zero in Big Bear: “I don’t do zero days, I do zero WEEKS!”
• Clare and Will (England) explaining their discovery of Honey Buns: “They’re like squished doughnuts…. Really wonderful!”
• A stunned female hiker at the Acton KOA pulling a “white” hiking shirt out of the washer that still had big grey stains on it..”I JUST washed this!!!….it looks the same!”. Me: “Yeah, but I bet it smells a lot better!”
• Clare (of Clare and Will) on being asked at a restaurant if she wanted Habiscus iced tea or black ice tea…”Uh…uh….uh…..a coke please.”
• Butterfly to me (on more than one occasion)..”Okay, I’m calling your wife!””.
• Overheard hiker “I used to do drugs….. I mean, I still do ‘em… But I also used to do them.”
• Another hiker to me as I walked by at Hiker Heaven (I had a 10 day stubble going at that point) “I didn’t know John Stewart was hiking the PCT!”

How to describe a place like Hiker Heaven….. Well, first of all it’s someone’s (Donna Saufley) house on a large (probably 2 acre) lot about a mile from “downtown” Agua Dulce. They have 5 dogs, three horses and a bunch of chickens. They also have, at any one time, 20 to 50 hikers.

I counted 35 tents this morning. There is a shower, TV and small kitchen in a trailer next to the house. They have a two night, 3 day maximum stay limit, though this appears to be flexible for people with injuries. Talked to a hiker from Australia who was on her 5th day and another guy on his 7th. 

They run a shuttle every hour to town and once a day do a run to the closest REI. They also shuttle people to the closest urgent care clinics for injuries. They have two tents set up, one with four computers with internet access and one with sodas and sewing machines for repairs.

And the sewing machines do get used – I saw proof!

 

Everyone gets a short orientation upon arrival. You put your laundry in a mesh bag with a post-it note with your name and your clean laundry comes out an hour or two later. There is only one shower so there is a line but it moves pretty quickly. And this is one of those places just about everyone stops. I’ve met four people here from my April 24 Scout and Frodo class. And I ran into Pensioner, the hiker I shared a pizza with at the KOA, in town.

 
Guitars and beers come out in the evening an the atmosphere has a laid-back summer camp vibe. Very nice. 

Another short day – 10 miles from the Acton KOA to Hiker Heaven in Agua Dulce and the end of my PCT adventure!

Day started early – not a very restful sleep with the train, road and RV-ers.Was hiking  by 5:30. Immediately passed the PCT completion monument (1993).

 
Then the climb out of the valley. Came over the mountain in the background yesterday. 

And not all obstacles on the PCT are natural – the tunnel under highway 14 for instance.

But the highlight of the day was the walk through the Vasquez Rocks.

The last mile or so of the day was on roads leading to Agua Dulce, and

the days reward!

Short day today. Woke up early at the North Fork Ranger Station (and discovered about 10 other hikers camped around me – guess I just know how to pick ’em). Not a bad place to camp – a local trail group had a cooler with snickers and sodas for sale. Nice!

Hiked the 8 miles or so to the Acton KOA which is about a quarter mile off the trail. Short day but gave me time to take a shower (first in five days) and do laundry. Even thought they have a big welcome sign this place is really not set up for hikers. The little store has no small soaps or shampoo and they have no towels. I have only met one hiker that carried a towel. Still, lots of hot water!

And they say there is a pizza place in Acton that delivers here so dinner may be better than usual. Last nights dinner for instance was 1 Ramen Noodle, 1/4 of a powdered Idaho Potato, and a foil of salmon. Nice but not pizza!


Met a nice couple from Quebec on the trail today – they were not stopping at the KOA but headed straight to Agua Dulce – the lure of real restaurants was too strong.  At the KOA office I bumped into Kobo, the hiker from Japan that I hitched with way back at mile 151. I was surprised since he was a couple days ahead of me but he said he had to go to LA to get new gear and a new passport – his pack was stolen in San Bernadino (the shuttle around the Lake Fire closure dropped hikers off there for the bus to Big Bear)! Hikers sometimes get too casual with their packs. 

And a nice surprise when I came off the trail at the highway – Coppertone! The trail angel that supplied a rootbeer float just past Deep Creek (when I really needed it) was waiting with bananas and a smile. This guy really gets around!

Getting excited about finishing up and getting home to see my wife and friends. Only 10 more miles and I will bein Agua Dulce and the end of my little adventure! Hoping that getting used to indoor plumbing wont be a problem. And today’s scenery shot:



My tent spot became very popular late in the day yesterday – many miles of ridges and not many places to camp. It was a big flat spot but on the very top of the ridge so very exposed and it was windy and cold!

Woke up to a cloudy, cold morning – I’m guessing in the high 30’s. Tough getting going when it’s that cold. Hiked all day in the clouds and wind. But got a little trail magic!. Took the Poodle Dog Bush detour which is on a closed park road. A couple of rangers in a pickup came by and asked if I wanted a lift. On a road? You bet! They took me 4 or 5 miles before turning off. Very nice. Road walking is boring (and potentially dangerous).

Hit two ranger stations today – good places to get water. And they tend to be very tolerant of PCT hikers.

Got to the second ranger station in the early afternoon and it was packed with cold hikers having lunch and getting water. Me, I plan to spend the night here. Picnic tables, pit toilet and water. Heaven!

And, finally, todays scenery shot. This is from about 6,000 feet looking north.