Mileage: 4
Miles: 106-110
Eagle rock.....America!
Conversations with cute cows on a curved crossing of a creek.
Laundry machine broke, told and heard some jokes, ate breakfast and didn't choke!
Reunion with friends, ecstatic clash. No time to spend, see them at the bash!
Atlas at the wheel, the drive was a big deal, that fast paced travel feel, slow pace is much more real.
Festie vibes at the old campground, milkshakes and fries with the get down. Drinkin those fine whiskey spirits, high times can you feel it?
Movie night on Tyvek tarps, early bedtime when the rain starts. All night down pour and wind storm. Stake pulls and frustration screams, storms make for weird dreams.
Weather: sunny then shitty at night.
Soundtrack: tribe called quest and the Beatles
Got our first box!!!! It's like Christmas!
Reunited with our besties
Kick off party dinner
(Boombox)
4/26/14
Milage: ZERO
we are having a great time at the Kick off party in lake Morena! The weather has been less than desirable, windy and rainy! (THANK YOU ABBY for sending us our rain gear early!!!). Hundreds of hikers and trail angels who are all like minded, get together to support each other and get the stoke up for the PCT.
We have met so many amazing people that are so generous and friendly. We have already formed a little hiking crew that we love!
Heading back to warner springs tomorrow to continue on the trail.... Thank goodness! We've been a little antsy and really just want to start hiking again
Weather: cloudy, rainy, windy
Wildlife: hiker trash ( dirty, smelly hikers)
Food: free kick off party food- bagels, cake and burgers!
Blisters: healing
4/27/14
Mileage: 10
Miles: 110-120
We are finally back on the trail! We only took one zero and it felt like FOREVER! The kickoff party was fun, but we definitely could have left a day earlier. We got a ride back to Warner Springs bright and early with Atlas and had another one of the Community Resource Center's $5 hiker breakfasts: sausage, eggs, pancakes, and OJ. Amy and I took a frigid shower and organized our stuff for the trail.
I took care of some logistics and gear buying online while Amy caught up with friends on the phone. We said our good-byes to Sunshine and Vibes once again and hit the trail. Taking a day off really through us off! We only went 10 miles, but it felt like a long hike. We were groggy and slow the whole way, but the trail and views were beautiful. The trail meandered up Aguas Calientes Creek where we met some hiker trash lounging next to the cool waters.
After a short climb out of the drainage and up onto a ridge we found our campsite and loaded up on water before starting camp set up. The spring was a little ways off trail and was in a beautiful shady part of the hillside. We prepped dinner and did some yoga while our food rehydrated. Tonight was our first meal from our box!!! It was so delicious! All of our food so far from our box has not disappointed us.
Some thru hikers camped with us on our little point over looking the rocky valley below. I got my first 3 interviews from Max, Ian, and Ben while we shared whiskey and gazed over the valley we hiked through just a few days before. We have been hearing a lot of comments from other hikers that the trail is full of Oregon folk, yet we have only met a few so far. Ian and Ben are from the Portland area and it was lovely getting to know them.
We called it a night around hiker midnight (9 pm) and chatted about our plan for the next day. Just before we fell asleep Amy and I got nervous about some ominous looking cloud coverage so we pitched our tent before dozing off to a wonderful sleep. The tent turned out to be unnecessary, but gave me a little extra warmth since my pad had a hole that I couldn't patch in the cold. Cheers to the trail and FREEDOM!
Weather: Sunny! Slightly windy
Wildlife: a Red Shouldered Hawk attacked a nest of some sort. The smaller birds fled as the parents attacked the bigger bird. We never saw the outcome.
Soundtrack: flaming lips
Food: chicken stew with brown rice! YUMMAY!
Discomforts: my left big toe.....feels like what gout sounds like DAD!!!! Amy has pinky toe blisters!!
(Boombox)
4/28/14
Milage: 17
Miles:120-137
Our normal routine:
Wake up around six.
Change clothes and get dressed. Really hard to do when I only have two options...
Pack up and load backpack.
Eat a snack
Hit the trail for about 4-5 miles
Stop to make breakfast and have coffee.
Hike. And stop about every 6 miles to change socks and air out feet.
Have lunch and snacks whenever.
Get to next water source and find camping spot
Do yoga
Wash up
Make dinner
Get into bed around 845
That's what today was like. Except we stopped at a trail angels house which was so nice! Little oasis with shade, water and a hiker box with goodies.
We are soooo happy to have our own dehydrated meals!!! Breakfast gave us so much energy and for dinner we had spaghetti with Seth's homemade sauce... DELISH!
Ps- Seth is the best person to be on this journey with. He has so much to share about the wildlife, plants and pretty much everything in the wilderness. It's like I have my own guide, all the time! I'm lucky!
Weather: sunny and hot
Soundtrack: phish.
Food: spaghetti!!
Blisters: me-hurting Seth- none.
4/29/14
Mileage: 14
Miles: 137-151
At 1 am I was awakened by Glitter Bug asking me if there was something wrong with her face. The restless night was already full of annoying bugs and sweeping winds that kept me up for a lot of the time and when G Bug asked me that question my mind immediately went to dark thoughts. I turned my headlamp on and was shocked to see that my girlfriend had been replaced by a monster!! Once I realized that It was in fact Glitter Bug and that she wasn't going into anafilactic shock, we both had ourselves a mighty chuckle over her swollen lip and puffy eyes. Apparently mosquito bites on Glitter Bug's lip=deformation of face!
Packing up camp went smoothly after eating half our breakfast and drinking half our coffee. We got 5 miles down the trail before stopping for the rest of our delicious breakfast. We are so grateful for all of the hard work we put into the planning of our food so far! We love our meals and all the nutrition and energy they supply.
Our intentions for the day were to bust out 14 miles before 3 in order to make it to Paradise Cafe for lunch before they closed. After our breakfast break we didn't stop for rest until we reached the highway that lead to the cafe. We learned a valuable lesson with rushing to get to the cafe. We were in need of a couple breaks throughout the hike, but we skipped them in order to make good time. The food turned out to be pretty shitty and not worth the rush or the expensive bill.
The hitch into Idyllwild was very easy and we got a ride from a lovely couple that told us of the dos and don'ts in town. After we had some fair trade organic coffee at the coffee shop, we set up camp at the state park for $3, took showers, and went into town for pizza with all the hiker trash! The pizza place was like a thru-hiker celebration. Great pizza, good beer, and a dance party with the jammy pack in the middle of the main street to top the night off. We love this town!!!
Weather: windy and sunny (when will these high winds fuck off?!?)
Soundtrack: Beyoncé(her cheesy old-school nasty R&B stuff), Arcade Fire, Yeasayer (perfect)
4/30/14
Milage: ZERO
Miles: idyllwild
We planned to leave town this morning but we were told there was a weather warning for 65mph wind with 90mph gusts so after many conversations and hesitation, we decided to stay in town. We split a room at the Silver Pines with our friends Nevada and Amelia. It worked out perfect.
Idyllwild is a really great town that is super friendly to hikers. Every place we went had a hiker discount, it was wonderful.
Sunshine and Lostnfound (aka: vibes) joined us for breakfast at the Red kettle which was delicious. I feel like I have eaten more since starting this hike two weeks ago than I usually do in a month.
The wind was pretty crazy in town but it was tolerable. Since most of the hikers decided to stay in town an extra day, there were hikers everywhere. We had a great time with Nevada, Amelia, fish and Owen at dinner and then Fish, Boombox and I decided to go on an adventure....
We were invited to use a hottub at someone's guest house so we took the jammy pack and went on a nice walk to find the place up in the hills. The property was unbelievable! we soaked for an hour or so, It was amaazzzingggg!!!
On a heavier note-- we found out one of our trail friends is in the ICU with sepsis. She must have gotten it from her really bad blisters that never healed. We are wishing her the best and hope she gets well soon. This trail is proving to test some people and it has been tragic... It makes me grateful for my strength and health as well as the health of all the other hikers!
Excited to get back on the trail tomorrow!
Weather: windy. Sunny.
Music: Dawes
Food: breakfast at red kettle, FRESH veggies, pizza
Discomforts: NOTHING! Feelin gooood
5/1/14
Mileage: 16
Miles: 179-187 (plus the loop to San Jacinto peak)
BE THE MOUNTAIN!! Instead of identifying as the single seperate self, identify as the eternal being of the mountain that is yourself! The only climb that exists, is the climb within yourself to the peak of realization! Once identified with the eternal self, you are only climbing within yourself.
The coffe was wonderful and the farewells warm on the morning we left Idyllwild. Sunshine, Amelia, Nevada, and Lost 'n' Found decided to take their time getting out of town so Glitter Bug, Fish and I got a lift to the trail from the owner of the hotel. Because of a closure on the trail after the Paradise Cafe, we had to skip about 30 miles of the PCT and start at the Devil's Slide trailhead outside of Idyllwild.
We decided to take a detour from the trail and summit San Jacinto Peak. The hike was amazing. We climbed from 2000 ft to over ten in just a few hours. It was one of the few times I have strongly felt the affects of being at high altitude. My thoughts and coordination were slowed way down by the time I was at the peak. The three of us had an amazing lunch at the old rock cabin shelter just before the peak. The summit views were quite spectacular with panoramic views of the desert 10,000 feet below us.
Chats with fish and glitter bug were great all day. The San Jacinto Wilderness was a stark contrast to the lower elevations we have been traveling through lately. We hiked through granite laden pine forests that reminded Glitter Bug and I of the Idaho Wilderness. After descending from the peak, we gathered water from a beautiful creek and found camp on the ridge before the trail descends down to the desert floor.
After a "value session" where each of us shared something we like about ourselves, something we don't like about ourselves, and a gratitude for the day, we snuggled up under the stars and fall fast to sleep. The wind came back to haunt us again and gave me super wierd dreams of tragic events. Can't wait for another day on the trail!
Weather: sunny and beautiful
Music: the decemberists
No comments:
Post a Comment