This'll be a short a post, because not much has happened since i left the Williams at Honker Pass. I've still been hiking with Train and Sunseeker, and we survived the drop-in and climb-out of Belden, which is not really a town so much as a trailer park with a bar(with karaoke). On the positive side we did cruise through the half-way point for the whole trail the following day.
Since Honker Pass we've been in a bigger group of about 10 people always within a few hours of each other. Tuesday night we were all at Drakesbad Ranch, which is a hot springs and horse riding ranch in the Lassen Volcanic NP right on the trail. We were treated with halfprice food and free showers and laundry and use of the hot springs pool because the owner is very enthusiastic about the PCT. Last night we all made it in to Old Station where we're staying the Hietmans Hiker Hideaway, trail angels who fed us and housed us. Dennis H is a solid guy, he used to do sound for the Filmore theater in the 60s and 70s, so i talked to him at length about what it was like to work closely with the Allman Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, The Stones, Sly and the Fam, Grateful Dead ect. Just awesome.
We're staring at a 30 miles waterless desert stretch upon leaving here and i believe were gonna night hike it out this evening or afternoon to avoid the brutal sun. After this though should end the PCT desert experience. I'm several days ahead of schedule, because we've been moving at a good pace... but my left Achilles has began acting up over the last day or two, i'm hoping nothing comes of it... We'll see. I should be in Burney Falls state park by Saturday, which is supposed to be a hiker highlight.
Mail? Absolutely! ha
General Delivery
Hold for PCT Hiker James Church
Ashland, Oregon 97520
should be there in 2 weeks.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Oh Oh, Its Trail Magic, you know...
"Trail Magic" is a very broad term used out here on the trail that pretty much describes anything good that happens unexpectly out here. In more practical terms, most hikers refer to trail magic as free stuff at trail heads or major road crossings, i.e. rides/water/food/alcohol. Northern California is a more remote area of the trail but has a surprising amount of trail angels. Over the last few days its been raining trail magic for myself and my current hking partners Sunseeker and Train.
Upon arriving at the grocery store in Trukee, sunseeker and I met Train and an ATer called "Hollywood" who was just hangin out in Trukee on his days off (he works at a campground in the area). Well wouldnt you know , if he wasnt just so excited for us and our adventure, that he wanted to give us a ride back to the trailhead... but after he bought us lunch... and drinks... and a quick trip to *cough* Reno *cough*. Needless to say it turned into a night of free food and lodging and delayed day back on the trail. But he finally did get us back and we proceeded to knock out back to back 30s. The Red Moose the next day in Sierra City provided discounted meals and free showers to hikers. Two days ago we ran into a hiker named Fuzzy Monkey, and it just happened that his mom and aunt were visiting for the week and at a road crossing they had ice cold cokes, fresh fruit and homemade cookies, needless to say we made arrangements to cross paths with them yesterday as well.
Finally that brings me to where i'm at right now, The Williams in Bucks Lake. Little known trail angels, who had a sign posted on the trail two miles from where we had plan to make camp. So they picked up the 3 of us and brought us to their cabin 2 miles off trail and provided showers, laundry and internet. There are currently 9 of us here. Dinner last night included CHICKEN TETRAZINI!, beef stroganoff, afgan lamb, pork ribs and vingerette salad. This morning they have a breakfast buffet set up with all the classics. After this they're taking back to the trail head and we're gonan attempt another big day to make it into Belden.
So i'm fresh and so clean clean and have a full belly and ready for another solid day of hiking, but i'm not looking forward to the free fall into Belden which drops 4000 feet over 6 miles. My knees hate me on big downhills, and this is the biggest drop on the entire trail. fact.
Upon arriving at the grocery store in Trukee, sunseeker and I met Train and an ATer called "Hollywood" who was just hangin out in Trukee on his days off (he works at a campground in the area). Well wouldnt you know , if he wasnt just so excited for us and our adventure, that he wanted to give us a ride back to the trailhead... but after he bought us lunch... and drinks... and a quick trip to *cough* Reno *cough*. Needless to say it turned into a night of free food and lodging and delayed day back on the trail. But he finally did get us back and we proceeded to knock out back to back 30s. The Red Moose the next day in Sierra City provided discounted meals and free showers to hikers. Two days ago we ran into a hiker named Fuzzy Monkey, and it just happened that his mom and aunt were visiting for the week and at a road crossing they had ice cold cokes, fresh fruit and homemade cookies, needless to say we made arrangements to cross paths with them yesterday as well.
Finally that brings me to where i'm at right now, The Williams in Bucks Lake. Little known trail angels, who had a sign posted on the trail two miles from where we had plan to make camp. So they picked up the 3 of us and brought us to their cabin 2 miles off trail and provided showers, laundry and internet. There are currently 9 of us here. Dinner last night included CHICKEN TETRAZINI!, beef stroganoff, afgan lamb, pork ribs and vingerette salad. This morning they have a breakfast buffet set up with all the classics. After this they're taking back to the trail head and we're gonan attempt another big day to make it into Belden.
So i'm fresh and so clean clean and have a full belly and ready for another solid day of hiking, but i'm not looking forward to the free fall into Belden which drops 4000 feet over 6 miles. My knees hate me on big downhills, and this is the biggest drop on the entire trail. fact.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Soylant Green is People!
Well I made it to Donner Pass (made my famous by the people-eating Donner Party) just north of Lake Tahoe. The 3 1/2 days from echo lakes was a gorgeous section minus the hoards of weekenders and day hikers. This section has the highest volume of non-thru hikers on the whole trail, due to the proximity of Lake Tahoe. The mosquitoes have been horrendous at times, but the views from the ridges have made it all worth it. I've been hiking still with Mule and a guy named Sunseeker, a good ol' boy from the the boonies outside of Pittsburgh. Hes been on a trail since last October, hiking south on the AT and then doing the 13oo miles Florida Trail before hoping over to the PCT. Another highlight of the past few days was meeting the most famous PCT hiker, Billygoat. Hes around 80 years old and has an awesome Rip Van Winkle look going on as well a resume that has boast over 50,000 trail miles all over the world under his belt.
Mule has jumped north to hike Oregon, so right now its just Sunseeker and I. We're staying with a trail angel in Trukee named Triple H, a thru-hiker from last year who has a little house on Donner Lake that reminds me much of the Bluth House, where I lived my two last glorious years in college. He shares the house with three other roommates who're all ski bums in the winter time. Tomorrow I can pick up my bounce box and a couple of packages at the post office, resupply at the grocery store and hopefully be back on the trail by noon.
I received a voice-mail from Nick and Chris, our two British hiking friends yesterday and they're unfortunately about two weeks behind me at this point so unless I slow down considerably or they speed up, it looks like i probably wont see them again on the trail.
I want to thank my Mom, Sister and Grandparents who all sent me mail at Echo Lakes. Its always a morale boost receiving mail of any sort, so I really appreciate it. Brandon should be starting his job tomorrow and if everything goes according to plan, hopefully will return to the trail by this time next month. I should be hitting the Oregon border around that time.
My Next two mail drop locations are Belden , CA and Old Station, CA. I should be getting into Belden by next Monday or Tuesday (26th, 27th) and then Old Station by the following Monday (August 2nd). Like I said, mail drops are always appreciated and anything high in calories and fat is good trail food. The only thing to keep in mind is total weight of the package. My parents sent me a great box, but the food weighed 7 lbs, which is a little hard to add the weight to my pack. Until next time, thanks for reading.
General Delivery
Hold for PCT Hiker James Church
Belden, CA 95915
or
Old Station, CA 96071
Mule has jumped north to hike Oregon, so right now its just Sunseeker and I. We're staying with a trail angel in Trukee named Triple H, a thru-hiker from last year who has a little house on Donner Lake that reminds me much of the Bluth House, where I lived my two last glorious years in college. He shares the house with three other roommates who're all ski bums in the winter time. Tomorrow I can pick up my bounce box and a couple of packages at the post office, resupply at the grocery store and hopefully be back on the trail by noon.
I received a voice-mail from Nick and Chris, our two British hiking friends yesterday and they're unfortunately about two weeks behind me at this point so unless I slow down considerably or they speed up, it looks like i probably wont see them again on the trail.
I want to thank my Mom, Sister and Grandparents who all sent me mail at Echo Lakes. Its always a morale boost receiving mail of any sort, so I really appreciate it. Brandon should be starting his job tomorrow and if everything goes according to plan, hopefully will return to the trail by this time next month. I should be hitting the Oregon border around that time.
My Next two mail drop locations are Belden , CA and Old Station, CA. I should be getting into Belden by next Monday or Tuesday (26th, 27th) and then Old Station by the following Monday (August 2nd). Like I said, mail drops are always appreciated and anything high in calories and fat is good trail food. The only thing to keep in mind is total weight of the package. My parents sent me a great box, but the food weighed 7 lbs, which is a little hard to add the weight to my pack. Until next time, thanks for reading.
General Delivery
Hold for PCT Hiker James Church
Belden, CA 95915
or
Old Station, CA 96071
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Back to Echo
75 miles in 3.5 days isn't a bad haul. Getting a hitch out of Bridgeport proved to be difficult. A hiker named "Mule" and I managed to get back tot he trail and have been hiking together for the past few days. He's 22 and goes to Michigan. Hes fun to hike with but hes jumping north next week to hike Oregon before he has to return to school.
The landscape since Sonora Pass has been somewhat of a letdown after the beauty of Yosemite. The mountains just aren't as spectacular and often time the loose rock reminds me (not fondly) of the desert. The streams aren't as clear and my water purifier has run out of batteries, fingers crossed for no disease. Rand Lake and Jeff Davis Peak were the most spectacular portion of this section.
I've got 60 miles to go to get to Truckee and Donner Pass. Apparently there's a good trail angel to stay with there.
PS - Here is a new trail hat I picked up in Bridgeport. (Queue a Kid Rock song...)
Friday, July 9, 2010
Ridin' Solo!
I'm currently in Bridgeport at a library. I havnt had cell service to send brandon my blogs, so i will update them all right now...
Day 1
Heading out of Tuolomne Meadows alone was like the first day of a new school. I was excited and apprehensvie but ready to take on the challenege of hiking by myself. I kicked it into high gear to start, doing about 12 miles in 4 hours, stopping only briefly to Deet up against a hoard of mosquitos. The second half of my day was slowed considerably by 3 river fords and one brutal climb. I made it to Miller Lake about 20 miles in (which was my goal) and made camp with Mr Mountain Goat, and Australian thru-hiker. He is a pretty solid guy and a legit hiker.
Day 2
This section of the PCT is marked by steep canyons which makes for a very strenuous climbs and knee knocking drops. While I am hiking by myself, I am not alone out here. At Benson Pass (10,500 elev.) there was a log jam of PCTers, 9 of us at one point were up top taking in the view. Today got a littler out of hand with all the creek fords and a massive Hail T-Storm that chased me down a mounatain where I called it an early day to wait the strom out. I was camped with the Flying Kiwis (Kiwi and Doug). Everything got pretty wet in the storm, in hindsight i probably shouldnt have tried to set my tent up in the hail and rain. Tomorrow starts with one of the 'worst climbs of the trail' according to a previous hiker.
Day3
What a day! 3 Passes and 5 deep fords, an dafternoon thunderstorm once again cut my day short, but i was able to camp with the Kiwis again, they're good guys. Took my first bath in a creek after the storm, it was frigid but refreshing. Sad news: I left my braves bandana by a creek, hoping for some 'trail magic' to get it back.
Day4
Finally out of the steep canyons, and consequently done with Yosemite NP. There were only 2 fords today, and i have still yet to bust my ass, so good for me. I also barehanded a trout out of a lake flood plane. If our british pals were around, they'd of eaten it, I threw back. Camped with the Flying Kiwis again
Day 5
Today was short but eventful. The Kiwis and I made it up and over the Sierra Crest and down into Sonora Pass. We've left the white granite mountains of yosemite behind and are now in black volcanic peaks. The snow going up was pretty solid, the ice axe saved my butt once. ANd on the way down we glisaded(skiing, kinda) on our butts down about a 250 foot snow sheet. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. I had intended on going all the way to Ebbets Pass (extra 30 miles) by sunday morn, but since i havnt had cell service, i thought it wise to stick to plans i told Brandon. So here I am. The Kiwis are taking a week off in San Fran. I hope to see them again.
I just wanted to say thanks to everybody for encouraging me along. And thanks to those 'Brandon' readers that are still keeping up with me while he is off the trail temporairly. I'm hoping to resupply this afternoon and hitch back to the trail, that coud be tough though. we'll see...
Day 1
Heading out of Tuolomne Meadows alone was like the first day of a new school. I was excited and apprehensvie but ready to take on the challenege of hiking by myself. I kicked it into high gear to start, doing about 12 miles in 4 hours, stopping only briefly to Deet up against a hoard of mosquitos. The second half of my day was slowed considerably by 3 river fords and one brutal climb. I made it to Miller Lake about 20 miles in (which was my goal) and made camp with Mr Mountain Goat, and Australian thru-hiker. He is a pretty solid guy and a legit hiker.
Day 2
This section of the PCT is marked by steep canyons which makes for a very strenuous climbs and knee knocking drops. While I am hiking by myself, I am not alone out here. At Benson Pass (10,500 elev.) there was a log jam of PCTers, 9 of us at one point were up top taking in the view. Today got a littler out of hand with all the creek fords and a massive Hail T-Storm that chased me down a mounatain where I called it an early day to wait the strom out. I was camped with the Flying Kiwis (Kiwi and Doug). Everything got pretty wet in the storm, in hindsight i probably shouldnt have tried to set my tent up in the hail and rain. Tomorrow starts with one of the 'worst climbs of the trail' according to a previous hiker.
Day3
What a day! 3 Passes and 5 deep fords, an dafternoon thunderstorm once again cut my day short, but i was able to camp with the Kiwis again, they're good guys. Took my first bath in a creek after the storm, it was frigid but refreshing. Sad news: I left my braves bandana by a creek, hoping for some 'trail magic' to get it back.
Day4
Finally out of the steep canyons, and consequently done with Yosemite NP. There were only 2 fords today, and i have still yet to bust my ass, so good for me. I also barehanded a trout out of a lake flood plane. If our british pals were around, they'd of eaten it, I threw back. Camped with the Flying Kiwis again
Day 5
Today was short but eventful. The Kiwis and I made it up and over the Sierra Crest and down into Sonora Pass. We've left the white granite mountains of yosemite behind and are now in black volcanic peaks. The snow going up was pretty solid, the ice axe saved my butt once. ANd on the way down we glisaded(skiing, kinda) on our butts down about a 250 foot snow sheet. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. I had intended on going all the way to Ebbets Pass (extra 30 miles) by sunday morn, but since i havnt had cell service, i thought it wise to stick to plans i told Brandon. So here I am. The Kiwis are taking a week off in San Fran. I hope to see them again.
I just wanted to say thanks to everybody for encouraging me along. And thanks to those 'Brandon' readers that are still keeping up with me while he is off the trail temporairly. I'm hoping to resupply this afternoon and hitch back to the trail, that coud be tough though. we'll see...
Monday, July 5, 2010
Physically Impacting Fiscally
Happy Belated Birthday, Murica.
Over the past 45 days, Caleb and I have dealt with a variety of issues directly related with the tendons in my right foot, which were a direct result of my introduction to serious hiking. While that was our main concentration, about a week ago we made a terrible mistake and looked at our respective bank accounts. The physical toll has significantly impacted the fiscal toll of what our trail budget. Fortunately, for Caleb, while he has spent more than he should have, he still has a budget to finish the trip. At this point, for me, I have the choice of either running out of funds in early August, or taking off the month of July to work (for $$) and finish the trip with Caleb, rejoining him near Redding, CA or the Oregon border.
It's not an easy decision, but as we discussed, we want to cross the border, and a month to fiscally recover equals two months of hiking.
I'll be added to the list of folks who worry about Caleb during the month of July. This should not be mistaken that I don't think he is capable, in fact, he is more than capable. Keep in mind, it is I who has been learning the most on this trip.
Caleb and I had always planned to meet back up with our two British pals, Chris and Nick. Caleb has assured me that is still his plan. In the meantime, he will be meeting up with two other hikers we spent our last week or so hanging out with on the trail. He has their contact information. There was many hikers coming through the area where Caleb is currently at. We had moved from the back of the pack to the very front, and so while waiting there is a steady stream of hikers that should be joining him.
His itinerary is as follows:
HOLD PCT THRU HIKER JAMES CHURCH
General Delivery
Echo Lakes, CA 95721
I've also enticed him to write more blog posts in exchange for the standings in the NL east via text message. I will be sure and keep folks up to speed on his whereabouts and plans. The good news is that he is familiar with the area he is hiking through over the next few weeks. The bad news is that he is aware there will be lots of snow melt, soggy trails, and wet shoes. If you know Caleb, you know that he hates when his feet are wet. At least Julia brought him his boots.
-Brandon
Over the past 45 days, Caleb and I have dealt with a variety of issues directly related with the tendons in my right foot, which were a direct result of my introduction to serious hiking. While that was our main concentration, about a week ago we made a terrible mistake and looked at our respective bank accounts. The physical toll has significantly impacted the fiscal toll of what our trail budget. Fortunately, for Caleb, while he has spent more than he should have, he still has a budget to finish the trip. At this point, for me, I have the choice of either running out of funds in early August, or taking off the month of July to work (for $$) and finish the trip with Caleb, rejoining him near Redding, CA or the Oregon border.
It's not an easy decision, but as we discussed, we want to cross the border, and a month to fiscally recover equals two months of hiking.
I'll be added to the list of folks who worry about Caleb during the month of July. This should not be mistaken that I don't think he is capable, in fact, he is more than capable. Keep in mind, it is I who has been learning the most on this trip.
Caleb and I had always planned to meet back up with our two British pals, Chris and Nick. Caleb has assured me that is still his plan. In the meantime, he will be meeting up with two other hikers we spent our last week or so hanging out with on the trail. He has their contact information. There was many hikers coming through the area where Caleb is currently at. We had moved from the back of the pack to the very front, and so while waiting there is a steady stream of hikers that should be joining him.
His itinerary is as follows:
- Hike from Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass (75 miles)
- Resupply in Bridgeport, CA
- Hike from Sonora Pass to Echo Lakes
- Arrive in Echo Lakes for Resupply on July 14th.
(Note: Any packages sent to Echo Lakes should be mailed by July 10th)
HOLD PCT THRU HIKER JAMES CHURCH
General Delivery
Echo Lakes, CA 95721
I've also enticed him to write more blog posts in exchange for the standings in the NL east via text message. I will be sure and keep folks up to speed on his whereabouts and plans. The good news is that he is familiar with the area he is hiking through over the next few weeks. The bad news is that he is aware there will be lots of snow melt, soggy trails, and wet shoes. If you know Caleb, you know that he hates when his feet are wet. At least Julia brought him his boots.
-Brandon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
