Tagged: pct

Wild Wilderness

o those whom suggest not hiking the PCT as a form of protest against trail markings, I think you’ve missed the point. If you wish to hike a trail that is fully marked and fully safe, go hike the AT or the Bay Area Ridge Trail. If you want to hike the PCT, famed for it’s “wilderness qualities”, then accept that maintaining that characteristic is a noble thing. We’ve paved and signed most of the world. I personally like that there are places in this world where you can walk long distances having to watch your step.

But! I didn’t know that Fuller Ridge and the section of trail in question was already marked. Knowing that, I would fully support raising those signs above the average snowpack. This just makes sense and we wouldn’t be losing anything that hadn’t already been lost. So, for this issue, I’m ok with temporarily flagging the trail while the push to raise the signs is underway. (EDIT: this entry was an email in response to this issue)

What troubles me is that the discussion of reducing trail risks can go too far. Already, people are talking in broad strokes about “dangerous sections”, not just Fuller Ridge. Should we put a bridge over every “dangerous” stream? A lightning rod or a hut on every pass? Water caches in the desert? (oh wait..) All of these things might seem very reasonable. But it’s a slippery slope. After we’ve taken care to mark Fuller Ridge, surely people will want to mark another new area. I REALLY don’t want to hike a trail that has a marker every 200 feet. Do we want someone to put wands up through the Sierra this year so that we can stay on trail? Forester has posed a particular risk to a wide variety of people. But I’d hate to see it fixed with ropes. If you want ropes, go climb Everest. Keep Forester Free.

This discussion has been going on for a long time in Wilderness Areas. What modifications should we allow to create safety in a backcountry setting? I think that the Wilderness Act strikes a decent balance. Trail blazes are discouraged, mechanical tools not allowed, huts taken down,… Risk is created again. Yet they still maintain trails and supply maps. It’s doable but not easy. Safe but still risky. I’m sure that many (most?) PCT hikers value wild wilderness. I’m hopeful that the PCTA does as well. I greatly appreciate all of the hardwork that goes in to maintaining the trail and helping out hikers. But there is still a limit. I wouldn’t want someone sweeping the trail before me, thank you very much.

My reasons for maintaining wildness on the PCT aren’t merely aesthetic. I genuinely think that we get more out of nature than a pretty picture.

That’s enough of this never ending debate for me. Let’s continue it on the trail someday.

 

A letter to Friends

Hey Friends!

As most of you know, I’m hiking 2600 miles from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail this year! While I’m away, sprouting my beard and working on my dirt tan, I’d LOVE to stay in touch. I leave home on April 26th and will start off from the border on the 27th. Hopefully I’ll be in Canada before October.
Primarily, I’m going to be in touch with my parents. So if you really need to contact me, give them a call in addition to e-mailing me. I’ll have a phone card and will probably be able to make calls to them once a week.
I’ll also have limited computer access at nice people’s houses and libraries. So, every once in a while I’ll be updating my online trail journal or sending out a mass e-mail. My town stops are sure to be hectic though so don’t get upset if I don’t respond to your e-mails right away. Likely another good way to keep track of me is to read other PCT hiker journals at trailjournals.com. Many PCT hikers can update their journals on the trail (I can’t) and my mention that they’re hiking with me or saw me somewhere. Be advised that I’ll probably be assigned a “trail name” and won’t be going by my given name.
For the next five months the US Postal Service will be a true lifeline for me. I’ll be stopping at post offices to pick up packages of equipment and food on a regular basis. If you’d like to send me a letter or a package, read how to on the attached letter. (attachments not included on trailjournal post)
Many of you have expressed the desire to see me on the trail. Why you’d want to pollute your nature stay with the stench of my BO is beyond me but I’ll still welcome the company. The PCT passes roads frequently and all of these would be suitable places to meet up. We could also see each other in one of the many towns along the way. If you’d like to hike a section of the trail with me we could do that too. If you’re interested in hiking more than half of the day though beware that you’ll have to at least keep up a reduced PCT hiker pace of 15+ miles per day. A rough guide of when I’ll be passing through where is on the mail drop list. The dates are for when I’ll be in town resupplying. There are a lot of other places that we could meet that aren’t on my list. If you’d like to smell me, pick an area or a time frame now and we’ll work something out. Then, a week or so beforehand I’ll call you and we’ll confirm an exact time and location.

 

The only powder to get high on falls from the sky

About a month ago, PCTers were in a blissful mood. Our start dates were coming within reach and the Sierra snowpack looked to be on the “lightish to normalish” side of things. But by now it’s been raining and snowing for pretty much a solid month and we’ve come to grips that this year’s snow will likely be on the “huge-ish” side of things. With a little more than a week before I head to the Southern California desert, it’s time to make my first set of snow decisions. I’m likely to hit snow after Idyllwild, after Wrightwood and after Kennedy Meadows. Idyllwild leads me onto Fuller Ridge. From what I hear, it’s not a good idea to go there without an ice ax and crampons when there’s a lot of now. It’s been hard to find good beta on it over the net though. The problem that I’m faced with is that Idyllwild is only 180 miles from Mexico and I’ll be there quickly (May 9th). So if I want my snow stuff there, I need to decide soon whether or not I want them sent to me. I can’t wait until my first real stop, Warner Springs, to call home for them because there won’t be enough time to get them before I leave for Fuller Ridge. I’m still going to wait until the last possible moment to call for them. I guess that means that I’ll make this decision at the Annual Day Zero PCT Kick Off (ADZPCTKO2006). I bet there will be someone there with good beta. Otherwise, I’m definitely carrying my ice ax and crampons from Kennedy Meadows north through the Sierra. I may also choose to have my snowshoes sent there but I’m highly unsure about that. I haven’t come across any (recent) past hikers that brought slow-shoes. But I have come across many of them that complained about some sort of “post hole hell”, as if there was ice in hell and the “god’s country” the Sierra Nevada was that hell. I don’t think John Muir snowshoed and that man barely ever had a negative word come from his pen.

Chatter

People ask lots of interesting questions when I reveal that I’m hiking Mexico to Canada. Some are totally unexpected. Some get repeated a lot. Perhaps the funniest comes from people clearly struggling mentally with such a walk. More than a couple of times I’ve been faced with disbelief. They ask, “Wow, how long will that take?” I respond unsurely with “Well, it depends how fast I walk… maybe five months?” Then they say “You can’t possibly carry all of that food.” Uhhhh, yeah. I can’t. But to humor them I tell them about my light base pack weight, my ability to hike far and plan well, and my strategy of rationing for two peanuts and one rasin a day. I say with that I’ll have to start with about 50 pounds of food. Next, roll the smile…..  I can’t wait to be on the trail goofing around full time! Funniest thing was the reaction of dibelief from a Patagonia employee yesterday. I was too confused to provide my usual retort.

One thing’s strange though. Some people seem really interested in my trip but some don’t seem to care at all. And I can’t figure beforehand who will care and who won’t. It’s not like outdoorsy, or liberal, or well traveled people are more interested. Sometimes they just seem to feign it. Then, a while ago I was talking to someone who I wouldn’t expect would care and he was facinated. Not that stereotyping matters but my friend was from the ghetto, a recent immigrant, and the type of guy that’s more interested in fast cars or football. Well, he asked the most interesting, thoughtful and extensive questions. So now I tend to nonchalantly slip it in that I’m about to walk across America (well, not really) in two weeks.

 

Endurance athelete I am not. Yet.

“Training” for me hasn’t been much. In fact, I’ve definitely slowed down in the past month! It seems that after moving back home to San Francisco I’ve lost a lot of motivation to hit the trails. When I was working and in school, I took every chance I had (at least every weekend) to get outdoors. Now I’m unemployed and vegetating. What gives? Well I’ve got a lot of excuses… But they’re just excuses. At least I’ve been getting out and going on urban walks. I don’t really know the milage of them but they’re probably 7-15 miles. It’s fun walking up and down SF hills and being able to people watch. I’m hoping to get a 70 mile trip in maybe next week so that my calves can at least remember what real hiking is before I hit the trail.