Tagged: thruhike

Idyllwild

Hello from Idyllwild!

I know I’m supposed to be hiking but town drew me in again. So far I’ve walked 180+ miles, stopped in five “towns”, eaten seven free meals provided by “trail angels”, and worn through 13 blisters.

Before the trail I must have tried on at least twenty pairs of shoes before finding one that fit well. I’ve got princess feet that are very picky about their slippers. Today, I tried on all five pairs of hiking shoes in town. Each and every one seemed like heaven compared with what I had on this morning. Funny thing is that I’d already tried on many of those same models and dismissed them as uncomfortable. But now my abused feet are happy in a new pair of Solomon’s and Superfeet. Pricy but that’s ok because I’m staying in the $3 campground instead of the $20 hotel. Sadly they probably just spell b-l-i-s-t-e-r-s in a new way. Who would have throught that a thru-hike would be hard on the feet?

The trail has been wonderful regardless. I love the sense of passing over the landscape, over mountains and basins, heading north. I’ve walked the hills of the border region, the Laguna Mountains, the San Felipe Hills, the mountains around Anza-Borego State Park, and a solid half of the San Jacinto Mountains (the first “real” mountains of the trip.) The trail seems to be pushing us all north, focusing on that border, the next town or milepoint. I feel this too but I’m trying hard to “be here now”. Here, always seems to be so worth it.

At the “Hiker’s Oasis” water cache register I was hiker number 130 something to pass through this season. At the time that seemed like a lot considering that I left early from the kick off and haven’t been particularly slow. Digesting it a little, I think that I’m still in the front middle of the pack.

Tomorrow, I’m off to summit San Jacinto and maybe do Fuller Ridge Then it’s on the Big Bear, Wrightwood and the real desert. ta-ta!

 

Near Julian

Just a quick note as Sleeping Beauty is outside watching my pack and I’m worried that he’ll fall asleap.

I camped on top of the Rodriguez Water Tank last night, a beautiful night filled with great converstation, with Haiku, Chance, and Morgan. The hike has been superb so far. My body has been feeling good even though I pushed myself a little with the 21 miles yesterday. BUT, I’ve got some serious blisters now and it’s taking some of the fun out of walking. I can’t wait for them to heel. I have blisters on both pinky toes, near my big toes and on my heel. OUCH! Don’t have much choice but to push on with them to Warner Springs and rest there. In a few minutes I’m going to hitch back to the trail and dry camp somewhere on the 20+ mile stretch to the next water.

Much Love,
Jack

This is the BIG morning

This is the BIG morning! I’m finally leaving! Dad and I are driving down to Campo and might end up sleeping behind the store. I am 100% ready to start this trip. The grandest thing I’ve ever attempted. I can’t wait to be immersed in nature and let it enter me. Already I can feel it when I take a deep breath and I haven’t even started yet.

Today, was spent shoring up odds and ends. Made some stuff sacks with my mom, tried to finish a great book, walked around the neighborhood, bought some new trail shorts, had dinner with family, finished off my gear sorting, cleaned and prepared the house for my departure and wrote tons of email and made lots of phone calls. To think, as of tomorrow I won’t be doing any of that!

I’m a little disappointed with my final pack weight. It’s about 18 pounds without food, fuel or water. I was aiming for 15 pounds but I added the GPS and lots of small things. Plus I have way too many clothes in my pack right now because I can’t decide what exactly I don’t want. I’m not sure if I want shorts or pants, long underwear or none, short sleeves or long. So I’ve got it all. I also have a heavy water filter that I will almost surely send home quickly. I rarely carry one but I don’t have a lot of background drinking desert water sources.

I’m really looking forward to meeting lots of great people at the Kick Off. I’m not sure that I’ll be up for such intense social interaction for the whole event plus the first few weeks on the trail but I’m certain that if I want some alone time I’ll be able to find it.

I wish that I had trained more too. It’s going to be a hard first few weeks on the trail and I hope that the anxiety about that is done with once I actually start walking. I don’t think that there is an inch of my body (or a joint, membrane, or organ) that I haven’t worried about failing me. I really believe though that this hike will be more about mental than physical fortitude. So if I keep positive and confident (acknowledging negative thoughts but not letting them control me) I should be fine. So if you see me on the trail and I’m smiling weirdly (which I almost always am, when I’m not, I have a look of consternation that doesn’t mean much), I’m either truly happy, or just trying to convince myself that I am 

Next update might not come for a few weeks. I’ll be keeping my primary journal on paper and it probably won’t be transcribed. I don’t have a pocketmail device for online publishing for a few reasons. I like the idea spending time away from computers and the internet and I didn’t want to buy even more gear. I still really like trailjournals though so I’ll try to update when there are public computers around.

Time to go to bed filled with a sense of love and adventure. Bye!

 

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.

 

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.