Category: 2019 Pacific Crest Trail

We set the alarm for 6:30 so we would be ready to leave when Ivy and Wolf were ready. I even got up at 6:10 ahead of schedule to pee and I started the coffee then, a full 20 minutes early. I know Bunny was awake because I knocked the boiling pot over and almost set the tent on fire. I gave myself a reward and reset the alarm for 6:45 thinking I’d tell Bunny it was 7 to hurry her up. When the alarm went off, she screamed “snooze!” What could I do? 9 minutes later the same thing. We ended up having breakfast at 7:30. 

Wolf had already left to get a jump on the nearly 2000’ climb right off the bat. Ivy stuck around and finished her breakfast while we packed up. The last thing we did was fill up our water bottles for the day from the available cache. As we were filling, a vehicle drove up. I had the intention of trying to get this person to take our garbage—after 6 days, it had grown to well over a pound. The person turned out to be Devilfish, the angel who provides the water here. He actually lives in DC and comes out for a couple of months every year to help hikers. He thru-hiked the PCT in 2013 and this is his way of paying it back. 

Ivy was first up the trail. I knew we wouldn’t see her again until we made it to our destination. I was wrong, though. There was a trail register she stopped to sign where we caught up with her. She put her ear buds in and disappeared immediately after. The only evidence we had of her the rest of the day was an occasional foot print sighting. 

Today was no different that any other. A 2000’ climb out of the box and a tight calved Bunny equals a 5 minute routine of starts and stops. I would make sure to keep her in my sight at all times but I went on ahead. Every few minutes, I let her catch up. She insisted upon leading because I wouldn’t be able to hear her if she screamed or fell. I discovered an important safety tip for all who follow Bunny (or rather had an olfactory refresher). If Bunny slows down gradually, she is taking a rest stop to catch her breath. If Bunny stops abruptly, turn and run or pray for high winds. She is arming her B1 Bomber and is about to carpet bomb the immediate area. After the release, she laughs like Snidely Whiplash then continues on as if nothing has happened. 

As we neared the top of the climb, somewhere near 6800’, the terrain turned from desert back to alpine forest. The rest of the day we were walking in pines which helped overpower the chemical warfare games Bunny and I were playing on each other. The entire day, we saw no one else on the trail. We did hear dirt bikes and four-wheelers as this section of trail passes through a large off-road park that CA maintains. 

The high point for us today was that we almost crossed the 7000’ elevation. I kept looking off into the desert and thinking about the strange lights I saw last night when it finally hit me. We are above the China Lake Naval Weapons Center. I first heard about this in college when I was interviewing with defense contractors and I was told I would probably spend some time here. Instead, I chose the road less travelled and ended up working for a subcontractor to the Department of Energy where I had the safer job of building nuclear weapons. 

The final two miles were on one of the off-road tracks running along the ridge. This was the worst part of the day. If we’re on trail, the trail is flat from side to side and has a soft track. The road bed was washed out and uneven which made for rough walking. 

The cabin we were planning on staying in tonight is just 1/4 mile off trail. I could see from the footprints that Ivy had caught up with Wolf and passed him a couple miles before the cabin. When we got there, I was worried because I saw their tents set up. I thought we were going to stay in the cabin tonight. I saw Wolf and asked him what was happening. He said the cabin was a bit “rough.” 

Bunny and I have slept in some real dumps over the years so I wasn’t fazed. Especially in France on the GR10, the cabins were pretty bad and mouse infested, yet we stayed in them. I dropped my pack and before I’d even stepped inside I asked Bunny if she had found us a tent spot. If it were raining or miserable weather, I’d stay inside, but not if it’s just cold out (like tonight will be). It does have a wood burning “stove” but from there it’s all downhill. Dirt floors with foam pads to sleep on screamed “bedbugs”. There was also some food organized on 3 shelves: top shelf—not expired; middle shelf—expired less than 2 years; bottom shelf—is there a botulism vaccine?

We set up our tent then we all joined together to have supper on the porch. The water source is excellent here and we have level camping spots in trees. As a bonus, there is a pit latrine of questionable cleanliness, but not digging a hole and not squatting are worthwhile benefits to the side trip. We had hot tea, ate, and talked until it got so cold we all had to retire to our tents. I do believe we are becoming night owls. This is the latest we’ve stayed up together in the almost 300 miles we’ve hiked together. It was 630 before Bunny and I got in our tent. 

EFG

The winds were pretty bad last night. I need to analyze Bunny’s diet a bit more. The winds were also bad outside of the tent. Ivy’s tent actually got blown down twice…we didn’t find this out until morning until we could no longer offer assistance. We just assumed that she had left one of her vestibule doors open like she has been known to do in the past. We knew Wolf’s tent didn’t get blown down because there was never an interruption in his snoring. I’m used to Bunny’s snoring so remote noise goes unnoticed unless a hear a tent blowing in the wind. 

Since we had a short day planned, Ivy and Wolf took their time getting ready. We hurried to try to keep pace with them. They slacked off and were ready to leave at 8:30. We rushed and were ready to leave at 8:30. Perhaps this might be part of the reason we get to camp so much later than they do every day. 

We all left at the same time for a change with Ivy out front. By the time we reached the top of the first incline, we were already 30 seconds behind (I picked a shadow as she passed and timed how long it took me to pass that same point). As Ivy rounded the first turn on the trail we were already 5 minutes behind (and we had only been walking 10 minutes). By the time she crossed the first road, they were out of sight completely. Bunny said she was hot and had to take off her rain coat (the 5 minute drill begins yet again). This might be the rest of the reason we get to camp so much later than they do every day. 

When we got to the road crossing, a group of off-roaders pulled up. One guy jumped out of his vehicle and asked if we were hiking the PCT. When I said we were, that led to a conversation about choices. He admitted he was homeless and unemployed. I said we were, too. He and his wife had sold all of their property and were trying to decide where to move to to live now that he was done working…20 minutes later, we said goodbye. This might be another reason we get to camp so much later than they do every day. 

At the next road crossing, there was a small cache of water. There was less than a gallon left, but I was thirsty beyond belief. We’d only walked about 3 miles, but I had used all of my water to make Bunny coffee in bed. She had less than 1/2 liter of water left and said we had to conserve it, meaning, we can only drink if SHE is thirsty. She seemed a bit put off that I wanted to stop and drink a quart of water, but she acquiesced if I would let her eat a bag of nuts. We ended up taking about a 15 minute break here, possibly adding to the time lag between us and Ivy and Wolf. It’s a good thing it’s a short day. 

Now we started making time. We had one big climb today and we pushed right on through it without stopping, much. We did stop in the shade a few times and admire the views while Bunny caught her breath, but I’m sure this didn’t add to our time gap, much. Then I spied an orange shirt in the trail coming towards us. I thought it might be Wolf. Maybe he had dropped something. I zoomed in to see that it was a woman hiking towards us with an ice axe. This concerned me for one of two possible reasons: 1) were we going to need an ice axe to make it over the 7,000’ Mountain we have to climb tomorrow? or 2) Was she going to use it as a weapon and swing for my jugular as we approached? I waited for Bunny to catch up. 

With Bunny close behind me (to be a witness to the carnage) we hiked on to where the unknown hikers had stopped, lying in wait, only to find she had an accomplice. As we got nearer, the dastardly duo started looking a bit familiar. Once we got to them, we recognized Warren and Diane who had talked us into taking a double zero in Warren Springs and then took off a day early. They got off at Mike’s Place because of the weather. They were having lunch so we stopped and talked with them for a while. After a week at home, they knocked themselves in the head and said “why didn’t we just go to Walker Pass and head south?” So here they were. Dare I say, another possible addition to the delay. 

After about 10 minutes of Bunny stabbing my calves with her hiking poles, I got the inclination that she was ready to move on. Warren was carrying 6 liters of water and was going to dump out some when we told him about water ahead. I downed what water I had and accepted a liter from him, further annoying Bunny as she continued to lose leverage over me with each drop of water I found in the desert. The trail provides, but delays in the process. Yet one more possible reason we fall further behind. 

After we said our goodbyes and planned to meet again in a couple of weeks (probably just South of Mt Baden Powell) we hiked a fast mile to the next road crossing. This is where we had planned to stop for lunch at 12 thinking there might be a water cache here (which we no longer needed). Somehow, it was almost 1:15. I have no idea how it had gotten to be so late or how we could possibly be so far behind schedule. It’s a good thing it’s a short day. 

We headed for a clump of Joshua Trees just past the road that DID NOT have a water cache at it, and planned to sit in the shade for lunch. Joshua Trees are not a plant to be trifled with. They look like that might have soft palm-like fronds on them. What they really have are nature’s bayonets. Bunny tried to cut through a narrow gap (which I passed without problem) but ended up being bumped back and forth like a pinball caught in the magic spot between two bumpers. She ended up with a series of holes in her wrist and butt. She trifled where she shouldn’t have. 

We sat down behind the patch of trees. Bunny wouldn’t go near them and set in the full sun. I had my lunch of tuna. You heard it right, I ate tuna. It was tuna in red curry with coconut. This just proves my theory that curry can make anything taste good, even dog turds. I haven’t tested that theory yet, but with all the dog turds on the trail, I just might if I happen to find myself with some extra curry but no other food. Never rule out possibilities. 

We made it to our camping spot about 2:30. We had originally thought we’d be there about 1, but Bunny managed to slow us down, yet again. Now I had to convince her to find us a camping spot because she had said umpteen Times today “I want to comb my hair, brush my teeth, and take a nap to feel better.” Does this sound like a woman who just put on clean underwear only yesterday? She’s not as low maintenance as she thinks she is. If she wants a nap, she has to have a tent spot first. 

After a failed location, which I chose, she finally decided to put some effort in and found an ideal spot. We were a little away from Ivy and Wolf, but close enough that Wolf’s Ranger background will protect us in a crisis. The reason we chose this camping spot was that a group of trail angels maintain a large water cache here. We filled up on water for the hike tomorrow and for supper tonight. By the time we were all set up and settled in, it was nearly 4. Wolf is from Florida which 4 is the standard supper time for the geriatric crowd. 

We all decided to eat together in the location I had tried to set up our tent—under a beautiful pine tree overlooking the desert valley. We discussed possible strategies as to how we can complete the trail with all the snow this year. I think Ivy has discovered a strategy that will work, but it involves saving the High Sierras until last. I’m having a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around this plan because I had a more “romantic” notion of ending in Canada spending time with a Camino friend, Pete. I liked the symbology of starting in San Diego with one Camigo and ending in Canada with another Camigo. I’m not 100% sold yet. 

EFG

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we woke up in fog and mist. Today we woke up in sunshine. It was probably colder today than yesterday, but the sun makes all the difference in the world. Add in that we had latrines in camp and the world looks that much better. With everything going for us today, we were able to get out of camp by…9:30. What the hell is going on?

After yesterday’s freeze out, Bunny refused to stir until the sun actually hit the tent. It wasn’t enough that she could see it through the trees or watch it as it progressed across the campsite. It had to hit the tent or she wasn’t moving. If I had put the tent 50’ further to the left, we’d still be there. Ivy and Wolf were late leaving. They were tired from yesterday, as well, and didn’t get out of camp until almost 8:30. We had agreed the most we were going today was 13 miles so Bunny had no sense of urgency. 

It turned out to be a perfect day for hiking. It was 60 and not a cloud in the sky. We camped at 6,300’ last night which helps to account for the cold in the morning (and it got right at freezing last night leaving ice in our coffee cups). We climbed up to 6,800’ in the first 2 miles this morning to a point higher than we reached on the entire AT last year. (6500’ at Clingmans Dome in the Smokies is the highest point on the AT.) When/if the snow ever melts in the High Sierras, we will ultimately climb to a height more than twice of Clingmans Dome when we go over Forrester Pass. 

We were fine with 6800 today because that meant we had a smooth 7 miles of downhill with a grade of about 300’/mile…hiker Nirvana. We were a bit afraid when we crossed over the ridge that we might end up in a snow field again, but not today. We had actually crossed from an alpine zone back into the high desert. The day and a half foray into the alpine region is probably meant as a reprieve from the heat for the hikers starting in April. For us, it made us appreciate being in the desert and having sunshine again.

The worst part about hiking on the PCT is the lack of privies forcing the whole “digging a hole” routine. Finding a campsite less than a half mile off trail is worth the reprieve. I caught Bunny watching me the other day. When I was finished and got back down to where she was, she asked me “don’t you squat?” 

To me, a squat is like a free throw. You’d better be able to make 99 out of 100 or coach is going to have you stay after practice. I only squat to fill out the required paperwork. My game has progressed way beyond that point. Just as a word of caution, if you are ever in the woods and notice a man without pants running back and forth jumping over the same spot, don’t be alarmed. It is only me working on my 3 point play jump shot. It’s a quick release and requires multiple passes to get the job done. Just make sure you have Purel if you want to shake hands with me, or better yet, just go for a fist bump. 

As we got down to our first road crossing today, we found a water cache. We are definitely back in the desert. The only shade we had was our chrome domes. We stopped, had lunch, drank a couple liters of electrolytes, and filled up our extra bottles. The place we’re going to camp at tonight has water, but it’s a 2 mile walk to it. I’d rather skip that much extra mileage just for water. Now if it had a privy…

I’m pretty sure Ivy and Wolf chose the spot for tonight based upon the old folks getting in before dark. Kind of like when I was little and had to be home before the streetlights come on. “But dad, their streetlights come on later than ours! I’m not late.” Bunny does real well on level and downhill sections. Uphills aren’t her forte. I’m pretty slow on all levels of incline so it doesn’t matter to me. On the PCT, we can pretty well count on 2 mph plus a half hour for a big break at some point. We left at 9:30, hiked 13 miles, and had one big break (and several little ones). We got in right at 4:30. Wolf was relieved so he could go to bed on time tonight (at 5). 

Ivy has worked out a geriatric hiking plan for the next 3 days that we really like. 9 miles tomorrow to a water cache and camp there. 12 miles the day after that to a cabin that allows hikers to stay (or if full, camp near). The third day will be lass than 10 miles to get us to Walker Pass where we can catch a bus if we get there before 1:30. That’s the only questionable part of the plan. I have to get bunny up and on the trail by 8 to make the bus. There’d better be sun at the cabin if they want this to happen. 

EFG 

It started raining in the night. Not a hard rain, more of a mice running across a tin roof, light rain. Only there was a mice infestation because it never seemed to stop. We woke up when we heard Ivy stuffing her tent into her bag. There was a break in the rain and we hoped we’d be able to have breakfast, make our toilet (Bunny scolded me on my hole digging escapades), and pack up. We didn’t make it. 

We underestimated the mist/fog/cold/rain today and we won’t do that again. We were basing our decisions on how to dress based upon a weather report we saw nearly 4 days ago AND my attempt at building good karma at the gate 3 miles before camp (bonus find to any thru-hikers who might be following us). As I was coming through the gate, I felt some intense intestinal rumblings, so I grabbed the trowel and my toilet kit and headed for the first clump of bushes I could find. I dug an extraordinary cathole. A real thing of beauty, 8” deep with sharp walls. I ended up broken hearted. No Texans appeared. Rather than fill it in, I left it for the next fortunate hiker that stumbles upon it in his, or her, moment of need. There should be no better karma than that. 

By the time we rolled out of camp at 9, we could tell the fog was here for the day, but we kept believing that we saw it thinning out ahead. Instead of getting out my rain mittens, I kept on my glove liners. They were soaked in a short while and my hands started getting numb. Add in that this section of trail has taken a real beating over the winter. There were easily 100 trees down blocking the trail in a little over a mile. We had to crawl over, scramble around, or just push through the best we could. It was very taxing and used a lot of our energy. 

It was between 40 and 45 with winds between 15 and 20 miles per hour. With all the extra energy we spent climbing over all the downed trees and the wind chill with the constant mist, we quickly burned through all of our breakfast calories. If we stopped moving, we got instantly chilled. This was one of the worst times we’ve had on the trail (and that’s including our ascent and decent of Katahdin when we finished the AT last year). I could tell my thought process was falling apart. I couldn’t think of simple words. My hands were completely numb and I started to panic. I felt I was on the verge of hypothermia. 

Sonya had just sent us some hand warmers in her care package. Luckily, it came to me that they were in my pack. I dropped my pack and scrambled to find them, but couldn’t open the package. Bunny still had enough dexterity in her hands that she could open them for me. I also got out my rain mittens and threw the warmers in them. I started getting feeling back in my hands which helped to calm me down some. 

By now, we were about 6 miles in and it was 9 miles to water. I was out of water and didn’t think to ask Bunny if she had any. We talked about setting up the tent at the water source and trying to get warmed up. We kind of hoped Wolf and Ivy were faring as bad as we were and had already decided to do that. (When we did catch up with them, they admitted they had been thinking the same thing.)

We got to the turn for the spring and I dropped my pack. Bunny started getting out some food while I went and get a few liters of water. I got back and made sure we drank a couple of liters of energy drink with our lunch. We ate as much as we could as fast as we could because we were so cold. We could feel the calories from the food right away. We decided to push on and hope things got better. Within a mile or so we hit snow. 

The biggest irony is that the minute we started walking in patches of snow, we started seeing blue skies ahead. The bigger the snow field, the more blue the sky became. We managed to walk out of the fog that was hanging on the ridge we had been on all day. After 11 crappy miles where we questioned whether we would be able to continue, we were now optimistic that we would be able to make it to our designated spot with Ivy and Wolf. Only, we were going to be very late. We had started late. We had lost time scrambling over all the trees. We’d be lucky to make it before 7. 

The late afternoon made up for the morning and early afternoon. This morning, we had passed the 300 mile mark on our trip but we didn’t care. We couldn’t stop to acknowledge it. Within a mile of being in the snow fields, we were able to take off all our extra layers and start drying out. We had no way to let Wolf and Ivy know we were going to be so late, but they are used to us coming in a couple hours after them. 

Most days, we just follow their footsteps. We don’t have to refer to Guthook, but I like to see the terrain ahead to know what to expect. Sometimes, Wolf will leave us directions in the dirt at a questionable intersection. Today, we saw an arrow pointing off the trail rather emphatically. We looked for a second, couldn’t see the trail where it was pointing, but could recognize it as Wolf’s mark, so we took it. We crossed a strong flowing creek heading away from the trail we could see in front of us.

Once we got across and walked downstream, we understand. Wolf and Ivy has found the best place to cross because the trail was flooded at the intersection of the creek. They had probably spent 20 minutes to find the place that we hesitated at for about a minute. We trust Wolf. 

Around 6, the sun was starting to fall behind the mountain and the wind started having a cold chill to it. We dropped our packs one more time and put our rain coats back on. About 30 minutes later we came to our turn for the campsite and saw a big arrow drawn in the sand with “Wolf” written above it. We made it to camp at 6:45, just leaving us enough time to set up before it got dark. I thought for sure Wolf and Ivy would both be asleep. 

Wolf waved to us as soon as we got in sight. He had water for us if we needed it. He had walked back up to the trail at 6 to see if he could see any sign of us. They were worried about us being so late and shared their similar experiences with us. The big difference is they walk, on average, a half mile an hour faster than us, start earlier (today an hour), and take fewer breaks. They had been in camp since 4. 

I set up the tent and went to get water while Bunny did the nest building. By the time I got back with the water, she was already in her sleeping bag trying to get warm. I changed into my night clothes (we always keep a separate change of dry clothes to sleep in) then started to prepare hot tea, then a hot supper, and prepared our cold soaked breakfast while everything was getting ready. After Bunny ate and drank her tea, she started feeling better. I was glad this day was over. It was only 16 miles, but it was one of the hardest days we’ve had on trail, but we handled it. 

EFG

If a plane hadn’t flown over our tent at 7:20, we’d probably both still be asleep. We were sleeping so soundly. I jumped up, peed, and started the coffee. Wolf was just about to take down his tent down which is the last thing he does before hitting the trail. Bunny and I ate as quickly as possible and emerged just as Ivy was leaving. We hurried, as much as we care to, and were ready to leave at 8:30. Respectable enough for us.

It was 6 miles to the first water source. Between us, we had about a liter, so no life or death situation here. I did and didn’t like the trail today. The first couple of miles were on an off-road vehicle path which was washed out, steeper than the trail, and very rocky. I guess we’re in the Pennsylvania section of California. Once we got off the road, we were back on the PCT we have grown to love—fairly shallow grades and smooth bed which makes it easy to look around as you walk.

I’ll admit, I was struggling this morning. I don’t know what was wrong. Maybe I didn’t eat enough last night. Maybe the chickpea curry we had didn’t sit well with my system. Maybe I didn’t drink enough. Maybe I didn’t get enough caffeine this morning. Maybe my pack feels like a gorilla riding on my back. Whatever the case, something was off. I couldn’t let Bunny lead because I still couldn’t keep up with her. 

We still made it to the water right at 3 hours with a couple of short breaks. 2 mph net, which I’m fine with that pace. When we got to the water, I was a bit disappointed. It was a trough with lots of debris in it. I could see water trickling in through some weeds but couldn’t see a way I could intercept the flow. As I was walking around trying to figure it out, I saw another pipe behind a barbed wire fence with a slow, steady flow. I was able to collect what we needed.

Bunny filtered while I cooked a hot lunch. It’s 19 miles to the next water source so we can carry a little less if we cook lunch and eat a cold supper. In all, we spent an hour drinking plenty and eating. When we left, I was carrying 4 liters and Bunny had 2.5 liters. Heavy packs again and we still had almost 10 miles to go. 

The terrain wasn’t bad today, but I am sick and tired of wind turbines. I don’t think we ever lost sight of them today. California is getting a butt load of renewable wind energy. The higher in elevation we were, the worse the surroundings looked. We can’t tell if all the dead trees are from the drought or from a forest fire. Whichever case, it’s sad to see so many dead, burnt trees.

I tried to keep my head down and just concentrate on making myself walk. My pack weighed almost 45# before we stopped for lunch and water. With all the water, I was close to 55#. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling like crap today. The heaviest my pack got last year on the AT was 47#. Most of the time I was about 35# which is reasonable for the amount of luxuries we carry. 

While I was looking down making myself walk, I noticed Ivy’s and Wolf’s footprints in the dirt track. When we caught up with them this evening at camp, I told them I saw Wolf was leading the way until they got to the water and then I saw Ivy got the lead and kept it almost all the way to camp. Ivy was a little creeped out thinking I might be a stalker paying that much attention to her footprints, but she admitted I was right. Perhaps I missed my calling as a tracker in the old west. I’ll try to notice where they have breaks tomorrow. 

They did pick us out a nice campsite in a small woods. Bunny and I set up our tent and then sat with them while we had our hot tea and cold meal. We were kind of late getting to camp at 5:30 which is close to Wolf’s bedtime. He made an exception and stayed up while we ate. I’m guessing they had already been in camp just shy of two hours when we got here. 

Hiking with Ivy and Wolf is very similar to how we hiked with Stickers and Lady Bug last year on the AT. We’d walk by ourselves and then meet up at night. Occasionally, we might hike part of the day together, but it was difficult because our paces were so different. I’ve got to admit, I do miss hiking with Bear, Sassy, and Good Chip Norris. Our paces were all pretty similar so we walked together almost all the time. We could talk, and eventually sing in angelic voices as one. Trail angelic voices are an acquired taste. It’s going to be very difficult for me to get the Army Ranger Colonel singing on the trail if I don’t spend more time with him. It’s a fine line between getting a ranger to sing and a marshal arts death. As long as I keep Bunny between us, I’ll be fine. 

EFG

The alarm always rings too early on the day we are leaving town. I didn’t get near the work done I would have liked too. I still have some food reviews to complete and a couple of articles I want to finish for the Trek, but they’ll have to wait for a few more days. As long as I keep up with this blog, at a minimum, I’ll be happy. Last year on the AT, once we started hiking with Good Chip Norris, I really fell behind and just kept some notes and filled in the details later. 

We all met for breakfast around 7:30. Young Kevin joined us since Wolf had scheduled Dalton to pick us up at 8. We were all complaining about how heavy our packs were because we are carrying 7 days of food and lots of water. We don’t run across a water source for nearly 17 miles once we get on the trail. After that one, we go another 19 before the next source. We are entering one of the driest sections of the entire trail. 

As soon as we got dropped off, I started falling further and further behind. We did see the register where Cheryl Strayed signed in in ‘98 which was kind of cool, but other than that, I was in a down mood. I couldn’t even keep up with Bunny. Kevin had asked how far we planned to go today. When I said just a little over 10, he kind of laughed. Now he and Ivy were completely out of sight. I could catch an occasional glimpse of Wolf, but he was pulling away as well. I was completely bummed out. 

Bunny and I stopped for a break after 2 hours of hiking and we checked our progress. We had climbed 1500’ and gone 4.3 miles with overloaded packs. We weren’t actually doing that bad. Each of us had carried out a piece of fruit to eat as a snack which we did. I had made up my mind to tell everyone to go ahead and ditch us because we didn’t want to hold them up when they were all so much faster than us. I looked up and saw a sobo hiker and waved “hi” to him. It was Kevin. 

This couldn’t be good. He must have left something behind. He told us that his leg was killing him with every step. He described what he was feeling and I knew exactly what was wrong because the same thing had happened to me last year coming down Carter Notch. There is an all or nothing muscle that works with your knee and it doesn’t give any warning when it’s about to fail, it just does. Kevin had stressed this when he hiked 27 miles into Hiker Town trying to catch us. 

In my case, Good Chip Norris had an ace bandage he had gotten from the hospital emergency room when the copperhead snake bit him and died. Luckily, Peter and Marcia were hiking up to meet us on the way into Gorham, NH (yes, I’m talking about the AT). Marcia worked my knee over and bandaged me up. The relief was immediate with the pressure from the ace bandage. I just needed to take it easy on my leg to give it time to recover. This is when we slack packed for 8 days. 

Kevin wisely decided to head back down to Tehachapi to see if a few days rest might help. If it does, he might try to rejoin us, but I don’t think he will. My guess is that he is going to take more time off to fully recover. He wasn’t really happy about all the flip/flopping we are doing. He said it kills the point of a thru-hike (which I agree with, but realize we don’t have a choice since we aren’t capable of sustaining a 20 mile/day pace). I do think we’ll see him again, but when he is passing us as a sobo. I think he’s going to head up to Seattle and wait until the snow melts then thru-hike from Canada to Mexico. I’ve been giving this concept a lot of thought for us on the CDT. 

It was sad to say goodbye to Kevin. We hadn’t really gotten to hike with him. He’s a good kid and I feel sorry for him, but I know he’ll be fine. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. It proved something to me, though. Not everything is as it seems out here on the trail. I thought everyone else was doing so much better than me, but they can hide their problems and keep quiet about them. Bunny and I can’t and don’t do that. We whine out loud all the time. We really have no right to when a double amputee is hiking the PCT this year, GCN hiked the AT last year in near constant pain from his knees rubbing bone on bone, and a blind guy, Daredevil, passed us in the Smokies like we were standing still. 

We decided to just hike our own pace. More than likely, our tramily is going to break up when we get to Walker Pass. Ivy has to go home for a week or two to finalize paperwork with the military. Wolf is probably going to go home for a while to let some snow melt if San Jacinto is not passable in a week. It’s sad, but we went through multiple tramilies last year. We’ve just got to keep pushing on. 

When we got to camp, Ivy and Wolf had their tents up and were relaxing. They both were feeling a bit beat up from today even if it was just 10 miles. The extra weight is getting to all of us. At supper, we worked out a plan for the next couple of days to get us back into an area of trail with more water. We need to do a couple 16ish mile days and then we’ll be fine. Our food load will be less and we won’t have to be carrying multiple liters of water. Ivy decided to play devil’s advocate—“What if there’s no water in 6 miles like Guthook says?” We’ll just be in a heap of shit then and shit is one of my specialties. I’ve got this. 

EFG

Today was: a day of town chores; a day of blogging; a day of vlogging; a day of preparation; and most importantly, a day of eating. 

After our breakfast, we headed to the post office to pick up our new pack covers (the PCT has been hard on pack covers for us. We’ve each used trash bags as pack covers for a period of time on this trip. The winds, they are a blowin’) and a box of goodies from a former co-worker of Bunny’s. Thank you, Sonya. 

We had pizza last night, burgers for lunch, and Thai for supper tonight. Still to come, a late night snack of Roland’s and popcorn. We are about to embark on an 86 mile section without roads or towns and little water so we are overpacked (even more so than usual) and moving at a snail’s pace. 

Our new addition to the tramily (I’ll bet no one even knew we were expecting) will be joining us as we head out of town. We now have the two of us, Ivy, Wolf, and Kevin (no trail name yet since he vetoed “Home Alone”). 

We are packed and ready to go, but not in a hurry. We need higher temperatures at elevation to melt some snow so we have someplace to hike once we make it to Walker Pass in 6 or 7 days. Kevin wants to make it in 4, but he’s got to tame those young legs if he wants to hang with the old folk (or, more likely, the old folk are about to be left in the dust).

Time in town always goes too fast. The time in the back country only increases our appreciation for soft beds, chairs, electric lights, warm rooms at night, and (you know I can’t not say it) porcelain. Until my buns are cooled by your cold touch again, I will miss you most of all. 

EFG

To bring everyone up to date on our travels, following is episode 5 of our PCT journal. For maximum viewing pleasure, please take your phone, iPad, or laptop and grab a seat in the closest bathroom of your choice and think of us having to squat for the next 7 days, instead of relaxing as you are about to. I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

I don’t like to brag, but I won the race to get ready this morning. I was the first all packed up and ready to go, but I don’t want to rub anyone’s nose in it (for example; Ivy, Wolf, or Bunny who all lost). Any other day, I’d say it wasn’t a race, but those are the days I lose. I really miss having Bear and Sassy around in the mornings (we hiked with them on the AT last year). We could always count on them being a few minutes behind, especially since it seemed like one of them lost some article of underwear on a nightly basis—frisky kids!

How did we make the amazing transition from last to first in just a single night? We set an alarm for 20 minutes before Ivy sets hers so I would already have the coffee in play when she started moving around. It also helped that Wolf had a ride arranged for us at 2p this afternoon when we only have 8 miles to walk. Even though they are both ex-military and driven by the “hurry up and wait” mentality, we were counting on them slacking off a bit this morning. The rest, is history in the making. We will not push the issue and go back to our normal un-rushed, it’s not a race mentality the next day we hike. 

The four of us hiked out of camp together. I was hoping there might be a port-o-potty in the parking lot which also helped reduce our prep time this morning. There was one sitting there beckoning with a “come hither” look. I was ecstatic until I realized the trail didn’t run through the parking lot. No one was willing to make the detour with me to partake, so I had no alternative other than to wave and think of things that might have been. Slip sliding away. You know the nearer your destination the more you slip sliding away. 

We walked the entire 8 miles through the wind farm. It was even bigger than I thought as it was spread out over and around several ridges. The one thing I noticed most was the constant whine as we were hiking through. Yes, it was Bunny. We have run out of coffee and other caffeinated drinks and she was not handling the lack of stimulants very well.

Unbeknownst to me, If I had pushed harder at the parking lot, I might have been able to persuade Bunny to make the side trip because as soon as we were out of sight of the road and houses and fellow hikers, the oatmeal kicked in (and we had skipped the athletic greens this morning). We found a large enough bush that we could avoid eye contact while I gained a happy Bunny back. To kill time, I got out the phone and checked if we might have a signal so I could find out more about the wind farm we are in. As soon as I took it out of airplane mode, I got a text from Kevin that he was less than 11 miles behind us and he was asking if we were going to be in Tehachapi, as planned, tomorrow. Our tramily is expecting!

I did find out some outdated information about this wind farm, but it didn’t add up. PG&E has contracted for 1.5 GigaWatts of power from the farm, but as of 2012, it was only about a 600 MegaWatt capacity. I can find nothing more current than that. There are, however, hundreds of more turbines currently under construction. We also found some information on some signs along the trail on the history and various sizes of turbine. The current mix includes turbines ranging in size from 250 kiloWatts to 3 MegaWatts with the larger being over 300’ tall. I am spellbound by this place. 

Ivy and Wolf are very prerogative driven. When Wolf gets up of a morning, his first prerogative is water. Once he has water, his next priority is to set his tent up again which means he is off like a dart to get to camp. He typically arrives a couple hours before Bunny and I do. Sometimes Ivy will slack off and hang with us (she’s not quite the morning person Wolf is). By the time we arrive, Wolf has set up camp, secured water, eaten supper (even at 2 in the afternoon), and researched options for the next day. All this is a long winded way of saying we were not surprised when we lost sight of Wolf and Ivy going over the ridge a mile ahead of us about 45 minutes after we left camp. We just couldn’t figure out what they were going to do waiting on the road for 3 hours before our ride arrived. 

We arrived at the pickup spot a full hour and a half before our scheduled time. Ivy was buried under her umbrella because there was no shade. Wolf had already been there almost 2 hours when we arrived and he was starting to get a little antsy. He strikes me as a person that doesn’t like wasting time. There aren’t many slouches that attain the rank of Colonel and Wolf is no slouch by any means. 

Our ride arrived a few minutes early. We had been sitting around looking at all the trash so we were very pleased when he pulled out some trash bags and asked if we would mind cleaning up a bit before we headed to town. We quickly filled the trash bags and would have gladly picked up more. Wolf and I were trying to figure out how to jump the barbed wire fence to get at the bulk of the trash. Seeing how trashy this single exchange was made us comment that chain gangs need to be brought back. There are no “for profit” garbage pickup services cleaning up roads that would be hurt by the competition. 

Chris drove us to our hotel where we quickly checked in, dropped our bags, and headed out for some town food. Protein bars and nuts are healthy enough, but dripping fat on a sandwich holds a lot more appeal. We ran into Kevin right away when we got to town and he followed us to lunch. We all got caught up on what had been happening since we last saw him 12 days ago. The rest of the day was spent on usual town chores such as bathing, laundry, and more eating. Tomorrow we do the PO and shopping, and quite possibly, much more eating. 

EFG

Last night was the calmest night, for wind, that we have experienced all trip. When I say “wind” I mean the atmospheric variety. I had some strong winds, myself. I can’t normally get Bunny to play Dutch Oven with me so I had to change the rules and go for a larger oven. With no wind in the air, the tent became the venue I needed. Bunny tried to shame me by saying she was gagging. By anyone’s standards, that’s a win.

We found the perfect combination of coffee, oatmeal, and athletic greens that makes the purchase of Exlax a thing of the past. The effect was immediate with residual benefits throughout the day. Even Michael Jordan had rushed shots where Rodman had to lend a hand to get it in the bucket. Trust me, Rodman would have been hands-off today. If you can’t figure out what I’m saying, just do everyone a favor and drink. 

We are in windmill nirvana. We thought we left the wind farm behind us for good today when we crossed a 6000’ Ridge only to come upon an even bigger wind farm. The one we are sleeping in tonight dwarfs the last one. There are well over a thousand wind turbines making this one of the largest wind farms in the world. Kudos to the person or persons responsible for site selection because the wind beat the crap out of us all day. 

1600’ up this morning, 2000’ down this afternoon. As usual, Bunny is lame for the first few miles and even more so when those are uphill miles. We had lingered long enough for Ivy and Wolf to get high enough to not be able to see the valley floor as we defiled it with our first round of evacuations. We hope that the dirt bikes that came screaming into camp just as we left did not have telephoto lenses. 

Of the 13 mile hike today, I’ll bet we didn’t have a total of 2 miles where we couldn’t see wind turbines. In addition to the turbines are hundreds of acres of solar arrays. We have it from a fairly reliable source that this is the beginning infrastructure for a planned community of over 90,000 homes in the valley around Hiker Town. There are plans in place to reroute the PCT to keep it in the mountains all the way around the valley instead of dropping down and following the LA aqueduct. This will surely add another 20-30 miles to the trail. 

The morning lent us great views of the San Gabriel Mountains and its crown jewel, Mt Baden Powell. This is the northern end of the section we jumped. Baden Powell is still very much covered in snow. Our current plan is to hike all the way to Walker Pass, about another 86 miles past Tehachapi. We’ll then make the decision whether to head back to Paradise Cafe and remain nobos if San Jacinto is traversable, or head to Acton (where we began this section) and hike south if Baden Powell is traversable. We really have no idea which or either way we’ll be able to proceed. I’m sure we’re the only people that are worried about snow, ice, and cold winds in this desert section. 

We couldn’t see Ivy’s or Wolf’s tents until we were almost right on top of them. Once again, they had been in camp almost an hour. There is a list of trail angels on the picnic table and Wolf has already secured us a ride to town tomorrow afternoon. We are going to be met on the highway at 2p and whisked away to two nights of comfort out of the cold. 

While we were talking to Wolf and Ivy (in their tents) it started misting on us. We quickly set up our tent between a couple horse tie offs; the poop provides added cushioning under the tent. I threw Bunny and our packs in the tent, grabbed a gallon of water from the cache the Tehachapi Angel Association has left here, and jumped in the tent. It wasn’t even 4, but we were in for the night. Calgon, take me away. 

EFG

Another episode of our trail vlog: Episide #4, enjoy!

Last night was one of the best night’s sleep we have had on the trail so far. We were down in the creek bottom, but slightly higher than Wolf and Ivy, so if there was a flash flood, their screams would wake us up with plenty of time to save our stuff. Other than that, we had a level, soft, sandy spot with bushes protecting us from the wind. I’m a white noise person for sleep and a field of 300 windmills is the best source of white noise you can have. Much better than a mountain stream, although comforting, has unexpected water consequences for old men. 

We had been asleep for a while when I was woken up by someone shining their light on our tent. It was wavering like they were sweeping the light back and forth across the creek bed. I tried to wake Bunny up, but she didn’t care (too much Benadryl). I would have to handle this myself. If I needed backup, there’s always our “ace in the hole,” Wolf. I put on my glasses and started crawling out of the tent to discover the moon shining directly on me with a windmill in its path deflecting the light. 

I don’t think I woke up again all night. I must have sleep walked/peed because I was dry when I got up to start the coffee at 7. My wife feigns sleep every morning until her breakfast is ready. Today was no exception to the rule. I gently woke her with a cup of coffee and her favorite hand made trail breakfast—brown sugar/cinnamon pop tarts. She’s a lucky gal. 

Guess who wasn’t first out of the gulley. Wolf and Ivy said goodbye to us a few minutes after 8, but we were already out of the tent. Bunny was thinking today would be a good day to switch back to shorts and short sleeves, but I talked her out of it. After all, we are in the middle of a wind farm and all the turbines are spinning. As soon as we emerged from the protection of the creek bed, we were blown away. The wind didn’t let up for the next 7 miles until we had climbed up and over the first ridge. 

Tangerine had told us there was a water cache just a mile from us, but we had our heads down and must have missed it. We both ran out of water before the next creek. It never got above 50 degrees the whole time we were crossing the wind farm. We had each had two cups of coffee for breakfast so we’ll be fine. 

We thought we were crossing multiple ridges today. Instead, we climbed up the first ridge and then just skirted the desert valley the rest of the day. We could see snow on the San Gabriel Mountains to our south. This is part of the section of trail that we skipped and have to make up if the snow ever melts. It seemed like we never lost sight of the wind farm until we dropped down into our camp for the night. 

Water dictates our days through the desert. We chose this camp tonight because there might be water about a half mile down stream from where we camped. Ivy and Wolf were already set up and chilling out. They had been here since 1:30. We arrived a little after 2. This is the earliest we have ever made it to camp in nearly 3 years of hiking. After we set up the tent and I found the water, we didn’t have anything else to do until we ate, so I took a nap. Who’d have thought of sleeping in the afternoon?

We woke up (Bunny claims she was working, but I clearly heard snoring in our tent) at 4:30 to have supper with Wolf and Ivy. We talked for awhile until the wind picked up and forced us into our tents. As soon as we got settled inside, the wind stopped. It was already nearing hiker midnight at 6. It’s very difficult to fall asleep when it’s still light out AND you’ve napped for a couple of hours in the afternoon. It looks like a double Benadryl night. 

EFG