Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 1,884 
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Post by Westy on Apr 13, 2023 10:20:30 GMT -8
Let's see how this goes. Have Permit, Will Hike!  Winter seasonal job over! Properly funded for 2023 season!  Mission: Hike 653 mi. from Campo to Walker Pass.  Prepping Resupply  TaDa! 26 -Resupply boxes prepped Every resupply mail drop validated via Alexander Graham Bell. Resupply boxes include contingency kits: Shoes, Ice Axe, Fuel and Brellie. Utilize US Postal Service for most mail drops. For small business drops, have prepared thank you note for supporting hikers and a check for $10-$20 to demonstrate appreciation.  Other hikers laugh at me for this...... You would be surprised how many recipients remember my verification call and smile when I show up. For hikers laughing at me........All I have to say about my Shock & Awe Resupply Strategy is LIFO (Last In, First Out.) When I place extra food, bits, leftovers in the hiker box, they're first to go. P.S. I do not have the same dinner entre for 21 trail days, Varity, Variety, Variety has been my dining mantra since lessons learned Aconcagua 1988.  New Guy Lines, sliders and guy line loops.  New Zippers - Rainy Pass rocks. Lessons from gear failure last year on AT. Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance! Tent easily has 4,000 trail miles. Had FF Swallow UL 20° done also. New guy lines and guy line sliders and replaced (6) six guy line loops. Replaced MSR Pocket Rocket 2. Upgraded iPhone 13 mini to iPhone 13, has slightly larger screen, larger battery capacity. Although my eyesight is 20/20, the larger screen is easier to read.  Power Bank upgrade - NiteCore - Carbo-20000. Last minute HOF (Hair on Fire) purchase. Overnight delivery $109!  Goldilocks weigh in! Just Right!  Screwball Snow season creates hiking obstacles and safety issues. Lots of blow downs too! Recent hiker photo San Jacinto. Many NOBO hikers are flipping to Tehachapi from Idyllwild. Lots of movement at present. My start date is April 17th. If I stay NOBO expecting slow going after Paradise Valley Restaurant (Route 74). Will figure it out in Idyllwild. If I stay northbound chances are a I'll have one heck of a Mojave Desert high temperature outing, perhaps night hiking in my future. Other reports indicate a California Superbloom because of all the rain and snow. Meanwhile......a bit out of shape. My seasonal winter driving gig brutal. 13-15 hour shifts. Work dawn patrol. At Alta/Snowbird between 3:00 and 4:00am. On the upside upper body strong from handling a lot of luggage and skis. Yesterday got cortisone shot for shoulder, full massage and back adjustment at the Chiropractor. One last detail struggling with.....  WM QuickFlash or Montbell Plasma 1000 WM QuickFlash: Weight 8 oz., Fill 2.5 oz., 12-denier ripstop shell Plasma 1000: Weight 4.9 oz., Fill 1.6 oz., 7-denier ripstop shell (No front pockets) See you down trail! |
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kayman
Trail Wise!
Loving Retired Life
Posts: 189
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Post by kayman on Apr 13, 2023 12:56:33 GMT -8
WOW! YOU are the MAN!!
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Post by starwalker on Apr 13, 2023 18:23:01 GMT -8
Enjoy.
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Post by hikinggods on Apr 13, 2023 19:33:18 GMT -8
I'm excited to vicariously travel the PCT trail, after the fun of following your Appalachian trail journey. Keep the photos coming.
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 1,884
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Post by Westy on Apr 13, 2023 23:55:20 GMT -8
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Post by absarokanaut on Apr 14, 2023 9:47:59 GMT -8
Keep your stick on the ice Westy!
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RumiDude
Trail Wise!
Marmota olympus
Posts: 2,357
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Post by RumiDude on Apr 14, 2023 10:01:41 GMT -8
Right on!
So jealous. Hike on there Westy, hike on!
Rumi
EDIT: Unsolicited advice is to not overthink it too much. Flip-flopping around often ends up self-defeating as well as eating up time and money. YMMV
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 1,884
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Post by Westy on Apr 19, 2023 12:10:18 GMT -8
On Trail! Enjoyed pre-hike R&R in San Diego. Executing a relaxed fit strategy to start, 10 miles a day, can do more easily mitigating any sort of ambulatory injury. The vibe way different. Expected 50+ starts per day, more like 10-20. Have encountered a hiker from AT last year. Just finished 20 mile mark and relaxing at Morena Lake Campground and Oak Shores Malt Shop.  Donated Ted Williams autobiography, “My Turn At Bat”. With Vanessa Stanley’s, Athletic Director  Herbert Hoover High School, San Diego, CA. Ted Williams, Class of 1937  Mission of San Diego de Alcala, founded July 16, 1769 by Padre Juniper Sera. 1st of 21 California missions.  Gold/yellow canopy indicates Basilica status designated by Pope.  CV-41 USS Midway  Petco Park home of San Diego Padres.  Torrey Pines - Spanish explorers named this Punta de los Arobles (Point of Trees). My official PCT training hike!  Donald J. Trump Wall  Southern Terminus 
Cool sign 
An abundance of water  They are calling it a Superbloom due to amazing wet winter      |
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,386 
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Post by rebeccad on Apr 22, 2023 18:18:12 GMT -8
Looking good! I’m in awe of your level of organization.
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 1,884
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Post by Westy on May 1, 2023 10:38:57 GMT -8
Greetings from Riverside County Library, Idyllwild, CA. Hiked to Paradise Valley Cafe (151.8 mi.) and hitched to town. Taking R&R for three Zero Days. Day 1: shower, laundry, haircut and collecting resupply. Day 2: Updating financials and social media correspondence. Day 3: In my cabin, watching, TV and drinking beer in my fashionable Ex-Offico outfit. Meanwhile... have made tactical decision to flip north to Tehachapi and go SOBO back to Idyllwild. This is a record snow year. My concern is somewhat age related as 20 miles days are not in my wheelhouse. I'm good in the 13-16 range. My concern is that the days are getting longer and hotter. I see the Mohave has the actual challenge, high heat, lack of water resources and little if any shade. Hopefully the 8-10 days will allow more snow melt in the San Bernadino's, San Gabriel's and San Jacinto. There seems to be more foreign hikers than Americans, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Britain, Ireland, Scotland, Czech Republic, Canada and Sweden. That's just from hikers I've met! Finally, a message for all the apocalyptic critics of America. We have a great country, and everything is A-OK. Through the eyes of the young people, I've met, my confidence in future is exponentially enhanced.  PCT Hikers at Cottonwood Creek mi. 72.2
 Johanna from Bavaria. Thru-hiked Te Araroa, NZ last year.  Cam from Little Rock, AR is taking gap year before attending University of Groningen, Netherlands. Says we can't just keep building roads, plans to study Urban Design.  Mount Laguna is a high plateau with a very welcoming forest. Veronicka and Jan from Czech Republic enjoying the view near Storm Canyon Vista (mi. 46.8).
 Trail Magic, Pioneer Mail Picnic Area on Sunrise Highway. Thank you, Girl Scout Troop 6502, E. Chula Vista, CA. First Light, First Up, First Out! We're getting warmer! Very nice desert hiking. The hills are alive with Buckbrush (Ceanothus Cuneatus)
 Time for make-up, applying sunscreen and zinc-oxide.  I think this means, 18 miles before the next water cache.
 Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchelli pyrrhus).  Yes Virginia, there was a water cache 18 miles ahead. Thank you to Third Gate Water Cache Trail Angels!  Eagle Rock was a traditional hunting and gathering place for the Kuupangaxwichem (the people who slept here). It is a sacred place for the Kupa (short) people and used for ceremonies, gatherings and revered rituals and considered a sacred site. The Kupa people were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands in 1903 and someday hope to regain ownership.  Live oak approaching Warner Springs.  Warner Springs has a Post Office, C-Store and a Community Center featuring bucket laundry and showers. This is Taz serving up Mad Mike's Sausage, famously delicious and rightly so.  Baseball: Borrego Springs vs. Warner Springs  It' a great day in the neighborhood! Photo courtesy Olivia, Claremont, CA Yes!  Water Tanks & Mike's Place (mi. 127.3) Near Bucksnort Mountain (6,193'). Sprinkling of pine trees provides a mental aura of coolness. Flowers everywhere! Tomak from Poland!
 Working on my cowboy camping protocol. Hiker boxes stashed pell-mell at the Paradise Valley Cafe. Hiker Tramily: L-R Sketch, Kodak (Brockton, MA), Charmer and Handyman (Alberta, Canada)Below: My traditional trail town hang-out...the library! |
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,386
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Post by rebeccad on May 1, 2023 12:39:10 GMT -8
I’ll pop back in when you’ve had time to finish the captions, but it’s looking good so far! Makes me itch to be out there. Sigh.
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Post by thedude on May 3, 2023 5:33:07 GMT -8
Fantastic update, I'm really enjoying these posts.
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 1,884
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Post by Westy on May 15, 2023 10:41:20 GMT -8
Flip toe to Tehachapi! Flip-flopped to Tehachapi from Idyllwild. Allows for cooler temperatures Mojave Desert and less snow near high summits of San Bernadino National Forest. Another benefit of going SOBO is busting through the NOBO bubble. More solitude. Anecdotal assessment of hiker demographics still indicates 40-50% Euro hikers. Most all hikers seem to be 20-something with a large 4/20 contingency. Am pleased with flip decision thus far. Nearly halfway (264 mi.) on PCT Southern California section (566 mi.)   Tehachapi Mountains feature a plethora of ups and downs and all arounds.  Thru-Hiker lunch break Tylerhorse Canyon. Have noticed a predominance of Tramilies. Good for me, they need large campsites, leaving my desirable 1-tent ridge top dry camps for me!  Tehachapi area abundant with dirt bike enthusiasts.  It's extremely windy.  Cottonwood Creek, yucky water source.
 Kiwi hiker Jandle demonstrating his balanced backpacking system, equal weight front and back. Long and not so winding road! Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm generates 710 megawatts produced by 3400 wind turbines.  Joshua Tree, Mohave Desert Flowering Joshua Tree
 My very wonderful Mohave stealth camp! With Swedish hiker Bushwhack. The only other Hilleberg Enan enthusiast I've ever met on trail! Los Angeles Aqueduct constructed 1908-1913, supervised by Chief Engineer William Mullholland. Fascinating history and impact to Southern California. Hikertown, a somewhat derelict, barely functional, highly convenient shower, laundry and resupply point.  Meet the Cripple Crowners, a Tramily of Two Kiwis and a German!  Early morning view! Life's a beach for this Southern California Alligator lizard. Great year for water resources and seasonal flows.  Make my day! Larry Boy! Are paths have crossed in Northern New Mexico, Darby, MT and Flagstaff, AZ.  My kind off campsite, dry, high ridge, sunrise, sunset, exposure with a light breeze. Agua Dolce movie ranch. Hollywood types store cars, trucks, trailers and other props.  Vasquez Rocks formed by rapid erosion 25 million years ago. Exposed by uplifting of San Andreas Fault. Named after Tiburico Vasquez, a notorious California bandito who used these rocks to evade capture.  This prominent rock formation (Kirk's Rock) is featured in numerous films and television productions. Most recently Star Trek: Picard.  Accommodations this evening at a worn-out, run down LA RV Camp formerly KOA. Very nice people, great showers and restrooms.Below: Especially for Rebecca! Acton-Agua Dolce LA County Library best ever near trail library I've experienced.  |
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,386
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Post by rebeccad on May 16, 2023 6:07:15 GMT -8
Great report! Looks to me like a good decision—conditions are nice out there, though I gather this week it has been getting very hot down there.
If what you want from the trip is good hiking in good conditions, then jumping around seems like a very good idea.
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 1,884
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Post by Westy on Jun 1, 2023 10:38:21 GMT -8
Not everyday has been smiles and miles. Trudge may be the operative word for the past 180 miles, especially when you consider McDonald's at Cajon Pass on I-15 is a hiker highlight. On the upside Wrightwood, CA is great trail town and resupply stop. Presently relaxing in Big Bear Lake and as usual, at the library. 
Back on the trail!
 It's Glamazon! Hiker acquaintance from the AT. Feel good story of AT '22. Her pack was stolen outside WalMart in Waynesboro, VA. Hikers, local hostels, businesses and supporters gave money and gear. She was back on trail in three days.  Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oregnus helleri)  A perfect pitch at sunset! Mill Creek Fire Station: Faucet, picnic table with roof, electrical outlet and pit toilet.  Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness. Flowing water sources and Bigcone Douglas Fir! Mount Waterman Ski Area. Open 9 seasons out of last 17. Crackerjack from Springfield, MA. The Father Tom Shelter on the AT near Cheshire, MA was named after his uncle. Angeles Crest Highway opened in 1956. Constructed by prison labor. Tunnel has a wicked echo! These two hikers from NYC didn't have trail names. I suggested Purple Haze and Lean Green Fighting Machine. Purple Haze stuck! Many snow and rock slides on the Angeles Crest Highway.  Nearo Day: An almost day-off where few miles are hiked for more time in a trail town. Always induces mega smile.  No Thank You! I brought my own! Mountain High Resort, Wrightwood, CA in process of enlarging snowmaking catch basin. Keanu Reeves and Adam Sandler are frequent visitors with their families. Mount San Antonio (10,069') commonly referred to as Mount Baldy is the highest in the San Gabriel range. 5th Gear and Plus One from Queens, NY. He is a Stage Carpenter and she a Biostatiscian. Awakened from my afternoon nap by the sound of hoofs from this band of Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadenis nelsoni) First light over the high desert from the Blue Ridge near Wrightwood, CA. A depressing fifteen mile hike, losing over 4,000 feet in elevation down to Cajon Pass.  American Graffiti adorns railroad bridge as trail goes underneath near Cajon Pass.  Believe it of Not! The McDonald's at Cajon Pass on I-15 is a favorite hiker destination. Sad but true! Today's buttonhole corsage! Pastor Ezra, Victory Outreach Church, Chino, CA. I thought I was poaching a tent spot at a designated picnic area. Turned out to be a group site. Spent the evening with the youth boys group on their first camping experience. Way cool! Silverwood Lake spillway. The dam creating the lake on the West Fork of the Mojave River was constructed in 1971. Joshua Tree Inn on the outskirts of Hesperia, CA is a cash only beer bar serving sandwiches.
 Memorial Day weekend and this troop of Boy Scouts coming out the Deep Creek trail. I'm just getting started on this 15-20 mile hike up Deep Creek Canyon. Famous for hot springs about 8 miles up.  A gorge on Deep Creek as considerable elevation is gained Still trying to suss out what this plant is.  My guess, this is Silver lupine (Lupinus albifrons) A sense of accomplishments as you view the mountains you hiked 90 miles ago.Below: Bear Lake and San Gorgonio Mountain (11,503'), the tallest in SoCal.  |
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