Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 2,000
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Post by Westy on Jun 1, 2024 11:27:35 GMT -8
Pre-hike prep and "It's all system go!". Ashland, OR to Tehachapi, CA. 1,200+ mi. Have been debating pushing date out, again. Fuhgeddaboudit...today committed and shipped 1st supply kit. Flight to Medford, OR on the 9th. On trail the 11th. Snow analysis map shows continuous snow coverage of 118 miles between Seiad Valley, Etna and Dunsmuir. One hiker is reported to have made it NOBO to Etna and another was helicopter rescued and hospitalized from a fall between Etna and Seiad Valley. www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=435209012480092. Have confidence in my skill sets and will enjoy two-week bonus of snow melting before I get to that section. A quick note on first aid kit components - check expiration dates. Add a year max. then it's time to replace. Still Deploy Old School Planning Resources![](https://i.ibb.co/tZKW2Fg/028.jpg)
Too Much Skipping Training and Goofing Off! Liquid Refreshments Two Food Resupply Lots In Progress ![](https://i.ibb.co/vkJMRJL/025.jpg) Staging Bits and Pieces - Meds, Dental Hygiene, DEET, Detergent, Eye Drops, Hand Sanitizer and More! It's Printed and Official! Shock & Awe Resupply Kits Ready!![](https://i.ibb.co/XsyP3Tj/075.jpg) Another Unplanned Surgery - Skier Thumb (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) Imelda Marcos Memorial PCT Shoe Collection - Highly Recommend Pre-Hike Shoe Readiness Attention to Detail: 1. Timbuk2 iPhone Case -Replaced Velcro, 2. Julbo Explorer-Replaced Side Shields, Temple Arms, Sunglass Cords, 3. Suunto Vector-New Strap, New Battery, 5. Leki Trekking Poles: New Baskets, New Carbide Tips. Snow Baskets available. Avalanche Debris - Training Hike! Practicing Snow Skills - French Technique - "I may be out of shape but have this nailed!"![](https://i.ibb.co/m66dJtc/065.jpg)
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,997
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Post by zeke on Jun 1, 2024 15:17:26 GMT -8
Happy Trails! ![](https://i.ibb.co/zRHfh2r/Screenshot-2024-06-01-at-4-18-42-PM.png)
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,895
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Post by rebeccad on Jun 1, 2024 20:57:03 GMT -8
Have a great hike!
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Post by starwalker on Jun 1, 2024 21:32:23 GMT -8
Good luck. Keep us posted.
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Post by scatman on Jun 2, 2024 13:58:50 GMT -8
Have a great trip!
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Post by Coolkat on Jun 3, 2024 11:40:06 GMT -8
I like all the pictures. However, I will say that your taste in shoe must change! :D Everyone's feet is different but last year I finally gave Moabs a try and was really disappointed but sooooo mannnyyy people love them, just not me.
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 2,000
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Post by Westy on Jun 5, 2024 4:09:04 GMT -8
CoolkatIf it doesn't fit, you can't commit!
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Jun 5, 2024 7:33:02 GMT -8
Yeah, boots are about the most individual choice out there. Lots of footwear others love that doesn’t work for me—oddly, Merrill Moabs do.
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Post by burntfoot on Jun 5, 2024 19:27:41 GMT -8
My boots were Danner boots - 1-piece leather with vibram soles. It made it the entire trip without needing re-soling. By the time I got to mid-Washington, most hikers were on their 3rd set of soles, while I was on my original soles. To be fair, though, I walked Oregon in tennis shoes until I got to Mt. Hood.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Jun 5, 2024 19:47:10 GMT -8
There’s no denying my light-weight boots wear out fast. I figure about 400 miles and then I need to replace. But the payoff has been much happier feet, so I’m willing to go with that, even while deploring the waste. I’ve only got one set of feet and I did them enough damage back in the 80s with heavy leather boots. I just hope I can pull off a fraction of the hiking Westy is doing!
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 2,000
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Post by Westy on Jun 21, 2024 9:28:30 GMT -8
An on, off and on return to the PCT. Final task: Prepare Subaru for storage. Fuel additive, trickle charge and insurance savings. Medford, OR, gateway to my SOBO start at Siskiyou Summit (I-5) near Ashland, OR Michelle, NOBO section hiker had just come through the Marbles and Siskiyous. Used ice axe and micro spikes for the Marbles. She summited Denali in '23 and begins her master's degree studies at Stanford this fall.
Small World Dept.: Encountered a Bay Area group of senior hiker ladies. Among them was Dorie, an event volunteer I knew from many figure skating competitions.
The next day was simply stunning! A pipe spring! Bits of snow now and again, a few blowdowns, rather pleasant. California! The ramshackle Donomore Cabin, my accommodations for the evening. Got back on the trail, promptly at 6:30a. Hiked two miles to Wards Fork Gap, a very remote location...when my iPhone began making bizarre noises and an annoying and unintelligible uber-fast paced feminine voice. I stopped and tried for an hour to resolve the issue and came to the conclusion that the iPhone was inoperable. Had to stop and think things through. The iPhone is among other things, my basic navigation tool. I easily could continue the next 30 miles to Seiad Valley, a mini town consisting of a tiny post office, a store and a downtrodden RV Park. No fix there. The next option was to hike back to the starting trailhead (30-something miles) and then find a way to get to either Ashland or Medford for an ATT store and replace the iPhone.
I started hiking back and upon reaching a forest service road near the Donomore Cabin, a faded light blue 1990ish Dodge Dakota Sport came along with two kids riding in the truck bed. Driving was Claudya "Bum" Aklerman, a gray haired 60-something rancher with her daughter Kelsey and two grandkids riding in the truck bed. The forest service had asked to round-up her cows and keep them from straying into Oregon. Apparently, the forest service wants Oregon cows in Oregon and California cows in California. I mentioned that the state border is just a line on the map. She replied, "the cows don't know that". We got to talking and she offered to give me a lift to Yreka, CA. It was something and somewhere and a faster option than backtracking by foot and still needing a ride to get to Ashland or Medford. It was a gift, and I took it.
First, they had to run their cows away from the border. They suggested I hike back to Wards Fork Gap and wait. They would collect me for the ride to Yureka in about two hours.
My next image will live in my mind forever. I could hear the cows coming by the ever-nearing sound of the Swiss cow bells. Soon the cows came rushing down a forest service road past me at a fast gait. I counted about 18-20. That was followed by the truck, driven by Kelsey, the daughter. She would come right back after she "pushed" the cows down the road a bit. She mentioned Claudya would be there in a few minutes on foot. And there she was, about five and half feet tall, a weathered face wearing Wrangler jeans, accented by an oval metal belt buckle, a light-colored western style long sleeve shirt, work boots, no hat and carrying a shotgun in her right hand.
We all crammed in and begin the ride down a precarious, winding, steep and exposed dirt road to the Klamath River, pavement and eventually Yreka. My plan was to get a room, go the library and figure it all out from there. At the moment my mind swirled with a haberdashery of scenarios and strategies. Our twenty-first century lifestyle is so dependent on our Apple or Android. We drove by the library, validated the open and close hours and proceeded to the Best Western, where I attempted to get a room.
The hotel computer was down, I couldn't book a room. I suggested, just comp me the room and we can work out the details later. No real problem solvers present, then the unexpected. A bang, bang moment! A hotel customer was departing for Medford Airport via an executive car service. They quickly agreed to take me. I gave Claudya a hug, thanked her and said good-bye and an hour later was at the Medford AT&T Store.
At the AT&T store, I was thinking replace the iPhone. Not so fast. Apparently, Apple iPhone, have this feature called VoiceOverAssist. It was accidently activated on trail. I had no clue what it was and did not know it can be turned off. The showed me how to activate and deactivate. Phew! Booked a room for two nights to chill out and post this from the Jackson County Public Library.
![](https://i.ibb.co/RBkng8y/IMG-4004.jpg) Ryan, my driver and local Medford benefactor. All's well that ends well. Tomorrow, he will drive me to Seiad Valley, California and I'll be back on the PCT!
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Jun 21, 2024 18:53:48 GMT -8
Dang, glad the phone wasn’t really dead, but pretty frustrating! Still, it brought you to meet more wonderful and helpful people.
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 2,000
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Post by Westy on Jul 4, 2024 6:31:54 GMT -8
Greetings from the State of Jefferson! An on again, off again proposed U.S. state including parts of Southern Oregon and Northern California. The trail from Seiad Valley to the ridge crest was brutal. Over 5,000 vertical feet, through a steady diet of blowdowns and overgrowth. Some use the term bushwhack. I disagree, you can see the trail if you look at your feet, thus disqualifying that definition. Once on the ridge and reaching the Marble Mountain Wilderness it was rather magnificent. Snow drifts, still some patches of blowdowns, deer galore all punctuated by clear blue skies. My cash stash included some two-dollar bills. The payback I received for a "cherry on top" tip component was much goodwill! Seiad Valley, CA - pop. 300
This is it! An all-in-one town! Post Office, General Store and Restaurant! A bounty of overgrowth! Many sections of trail like this! Happy Camp Complex Fire Burn Zone - 2014
Rock Garden Sunrise means on trail - Paradise Lake - Marble Mountain Wilderness, CA - Saw a large, male, cinnamon bear near here. Picturesque snow drift!
Black Marble Mountain Zag - Philadelphia, PA- We had previously met while camped at the KOA, Acton, CA (SoCal last year) We planned to visit the bar in town. While walking to the car he tripped on stairs and tore the toenail off his big toe! So, we dropped him off at the hospital emergency room in Palmdale, CA. That's the last I saw of him until now...Crazy! Man Eaten Lake Descending a snowfield! Mount Shasta (14,180') on horizon
Kidder Creek
Snowmelt! Marten Lake Blowdowns and lots of them...for that... obstacle course ambiance! Short and sweet! Fast Lane! Very much appreciated. R&R - Etna, CA - Crossed this off my Scavenger Hunt list! Etna, CA - Molly MacGowan - Long time US Adult Figure Skating Championship competitor including events we hosted in Salt Lake!
Zero Day in Etna, CA (0 trail miles). My hang-out...always the library
Yours truly prepping FB post! ![](https://i.ibb.co/8gMFc5j/140.jpg)
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Post by burntfoot on Jul 5, 2024 20:57:06 GMT -8
Loved the pictures. Marble Mountains/Trinity Alps between Castle Crags SP and Seiad Valley was my favorite stretch of California.
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cweston
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Post by cweston on Jul 6, 2024 6:35:45 GMT -8
Awesome! Public libraries are a godsend for ppl on the road with spotty cell service. (I learned that here years ago, from rebeccad)
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