Journal
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Pacific Crest Trail SOBO Southern 1/2, Part 16
Day 33 September 25, 2017 Big Rock Camp – Dirt Road Camp After Wind Farm Climb 31.5 miles/11hrs 25′ I’m surprised how cold it is this morning. I walk fast to warm up the body, wearing everything I have. Enter sunshine. Layers are stripped off. I walk and eat my last trail magic apple from Cherokee and JD into the warmth of day. This extra food makes … more
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Pacific Crest Trail SOBO Southern 1/2, Part 15
Day 32 September 24, 2017 Peaceful Piñion Camp – Big Rock/Post Trail Magic Camp 29 miles/11hrs 15′ I walk into the darkness looking up now and again from the very dim low battery light of my headlamp, in awe of the blanket of stars above. Every so often I stop and listen to…silence. The burning red glow of the rising sun lights up the eastern horizon. Shapes … more
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Pacific Crest Trail SOBO Southern 1/2, Part 14
Day 30 September 22, 2017 Kennedy Meadows South – Spanish Needle Creek 33.5 miles/12.5hrs Oh man what a day. Freezing cold last night with ice in the top of the bottles. Need to make sure I put the water bottles in plastic bags at night in my pack, just in case. Nothing like a frozen water bottle or bag when you can prevent it with this small … more
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Pacific Crest Trail SOBO Southern 1/2, Part 13
Day 28 September 20, 2017 Horseshoe Meadow Trailhead – Death Canyon Creek Camp 23.8 miles/8hrs 15′ My entire body hurts. It’s as if it’s screaming a mutinous ‘I thought we were done’ cry at me. Seven days off trail put my body into repair mode. Today hurt. I need to numb all the nerve endings again to lessen the pain. In time. But for now, I feel … more
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Pacific Crest Trail SOBO Southern 1/2, Part 12
Day 26 September 12, 2017 Raging Creek Camp – Crabtree Meadow/Whitney Creek Camp 11 1/2hrs/22 miles A wonderful camp. A bear box for food storage. A deer sleeping in the meadow and a hawk soaring above. I could have kept walking but why? Forester Pass was nice as always in the early morning. Even nicer was the walk after. Beautiful trail meeting up with the … more
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Pacific Crest Trail SOBO Southern 1/2, Part 11
Day 24 September 10, 2017 2.6 mile North of Muir Pass camp – Beauty Camp South of Mather Pass 27.8 miles/12hrs 15′ Up at 3:10am? No problem. Didn’t sleep much, anyway. The wind. The dreaded wind-tunnel-pummelling-the-tent-wind. Oh well. What else can I do but end the misery and walk. Up-up-up the pass into the not so dark moonlit sky. Surreal walking into the absolute silence. I’m in … more
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Pacific Crest trail SOBO Southern 1/2, Part Ten
Day 21 September 7, 2017 Reds’s Meadow – Camp by creek with other tenters nearby warning of the ‘terrible mosquitos’ 17.2 miles/6.5hrs I’m dropped off by our good friends The Nelson’s and know clearly how lucky I am to have these wonderful humans in our lives. They are not only friends they’re also very unofficial personal ‘trail angels’ I owe many an adventure to. I only hope … more
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Pacific Crest Trail SOBO Southern 1/2, Part 9
Day 15 September 1, 2017 HWY 108 hitch – Dorothy aka Mosquito Lake 21 miles/7hrs 45’ An easy hitch after ‘sleeping in’to 630am at the Kennedy Meadows North Guest Ranch. Slept through the raging generator right outside the open window to the bunkhouse. Tired but ready to get back on trail. My my new SOBO flip-flopping ‘lash’er friend Bob obsesses about his stolen phone. It resurfaced … more
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Pacific Crest Trail SOBO Southern 1/2, Part 8
Day 11 August 28/17 ZERO in Incline Village with Mike Stone and Sharron Binford 0 miles/0 hrs Just a little stress trying to get the permit situation figured out. Calling the PCT left me feeling like a fool ‘well I guess you should have planned better…’; calling Yosemite Permit Ranger Station left me laughing ‘so let me get this straight, you tried to jump the line by just … more
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Pacific Crest Trail SOBO Southern 1/2, Part 7
Day Ten August 27-17 ‘Busted’ Camp – HWY 50 16.5 miles/6hrs25’ A relieved rising when I realize no bear has busted into my sub-par bear bag. Not sure if I’ve ever hung my food in such a lame way but there’s only so many attempts a tired hiker can make at getting that rock wrapped in cord just so on a branch so high. I went to … more
