Location: Lake Isabella
Zero Day #5
Ok, so I've decided to so something unprecedented in all of my hiking adventures....take back to back zeros. My thought is this: first I'd like to hit the PO (closed today-holiday). Second, I'd like to take the bus out of town rather than try to hitch 35 miles from the highway on-ramp. Finally, once I leave, I will not be in another real town for over 300 trail miles. I will still arrive in Kennedy meadows
on June 3rd, which is very early. The temps are HOT, which means everyday melts several feet of snowpack. So....today truly is about doing nothing. I finished my meds, and am back to my old self. Then, it's 3 days to km leaving bright and early tomorrow.
On a side note: thanks to all of our veterans serving and who have
served. I know I have several late family members who served as well
as a friend in Iraq now. So thank you for what you've done and what
you do. To all current servicemen/women...come home safely.
Pic is of local diner: Koffee shop
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Day 38: Loungin' in Lake Isabella
Location: Lake Izz
Zero Day #4
Taking care of the usual logistics today. Clothes, food, HEET fuel,
etc. This is a decent little town. Really trying to suck the marrow
out of this zero. I'm actually considering staying one more day if
only to be around Tuesday morning for the PO and the local bus
service. It's finally getting hot, which means loads of melting snow
and as the guidebooks say "rabid Mosquitos". Forecast is for lotsa
hot sunny days. Too bad it's a week too late. Caught back up to
mango, but he's heading back out today. My attitude is that with 50
miles to the Sierra, what's the rush.
Side note: Neldas diner...incredible shakes and good people. Hikers
make note of this. Double sided milkshake menu of various flavors.
Zero Day #4
Taking care of the usual logistics today. Clothes, food, HEET fuel,
etc. This is a decent little town. Really trying to suck the marrow
out of this zero. I'm actually considering staying one more day if
only to be around Tuesday morning for the PO and the local bus
service. It's finally getting hot, which means loads of melting snow
and as the guidebooks say "rabid Mosquitos". Forecast is for lotsa
hot sunny days. Too bad it's a week too late. Caught back up to
mango, but he's heading back out today. My attitude is that with 50
miles to the Sierra, what's the rush.
Side note: Neldas diner...incredible shakes and good people. Hikers
make note of this. Double sided milkshake menu of various flavors.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Day 37: Mile 652 (20.6)
Location: Lake Isabella
Was up and hiking today by 5:15 am. I figured with the holiday
weekend, it would be best to try and get a ride to town early. Of all
my planned town stops, this one will probably be the farthest from the
actual trail. The hitch was 35 miles. I was worried I wouldn't get a
ride, but there is a bus that runs from the next town over reducing
the hitch to 17 miles. As luck would have it though, a former pct
hiker, Anna, picked me up and drove me all 35 miles. I'm in town now
enjoying the holiday weekend in the last motel room in town. I
already booked it for tomorrow too. Nice town for a zero. After
here, it's only 50 miles to Kennedy meadows...the doorway to the
Sierra. I'm nervous about the snow after seeing it from agar today,
but will push on regardless. Should make for some good stories.
Was up and hiking today by 5:15 am. I figured with the holiday
weekend, it would be best to try and get a ride to town early. Of all
my planned town stops, this one will probably be the farthest from the
actual trail. The hitch was 35 miles. I was worried I wouldn't get a
ride, but there is a bus that runs from the next town over reducing
the hitch to 17 miles. As luck would have it though, a former pct
hiker, Anna, picked me up and drove me all 35 miles. I'm in town now
enjoying the holiday weekend in the last motel room in town. I
already booked it for tomorrow too. Nice town for a zero. After
here, it's only 50 miles to Kennedy meadows...the doorway to the
Sierra. I'm nervous about the snow after seeing it from agar today,
but will push on regardless. Should make for some good stories.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Day 36: Mile 631.4 (29.2)
Location: Bird Spring Pass
Looong day today. Decided to hike a little extra so that I could set
myself up for an early afternoon hitch attempt into lake Isabella.
With it being a holiday weekend, it may be tough. Today I started
hiking through the southern sierras and can see the snowy peaks in the
distance. The weather finally cleared up too.
Looong day today. Decided to hike a little extra so that I could set
myself up for an early afternoon hitch attempt into lake Isabella.
With it being a holiday weekend, it may be tough. Today I started
hiking through the southern sierras and can see the snowy peaks in the
distance. The weather finally cleared up too.
Day 35: Mile 602.2 (27.9)
Location: Robin Bird Spring
Good long day. Starting to feel a lot better. Sitting here at robin spring, it occurs to me that Kennedy meadows is 100 miles away. That is pretty damn close as trail miles go. Not much else to talk about today. I walked alone all day and enjoyed the scenery a lot. The trees are starting to get fuller, and the familiar desert flora are disappearing. I will be going into lake Isabella in a few days (whenever I get to walker pass-if I can get a hitch)
Crossed 600 today...cool
Good long day. Starting to feel a lot better. Sitting here at robin spring, it occurs to me that Kennedy meadows is 100 miles away. That is pretty damn close as trail miles go. Not much else to talk about today. I walked alone all day and enjoyed the scenery a lot. The trees are starting to get fuller, and the familiar desert flora are disappearing. I will be going into lake Isabella in a few days (whenever I get to walker pass-if I can get a hitch)
Crossed 600 today...cool
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Day 34: Mile 574.3 (16)
Location: sheltered spot after climb from highway
Well, I can add the joy of giardia to my list of new experiences that
I've had while hiking. Turns out it was giardia, and after a week of
symptoms, I worked my way into a small clinic outside of mojave. With
a twirl of the pen, the lpn wrote me a script for a wonderful drug
that is, as we speak, ridding my body of nasty little protozoans. Did
a nice 16 today out of town and walked by hundreds of wind turbines.
The pic looks like a windows wallpaper. Found a great camping spot
after the 2000 ft climb up from the highway. After crossing the
highway, I also officially said goodbye to southern Cali, and welcomed
central.
Looking forward to feeling like my ok self again.
Well, I can add the joy of giardia to my list of new experiences that
I've had while hiking. Turns out it was giardia, and after a week of
symptoms, I worked my way into a small clinic outside of mojave. With
a twirl of the pen, the lpn wrote me a script for a wonderful drug
that is, as we speak, ridding my body of nasty little protozoans. Did
a nice 16 today out of town and walked by hundreds of wind turbines.
The pic looks like a windows wallpaper. Found a great camping spot
after the 2000 ft climb up from the highway. After crossing the
highway, I also officially said goodbye to southern Cali, and welcomed
central.
Looking forward to feeling like my ok self again.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Day 33: Seam Sealin' in Mojave
Location: Mojave, CA...punk!
Zero Day #3
Well I'm hanging out here in Mojave, a town that is finally living up
to its reputation. Today is HOT. Glad to be in an air conditioned
room. The zero day is nice. I'm not miserably sick this time, and
have already done my "chores". I made it up to the hardware store,
bought some mineral spirits, and with my silicone sealer sealed my new
tent. It's kind of funny to see a tent set up on the motel 6
lawn. :-). I'm waiting for the staff to say something. Until then,
it's going to dry in the sun.
At 9 am this morning, I had a conference call with the folks that
coordinate WAIS Divide Antarctica deployment, and my date has
officially been set: Nov 16th is when I will leave for my third and
last year of ice core work at WAIS. We should complete drilling this
season. It's weird to think about living on an ice sheet while
sitting in mojave.
Tomorrow I will head out for the trail again, but not until mid-day.
I've got one other thing to take care of in the morning.
On a side note, once I leave here tomorrow, I'll officially be
entering "central California". That's right, southern Cali section is
done!
Still having a blast. Hike on....
Oh, one other thing. Got my degree in the mail. Penn state was crazy
enough to give me a masters degree!?I know, what is this world coming
to?
Happy 1 year anniversary Carri and Dion.
Zero Day #3
Well I'm hanging out here in Mojave, a town that is finally living up
to its reputation. Today is HOT. Glad to be in an air conditioned
room. The zero day is nice. I'm not miserably sick this time, and
have already done my "chores". I made it up to the hardware store,
bought some mineral spirits, and with my silicone sealer sealed my new
tent. It's kind of funny to see a tent set up on the motel 6
lawn. :-). I'm waiting for the staff to say something. Until then,
it's going to dry in the sun.
At 9 am this morning, I had a conference call with the folks that
coordinate WAIS Divide Antarctica deployment, and my date has
officially been set: Nov 16th is when I will leave for my third and
last year of ice core work at WAIS. We should complete drilling this
season. It's weird to think about living on an ice sheet while
sitting in mojave.
Tomorrow I will head out for the trail again, but not until mid-day.
I've got one other thing to take care of in the morning.
On a side note, once I leave here tomorrow, I'll officially be
entering "central California". That's right, southern Cali section is
done!
Still having a blast. Hike on....
Oh, one other thing. Got my degree in the mail. Penn state was crazy
enough to give me a masters degree!?I know, what is this world coming
to?
Happy 1 year anniversary Carri and Dion.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Day 32: Mile 558.3 (16.9)
Location: Mojave, CA
Made it into Mojave today. Got a ride from the first car I stuck my
thumb out for. Love that.
Staying for a couple days to let my body recover a bit. Last couple
of days have been tough.
Starting to seriously think about my Sierra options. I really want to
go north, but the snow reports are really bad. If I decide to flip,
it will be to Oregon to go south, and then back to Oregon to go north
if I'm still in the game. I am going to go into lake Isabella to kill
some time, and may even jump out to lone pine as well, so that will
give me a few more days of snow melt. It's kind of weird for me to
have so many stops and zeros, but it's necessary. The herd will
undoubtedly catch up, but I really like it here in mojave. I am
tucked away up at the motel 6 by myself and it's nice to rest.
Filled out my wall map today, and the line is starting to look
respectable.
Made it into Mojave today. Got a ride from the first car I stuck my
thumb out for. Love that.
Staying for a couple days to let my body recover a bit. Last couple
of days have been tough.
Starting to seriously think about my Sierra options. I really want to
go north, but the snow reports are really bad. If I decide to flip,
it will be to Oregon to go south, and then back to Oregon to go north
if I'm still in the game. I am going to go into lake Isabella to kill
some time, and may even jump out to lone pine as well, so that will
give me a few more days of snow melt. It's kind of weird for me to
have so many stops and zeros, but it's necessary. The herd will
undoubtedly catch up, but I really like it here in mojave. I am
tucked away up at the motel 6 by myself and it's nice to rest.
Filled out my wall map today, and the line is starting to look
respectable.
Day 31: Mile 541.4 (23)
Location: Tylerhorse Canyon
What a bizarre day. I left hiker town with about 4 inches of new snow
across the valley on the tehachapi mtns. I walked the 15 miles along
the aquaduct across the exposed mojave desert always just ahead of
some nasty clouds. I never got rained on, but I was very close to
it. Today was supposed to be the "hottest and most miserable day on
the trail". It rained and was cold. Go figure. At about 4pm, I
finally left the aquaduct and began the slow climb up into the
foothills. As I made my way, I encountered gust force winds like
never before. So intense I was literally blown down a couple times.
If I had to guess, I'd say a few of the gusts probably neared 80-100
mph. I'm tucked away in a shielded canyon tonight but the winds are
still crazy. It was hard setting my tent up, so I gave up and am
cowboy camping. I'm mummied up nicely listening to the howling winds
around me. With all this said...it was a good and unique day.
With today being my one month anniversary on the trail (started hiking
April 23rd), I'd also like to just say a few words about my memorial
page. I haven't brought it up yet, nor do I plan to except on month
anniversaries. For those reading along and don't know, part of the
reason for my hike is to raise awareness and funds for the American
heart association (for heart disease research). My dad, a pretty
healthy guy, was taken way too early from us because of this nasty
disease. I set up a tribute page in his honor and it's already raised
over 500 dollars from many generous people (thank you everyone).
Thats about a dollar a mile so far. It's on days like today, when my
head is down and I'm plowing into 80 mph winds that I think about why
I'm out here.
So if you feel like giving a buck or two, the link is over in the
right sidebar. Thanks everyone, and I'm proud to walk for such a good
cause.
Pic is a Joshua tree in the middle of the mojave desert.
What a bizarre day. I left hiker town with about 4 inches of new snow
across the valley on the tehachapi mtns. I walked the 15 miles along
the aquaduct across the exposed mojave desert always just ahead of
some nasty clouds. I never got rained on, but I was very close to
it. Today was supposed to be the "hottest and most miserable day on
the trail". It rained and was cold. Go figure. At about 4pm, I
finally left the aquaduct and began the slow climb up into the
foothills. As I made my way, I encountered gust force winds like
never before. So intense I was literally blown down a couple times.
If I had to guess, I'd say a few of the gusts probably neared 80-100
mph. I'm tucked away in a shielded canyon tonight but the winds are
still crazy. It was hard setting my tent up, so I gave up and am
cowboy camping. I'm mummied up nicely listening to the howling winds
around me. With all this said...it was a good and unique day.
With today being my one month anniversary on the trail (started hiking
April 23rd), I'd also like to just say a few words about my memorial
page. I haven't brought it up yet, nor do I plan to except on month
anniversaries. For those reading along and don't know, part of the
reason for my hike is to raise awareness and funds for the American
heart association (for heart disease research). My dad, a pretty
healthy guy, was taken way too early from us because of this nasty
disease. I set up a tribute page in his honor and it's already raised
over 500 dollars from many generous people (thank you everyone).
Thats about a dollar a mile so far. It's on days like today, when my
head is down and I'm plowing into 80 mph winds that I think about why
I'm out here.
So if you feel like giving a buck or two, the link is over in the
right sidebar. Thanks everyone, and I'm proud to walk for such a good
cause.
Pic is a Joshua tree in the middle of the mojave desert.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Day 30: Mile 518.4 (13.1)
Location: Hikertown
Woke up this morning at a relatively low elevation of about 4500 ft,
on may 22nd, within a few miles of the mojave desert, and it was
snowing and in the 20s. WTF?! It was a cold brisk walk down to
highway 138 where I was aiming to hit the famous "hikertown". This
hostel is hard to explain but bob and Richard are both fantastic.
There are a slew of small "trailers" that you can rent for ten bucks.
I opted for a nice little place on the end of town row. The town is
set up like an old movie set facade. Kinda weird.
Tomorrow is historically one of the worst days on the pct. Because of
the enormous tajon ranch, the pct is routed right across the hot open,
merciless mojave along the la aquaduct. Tajon ranch won't grant the
pct an easement to route the trail through the tehachapu mtns (along
the actual crest). Because of this crazy weather, tomorrow is
actually supposed to be cool and windy for my desert hike. I'd be
lying if I said that I wasn't a little interested in the unique aspect
of tomorrow. Real curious to walk along the aquaduct. Depending on
how it goes, I will either be in mojave Monday or early Tuesday. Lots
to do in mojave, will probably zero again. For anyone interested,
here is why I'm not in any hurry right now:
cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow/PLOT_SWC
Woke up this morning at a relatively low elevation of about 4500 ft,
on may 22nd, within a few miles of the mojave desert, and it was
snowing and in the 20s. WTF?! It was a cold brisk walk down to
highway 138 where I was aiming to hit the famous "hikertown". This
hostel is hard to explain but bob and Richard are both fantastic.
There are a slew of small "trailers" that you can rent for ten bucks.
I opted for a nice little place on the end of town row. The town is
set up like an old movie set facade. Kinda weird.
Tomorrow is historically one of the worst days on the pct. Because of
the enormous tajon ranch, the pct is routed right across the hot open,
merciless mojave along the la aquaduct. Tajon ranch won't grant the
pct an easement to route the trail through the tehachapu mtns (along
the actual crest). Because of this crazy weather, tomorrow is
actually supposed to be cool and windy for my desert hike. I'd be
lying if I said that I wasn't a little interested in the unique aspect
of tomorrow. Real curious to walk along the aquaduct. Depending on
how it goes, I will either be in mojave Monday or early Tuesday. Lots
to do in mojave, will probably zero again. For anyone interested,
here is why I'm not in any hurry right now:
cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow/PLOT_SWC
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