Thursday, May 24, 2018

Snow field

This photo was taken by Steve Lewis right around PCT mile 1531. 


This was taken on 5/19/18. There is a big cornice blocking where the trail should be... or is, somewhere under all that snow. Nope. Way too much danger for me. Thanks to Steve for sharing this information. 

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Best Laid Plans...

I’d been asking online for a couple of weeks about the potential snow difficulties I might face doing this section so early in the season. All the intel I had suggested it would probably be ok, with some north facing slopes still snow covered. Micro spikes were recommended. No problem as I have a pair I’ve never used and it’s about time I got them dirty. 
Last night on the Facebook Section Hikers of the PCT page a gentleman posted pictures he had taken four days earlier of a chunk of trail just 30 miles from my starting point. Hot damn. I don’t have the image but he showed an expanse of north facing trail that was deep snow with a cornice over the trail and no footsteps across. This guy regularly hikes in this area and he said he wouldn’t want to cross that snow field. 

I don’t mind telling you this sort of threw me into a panic. If I stuck to my plan I would been there a short two weeks after his photos were taken. Certainly not enough time for the snow to melt out in any appreciable way. Another member let me read a blog post she had written of encountering this same section in a past year. If I needed any more reason to change my plan, that was it. 

But what to do? I had already purchased a train ticket from San Jose to Dunsmuir and had mailed my food resupply boxes a couple of days ago. If I changed my plan to hike from north to south, that train ticket would be worthless, being non refundable. $80 down the tube. Not only that, the maps I needed for the trail had been sent with my resupply boxes, in the exact opposite order than I would need them. What a curfuffle.

But there was nothing for it but for me to make the big switcheroo since there was no way in hell I was gonna cross that snowy expanse of icy snow. I know there are inherent risks in solo backpacking but deliberately walking into danger has never been my idea of a good time. 

Having made the decision I am much relieved and amazingly, the plan is working out quite well. I will drive to Ashland on Monday, hopefully see my cousin who is visiting from her home in Belize (I would have missed her otherwise) and another dear friend will come visit me in Ashland. I will start hiking south on the PCT on 5/30 giving the snow a few more weeks to melt before I get there. I’ll have to send more food (and maps🤪) to my box in Etna and maps to my stop in Seiad Valley. But still, it could be worse. And I must say I am happy not to be taking the train. I hate train travel. 

Sunday, May 20, 2018

T-minus 7 days

Here we go again. I’ve been reluctant to start blogging here as I haven’t been sure I’d be going back out to the trail this early in the season, but it looks like everything is falling into place and I’ll be back out there soon. As in less than a week. 

So much has happened in this last year. Or maybe this happens every year and I don’t remember it from one year to another. But I’ve spent the past year diligently trying to lose weight. Why? Simply because I want to protect my knees, and I still want to backpack, at least for another decade or more.  I’ve been blessed with generally good health and haven’t had too many terrible joint injuries in the past but still, there is no reason to hurry the age related trouble along.  So, over this time I’ve been able to drop 20 pounds, and I am pleased. But dang, what a hell ride it’s been. I’ll never understand why it’s so easy to gain weight and it takes and act of Congress to lose one fricking pound. And with this Congress...

So the plan this year is to take the Amtrak to Dunsmuir, CA, hike five miles south to Castella, then hit the trail to Ashland, OR. This being around 213 miles. I expect to take three weeks, including a VERY slow first section and take two, two day layovers in the towns I will enter. Speed is not going to be my thing this trip. 

The hard part about doing low miles in the first section is that I have to carry more days of food to make it through the time on trail. For me this will be 10 days of food to carry, 3 days more than I’ve ever packed at any one time. So for once I’ve been super careful and have managed to get my food for this section down to 12 pounds total. In the carry bags. 

Nothing extra that’s for sure!!! We’ll see how it goes. I’m banking that the famous “hiker hunger” won’t kick in for the first section and that I’ve planned my food correctly. If not, I can still stand to lose a few more pounds. 🤪