I have written this post at least 174 times since departing trail, mostly during the beginning of my shift at the warehouse when I'd daze off to transport myself to a more open field of view in a much more natural environment, only to be zapped back to reality when I'd start to second guess … Continue reading Hike Hiatus: PCT Pause
Monday morning came, which meant lounging at McDonald's until the post office opened. We played pine cone baseball and pine cone golf in the parking lot until 9 o'clock rolled around. We acquired our new cell phone holders for our Z-packs backpacks, which will make our life so much better. Plus, we get to support … Continue reading Apparently Deer like Lady Pee
We woke up on Memorial Day with just a short walk to the highway and a 7 mile hitch to town. Some may think, 'Oh, 7 miles, just walk there'. But those people don't realize 7 miles will take me 3 hours to walk there but takes you 10 minutes to drive us there. Plus, … Continue reading Stream Crossing 1, Steve 0
Our short stint down the hill brought us to Gold Lake, where we met a young couple from Yosemite out for the weekend. They offered to drive us to Graeagle, which was the closest town to where we were. From Graeagle, we got a hitch to the next town 10 miles up, then from there … Continue reading All Geared Up, heading North!
Kennedy Meadows is a small mountain town with a population of about 200 people, though year-round population drops down into the twenties range. But Kennedy Meadows is a very big milestone for PCT hikers as it signifies the end of the desert section and the beginning of the Sierras for Northbound hikers. In normal snow … Continue reading Flip [off] the Snow
That night, Steve got enough cell phone signal to check his voicemail. The voicemail was important enough for us to decide to go into town early to return the call. Steve woke up a little queasy from the rough day we had the day before, but we only had 4 miles to the alledged water … Continue reading Into the Sand Trap
The next section out of Hiker Town is one of the most popular night hike sections of the trail since it is about 20 miles of flat, shadeless, dry, hardtop hiking along the LA aqueduct. But Patch, Hulk, & I decided to take the aqueduct on in the daytime. We set out from Hiker Town … Continue reading Fun & Folly of the Desert
We arrived mid-morning at Hiker Heaven to be warmly greeted by fellow hikers and hiker volunteers. We were immediately given the tour of the amenities available. The Saufley's yard had a smattering of tents set up, with chickens meandering around, scratching for bugs around the tents. Their garage had been converted to a very well … Continue reading Trio of Angels
As we left Wrightwood, we summited Mount Baden-Powell on a very beautiful morning. Our recent SOBO hike & new trail friend revitalized our excitement and energy, making the fairly steep 2,800 foot ascent pretty fun. The 9,406 ft peak brought about many emotions among the group: excitement, pride, joy, and awe. The mountain, named after … Continue reading Our first nights apart
Some important terms to know for long distant trails: NOBO - Northbound (Mexico to Canada) SOBO - Southbound (Canada to Mexico) Yo-yo - Complete the trail one direction, turn around and hike it again the other way (yep, crazy right?) Flip Flop - completing the whole trail, but hopping around to different parts of the … Continue reading Mix in some SOBO
SMOR Adventures 