Day 4 5/18
16 miles, total miles 63
It really felt like walking in the desert today, it was hot! I got an early start, around 6:45. My first stop was a water pump about a mile away, I currently had only 1 liter of water left. Once I refilled my bottles I took off. The next section is a little more rugged and has less water, so it took a little planning. The views were spectacular, the trail followed mountain sides all around. It was a little scary at points, because the trail was only a few feet wide, and on one side was the mountain, and the other side was straight down. Did I mention it was windy? One wrong step and I would've went tumbling down the mountain. I went through so much water I had to fill up again, this time at a water tank that poured into a horse trough. Now the water is the trough was gross, but I could stick my bottle under the running faucet and get the clean water. I still filtered it of course. I met one guy today who said he doesn't filter water much. I told him he might regret that decision when he's got the Hershey squirts and nothing but a 6 inch hole in the dirt. When I was filtering water at the horse trough, I saw a coyote saunter on by. He looked at me and just walked on, I didn't phase him at all. He probably thought that I smelled too bad. By the end of the day my feet were killing me. The trail has been covered in these large loose rocks that are just destroying my feet. My last couple miles was basically me hobbling around like an old man. I set up camp in a nice shady spot and cooked my dinner. Instant potatoes and meat sticks, it was delicious! Almost made it to 100 miles!
Day 5 5/19
16 miles 79 total miles
Slept real good last night. When I woke up my feet were still pretty sore. I had about 1 liter of water on me, with 5 miles till the next water source, and it was supposed to be hotter than yesterday so I had to get an early start. I was on trail by 7, and of course had to start my day with an uphill mile on an old dirt road. After that the next 4 miles went pretty quick. Once I hit the junction for the water source, I realized that it was not on trail. I had to hike 1 mile down this old jeep road that was in utter disrepair and went down a very steep hill. Going downhill is not easy or fun as some people think. Going downhill means a lot of weight on your knees and toes, and when your toes have blisters on them it can be very uncomfortable. I make it halfway down this hill and there is this big barb wire gate. It made me stop for a minute because I didn't really want to stumble into some drug house or something. But I eventually decided to take the risk, if I ran into trouble I have 2 hiking poles and I know how to use them. I also run pretty fast. So I crawled under the barn wire fence and continues down the hill. I finally made it to the source, a dirty little pipe with delicious, refreshing water flowing from it. I filtered my 5 liters and started my long ass climb back to the trail. Believe it or not, the uphill was easier than the down hill. It requires more energy, but it hurts less. I had 8 miles until the next water source. It was a hot 8 miles with very little shade. I was trying to keep my neck covered to protect it from sunburn, but my hands ended up getting the most burnt, because they were the only skin exposed since I was holding my trekking poles. The first 5 of those miles were pretty hilly, the last 3 were very flat and very hot. The last 3 miles were a push to route 78, where the trail crossed at a point called scissors crossing. I had different plans however. It was time to change things up a bit. I walked up to route 78 and stuck my thumb out. It was time to hitch a ride into town. Julian, CA was about 12 miles down 78. They were supposed to be really friendly to hikers, a very popular stop. I was looking forward to some hot food and a shower.i wasn't waiting long when a lady pulled to the side of the road and waved for me to get in. She was driving a mini van, and told me I had to sit in the very back, this was more because of my rancid smell than her sense of security. When I crawled in the back I realized she had a baby in the back seat. She told me to not mind him if he started crying because I smelled bad. He only looked at me with a curious look on his face, trying to figure out what the hell I was doing in the back of the van. That or he was pooping, who knows. Real nice lady though. So she dropped me off in this touristy looking town that had some serious hankering for pie. There were pie shops everywhere, or as I like to call it, heaven. Unfortunately most of them were closed by the time I got there. I mostly wanted a bed and a shower. I walked over to a neat looking bed and breakfast and asked the gentleman at the counter if there were any rooms available. Now people in this town are used to hikers, they understand that we smell awful. The guy at the counter handled that very well, the girl that walked in behind the counter a minute later, not so much. She literally gagged at my smell. What a time to be alive. The guy told me the only room available was a king suite and it was kind of expensive. There were only 3 other lodges in Julian, and one was full already. I just said screw it, give me the king suite. Then he proceeded to give me a speel about not using there white towels to wipe down my gear. I get it! Hikers are dirty, jeez all I wanna do is shower. All in all it was a really nice place! I took 2 showers and washed my clothes in the tub. I made sure I cleaned meticulously, to help the reputation of future hikers. I ate dinner at this amazing little Italian joint, after I showered of course, but before I washed my clothes so there was still 50% stink. I sat at the bar, away from most people, so I didn't disturb their dinner. It must have been a funny sight, a stinky homeless looking guy sipping wine with his pinky up at a fancyish restaurant. The food was delicious! I returned to my king sized bed and hit the sack.
5/20
I am sad to announce that this is the end of my PCT journey for now. While I only completed roughly 1/30th of the entire trail, I am very proud of my accomplishments. The reason is simple. As you can imagine, it gets very lonely on the trail. This was something I thought I was prepared for, but there is a difference between being alone and being isolated. It's not like a vacation where there are a lot of things occupying your mind. You are completely alone with your thoughts as you walk the trail. Sure you meet someone every once in a while, but for the majority of the time you are alone and with no cell service. It's not that I was worried about my safety or anything, it just would have been nice to have someone to share the beauty with.
So instead of talking about what I didn't accomplish, I'd like to talk about what I did. I had an awesome trip with my dad driving across the country. I crossed 2 more states off my list, Nevada and California, bring me to 40 or 41 total states visited. I got to drive through Vegas. I saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time. I got to explore San Diego. I backpacked 80 miles in 5 days through the desert, carrying all my supplies on my back. I hitchhiked for the first time. And finally I will be flying in a plane for the first time on my way home.
That is a pretty good list in my book. I am 100% happy with how this trip turned out. I am not done with the PCT just yet however. Instead of completing it all in one shot, I decided to chip away at it one chunk at a time, and who knows maybe in 26 years I will have completed it! I want to thank everyone who has been following my journey. It has really meant a lot to me. I want to thank Savannah for having patience with me through my journey! I want to thank my mom, who was very supportive of me, and was my supply coordinator. Lastly, I want to thank my dad for instilling in me this sense of adventure that put me on this track in the first place. And let's not forget him driving me all the way to San Diego. Thank you everyone for your support. Stay tuned for more PCT adventures. ( disclaimer it may be over a year)
Cheers!
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Thursday, May 18, 2017
First Stretch!
Day 1 5/15
15 miles
I didn't sleep very well that night so I was pretty tired in the morning. Admittedly, dad and I did a tour of the local breweries on Sunday so I was feeling pretty hungover. Was I starting a 2650 mile trail hungover? Yes. Do I regret anything? Not until about mile 4. Dad and I made it to the trail head around 9:30. It actually rained on our drive to the trail, the car said it was 45 degrees outside! We took a few obligatory picture at the southern terminus and talked to terminus Tom who is a volunteer that stayed at the trailhead to answer anyone's questions and make sure everyone is knowledgeable about LNT (leave no trace). We hit the first official mile marker of the PCT. It was all very surreal, a year's worth of planning and it is finally happening. The trail was so quiet, we were the only people within shouting distance. Dad hiked with me until the 3 mile mark, then we shared some emotional goodbyes and headed our separate ways. Once dad left, this feeling of true isolation and loneliness hit me. The expected thoughts of "holy shit what are you doing?" and "you're never gonna make it" started to hit me. They did not last long, if I don't make it to Canada, bummer, but I damn sure will try my hardest. Anyways, I didn't run into another hiker until afternoon, then I ran into about 6 or 7 more. Passing them all up I might add. The goal for the day was to make it to Lake Morena at mile 20. I started to feel really drained around mile 7, so I sat down and munched on a few things and it perked me right up. I also plugged my headphones into my phone and listened to an audio book. It really helps you take your mind off of the pain. The trail was beautiful, most of the day I walked along the top of the ridges with a grand view all around. I walked through some sections of trail that were recovering from previous forest fires. I saw a few critters, some rabbits, a squirrel, a bunch of lizards, 8.5 million fire ants, but no snakes yet. I ended up stopping at mile 15 to set up camp, my legs were dead and I could make the last 4.5 mile uphill climb to Lake Morena. There was about 5 other people set up in this nice little Grove. I'm going to bed early tonight!
Day 2 5/16
17 miles, total miles 32
Today started out like the day from he'll. First of all, let's not gorges about the four mile climb I have to do right away. I wake up around 5:45 to the sound of rain battering my tent. All I could think of was seriously, this is southern California, I didn't think it rIned here! Anyways, I roll back over and go to sleep, hoping it would quit soon. It didn't. I got up a little after 7 and started packing up. The hill was a pretty intese way to start the day, it wasn't so steep, just long. By this time the rain had turned into a mist, but I was soaked anyways. I met up with my first trail friend, Tim, and we pushed on to the top. I finally got to the top, and just like that there was lake Morena! It was like a beacon of hope. So Tim and I went down to the lake and took a little detour to a small diner just down the road. I had a coffee, OJ, and a big ole breakfast burrito. It was well deserved. After that the day went great, the trail was flat and the rain stopped. My plan was to go 17 miles and camp at a small spot in Fred canyon. I stopped at a campground at mile 26 because they had cell service so I could call home, but I still had 6 miles of ground to cover. Those last 2 miles were beautiful, I spent most of the time walking along a ridge with, what looked like, all of southern California before me. The last 2 miles were tough because I was beat. I hit my camp spot cooked a little dinner, let my tent dry and went to bed. There is a creek a few feet from my tent, I think it's babbling will put me to sleep real quick.
Day 3 5/17
16 miles, total miles 46
Woke up at six to a beautiful morning. Took my time getting ready, because I only had to do 15 miles today. I want to take it easy and not over work myself for the first couple days. Not to mention my planned stop for the night was Mt laguna campground, and they have ... wait for it... showers! That's right I said it! My first shower since Monday morning. I gotta be honest with you, I smell like a homeless man holding a used baby diaper. Back to it then, the day did not start out great. I hiked about a half mile down the trail when I ran into a fellow hiker named Jake walking the opposite way, but I had made it farther than Jake yesterday so I was confused why I was crossing paths with him. Yep. I was walking the wrong way like an idiot. I would have found out eventually, but I'm glad I ran into Jake as soon as I did. Now that I was going the right direction, I found out that Jake had hiked the PCT in 2006 and was going for round 2, thus I dubbed him with the trail name of Two Timer. Although it was quickly changed to Old School because he has a bunch of old gear and is always reminiscent of his 06 hike. We hiked about 10 miles to Mt laguna, where I stopped at nice little tavern for lunch. I wandered around the little town for about an hour and then took off. My feet were killing me, I was about ready to call I quits. I hiked another 6 miles, mostly on an exposed ridge and the wind was crazy. 50 to 60 mph gusts. I found a little notch under some trees and anchored my tent down and prayed I didn't blow away. Tim and a guy named Payton caught up and camped with me, so it was nice to know someone will witness me blow away, hopefully they will video it. And I did not make it to the campground with showers.
15 miles
I didn't sleep very well that night so I was pretty tired in the morning. Admittedly, dad and I did a tour of the local breweries on Sunday so I was feeling pretty hungover. Was I starting a 2650 mile trail hungover? Yes. Do I regret anything? Not until about mile 4. Dad and I made it to the trail head around 9:30. It actually rained on our drive to the trail, the car said it was 45 degrees outside! We took a few obligatory picture at the southern terminus and talked to terminus Tom who is a volunteer that stayed at the trailhead to answer anyone's questions and make sure everyone is knowledgeable about LNT (leave no trace). We hit the first official mile marker of the PCT. It was all very surreal, a year's worth of planning and it is finally happening. The trail was so quiet, we were the only people within shouting distance. Dad hiked with me until the 3 mile mark, then we shared some emotional goodbyes and headed our separate ways. Once dad left, this feeling of true isolation and loneliness hit me. The expected thoughts of "holy shit what are you doing?" and "you're never gonna make it" started to hit me. They did not last long, if I don't make it to Canada, bummer, but I damn sure will try my hardest. Anyways, I didn't run into another hiker until afternoon, then I ran into about 6 or 7 more. Passing them all up I might add. The goal for the day was to make it to Lake Morena at mile 20. I started to feel really drained around mile 7, so I sat down and munched on a few things and it perked me right up. I also plugged my headphones into my phone and listened to an audio book. It really helps you take your mind off of the pain. The trail was beautiful, most of the day I walked along the top of the ridges with a grand view all around. I walked through some sections of trail that were recovering from previous forest fires. I saw a few critters, some rabbits, a squirrel, a bunch of lizards, 8.5 million fire ants, but no snakes yet. I ended up stopping at mile 15 to set up camp, my legs were dead and I could make the last 4.5 mile uphill climb to Lake Morena. There was about 5 other people set up in this nice little Grove. I'm going to bed early tonight!
Day 2 5/16
17 miles, total miles 32
Today started out like the day from he'll. First of all, let's not gorges about the four mile climb I have to do right away. I wake up around 5:45 to the sound of rain battering my tent. All I could think of was seriously, this is southern California, I didn't think it rIned here! Anyways, I roll back over and go to sleep, hoping it would quit soon. It didn't. I got up a little after 7 and started packing up. The hill was a pretty intese way to start the day, it wasn't so steep, just long. By this time the rain had turned into a mist, but I was soaked anyways. I met up with my first trail friend, Tim, and we pushed on to the top. I finally got to the top, and just like that there was lake Morena! It was like a beacon of hope. So Tim and I went down to the lake and took a little detour to a small diner just down the road. I had a coffee, OJ, and a big ole breakfast burrito. It was well deserved. After that the day went great, the trail was flat and the rain stopped. My plan was to go 17 miles and camp at a small spot in Fred canyon. I stopped at a campground at mile 26 because they had cell service so I could call home, but I still had 6 miles of ground to cover. Those last 2 miles were beautiful, I spent most of the time walking along a ridge with, what looked like, all of southern California before me. The last 2 miles were tough because I was beat. I hit my camp spot cooked a little dinner, let my tent dry and went to bed. There is a creek a few feet from my tent, I think it's babbling will put me to sleep real quick.
Day 3 5/17
16 miles, total miles 46
Woke up at six to a beautiful morning. Took my time getting ready, because I only had to do 15 miles today. I want to take it easy and not over work myself for the first couple days. Not to mention my planned stop for the night was Mt laguna campground, and they have ... wait for it... showers! That's right I said it! My first shower since Monday morning. I gotta be honest with you, I smell like a homeless man holding a used baby diaper. Back to it then, the day did not start out great. I hiked about a half mile down the trail when I ran into a fellow hiker named Jake walking the opposite way, but I had made it farther than Jake yesterday so I was confused why I was crossing paths with him. Yep. I was walking the wrong way like an idiot. I would have found out eventually, but I'm glad I ran into Jake as soon as I did. Now that I was going the right direction, I found out that Jake had hiked the PCT in 2006 and was going for round 2, thus I dubbed him with the trail name of Two Timer. Although it was quickly changed to Old School because he has a bunch of old gear and is always reminiscent of his 06 hike. We hiked about 10 miles to Mt laguna, where I stopped at nice little tavern for lunch. I wandered around the little town for about an hour and then took off. My feet were killing me, I was about ready to call I quits. I hiked another 6 miles, mostly on an exposed ridge and the wind was crazy. 50 to 60 mph gusts. I found a little notch under some trees and anchored my tent down and prayed I didn't blow away. Tim and a guy named Payton caught up and camped with me, so it was nice to know someone will witness me blow away, hopefully they will video it. And I did not make it to the campground with showers.
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Final Thoughts
The time has come. As I type this, I am on my way to San Diego to start the Pacific Crest Trail. I want to give a big thank you to my dad for taking the time to drive me out to California and to eventually pick me up when I am finished.
I am not really nervous to start, just feeling a little antsy and ready to get moving. It has been an amazing drive so far. Driving is the way to go, it is the only true was to get to see the country.
That is the bridge over the Mississippi River.
This is a wind farm on the Plains of Kansas.
My pack base weight ended up being around 23 pounds. The means 23 pounds without including food or water. When I added my food bag, it weighed 36 pounds. Once I add on 6 liters of water my final pack weight will be about 50 pounds. I went for a 3 mile walk with my pack at home, just to make sure everything felt comfortable. The first half mile was a bit of an adjustment period, but after that I fell into a groove.
My starting body weight is about 215 pounds. I'm hoping to get down to about 190 ish by the end of the trail.
Dad and I took route 70 west, and it was one of the most scenic drives I have ever been on. A lot of people found it hard to believe that we were driving across country instead of flying. Driving is the way to go, it is the only true way to see our beautiful country. I highly recommend everybody add a road trip down route 70 to their bucket list, it is a truly amazing experience.
My pack base weight ended up being around 23 pounds. The means 23 pounds without including food or water. When I added my food bag, it weighed 36 pounds. Once I add on 6 liters of water my final pack weight will be about 50 pounds. I went for a 3 mile walk with my pack at home, just to make sure everything felt comfortable. The first half mile was a bit of an adjustment period, but after that I fell into a groove.
My starting body weight is about 215 pounds. I'm hoping to get down to about 190 ish by the end of the trail.
Dad and I took route 70 west, and it was one of the most scenic drives I have ever been on. A lot of people found it hard to believe that we were driving across country instead of flying. Driving is the way to go, it is the only true way to see our beautiful country. I highly recommend everybody add a road trip down route 70 to their bucket list, it is a truly amazing experience.
Day 1 of driving we drove for 13 hours and stopped just shy of Kansas city. The second day we drove a whopping 15 hours through Kansas, Colorado, and stopped about halfway through Utah. On day three we drove from Utah to San Diego in about 12 hours. We will spend tomorrow exploring the city, and on Monday morning I start my journey! Wish me luck!
Saturday, April 15, 2017
4 weeks left!!
It's getting down to crunch time! Four weeks from today dad and I will be driving out to San Diego. May 15th is my official start date of the trail! These past few weeks have been going by so slow, graduating college in 3 weeks and starting a 2,650 mile hike the next week.
A lot of people have been asking me what I am doing to prepare for this journey. Honestly, aside from soaking in as much information as I can, I haven't been doing much in terms of physically preparing. This will probably make the first few weeks on the trail suck, because it will take my body a little longer to adjust to the daily exertion.
I had to add a few new items to my gear list. The main 2 are microspikes and an ice axe. There has been huge amounts of snow in the Sierras this year. It was very close to becoming a record year for snow fall! A lot of hikers are freaking out about it, I say bring on the challenge! Plus I will be starting later than most so it will give the snow more of a chance to melt.
Now that the weather is getting a little nicer maybe I will get out and go for a run and try to get in a little better shape. A lot of people are starting the trail in April, so I have been keeping up with a lot of blogs to see what to expect. The anticipation is growing!
Here is a link to my pack list:
https://lighterpack.com/r/1ianga
A lot of people have been asking me what I am doing to prepare for this journey. Honestly, aside from soaking in as much information as I can, I haven't been doing much in terms of physically preparing. This will probably make the first few weeks on the trail suck, because it will take my body a little longer to adjust to the daily exertion.
I had to add a few new items to my gear list. The main 2 are microspikes and an ice axe. There has been huge amounts of snow in the Sierras this year. It was very close to becoming a record year for snow fall! A lot of hikers are freaking out about it, I say bring on the challenge! Plus I will be starting later than most so it will give the snow more of a chance to melt.
Now that the weather is getting a little nicer maybe I will get out and go for a run and try to get in a little better shape. A lot of people are starting the trail in April, so I have been keeping up with a lot of blogs to see what to expect. The anticipation is growing!
Here is a link to my pack list:
https://lighterpack.com/r/1ianga
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