[at-l] PCT section hike report (long)

[DanandGailSC at aol.com (DanandGailSC@aol.com)]

Day 1, Saturday, May 29
    As I set up my tent on the trail, it seemed impossible that I had been in 
SC this morning.  Donna and her husband picked me up at the Ontario airport 
around noon, took me shopping to buy alcohol (fuel), lighters and water before 
they dropped me off at Cajon pass.  I wondered how I would find them at the 
airport, but Donna's husband recognized my shoes (Montrails) as a hiker's.  At 
that point I was more worried about my luggage.  I went to the wrong carrousel 
at first and so my luggage didn't appear.  At the trailhead, pictures were 
taken and then I headed out, still in my travel clothes.  I changed under the 
bridge underpass.  After 10 miles and no good tent sites, I finally found one 
small spot with a tent already set up.  This was Tom, a British thru hiker.  I 
saw him on and off throughout my hike. I didn't cook.  

Day 2, Sunday, May 
    Because the part of SC I live in has mild temps and tons of humidity, I'd 
forgotten how hot and dry CA can be. The climb out of Cajon Pass fried me.   
Later when I talked to other hikers, I heard comments about Cajon pass.  
Former AT hikers compared it to Stecoah Gap near the Smokies. I carried a gallon of 
water when I began.  When I got to Guffy campground, there were many people 
camping there, and instead of checking my guide, I asked someone where the 
spring was.  The couple I asked didn't know, but they gave me water and also an 
entire cantaloup cut up, plus a good size piece of watermelon.  I chose a site 
to rest at and  told them they woud not see me for at least 30 minutes until 
I'd finished off the fruit.  Later I wished I hadn't eaten so quickly, because a 
68 year old woman, TOB (Tough Ol' Broad) came in from hiking southbound from 
Mohave and I would have loved to share the fruit with her.   Her skin on her 
face looked badly burned and was peeling off in strips.  She told me that she 
hiked through the desert with only a liter and half of water per day and I 
think her hat was more of a bandanna than a brimmed hat that covered her face. I 
have my "coolie" hat from Kavu that looks like I'm wearing an umbrella.  It is 
supposed to protect my head and shoulders from 90 percent of the sun's rays.  
I love my hat, although after hiking the desert I found that my hat did not do 
well in the desert's winds so next year I will look for something a little 
less airborne.  When I read the section about water in the desert, the author 
suggests that  2 gallons of water a day is not too much for the desert heat.  I 
enjoyed talking toTOB and we exchanged email addresses.  She is 15 years older 
than me and I hope I'm still out doing this when I'm 68. 
    
Day 3, Monday, May 31
    My day's miles took me up Baden-Powell (over 9000 ft).  What a butt 
buster! I summited the mountain because it made me imagine Dan was with me.  He 
always does the summits.   I tried to go easy on my water, too, because I thought 
I had 23 miles to go before my next.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn 
about Little Jimmy spring.  A man who was training for an ultra told me it wasn't 
flowing quite as well as it usually did but water is water.  The area around 
the spring had been burned.  I don't know if that affected the spring.  I took 
my rest there.  I was breaking myself into the trail gently by taking a nap 
every afternoon when it was the hottest.  While I was resting two helicopters 
flew nearby.  A man using the spring said he'd heard a ambulance earlier and 
assumed there was a serious car accident.   Stopped at Little Jimmy campground 
and checked it out, but I hadn't gone enough miles to stop for the night.  
Exiting the campground I had a little trouble finding the PCT.   I went back to 
where I last saw the PCT and using my guidebook and compass, found where the PCT 
went. I reached the top of Williamston at 6:30 but still had to find water 
for the night.  I then walked along the road a bit to find someone who would 
call Dan and leave a message.  It was Memorial Day weekend, so I'd seen plenty of 
hikers, including a former PCT thru hiker, but I forgot to give them a 
message to call Dan. I did find some water but not until later did I find a small 
campsite and set up my tent.  I could hear the sounds of a creek, but was unable 
to reach it.  

Day 4, Tuesday, June 1
    At a camp Glenwood with a water spigot, I met Carla, a college math 
teacher who was hiking from Baden-Powell to Sulphur Springs and back again.  She 
was hiking south, and I was going north, so we visited for 30 minutes and then 
moved on.  I found an unopened bag of almonds and one of trail mix on the 
trail, and justified that if I didn't take it some animal would eat it.  I wondered 
if Carla had left the food but didn't stress over the situation and instead 
enjoyed my good fortune.  Because I have herniated disks I keep my weight at a 
minimum so my diet is adequate, but definitely not generous.  I enjoyed the 
extra food.  That night I camped high on a ridge where I enjoyed the city lights 
below.  The wind blew so hard I ended up putting rocks on my tent stakes to 
hold them in place.  Before I did that I was cooking in my tent because of the 
wind and the tent pulled up and I spent a few anxious minutes holding my tent 
away from my stove hoping it would burn out soon.  I was prepared to cover it 
with sand it I had to, but was hoping I didn't have to.  After that incident I 
rarely cooked when the wind was blowing which meant that I rarely cooked. 
    I thought today how precious water is out here.  Anyone tampering with a 
water source deserves serious consequences.  A couple of years ago I passed up 
a spring thinking there would be another one closer to the top of the 
mountain.  I ended up hiking very hot and extremely thirsty.   Now I never pass up a 
water source without filling up my carrier.  Besides filling up I usually 
drink at least a liter at the water source.  

Day 5, Wednesday, June 2
    It was very hot hiking today.  At the Mill Creek Summit ranger station a 
sign stated that there would be no more water until the North Fork  ranger 
station so I carried a gallon.  I could have hiked my faster without all this 
water weight.  I didn't see anyone today.  I was spoiled by all the Memorial Day 
hikers.  But tomorrow I'll be at the Saufley's.   When I arrived at the North 
Fork Ranger station, I washed my face, hands and legs.  I wanted to take a 
picture of my legs with one leg clean and one leg dirty to show how dirty one can 
get in just one day, but I was too tired.  I saw a sign for no camping, but 
saw in the register that some hikers camped in the picnic area, so I set up my 
tent there.  I was worried about camping so near a road, but that night I 
heard no cars.  Later I found out that the picnic area is only accessible by four 
wheel drive and that camping is allowed on that site, just not at ranger 
station.  

Day 6, Thursday, June 3
    Being from SC I am always amazed how dry everything here is.  Sometimes 
I'll see a dark patch of dirt that looks wet, but when I walk through it, puffs 
of dust let me know it's just as dry as the rest.  I was faithful with my 60 
sunscreen, but I have a terrible itchy rash on my legs from the sun.  I read 
in the guidebook that it's actually cooler and less dehydrating to cover up in 
the heat. I started wearing my silk long johns top and bottoms.   I made it in 
to Agua Dulce.  Everything everyone says about the Sauflys is true.  They 
have gone out of their way to provide for every possible thru hiker  need.  I was 
so tired I went to the store when a group went, but I didn't buy much and 
didn't feel like going back again.  I just wanted to rest.  I almost hiked out 
that evening  with two hikers because I didn't want to hike the desert alone.  
But just before I left, I found another group a hikers leaving the next day.  
I'd already hiked 17 miles that day and didn't I could hike another 20 or so.  

Day 7, Friday, June 4
    I hiked out with Christy P,  Teok, and Cottonmouth, all former AT hikers. 
 We left about 5:30 and hiked until 10:30.   We saw a tarantula.  Because of 
the wind, this was the first of many nights I slept under the stars. Setting 
up my tent was impossible.  In fact, the wind was blowing so hard that when I 
woke up in the night I had to brush the sand out of my eye sockets before I 
could open my eyes.  Apparently I had a very dirty face the next day but the 
beauty of being on the trail is that I can't see my face.  I tell people that when 
I'm on the trail I can imagine myself young, athletic and beautiful! (There 
is no mirror to tell me otherwise) It was also too windy to cook.  Christy P 
checked the water info before we left and found out there were plenty of water 
caches through the desert.  On the AT I never thought of water as special, but 
on this stretch of the PCT, I can't think of anything I would have appreciated 
 more from a trail angel.  

Day 8, Saturday, June 5
    Today was Dan's and my 32nd anniversary.  It would have been nice to have 
him along, but this year we decided I would do my distance hiking and he 
would do his peaks.  He's attempting another summit of Hood since rock slides 
prohibited his summit in 2002.  He did Ranier last year.  

Day 9, Sunday, June 6
    The wind blew hard all day today.  The sun was hot, but the wind toned 
down the heat.  There was also some shade from trees on the trail, which helped. 
 We (Christy P, Toek, Cottonmouth and myself) took a break at the Bear 
campground, cooked lunch and took naps.  It was so cool that I climbed into my 
sleeping bag to nap and got some wonderful rest.  I had run out of memory on my 
camera and took this time to delete some pictures from my chip.  Dan is sending a 
large capacity chip to Mohave.  Then next chance for trail magic after the 
Saufley's are  the Andersons.  Mr. Anderson came to the ranger station to see if 
we wanted to nap at their house.  We all declined because the more creature 
comforts one gets on the trail the harder it is get back on the trail.  I did 
find out I'd left my convertible pants at the Saufley's.   I later called Dan 
from the ranger station and left a message so he could get those pants to me at 
Mohave.  The weather had turned cool and I might just need those pants.  They 
were also my town clothes.  My hiking kilt is too disgustingly dirty for 
words.  It never really comes clean anymore.  The Saufley's sent my pants to 
Mohave and I did receive them there.  The Andersons supply spring water in bottles 
to drink at the ranger station's picnic area.  That water was the best water I 
had the entire time I was on the PCT.  I drank three liters while we rested.  


Day 10, Monday, June 7
    Last night we all camped near the "pond."  Josh camped in the open, the 
rest of us camped hidden behind trees.  When I hiked out the next morning and 
came to a road crossing,  some man driving a white car zoomed up and down the 
road near the PCT crossing.  He  raced to a curve above the trail, squealed to 
a stop and spun a 360 and then zoomed down and did another 360.  He repeated 
this three times.  As I crossed the road, he squealed a stop, got out of his 
car and urinated off the road just above the trail where I was.  I felt he did 
this to intimidate me.  My foot always hurts in the morning so that even though 
I wanted to run, my foot wouldn't allow running.  Later on my hike, I wore my 
hiking shoes to bed which helped.  This was the beginning of the Tejon Ranch 
and I wondered if the incident was related to unfriendliness between the ranch 
and hikers.   I was alone during this incident, but after we exited the 
ranch's land we all met at a store.  I bought $20 worth of food (candy, loaf of 
bread, cheese and a gallon of milk) and ate most of it.  The store let us rest in 
a fenced in eating area.  I curled up in a lounge chair with my sleeping bag 
and slept.  We weren't planning to hit the trail until evening, but Christy P 
decided it was cool, bordering on the cold, and that she didn't want to wait 
until dark to hike.  I packed up and went with her.  The next stretch followed 
the Los Angeles aquaduct.  The wind was blowing and it was cold.   At  the 
campsite I put all my clothes on to keep warm.  Christy and I slept under the sun 
shade at Cottonwood Creek which provided wind block for us.  Everyone else 
tented.  I didn't cook, but had enough cheese to eat for supper.       

Day 11, Tuesday, June 8
    Today we hiked into Mohave.  The trail was undulating waves from ATV's 
riding on it.  The trail surface was most annoying and I'm afraid I didn't think 
very nice thoughts about the people that altered the PCT so.  As I did my 
last assent down to Willow Road, I felt aches like I was coming down with the 
flu.  I was cold but I didn't feel like going into my pack to retrieve a jacket 
for fear of losing other clothes in the wind so I hiked cold. I thought maybe I 
was in the beginnings of hypothermia, but someone suggested maybe it was 
dehydration.  I know I didn't drink enough because it was so cold.  I thought I 
could make it to town and hydrate there.  Christy P and I shared a room at 
Whites. The first room we were given hadn't been cleaned.  Even the sheets were 
dirty.  Christy P talked to them and we were moved.  I was too sick to care.  I 
crashed, but the gang came in and watch a Pistons vs. Lakers game.  After some 
juice and a npa I miraculously recuperated and went out looking for the group, 
but by then the stores were closed.

Day 12, Wednesday, June 9 
    The next morning we all met for breakfast.  My pants arrived and also my 
new camera chip.  My box of power bars did not, but I'd received two boxes at 
Agua Dulce and still had some left.  I bought a little food to supplement my 
diet when we went to the grocery store.  My ankle hurt so much the day before 
that I'd wrapped it in duct tape to hike.  I almost had a chance to slack pack, 
but it turned out my gear would be passing through too many hands and that 
made me nervous so I hiked out with the same group. Since it looks like I'll 
finish my 300 miles in two weeks and I had another week before I go home, I 
called Dan and left a message.  I told him to get airfare, rent a car and pick me 
up at Walker Pass.  Cottonmouth didn't come in with us, but hiked on to Hwy 58 
and came in the next morning.  He was going to be off the PCT for two weeks 
for a wedding.   He was the unspoken leader of the group.  After Dave left, the 
dynamics of the group changed.  It was each man for himself and slowly over 
the next few days the group split.   That afternoon as I hiked out I met Datto 
and Petty from the at-l list.  They were slacking between the roads and would 
spend another night in town (I was jealous!).  That night Chris joined our 
group. His claim to fame was that he could sing the theme song to about every 
sitcom created, albeit somewhat out of tune.  He loved to tease solemn Toek, who 
is from Amsterdam.  Germanator and Debbie joined us for the evening.   After 
failure to set up my tent, I slept among the Joshua trees which didn't provide 
any respite from the wind unfortunately.  I did manage to cook.  

Day 13, Thursday, June 10
    I was up and out at 5 am.  Around noon I met an man whose wife was 
picking him up at Walker pass.  I asked him about the possibility of a ride to Onyx 
and he agreed.  The group camped near the water cache, but Pacman and I went 
on.  We camped in a wash.  I thought it might be less windy but it wasn't.  I 
didn't sleep very well.  

Day 14, Friday, June 11
    Today I stopped at Landers campground for lunch.  There was a nice spring 
where I soaked my hurting foot and also cooked lunch.  Pacman came in while I 
was there and also ate lunch.  Two older men who were going to pan for gold 
offered us something to drink.  We declined but later Germanator took them up 
on their offer.  Pacman and I went down to the Sunset mine to check it out.  I 
took lots of pictures there.  I couldn't see down into the shaft because the 
sun was so bright, but my camera recorded what I couldn't see. 

Day 15, Saturday, June 12
    I carried a gallon of water to do the hike over Skinner Peak.  The worst 
part of the climb was the very sandy tread which made every step a chore.  I 
camped just over the top.  Christy joined me for the night.  She is sick.  
Thinks she has giardia.  

Day 16, Sunday, June 13
    It was a fairly easy hike today.  Some was along jeep roads.  Christy P 
thinks she needs medical care so we begin to make plans to go to Bakersfield.  
Pacman says he will take us both into town.  I will rent a car and bring her 
back after a clinic visit.  Pacman's wife, Jan, came at 2:30.  We got a room at 
the Best Western.  .  Dan wasn't waiting for me at Walker Pass but when I 
called our answering service he'd left a message that he was coming Tuesday! 

Day 17, Monday, June 14
    I picked up the car Dan reserved, then I took Christy to the clinic, to a 
drug store and then back to the trail.  I picked up some canned pop and ice 
and filled up a cooler that was already at Walker Pass.  There was still ice in 
it the day before (but no drinks) so someone must fill it regularly.  I was 
planning to spend the night at the Walker Pass trailhead campground, but since 
Christy P decided to move on I came back to Bakersfield and got a room at the 
hotel where Dan had reserved a room for Tuesday.  

Day 18, Tuesday, June 15
    I walked to the store, but other than that I just chilled out in the 
room.  I hadn't taken a zero day and felt in need of one.  Dan arrived late.  

Day 19, Wednesday, June 16
    Dan and I left out early so we could drive through Sequoia National 
Forest and then on to Yosemite. 
                                                
Day 20, Thursday, June 17
    We camped at Wawona campground in Yosemite and left early to hike Half 
Dome.  I told Dan (and others) I would never hike it, but I surprised myself and 
did!  I was glad I'd had the two weeks on the trail to get into shape before 
I did it.  Otherwise I'm not certain I could have done it.   We camped at 
Millerton Lake Recreation Area.  I would have loved to have spent the day there.  
It was a beautiful and peaceful place. 

Day 21, Friday, June 18
    We spent the day driving toward the coast and then along Highway 1.  We 
watched some surfers and walked along the beach. 

Day 22, Saturday, June 19
    Home.