[pct-l] Recent Hiking Report from the trail

[kborski@yahoo.com (Karen Borski)]

Hi PCT-ers,

I travelled to SoCal last week to work at NASA Dryden
on Edwards Air Force base.  Due to several waive-offs
of space shuttle landing, I had to stay there all week
and wait, and I had very little to do after I arrived
and set up.  My other co-workers, none of whom really
understood why I was staying at White's Motel in
Mojave (instead of Palmdale/Lancaster, a sort of
extension of LA), were utterly bored and claimed to be
miserable, but ME, I was in HEAVEN!!!  I revisited the
PCT after two years of absence.  I went hiking every
evening.

I walked about 6 miles southbound from the
Tehachapi-Willow Springs Rd, which was a wonderful
spot to hike.  I saw the wild herd of dark brown
mustangs that roam Oak Creek Canyon.  I hiked several
miles northbound from Walker Pass.  There were some
very small patches of ice and snow with the highest
peaks coated in a white dusting.  I walked around
Vasquez Rocks in Agua Dulce, and briefly visited Cajon
Pass, Wrightwood, Van Dusen Canyon Rd near Big Bear,
and a spot near Silverwood Lake.  I had an impulsive
wild hair to bushwhack a high ridge one evening and
ended up climbing down by headlamp.  One of those "Mom
wouldn't like this, if she knew" moments.

I saw lots of fresh boot prints, but only one day
hiker.  Even the higher elevations had little snow.
My homebound plane flew directly over Mt. San Jacinto,
and there appeared to no snow on it or in the vicinity
of Gorgonio.  I did see what looked like heavy snow on
the north side of Baden Powell.  I checked hiker
registers (there were still some with entries from
'00!) and the most recent thru-hiker was a
southbounder named Slim Tim.

Seems to me that a November-December hike from K.
Meadows to the Mex border would be possible this year.
 I wonder if it is like that in other years.

I took a co-worker with me one night for a 3-hr hike.
I've told her several times that I attempted the trail
(and that I thru-hiked the AT) in the two years that
I've worked with her, but when we got out on the PCT,
she asked me "so does this PCT trail loop back to
where we parked the car?"  I still don't know if she
grasps what the trail really IS despite my continued
description that it "goes from Mexico to Canada" and
is "2600-miles long."  I guess that's pretty hard to
grasp if the concept is new to a person.

Being out there in the presence of the trail made me
feel rejuvenated and  dream of attempting the PCT
thru-hike again flared up.  BIG dreams out there!  I
sure do miss it.  It's so much more vivid and
wonderful when you come for a short visit from a
far-away location while you are working a 9-to-5 job.
You really do get "used to" the PCT during your
thru-hike.  I noticed and appreciated a lot more
details this visit.

Still planning to be there in April.

Nocona


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