[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[pct-l] Trip report part II (finally)

Today is my first day off in 3 weeks, quite a change from 9 months of
unemployment last year!  This is my trip report for November 2nd - December
2nd, 1996.  I kind completed the PCT in a nonstandard fashion:

Washington State - Cascade Locks, OR - Manning Park, BC (8/1/94 - 9/9/94)
California / Oregon - Tehachpi, CA -> Cascade Locks, OR  (6/19/96 - 9/25/96)
                      Mexico - > Tehachpi, CA  (11/2/96 - 12/2/96)

Looking back, I'm glad I did Washington at a different time.  I still think
the most enjoyable time of my life was hiking Washington.  It was also my
favorite part of the tri-state PCT.  Hiking WA at a 0 - 15 mpd pace gave my
friend and I plenty of time to goof off.

Maybe I would have enjoyed Cali. & Oregon more had I been hiking with
someone, I don't know.  The fact that I was by myself yielded higher mileage
days.  When I did Washington, 18 miles in a day was a hard day.  When I was
hiking the rest of the trail (CA/OR) 30 miles was a hard day.

I would have liked to gone from Mexico to Cascade Locks in one swoop, but
since my "fun with the Forest Service Law Enforcement" kept me from leaving
till mid June, I had to flip flop.

If anyone wants my first trip report from June 96-Sept 96 please email me
and I'll send it out.

---
Craig's life from 10/28 - 12/2/96)

I got back home(not truly defined then) in late September, after 100 days on
the PCT.  This was good in a way because I was able to get several things
caught up.  I got my 26 rolls of film developed and organized, several
letters written, and some things I wanted to get done (cleaning out file
cabinet, etc).  The main reason I waited till November to finish the trail
rather than October was simple; Bruce Springsteen was playing two sold out
solo-acoustic shows in Portland and Seattle....couldn't miss those.  Saw
Bruce on 10/28.  After the show about 30 of us hung out in front of the
stage and ignored the security.  (Thanks to the 'net I learned this little
secret).  Sure enough, 20 min later Bruce walked out to the front of the
stage and started talking with us.  He shook my hand!  That was a nice
experience, just about as good as a sexy girl with a pizza & six pack of
beer waiting for you on the Hat Creek Rim!  Up to Seattle the next day for
Bruce's show in Seattle.  Good show, shook his hand again after the show.
He recognized me due to me wearing same clothes and sporting the same furry
beard I grew on the PCT.  Ran down to 1st street and caught Bob Mould at the
Showbox.  Next day it was back to Portland for Bob Mould again.  Finally on
10/31 I was on a plane to San Diego. Though my stove was empty, Untied
airlines wouldn't let me take my stove on the plane.  This was the first
time I ran into this problem.  They also fucked up my ticket and I had to
wait 3 hours at LAX.   Finally got to San Diego.  Thanks to great kindness,
I was able to stay with my friend Max.  Max is a great lady of a whopping 84
years of age.

I spent that night and the following day making up resupply boxes in San
Diego.  Pop tarts, and a lot of chips ahoy (tm) cookies.  Max & I made it to
the Post Office right before they closed and mailed off my boxes for a
paltry $20.00 (It would have cost me 3-4 times more mailing them from
Washington).  At REI I purchased a Coleman Apex Napalm Flamethrower II (tm)
stove(I'll explain later).  The next day Max & I went out to Campo.  I did
the picture of me standing in Mexico.  Then of picture of my frowning at the
Southern Term. Marker of the PCT  (I was frowning at the Northern Term.
Marker also).
Said goodbye to Max and started walking.  I walked at a pretty hefty pace so
I could get to Lake Morena by dark.  Trail was a little hard to follow the
first couple of miles.  I saw a couple of giant (border patrol?) helicopters
flying above me near Hauser Canyon.  Nice little amusement show they have
going.  I didn't see any illegals in Hauser Canyon until I started climbing
out, then about ten minutes later I noticed a few people walking the road in
the canyon.  At the Lake Morena "Zoo" by nightfall.  I threw my tent up
under a tree near the edge of an empty campsite.  Though I was 80-100 feet
from them mind you, I heard flatlander camper #1 say to #2 "I think he is
enroaching on our site".  I laughed to myself and crawled into my tent.  I
was up and walking at 5:30 am.  Time to get out of that zoo.  The next few
days were pretty standard, I had to turn on the Headlamp around 5:30 pm and
would walk till 7:30pm.

Mt. Laguna was empty, got my box at the store and was off after donating
some extra food to the store.  (accidently bought a bag of UNSALTED peanuts
in San Diego, ick.)  At 5:00pm after walking on fat-tire motorcycle tracks
for awhile, I reached an 8 gallon water stash.  Thanks to Mr. Brick Robbins
I had to carry water 45 miles instead of 55 miles.  Thanks again Brick!

I can see what the big thing with the Southern Cali brush is, the only place
you can walk is the trail!  Buzzed down through the San Felipe valley and
back out.  Reached the top of the mountains and camped near the cattle gate.
Found out Clinton got re-elected and contemplated jumping off the ledge, but
decided against it.  (Would have done the same had Dole been elected
instead).  Hike Hike Hike Hike Hike and go nowhere, the trail winds in every
direction to keep a minimal grade.  Reached Warner Springs and go water from
the fire station.  Went to the other side of the dry creek and camped.
6:00pm, ahh, gonna rest, cook a nice dinner and read.  Yeah right.  I fire
up the stove.  It had been acting up the past couple of days, the burner
wouldn't ignite and just make a nice show of flames, the ingnite again.  The
pressure was alright, etc.

I lighted the stove and nothing but flames appeared, before I could twist
the fuel valve closed, flaming gas went everywhere, my hand, ground , weeds,
etc!  I had two containers of water to put the flames out.  Had it been dry
summer I could have been screwed royally.  After kicking sand on the flaming
mess called the Apex II I uttered some naughty words and had cold dinner.
The next day I mailed my stove to my friend Max in San Diego and she mailed
me a trusty reliable Peak 1 stove to Idywild.  When I was in the PO at
Warner Springs, a guy started talking to me about the trail.  He said they
had a home in the resort and told me I could come with them and take a hot
shower and swim in the resorts giant 100 degree swimming pool!  That is what
I spent the day doing.  We had a nice dinner and they dropped me back off at
the fire station.  I really should have just walked the road from the Post
Office to the PCT instead of going from the Fire Station.  (Look at the map,
you can take an alternate route pass the Warner Springs PO).  I got lost due
to the 1000 cow paths around the PCT, so I just headed north for the
highway, walking across the paved airstrip in the process.

Climbing up near San Jacinto was wonderful.  It was so interesting how you
could be in desert/then mountains, then desert again.  I hit Idylwild on
Veteran's Day, so the PO was closed.  Spent the day checking the town out,
went and saw a lifeless Hollywood movie about some lions & a bridge.  Spent
the day hanging out at the State Park there.  Next day I was packed and
going.  There was snow up above 8000 feet, but nothing to really slow me
down.  I hated fuller ridge, that was probably my least favorite part of the
trail.  Up two feet, down two feet, right left, etc.  Maybe I was too tired
to deal with the trail condition.  But then again we do tend to take a
quality constructed trail for granted, and when it gets lousy we complain
beyond belief.

I met a guy named Tod (the stranger) up near Mt. Etna Summit around the end
of August.  He was headed south, I told him I would probably see him again
when I finished up the trail.  Sure enough, as I was nearing I-10, here he
was!  He was suprised I remembered him.  He said his hike was going good.
We shared Bob Wirth stories.  

Buzzed under I-10, a Cessna plane was having fun following around until I
got near the powerlines.  Nice garbage dump under I-10, quite impressive.
There were ticks about, and found a couple on me in the next few days.  It
started getting really cold at night around Big Bear City, I had to sleep
with my water to keep it from freezing.  It is about a 5 mile detour from
the PCT to the Big Bear City post office.  The dirt road is travelled, but
all the traffic was going the wrong way.  Might be better off to try and
hitch into Big Bear from the Highway crossing near the garbage dump.  Had a
nice time in Big Bear.  It was wonderful staying at the fire station.  I was
tired because I got up early and walked 20 miles by 12:30pm, (the BBC PO was
only open from 1-2 pm on Sat)  I was even approached with a job offer,
digging a trench for $6.00 per hour.  I was too tired so I turned it down.
Rode the bus into Big Bear Lake.  Checked out the music store.  Went and
suffered through the movie "Ransom".  (BTW, of the 5 movies I saw on the
PCT, only one I'd see again..Trainspotting)  The next day I met with Bil
McConnel and had breakfast.  Very nice guy.  

For you '97 hikers, the store mentioned on Highway 173 is pretty standard,
nice guy that runs it.  Getting to it is not as easy as the book says.  I
found what "looked" like a jeep road .2 miles from the store, but it went
through brush to the back of private property.  To get to the store, you
have to take one of the earlier roads and walk the highway for a mile, then
walk the highway back to the PCT.  If you are not a purist you can continue
down the highway to the PCT crossing again.

When I reached I-15/Cajon pass and detoured up to the Texaco.  Got lunch
there.  I was standing 10 feet from my pack watching it, and some
"individual" kept acting like he was waiting for me to look away so he could
rip my pack off.  I'd have loved to have my pack stuffed with pissed off
rattlesnakes so he could steal my pack and get what he deserved.  I left
that depressing area and back to the trail.  To me Cajon Pass was a symbol
of the decline of the western civilization.  Smog, trash, ick.  Walking
under I-15 was pretty neat.  I ran into (Sandy?) who was working on her
section of adopted trail.  That night I camped right on the trail, since
there was no other place to camp.  The next morning my quad had a sore spot,
a tick was enjoying my blood.  I dealt with him and was off, into the
pouring rain.  I really didn't care that I was getting wet, (having an
umbrella is genius).  I wouldn't use an umbrella in the summer, nor a tent,
but since this was November I brought both.  I was anxious to meet the two
girls heading south from Canada.  I did some math and figured I'd meet them
around Wrightwood.  Sure enough the two girls and two other hikers come down
the trail.  We both suprised each other in the pouring rain.  We talked for
awhile and moved on.  I reached WW and ate at the cafe.  There were a couple
people there who helped out hikers and since it was pouring rain, I was
looking forward to the hospitality.  I was able to take a shower and dry
stuff out.  Oh yeah, a few days before, my stove generator plugged up.  I
was not going to buy a third stove for 10 more days of walking.  I went to
the hardware store in WW and bought two cans of Sterno.  Bought some foil,
and found a metal coathanger, that was my $7.85 stove!

Slept on the porch of the Visitors Center (can't remember the name) near
Highway 2, nice and dry!  Nice trail, even with the 10 crossings of the
Highway.  Met a couple guys near baden powell who gave me beer since they
were tired of packing it.  The north slopes were a bit icy but I made it
across.  I just walked and thought really hard that I could float, and made
it across.  Whatever

My favorite memory of the Angeles Crest Hwy was when I was going to use one
of the bathrooms near the highway.  As I was nearing the building, an older
lady came out "Oh god, if the women's is that bad, I'd hate to see what the
mens bathroom looks like!"  Sure enought the bathroom was pretty nasty, in
fact very nasty, super duper nasty with sugar on it nasty, you get my point.

I spent a sleepless Thanksgiving in my tent.  It wasn't the fact that I
didn't eat a big turkey dinner, nor saw family, it was the fact that rain,
snow, and wind kept pounding my tent.  On windy nights I could only have
half cooked dinners, since my sterno refused to stay lit in moderate winds.
The next morning the ground was clear, but there was a very beautiful frost
on the oak trees.  I wanted so bad to come across one of the asshole
motocross riders that had been tearing up the trail, but I didn't see any.

Agua Dulce was nice, got a large pizza there.  The grocery store is supposed
to be open by now (was slated to re-open in December).

By the time I got near Jack Fair's house the wind was blowing very hard.  I
simply took my hat off, laid it sideways against my head and continued
walking.  The wind kept my hat glued to the side of my face.  As I neared
Jack Fair's porch, he opened up his front door and yelled to come on in.  I
continued walking, right up his steps and into his house!  Jack was one of
my favorite experiences of the entire trail.  Yes he will talk your ear of
(5+ hours) but he is pretty unique.  His woodcarvings are amazing.  I
figured I'd let him bring up Bob Wirth, since I didn't want to bring up any
bad memories for him.  

Sure enough the next morning he said "You know, off all the hikers who have
been through here there is only one I didn't like".

"Bob Wirth?", I replied.

Jack's eyes lit up as he said some bad words, "Yes!"  We talked about Bob.
I think my favorite line Jack got from Bob was:

"You mean you are going to kick me out of your house into this blazing heat?"

I walked down the roads felling very content.  What a wonderful hike this
had been, and couldn't believe I was 40 miles from finishing the entire
trail!  It was kind of Deja Vu being at cottonwood creek again.  Pete Fish
and I were there on 6/19, and now I was there again.  The next day the wind
was blowing very very hard.  It actually blew me off the trail a few times!
Next to the clearcut I-90 corridor in Washington, I think the section of
trail from cottonwood creek to Highway 58 is the worst part of the PCT.  It
is basically a (now) five foot wide motorcycle path in places.

Since I really didn't care when I finished, I took it easy and decided to
finish on 12/2 instead of 12/1.  I woke up for the final 10 miles of my
hike, wow that was my final night on the PCT, felt a little weird.  I walked
through the wind farm and rounded the corner.  Sat down on the nice little
bench at the edge of the ridge.  I looked down to the north and my heart
dropped.  There was the Highway 58/cameroon overpass...my starting/finishing
point of the PCT!  I cruised on down and awhile later I walked across the
overpass making all kinds of noise.  I touched the PCT sign on the other
side.  When I was last here on June 19th, it was about 40-50 degrees warmer!
At 10:41am I had the PCT completed!  To make the matter better, there was a
car parked down the exit ramp, with the driver looking on the ground for
something.  I went down and started talking to him, he was looking for a
pack of cigarettes he dropped the day before.  I was able to get a ride with
him to Tehachpi.  Intersting ride, he just got out of prison and spent the
whole time talking about his ex-wife who took his money and divorced him.

Tim Connors picked me up on his way home from work and we went to his house.
THANK YOU AGAIN TIM & CHRIS
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

for your kindness in helping out hikers

(more exclamation points)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spent the next day in Tehachpi walking around town waiting for the bus to
Bakersfield.  Met a german guy at the post office.  He took me up to his
house and made me lunch, and we talked politics.  Spent the nice in a cheap
hotel in Bakersfield.  On 12/4/96 I was flying back to Portland.


I really haven't gotten any post PCT depression yet.  I think the fact that
I was busy moving to Portland in December and am now working 70 hours a week
keeps me busy.  I hope to get a scanner soon so I can put some of my
pictures on my homepage for everyone to see love and enjoy.

I should get going, the rain finally stopped.  You can reach me at the above
email address till the end of the month, I'll post my new email address when
I get it.

take care

CG

as Bob Dylan once wrote 24 years ago...

Lord, I ain't goin' down to no race track
See no sports car run
I don't have no sports car
And I don't even care to have one
I can walk anytime (on the PCT)

-----------------------------------------------< http://www.hack.net/lists >--
This message is from the Pacific Crest Trail Mailing List             [PCT-L]
To unsubscribe email pct-l-request@saffron.hack.net with a message containing
the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body.   List admin can be reached at ryan@inc.net

==============================================================================