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[pct-l] re: Kelly Flowers

Sorry about the name mistake. Yea, there was a lot of road pounding back 
then; even in So. Cal. Some of it was voluntary though. I walked with a 
couple and their dog for two days around San Jacinto/Garner Valley when that 
range was completely buried. The same three that pushed through the Sierra, 
pushed through San Jacinto, descending Snow Creek! I've only heard stories 
of people going down that near vertical canyon. I hear the only time to 
attempt it though is in winter.
     I hiked up above Lake Isabella to, I think, Kenedy Meadows pack station 
(somewhere there) as I had a food drop waiting for me, then headed downhill 
to the east. If I would have stayed on jeep roads, Owens Valley wouldn't 
have been so bad. I opted for the asphalt though cuz I found I could get 
some high milage on it. I think I got in up to a 30 mile day. But things 
fell apart pretty quick. I ended-up laying over in Lone Pine tending 8 
blisters and bruised feet, for a week.  
   Once I left Lone Pine, I tried road walking for a day. The codine didn't 
help the pain of the bruised feet. It became imbearable, and I ended 
hitching a ride to Minden, It was there that I walked up to Echo Lake.
   I had a pretty wild traverse across a cirque, west of Tahoe. So glad I 
had my ice axe then, saving me during a couple falls. Fording the headwaters 
of the American River was the most exciting episode, each crossing meant 
dropping down off of a snowbank into the river. During the second river 
crossing, I was in over my knees facing a bank to get out. I plunged the 
axe's adze in to assist in pulling myself up, but the bank broke off toward 
me. Thankfully I still kept my balance. I made camp less than 15 minutes 
later, early in the day, just to warm-up. The most gratifying navigation day 
was north and west of Tahoe  (as following the trail was a map and compass 
estimate, on the snow), when I was was in a dense snow covered forest with 
those melt-outs around the trunks of trees and no landmarks. I set my 
compass to a small lake on the map a few miles away, and just followed a 
bearing. A couple hours later, there I was!
    Because of the road situation, the compromise has haunted me for years. 
I really want to hike a "pure" thru-hike next time. I'm planning to rehike 
the JMT this summer, but its only a temporary fix for my desire for another 
PCT attempt.

Great talking to you and thanks for recommending the book!

-Ken Marlow
     

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