Looking into the Coachella Valley
The view from my tent tonight
Days 1-5
May 6 – Day 5
Camped mile 79.4 hiked 15.9 miles today. Stayed cool all day as I walked down to Scissor Crossing. Hitched up to Julian to charge devices and had a great lunch at
May 5 – Day 4
Camped mile 63.5 hiked 19.2 miles today. It was cool and very windy day walking parallel to the Sunrise Highway. After watering up I descended looking for the first decent campsite to avoid the wind. During the night it started to rain so I had to set up the tent which I managed in the pitch black.
May 4 – Day 3
Camped mile 44.4 hiked 14.6 miles today. It’s hard to imagine this is the same trail
May 3 – Day 2
Camped mile 28.8 Kitchen Creek hiked 13.8 miles. The vegetation is lush compared to previous years. Lots of flowers and lizards. Saw a rattle and a garter snake today. Had a lovely camping spot near the upper reaches of Kitchen Creek.
May 2 – Day 1
Camped Hauser Creek PCT mile 15.5. Hiked 15.5 miles today. The abundant rains this year have given way to a huge variety of flowers. Many more creatures scampering about that previous drought years. Many small streams and seeps when before there were none. It was the easiest first day ever. It stayed relatively cool. My pack at 10 lbs base weight feels great.
Day 1 – Bon Voyage!
“The big three” of my 2019 PCT trip
Using the same gear from my previous trips.
Sleep system
Sleeping Pad: Thermarest Women’s NeoAir XLite Regular
Way more comfortable than previous pads.
Sleeping Bag: Western Mountaineering UltraLite (20°F)
Light, warm, comfortable, with a very good hood. I like that they have smaller sizes. I have the 5’6″ version.
Image Credit
Shelter system
Tent: ZPacks Hexamid Solo w/ screen
Less than one pound for everything: tent body, pole, stakes, ropes, and ground cloth. Fine for moderate rain.
Pack
Pack: Gossamer Gear Gorilla (earlier version, pre-2012)
About 39L in the main compartment with a max recommended capacity of 35 lbs. The limited volume will likely be a challenge during parts of the trail. This time I have removed the tiny metallic internal frame. (I may add it later.)
Pack protection: white trash compactor bags to line the inside main compartment.
Saving weight wherever possible
Japanese toothbrush, Japanese hand saw
Planning for the PCT again
Mile 370 – 451
May 3 – day 25 – camped mile 378.2 – hiked 8.4 miles
I get out to breakfast early because I want to have some time to digest before I meet my sister for lunch. I ate with Dave, another thru-hiker. After that I picked up my food at Agua Dulce. It was wonderful to see my sister Lauri again. We all had ortega burgers for lunch. Afterward I was dropped off on the trail again. I decided to campe on the top of Baden Powell (9,406 ft). It was a gorgeous evening with the rising full moon to the east and setting sun to the west. The shimmering lights of LA were below me and the full moon, starts and planets of the rest of the universe were above me.
May 4 – day 26 – camped mile 395.2 – hiked 19 miles
It was another great day walking on or near ridge line with great views over an LA basin filled with low clouds. There was a detour on the Angeles Crest highway around some habitat for the endangered Mountain Yellow Legged Frog. It was Monday so there was almost no traffic.
May 5 – day 27 – camped mile 418.2 – hiked 23 miles
It was another great walking day with cool weather. It was strange not seeing a single hiker all day until just before camping for the evening.
May 6 – day 28 – camped mile 437.4 – hiked 19.2 miles
I woke up soaked from the fog. Passed thru the burn area from the Station fire. This area has lots of exotic Poodle Dog Bush which on contact apparently causes a severe rash. Lots of it had been cleared from near the trail since my 2013 walk.
Out of the blue around mid-day I got a call informing me that I had been accepted for a design engineering position at Boeing in the Seattle area. I had applied to this just before I left Seattle. It was a late answer to my prayers as I had been trying to get an engineering job for over a year. It was great news for me financially but it meant the PCT was now over for me this year. I’ll be working in two weeks.
I shall return to the PCT!
May 7 – day 29 – camped mile 444.3 – hiked 6.9 miles
I had a troubled night’s sleep. I had loads of things on my mind about all the things I needed to do to transition from walking to working. I was excited about being able to see my partner Hillary and spending another glorious summer together on the houseboat. I was profoundly disappointed that I had to get off the trail. I was in excellent condition and feeling fantastic. The weather was cool, perfect for walking.
The short morning’s walk to the Acton KOA was unremarkable except for the cold. There was a storm front moving through that would result in snow levels down to 5,000 feet in the mountains of Southern California starting this evening. There were loads of thru-hikers at the KOA. I told people that I was getting off the trail here and received many condolences. At the appointed hour of noon my sister Lauri picked me up and I transitioned out of the hiking universe.
View of Mt. Baldy and Iron Mountain
Hillary’s note: 14% of the way up the trail, he’s averaging 16 mile days so far, not including two “zero days.”
Mile 210 – 370
April 23 – day 15 – camped mile 218.6 – hiked 8.2 miles
It was an easy day going to the Whitewater Preserve. I met my friend Scott there and we went out for some great Thai food. Scott brought the resupply that I had left with him before I began walking.
April 24 – day 16 – camped mile 233.8 – hiked 15.2 miles
After a hearty breakfast out, Scott left me back at the Whitewater Preserve and I began the climb up towards Big Bear. It was a windy day as a storm begins to clear from the mountains.
April 25 – day 17 – camped mile 255.4 – hiked 21.6 miles
It was cool to cold all day. The ridges at around 8,000 feet had trees covered in ice from the freezing fog. It was beautiful. I was wearing nearly everything I had with me. Found a cozy place to camp at the end of a long day.
April 26 – day 18 – off trail at mile 266 – hiked 10.6 miles
It was a beautiful day. Got picked up by the Trail Angel Papa Smurf and I was taken back to his house. This was the second time that I stayed with Papa Smurf and Mountain Momma. They are two of the most generous Trail Angels on the whole PCT. Spent the day there cleaning, eating, organizing and relaxing. Met my friend Nick for the second time this trip. We had a great chat over dinner. It has been wonderful to be able to see family and friends on my way north.
April 27 – day 19 – camped mile 286.1 – hiked 20.1 miles
Had a great breakfast with Papa Smurf and the other thru-hikers. It was a great walking day, cool and sunny. (Photo of Big Bear Lake, above)
April 28 – day 20 – camped mile 302.9 – hiked 16.8 miles
The day’s highlight was hanging out with other thru-hikers below a bridge crossing Deep Creek. There was good water, shade, and mint growing in the river. The trail follows well above Deep Creek. I found a little saddle to sleep on with gorgeous views up and down river.
April 29 – day 21 – camped mile 320.4 – hiked 17.5 miles
It was a short walk down to Deep Creek Hot Springs. Just had a quick soak and hit the road again. It was a hot day.
April 30 – day 22 – camped mile 335.5 – hiked 15.1 miles
The high point of the day was seeing a large diamond back rattlesnake. It was about 4 to 5 inches in diameter in the middle with 7 or 8 rattles. I had been disappointed that I had not seen a single rattlesnake until today.
May 1 – day 23 – camped mile 353.9 – hiked 18.4 miles
Today’s big excitement was fast food restaurants at Cajon. I went to Del Taco. It was disappointing. The relentless ascent west out of the pass was hard but some cloud cover kept the temperature moderate.
May 2 – day 24 – camped mile 369.8 – hiked 15.9 miles
Got up at sunrise. It was warm early on which brought out the perfume of the wild lilac that I walked thru. It was intoxicating. As the trail ascended we got into a gorgeous forest of predominately Jeffery Pine.
I saw a hiker being dropped of where the trail crosses the Angeles Crest Highway and got a ride into Wrightwood. My eyes were on the burger prize in town as I stepped into the Yodeler for a pound burger and Imperial stout. Again this year I got a bunk at the Methodist camp on the edge of town. I cleaned and organized the rest of the day.
Mile 151 – 210
April 19 – day 11 – zero miles today
Stayed at my sister Lauri’s place. Enjoyed eating a lot of great food. My sister was good at fattening me up for the trail.
April 20 – day 12 – camped mile 185.8 – hiked 8.1 miles
My niece Nicole and her partner Jack dropped me off at Humber Park. It was a steep climb up to the PCT. The trail was closed South of here. There was a detour around this that involved a lot of highway and road walking that I decided to skip.
I continued walking along the trail and passed the first alternative route to San Jacinto but took the second. Eventually camped in Little Round Valley before the summit. It was cold here and nearly 10,000 feet.
April 21 – day 13 – camped mile 197.2 – hiked 17.5I miles
Climbed to the summit of San Jacinto (10,834 ft) first thing in the morning. There was a sea of clouds below me out toward the Pacific. I was there on my own and it was gorgeous. I backtracked to the PCT and continued on toward Fuller Ridge and then down and down. I camped about 6,000 feet below the peak.
April 22 – day 14 – got off trail mile 210.9 – hiked 13.7 miles
It was a cool and lovely morning. The descent to the first water since yesterday morning was steep and relentless. I tanked up and continued across the desert and under the 10 freeway to my final destination: the trail angels’ Ziggy and The Bear’s home. Met hiker Enduro along the way. I got there feeling great. Spent the afternoon there waiting for my friend Nick to pick me up for an evening in civilization. Back on the trail tomorrow.