#ca section b

In 2016, Elizabeth and Michael quit their jobs as litigators to explore the world. They spent more than 11 months traveling abroad in 2016 and 2017, often with little more than a hint of an idea as to what the next day might bring. Among other adventures, they climbed Mt. Toubkal in Morocco and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain and the MacLehose Trail in Hong Kong. Now they have taken on the PCT.

At the end of April they crossed Fuller Ridge and dropped down to I-10.  Here are some of their photos and a little of their account.  You can follow them at https://twobackpacksnoplan.com/

It was chilly when we got hiking at about 7:30.  We quickly came upon a large patch of snow leading directly into a rushing creek.  I got the impression that this normally wouldn’t be a tricky creek crossing, but the water was high due to the high levels of snow (and thus runoff) and because of the cold evening several of the rock hopping surfaces were covered in ice.  We had to knock off the ice to make the crossing, which still required that I take off my gloves so that I could get my hands wet as I steadied myself on the way across.

We only had a couple more small patches of snow as we went up onto Fuller Ridge.  The views from the ridgeline were amazing.  We could see both down to the desert floor and up to San Jacinto.  It was a lot to take in at once!

I was a little confused as we went up onto the ridge because I’d been hearing horror stories about how much snow there had been and how dangerous the ridge had been a couple weeks ago.  We had put our microspikes back on, only to take  them off because there was barely any snow.  This changed, however, as we came down from the ridgeline.  There were large patches of snow for at least a mile.  While they could have been navigated without microspikes, we put ours on — if we’re going to carry the weight, might as well use them!  With the spikes, the snow was easy going.  We’ve definitely benefited from a warm couple of weeks that has melted a lot of snow!

There was a well worn track in the snow.  No getting lost today!

As we descended, the pine trees gradually disappeared and the lizards returned to their practice of darting across the trail in front of us as we walk.  I hadn’t noticed that there were no lizards for the past day until they were back.  I guess it was too cold.

The afternoon was filled with what felt like a never ending descent.  We kept going down and down and down.  All the while, we could see the desert floor below and San Jacinto above.  Our progress to the valley floor seemed so slow.  The switchbacks never ended and often felt like we weren’t heading down at all!

I cruised ahead and did my best to enjoy the never changing views.  I was grateful when I finally got down the mountain and to the faucet.  I was thirsty and my knees were done with all of the downhill!  Apparently I was one of the lucky ones though, I heard this evening that several people were stung by bees during their descent.  I recall hearing the buzz of the bees around me during one of my shade breaks, but didn’t think much of it.  A narrow miss!

The photo credit for these images from the Lagunas and the San Jacintos goes to Patti McCarthy and Lynn Shapiro. 

The general estimates are that temperature drops about 3.5 degrees for each 1,000 feet of elevation gain.  That lops off some 20 degrees at Mt. Laguna and a frosty 35 degrees on the top of Mt. San Jacinto. One of the results is that these heights help wring out what little moisture there is that rolls west off the Pacific and creates just enough precipitation for the kind of tree growth seen in these photos.  Down below, in the rain shadow, it is a very different story.  Hot and dry!

Heather, from Sydney, Australia, started from Campo on March 11th . . . along with a few other early birds. Conditions are, not surprisingly cold and windy but dry.  You can follow Heather’s journey on her blog:

https://thisramblingrover.wordpress.com/

Heather created ‘Hike It Out’, a program intended to help “reset the standards of what we do with litter.”  Hike it Out is an “environmental awareness campaign aimed specifically at building a hiking culture that holds everyone responsible for their own rubbish, and any they find along the way; it’s that simple.  Live by this, encourage your friends to travel and explore with a Hike it Out mentality and suddenly our world will start to look a little cleaner.”

We will periodically check in on Heather’s progress as she hikes north, in the vanguard of the 2018 thru-hikers.

I encountered Mikim (top image), an AT alum who is now thru-hiking the PCT just south of Pines to Palms Highway on his way north earlier this season.  Both Mikim’s name and trail moniker (“Tacocat”) are palindromes, words that are the same when spelled forwards or backwards.  The above images are taken in the San Jacintos and the middle two were taken near Big Bear.  You can follow Tacocat’s progress at www.palindrome2017.wordpress.com

Tacocat has written a brief comparison of his actual AT experience with what he anticipates the PCT to be like.  Do you think he has captured the PCT experience with his expectations?

Actual AT Experience:

Weather – Predictable temperature. Starts cool in Spring, gets warmer, and warmer. Oppressively humid at times and steady constant rains are a thing. Food – Easy frequent access. Discovered grits, biscuits & gravy, Vermont maple syrup Water – An 8 mile stretch without water would be considered “brutal” here. Terrain – Attempts to go up and over every mountain en route to Katahdin. Gets more rugged as you proceed northward. Water crossings are cute rock hops. Can’t get lost thanks to the white blaze markers every 200 feet or less. Towns – The AT runs right through a couple of trailtowns. Towns off-trail are usually less than 5 miles down the road. Longest hitch was 17 miles. Landscape – Super green and brown. 90% in the woods. No fear of sunburn after tree blooms. The landscape opens up considerably in final 2 states. Trail Culture – Large social scene everywhere due in part to the shelter system. Wildlife – Saw 1 black bear, and far too many chipmunks and newts. Lots of birds singing sweet music in springtime: Whippoorwill, Hermit Thrush, Eastern Towhee. Camping/Shelters – Day planned around getting to a shelter, even if not actually sleeping inside the shelter.

Anticipated PCT Experience:

Although Northern and Central California received somewhat of a reprieve during the last rain year, the devastating drought continues unrelentingly in Southern California.  Although Lake Cachuma (the above image) is northeast of Santa Barbara on the edge of Los Padres National Forest and not on the PCT, it dramatically represents the current reality through the arid southlands (the first 500+ plus miles of the PCT). Check out the precipitation totals for Los Angeles for the last four years (below).

And the numbers don’t improve when you look at the rainfall percentages for the past year for other locations sprinkled near the PCT (roughly south to north):  Campo - 86%, Anza-Borrego - 53%, Palomar Mountain - 61%, Elsinore - 40%, Idyllwild - 90%, Big Bear Lake - 74%, Victorville - 54%, and Mt. Wilson - 69%.  The drought continues unabated.

Predictions for the winter, 2017 suggest a continuation of the warm and dry pattern indicates meteorologist Paul Pastelok with the potential for the northern Sierra and Cascades to build up an early snowpack.

Lydia Armstrong deserves credit for these photos. Lydia likes to think of herself as “an outdoor enthusiast with a decent sized vocabulary.” She says, however,  “I'm sure I'll prove both of those things at least slightly untrue at some point along this journey.” Her hobbies include making herself look like an idiot, laughing way too often, correcting the grammar of NY Times Bestselling novels, and eating way too much food in a single sitting . . . an excellent skill set for anyone taking on the PCT.

After 44 years working for AT&T, Michael Booth retired in March to walk the PCT.  On April 11th he began his journey north from the border.  After 210 miles on the trail, Michael (like all of us) has made some adjustments. “I didn’t plan as well as I had thought. The nights were much colder than I realized and I was freezing my tail off in the evenings. The thin short sleeved wool undershirt just a wasn’t cutting it, and I had no “Camp Shoes”.   Every book on ultra light backpacking poo-poos them. But I was at the first public shower at Mount Laguna and went: Uh-ho. Plus, everyone else had something to wear to rest and air out their feet. So when I arrived at Idyllwild, the outfitter was high on my list. I now have a thicker long sleeve wool shirt and flip-flops!  Love my flip flops!” The descent from Fuller Ridge was a hot, unrelenting challenge softened by Ziggy’s oasis.  On my own walk down from the San Jacintos, I remember seeing the Desert Water Agency’s luring patch of green from above only to have the PCT take an incredibly long, non-productive (frustrating) route just to avoid the Desert Water Agency’s operation. You can follow Michael’s journey at http://somanymountains.net

April 29, 2015

Today’s hike was the hardest on me so far.  Truly a brutal day.

I started at 5am in the coolness of the morning. It was still dark, so I used my headlamp until light enough to see. I started descending and the trail wasn’t too bad. My first goal was the water fountain in 12 miles and I figured I could make that in four hours.

Then the trail went to hell. That 9-10 miles of Fuller Ridge trail was awful; it would disappear for 10-20 feet at a time, or it had collapsed and there WAS no trail. Over and over. I was trying to make time so I wouldn’t be in the plains at noon.

It took six hours. That was just for for the 12 miles to water. The heat hit about 7:30 am and got progressively worse. There was no shade on the east facing ridge.  So after tanking up at the water fountain, I started the last five miles to Ziggy’s just after 11:00am.

After a 0.5 mile walk down the paved access road, I entered this massive flood plain; Nothing but sand and short scrub brush for the next 2.5 miles. And the heat. The PCT markers every 200-500ft the only guide. I started calling this section the “Blasted Plain”, and I was certain  Mount Doom was just around the corner.

It could have been worse, because I had my umbrella!  I thanked God I had the foresight to carry the damned thing. I honestly think it made that section even possible.  As it was, I was very, very slow since I expended so much energy on the Ridge.  The plains were HOT and the sand was difficult to hike in. I finally pulled into Ziggys at 1:30, wrung out and exhausted.

The cold Gatorade I was handed was inhaled. Then I bought a Pepsi and I didn’t quite chug it. But it was the shower that brought me back. I was closer to heat stroke than I have ever been. The thermometer on the wall said 101 degrees.

I’m sitting in my bathing suit and I haven’t the energy to examine my feet yet.  I did hand wash my socks and shirt and they are hanging on the line to dry. (It’s been 20 mins…they’ll likely be dry already 😓) 

On March 14 and March 18, we posted nine-year old Joon’s and thirteen-year old Will’s thoughts about their upcoming PCT experience.  They are thru-hiking with their parents, Tim and Ann, who walked the PCT in 1996 (trail name is ‘The Ravens’).  Of course the best laid plans often encounter a few bumps along the way . . . in the case of the Ravens, it happened before they even started when Will broke his wrist in a skateboard accident.  But, it did not delay them too much as they were still able to get on the trail on April 13, not quite two weeks later than they had hoped. But, based upon this incident just a few days along, they are destined to have more unplanned excitement (and a wonderful adventure). 

As of April 23rd (11 days into their walk), the Ravens had reached Idyllwild.

Joon

“A lot of people are trying to hike the PCT this year and many of them have little to no experience. That means, in a lot of cases, they bring way to much stuff. We see many very large packs. At some point they start to dumping gear. About mid-morning Will found a full bottle of Bear Pepper Spray. He asked if he could spray it. I thought sure why not. [Editor Note: What could possibly go wrong.] I pointed him away from us and he pulled the trigger. It put out an orange mist. He shot it a second time. I took it from him and went over to let Joon give it a try. [Editor Note Again: What could possibly go wrong.] That is when the wind shifted and I felt burning in my nose. All of a sudden Ann, Will, Joon, and I went running away as fast as we could from the area. Everyone had burning eyes, nose, and throat. We did a lot of coughing and gagging while we moaned, groaned, and laughed. We used water to wash out our mouths.

I guess that was not such a good idea.

Next time we’ll have to spray it down wind.”