Danny PCT Trail Updates

5 days through the mountains, but on a bike this time.

2009-08-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

I'm just finishing packing for my next little trip. I've been looking at different cross country routes to get me from Calgary down to my Parents place at Baynes Lake and I finally settled on a good looking plan. First part of the bike trip isn't biking at all, it's hitching out to Banff with a perfectly good bicycle, hopefully fully assembled in the back of someones truck. The winds always blow from the west, and being the lazy type of cycle tourer I am, I'd rather just catch a ride instead of fighting the headwind on the side of the busy transcanada highway all day.

From Banff I take a cross country ski trail along goat creek until I get up above Canmore, then the Smith Dorien gravel road takes me 80 km to Kananaskis Lakes. From there it's another cross country ski trail up over Elk Pass and into Elk Lakes Provincial Park, 70something km of gravel road to Elkford, and then I'll ride the paved highway until Sparwood. If time permits I'm hoping to take a side trip 25km out to Crowsnest Mountain where I'll hide my bike in the trees while I scramble up - I've always wanted to climb Crowsnest Mountain, what better time than while on a cycle tour? Then it's back into BC and up Corbin Creek into the Flathead for another 160 or so backcountry km. I could never find a route through there that I liked, but the other night I found out that there is a foot trial joining two forest service roads that get within a few km of each other. That lets me take backroads right up to the Canadian/US border at Rooseville, just south of Baynes Lake and what will probably be my first cold beer and shower all week. The hardest part of the whole trip seems like the hitch out to Banff... best get going, I still need to pickup extra spokes!

Here's pictures of the route:

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Doing all the things I missed while on the trail.

2009-08-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks went something like this:

-Bus / Hitchhike from the coast to Greenwood. ($20 bus ride to get out of the tough hitching in the fraser valley).

-One week visiting my Grandparents, helping on the farm, getting firewood, and eating ALL of grandma's wonderful cooking nonstop (I gained 6 pounds that week!).

-4 day roadtrip through the Okanagan with Sarah and her Mom.

-Weekend at Koocanusa / Baynes Lake visiting my Parents and Sarah again.

-Week of reading/relaxing/hiking/biking/eating/working/planning/not updating the blog in Calgary.

Sandra is in Calgary now from Switzerland, and Brian gets in this weekend, so we'll have lots more adventure into September. Confirmed is a 3 day 2 night trip across the Rockwall Trail in Kootenay National Park, another week in Greenwood visiting and helping on the farm, a week visiting in Baynes Lake, probable another 3 or 4 day hike, and mixed in somewhere I'll be riding my bike half across BC. I'm still figuring out where that one fits in though...

Vancouver

2009-07-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hi all, forgot to post that I'm safe and sound in Vancouver. I've been staying with my friends Matt and Rachel and a couple other friends in town staying with them, Jim and Dan. Yesterday and the day before went as follows: sleep in, eat some amazing food with everyone, go eat some more somewhere else while everyone waits for me, ride bikes around, lay on the beach, eat more, eat again, see sights, go to bed. Pretty fun. Unfortunately Jim broke his wrist at a skatepark the other day, but I managed to ride a bmx for the first time in a long time and didn't hurt my self seriously. My stomach is great now, despite the gallon of icecream Jim and I tried to finish last night. It made a good breakfast too, and should be about finished by lunch time.

And now for something a little different...

2009-07-16T20:11:00.001-07:00

''Can I just bring this bag on with me?'', I ask him. ''Aw HELL no, that's a lot a shit ya got there!'' .... I got a great bus driver. ''anyone on here gotta make that train in Sacramento?''. A couple people raised thier hands. ''aight, there's this train leaving at 5:40, which means we gotta be there by 5:20, which means I gotta drive like CRAZY to get ya'll on that train, so ya'll best put on you seatbelts!'' ... ''Seatbelts!?''.....confused silence as we look to find the missing seatbelts... ''Yup, that's right. Y'all ain't got no seatbelts. But I got one, so y'all best hold on so I can get these folks on that train!'' My adventure is changed up a bit for now while I take a hiking break. Bus to Sacramento, train to Seattle, bus to Vancouver, falafel eating binge at my beloved Falafel House, and then, well, well I'm not really planning things much past falafel #7. I'll have to keep you posted.

What happens when you walk all day, almost everyday, for about 7 weeks?

2009-07-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Well, like most things you get a bit tired of it. Or maybe just plain tired? Either way, I decided to hitch back into South Lake Tahoe for some R&R, TLC, and a triple S. Well, it was more one of the S's lots, then another one once, and one not at all... still getting over that stomach bug...

The hiking has gotten a bit monotonous lately, partly the terrain, partly me being a bit burnt out on doing it everyday, and probably partly me being sick a bit. For now I'm hanging out in South Lake Tahoe, eating lots, and laying on the beach. Tough life, eh? I might catch a dinner buffet at a casino tonight. MMMmmmmmm!

Echo Lake to Donner Pass Photos

2009-07-15T15:01:00.001-07:00

Trail beside one of many many lakes in the Desolation Wilderness.

View north from Dick's Pass, overlooking the desolation wilderness and Dick's Lake. This pass was only around 9000 feet, about 4000 feet lower than Forester Pass a few weeks ago.

At Richardson Lake I walked in at dark with 'Drifter' and found 'Love Shots', 'Party Foul', and 'Taco' camped out. They found a canoe at the lake and spent the afternoon trying to fish and relaxing. I took the canoe out for a little splash in the morning. FUN!

The guys camped out had eaten 16 Crayfish that afternoon. They were everywhere! I couldn't resist picking this little guy out for a quick photo.

Lots and lots of tree walking in this section. Now that we are at lower elevations there is a lot of green stuff growing, whereas at higher elevations the forest floor is mostly bare.

Trail Magic! 'Why Not' had a friend from Sacramento dayhiking with her and 'Why Wait' and she treated us to beer, cheese and crackers. MMMMMMmmmmmm! Just before they showed up, Party Foul had resorted to asking passing cars if they had beer he could buy from them....
he was getting desparate.

Ridge view with Lake Tahoe in the distance.

We passed through 3 ski resorts on the last day of the section.

For Sarah... dayhiker dogs.

Another ridge we followed a ways. That's Tiller Knob in the far end of the ridge.

Duct tape a couple weeks ago helped, but there's only so much you can do for the poor socks stuck on a thruhikers foot... I used to wash my socks at the beginning, but now I just shake them out a couple times a day. Gotta be careful, washing might remove the 'patches'.

My feet pretty much hate me lately.

I got into South Lake and used the bathroom... it turns out I'm now that homeless person using the public bathrooms and internet... You can't tell well from the picture, but my nose is peeling for I think the 3rd time (4th maybe?) and I'm DIRTY! I'm surprised I got the 3 rides into town so easy. I probably wouldn't pick me up.

South Lake Tahoe is on the California / Nevada state line. That's one of 4 or 5 casinos just across into the Nevada side.

It's been feeling like my hitchhiking trip a few years ago... camping in town isn't much different than camping in the bush. You just have to be a bit more careful of spots, and are rewarded by having an extra $45 to spend on food instead of a bed! What was that I said 'looking' like that homeless person....?

Sonora Pass to Echo Lake

2009-07-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Oops...

Where's the best place in the world to get the shits?

2009-07-13T15:56:00.001-07:00

Anybody? I'm not sure either, but up in Granite Chief Wilderness high on a long waterless ridge probably won't make my top ten list... I guess it's probably time to start treating my drinking water again. I'm overlooking Lake Tahoe again with good cell service, which is probably a bad thing as it allows me to post all the stuff nobody really wants to know... Thanks for posting up the photos Sarah!

last two photos

2009-07-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

These must be some of Danny's hiking buddies. I noticed he has started referring to many of them as 'friends' so he must be spending quite a bit of time with some of the same people.

More photos...these ones are more recent!

2009-07-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

I thinkthe person on the right is Danny waving.
I think these photos are recent- the change in scenery compared to the last bunch is quite remarkable. Beautiful!

This photo of rugged Danny goes with the last bunch...what does everyone think of his new look? I must admit- I like it.

Photos from Danny- Some old, some new

2009-07-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

Danny sent these along the other day from his phone. Unfortunately, we will have to wait for him to put some details up about each one because I'm not sure when or where these were taken!

There's even internet in the 'Desolation Wilderness'...

2009-07-12T18:58:00.001-07:00

It's strange to be using the internet in what feels like such a remote place... I can see part of Lake Tahoe (lots of development all around) and it seems there is service whenever civilization is within view. Nothing important to report, I just wanted to give a quick 'I'm alright' since I needed an excuse for another break anyways. I'm about 18 miles into my day and have passed through some beautiful places today - granite ridges, many lakes, and enough wind to keep me watching for which tree might be the one to land on me. It's been windy for a week, and combined with mostly porous volcanic rock lately (doesn't hold water) the mosquitos haven't had much of a chance to setup camp around here. Phew! I'll finish my day with another swim (bath) in a couple miles and then make camp in 4 miles or so, just in time to be in bed before dark because tomorrow starts at dawn again. I hope everyone is well back at home! I'll try making some calls from my resupply inSierra City around next weekend

1000 km!

2009-07-11T11:52:00.001-07:00

Made it to Ecko Lake today, and passed my 1000 km marker yesterday. It's 1000 on trail km, but actually about 1100 km total with my side trips into yosemite valley, halfdome, and up Whitney. Now I'm deciding whether I should resupply from the little expensive store here or head into South Lake Tahoe to cheap stores and all you can eat buffets in the Nevada Casinos.... Hhhmmmmmmmm....

Quick resupply in Bridgeport from Sonora Pass part 1

2009-07-07T17:35:00.003-07:00

Last night I counted up my food I had left to do the 90 miles remaining to Echo Lake. Hhhhhmmmmmmmm.... I guess I have been eating more than hiking lately.... 3 Days of food.... well, 3 hungry days anyway.... 3 back to back 30 mile days... hungry days that is... guess I best deal with the tough hitch and get more food. So here I sit in little Bridgeport, fresh out of the grocery store with double what I needed and with a belly full of burger and fries - my first lunch - I'll hit up the Mexican joint next. Hitching the 35 miles took about 4 hours... eventually Trashman and myself got a ride down the mountain in the back of a truck, ducking down twice as we passed highway patrol. The next ride was harder to get, but luckily Tigger and Chuck Norris' hiker support van came by and picked us up. It's not THE Chuck Norris, but their trail magic seems about as super human. They hike about half the time while others drive the van around helping others and running hiker errands.

Resupply part 2

2009-07-07T17:35:00.001-07:00

Trashman is spending the night in town, but my limited money disappears too quick around mealtime so I'm heading out asap. Hiking has been good and bad lately. Today was the best 10 miles of the trip in my opinion - a long ridge traverse high above treeline walking on vocanic rubble (the granite left a day ago for volcanic mountains), looking down on frozen lakes and distant green hills, crossing the last of the snowfields and deep suncups in the melting snow. I slid on my ass (intentionally!) down about 400 feet of snow and made about the quickest mountain decent possible. The terrain has been rugged but nice, the only downside, A HUGE DOWNSIDE, being the little fucking bloodsuckers that have clouded me for a week. I told Sarah on the phone about finding the worst bugs of my life in a Yosemite meadow and swearing to get on the first bus I saw and get as far away as possible... that turned out to be less of an exception and more the start of the buggy hell that's been my life for days.

Resupply part 3

2009-07-07T17:34:00.003-07:00

I've seen a lot of bugs, but this is crazy out here. Clouds of the most vicious bloodthirsty vampires I've ever seen. I crossed a lot of beautiful country but couldn't stop to soak it in. Instead I caught glimpses in between swats and curses, looking through a bug net and plotting escape routes. I'm definitely no rugged mountain man... the way I get spooked by bugs really is pathetic, and I don't think a day has passed since VVR that I didn't swear to leave the trail in a bug induced fury... Luckily I make it to a windy spot or eventually my bug net for the night and cool down and come to my senses. Two nights ago gives a good example: I decided to push hard and make it down to the valley and up and down the next pass just before dark. As usual, The bugs didn't notice I had bathed in deet so I had to rush for 2 and a half hours to keep ahead of them. Finally I made it to the lake I planned to stop at... the lake was more of a big swamp which means a huge hatchery of biteys...

Resupply part 4

2009-07-07T17:34:00.001-07:00

I pushed on, knowing the trail followed a long meadow full of bugs but not having a better option. I tried running, but how do you run away from a never ending cloud? I hit a creek ford, and not thinking straight because of my rage I stopped to take my shoes off instead of just drowning myself then and there, or atleast just charging through in my shoes. Now yelling my curses outloud to the world I started across the thigh deep water. It was too far across to throw my shoes, so now I'm defensless with one hand holding shoes, one hand holding hiking poles and the rest of my body above water holding a carpet of mosquitos... could it get any more fun you ask? In between curses I inhale a lung full of bugs and start choking and coughing my way across this creek in the middle of nowhere... GGGGAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! Luckily it was all too much and I broke down in laughter - ah yes, hard to find much more wilderness adventure than that... Anyways, hopefully you all can have a laugh on me...

All is well at Tuolumne Meadows

2009-07-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

This is Sarah posting and I'm happy to report that after 500 miles of wandering through the mountains, Danny is still doing great. It was actually Friday July 3rd when I last heard from him - he was in Tolumne Meadows after a long trek down the Yosemite Valley. It is a huge, deep valley and to get from top to bottom it is a 50km trek. So, of course, Danny decided to do it in one day (all the campsites along the way were full) and camp at the bottom. He had heard alot about this cliff-thing called "Half Dome"at the bottom and he was pretty excited to see it. While I would like to tell you more about what Half Dome was like, the connection got fuzzy during that part of the phone call.

So, the next 'civilized' stop for Danny will be at Echo Lake which is about 2 days south of Lake Tahoe. He hopes that there will be a phone and some email there but if not, he will have to go to another town 1-2 days further along. It is another long stretch with the distance from Tuolumne to Echo lake being approx. 150 miles. Dan expects this to take 8-9 days but, because he might get sidetracked by a trail angel or need to go further to find a phone, we are to wait patiently and not worry for 12 days (from friday.) Don't worry- I'll keep count (I'm getting good at it) and let you know as soon as I hear from him. Ha ha...I'm sure I'm not the only one finding this whole "Danny wandering the wilderness away from phones" thing challenging. That being said, he assured me (again) that there are LOTS of people ar0und and that he spends at least a part of each day hiking in someone's company. I find this reassuring...hopefully the other worriers in the bunch (Delcie!) will find it reassuring too.

In the meantime, to keep us distracted, Dan has sent two cd's full of wonderful photos and I will be posting the best ones over the next couple days for all to enjoy. I hope everyone is well! For those of you who are wondering how I'm doing, well, I have to say that I'm enjoying the bittersweet-ness of it all, mostly because I get to remember the million reasons that I love this wanderer so much.

Until next time,
Sarah

Made it out of the (big) Mountains

2009-06-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

Found some service here in Red's Meadows near Mammoth Lakes so I'll send a quick update. My Heineken beer can cook pot sprung a few leaks during this last stretch, so I'm enjoying 710ml of heaven in the name of 'equipment repairs'. Tough life.... This last stretch has been big in every way. Big elevation gains, big views, big snow fields, big days. Really really truly beautiful country out here. I spent a few days nearly all above 11000 feet and above treeline, complete with countless creek fords, epic views, and high mountain passes with snow - the longest being Muir Pass with about 6 Miles all walking on the snow. So great.

Into "the best stretch of hiking in the country"

2009-06-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

Didn't enjoy rushing yesterday so I spent another night and took my time sorting gear and food. Pack feels a lot heavier an ice axe, cold weather gear, a bear resistant food canister and 9 days of food... I managed to fit in all inside though and it doesn't feel tooooo bad. Once a couple of days of food is gone I won't notice it anymore. New shoes are feeling pretty good, I replaced a twice broken pole, got snow baskets, and found a free waterproof stuff sack in a hiker box! I wouldn't let myself buy the stuff sack because I dropped to much money on the other shit I needed, and as soon as I got back to check for free food hikers left behind at the hostel there was the exact thing I wanted to buy in perfect shape.

It rained in Lone Pine this morning and it looks like a bit of snow above about 10,000 feet, but overall the weather isn't looking too bad for the next little while: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=rev&smap=1&textField1=36.55&textField2=-118.35&TextType=2 I'll probably take my time getting to Crabtree Meadows where the report is from, then climb up Whitney early Thursday before heading on up the trial. This is going to be a 135 mile stretch (plus 16 for Whitney) before my resupply at Vermillion Valley Resort. Lots of snowy passes to cross, so going will be a little slower than usual but I'm planning to do some big days. It's tough to fit enough food into a bear can, and I don't want to pack two, so I guess I'd better just walk lots or go hungry when my 9 days of food runs out... If needed I can hike off trial 2 days before my resupply for about 9 miles to a trailhead, so if I'm short on food there is an easy bailout option.

I'm just backing up some photos at an Internet Cafe now, then I'll try the difficult hitch up to the trailhead waaaaay up there. Lone Pine is at 3700 feet elevation, and we look immediately up to multiple 14,000 foot peaks. The Trail Pass Trailhead is around 10,000 feet. Can't wait!

Oh, the DVD just popped out finished. Off I go!

Lone Pine California

2009-06-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well, turns out the hype from Kennedy Meadows was waaay blown out of proportion... I did the 44 miles into the high sierra and out trail pass to Lone Pine in two beautiful days - no snow, no rain - just some good climbing and fun walking. It did get down to -3 celcius, but I stayed warm and happy. There is a cheap hostel full of hikers here, so I hitched in and spent last night here to get some gear and get my food drop from the post office. I bought some new shoes, but I think I'll bring them in and try different sizes today. It's hard to know what to buy when your feet are swollen from a 24 mile day in the mountains... I'm don't think my feet are more 'normal' today though... Probably won't be a normal for a few months... I'll enter the real mountains later today or tomorrow and climb 14500 foot whitney wednesday probably. No snow up to 10700 feet so far, but there will be on the passes for the next week now. Whoohoo! Internet will be n/a for while now - hope you all are well!

Onward!

2009-06-12T16:33:00.001-07:00

Not much has changed around Kennedy Meadows. A few burgers eaten, a
gallon or so of icecream devoured, a few new hikers incoming and a few
heading out. My turn is tomorrow morning - I'll head out early for a 2
day stretch to the Trail Pass Trail exiting to Horshoe Meadows and
hopefully a short wait for a ride into Lone Pine with some Sunday day
hikers. The weather isn't seeming as bad anymore - things start
warming up Wednesday - and I think I was a victim of the hype machine
working in overdrive around here. Have I camped in snow at -10
Celcius? Sure have, and enjoyed it too. Am I looking forward to some
long awaited cold weather? YES! With a couple little supply pickups in
Lone Pine I'll be ready to head out for a great time in the Mountains,
in one of the most beautiful seasons too. With the weather changing I
can be sure that there will be crowds of people quick on my heals as
well, so I can always fall back is routefinding is an issue in the
snow, which it shouldn't be. I plan to hit the post office and gear
store in Lone Pine and then try for a ride the same day. Camping at
the trailhead will give me one day or a bit more walking to Crabtree
Meadows, and then the next day, weather permitting, I'll be up at dawn
to make the 16 mile round trip up Mount Whitney before the
thundershowers come in for the afternoon. Highest point in the lower
48 states at 14,500 something feet. Whhheeeeeee!

"Hey, fuck this phone!"

2009-06-11T13:46:00.001-07:00

So started our Kennedy Meadows entertainment while waiting out the
weather up in the mountains. I decided to take the day off deciding
what to do next, so a group of us went down to the local breakfast
place. Picture Elio Gerardi running a restaurant - it's not a perfect
image, but add more space to his living room, a *little* more
tidiness, and then add about 150 pounds on the same sized frame. We
waited about 45 minutes before ordering while the owner took a beer
break after serving the last batch of hikers (he asked if we were in a
hurry and we said to take his time), and served ourselves some cold
coffee while we visited. During this time he got a couple phone calls
that went something like this,

"What?"... "you already asked that." *slams down phone*.

All the other hikers had left except for Charlie, Mike and Myself, so
only we got the show. As he's waddling past it again the phone rings,
and in one swoop he grabbed it, tugged the chord out of the wall,
opened the door with his free hand, and chucked the phone out towards
the garbage can past us yelling, "Hey fuck this phone!", before
casually closing the old sliding door and going back inside. "There
ain't gone be none more calls, Bob", he stated to his help.

We stepped over the phone as we refilled our coffee for the next half
hour, but apparently Bob put the phone back on the counter... "Fuck...
Bob! You put this phone back up here?!" He hit the garbage this time
(almost like he had practice at this). "Put that thing in your truck
when you leave Bob. If you want it".

All in all breakfast was a two hour ordeal, but it was perfectly what
I was looking for. All we have is time to kill today (and until next
wednesday maybe...). He took 5 minutes adding up what we owed him, but
I guess it got too greasy in the kitchen to read so he sat down to add
it all up again. "Uhhhh, like 30 bucks boys." came out after 5
minutes. "How much each?". We quickly said, "ah, nevermind. We'll
check the menu to split it up...".

Kennedy Meadows is a little community kind of like Baynes Lake. It's
about a mile and a half off trail and the last easy resupply before
heading out into the high Sierra Mountains. From here we immediatly
climb from about 6500 or 7000 feet elevation to up over 10,000. The
weather has been great but unseasonably cold lately (65 today, when
last year today was 102...) and it's the same in the mountains. People
have been nonstop checking weather reports hoping to find atleast one
report contradicting what we all know: it's miserably shitty in the
mountains right now. A few days up from here reports are saying highs
around freezing and lows down around -10C, with thunderstorms bringing
in more snow. Most people, like me, are packing quite light and
expecting a few nights down to -7C but highs warm enough to dry gear
out and wear shorts. Not going to happen for about a week up here
unfortunately. Until yesterday there was about 50 people waiting to
see when the weather would break, but many grew impatient and either
headed in for a couple days to check it out, or found a ride out of
our remote place to head to sections further north. I almost left at
6am this morning to take advantage of a ride to a further south
section that I missed, but at 1am while I was frantically packing gear
and trying to print maps and water reports out I said fuck it. It was
a mess of trying to find fuel from other people, sort resupply, deal
with my extra alpine gear etc.

Some of the people I've been hanging out with have left to head
further north, and some are heading into the mountains to feel it out.
I have to leave the mountains 2 days up anyway from the Trail Pass
Trail into Lone Pine, which is just before the rough higher elevation
sections. It sounds like most people have bailed out on that trail and
are hanging out in Lone Pine (a group of 30 headed to a further north
section from there), so I'm not really sure what to do. Sitting around
is fun, but I really really want to get out and I've only been here a
half day...

One option is to take my alpine gear that I have - sufficient for the
next two days, and exit the mountains to Lone Pine, get my maps from
the post office in my Bounce Box, and head further North or South by
bus to hike for a week or two until things start melting again. That
would mean another zero day here tomorrow to hit the post office in
Lone Pine Monday. Or I could hitch out of here and grab gear tomorrow
and get moving. Or wait here for 6 days or so until the expected
warmer weather moves in and starts melting everything again....
hhhmmmmmmmmm. Eating ice cream all day is fun, but so is hiking. I'll
probably just relax some more and let the answer come to me. I want to
enjoy the high sierras, not survive them...

Day 11 Photos

2009-06-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

I had planned on doing 15 -16 mile days throughout this section, taking it easy on my feet and timing my arrival at Walker Pass to land me at the Onyx post office Monday morning. I'm not very good at not walking... Saturday morning had me 20 miles away and within reach of the post office, assuming it closed early Saturday afternoon. I climbed out of songbird pass for an hour and a half pretty much nonstop, up into the clouds and rain drips. With a lighter load of water by then and my body hardening up, it really wasn't a challenge to chug up the switchbacks. Going down is another story though... After walking all my 20 miles by 2pm with a couple short breaks my feet were pissed right off. They were good most of the time, but the 2000 foot descent to walker pass finished them off. Luckily the post office closed that morning for the weekend and I walked into Meadow Ed's unexpected trail magic - a 5 day long barbeque just for hikers! With a couple other trail angel families it was amazing. Two plates of pasta and salad, a veggie burger, countless cookies, drinks and laughs. About 15 hikers sat around the fire with a half dozen trail angels telling jokes and stories, eating well and having a blast! Thanks soo much to Meadow Ed, Chai Guy, Bearbait and family, Magnet (formerly Incredible Bulk) and the other Angels whose names I'm missing. My trail name has now officially stuck - I'm 'The Trail Virgin' hehe. The old timers called me that on my first day, so to give them a chuckle I signed it as my name on a couple trail registers when ahead of them. I never heard it again until all the others who read it behind me caught up... "oh, you must be The Trail Virgin, right?". Funny stuff. - Trail Virgin

Day 10 photos

2009-06-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Day 10 started at an off trail spring - the last before a 32 mile waterless stretch. Two water caches are setup along the way, and just by chance as I write this 5 days later in a little diner in Lake Isabella I just finished chatting over coffee with the elderly couple who maintain them for PCT hikers! "hey there, are you hiking the PCT?". They're super nice people and were worried the cache had almost ran out day ago. I plan to carry my own water to not strain the trail angels stocking the caches and to avoid getting in trouble at an empty cache. Water is indeed heavy, but people get lazy and rely on caches often, even when not needed. As it turns out, the weather stayed unusually cold and my 6 litre carry lasted 40 miles! The terrain was stunning all day as we crossed a deep valley and traversed a few long ridges. I leap frogged all day with Shade and Beethoven and also met up with Bruiser, Wheeler, Pappa Smurf, and Bamboo Bob. The weather was strange all day, but overall great for hiking. I wore my poncho most of the morning waiting for the rain that seemed imminent but never came, but still wore long pants and an underwear top all day as it stayed cold and windy all day. By evening on top of the ridge people were estimating it was gusting to 50 miles an hour... I decided to spend an hour up top seeing if I could setup a shelter with my poncho in those conditions - I quit half way through as I was sure it was about to tear in half and carry me down to the valley bottom like a parachute... I walked 23 miles that day waiting for a sheltered spot and ended up camped with about 6 other people nearby when I found the only sheltered spot in miles. One guy still had his tent collapse twice during the night but I slept great. In the worst of the wind, with my long sore feet, I kept a shit eating grin ear to ear like I wore all day - I love storms like that, especially in beautiful places like that valley and pass.

Day 9 photos

2009-06-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

I slept in! 11 hours of sleep feels good! I was on the trail by 7:30 and stopped to dry my gear in the sun after what felt like 20 minutes. Apparently I was zoned out for while because it was almost 10am. I took a long break in the sun and then caught up to Mike who had passed while I ate. He was fresh on the trail after a break and seemed to want some company for bit so we hiked together and chatted photography most of the day as he's changing career into photography - as a young tech geek I was able to pass on some info, him being 52 and new to some of the new digital techniques. The slower pace and my efforts to help my feet were paying off - I felt good all 23 miles and was a bit bummed I had to stop when it was getting dark. We took a long break at a great spring mid day with Kickstep and Annie, Buck Thirty (just getting on the PCT after 1000 miles on the AT), Bruiser I think, and someone else too. Had to hang food for the first time. We're in the mountains now!

Day 8 photos

2009-06-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

I had cowboy camped (no tarp or anything, just under the stars) as usual and got up at dawn just just before the rain drops started. It was a big climb to start the day, up out of Tehachapi Pass and officially into the Sierra Nevada mountin range. WHOO HOO! By the time I made it the 12 miles to the first water source it was pouring rain - much to everyones surprise... As it obviously couldn't rain more than a few drops (there were cactus and joshua trees around!), I didn't bother to dig out my poncho. You get cold after being wet for 4 hours at 10 celcius waiting for the pouring rain to stop as you walk... I enjoyed feeling cold for a bit again and enjoyed the chance to learn more about my gear in the rain before getting into the real mountains, but once the rain slowed and the sun came out in the evening I stopped early to warm up and setup camp like most people. What do you do in camp at 6pm with 2 hours of light left? I laid in bed and ate half of my next days food...

Order of photos is all messed up...

Day 7 photos

2009-06-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

After more town running around (too much for tender feet!) and a hitch with a very nice and interested job hunting Mormon, I was back on the trail loaded right down with 5 days of food and 6 litres of water for a 24 mile carry and night until the next water source. There was another road in 8 miles I could bail out on, but after a slow slow 8 mile limp I was pretty sure of what my problems were and that I could manage them and keep hiking - an inflamed tendon on the left caused by over strain and pressure from tight shoes, and a shin splint on the right. Being the 'smart, always thinking of my health first' kinda guy that I am, I figured an extra 5 miles along the freeway was a fine idea. I finished it off in the dark by headlamp for an hour before a 1 hour massage of eveything tender. I met Triple H after he hiked in in the dark and I scared the shit out of some night hikers with loon calls as they passed my camp just for fun. Outside of the two breakfasts I ate in town (at the same time - they even brought out two place settings for my company!), it was my lowest day so far (stressing about my feet), but still fun overall.

Day 6 photos

2009-06-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

Only 12 or so miles remained before my next resupply, my 100 mile milestone, two injured feet, and a much needed rest night in the already described 'Best Motel' in Mojave. The descent to Willow Springs road was mostly painful, but something very very awesome happened - I came across a rare group of wild horses. Supposedly (from what I remember reading) they were left behind by Spanish Conquistadors back in the day and the horses I saw are the descendants of the ferral horses that have since lived in Antelope Valley. Pretty interesting to see. When I finally limped to the road I found a cooler full of ice and soda and a big water cache thanks to some great trail angels. The hitch took about 20 minutes and I had to take a picture of myself to see what needed cleaning before asking for a ride... There could have shit smeared across my face all week without me noticing, but all seemed fine so on I went. See the "don't stay in the best motel" post for more on the day.

Day 5 photos

2009-06-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

Day 5 went something like this: early start, boring road walk, cool Joshua Trees, weird pet cemetary off trail in the desert, breakfast with 'Giggles' at a water source, chipped tooth eating granola/gravel off the ground (can't waste any!), wrong trail and backtracking for an hour in the heat, nap and blog post under the first tree (see: waiting out the desert heat post), and an amazingly beautiful evening climb up out of Antelope Valley into the Tehachapi Mountains. All in all a very good day.

Day 4 photos

2009-06-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

Photos seem to be in reverse order from end of day to beginning and I don't have time to fix it...

Alright... back to catching up on updates and exercising my memory...

There's lots to catch up on and it's 11 pm and I've already brewed up all the shitty motel coffee and drank my luxurious beer (beer itself being the luxury - I'm still buying cheap beer). Day 4 was a big one - biggest yet and probably the hardest on my feet. I woke up at dawn looking down on the clouds at sunrise and passed Eden while he filled his bottles up with nice clear water from a fire water tank near camp - I had some leftover water and knew enough about my bodies morning routine to know that my second fibre lacking shit of the morning was going to hit about 5 miles down the trail - right near a perfectly good 'guzzler' water source (my tadpole tea came from a guzzler too...). Well, you're right if you're thinking I should have taken the good water when I had the chance - It was missing the tadpoles this time but was equally appealing (check the green algae water photo...). Well, atleast the ground was soft for digging my cathole...

I should mention - don't be fooled by my 'poor me life is hard there's not enough toilets and bottled water' tone in some these blog posts... as most of you probably know I'll have a happy grin and plenty of fun no matter where this hike takes me, and the truth is that I don't even know what hardship is and i've been lucky enough to have never experienced it in my life. This is all my idea of fun recreation and I just fill you in on the dirt because it makes for a less boring read.

Alright, the rest of the day: 26 miles after starting my day I was sleeping on the side of a dirt road in the desert. The descent off the mountain was hot and long and I think where my current foot poblems started... Luckily 'hikertown' was waiting before a long road walk through the desert. I hung out with nice group of people in the shade and headed off into the desert under, surprisingly, rain drops. I had about the best conditions I could hope for that 14mi.

Comment replied ...finally - part 1

2009-06-08T00:06:00.003-07:00

Hey all - time to finally answer a couple old questions I'm sure you're all just dieing to hear about... Everyone (I assume my butt is that important to you all now...): Yes the sock did work. Well sort of. I'm not sure which smelly end of the relationship rejected who, but the sock was doing its best to flee the situation by morning and I ended up only half healed. The chaffing routine went something like this - I burn the hell out of it with hand sanitizer to 'toughen it up' at night (it supposedly worked for other hikers), and then it feels great for the morning and feels progressively less great as the miles pile on. For a few days I played a fun little game of giving myself a wedgie friction barrier before abandoning all efforts of treatment for the 'grin and bare it' method... either something worked or it gave up for lack of reaction, because I've been chaffe free for a few days now. Thanks for the concern (amusement?) everyone! Hehehe. Next up - Auto reminders (next post)

Replies - part 2

2009-06-08T00:06:00.001-07:00

Auto update reminders - there should be some way to do it but unfortunately I can't see the blog page myself... Any ideas to offer, Richie? Sandra - sand in the desert?: luckily there hasn't been tonnes of plain sand walking, but even in the chapparel (brushy kind of semi-desert) the trail is mostly sand and loose rock - all stuff the perect size for bouncing into your shoes as soon as you clean the out for the _000th time.... Also worth noting is that everything in the desert/chapparel is either scratchy, pokey, cutty and/or bitey. I have little scabs on my head because everytime I'm near a Joshua Tree (giant spikey bitey scratchy ouchy Yucca 'trees') I usually find a way to run my head into it. I don' t know how... even I surprise myself sometimes. Next up - Sarah and eating training: Yes, The eating training pre-hike has definitely paid off... The five pounds I gained seems to be getting along well with the new weight I seem to be gaining... I'm pretty good at eating it seems.

Replies part 3

2009-06-08T00:04:00.001-07:00

Bed bugs....: Well, I don't think anything followed me, but the rash sure isn't in a hurry to leave. Luckily it's only on one elbow and a bit on my thumb though. I have a feeling the perma-stink that follows me around now will outlast the rash. Sorry if I missed any questions - I get emails with the comments but it only saves the most recent ones and I took too long this time.

Zero day at Walker Pass / Lake Isabella

2009-06-07T16:17:00.001-07:00

Section 2 is now completed and I'm about 200 miles deep, give or take a few. I'm now sitting at 'The Hungry Rancher' listening to old country tunes and drinking coffee for the afternoon. I'm taking an actual real true full zero day trying to get my injuries cleared up and taking a little rest - my last 'rest' days involved walking 10 miles in to rest and 13 out.... I'm splitting a room in town with Shade and Betoven, a couple a met on this last stretch who are fresh on the trail as well. It still turned out to be $30 each though (but no bugs!). Over the next couple hours I hope to get caught up on updates as I've been out of service all of this past stretch and it looks like that will be the norm for the next couple weeks. I have to send the photos to Richie first for formatting so it may take a day or two until it's all posted up. Overall the trip has been amazing so far! The trail definitely takes the scenic route nice and high up and I spend most days grinning ear to ear.

Day 3 Photos

2009-06-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

More nice terrain on Day 3, and I even got high enough up to find some trees and shade. It was a 22 mile day ending at the high point of the mountains in some nice wind to keep the bugs away. I spent most of the day watching over my shoulder for the giant squirrel (check out the giant pine cone pic). It cooled down and even spinkled some rain so I rested and enjoyed a hot meal in the cool(ish) afternoon - tadpole tea I called it... You can't be too picky when you find water down here, so I used a cloth to filter out the tadpoles from my standing water before treating with bleach... Mmmmm! Think of drinking chlorinated public pool water mixed with piss and masked with hint of gatorade to make it palatable and you're close to what I drank all day... I also treated myself to a much needed sponge bath using my pot as the bucket and my face cloth as the sponge - another shot of multipurpose bleach and away go the stink! Note the salt stains on the shirt... pretty hot down here...

Day 2 Photos

2009-06-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

Day 2 started with a 5am wake up to beat the 'heat' (according to me it was hot anyway) and head down to bear spring for your water load up. Mid afternoon we stopped at the amazing 'oasis cache' for a COLD BEER (!). I declined going to a trail angel house to party and finished my 18 mile day camped high looking over Lancaster and the desert I would be hiking in 9 couple days.

Day 1 Photos

2009-06-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

Day 1 started at hiker heaven mailing packages and packing up. I left with HawkEye, WhyWait, WhyNot, and MissAlaska at 4pm and put in 9 miles before a beautiful sunset and campspot up high on a ridge.

Introduction to me!

2009-06-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I'm Richie, a friend of Danny's and I will be providing tech support for Dan while he's on the trail. His internet won't always be the best while hes hiking around so he will be sending me emails with pictures and text from his phone and I will be uploading them to the blog for you all to see.
Pictures and text from Danny to follow...

Don't stay at the 'Best Motel' in Mojave...

2009-06-02T02:26:00.001-07:00

So I made it through the 100 mile long section E, feeling pretty good overall but with a variety of little body issues that were adding up, so I decided to take a night in Mojave to rest and heal up. My hitched ride dropped me off at the Days Inn - not over the top expensive, but still a little more than what a dirtbag hiker like myself wants to spend, so on I walked. First came the Mexican joint with a lunch buffet, then the chinese place with an all you can eat supper, then the liquor store... I knew I was getting close to what I wanted. Then from around the corner came the 'Best Motel' with a sign advertizing $38 rooms - perfect! Things seemed pretty nice at first... then I started noticing things slowly. After my shower I noticed a fair bit of hair much longer than mine around the floor - Not a big deal though. Then after getting groceries I noticed a big cochroach waiting to great me in the bathroom - still not a big deal - I chased it into a whole in the wall.

Don't stay at the 'Best Motel' in Mojave.L..... ntinued

2009-06-02T02:25:00.001-07:00

I wasn't bothered by the roach. I was actually kind of happy to have seen one in person. But the next thing I noticed wash the rash on my arm I was scratching. Then I noticed I was scrathing all over my body... Seems there is some kind of bed bug working its magic with a dozen of its friends... I definately don't want to let them into my sleeping bag to live out the summer so I'm just sleeping in the bed anyways. I'll mix up a bleach bath in the morning and hope they aren't making baby itchers in my clothes already. I spent the night icing some inflamed tendons I'm nursing and packaging my food for the next section. It's 8 days long with consistantly long water carries of 18 - 25 miles between sources... ugh. There's a road crossing just past half way that most say is harder to resupply from than just packing the extra food, but I'm thinking that I'll mail a foodbox ahead and save the weight on my injured foot. Hopefully I'm healed enough to leave tomorrow! I already miss it!

Waiting out the desert heat

2009-05-31T14:52:00.001-07:00

Hey all. I'm having a little siesta under the first tree clinbing out of the desert. Last night I made it about 10 miles along the aquaduct and roads that dip through antelope valley, and this morning I finished the remaining 6 miles to a water source while it was still cool(ish). I had been thinking that was the end of the desert but was off by 7 or so, 9 if the count the two miles I spent on the wrong trail... Only 17 miles remain until my next resupply, so I'll try sending some photos tomorrow. I think I'll take a zero day in Mojave to give my body a break. My legs have been fine with the past 83 miles, but my feet are less than impressed... I made a personal rule to not walk more than 20 miles in a day, but that didn't last long. Yesterday was about 26 I think, and the day before was 22... Thanks for the comments and messages! It's great to have a note waiting when I get service - I'll respond when I have time in town.

26 miles in and still alive

2009-05-28T21:53:00.001-07:00

I did about 8 miles out of hiker heaven in the evening with Hawkeye, Whywait, Miss Alaska and Whynot (trail names). We got some cloud cover and the heat didn't feel tooo bad. Just at dusk we reached the top ridge of the big hill we had been climbing for an hour or so and were rewarded with a beautiful sunset and campspot. I left around 5:30 (trying to beat the heat) and ended up leap frogging with them the rest of the day along with Lint, but we all sat down together at the 'oasis' cache. Imagine walking for hours in the hot sun only to stumble upon a shady spot in the rare trees and finding a cooler full of cold beer and pop! Thanks soo much to the Andersons who maintain the cache! after a bit longer I said to hell with the heat - I had plenty of water and nothing to hurry for, so I found a spot to wait out the afternoon heat. Luckily the cool rock wall I found had a big wasp city as they seemed to keep the other bugs and flies away.

26 miles and still alive continued

2009-05-28T21:52:00.001-07:00

An hour later down the trail I crossed a road and was met with more trail magic - The Andersons and othe trail angels were shuttling people back to a house for a supper and party night! people are so supportive and nice! Having not even gotten into my hike yet I declined (but accepted a full water bottle top up of non-bleach treated water) And continued up another climb in the cooler evening air. I'm now laying in bed after a huge dinner of instant potatoes with chickpeas and veggies and a much much needed sponge bath. I treated my ass cheeks with hand sanitizer - similar to using rubbing alcohol - And it burned like hell! turns out my 'minor' chaffing is actually two raw ass cheeks that are very tired of rubbing together.... I'm sleeping with a sock stick between my cheeks tonight in hopes of them staying dry and getting better - Wish me luck! Outside of that my body is doing pretty good, a bit of blistering and sore shoulders, but my knee and legs don't mind the miles at all.

A few photos

2009-05-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

Resupply for the next few weeks - $55 in postage!

Bye bye Calgary!

These are the mountains I'll be hiking through next week... I think

Hiker Heaven
Flying over Yosemite Valley - I'll be back on foot in a month or so.

Airport

A few photos

2009-05-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

~$55 to send out my packages... in order of appearance from the left: Ice axe and cold weather gear + 2days food to Kennedy Meadows (Start of high mountains!), food drop to Vermillion Valley Resort - 4 days food - it costs $18 to receive packages at this remote resort, but still cheaper than buying there I expect and eating at the restaurant), next is a food drop I'll get in Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite in a few weeks, then my bear canister going to Lone Pine (law requires bear cans be used to prevent bears getting accustomed to the camp food) and then the home depot can is my bounce box - extra gear and food that I'll send town to town to swap out warn out stuff and to change gear for the different conditions. It also contains extra repair stuff and easily lost stuff like tent pegs.

This is the mountains I'll be walking through over the next couple weeks... I think.

Bye bye Calgary!

Hiker Heaven.

I'm pretty sure that's Yosemite Valley as we flew over - I'll be back there on foot in a month.

Off and away at the airport.

Leaving Hiker Heaven Today

2009-05-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it to LA and out to Agua Dulce to "Hiker Heaven" - a surreal dream for hikers in a harsh section of the trail where Donna and Jeff Sauffley have decked out there home to give hikers everything they could want. Laundry (done by Donna), food, beer coolers, big tents with cots for up to 50 hikers, absolutely everything. http://hikerheaven.com/

I spent the day after arriving in LA dragging my 50 pound food box with me on two busses and 4 trains, and the walking needed in between, getting camp fuel and maps and getting to the outskirts of town where 'trail angel' Bill drove me out to Hiker Heaven. Thanks Bill!

I spent last night and most of today so far organizing my mail drops through the remote sections of the Sierra's coming up and have just finalling finish all my logistics for the next while. Now hiking!

It's still pretty hot so I'm waiting around and cameling up until about 4 when I'll head out. Fun Fun - 5 / 6 days to Mojave and through the hottest section of the trail!

Final Prep - I leave tomorrow!

2009-05-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Some final preparations underway. Well, lots of final preparations. Funny how no matter how much time you have you always run out... or is it just me? I fly out in the morning, so I guess I should stop typing and finish sewing up my backpack, finish making my cook stove, patch my pants, pack my couple of food mail drops, decide on... shit... I gotta go!

Practice Hike Photos

2009-04-27T10:45:00.001-07:00

I've been doing lots of "practice" hikes. I'm not bring lots of stuff with me, so I want to make sure what I have works alright (helps with the whole 'not dying on the trip' thing I'm going for...). The hike goes from weeks of desert(ish) hiking all the way to weeks of snow covered mountain passes, so early season hikes up yamnuska (first photos above) give a good idea of mountain sections, and the badlands in spring are as close to desert as I'll find around here (bottom photos).