Two Crazy Hikin' Fools

Last Day Video

2009-09-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

Recorded this rap in the rain when we were 5 miles from Snoqualmie Pass. It took me 2 weeks to put the lyrics together. Nothing else to do on the trail but walk and let your mind wander.

September 6th – Twilight Lake to Snoqualmie Pass

2009-09-07T13:14:00.001-07:00

Couldn’t sleep last night. Lost a lot of sleep because I kept thinking about the fact that we no longer have to hike after today and my hip muscles were aching all night. Rain clouds unloaded all they had on us this morning around 4:00. Two hours of heavy rain tempted Tori and I to sit and wait it out but it all ended around 6:30. Thank God! We were not looking forward to walking home in a downpour. Well, rain or shine, we only had to walk ten miles and it would all be over with.

As we arrived at the top of the Snoqualmie ski area and looked down at the pass below us….I began to feel a little weird. I couldn’t believe that we were really home – really ending our trip. The peaks surrounding the pass looked very foreign to me though I had seen them all many times before. Thick rain clouds broke up around the peaks and floated eerily through the pass. It was so hard to believe that we were really here. Even more….it was tough to believe that we actually walked here from the Mexican border.

Tori and I took a couple of pictures, yodeled a bunch, and kissed a bunch more before walking down to the Family Pancake House to stuff ourselves one last time.

~Tom

September 5th – Road Laced Crest Saddle to Twilight Lake

2009-09-07T13:13:00.001-07:00

Yep, we have bad rain. This sucks ass. Everything was wet today. Everything! I don’t handle cold and wet conditions very well. I turn into a snot-nosed little punk – full of moans, groans, aches, pains, and complaints. After four hours of hiking, we stopped at a road for lunch. Decided we needed a hot meal in our bellies so I sparked up the stove. While the water boiled, I got a little campfire going so that we could get a bit of warmth and hopefully dry our shirts.

Train Wreck and Moneyshot arrived just as we were getting ready to leave. They experienced the same wet and cold conditions so we left the fire with them to enjoy.
Was tough to keep going today. I just wanted to stop. Tori didn’t complain at all and that encouraged me to shut my mouth and suck up the misery. I knew that it would all be over eventually.

Arrived at Twilight Lake around 8:30 this evening. No Trace and Unbreakable we occupying the only campsite in the marshy terrain surrounding the lake. Thankfully, they invited us to squeeze our little tent into a small patch of open ground next to theirs. They also had a nice little fire blazing when we arrived so we were able to dry out a bit before heading to bed.

~Tom

September 4th – Chinook Pass to Road Laced Crest Saddle

2009-09-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

Woke up to fairly clear skies. Dawn greeted us with a dream-like sky filled with orange tinted clouds surrounded by bits of blue. Couldn’t tell if the color of the sky meant we were in for good weather, bad weather, or if we were still asleep.
As luck would have it, the skies cleared and we hiked until noon with beautiful blue skies. Great views of Rainier as we hiked along a ridge just east of Crystal Mountain ski resort. I love seeing that glaciated peak. Forgot how grand it is.
I’m getting sick of eating tuna wrapped in a tortilla shell. After this trip, I will not eat tuna for a very long time. Four months of tuna for lunch has ruined my taste for the chicken of the sea.

Sometime around 4:30, we arrived at Government Meadows and found a group of thru-hikers resting on the porch of a large cabin/shelter. We chatted with them for a bit and found out that our friends Sarbar and Hoosierdaddy were visiting the shelter just hours earlier. They came by to drop off snacks, beer, sodas and other random trail magic. Dang! Running into them would’ve been fun. Thanks for the trail magic though! All of us thru-hikers really appreciated it!

Cooked dinner at the shelter then moved on 7.5 more miles to our home for the evening. Drizzle started as we got the tent set up. I hope we don’t have bad rain tomorrow.

~Tom

September 3rd – White Pass to Chinook Pass

2009-09-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Fell asleep quickly last night after our Lasagna party. Two big plates of pasta & garlic bread combined with five Alaskan Ambers did me in. Sleep went well until thunder and lightning woke me up sometime around 1:00. Never really managed to get back to sleep after that mess.

Managed to check out of the ski lodge and hit the trail with Peter Shaw (Peanut Eater) by 7:30. We sort of hiked with him throughout the day. Our speed was a bit quicker than his so we eventually separated. We hoped to complete 27 miles today so we needed to push it faster than he did.

Saw a few elk. Man, those are some magnificent animals. I always thought they looked like the spawn of an accidental mating between a horse and a deer. Not the most graceful animals when they go crashing through the brush. Sound a bit like a fat kid tumbling in a thicket.

The weather cleared up a bit for us later in the day. Hiked down to Chinook Pass during the rise of a full moon. My left pinky toe hurt like hell today. I hope it can handle 3 more days of this.

~Tom

September 2nd – Trail 96 Junction to White Pass

2009-09-07T11:39:00.001-07:00

Woke up to perfectly clear skies today. Yes! I was so excited because today was the day we were going to be going through the heart of Goat Rocks Wilderness – an area I had always wanted to visit, but had never got around to it. We were also going to be on some very rugged, exposed tread, so good weather would allow more ease with travel. We were surprised to still find snow on Old Snowy (I guess I should have figured by the name!). Since we hit the snow traverse first thing in the morning, it was quite hard packed and icy. The snow brought back memories of the High Sierra passes, only this time we didn’t have ice axes or crampons. Lucikly, the snowfield wasn’t too steep and there was a wide boot path across the snow – we just had to take it slowly. Next we came to the infamous “Knife Edge” – a 1 mile section of trail that runs along the top of a very narrow ridge. Not only was the trail VERY exposed, but it was also steep with loose gravel (my least favorite kind of terrain). I was scared to death – especially looking forward and seeing where the trail was going. Tom somehow managed to talk me through the trail and we made it across the Knife Edge without any incidents. I was very thankful to have survived and to have had good weather. I couldn’t imagine doing that section of trail during a storm. Eeek! The views from the Knife’s Edge were incredible – Mt. Rainier was in our face and there were lots of snow-capped mountains nearby. Probably one of the prettiest places I’ve been in Washington. Too bad I was so busy looking down at my feet. 

After a tough day of hiking, we rolled into White Pass about an hour before the gas station/store was closing. We ran into our friend Peter Shaw (aka Peanut Eater) whom we hadn’t seen since Sisters. He’s probably the one hiker we have seen throughout the trail – first meeting him way back in Julian, CA, then again in Idyllwild, Mammoth Lakes, Sierra City, and lastly in Sisters. We picked up our package and filled in the missing food items with purchases from the store. Upon recommendation of Mike, we decided to get a room at the White Pass Inn next to the gas station. There were 3 bunk beds so we invited Peter to join us. Basically, the Inn was ski condos that are rented out on a nightly basis. Each room has a kitchenette, so we bought a frozen lasagna and garlic break and cooked up a feast in our little room. Mike and Naomi were staying in a room close by and they had also bought lasagna and garlic bread. After showers, we hosted a little party in our room feasting on lasagna and garlic bread. It was great to “host” people again – almost felt like we were having a dinner party at home.

-Tori

September 1st – Muddy Fork Camp to Trail 96 Junction

2009-09-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Had some light rain over night, but things seemed to be clearing up by the time we woke up. We were thankful since we were headed toward Goat Rocks Wilderness – an area known for beautiful scenery (at least when the weather is nice). The views kept getting better as the day went on – lots of jagged mountain peaks, alpine meadows, and charming creeks. We felt like we were back in the German/Austrian Alps. Ended the day at a fantastic campsite with a great view looking back at Mt. Adams. One of the best parts of thru-hiking is looking back from where you have come and seeing how far you walked in just one day. It was crazy to think we had camped just next to Mt. Adams the previous night and now it already looked quite a distance away.

-Tori

August 31st – Spring near Big Mosquito Lake to Muddy Fork Camp

2009-09-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

Met up with another thru-hiking couple, Mike and Naomi, today – leapfrogged with them on the trail most of the day. The trail took us near Mt. Adams which was cool to look at when the clouds weren’t blocking the view. Got hit with some light rain sprinkles toward the end of the day. Had a bit of a sketchy crossing of the river coming off the Adams glacier, but we survived - minus wet and cold feet. Found a great campsite near the Muddy Fork – right near the creek. Since it was the only campsite nearby, Mike and Naomi joined us as well.

-Tori

August 30th – Cascade Locks to Spring near Big Mosquito Lake

2009-09-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

We hated to give up the comfy bed and warm room at the Best Western, but the trail was calling our name – we only have 8 more days left of hiking (not that we are counting or anything ;-)). Due to needing to be to Snoqualmie Pass by September 6th, we asked Dicentra to give us a ride to Crest Campground, skipping a viewless, boring 51 mile section of trail. This ride allows us to be a little more relaxed on the trail and not have to pull out the mega miles the next 8 days. Thanks Di for the ride (and Sarbar for the navigating) – we really appreciate it!

The rest of the day was pretty boring hiking, but luckily went by fast. We saw our first elk of the trip – amazing how as soon as we cross into Washington, we see elk. Lucked out with some more trail magic – Water and Bucket (AT ’07) had come out to Road 24 for the day. We arrived about 6pm and they were just starting to clean up after a busy day of trail magic. We got there just in time - along with 4 other thru-hikers, so we cleaned Water and Bucket of all their remaining food – including hot dogs, bacon, breakfast sausages, yellow watermelon, Hostess cupcakes, donut holes, chips, and soda/beer. Managed to just spend just an hour at the trail magic and made it a couple more miles until dark. Found a spot in a meadow near Big Mosquito Lake. Luckily, the lake didn’t live up to it’s name – the bugs weren’t too bad.

-Tori

August 29th – Cascade Locks

2009-09-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

Today was PCT day at Cascade Locks. Hikers from ahead on the trail hitched back and hikers from behind on the trail hitched forward. Luckily, we hit the Locks just at the right time and didn’t have to hitch. PCT day is a celebration of the PCT – lots of time to catch up with fellow hikers, meet new people, and talk with vendors. Our friends Sarbar, Dicentra, and Jared came up for the day along with their kiddos Ford and Maddy. It was so good to see friend from back home – it has been a LONG time without seeing anybody from “home”. The day was perfectly chill – just hanging out with good friends and gabbing endlessly. The night ended with a movie showing by Squatch and a photography presentation by Nabor J.

-Tori

August 28th - 7 1/2 Mile Camp to Cascade Locks

2009-09-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

We were thrilled to once again be on familiar terrain along the Eagle Creek. This alternate PCT trail is very easy and scenic - passing by numerous beautiful waterfalls. My favorite is Tunnel Falls - a waterfall that you actually walk behind. We had an easy 10 mile walk into Cascade Locks. After filling our bellies at the PCT Pub and checking into our hotel, we finally got our much anticipated showers. Ahhh...it feels so good to be clean!

-Tori

August 27th - Near Rushing Water Creek to 7 1/2 Mile Camp

2009-09-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Continued on the combined PCT/Timberline Trail. Forded Sandy River which looked a lot different from when I crossed it several years ago. Amazing how glacial rivers change so much. Enjoyed a snack by the beautiful Ramona Falls. Got our butts kicked climbing up to Bald Mountain. The rest of the day was spent on mostly viewless terrain. The miles seemed to go by slowly, so we passed the time by working on a rap song about our trip.

Toward the end of the day, we peaked out on a high ridge and got our first view of Mt. Rainier. We truly are getting closer to home...

-Tori

August 26th - Clackamas Lake to Near Rushing Water Creek

2009-09-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

Managed to wake up before sunrise today. Were were looking forward to finally reaching Mt. Hood and getting a little closer to home.

Hiked over super easy terrain for the first half of the day. The 2nd half of the day made up for the easy 1st half though. As the trail got closer to Hood, the terrain got steeper. It was exciting to finally reach the Timberline Trail (the trail that circumnavigates Mt. Hood which I had hiked a few years ago). It was the first time on our trip that I was on trail that was familiar. We were going the opposite way though and I quickly found out why we had gone the other direction previously - the climb up to Timberline Lodge on sand was a butt kicker. We had already done 25 miles and we were hungry. But knowing food was at the end really helped.

Reached Timberline Lodge just in time for dinner. We were were bummed to not be able to get pizza, but each enjoyed a sandwich and beer and then shared a bowl of gourmet mac and cheese. It was difficult, but we managed to escape the Timberline vortex after just an hour or so and hiked another 5 miles to camp on the west side of Hood.

-Tori

August 25th - Ollalie Lake ot Clackamas Lake

2009-09-07T09:56:00.001-07:00

Woke up to Andrew cooking pancakes and brewing coffee. What a greeat treat. After a leisurely breakfast, Jo drove us back to the trail. Didn't start hiking until a very late 9am. We were such slackers. But it felt great to have a night enjoying the company of others.

Sped through the easy terrain trying to make up for our missed miles due to stopping for trail magic. Reached the Clackamas Lake campground about 6:15pm. Toilets, water, and a garbage dumpster made us decide to call it an early night. Still managed 25 miles for the day though.

-Tori

August 24th - Shale Lake to Ollalie Lake

2009-09-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

Woke up an hour later than usual today. It was freezing cold and there was frost on the ground. Neither of us wanted to get out of our warm sleeping bags.

The first several miles were quite boring, but eventually the woods opened up and we came to beautiful meadows with views of Mt. Jefferson up close. We saw a ton of dayhikers - even with it being a weekday. There must be a trailhead close by. We could definitely see why the place was popular - the views were amazing!

We huffed and puffed our way up to a high ridge. Funny how we felt out of shape since we have recently been doing very little elevation gains/losses (compared to what we had done previousing in California). We were greeted at the top by our first views of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. Were were thrilled to see both of those mountains - knowing that we were getting closer to home.

Met a section hiker, Dan, from Bellingham, WA who hiked with us several miles. We are always impressed when the section hikers can keep up with our pace.

Found a trail magic sign when we hit Ollalie Lake promising hot dogs, soda, beer, fruit, and smores if we walked 1 mile down to the campground. We couldn't resist the trail magic, so we walked the 1 mile. Met former 2008 PCT thru-hiker Andrew (aka Dandy)and his girlfriend Jo who were the lovely trail angels providing "magic". Dan arrived soon after us. We were talked into staying the night with promises of pancakes and Stumptown coffee in the morning. Had a great rest of the evening chatting about all kinds of random topics. Thanks Dandy and Jo for the wonderful trail magic. We are glad we stopped and stayed the night!

-Tori

August 23rd - Sisters, OR to Shale Lake

2009-09-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

As much as we enjoyed our time in Sisters, we knew we must move on. After several good nights' rest, we were feeling re-energized.

It took us 2 hitches to make it up to Santiam Pass - the first from a high school girl on the way to her summer job as a lifeguard and the 2nd ride from a state trooper. It was my first time in the back of a cop car - quite the experience. Who knew the back seats were made of hard plastic???

We both enjoyed the scenery immensly today. Our hike took us past Three Fingered Jack as well as seeing Mt. Jefferson smack dab in front of us for most of the day. The beautiful scenery, blue skies, and cooler temperatures made the day fly by fast.

We found a great little campsite at Shale Lake with a great view of Mt. Jefferson. I love when we can find a flat spot with water AND a view!

-Tori

August 22nd - Another Day in Sisters, OR

2009-09-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed our day yesterday so much that we decided to do another zero. Spent the day doing absolutely nothing. It was great!

-Tori

August 21st - Sisters, OR

2009-09-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Zero day! Yay! We were really in need of a rest day. Both of us are dealing with sore feet and I have a sore back.

We scored a great deat at the Sisters Inn. They are currently rennovating so they gave us a great price ($60) on a room. The room is huge, has a porch with a sliding glass door, 2 sinks, fridge, microwave, computer with internet in the lobby, and a continental breakfast. Probably the best room and best price we have had on the trail. We feel like we are living in luxury.

Spent the day leisurely doing town chores - laundry, library, post office, etc. Sisters is a nice town - more touristy and bigger than we expected, but still easy to get around.

-Tori

Fun Video

2009-08-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

Howdy! Tori and I are in Sisters, OR for a zero day. Below is a little video from the trail. Also, I added a few more pics to our photo album (check the link on right of the page). Enjoy!

Quick Photo Update

2009-08-06T15:25:00.001-07:00

Howdy Folks!

We're in Etna, CA. Spending a day relaxing and taking care of other town chores. Have new photos posted on Tori's facebook page. See the link to the right of this web page. Should be a link directly to our PCT Photo Album.

We're doing well. Thanks for keeping tabs on us and thanks for the comments. We apologize for not being able to respond to them because our internet time is very limited.

God Bless,

Tom & Tori

August 20th - Elk Lake to Sisters, OR

2009-08-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's Note: Tom writing.

Wow! Sisters Wilderness is beautiful. It's great to be traveling through great scenery w/o having to get our butts kicked in the process.

The Sisters Wilderness is a volcanic wonderland, save for the hot lava. Several mountains/volcanos make up the attraction here. Three main peaks are the centerpiece. North Sister, Middle Sister and South Sister. They're surrounded by other peaks such as the Husband, The Wife and The Brothers. Pretty cool to see the entire lava-ble family in once place.

Hiked past a bunch of weekenders enjoying the same terrain. Lots of day hikers as well. Definitely reccommend coming here if you want lots of bang for your buck.

Arrived in the town of Sisters after wandering the road for a hitch. Finally McDonald's and a shower after 9 days.

~Tom

August 19th - Charlton Lake to Elk Lake

2009-08-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's note: Tom writing.

Our new progam/schedule is working like a charm. By hiking faster and taking more short breaks to eat, we've been able to cover some serious ground in shorter amount of time than our previous program. Tori really likes it because she's able to refuel more often and I like it because we walk faster and cover more ground at the end of the day.

Our pace today hovered around 3.5 miles per hour. The relatively flat terrain makes our hiking much easier than expected.

I took a bath last night in Charlton Lake. Gosh that felt great. The grime from 8 days w/o a shower was starting to get on my nerves. The quick lake bath made it all better.

Arrived at Elk Lake Resort at 6pm. Just in time for burger, fries, cold water and beer. We planned to get 3 more miles in after dinner but our butts wanted nothing to do with a post-meal hike.

Luckily we got a ride to Devil Lake campground. The camp was roughly 2 miles away from Elk Lake Resort but its proximity to the trail allowed us to shave 8 miles of PCT miles. In layman's terms, we found a grat short cut.

I love these short cuts.

~Tom

August 18th - Whitefish Horse Camp to Charlton Lake

2009-08-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

Once again woke up at dawn. Cruised a super-easy 10.5 miles to Shelter Cove Resort. The Resort primarily caters to car campers and fishermen. There is a small store with limited supplies. We stopped for our lunch break and enjoyed cold soda, coffee and donuts. That sure helped spice up lunch. We spent a nice relaxing 1 1/2 hours at the resort and then heade back to the trail. Walked another uneventful easy 18 miles to finish the day at Charlton Lake.

~Tori

August 17th - Thielson Creek to White Fish Horse Camp

2009-08-02T14:00:00.001-07:00

Woke up at the first daylight and hit the trail once again. The trail was great - smooth with very gentle inclines/declines. Made it to the WA/OR hight point which is ironically only half as high as the CA PCT high point.

Came upon Sugar Momma on the trail for the first time. she had been off the trail for a month due to a knee injury - was just trying to get back into the swing of things. She was doing great. All day we flip-flopped with both Munchy and Sugar Momma.

Decided to take an alternate route on the Oregon Skyline trail (which was once the old PCT). Water continues to be a major problem and the Oregon Skyline trail stays lower and goes by several good lakes. It also helps that it has less elevation gain/loss than the new PCT and is 7 1/2 miles shorter. The only drawback was we were on sandy rutted horse trails that kicked up a lot of dust.

Arrived at the horse campground and Munchy was talking to some of the campers. They offered us ice cold cans of Diet Pepsi! You should have seen our eyes light up! That soda pop was the best thing ever.

Although the horse campground is supposed to be just for people with horses, they allowed us to camp near the trailhead at the end of the campground. There was delicious piped water and toilets. We felt like we were living in luxury with all the water we could drink/use.

Since we were absolutely filthy with dust, dirt and grime, we helped each other shower down using water from our platypus and soap. It wasn't glamorous, but it did the job.

~Tori

August 16th - Annie Creek Trail to Thielson Creek

2009-08-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

After staying up way past hiker midnight last night, we ended up sleeping in until 6am.

Felt sluggish walking uphill with very full packs - 6 days of food plus 7 liters of water each. Ugh! Finally reached Crater Lake Rim. Wow! Beautiful it twas! Enjoyed many views of the lake as the trail winded around part of the lake for about 4 miles.

Although we moved slowly in the morning, we drank a lot of our water and the trail sloped dowward - allowing us to make good time.

Ran into Squatch and S.O.L and Smooth near the Mt. Thielson Trail. They were thru hikers from last year and were now planning on summiting Mt. Thielson tomorrow. Squatch is working on a new video - this time highlighting "side trails" along the PCT. It was cool running into some "famous" people. And the best part - receiving some home-baked chocolate chip/butterscotch chip cookies from Smooth. Yum!

~Tori.

August 15th - Saddle (mile 1821) to Annie Creek Trail

2009-08-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

Hit the trail about 6:30am. We could wait to stuff our bellies at the all-you-can-eat restaurant at the Crater Lake Mazama Village Campground. Cruised the last 10 miles and made it to the campground about 10am. Went straight to the resturaunt. Found out lunch did not start until 11:30am.

Stalled the 1 1/2 hours by heading down to the store and completing our resupply. This was probably our most difficult resupply since we needed 6 days worth of food and the store had been cleaned out of the usual thru-hiking grub. Managed to make do though. Met up with Munchy and Hello Kitty and St. Rick for the first time. Beetle and Sunfish soon came in as well.

As soon as the restaurant opened we headed over. Filled our bellies with all kinds of deliciousness - pizza, BBQ chicken, pork, scalloped potatoes, french fries, salad, bread sticks and 2 helpings of ice cream and apple cobbler. Yum!

We were so stuffed we couldn't think about trying to hike. So we all took a nap in the sun. The plan was to nap for an hour and then continue on our hike. Well this led to that and we were talked into spending the night just 1/2 mile down the trail.

We had an enjoyable evening around the campfire, swapping trail stories and gossip with a little beer thrown in. Tom and I toasted up some gas station burritos on the fire. Worked like a charm and they were good.

It feels good to take a 1/2 day off and spend time hanging out with others. I think this is just what we needed to get out of our funk.

~Tori.

August 14th - Cat Hill Way Trail to Mile 1821

2009-08-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Tom devised a new routine for us to help my fatigue. The plan was to leave at our usual time - 6am, take lunch an hour earlier at 10am, eat dinner an hour earlier at 3pm, with a couple of snack stops at 8am and 1pm. With a bump up of eating times we hoped to move faster (3mph) in order to make 30 miles by 6pm and allow us more recovery time.

I also tried bumping up my protein intake. I have been having a lot of trouble getting enough protein. Cliff bars and cheese is just not cutting it. Added some chicken to my cheese tortilla wraps and ate a Clif Builder bar which has mounds of protein. Worked wonders! Don't know if it was the placebo effect or not, but I feel good all day and was able to maintain a 3mph pace. Made it a little over 30 miles by 7pm and didn't feel beat up. Think we'll keep up the new "plan".

~Tori

August 13th - Old Logging Road (mile #1762.3) to Cat Hill Way Trail

2009-08-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

I'm tired. Slept on rocky bumpy ground. Although I got sleep, I still don't fell well rested. The trail is relatively easy - gently rolling hills and fairly smooth. But somehow I still feel tired. This hiking every day, trying to get the miles in is getting old. I'm losing motivation.

Ran into some thru hikers we hadn't met yet - St. Rick, Beetle and Sunfish as well as a section hiker, Dave. Amazing to still be running into people we haven't met yet. Good peeps!

~Tori.

August 12th - Ashland to Old Logging Road (mile #1762.3)

2009-08-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's note: Tom writing.

Took care of some last minute chores this morning and then hitched to the trail. This time we decided to hitch rather than start where we got off the trail. We skipped 26 miles of trail and gained a day. That's right. We cheated. After having completed 1800 miles of hiking, I think we deserved it.

Trail Angel Lisa told us that a thru hike is about the "smiles not miles." I believe that our decision to skip 26 miles lives up to those words.

August 11th - Ashland

2009-08-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's note: Tom writing.

Yee haw! We arrived at our first Oregon town! Ashland, Or is just off of I-5 and just north of the California border.

This little berg is famous for its annual Shakespeare festival. Our time here is limited so we won't be able to partake in the festivities. Word on the street is that every night during the summer you can watch a Shakespeare play and the actors and actresses are superb. I hear it's a bit like a Trekie conventions for fans of all things Shakespearian.

Callahans Lodge provided us with our first real breakfast in tow. The lodge isn't actually in town. It is a few miles south of Ashland where the PCT crosses I-5. Anyway, we were treated like royalty and provided with one free beer. I really like Callahan's. Good grub and good people.

Picked up a new pair of shoes and other junk in the mail. Ran errands and ate Mexican food for dinner.

Tori is the most beautiful woman on the planet. Her light blue hiking shirt looks great eventhough it's the same shirt she's worn every day for three months. Man, she's amazing. So glad that she married me. That's it. On to Cascade Locks.

August 10th - Bear Dog Spring Saddle to Grouse Camp Shelter

2009-08-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

Relatively easy hiking today with some scenery. But the big news - we crossed over the Oregon border. Woo Hoo! It has been a long hard journey through California - the state that never seemed to end. We are so excited to be one step closer to home!

Toward the end of the day, the trail became ridiculous - going out of the way with lots of ups and downs, due to private land boundries. However, there was a Forest Service road (the original route of the PCT) that went directly where we wanted to go. The road had soft dirt and good views. So once again we hit the road. Helped shave a mile or 2 off. Ended up at Grouse Gap Shelter just as the sun was setting. Cool(???? Transcriber can't read this) 3-sided shelter with a picnic table and fire place. We opted for a tent just outside of the shlter but did use the well-maintained toilet. Ahhh... the little luxuries in life.

~Tori

August 9th - Seiad Valley to Bear Dog Spring Saddle

2009-08-02T07:51:00.000-07:00

Slept in since the store and cafe didn't open until 7am. Was much appreciated after the long walk yesterday.

Walked to the store soon after it opened. Food was on our mind. Unfortunately the cafe wasn't open yet so we chatted with the guy running the store. Nice fella. Let us sip on coffee while we were waiting and he filled us in on the history of how Seiad Valley wanted to become an independent state way back before World War II.

The cafe finally opened. Turned out the regular cook was sick so her husband was filling in. The menu options were limited, but we were able to get a mean plate of eggs, home fries, toast and each attempted a side order of pancakes. This cafe is well known for their pancake challenge - eat 5 pancakes (they are huge - each weighs a pound!) and you get them free. We were hungry, but not that hungry!

We were glad that we arrived at the cafe early - it filled up fast and with the substitute cook things were prepared super slow. Luckily we got our food first.

While eating breakfast, we met the local sherrif who happens to also be a backpacker. He tipped us off on a short cut - taking Seiad Valley Creek Road instead of the actual PCT out of town. The advantages of the road: 2 miles shorter, more shade and less elevation gain/loss. Sold! We decided to take the shortcut - both because it was shorter/easier, but also due to the shade - we ere going to be hiking through the hottest part of the day.

After a quick resupply, we headed back on the trail (or more specifically the road). We were glad that we did. The road was only paved the first 3 miles and then turned to a lovely dirt road. Well shaded, no traffic and was close to a creek. For a road walk it wasn't bad.

Made it to Bear Dog Spring Saddle and decided to call it an early night at just 7pm. All the uphill walking and heat made us tired!

August 8th - Marble Valley Guard Station to Seiad Valley

2009-08-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

Another enjoyable day of hiking through Marble Mountain Wilderness. Lots of views while traversing mountainsides. Still enjoying the cooler temps.

Ran into an interesting young couple with a baby... and 12 goats! Guess they had been wandering around in the woods for the last month. they thought we were strange because we matched - packs, pants, poles, shirt, etc. Well we thought they were strange too with their 12 goats and baby without a diaper. To each their own.

The last 65 miles into Seiad Valley was a road walk. Ugh! fortunatley part of the road ran along the Klamath River - the first major river we've seen on the trail. We enjoyed watching the ducks race upstream and the hightlight was seeing a black bear swim across the river. Very cool!

Rolled into town just as the sun was setting. 32 miles by 8:30pm. Not too shabby. got a piece of dirt with straw to pitch a tent on at the local RV park. I'm pooped so time to hit the hay... literally.

~Tori

August 7th - Etna to Marble Valley Guard Station

2009-08-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's Note: Tom writing.

Got a hitch out of town to Enta Summit around 9am. Worried that we might get stuck hiking the 15 miles up to the trailhead. Couple of Forest Service fellows provided the ride.

Ran into Why Not and Why Wait late in the afternoon. Chatted with them briefly about their visit in Etna.

Temps were cool today. Made for easy hiking and an enjoyable day. Knocked out 25 miles. Not bad considering the fact that we didn't start our hike until 9:20 in the morning.

Day ended at Marble Mountain Guard Station. Spacious area surrounding the ranger hut. Lots of options for campsites.

Why Not and Why Wait shared the grounds. Was nice to camp near somebody else. We rarely do so.

~Tom

August 6th - Zero Day in Etna

2009-08-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's Note: Tom writing.

Got full at Bob's Ranch house this morning with a good breakfast.

Afterward, the typical town chores were taken care of... laundry, resupply, nap. Thankfully the town has a library with internet access so we were able to check email for the first time in several weeks. Was fun to sift through nearly 100 emails. Ugh!!

Just very relaxing day. Should be recovered and ready to hike in the a.m.

~Tom

August 5th - Ridge above Siphon Lake to Etna

2009-08-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

Spent last night cowboy camping next to a tree below the trail. It was one of those rare days when we couldn't find a flat place to camp when it was time to stop. Luckily Tom is very good at making a camp spot out of nothing. The ground was soft and we were super cozy snuggling up to each other. However, I spent most of the night tossing and turning, afraid the mosquitoes and spiders were eating me alive. How did I manage cowboy camping in the desert?

We both woke up in a good mood - the town of Etna was only a short 15 mile hike away! We couldn't wait for a real shower, a real bed and real food - something we hadn't had in reality since South Lake Tahoe several weeks ago.

Had beautiful views with long traverses most of the morning - helped the miles go by quickly. Before we knew it we were at the Etna Summit and the road to Etna. Anxiously we headed to the road, wondering how long it would take to get a ride on the very low traffic road. Luckily we only had to wait 5 minutes until the first car stopped.

A nice gentleman by the name of Arnold introduced himself. Amazingly he did not know of the PCT and was not from the area. He just happened to be driving through on a road trip. Typically, it's locals that are aware of the PCT that puck up us stinky hikers. Glad Arnold took a chance on us!

Firt thing we did when we hit town was find the Etna Motel. In such a small town, I didn't have high expectations, but this motel is great! Relatively new with very clean rooms. We feel that we are living in luxury.

After our lodging was secure, we headed over to the brewpub in town. Guess beer and grub was more of a priority than showering (Obviously being on the trail has significantly lowered our level of cleanliness)

Tom was thrilled to finally come to a town with a barber. Luckily the barber was open and Tom finally got his hair cut. He had not cut his hear since his buzz cut before heading down to San Diego. He had developed quite the mop on his head. But now it is super short again. He is still debating whether to keep the beard or not.

Checking email and grocery shopping followed. Finally got back to the room and showered. Now just resting up enjoying not walking! Laundry will have to wait until tomorrow.

~Tori

August 4th - Masterson Meadow to Ridge Above Siphon Lake

2009-08-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's note: Tom writing

Several people have told us that we're very fortunate to be on the PCT. Few people will ever spend as much time outdoors as we have. The connection to nature is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

All the hoopla sounds great until you wake up in the morning with blisters all over your feet and realize you need to walk 30 miles today so that tomorrow doesn't turn into a day with added miles.

You know what? We are fortunate. Few people will every have the opportunity to walk 25 miles with a 40 pound pack in 100 degree heat. Fewer still will ever get to walk 29 miles with shin splints that send stabbing pain through their legs with every step. Most of all, ever few people will ever have to eat their meals with a tent stake for a week because the over-priced one thy got at REI borke while stirring instant mashed potatoes.

Okay, I know... I'm complaining too much. Well, you walk 1500 miles and then pass judgement. I'm going to gripe and I don't care what anyone thinks. The PCT is a butt kicker. I don't care who you talk to... you'll hear one thing - it's more difficult than one can imagine.

Good hike today, 30 miles. We're blessed. Etna tomorrow. Woo hoo.

~Tom

August 3rd - Trinity Divide Saddle to Masterson Meadow

2009-08-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's note: Tom writing

Had a bit of a late start today but we were making tracks once we got moving.

Covered 11 miles in 4 hours by doing a bit of off trail travel. Was a great chance to practice my route finding skills.

Had a lunch break at a trail head. Big shade tree provided us with relief from the heat of the sun.

Just as we were packing up to hit the trail again, a VW bus with uber-hippy murals on the side drives up. Tori and I introduced ourselves to the couple in the van. Oswa and Lisa were their names. They were at the trail to perform a little trail magic! Our lucky day. They shared pizza, beer and pastries with us. A great time was had by all. Unfortunately we had to leave if we wanted to make it to our goal of 30 miles for the day.

Didn't quite get 30. Our time with Oswa and Lisa cost us 3 miles so we ended the day with 27. Not bad. It was well worth it. We really enjoyed their company.

Tent set up in a clear cut full of wild rasberry bushes. Hope the bears aren't hungry.

~Tom

August 2nd - Castella to Trinity Divide Saddle

2009-08-01T17:15:00.000-07:00

Some thunderstorms rolled in overnight. Luckily we had the tent already set up and we were dry inside. It was nice to hear rain lightly pattering on the tent. The rain came and went throughout the night.

Woke up to a dry tent though. It was still muggy, but at least the temperature had dropped a bit and the skies were cloudy.

Packed up and headed back out on the trail before the rest of the hikers awoke. We had a long uphill climb in the morning. It was so humid we were both dripping in sweat. Fortunatel, the coulds eventually blew over and we got on a ridge. Had a nice breeze which kept the humidity and temps down. The scenery was gorgeous as well - such a change from the last several days. Today was actually pleasant. Amazing how weather and scenery can make all the difference.

August 1st - Girard Ridge to Castella

2009-08-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

Woke up before sunrise in order to make it to town when the post office opened at 8:30am. Had a cool view of Mt. Shasta from our campsite. We could see the faint lights high on Mt. Shasta - we assume they were climbers hoping to make an early summit.

Hobbled into Castella soon after the post office opened. We were battered - both mentally and physically. The last 10 days have been brutal- both with the heat as well as the overgrown trail. There were several other hikers sitting outside the store. Turns out they were just as beat up as we were. Glad we weren't the only ones.

Got all our packages from the PO, sorted through them, and then mailed out what we didn't need. The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent lounging out in front of the stor on a grassy area under a huge shade tree, pigging out on all the main junk food groups - soday, donuts, chips and ice cream. Castella is basically just a gas station/store and the post office so it was a super-easy resupply. It was nice to be able to spend the majority of the day relaxing.

About mid-afternoon, we headed over to the Castle Crags State Park Campground, just 1/2 mile from the store and PO. Took showers - washing both our bodes and our clothes since Castella does not have a laundromat. Felt like hiker trash walking out of the shower building with dripping wet clothes on.

There were 9 of us staying at the PCT hiker site at the campground. Ended up having a big ol'weenie roast for dinner, adding to the already long list of junk food previously consumed that day.

~Tori

July 31st - Butcher Knife Creek to Girard Ridge Spur

2009-08-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

We have finally come to terms with the fact that we are not going to be able to make it all the way to Canada this year. Trying to bust our butts is really putting a toll on us - especially in the heat. We are in need of some R&R. We are glad we live in Washington though - it would make it much easier to finish up next year. Hopefully we should be able to make it at least to Snoqualmie Pass. So... we are walking home essentially.

Today the heat and mugginess was incessant once again. We were back in the trees with overgrown trail. Poison oak was everywhere! Luckily we did pass a couple of creeks so we had plenty of water and could soak our hats/shirts with cold water. Made it to Squaw Valley Creek for dinner - it was a lovely spot with a rocky shelf where we could cook and sit with our feet in the cool water. Ahhh... it felt so good.

Finished u the night taking a shortcut (avoiding about 3 miles of pointless trail) and camped in a clear cut area. Although the fact that it was a clearcut was depressing, the treeless view was outstanding. Fell asleep to sunset on Castle Crags and Mt. Shasta.

~Tori.

July 30th - Red Mountain to Butcher Knife Creek

2009-08-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

We both got a good nights sleep and finally felt recovered from the last 2 days of hiking in the heat. We got a 5am start (similar to what we had done in the SoCal desert) in order to get some good miles in before the heat got miserable. Unlike the desert though, it never really cools off at night. We have been just sleeping on top of our sleeping bags recently.

After walkig through quite a bit of brushy overgrown trail in the morning, we hit a ridge in the afternoon. This was goth a blessing and a curse. The views were much better and there was a nice cool breeze, however we lost the shade of the trees. It was HOT! And since we were high on a ridge there was no water. Also had a run in with a rattlesnake. Unlike the rattlesnakes in SoCal, the ones in Northern California actually rattle.

Had dinner by the side of a gravel road by Grizzly Peak. We had been hiking all day without seeing anyone. So imagine our surprise when a pick-up truck comes rattling up the road. We were quite a site - 2 dirty, salt-encrusted sweaty people scantilly clad - Tom wearing only his spandex shorts and me with a sports bra and pants on. We were chowing down on dinner out of ziplock bags and Tom was using a tent stake as a spoon since his spoon had broken yesterday.

Embarrassed to be seen in a state like this, things got worse when the pickup truck stops and two people get out. Turns out it was Ian, the PCTA regional director and Val, a seasonal trail crew leader. They were up scouting out the trail for some trail work that was planned tomorrow. Phew! At least they were familiar with thru hikers and life on the trail. Ian offered us some IPA beer he had just picked up at the Brew Pub in Etna. I declined due to already feeling dehydrated, but Tom couldn't pass up beer. Since we had gotten rid of our cup a long time ago, Tom used his empty can of Chunky soup as a cup for the beer. We are definitley the epitome of hiker trash.

After dinner we came across a death match between a snake and lizard happening right in front of us on the trail. I was grossed out, but Tom was enthralled. Amazingly the lizard won.

To finish the night off, we scared a black bear. Luckily the black bear did just as it should - ran away.

~Tori

July 29th - Burney Falls State Park to Red Mountain

2009-08-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Since we busted our butts to get to Burney Falls last night, we were able to sleep in today. My feet still hurt when I wake up and tom and I both feel like we had been run run over by a truck. The heat really took a toll on us.

We had a food shipment waiting for us at the General Store which opened at 8am. At first we were told that hey didn't have our box (something we had heard other hikers talk about before). Had to call Sarbar to get the UPS tracking info and went back to the store. We finally found our box thank goodness! Definitley didn't have anything nice to say about the inept store keeper though.

It always seems to take longer to resupply than we think. We finally left for the trail about 10am. Unfortunately this was just as the sun was really starting to heat up.

I pushed myself too hard yesterday and I really paid for it today. Although we were in the trees all day, it was still very hot. And today there was no breeze. Just when I was starting to really not feel well, we came across the lovely Rock Creek. It was perfect timing - a beautiful cascading creek with pools of cool water.

Tom and I both jumped in and soaked our entire body. It felt so good to finally wash the salt and dirt from the last couple of days off our bodies and clothes. And the cool water helped cool my body temperature.

The creek was only 5 miles into our hiking today, so we had to keep moving. Our clothes quickly dried and we started overheating. We both were not enjoying ourselves with the heat, overgrown trail, watching for poison oak and having to carry lots of water and food. We were moving slow. We were looking forward to the next water stop - 9 miles down the trail.

Much to our disappointment, we were greeted with a stagnant pool of water. We could hear the trickling of a creek nearby, but thry as we might, we were not able to reach the moving water and had to settle for the pool.

Overall we both have had a hard day on the trail. All I can think about is wishing I was sitting in an air conditioned house. But... I have to keep reminding myslef - at least I didn't have to go to work today.

~Tori.

July 28th - Hat Creek Rim to Burney Falls

2009-08-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's Note: Tom writing.

Great sleep last night. The evening temps are very comfortable here. No need to bundle up in the sleeping bag. It is quite nice with the bag simply draped over me.

We were up and hiking by 6am. By 8am the heat started showing its ugly face. We should've started earlier but we needed the sleep.

Dusty trail full of volcanic rocks made the travel more difficult than anticipated. From Hat Creek Rim to the Fish Hatchery (20 miles) we were tripping over lava rocks and inhaling clouds of dust.

Caught up to Monologue today. We haven't seen her since Idylwild. Nice to see that she's still on the trail and feeling healthy.

The heat really zapped our energy today. A 32 mile hike ended with us feeling as though we had been hit by a truck.

Now we're at Burney Falls State Park and we're absolutely hammered.

It will make us stronger.

~Tom

July 27th - Warner Valley Campground to Hat Creek Rim

2009-08-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

After a day of unexpected R&R, we knew we had to put in extra miles today. Luckily the terrain was quite flat and we were able to move fast. We both enjoyed the easy terrain - allowed us to spend more time looking around and enjoying the sights and sounds and smells since we didn't have to worry about footing as much.

Walked 27 miles in time to have dinner at the gas station just outside of Old Station. there are trail angels in Old Station (the Heitman's) who we really would have loved to stay with, but after our shennanigans at Drakesbad, we knew we couldn't afford to enter another trail angel vortex. The gas station was a nice little treat. We cooked our regular dinner outside on the picnic table, but supplemented the dinner with ice cold gatorade, soda and some Haagen Daas ice cream for me. :)

As we were walking back to the trail a pick-up pulled over and asked if we need a ride. Since the trail was just a few hundred feet away we said no. But then the guy introduced himself. Turns out he is Mr. Heitman. He was on his way to add more water to the cache they maintain up on Hat Creek Rim. So... we got a 2 mile ride uphill to where the trail stars on the Hat Creek Rim. What luck!

We got tired of folliwng the trail on the Hat Creek Rim, so we decided to do a little cross-country adventure. we were surprised to run into some campers, that came running over to us and were all excited to meet us. Turns out there was a crew from the US Forest Service out doing research on the effects of cattle grazing on a specific grass. They offered us homemade cookies and beer, so of course we had to sit and chat for awhile. There are just too many fun things to do and people to meet on the trail - makes it hard to actually hike!

We finally pulled away and made it a couple more miles before the sun went down. Made it 36.9 PCT miles for the day (including our 2 mile truck ride).

~Tori

July 26th - Stover Spring Camp to Warner Valley Campground

2009-08-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

We knew today was goign to be a good day. We were looking forward to stopping by Drakesbad Guest Ranch for lunch. The word on the trail was that Drakesbad has delicous food that is all-you-can-eat and heavily discounted for PCT hikers. And the Ranch is only 1/4 mile off trail. We couldn't pass it up.

Arrived at Drakesbad just in time for lunch. We were quickly greety by Ed & Billie - the hosts of the ranch. Ed gave me a big ol' hug like he had known me for years. I was really taken by surprise since I was dirty, sweaty and quite smelly. We instantly felt at home. Ed gave us each a laundry bag with a clean towel, soap and loaner clothes so we could take showers after lunch. And he even offered to wash our clothes.

After a delicous lunch we headed over to the pool where the showers were. It felt so go to scrub off all the dirt and grime we had accumulated over the pas 4 days. Since they had offered to do our laundry and even gave us loaner clothes to wear while our clotes were in the wash, we couldn't say no. Before we knew it, we were spending the day relaxing by the pool. This led to that and before we knew it we were meeting all the Ranch guests - getting free beer & wine and being invited to happy hour. So of course we had to stay for dinner. So much for the 30 mile day we had planned to do. Ended up just doign 15 miles for the day. We definitely enjoyed the afternoon/evening of R&R. Thanks to the fine hospitality of Drakesbad.

Now were are spending the night at a campcround just down the road.

~Tori

July 25th - Mile 1312 to Stover Spring Camp

2009-08-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Beautiful sunrise from our campsite this morning. The eastern sky was a brilliant red and lasted for at least 30 minutes. What a great way to start off the day.

The trail was gentle and overally unremarkable. The exciting news for the day was that we hit the halfway mark. 1325 miles down, 1325 more miles to go. It's been a long haul thur far, hopefully the second half goes by more quickly.

Made it 22 miles to Hwy 36 about 4pm. We needed to hitch 7 miles to resupply at Chester, CA. As luck would have it, there was a car sitting at the turnout. The guy jumped out of the car and asked us if we were thru hikers. We of course said yes and he promplty opened up his trunk with a large cooler of cold drinks. Turns out he is Magic Man - the father of a current thru hiker (Boo-Boo) (Transcriber's note: BooBoo is a friend of mine! Magic Man dropped me a note on Face Book b/c he's been following T&T's journal entries as I mention them on my own blog/FB) Ironically he is from near seattle. Besides scoring a soda we also got a ride into town. What luck.

Had a great dinner at Kopper Kettle and then did a quick resupply at the grocery store. We are getting really good a speedy resupplies. Filled up our water and repackaged all our groceries and then set out to catch a ride back to the trail head. This ended up taking longer than we had thought. Finally after about 30 minutes a nice forest service firefighter picked us up. We were back to the trailhead about 7:15pm. Not too shabby! Walked a couple more miles to a camp near Stover Spring.

~Tori

July 24th - Belden to Mile 1312

2009-08-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Woke up to a delicious breakfast prepared by the Braatens - scrambled eggs, home fried potatoes, cantaloupe and toast with blackberry jam. Yum! After enjoying a leisurely breakfast, we finished packign up. Brenda drove us back to the trailhead. We didn't it the trail until 9:30am.

We gained 4800 feet of elevation in 20 miles - so it was a lot of up, up, up. Fortunately the grade was relatively gently so it didn't feel too hard. there was also a lot of water along the trail which helped us deal with the heat. I have found stopping and completely soaking my shirt in the creek water helps keep me cool - kind of like an on-trail air conditioning.

Tom and I often think about the things we look forward to returning to when we finish the PCT. Today, I was dreaming of good-smelling soap (the Bath & Body Works handsoap specifically) and scented candles. I am getting tired of smelling dirty all the time! I am also looking forward to wearing different clothes. I've been wearing the same pair of pants and shirt for the last 75 some odd days. It's getting old.

~Tori

July 23rd - Belden

2009-08-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

Decided to take a zero here at the Braaten's. Tom's shin was horribly painful last night - it hurt just walking 1/2 mile down the road to do laundry and eat.

Everyone else staying here last night packed up and left. It was kind of nice to have the place to ourselves. The house heated up quickly as the sun came up. We relaxed by reading magazines and books. Walked down to the Carabou store for burgers and to help out with some of the dirty laundry (ie: towels, loaner clothes, etc) Came back. Brenda invided me to help her pick blackberries down the road - a first for me. There were tons of blackberries to be picked. I guess she goes out there every 3 days or so - makes syrup and also freezes berries for baking pies, muffins, etc. Yum!

July 22nd 2009

2009-07-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's Note: Tom writing.

Shin splints continue to plague me. Our progress is starting to suffer as a result.

So thankful that Tori is healthy. Also thankful that she's here to listen to my gripes and complaints. This would suck without her.

Hiked downill for 9 miles to Belden.

Decided to stay at the Braatens for a chance to rest my shins.

~Tom

July 21st, 2009 - Feather River to Creab Creek

2009-07-31T07:29:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's Note: Not sure what the name of the creek is. Creab? Creal? It's 9 miles south of Belden, whatever it is.

Had an early morning climb. Quite a bit of poison oak but it stuck to the sides of the trail. We kept our pant legs on and were fine.

Nothing too exciting today on the trail. Nice easy terrain, but no views.

~Tori

July 20th, 2009 - Creek Below the BUttes to Feather River

2009-07-31T07:26:00.000-07:00

The trail is definitley getting easier. Although there are still ups and downs, they are less extreme - more rolling hills. Unfortunatley Tom's shins are still killing him, so we were slow moving most of the day. Still managed 26 miles for the day.

Ended up at the Feather River - a fantastic place to camp and bathe. It was the warmest river water I've ever been in! Sure felt good to wash off all our dirt and grime.

~Tori

July 19th, 2009 - Sierra City to Creek Below the Buttes

2009-07-31T07:09:00.000-07:00

Wok up before anyone else was up in town today. Wanted to hit the trail before the heat set in. Worked well - we did the climb up to the Buttes while the temps were cool and it didn't seem too bad. Up near the Buttes we found lots of forest service roads. Being the weekend, there were lots of cars. Turns out the area is a mecca for mountain bikers.

Had lunch at a trailhead where we people watched - CA mountain bikers are a different breed. After lunch, the heat really set in. Ended up running out of water and stil had 3 miles to go until our next water supply. Learned our lesson - we are no longer in the Sierras where water is plentiful. The promised water supply ended up being a slimy, scumy lake.

After much discussion, we finally decided to look elsewhere for water. Fortunately finding it about 1/2 mile down a jeep road. We will be carrying more water from now on.

~Tori.

July 18th, 2009 - Sierra City

2009-07-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

Had a great night's sleep at the hotel. The bed was super comfy with soft sheets. Decided to take a zero in Sierra City to rest Tom's shin splints. Spent the morning resupplying and had the rest of the day to chill out.

The's a heat wave right now so it has been quite sweltering in town. There is no air-conditioning around the town so we did the next best thing - we went to the local water hole. There is a a great swimming hole just 2 blocks away from town - so we spent the afternoon cooling off in the river.

After cooling off and eating some grub, we headed to the lawn of the one church in town who allows hikers to camp for free. Since we had showered the day before, we didn't need a hotel and free sounded good, so the church lawn it was.

While we were hanging out at a picnic table on the church lawn, a SUV pulled up. The people in the SUV asked if we were hungery. Being thru hikers, we're always hungry, so of course we said yes. Next thing we know, they're giving us all their leftovers.

I guess I know how homeless people feel. We were thankful for the food. I helped myself to half of a cantaloupe. Yum! Luckily there were a lot of other hikers to help eat the grub.

~Tori

July 17th, 2009 - Saddle Above Bear Valley to Sierra City

2009-07-31T06:44:00.000-07:00

It was a short night. Wok up at 4am in hopes of hiking 25 miles to Sierra City by 4:30pm in order to get to the post office before it closed for the day. It was a tall task, but we were up for the challenge. However, it meant no lolly-gagging for the day.

We kept our breaks short and stopped for a brief lunch break. Tom's shin splints started to rear their ugly head, so he did not think he cold keep up enough speed to make it to Sierra City by 4:30pm. So he sent me off ahead. After all of these weeks of walking together it was weird to be hiking alone. I really missed Tom - eventhough he was just a couple of miles behind me.

I cruised into Sierra City - just 1.5 miles off the trail - about 3:15pm. I was greeted by at least 10 thru hikers sitting on the front porch. Wow. I think we have finally caught up with the herd.

I got our packages at the post office next to the store. I started asking around about lodging and the word was that all the lodging was full. Bummer! We really were looking forward to a a shower and real bed.

I had just sat down on the store porch with a coke and saw Tom walking down the street. He wasn't too far behind me after all. I told him about the rumors of no lodging and he went to work - going up and down the street looking for a place to stay.

10 minutes later he was back with a place to stay - Old Sierra City Hotel. It is an old school boarding house style joint restaurant/tavern below and rooms on the 2nd floor. Our room is tiny - just enough room for a dresser and bed with a private shower. Nothing fancy, but it does the trick.

Dined at the restaurant below our room. We both had chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, gravy, corn-on-the-cob, salad, bread and watermelon. A perfect fattening meal for 2 hungry hikers!

~Tori

July 16th, 2009 - Squaw Creek to Saddle Above Bear Valley

2009-07-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Woke up to sun shing in our tent. Tom, the keeper of the alarm, decided to let us sleep in today. Hiking is starting to feel like work, so it was a treat to sleep in. Didn't roll our of camp until 7:15am.

Enjoyed a nice climb up to Tinker Knob. Passed a large group of trail runners. Made both of us wish we were out for a trail run instead. They looked so fresh and light on their feet.

Due to our late start, we felt like we were running behind all day. Hit Donner Pass about 1pm. We had read in Yogi's book that there was a restaurant close by - the Donner Ski Ranch. As luck would have it, the Ranch wasn't open today. We were 2 very disappointed hikers. Instead, we sat by an old metal shack and had out bread/tortilla cheese sandwiches. We were a sad, pathetic bunch. But hey, at least we had food.

Transcriber's Note: T&T sent me another entry for this date (same locations and info). This is the 2nd version.

Great camp at Squaw Creek. We both got a good night's sleep. Slept in - all the way until 6:15am. Hiking is starting to feel like a chore, so Tom decided to treat us to a late morning wake up. It was great watching the sun rise from our tent.

Finally got up and moving. Passed some trail runners out for a run. We both wished we were out trail running instead of lugging a big pack up the mountain. Great scenery around the Squaw Mountain area.

Tried playing catch up all day due to our late start. Walked until dark and found a flat spot atop a ridge - as far away from mosquitoes as possible. Didn't quite work though.

~Tori

A couple of miles later we hit the Interstate 80 rest area - the first official rest area on the trail. It was weird to walk into a rest area rather than drive up to one. We got a couple of funny looks. I think people thought we were homeless. Did have a couple of nice gentlemen come up to us and inquire about our trip. Turns out they are section hikers and plan to hike Interstate 80 to Sierra City starting tomorrow.

Feeling behind on schedule, we hiked well into the night - about 9:15pm in order to get 30 miles in for the day. Crashed up on the saddle above Bear Valley.

~Tori

July 15th 2009, Phipps Creek to Squaw Creek

2009-07-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's Note: Back to Tori's writing.

Woke up to more mosquitoes but luckily not as bad as the night before. We ate inside the tent and quickly packed up and got out of the mosquito heaven. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes followed us. It was a miserable 12 mile hike through brushy woods infected with mosquitoes. We were not enjoying ourselves and I was beginning to wonder if we would ever be able to escape these horrible bugs.

We arrived at Barker pass about 11am - time for our lunch. We were greeted by Shadow (George) who we hadn't seen since Idyllwild and a sheriff deputy. After introductions, the sheriff offered us cold sodas, apples and oranges. Sweet! Our first trail magic from a cop! Who knew they passed out goodies too?

And then we found out there was more trail magic at a picnic bench. Ducky - a previous PCT'er had come up for the day with his mom. They also had a cooler of cold drinks as well as chips. We had an enjoyable visit with ducky, as well as Shadow, Scott and Tamsin who also arrived.

Ducky gave us beta on the trail ahead of us. Thanks Sheriff Bob, Ducky and Ducky's mom for some great trail magic - You made our day!

The rest of the day miracously was spent with very few bugs. The trail traversed high through meadows and by several Tahoe ski resorts. We ended the day next to Squaw Creek - near Squaw Valley Ski Resort.

~Tori.

Transcriber's 2nd Note: Not sure why, but they sent me another entry for this date (same locations and info). This is the 2nd version... Tom writing this time. I'll let them edit it later if they want. Trying to stay true to their writing.

Rocked out with some trail angel action at Barker Pass. Sheriff's Deputy Bill Wharton was standing by and passing out cokes and oranges to thru-hikers.

A former PCT hiker named "Ducky" was at the trailhead as well for some trail angel action. We scored chips and sodas from him.

Today was really long. I am starting to lose a bit of motivation.

Was really neat cruising past Squaw Valley. Brought back some old haunts.

Hit Squaw creek for the evening. A 25 mile day!

Yehaw!

~Tom

July 14th 2009 - South Lake Tahoe to Phipps Creek

2009-07-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

Got dropped off at the trail by "Not Phil's" dad.

Ten minutes away from the trailhead we spotted a very large black bear. He was just cruisin' the woods and minding his own business but he was close to the trail so I yelled at him a bit to get him further from human traffic.

My shin splints are coming back. Sucks. I was hoping that I would deal with these ever again.

~Tom.

July 13th 2009 - Lake Tahoe

2009-07-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning sometime around 7am. Was nice to sleep in.

Ran around town taking care of the standard town chores - Post office, grocery store, gear shop.

Sure was a busy day. South Lake Tahoe is spread out so a lot of time was spent walking from destination. Makes a day off the trail seem like a bit like a day of work.

Ran into Papa Smurf and Bamboo Bob as we were headed back to our room after chores. We hiked with them in the past and really enjoyed their company.

Later that evening, we joined time and Bruce Bowder for dinner. We had a blast swapping stories of the trail with each other. Thanks again Bruce for dinner!

All the day's work seemed well worth it to hang out and shoot the breeze with out fellow hikers.

July 12th, 2009 - Carson Pass to South Lake Tahoe

2009-07-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's Note: Tom writing.

Slept great last night. Oh, turns out that the $4 we found belongs to a thru-hiker named "Not-Phil". This bit of information was told to us by another hiker.

Easy down hill hike today. Met Bruce Bowder about 7 miles from South Lake Tahoe. Bruce was hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail and he's a great guy to hike with. Full of stories and loves to hear others tell a story as well.

Bruce is from Bellingham, WA. Was fun chatting with a fellow Washingtonian for a bit. He offered to treat us to dinner the following evening and we gladly accepted.

At the trailhead we me the father of "Not Phil". Rich is his name. Great guy. He was there to surprise his sone. Unfortunately his son was a day behind us. He gave us a ride to town and gave us his phone number so that we could coordinate to a ride back to the trailhead.

Really great way to end a section of the PCT.

~Tom

July 11th 2009 - Ebett's Pass to Carson Pass

2009-07-25T08:43:00.001-07:00

Transcriber's note: Tom again.

30 miles today! Yeah buddy. We're kickin' butt.

The trail was quite easy for the first 20 miles or so but it all went south just north of Blue Lake Road.

Running very low on food. As a result, I'm running low on energy. Almost passed out around 3:30 due to too much exercise and not enough chow. Stopped and made an emergency dinner.

Tori says I'm low on protein, so she gave me some cheese and a bunch of almonds. The chow got me back to normal and we hit the trail.

A vicious storm approached. Hiking up the southwest side of the Nipple (small boob shaped peak complete with nipple shaped summit) we donned our rain gear and tried to out-hike the storm. Didn't work.

We got hammered by high winds and stinging rain. It sucked but it was also a rewarding experience. sometimes you need life to suck ass to make you feel alive.

Thankfully the storm was over within 30 minutes and we were rewarded with late afternoon rays of sun for our trouble.

A traverse across a steep feature known as the Elephant's Back lie ahead. Our friend, Chris Willet described it as a sketchy bit of trail. We's sent our ice axes home at Tuolumne Meadows so it would not be smart for us to cross any steep snow slopes.

Upon arrival the the travers (????) we decided to break trail and scramble the low angled slopes on the north end of the ridge spur. It was an easy choice considering the consequences of a fall on the snow traverse would be severe injury or death. Plus, we were tired and didn't want to over exert ourselves.

Got free Cokes and Fig Newtons from the workers at an aid station set up in the parking lot at Carson Pass. Sweet! I like Coke!

~Tom

July 10th, 2009 - Wolf Creek to Ebbetts Pass

2009-07-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's note: Tom again.

My feet are starting to ache when I wake up in the morning. They are sore for the first 20-30 minutes of the day. I need new shoes. My flask of scotch is empty. Hmmm... What to do?

Today was a super long day. Had a difficult time getting started after dinner. Temps are starting to increase as our elevation decreases. Makes me feel sluggish.

I think we did 27 miles today. The trail is starting to get easier but it's more difficult to get up in the morning.

We ended the day at Ebett's pass. Slept just north of the highway at the base of a tall peak with a U.S. flag posted on its summit. I'm eating too much of my food. Darned metabolism!

~Tom

July 9th 2009 - Dorothy Pass/Wolf Creek

2009-07-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's note: More from Tom.

Damn! Another cold night. Had to ford a creek first thing this morning. Nothing like getting your feet wet in a snow melt creek at 6am. Shoes dried out after a few hours.

Can tell the terrain is starting to mellow out a bit. Dropped elevation for awhile then gradually climbed up to around 9,000. Big views and open terrain.

Some of the slopes on the descent to Sonora Pass had fairly large patches of snow remaining. Some had sketchy run-out that made Tori quite uncomfortable. A slip on some of them would've been fatal. So, our descent was very slow and deliberate.

Greeted by Meadow Mary at the pass. What a treat! She cooked up a pot of chili for us and gave us fruit and cookies to take with.

Had another short stretch of sketchy terrain after Sonora Pass. We thout that it was all behind us. Damn!

Found four $1 bills right on the trail. Talk about that later.

~Tom

July 8th - Benson Lake to Dorothy Pass

2009-07-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's note: All previous entries have been from Tori. Now we switch to Tom's writing.

Cold morning. Tough to get moving so early. Left at 5:30am.

Today we hiked over several steep ridges. Was supposed to be easy hiking. Wrong!

Tori spotted a large bear during a break at a lake saw another one after dinner. Big, big bears.

Arrived at Dorothy Pass around 8 or 8:30pm. Set up camp just north of the Yosemite border. Man, What a long day!

~Tom

July 7th 2009 - Glen Aulin to Benson Lake

2009-07-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

We survived the night without seeing a single bear. Phew! Surprisingly I actually slept well. Guess that happens when you're totally worn out.

The trail started out mellow and we were thinking "thank goodness we are done with the tough High Sierra climbs." Of course, just as we were thinking that we got a kick in our butts with some steep climbs. Nothing steep or snowy, but lots of ups and downs requiring lots of leg power to go up/down large rock steps.

Exhausted, we rolled into our camp for the night. Benson Lake. Although beautiful with a sandy shore, Benson Lake has swarms of mosquitoes. We had to use "project no mosquito" when setting up the tend and getting everything into the tent. Basicly me crawling into the tent quickly and Tom one by one passing our sleeping pads, bags and packs through the door.

Although mostly effective, one or two mosquitoes still passed through. Nothing a swat couldn't fix though. We fell asleep to the hum of mosquitoes outside the tent.

~Tori

July 6th, 2009 - Donahue Pass to Glen Aulin

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

Woke up looking forward to burgers and fries awaiting us at Tuolumne Meadows just 13 miles away. Unfortunately 13 miles ended up being further away than we thought. It took longer than expected to make it over the pass. Although nowhere near as technical or steep as previous passes we had been through, we still had rocks to scramble over and some snow that slowed us up.

After conquering Donahue Pass, the trail was relatively flat - moving through endless meadows. We saw tons of people, the number growing the closer we came to Tuolumne. Ran into a ranger on horseback who checked our permits. Luckily he didn't look for our non-existent bear canisters which we should technically have been carrying. Phew! Close call!

Made it to Tulumne Meados about 1pm. Ran into Rocket Man and Mission Control sitting at one of the picnic tables in front of the store. It was good to catch up with him and hear how their journey had been since we last saw them at VVR.

Pigged out on burgers & fries. Then came the big job of resupplying. We picked up 4 boxes from the post office (including our drop bucket). Went through all our boxes - deciding what we needed and what we needed to send on. We were happy to get rid of our ice axes but dreaded adding Bear Vaults to our pack weight.

Next on the agenda was putting together our shopping list and picking up everything we needed at the small store. Unfortunately, most of the typical thru-hiker food had been picked over so our food options were very limited. Somehow we made do.

Grumbling about the weight of our packs, we finally set back on the trail about 5:30pm. Can't believe how long it took us to resupply! The haul down to Glen Aulin - just 7 miles away seemed to take forever.

We arrived at camp just as the sun was setting. Although a backcountry camp area Glen Aulin's clos proximity to Tuolumne makes it a very popular location. The camp area was jam-packed with tents.

We met up with Rachel (from Mather and Pinchot Pass) who invited us to set up our tent near her tent. I was a little uneasy going to sleep due to Glen Aulin's notorious bear problem. We just hope that everyone uses the bear boxes or bear canisters!

~Tori

July 5th, 2009 - Mammoth Lakes to Donahue Pass

2009-07-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Walked from the Motel 6 to the village and caught the first shuttle up to Red's Meadow. Had the bus to ourselves and enjoyed visiting with the bus driver up to the Ski Resort. He gave us the "local scoop" on living in Mammoth.

Enjoyed another breakfast at the Red's Meadow Restaurant. With full bellies we hit the trail once again. We were pleasantly surprised with the easy grade of trail and made good time. Enjoyed some lovely meadow traverses. Mosquitoes were bad on and off throughout the day, so we pushed to just below Donahue Pass in hopes of avoiding the bugs at higher elevations.

We found a lovely flat spot among alpine meadows, creeks, and rocks which made for a good night of sleeping.

~Tori

July 3rd 2009 - Mammoth Lakes

2009-07-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

We're zero'ing in Mammoth today. After 12 straight days on the trail, we need a break! Spent the day exploring the town. We really love it here. Mammoth is a great mountain town - tons of outdoor recreational opportunities but also has good restaurants, large grocery store, etc.

The town obviously runs on tourism, but does a good job of not appearing "touristy". We enjoyed riding the free shuttle bus around tow and hanging out at the library. Ended up running into Rachel again. Funny how we keep running into the same people - whether on trail or in town. Also ran into Bamboo Bob and Poppa Smurf and had dinner with them.

July 2nd 2009 - Near Deer Creek to Mammoth Lakes

2009-07-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

Woke up early - we hoped to make it at least 27 miles in order to be close to Tuolomne for the next day. However, we were both lacking motivation. We ran into several JMT (Transcriber's note: John Muir Trail)hikers who told us the restaurant close by at Red's Meadow had good milkshakes.

Burgers and milkshakes sounded really good and made us quicken our pace. About 2 miles before reaching Red's Meadow we decided to cancel our plan to go to Tulomne and take the shuttle bus from Red's Meadow to Mammoth Lakes.

A real shower and bed was sounding really nice. Within 2 hours we found ourselves at the Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort. Between shuttle buses (it took a total of 3 to get to Mammoth Lakes) we ran into Peter Shaw (a thru hiker we met way back in Julian and Idyllwild several weeks ago). It was good to catch up with him again.

He was heading back to the trail, but gave us several recommendations on good restaurants and also alerted us to an error on Yogi's map of Mammoth on where the library was located - ended up being on the completely opposite side of town.

Finally made it to the Motel 6 in Mammoth Lakes. It ended up being a great location - smack dab in the middle of town and right next to the post office. We stuffed our faces with pizza. How we are lovin lying in a real bed, freshly showered with clean clothes.

July 1st 2009 - VVR to Near Deer Creek

2009-07-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

Amazingly slept good on a very suspect mattress on an old bunkbed in a canvas platform tent with the knowledge that a bear had gotten into the nearby Hiker Box the night before. Luckily there were no bear incidents over night.

Tom and I decided last minute to not spend a zero at VVR and push on to Reds Meadow. We are hoping to make it to Tuolomne Meadows before the post office closes on July 3rd. Due to the restuarant opening late for breakfast we ended up having less than 1 hour to resupply at the small store (Our toughest resupply thus far due to very limited selection) and pack up and make it to the ferry. Fortunately we work well under pressure and made it to the ferry dock with 10 minutes to spare.

The morning hiking was uneventful. Ran into Rachel (who we had hiked over mather and Pinchot Passes with) at Silver Pass. Tom surprised her with a root beer to thank her for the food she had given us previously. It was good to see her again.

We managed to get lost briefly on the north side of Silver Pass due to snow. Luckily there were some weekend backpackers who pointed us in the right direction.

Then we entered mosquito hell. The bugs started getting really bad and were driving us nuts. We came to a trail junction which was well signed. We saw a sign pointed toward Red's Meadow and quickly went that direction. After going downhill for over 2 miles (through more mosquito hell) we finally realized we should be going uphill.

After consulting our maps, we realized we had made a wrong turn. Dang! The trail we were on had been so horrible we didn't want to have to go back. We found an alternative trail that we could take to make it back to the PCT without backtracking.

After 4 miles, 2 hours, Tom falling into a creek and me going batty with the skeeters, we finally made it back to the PCT. Ran into Rachel once again.

June 30th, 2009 - Mono Creek to Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR)

2009-07-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

Since we pushed the miles the day before, we were camped just a couple of easy miles away from the ferry dock where we would catch the ferry to VVR. Tom woke up early and started another campfire. Nothing like waking up to a warm fire. We were able to enjoy the fire and take our time packing up since the ferry was not scheduled to arrive until 9:45am.

We arrived at the ferry dock about 8:45am - we wanted to make sure we didn't miss the boat. We were starving since we had been low on food for the last 10 days. I actually had trouble sleeping last night because I was so hungry. I just couldn't stop thinking about real food.

Met Rocket Man, Poppa Smurf and Bamboo Bob at the ferry dock. We had a good time chatting with our new friends. Just before the ferry pulled up Strider and V arrived.

The ferry finally arrived. It was a long 20 minute ride across Lake Edison to VVR. All we could think of was food!

As soon as we arrived at VVR, we all made a bee-line to the restaurant which just happened to be serving lunch. Mmmmmm... burgers, fries, more fries, apple pie, ice cream and beer. We stuffed our faces!

VVR is more remote than I had imagined. It is a very rustic resort, more like a camp, which caters to hikers and fishermen. It is either accessibly by ferry (from the trail) or a very long car ride on a narrow, windy gravel road that is rumored to have large boulders in the middle of the road.

We were directed to the hiker tents - basically large canvas tents on wooden platforms with bunk beds. Not the most fancy of accommodations but at least there were beds. Most importantly, we finally had full bellies. The rest of the day was spent taking showers, sitting around the 1 set of washing machine/dryer outside while each person did their laundry and just continuing to feed our faces.

June 29th 2009- Aspen Meadow to Mono Creek

2009-07-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

We woke up happy to be done with all of the major High Sierra passes and one of the dangerous creek fords. Today we just had to go up a minor pass - Selden Pass - then cross Bear Creek - the other notoriously "dangerous" ford.

The day was uneventful except for me falling off a log while trying to cross a creek. Somehow I managed to land on both feet and only got wet up to mid-thigh. We reached Bear Creek just as another storm started to roll in. Once again, we were attempting a creek ford late in the day.

Tom started to cross, but quickly turned around. He said the current was just too strong to cross. We ended up going upstream a few yards to a wide spot. We both managed to cross safely, but walking in fast-moving, mid-thigh deep water was a bit unnerving (???) We breathed a sigh of relief once we were across.

We managed several more miles including a steep downhill section of endless switchbacks. Found a fantastic campsite right befor Mono Creek with a huge fire pit. We treated ourselves to a lovely campfire.

June 28th 2009 - Big Pete Meadow to Aspen Meadows

2009-07-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Woke up early in hopes of getting up to Muir Pass before the snow softened too much. Muir pass is notorious for having several miles of snow walking which can be a post-holing nightmare if you do it too late in the day.

Strider and V were up early as well with the same plan to hit Muir early. We ended up leap frogging all the way up to the snow. Once we hit snow, we all stuck together for safety and route finding. Besides snow, we also had to navigate over boulder fields and icy creeks. We all made it up to the hut atop Muir Pass by 10:15am.

After a quick snack and some pictures, we were off. Although still relatively early, we still managed to post-hole occassionally and had to navigate through snow where others had post-holed - sometimes up to the hip. Once again, we also had to ford cold creeks running from under the snow. We were glad to finally reach real trail after a long slog in the snow.

Next challenge was fording the infamous Evolution Creek, which is known as a "dangerous" ford. Since we were crossing it about 6pm, we were worried about how high the creek would be running.

Although we had parted ways with Strider and V after Muir Pass, we fortunately caught back up with them at Evolution Creek. There was a sign directing us upstream about 25 yards. Although wide, the creek was nothing that we would call dangerous - even late in the day. We all crossed with water level just above our knees. Strider and V camped soon after the ford, but Tom and I continued on several more miles.

June 27th South Fork Kings River to Big Pete Meadows

2009-07-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

Slept in lazily. The ranger we had talked to last night said our up coming pass (Mather Pass) tends to be quite icy first thing in the morning and there had been several injuries this year when people tried to get over the pass in the morning. He recommended avoiding going over the pass before 11am, so there was no point in waking up early.

Had several more creek fords on the way to Mather Pass. We caught up with Rachel near the approach coming along with Four Cheese and Sangria. There were still several snow patches on the south side of the pass - a couple of them looking sketchy. So we had to scramble up the loose scree. Tom felt right at home on the loose rock, but I struggled. For some reason I do a lot better on snow.

Eventually we all made it up to the pass. On the north side, there was a lot more snow. Tom & I led. Sure enough, just as the ranger had said, the snow was still quite hard at 10:30am. Tom & I were once again thankful for our microspikes which allowed us to cruise over the snow quickly.

The Palisades Lakes just below Mather Pass were beautiful.I just cannot get over how beautiful the Sierras are! Tom enjoyed yodeling throughout the basin as he had done in just about every other lake basin.

Unfortunately the fun ended and we headed down the "Golden Staircase" - several miles of non-stop rock steps. Although not fun going down, we were really glad not to be going up them.

After the rock steps, we hit a trail that had been destroyed by avalanches several years ago. The trail was in desperate need of trail work, I'm guessing the trail is so remote that the Park Service just decided to ignore it.

We finally found a nice big rock to have dinner on - away from the downed trees & bugs. After dinner we continued on muddy swampy trail and for the first time the mosquitoes finally got to swarm levels and we had to stop to put on DEET. Actually they were so bad that we had to keep walking while rubbing on the DEET.

Made it to camp at Big Pete Meadow just as the sun set. Met a nice French-Canadian couple - Strider and V, who are thru hiking as well. Also had the company of some way too friendly deer.

June 26th 2009 Rae Lakes to South Fork of Kings River

2009-07-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

Amazingly we woke up after a good nights sleep feeling refreshed. The morning was spent continuing downhill but of course the afternoon brought an endless climb - mostly up large rock steps which became the bane of my existence. To make matters worse, there seemed to be constant creek crossings resulting in soaking wet feet.

Eventually the climb lessened and we began the approach to our next pass. Pinchot Pass. Once again, there was a mix of snow patches - making route finding tricky and requiring some rock scrambling. Overall not to bad of exposure or incline compared to the previous 2 passes. Met several thru hikers up top - Ladybug & Grasshopper as well as Rachel. Although snow was limited on the north side, there was more rock/scree scrambling to be done. Tom did an excellent job leading the way.

Ran into one of the backcountry rangers while we were eating dinner. Once again, had a very plesant interaction - discussing trail conditions and our trip thus far. We overall have been quite impressed with all of the Kings Canyon Park rangers. All have been helpful and informative of on trail conditions, but none gave us trouble for not carrying a bear canister.

We met up with Rachel just before a ford of the South Fork of the Kings River, which surprisingly had quite strong current and was thigh deep in the evening. The 3 of us teamed up to make it safely across. Rachel camped nearby and we continued on another mile or so to set up camp in a nice meadow.

June 25th Tyndall Creek to Rae Lakes

2009-07-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

We knew when we woke up today that it was going to be a big day. We had aspirations of trying to bag the 2 most dangerous mountain passes on the PCT in one day. We were told that it was possible by the park rangers, but it definitely went against the usual convention of doing one pass per day.

The approach to Forester Pass was relatively easy - just a short 5 mile hike from where we camped last night. We were in a large group of people leaving Tyndall Creek in the morning. We were happy to have others for safety assistance with route finding since some of the trail was still under snow.

We had heard that there was one sketchy part of the trail on the south side of the pass. Sure enough, as we got closer, we knew exactly where it was. There was a 20 feet patch of snow that traversed hight up on a chute that was shaded by the sun. Sure enough it was still quite icy when we hit the chute ~9:30am. Hatman was the first to cross - brave soul that he was. However, he admitted the snow was sketchy and even he was scared.

Everyone started to build up right before the chute. Out of character, I decided to go next. However I used my microspikes, which gave me the traction and confidence to get safely across.

Thank goodness for the microspikes. Tom went next with both microspikes and an ice axe. He helped widen the foot steps with his ice axe to allow safer travel for everyone else. Luckily everyone eventually made it across and we celebrated up top with a big group picture.

Transcriber's note: Photo blatenly stolen from CanaDoug's Journal

Tom and I led the group down the other side. Although much more snow on the north side, the snow was softening up and the exposure was not as extreme. We even lucked out with a short glissade which was fun.

While others in the group enjoyed a chilly dip in a partially frozen tarn, Tom & I hurried on - aiming for our next pass - Glen Pass 12.5 miles away.

We made good time through the valley between the 2 passes. The terrain fairly well graded. However, we had a big climb going up to Glen Pass. Storm clouds started to form, which made us hurry a little more.

The approach to Glen Pass was relatively hidden. So we kept climbing for what seemed forever - not knowing for sure where we were headed. Luckily, we met a nice guy, Mark, near the top. He was familiar with Glen Pass and was able to point us to the Pass. We agreed to go through the pass all together - once again for safety. Glen pass' tricky section was on the north side - a very steep long traverse. To make matters worse, the storm clouds were quickly approaching and we heard a clap of thunder just as we reached the pass.

Although cautious, we tried to move quickly over the steep travers and then eventually had to scramble down to Rae Lakes. Fortunately we managed to make it down to Rae Lakes and set up our tent before it started raining. After a quick dinner we immediately crashed - exhausted from a tough technical day of climbing.

June 24th - Crabtree Meadow to Tyndall Creek

2009-07-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

Woke up early to chilly temps. We had heard rumors that there were afternoon thunderstorms predicted. We hoped to climb Mt. Whitney (the highest mountain in the continguous 48 states) and get back down before the weather turned bad. The plan was to leave our tent up and only carry a daypack up Mt. Whitney.

We felt light as feathers cruising up the trail from Crabtree Meadows with our daypacks - so much better than lugging a full pack. With the cold temps, our first obstacle came at crossing the creek by camp. There was a log jam a the creek crossing which would have been a normally easy crossing. However, with the cold temps, the logs were all iced over. Being cold, the last thing we wanted to do was have to get our feet wet. I came up with the brilliant idea of putting on our microspikes to cross the logs. The extra traction worked like a charm and we made it across the logs without problems.

The trail from the meadows to Whitney starts out gradual until it hits Guitar Lake - a cool alpine lake in the shape of a guitar in a bowl formed by Whitney and Mt. Hitchcock. As we hit Guitar Lake, our jaws dropped. We had already thought we were walking in primo scenery, but Guitar Lake and the high alpine surroundings bumped it up another notch. We tried to take pictures, but I don't think pictures can do it justice.

From Guitar Lake, the trail starts steeply switchbacking up. A lot of the trail was iced over which made movement slow. We hit a couple of sketchy patches of hardened snow in couloirs which caused us to don our microspikes. Once again, the microspikes made things easy and we made it through the snow without much difficulty. The further we climbed up, the more snow we hit. It was slow moving, but we made it to the top of Mt. Whitney about 10am. We were the 3rd and 4th people of the day to arrive - only beat by thru-hiker friends Leprachaun and Robby. We lucked out with perfectly clear, blue skies which allowed us to see far away in all directions. The views were again, out of this world. I was so glad Tom had talked me into climbing Mt. Whitney!

Although sunny, it was chilly and breezy atop the mountain, so we only spent probably 30 minute up top and then started heading down. On the way down, we passed tons of people coming up. Mt. Whitney is a popular climb - most people coming in from the opposite side at the Whitney Portal. Most people were struggling to make it up the mountain. Up until that time, Tom and I had taken our thru-hiking shape for granted. But seeing everyone else struggle and us just feeling like we were on a little dayhike finally made us realize - all this thru-hiking is really paying off. Guess we're in shape now. :)

Made the 15 mile roundtrip up and down Whitney and still felt good. We decided to pack up and move on down the trail another 10 miles in hopes of getting closer to Forester Pass. Although feeling a lot slower with our heavy packs, we still made good time - making it to Tyndall Creek camp by evening. We met up with all our friends that we had met the previous night at Crabtree Meadows.

June 23rd - Cottonwood Pass to Crabtree Meadow Ranger Station

2009-07-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

Woke up to another beautiful morning. Chicken Spring Lake, where many of our friends were staying, wasn't too far away (less than a mile). We filled up on water at the lake outlet and took a quick peek at the lake. Although nice, it wasn't as great as I thought. I have yet to be impressed with California lakes compared to Washington lakes. Nothing beats Washington's high alpine lakes!

The scenery continued to get better as the day went on. We continued to climb into the Sierras. Hiked past many a green meadow and saw lots of snow-capped mountains. Lunched aboved Rock Creek. Both Tom and I were starting to feel even more sluggish with our lack of food for lunch. I really was beginning to worry about how we were going to make it 10 days with the food that we had packed.

As fate would have it, after lunch we happened to walk by the Rock Creek Ranger Station sign - and there was a handwritten sign advertising "Free Food and a Cute Baby to Make You Smile". ha! Without missing a step - we made a bee-line to the backcountry ranger station. It was a cool log cabin set about 1/4 mile off the trail. There were 4 ranger milling around. Turns out the rangers had arrived in the last couple of days for the summer and they were working on cleaning out all the old food from the previous summer's ranger (hence, the free food). We were free to take any food that we wanted. Although all outdated and stale, we were hungry and jumped at the chance for the much-needed extra food. We scored a bag of granola, some kids graham cracker snacks, a dark chocolate bar, and a Cliff bar. Oh, we saw the cute baby too!

With our food bag even fuller, we were back off on the trail. Another couple big uphill and downhills and before we knew it we arrived at Crabtree Meadows Ranger Station. Since we decided not to carry bear cannisters, we have to camp at camps with bear boxes and this was the closest bear box to Mt. Whitney which we hope to climb tomorrow.

We were both impressed with the Crabtree Meadows camp. Although a popular camp spot - it was a beautiful, open woody area next to a meadow with a lovely creek. There were already probably 15 people set up in camp, but somehow we still found a place that was quiet and nice to set up our tent. Had a lovely dinner by the creek and washed up some clothes. Visited with the other people in camp - turned out they were all thru-hikers who climbed Mt. Whitney that day.

June 22nd - Mile 728 to Cottonwood Pass

2009-07-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Slept in real late for being on the trail - 7am. It was cool outside and we were so warm and toasty in our sleeping bags. We were not in a real hurry since we only planned to do 21 miles for the day. We planned to significantly decrease our mileage in the Sierras for several reasons - we're hiking at higher elevations (8,000feet to 11,000 feet), the trail is steeper and more technical, and most importantly -we want to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Well, it turned out good that we planned a low mileage day because we mostly climbed all day. The altitude started to get to me. I felt strong, but was moving slow. I just didn't seem to have any pep in my step. And to complicate matters, I had to limit what I ate since both Tom and I underestimated our food needs. It's hard to carry a full 10 days worth of food which caused us to skimp a bit in the food department.

As the day wore on, the scenery just kept getting better. Lots of open woods, rocks, snow-capped mountains, and green meadows. We are so thrilled to finally be back in the mountains! Found a great place to set up camp - overlooking a nice green meadow with Cirque Peak in the background.

June 21st - Kennedy Meadows to Mile 728

2009-07-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Got to sleep in once again! Woke up, packed up, and then went to the weekly Kennedy Meadows Sunday Pancake Breakfast. Once again, all the locals were there. We were starting to feel like a local too - seeing the same familiar faces. Had some delicious blueberry pancakes with the biggest, sweetest blueberries ever. Yum!

With full bellies, we got a ride with Tractor to the Kennedy Meadows Campground and the PCT trailhead. The hike started along a creek with beautiful open woods. Soon we came to a burn area with blackened trees, but a beautiful carpet of pinkish-purple flowers. It was peaceful and serene. Before we knew it, we made it to the Kern River near the Monache Meadows. Ran into a few hikers that had left the previous day and camped at the meadow. They were gettin a real late start at 3pm.

We kept heading uphill until we got hungry. Dined on some delicious Chicken Veggie Pasta made by Sarbar. Mmmmm! Sure was nice to have something other than mashed potatoes or Lipton rice.

Met up with Splinter and Aloe camped out at about Mile 728. Decided to call it a night there.

New Entries!!

2009-06-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

Transcriber's Note:

The Cajon Pass entries finally made it to me. Stupid USPS anyway. There are three new entries starting on May 30th (I adjusted the date so they would be in the correct order).

This post is for all of you following along on the RSS feed. :)

June 20th – Kennedy Meadows

2009-06-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

Got to sleep in today! Of course, sleeping in for us is something like 6:30am. Still felt good not to have to get up, pack up, and start walking. Kennedy Meadows Tom was headed up trail to go fishing and offered to haul anyone’s packs 13 miles up the trail so they could slack-pack for the day. No surprise – most people staying here in Kennedy Meadows jumped on that deal. I really wanted a full zero day with my tight calf muscle, so we stayed back.

Tractor, one of the locals who helps KM Tom out, came by about 7:45am to pick up anyone still staying behind and take them down the road to a restaurant called Irelan’s. There were 5 of us that piled into one of Tom’s pick-ups and Tractor drove us to Irelan’s. Irelan’s is quite the place. It’s really just a trailer set up with a couple of restaurant booths. The cook was sitting outside the restaurant waiting for us. The cook “hired” one fo the hikers, Arran, to be the waitress and help with pouring coffee, setting the table, and bringing the plates once they were ready in return for a free meal. The menu was limited, but still easy to find something good to eat. Most of us opted for an egg dish of some sort as well as a side of pancakes. We placed our orders with the cook and he went to town. 30 minutes later we had a table of delicious food. While eating, the cook came out and chatted. We heard all about the family business and how a bear once got into the trailer and attacked his dad. The cook ended up shooting the bear and then was afraid that he would get in trouble for having a gun after just getting out of prison. Hmmmmm…interesting guy. Interesting restaurant. Definitely a great experience though.

After breakfast, we came back to the trailers and caught up on the blog and e-mail. Had the opportunity to visit with Tractor who is quite the colorful character. He’s lived all over the country as a gypsy construction worker. He even was familiar with Kahoka, MO – the small little town my mom grew up in – he lived there for several months in the 80’s. Small world! He has all kinds of stories to tell and is accompanied everywhere he goes with his little wiener dog, George, who happens to be a female. Go figure. He’s been kicked out of the General Store here (something about striking up a fight with a band that came to town). That must be tough to live in a town of population 25 with one general store that you can’t even go in. He doesn’t seem to mind. He’s friends with everyone around, so he get’s them to buy him beer (only Budweiser) and food when needed. Real nice guy though.

Went back to the General Store for another excellent burger. Then hung out on the store porch. The store porch is THE place to be in town. All the locals hang out on the porch drinking beer all day long. I turned down the beer, but sat down with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream instead.

Had several more hikers come in today – our friends Ryan, Spencer, Kobie all came in as well as Eden and Amanda, and David. We showed them the ropes of the town since everyone else had left.

Saturday nights are potluck night at the General Store and luckily us hikers were all invited. The locals all bring a dish and get first dibbs, but then the hikers get to clean up the leftovers and pitch in a little donation. There was quite the spread of food – and even dessert. Yum!

Finished up the night chatting with everyone by the campfire. All in all, a great zero day! We feel well rested and ready to head back on the trail tomorrow. We are now headed up into the High Sierra, so will be out of contact with the real world for the next 10 days.

June 19th – South Fork Kern River to Kennedy Meadows

2009-06-20T11:42:00.001-07:00

It was so nice to sleep next to a running creek last night. I slept like a baby. Woke up slowly and not in a rush – we had less than 5 miles to go to Kennedy Meadows. Although only a short, easy walk – it felt like forever. I guess when you are thinking about real food and a shower…town always seems so far away.

The first thing we noticed as we started to drop down into the valley of Kennedy Meadows was the quietness. We saw a few trailers and homes around, but absolutely no noise and no cars. We made it to the road about 8am. As we were walking down the road toward the General Store, we passed a couple of hikers on their way out. They told us about Tom (who incidently we had run into previously at the McDonald’s at Cajon Pass) who lives across from the General Store and has several trailers he lets hikers stay in. We easily found Tom’s place which had lots hikers milling around. Finally met up with Luke (now Splinter) and Jana (Aloe) who we had not seen since Idyllwild. We had been chasing them down ever since.

The General Store didn’t open until 9am – a long wait when you are hungry. They serve a limited hot breakfast – biscuits and gravy, juice, and coffee today. I’m not usually a biscuits and gravy girl, but quickly changed my mind once I smelled the food. Tom had 2 plates and I gobbled down one.

Got in line for the shower – there are 2 outdoor showers just outside of the General Store. Though rustic, they do have hot water…and did just the trick to cleaning off our dirt covered bodies. Unfortunately, there was also a line for laundry – so we had to scrounge around for some relatively clean clothes after our shower.

Finally got our turn using the 1 washing machine at the general store in the early afternoon. They don’t have a dryer, so you line dry your clothes behind the store. Luckily, it was sunny and the clothes dried quickly.

Spent most of the afternoon chilling on the big porch of the General Store. It seemed like I grazed all day long. Had an excellent burger from the General Store for lunch. I could have easily eaten 2, but decided instead to also eat a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. That did the trick.

Fridays the General Store has happy hour – so of course we had to be there for that. The beers were cheaper than usual and then before we knew it, they started putting out food. All the locals swing by for happy hour as well. The locals chatted with all of us hiker trash. Interesting folk – most locals have lived many other places in their lives and say “I stopped by here…and never left…decided it was the end of the road.” It is definitely a simple life here. All electricity is run by generator and there is no cell phone service – so there is always a line for the 1payphone at the general store. Really not much of anything here – but it is quiet.

Turned out one of the hikers (Splash) had a birthday coming up, so Kennedy Meadows Tom decided to roast some chicken and pork and have a big dinner for everyone. He whipped up everything in his outdoor kitchen. The food was all tasty and we enjoyed everyone’s company. There was probably a total of 20 hikers or so at dinner.

Spent the night paying a game called “Washers” – similar to horseshoes, but trying to throw washers in a hole. Not much to the game, but it was entertaining for hours. Ended the night with sitting around the campfire. Ahhhh…this is the life.

Retired to our humble abode – a green trailer probably older than us. Although not glamorous, it did the job.

June 18th – Spanish Needle Creek to South Fork Kern River

2009-06-20T11:41:00.001-07:00

Luckily, we had no bear visitors overnight. The night was actually quite uneventful and we both agreed we had a great campsite. We had a big climb first thing in the morning. Luckily, our packs were quite light since we had eaten most of our food. Had to bring a bit of water, but only had about 13 miles until the next water source.

Cruised up our first climb which seemed steep to me – but maybe it was due to not being warmed up. My calf muscle was feeling really tight so it made for a painful climb.

Saw another rattlesnake – this time a little one right in the middle of the trail. Tom just took a trekking pole and moved if off the trail. It rattled a little bit, but fortunately it slithered away without much ado.

Much of the hike was through burned out areas – making for a sunny, hot, exposed day with not great scenery. I was having a hard time with my calf muscle, lots of climbing, and not much scenery. Tom was sweet and picked me a bouquet of wildflowers to cheer me up. Worked like a charm. I have such a great husband!

Made it further than we thought – all the way to the South Fork of the Kern River. It was fantastic to finally see running water again. We were in heaven. The perfect place to end the evening.

June 17th – McIvers’ Spring Jeep Road to Spanish Needle Creek

2009-06-20T11:40:00.001-07:00

Woke up dry, but with a wet tent. However, the sun was shining with blue skies so we were pretty confident that we would eventually be able to dry out our tent. Headed through the burned out area on a rolling jeep road. We noticed fresh bear tracks walking past our camp. Guess we had a bear visitor last night…but luckily we didn’t hear him and he didn’t go hunting for our food.

The trail was pretty boring – just rolling hills through quite a bit of burned area. Kind of reminded me of a logged out area. I was glad we hadn’t pushed further since the rolling jeep road was hard on the legs.

Cruised through the 10 miles pretty fast toward Walker Pass since the terrain was relatively easy. We ran into some day hikers just a mile or so before Walker Pass. They were excited to see “thru-hikers”. They told us about a lady sitting at the trailhead with cold soda pop in coolers and a sign pointing toward “Trail Magic”. Our eyes lit up…and we really started cruising down the trail. We hoped that the trail angel would still be there when we arrived.

Right before Walker Pass we see the florescent poster board sign pointing toward “Trail Magic” down at the campground. We raced down to the campground and sure enough, there was a large canopy set up with a table, camp chairs, several coolers of beer and pop, chips, fruit, Pop Tarts, and pretty much any other imaginable goody. Trail angel Okie Girl introduced herself. We were so happy to meet her and finally have some in-person trail magic. Turns out she had been hanging out at Walker Pass the last 2 weeks handing out trail magic. She’s hard core…what an angel. I downed 2 Sprites and Tom had 2 beers. We chowed on just about every food item available. It was fantastic. I think we stayed over an hour.

Unfortunately, it was only 10:30am and we still had many more miles to go that day. We eventually pulled ourselves away from the trail magic and headed up for another big climb. It was getting hot and our bellies were bloated and full. Somehow we still plugged up the mountain…and managed to eat lunch an hour later. It’s amazing how much food we can put away when hiking!

Ran into a group of older section-hikers who gave us the scoop on water further down the trail. Once again, they were excited to meet thru-hikers and had lots of questions and wanted to take our pictures. We felt like celebrities on the trail. Strange to be on the other side since I used to be one of those people ooogling the thru-hikers.

After a brief chat with the section hikers, we were on our way down the trail. We came across a big ol’ rattler strewn out across the trail. I called on Tom for snake duty. He first tried throwing some sand to scare off the snake. Didn’t work. Then he threw a couple of small rocks…didn’t work…just caused the snake to start rattling. I was excited to finally hear the famous snake rattle. Amazing walking nearly 600 miles through desert and not hearing a snake rattle. Well, I finally got my wish! But we were standing there, with a mad rattlesnake who was refusing to move. We were on steep terrain, making it tough to walk around the snake. Eventually the snake moved to the bush right by the trail, but was still rattling and definitely within striking distance. Tom started throwing bigger rocks which made the snake rattle even more. We eventually had no choice but to scramble up hill to avoid the snake.

The next several miles were beautiful. We were hiking high – about 7000 feet elevation – traversing rocky cliffs. We finally were feeling like we were getting closer to the Sierras. But the hike was hot and exposed. We had an early dinner atop on of the saddles and then headed for another descent and ascent. The section hikers had promised of water at one of the Spanish Needle Creeks. We were cutting it close – Tom ran out of water and I was on my last drops. We kept coming to dry creek beds. Just as the sun was beginning to go down and I was getting really nervous, we hit the one spring-fed creek. It was a beautiful, trickle of cool, clear water. We rejoiced and quickly filled about 6 platypus bladders full of water. Weighted down with water, we searched for the first camp spot. Luckily, there was a lovely grassy bench just above the creek with lots of flat spots for camping. Although it looked like prime bear territory, Tom did an excellent job scaring off all bears in the near vicinity with his crazy bear hollering. I was just glad there weren’t any other campers around because I am sure he would have scared them off as well!

June 16th – Near Kelso Valley Road to McIvers Spring Jeep Road

2009-06-20T11:39:00.001-07:00

Woke up refreshed after sleeping literally on the trail. Luckily, there were no late night hikers or bears that came strolling down the trail.

Cruised down the trail to a water cache just 1 mile away from where we were camped. Loaded up on water and then headed back up into the mountains. We were back in the desert – hot, exposed, dry, and sandy. Luckily, there were a few clouds to help mitigate the sun and heat. We have been so fortunate to miss the usual heat in the last several hundred miles.

Eventually came to another water cache near a road and filled up again in preparation for a huge climb up which we could see afar – switchback after switchback for 3.7 miles. Eventually had dinner at the very top. Storm clouds started to roll in. It started to drizzle lightly during dinner, but never amounted to anything.

We headed back down the trail after dinner. Eventually it started to drizzle more – requiring us to break out the rain gear. It wasn’t a soaking rain, but enough to make us feel chilled and damp. We came to our camp target – McIver’s Spring Jeep Road. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what I had expected. It was a burned out area – looking very similar to Washington clear cut land. Not the ideal, beautiful ridge to camp on. Being a jeep road, there were occasional pull outs with camp spots, but were littered with junk. We finally settled on a flat place for camp and set up the tent in the drizzle.

June 15th – Past Golden Oaks Spring to Near Kelso Valley Road

2009-06-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

Spent the night cowboy camping near cow manure. Mmmmmm…not ideal, but it was a flat place to camp. The cows seem to roam wherever they please around these parts, so cow manure goes along with the deal.

The sun was out most of the day with blue skies. Luckily, much of the day was spent in trees, so we did have some shade. The terrain was rolling, so we made good miles. We spied another bear a few hundred feet off the trail in the trees. Tom did his best hollering job and the bear quickly moved away. Wow! 3rd bear sighting in Southern California – pretty cool!

We saw lots of cows the rest of the day – wonder how the bears mingle with the cows? We passed the 600 mile point – marked with sticks. Tom enhanced the sign with cow pies for the zeros. The things we do for fun on the trail.

Eventually we headed up on Piute Mountain. There were a lot of dirt bike trails, but we only saw one group of dirt bikers. The forest was particularly quiet. We enjoyed hiking through the open woods – much different than the Washington forests with thick underbrush. Once again, the terrain was gentle and the trail was smooth.

Although my quad started to give me trouble again, some ibuprofen and massage did the trick. We managed to get 28 miles in for the day. Eventually stopping for some cowboy camping right on trail due to lack of flat spaces for a tent. Although the least likely of camp spots, we both agreed the soft trail made for an excellent night of sleeping.

June 14th – Mojave to Near Golden Oaks Spring

2009-06-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

We decided to make the most of our hotel stay in Mojave and slept in. Stopped by the hotel lobby for OJ and then went to Denny’s for a real breakfast. Stopped by a great little bakery across from the hotel for a 2nd breakfast – they had huge, tasty apple fritters that I couldn’t pass by. Only was able to eat ½ of one – but packaged up the 2nd half for the trail.

Finished up packing and slowly started down toward Hwy 58. We were afraid it was going to be a tough hitch and even contemplated calling a taxi. As we were walking toward the signs for Hwy 58 a car stops along the road and asks us if we need a ride to the trailhead. Sweet! We got a ride without even hitching…how easy is that??? The guy was a hiker, so he knew just where to go. It was 11am before we started out hiking up the mountain. Not the best time to be starting a hot, desert hike – but at least we were well fed and hydrated. The climb up didn’t end up being too bad - amazing what a belly of real food will do! After a short lunch break at the top, we continued on the trail.

We were just cruising along and I heard a little rustle in a bush as I was looking back. I glanced down and saw a very large, green snake with diamond scales coiled up in the bush. I had just enough time to scream “SNAKE!” Next thing I know it – Tom was screaming and hauling himself 50 feet off the trail. Once he regained composure, he said “Where is that snake? He totally striked out at me!” We checked his leg for bite marks – luckily there were none. Wow! Close call. Luckily, we were only about 7 miles from a major highway and probably would have been okay to get some anti-venom in time, but it was scary. The whole time I was on the look out for snakes, but they are really good at hiding. Never did hear the rattle, so we are not sure if it was a rattlesnake or not. After thinking about it further, we decided that most likely what Tom thought was the snake strike was actually his trekking poles hitting the side of his leg. Needless to say, we were paranoid about snakes the rest of they day.

June 13th - Gamble Springs Canyon to Mojave

2009-06-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

We were excited to be heading to town once again. We were ready for real food (as opposed to what Tom calls squirrel food - ie: backpacking junk food) and hot showers.

With the end in sight, we cruised 13 miles without much trouble. Had fun testing our strength against the wind as we walked right by a wind farm.

We were surprised by a water cache and delicious fresh homemade peanut butter cookies left by an unnamed trail angel at the road. Took some time waiting for a hitch into Mojave since there was no cars drving toward Mojave on a Saturday. Luckily we were picked up by the first car to finally pass.

The rest of the day was spent doing town chores - finding a hotel, post office, shower, laundry, library and grocery store. It's a bit overwhelming coming off the trail - but hot food, a shower and a bed make it well worth it!

June 12th - Aqueduct to Gamble Springs Canyon

2009-06-20T08:36:00.001-07:00

After a good night's sleep, we awoke early to beat the sun. We still had another 10 miles to walk on the Aqueduct.

We both found the Aquaduct hike to be particularly enjoyable. The flat terrain was inviting after so many ups & downs over the last couple of weeks. The desert sunrise was beautiful and the sky appeared to go on forever.

Spent the late morning/early afternoon lounging under the Cottonwood Bridge - the only source of shade and water for miles - with Ryan, another thru hiker.

In the afternoon, we headed back up into the hills - battling the wind. The hills were steep and sandy, but strangely, my quad finally started to feel better. Strong and without pain. Finally - hiking was enjoyable again.

June 11th - Sawmill Camp to Aqueduct

2009-06-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up feeling stronger, but the quad was still tightening up with inclines. After being up in the mountains, we were headed back down into the desert.

After taking the trail which seemed to take the longest way down, we hit the desert floor and Hiker Town - yet another Trail Angel home.

We were surprised to find what looked to be a mini-Hollywood set in the large yard of a home right on the trail. With signs welcoming hikers, we made ourselves comfortable on the front lawn. I tried to nap with chickens, dogs & kittens running around, but to no avail.

Tom was able to borrow a car to run to the store down the road. He brought back fruit, soda and ice cream. Yum!

After relaxing several hours, we felt amazingly refreshed. We headed out on the next section - the usually dreaded LA Aqueduct. The Aqueduct is basically a huge underground pipe that runs for miles and miles through the hot desert without shade.

Luckily the temps were cooler than usual and we were hiking the first ~5 miles in the evening.

Spent the night sleeping on the Aqueduct. A bit unnerving sleeping right on the side of a a road with occassional cars driving by overnight, but overall quite comfy.

June 10th - Casa de Luna to Sawmill Camp

2009-06-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

Woke up to pancakes cooked by Joe Anderson. Delish! After filling my tummy with lots of syrup and dough, we were off to the trail again.

From the start, I once again did not feel like hiking. I just wanted to crawl back in bed. But I had no choice - we had to keep hiking.

The day went by with us plodding all day. The weather was cool & foggy once again. We were fortunate to not have to deal with the heat, but the fog was getting old.

June 9th - Agua Dulce to Casa de Luna

2009-06-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

I had read that Hiker Heaven is tough to leave, but I had no idea how tough it really was. Hiker Heaven is a true heaven for PCT hikers - a comfy cozy place in the country with only the company of fellow hikers, dogs and horses where one can rest up, clean up and refuel.

Our original plan was to leave first thing in the morning. That plan went out the door last night when we failed to pack up. We got up early, but were then occupied with packing, putting together boxes to ship elsewhere, playing with the dogs and then Buster started whipping up some French Toast. Mmmm... I had not eaten French Toast in a long time. That French Toast was tome pure off-trail magic. :) Thanks again Buster!

Finally, about 9am we quit stalling and asked Donna for a ride to the trailhead. It was sad saying good-bye to all our newly made friends and the dogs. The Saufley dogs - especially Buddy & Mikey had quickly become our pals. And then it was also sad to say goodbye to Donna. Although we were not able to spend a lot of time with Donna, her giving heart & generosity were beyond words. How do you thank someone for so much?

We were finally "off like a herd of turtles" as Tom would say. From the start, my head was not into the hike. On the first uphill, my quad muscle started to cramp up again. I was feeling weak & my pack felt heavy. I had new shoes, new socks & a new pack. I was really worried about how they would all work out. I was stuck with them at least for a week - no matter what.

All these worries and the sadness about leaving Aqua Dulce had my mind in a quandry. I managed to turn my ankle and tripped forward to the ground. Although not hurt, I was clearly not all with it. Tom did his best to cheer me up, but it was tough. It was the first time I had to hike when I did not feel like hiking.

Somehow we managed to keep on hobbling down the trail. Came to a wonderful cache by the Anderson's - "The Oasis" which is a random hole in some bushes with chairs, cooler of beer & pop, water and various decorations. It put a smile on my face. We didn't stay long since it was wet & cold, but we took a Sprite & beer "for the trail."

Caught up to Riff Raff and Jenny just as we got to San Francisquito Rd where trail angel, Terrie Anderson, just happened to be waiting for us.

Terrie drove us back to her home - known to thru hikers as Casa de Luna.

Transcriber's note: I convinced T&T that they couldn't miss stopping by Casa de Luna. Glad they changed their itinerary a bit!

We were given an official tour of the outdoor accommodations as well as the indoor accomodations. They have a huge side and backyard with space for more tents than I can imagine. The front of the house is decorated by huge sheets that hikers sign/decorate each year as well as Aloha shirts which we were required to be worn throughout our stay. And an outdoor hiker table (as opposed to the usual hiker box found in towns) had a random variety of used items that other hikers had left in case another hiker would need.

Photo blatently swiped from Joe Anderson's Face Book page. But how could I not include it? Classic goofy Tom and Tori's beautiful smile...

Inside, Terrie made the taco salad she makes for her hikers every night. We heard Joe and Terrie give their "how we became trail angels" story. The presentation is pure entertainment in itself.

June 8th - Agua Dulce

2009-06-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

So, this Hiker Heaven place is so comfy and relaxing...we just HAD to stay another day. My quad was still feeling a little stiff and Tom was still battling with his poison oak. Typically, there is a 2 night max at Hiker Heaven, but luckily Donna let us stay another night since the place wasn't slammed with people.

Since yesterday we did errands all day, today felt more like a real zero. Just sat around chilling and visiting with the other thru-hikers. Watched lots of movies, read a PCT book (Zero Days - good book by the way!), played with the dogs, talked to my parents, and just relaxed in general. Tom ended up going to the doctor to get a shot for the poison oak since it wasn't going away with either Zenfel or Tecnu.

I always heard it was difficult to leave Hiker Heaven and I now can see why. But ahhhh...the trail is calling and we need to finish it one of these days...so we plan to head off tomorrow.

June 7th - Agua Dulce

2009-06-20T07:44:00.002-07:00

Zeroed at Hiker Heaven today. Quite a few thru hikers are hanging out here now. Luckily, the major herd has already been through a couple of weeks ago (at peak, Hiker Heaven hosts 50 hikers per night). There is probably about 10 hikers here now.

We spent the day being driven around by a wonderful trail angel - Helen - who volunteered to take us wherever we needed to go in the LA area for resupply. Made it to REI, a specialty running shoe store for Tom to pick up some Brooks Cascadia shoes, Super Walmart, Walgreens, Vons, In and Out Burger, and a restaurant called Chi-Chi's. Crazy thing was - Chi-Chi's was an all-you-can-eat home made pasta restaurant. What better for a thru-hiker??? Great food...and filled us up fast!

Helen was the greatest chauffeur/guide. We couldn't believe she was willing to drive us wherever we wanted. She had so much patience. Trail angels are amazing people. I have been nearly brought to tears (happy, grateful ones) by the kindness of random strangers. We hope to eventually be able to return the favor...in some way.

Had some major culture-shock walking into Super Wal-Mart on a Sunday. A bit much for 2 people just fresh off the trail - the people, the loudness, the bright lights, etc. We definitely walked around with a little dumb-foundedness. We tried to get out of their as soon as possible.

Came back to freshly laundered sleeping bags (thanks to Donna Saufley). Ahhhh...this PCT thing is definitely addicting.

June 6th - North Fork Ranger Station to Agua Dulce

2009-06-20T07:44:00.001-07:00

Woke up to partially clear skies this morning. Looked like the worst of the weather was past us. We were hoping for the weather to stay cool though since we were supposedly going through some historically hot, exposed sections.

We felt fairly well-rested after our marathon day the day before. I was still worried about my quad which had given me problems the day before, but at least it felt better than it had the night before. We were excited to finally be headed to Agua Dulce.

Although the trail was for the most part losing elevation, there were a lot of short, steep ups and downs. These steep sections killed my already fatigued quad. I began cursing every stupid up and down. We had to stop several times to have Tom massage my quad. The promise of good food, showers, laundry...awaiting us in Agua Dulce kept me going. Tom was also battling a bad little toe blister. We were quite the pair hobbling along the trail, but miracously we made it the 18 miles to Agua Dulce.

The trail actually goes straight through the little town of Agua Dulce. Our first mandatory stop was the Mexican restaurant in town which we had been dreaming of the past 2 days. Stopped by the general store afterwards - the lady at the check-out counter said we looked good compared to most of the hikers that come through. I hate to think what these other hikers look like cuz we looked pretty battered. I think she was just feeding us a line, but at least that put a smile on our faces.

With fully bellies we headed down the street a mile to the home of the trail angels extraordinaire - Jeff and Donna Saufley (aka Hiker Heaven). We had heard a lot about this place, but it was even better than we could imagine. We knew we were at the right place by all the huge white tents in the backyard. There was a sign at the gate welcoming PCT hikers. As soon as we walked in the gate, we were greeted by several happy, friendly dogs. We knocked on the house door and Jeff introduced himself and gave us a quick run down of Hiker Heaven procedures. The Saufleys have been hosting hikers for many years now and they have things down to a science. There is a large tent full of clean loaner clothes, flip flops, towels, and laundry bags. There garage has been transformed into a mini-post office with resupply boxes newly arrived and outgoing. There are several large tents set up in the backyard with cots as well as a camper and a mobile home available for hikers. Bikes are also available for use to ride to/from town.

We got lucky and got our own room in the mobile home with real beds and sheets/blankets. We felt like we were living in luxury! The mobile home is the main hub here - with 2 computers with internet, a kitchen, bathroom with tub/shower, and a family room with comfy couches/tv/DVD player. This place is so friendly and welcoming - I commented to Donna that we feel like we are staying with family. We quickly saw why people come and don't want to leave. Donna does every hiker's laundry - and some how managed to get smells/stains of our hiking clothes that we hadn't been able to get out with previous washings. I've heard that her secret is washing each load 2 times. She's got some great smelling detergent too - gotta find out what it is!

Tom was finally able to get a much needed shower - not only for his stench, but also to treat some out-of-control poison oak. Yes, that poison oak we thought we escaped at the hot springs several days before wreaked it's ugly head about 2 days ago. Tom got nailed - his back is filled with sores as well as spots on his temple, arms, abdomen, and foot. Luckily I escaped the toxins except for a spot on my ear. We had the special soap (Zenfel) with us on the trail, but the wash requires water/shower which we hadn't had access up until this time.

Crashed about 9pm...exhausted, but content in our home away from home.

June 5th - Near Camp Glenwood to North Fork Ranger Station

2009-06-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

It was one of those mornings that is hard to get up - knowing that your sleeping bag is warm and cozy and the weather outside is not so great. It looked like it was going to be a wet, cold day. We tried to count our blessings that at least it wasn't the heat that we would be battling with today. In actuality, we were in our element - the weather was similar to Washington weather, so at least we knew how to handle it.

The entire day was spent walking through low clouds, fog, and drizzle. It was damp and cool. I don't think our rain jackets came off the entire day. We didn't take a single picture today since you couldn't see a thing in the fog. I am sure we were walking through beautiful country, but we couldn't see it. Ran into some Japanese tourists who thought we were quite the sight in our bright yellow rain jackets and navy blue rain skirts. I am sure they had seen nothing like it before. They even took our picture. ha!

We stayed warm when walking, but chilled at breaks. This made for short breaks...and amazingly it made it easy to bank up the miles. Had lunch in front of a privy at the Mill Creek trailhead since it was the only shelter we could find out of the rain. Glenn rolled in and we were able to visit for a while with him.

We both had a secret desire to try for 35 miles for the day - in order to get to the North Fork Ranger Station and water at the end of the day. It was a large task, but ended up not being so bad due to the cool weather. Unfortunately, my legs were still tired from our 32 mile day the day before...and eventually my right quadricep muscle started to whine. I thought I was in shape before, but this thru-hiking thing takes endurance to a whole other level. It's like running 50k ultra marathons - back-to-back days with no recovery time. The last 5 miles into the ranger station were rough - the steep up and down hills were the worst since I just did not have power or control in my right leg. Tom did a great job encouraging me...and somehow we eventually hobbled into the ranger station. With a big mileage day today, it will make for an easier 18 mile stroll into Agua Dulce...and more time for relaxing.

June 4th - Jackson Flats Campground to near Glenwood Camp

2009-06-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

Fortunately, the storm died down overnight and we woke to partly blue skies. We were thrilled since we knew that we had Mt. Baden-Powell to climb first thing. We were still a little unsure of the weather, so we wanted to get up and down the mountain as soon as possible in case additional storms decided to brew. We felt well rested after a relatively easy day the previous day.

The weather was cool and progressively got colder and windier the higher up we climbed on Mt. Baden-Powell. We kept a fairly steady pace up the endless switchbacks, occasionally with a huff and puff from me as I tried to maximize oxygen. For some reason, I could feel the thinner air - especially after taking of water. Still haven't mastered breathing while drinking. Tom doesn't get it (and I'm sure no one else does either).

We made it to the top of Mt. Baden-Powell by 8:00am. Took the obligatory summit photos and got the heck out of dodge - before we froze to death in the below freezing wind chill.

The rest of the day passed by quickly. With the cooler temps the miles flew by. The trail was scenic - frequently crossing Hwy 2 back and forth as it zig zagged across the mountains. We saw lots of fire trucks driving along the highway and stopped at turnouts. We stopped one of the fireman and asked about forest fires. They said there were several small fires that had been started by lightening strikes in the previous day, but they were all under control and no where near the PCT. We had a 3 mile road walk detour due to part of the trail being closed to help protect the yellow-legged mountain frog.

Had an early dinner at Buckhorn C.G. with lovely spigots of fresh water. Tom had mentioned the previous day that he had been itching a lot on his back and was afraid he had come down with poison oak. Sure enough, his back was covered with nasty red bumps. Luckily, we had bought some Zenfel in Big Bear so we used the water from the spigot to help lather up the paste and wash away the toxins. Our fingers were crossed that it would help.

We continued on down the trail after dinner in a mindless wander. We came around a slight bend in the trail and I saw a small, brown, furry creature scuttle up a tree. My first thought was "bear!", but then I thought, nah, that was too small for a bear. But quickly a much larger, furry brown creature came across the trail. Momma Bear wasn't too happy to encounter us, but gave a quick stare down and followed her little cub up the tree as well. It was my first momma/cub bear experience...and the first time I had seen 2 bears scurry up a tree. I was in awe, but Tom was in protective ranger mode. He did the proper hollering and slowly backing away. Obviously, the bears weren't going any where, and since the tree was right next to the trail, we needed to find another route. The trail was quite steep and brushy, so bushwhacking was not the optimal choice. We looked at our maps to try to find another option. As fate would have it, there was a jeep road that we had just passed and it ended up meeting up with the trail just a mile away. So, we safely evaded the bears via the jeep road...without much of a detour.

Made our hoped 30 miles for the night (plus 2 additional reroute miles) - settling down near what appeared to be a sledding hill in the winter (due to all the plastic sled carcasses littering the field).

June 3rd - Ridge to Jackson Flats Campground

2009-06-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 2:45am to thunder. Crap! We were cowboy camping on a ridge. I woke up Tom and we frantically packed up. It started hailing and the thunder and lightening was right on top of it. We stumbled around - trying to figure out where to go. We were in a really exposed area with steep terrain. It was difficult enough to find a flat place to camp - never mind trying to find somewhere with decent cover. We ended up going down the trail about 1/4 of a mile and buried ourselves in a bush on the trail. Tom rigged the shelter up on the bush/tree in order to keep us dry. It actually worked quite nice and we stayed warm enough to get some extra zzzz's.

Woke up about 7am to Kobie and Tom stumbling past our make-shift shelter on the trail. They had been awoken by the storm and were hurrying to bail out at Wrightwood. It was hard to take down our dry shelter and hit the cold trail again, but we knew we had to keep moving. Unfortunately, as soon as we had finished packing up and we hit the trail, another round of the storm hit - with lightening, thunder, wind, and hail. The hail pelting us in the face with wind power was enough to stop me in my tracks. We found another bush to bury ourselves in. We waited another hour or so. The storm appeared to pass again and we headed on our way. Made it several miles and then another round of the storm hit.

There were big black clouds like I had never seen before surrounding us. We knew what to expect - more lightening/thunder and hail. We happened to be walking by some ski lifts and spotted a ski lodge. It was all boarded up, but offered at least some shelter from the hail and a little protection from the lightening. We stayed under the deck of the ski lodge for several hours - the storm clouds ever changing, but not going away..

As the afternoon grew on, we became antsy to hit the trail even though the hail, lightening, and thunder were still present. We dodged the lightening for awhile - eventually making it about 5 miles down the trail to Jackson Flats Campground. We didn't want to go further since Mt. Baden-Powell was coming up next. At 9000 feet and the tallest thing around, the storms seemed to be hitting Baden-Powell the worst. Although we only got 15 miles total for the day, we were glad to be in a sheltered place with water.

June 2nd - Cajon Pass to Ridge

2009-06-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

Slept in this morning, luxuriating in our deluxe accommodations (ie: comfy bed, clean clothes, and freshly bathed). Decided to try out the hotel hot tub which was fantastic. Such a treat. Felt good on our sore, stiff muscles. Then pigged out at the hotel continental breakfast - I think I had one of everything. Eventually packed up just in time to make the hotel check-out deadline.

Walked to the Chevron and worked on re-supplying for our next leg of the trip. The Chevron was definitely our most difficult resupply thus far with limited options - particularly for dinner food. Ended up with Ramen and Jerky for dinner. Tom has been teaching me a thing or two on food choices. My food bag is always so huge - so I need to work on decreasing the weight and bulk of my food. In real life I would never eat beef jerky, but it's a great protein to throw into dinners instead of the pouches of chicken I used to carry. He also introduced me to .....100 bars. There a meal replacement bar that packs 400 calories and something like 23 grams of protein. Gives me at least 2 hours of energy and takes a lot less time to eat than other bars plus cereal. Peanut Butter Caramel Crunch is our favorite flavor thus far. We look forward to eating them every morning.

Went to McDonalds again for lunch. Ran into Kobie, Tom, and Spencer who just came off the trail. Good to see the guys again and have company over lunch. After lunch, we headed back on the trail. The day was cloudy and breezy so we were able to head out about 1pm. We had a big climb ahead of us. Originally I was worried about the heat and lack of water. Luckily, there was a stocked water cache along the way and with the cooler temps, we made it just fine. Had dinner with Spencer and then continued on our way - goal was to make 15 miles for the night. Unfortunately, since we were on a ridge, there were not many flat places to camp. We finally ended up finding a small bulldozed area. Tom worked his magic and made the bulldozed tracks sleeping bag friendly by putting our food bags in the deep grooves. I was skeptical at first, but it ended up being the most comfy place - the dirt seemed to fit our bodies just perfectly. We both quickly fell into a deep snooze.