Day 16 5-28-09 Interstate 15 28 miles 342 trip miles-
Wow! Two percentage days in a row! Hit some trail magic in the morning and than had a great afternoon siesta under a shade tree- in grass! It was so soft and comfy. The walking went well all afternoon so I made it the whole way to Interstate 15 before sunset. Stopped in at McDonald's for dinner and am now camped outside nearby so that I can stop for breakfast in the morning too!
Day 25 6-6-09 near Oak Creek Canyon 26 miles 552 trip miles-
Another long day. This desert has been cold for me instead of hot. Its also been wet. Very strange. So I was already low on food and then I realized that my resupply road is actually 8 miles further north than I had planned! That meant that today was a hungry day and I only have 3 bars and one jollyrancher for 14 miles of hiking tomorrow. YIKES!! Better get some sleep...
Day 34 6-15-09 Kern River 14 miles 717 trip miles-
Woke up and ate half of a box of grahm crackers with some coffee. Then I had some ramen noodles with another coffee. Then I ate an apple. After that I enjoyed 2 cheeseburgers with my third cup of coffee. This was follwed with a pint of Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar ice cream. Now I was ready to go hiking!
While hiking 14 miles and climbing 2,ooo ft I ate an apple, banana, pack of chedder cheese crackers, two small bags of chips, two snickers bars, and a mountain house dinner with rice added.
The hike was great, we topped out at 8,400 ft and am now camping at 7,800 ft. It should be a nice cool evening with a moderatly loud river running by me!
Day 43 6-24-09 Middle Fork 22 miles 911 trip miles-
A big climb in the morning followed by a long easy descent to hot food! I made it 18 miles to Reds Meadows by 12:30. 205 miles in 9.5 days without leaving the trail! Amazing- simply amazing! Climbing over snowy mountain passes, fording waist high snowmelt rivers, putting on frozen shoes, carrying a three pound bear proof canister, all just to be in the mountains. What a great place! I'm only at 7,800 ft tonight and the bugs are surely out...
Day 68 7-19-09 Fitzhugh Gulch Creek 24 miles 1,478 trip miles-
So I was just trying to fall asleep when I heard something on the slope above me. I yelled and turned on my headlamp to find another rattlesnake by my camp- not 10 yards above me. 3 rattlers in 1 day, wow. It makes me a little uncomfortable, although snake skin does look neat with LED lights shining on them!
Day 76 Grider Creek Campground 31 miles 1,656 trip miles-
Marble Mtn. Wilderness. Wonderful. Best hiking morning ever. Opened my eyes to beautiful red skies this morning, packed up and hit the trail just as the sun came over the horizon. Saw big cat tracks all morning! Really fresh prints too. I know that cat scooted off the trail and watched me walk by. It was so exciting, I wish I could have seen the cat, at least a glimpse. Bernie and Stacey caught up to me by mid morning and told me that they had seen a bear as well as the cat tracks.
What an exciting wilderness! Sub alpine meadows blooming with flowers: angelica, paintbrush, purple and yellow daiseys, tiger lilies, johnny's shooting stars, and many more that I couldn't identify. Above me were rock cliffs and below me were mountain lakes. In the distance was Mt. Shasta. Oh yeah, walked through a small wildfire this morning too. What a crazy day!
The last 14 miles of the day was a 5,000 ft descent along some really nice creeks. It seemed long, but when I got here some equestrians fed me scrambled eggs, oj, and sausage. I was also able to soak my legs tonight. What a refreshment. But now its really late and I need some rest so that I can discover more of this crazy world tomorrow.
Day 84 8-4-09 Thielsen Creek 28 miles 1,861 trip miles-
192 miles in one week! Wow! Ate breakfast at Rim Village, walked around Crater Lake, hung out with some trail crew kids, and walked around a smokey Mt. Thielsen. Now I am tired...
Day 98 8-18-09 Panther Creek 26 miles 2,191 trip miles-
Did some real hiking again today. Ups and downs, hard and hot, fun. Hung out with some bear hunters for a while and also met Lint. Ate a bunch of huckleberries again today too. Damn, I love those treats!
Day 109 8-28-09 north of Trap Lake 27 miles 2,466 trip miles-
Another great day. This trail is magical! The North Cascades are amazing! Walked up to and around Cathedral Peak today and then did a couple more passes after that. Slept in, chatted with a bunch of folks throughout the day, had a long and hot lunch break, walked 27 miles, ate dinner, and its still not quite dark outside! What a great trail! Less than 200 miles left- it will be hard to leave such a spectacular trail.
Day 118 9-7-09 Manning Park 29 miles 2,664 trip miles-
Woke up cold overnight and decided to go walking in order to warm up. It was snowing and the moon was up so it was pretty bright anyway. Probably started walking around 5 AM and made it to this park by about 3:30 PM. Snow, rain, and cold wind kept me from taking any real breaks, so the day went by quickly. The snow was fun, an owl saw me off to the border, and the 8 mile approach trail was easy. Quite anticlimatic though. This lodge is basically a summer tourist rest stop so its strange being around all of these 'civilians'. Finishing the trail was more saddening than exciting.
Wow! Two percentage days in a row! Hit some trail magic in the morning and than had a great afternoon siesta under a shade tree- in grass! It was so soft and comfy. The walking went well all afternoon so I made it the whole way to Interstate 15 before sunset. Stopped in at McDonald's for dinner and am now camped outside nearby so that I can stop for breakfast in the morning too!
Day 25 6-6-09 near Oak Creek Canyon 26 miles 552 trip miles-
Another long day. This desert has been cold for me instead of hot. Its also been wet. Very strange. So I was already low on food and then I realized that my resupply road is actually 8 miles further north than I had planned! That meant that today was a hungry day and I only have 3 bars and one jollyrancher for 14 miles of hiking tomorrow. YIKES!! Better get some sleep...
Day 34 6-15-09 Kern River 14 miles 717 trip miles-
Woke up and ate half of a box of grahm crackers with some coffee. Then I had some ramen noodles with another coffee. Then I ate an apple. After that I enjoyed 2 cheeseburgers with my third cup of coffee. This was follwed with a pint of Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar ice cream. Now I was ready to go hiking!
While hiking 14 miles and climbing 2,ooo ft I ate an apple, banana, pack of chedder cheese crackers, two small bags of chips, two snickers bars, and a mountain house dinner with rice added.
The hike was great, we topped out at 8,400 ft and am now camping at 7,800 ft. It should be a nice cool evening with a moderatly loud river running by me!
Day 43 6-24-09 Middle Fork 22 miles 911 trip miles-
A big climb in the morning followed by a long easy descent to hot food! I made it 18 miles to Reds Meadows by 12:30. 205 miles in 9.5 days without leaving the trail! Amazing- simply amazing! Climbing over snowy mountain passes, fording waist high snowmelt rivers, putting on frozen shoes, carrying a three pound bear proof canister, all just to be in the mountains. What a great place! I'm only at 7,800 ft tonight and the bugs are surely out...
Day 68 7-19-09 Fitzhugh Gulch Creek 24 miles 1,478 trip miles-
So I was just trying to fall asleep when I heard something on the slope above me. I yelled and turned on my headlamp to find another rattlesnake by my camp- not 10 yards above me. 3 rattlers in 1 day, wow. It makes me a little uncomfortable, although snake skin does look neat with LED lights shining on them!
Day 76 Grider Creek Campground 31 miles 1,656 trip miles-
Marble Mtn. Wilderness. Wonderful. Best hiking morning ever. Opened my eyes to beautiful red skies this morning, packed up and hit the trail just as the sun came over the horizon. Saw big cat tracks all morning! Really fresh prints too. I know that cat scooted off the trail and watched me walk by. It was so exciting, I wish I could have seen the cat, at least a glimpse. Bernie and Stacey caught up to me by mid morning and told me that they had seen a bear as well as the cat tracks.
What an exciting wilderness! Sub alpine meadows blooming with flowers: angelica, paintbrush, purple and yellow daiseys, tiger lilies, johnny's shooting stars, and many more that I couldn't identify. Above me were rock cliffs and below me were mountain lakes. In the distance was Mt. Shasta. Oh yeah, walked through a small wildfire this morning too. What a crazy day!
The last 14 miles of the day was a 5,000 ft descent along some really nice creeks. It seemed long, but when I got here some equestrians fed me scrambled eggs, oj, and sausage. I was also able to soak my legs tonight. What a refreshment. But now its really late and I need some rest so that I can discover more of this crazy world tomorrow.
Day 84 8-4-09 Thielsen Creek 28 miles 1,861 trip miles-
192 miles in one week! Wow! Ate breakfast at Rim Village, walked around Crater Lake, hung out with some trail crew kids, and walked around a smokey Mt. Thielsen. Now I am tired...
Day 98 8-18-09 Panther Creek 26 miles 2,191 trip miles-
Did some real hiking again today. Ups and downs, hard and hot, fun. Hung out with some bear hunters for a while and also met Lint. Ate a bunch of huckleberries again today too. Damn, I love those treats!
Day 109 8-28-09 north of Trap Lake 27 miles 2,466 trip miles-
Another great day. This trail is magical! The North Cascades are amazing! Walked up to and around Cathedral Peak today and then did a couple more passes after that. Slept in, chatted with a bunch of folks throughout the day, had a long and hot lunch break, walked 27 miles, ate dinner, and its still not quite dark outside! What a great trail! Less than 200 miles left- it will be hard to leave such a spectacular trail.
Day 118 9-7-09 Manning Park 29 miles 2,664 trip miles-
Woke up cold overnight and decided to go walking in order to warm up. It was snowing and the moon was up so it was pretty bright anyway. Probably started walking around 5 AM and made it to this park by about 3:30 PM. Snow, rain, and cold wind kept me from taking any real breaks, so the day went by quickly. The snow was fun, an owl saw me off to the border, and the 8 mile approach trail was easy. Quite anticlimatic though. This lodge is basically a summer tourist rest stop so its strange being around all of these 'civilians'. Finishing the trail was more saddening than exciting.
