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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 1, 2011 - 11:49pm PT
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It has been suggested that a series of trip reports that I have been posting on the Pinnacles Web Forum might be of interest here. So in this thread I'm posting the latest of many trip reports I have made covering my family's adventures hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, from Mexico to Canada in consecutive pieces.
Because this isn't the first of these trip reports (that report is now three years old), and because the reports are written for an audience that knows me and my girls, it is probably helpful to start with a brief introduction.
The report below (like all of them) is mostly photos.
The people involved are:
-Brad (Dad, me),
-Vicki (Wife, Mom, Heaven-Sent Angel),
-Katie (oldest daughter, now 15 years old),
-Tricia (youngest daughter, just turned 9 years old),
-Dogs Madeleine and Charlotte (yes, they're "people" too).
We started hiking the trail on April 2, 2007, the day after Tricia turned five. Knowing we couldn't do it as one "through-hike," we've been doing it in consecutive pieces, a week or so at a time. My wife doesn't wish to do the hiking and so she's been our companion and driver. Most of our hikes have been day hikes; my wife will drop us off (often hiking a ways with us first) and then pick us up at the end of the day. We usually set up one, central car-camping location for each trip. We've hiked up to 20.3 miles at a time in a single day, and for the few hikes longer than that (so far) we've backpacked (yes, even at age seven Tricia hiked 19 miles in one day and 20 in another).
This trip report covers this just-passed Memorial weekend. We backpacked three days, starting at Highway 58/Tehachapi Pass and continuing north.
Saturday, May 28:
Right after our April hikes I started to wonder about the next leg north from Highway 58. The temperatures we experienced then, combined with repeated entries in the guidebook about heat, were cause for concern. Very sporadic water sources for the next 35 miles of trail added to the mix. So, after that last trip, hoping for cooler weather, I suggested a three-day backpack to Jawbone Canyon Road over Memorial weekend (instead of waiting for our June trip).
It worked. To say the least we got cooler weather.
We drove to Tehachapi Saturday, intending to start hiking in the late afternoon. Our plan was to start late, leaving enough time to climb the long switchbacks from Highway 58 while avoiding the afternoon heat and direct sunshine. We stuck with "the plan" even though temperatures were predicted to be 15 to 20 degrees lower than average for Tehachapi in May. By the way, the prediction also included the phrase “windy.”
We started hiking from the Cameron Road overpass at 3:30 in the afternoon. The trail parallels the highway for the first mile, so, as we hiked we saw Vicki drive east on Highway 58, heading for her sister's house near L.A. for the weekend:
We hiked downwind at first, so what was blowing only felt like a strong breeze. After the first mile, the trail diverged slightly north and started uphill. Soon the uphill got significant. Then the switchbacks started:
After a few long switchbacks, the wind changed from a strong breeze to serious gusts. More uphill followed, which the guidebook describes as: “a long, tight series of switchbacks that on the map resemble a recorded earthquake on a seismograph.”
But these switchbacks are only tough. So far, neither the uphill nor the heat are problems; instead it is the wind that almost stops us. The wind was significant when we started. We feel it more and more as we move up. The higher we get, the more exposed we become. Finally it's really, really blowing, even affecting our balance:
Eventually we top out on a ridge, more than halfway through our hike. Here the wind becomes outrageous, like nothing I've EVER experienced. We're getting knocked off balance and fighting to walk where the trail goes into the wind. Then Katie gets decked by the wind; literally she's knocked to the ground. She gets up and hikes on. Then Tricia gets knocked over. When they're not getting knocked over the girls are struggling to hike, being blown off the trail and fighting to make progress:
Here's Katie fighting to get back on the trail after repeatedly getting blown off balance and forced downwind:
We get some relief where the trail passes behind summits. But this also highlights the portions where we're exposed to the wind's full fury. Katie in particular is fighting; with a full-size backpack, she's as big as a sail, but weighs nothing. At one point I try to help her keep in balance by grabbing her pack. But the slight change in my balance does me in; Katie is knocked over anyway, and I go down too, right onto her. This is crazy.
After nearly a mile of literally fighting to hike we see forested parts of the ridge ahead only a few hundred more yards. Surely the trees will provide some shelter? But the wind seems to sense our hope; it increases again. I have no idea what to do. Each girl is knocked down again and then again. What can we do? I press them and encourage: the trees are ahead, keep fighting (no more pictures, the situation was getting too far out of control for them).
Finally, we reach a copse of snarled, bent junipers (bent with the wind). And there's a tent! And a hiker. And relief, a strong wind is all that makes it through a 100 foot distance of trees. It howls above us, but we can breath. The girls collapse at the base of a trunk. Our fellow PCT hiker is "blown away" too. Wow.
After regrouping we decide that ahead must be similar groups of trees. We talk with our new friend for a while, but it's getting late and we press on, more sheltered now. After another half a mile we find a similar, downwind flat spot and set up the tent. Cooking outside is out of the question, but our new, three person tent has plenty of room:
And that's it for day one. If I never, ever have to hike in wind like that again, it won't be too long.
Next up, day two and a lesson about weather reports. We all rely on them, but can we?
Sunday, May 29:
Two days before we left the predicted weather for the Tehachapi area was 0% chance of precipitation. And that was 0% for the two days before we left, all the three days we were out, and for two days afterward. Then, the (Saturday) morning we left, the prediction for Sunday was up to 20% chance of precipitation. That seemed totally reasonable and so we went for it.
After howling winds all night (thank goodness for foam earplugs), this is what we woke up to Sunday morning:
Being modern travelers, and knowing we had a near line of sight to Tehachapi (and therefore phone reception), we texted Vicki for a detailed weather report. Shortly she texted back "clearing in two hours." Cool. Onward we'll go.
The wind blew and it was cold. But there's always a silver lining. In getting ready to hike we didn't have to waste time taking off our long, Capalene underwear. Instead we just added layers:
True to the prediction, we saw the sun. For about ten minutes:
Then, more wind, and, bonus, liquid sunshine (in frozen form):
Finally, after ten miles the weather began to clear some. Not until early evening did it completely stop spitting. During one "clearer" spell we came to Golden Oak Spring, the first water in 16 miles (and the last for 18 more). Two decades ago the BLM piped the spring and placed a catch-basin (this has resulted in year-round reliable water and in massively reduced damage to the moist soils around the area - good job BLM):
After refilling our water bottles we continued. Our goal was to greatly reduce the remaining 18.2 miles from this spring to Jawbone Canyon Road (where Vicki was to pick us up). As we continued north, we entered extensive windmill farms. More critically, from the perspective of rock climbers, we passed the north side of Cache Peak which has many, many, 80 to 100 foot-high, steep cliffs (of an unknown type of rock):
As we continued we developed a goal of 6.5 more miles. This would leave us with less than 12 miles to hike the next day. And, according to the book, at 6.5 miles past Golden Oak Spring there was a cattle fence with a green gate. This landmark would tell us exactly how far along we were, a type of knowledge that helps the morale. But, as the day wore on, tired feet and legs started to demand relief. On we hiked, but no green gate. Finally, too pooped to make more effort worth it, we looked for a place to camp. But most of the trail here is on hillsides; there are no flat spots. On we continued until, finally, I noticed that the trail itself was wide and flat enough that we could pitch the tent. Enough. We stopped for the day at 16 miles from where we started (it turned out we were less than half a mile from the green gate):
In the remaining daylight we cooked and ate and rested. By now the skies were definitely clearing and the wind was down. The night was nice and restful.
Up next: A warmer day with almost enough water and lots and lots of natural beauty.
Monday, May 30:
We woke up on the third day to clear skies. As is common, the at first very strange, nearly-on-the-trail site we'd chosen for camp had become home overnight:
Our hike continued with ups and downs, although there was a little more up than down. Brush gave way to live oaks and pines:
One hot section of uphill made us realize that our water supply was a little tenuous. We had plenty for meals at camp, but by the time we started hiking we were down to two liters for three people and a dog, with 12 miles to go to the next spring and temps getting back toward normal. There was one particular tough spot, not even halfway along for the day, on a hot, exposed section that was steep (by PCT standards) uphill.
Then we turned a corner and it was almost as if day had turned to night. Within 100 yards we were in shade, black oaks and ponderosa pines and even tiny residuals of snow (we gave pinches of this to Charlotte to help with thirst).
This was a beautiful forest, and it grew in a way I hadn't seen before: the pines provided shade and the forest floor was pure, dense miner's lettuce:
We almost ran two quick miles of shady, downhill to reach a perfect lunch spot at Hamp Williams Pass (who names these things? I searched the internet for the origin of this name, but found nothing):
More ups and downs followed, including two long, hot slogs uphill, but we were closing in now:
Then, up one last up section, past another spring (Robin Bird Spring, this one piped/protected by the Forest Service) and around a corner, and there she is, Vicki, on time, waiting to pick us up. And not just her, she's shown up with cold drinks, sandwiches and donuts. These are, in part, for us. She has plenty of extras though because we expect to, and do, see many through-hikers (who were just one mile past 600 miles from the Mexican Border by this point, nearly one fourth of the way to Canada). We eventually shared with four through-hikers (including the man who we'd seen in the tent, sheltering from the wind on day one). It's fun to see eyes get really big as a fresh-food deprived hiker realizes that, yes, we did bring extra just so we could share:
After we dropped packs we walked 50 feet into the next hike (we've done this after every single hike; it insures overlap and, thereby, that we've done every single step from Mexico north):
That's it until mid June coming up. We're now 601.4 miles from the Mexican Border.
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miwuksurfer
Social climber
Mi-Wuk
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Hey Brad, great to see you guys are getting out. Liz is just outside Tehachapi on her thru-hike as I type this. I've been able to do a hundred miles or so with her so far.
I'm looking at these trips as warm-ups for my own trip.
Nolan
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Great report! And looks like the kids are having fun.
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Nice to see you got some more dirt beneath your feet.
It has been great following this journey.
Tricia + Katie rule, you on the other hand...:)
Thanks Brad.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Excellent! When you get to Manning Park, let me know and I'll meet you at Windy Joe.
A friend retired a few years ago, and decided to do the PCT S - N with his daughter. He was in his late 50s, she early 20s. Both active folk. He got to somewhere around Whitney before conking out with what turned out to be giardia, but she continued.
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apogee
climber
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I through-hiked the PCT in the late 80's...it was a very different experience from what it is today. Doing it with your kids is about the coolest, most formative experience I can imagine. You are a very fortunate family.
"..who names these things? I searched the internet for the origin of this name, but found nothing"
Here's a really cool book: 'Place Names of the Sierra Nevada' Not really relevant to the section you were hiking, but for Sierra-specific queries, it's a great book. It's a reference guide that will fill you in on the background of hundreds of trails, peaks, passes, etc throughout the Sierra.
http://www.amazon.com/Place-Names-Sierra-Nevada-Zumwalt/dp/0899971199/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306991862&sr=8-1
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10b4me
Ice climber
Happy Boulders
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this is a really cool tr
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labrat
Trad climber
Nevada City, CA
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Nice! Really enjoyed your report ;-)
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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What a refreshing Trip Report. I didn't even know there was a coastal trail. Another retirement project!
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jan, it's a crest trail, not a coastal trail. Following more or less the Pacific crest, from the US' southern to northern boundary. The height of land/watershed on the western side of the continent. A lot of it is on the east side of California, through the Sierra Nevada, then trending a bit west as it links into the mountains of central Oregon and west central Washington, some the latter of which might be thought of as coast ranges.
There are three such trails in the US, anyway, the Pacific Crest, one on the continental divide, and the Appalachian Trail. Probably lots on the web about all of them. In Canada, our trails go east to west, due to geography. If you go north, you hit rough country pretty quickly. (If you travel NNW from Vancouver, you cross five or six regularly travelled roads before hitting the Arctic Ocean.) So we have a Centennial Trail, which was intended as a cross-Canada hiking trail from 1967. It was never really finished. Plus a "Trans-Canada Trail" started in 1992, also never really finished, but more of a road than a trail.
It would be geographically possible to have a trail that followed the coastal mountains and hills from California to Washington, ending in the Olympics.
The original trans-Canada trail was and is of course the canoe routes starting at Montreal, and eventually (1792) used by Alexander Mackenzie to reach the Pacific - the first European crossing north of Mexico. Not counting Samuel Hearne's journey to the Arctic Ocean some time earlier.
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BMcC
Trad climber
Livermore
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Brad -
Thanks for sharing. Looks like you and your daughters having a memorably excellent and very special family adventure!
Am looking forward to more pics and your story on the next leg of your hike.
Bill
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2011 - 09:57am PT
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It's been a lot of fun, this craziness we've been doing. I've been climbing for nearly 30 years (you know, big and tough and all) and am almost embarrassed how much absolute, total fun I'm having "just hiking" (almost embarrassed isn't actually embarrassed though).
And the girls are having fun too, although I'm not sure they are ready to run out right now for more. On the other hand you should hear how they talk with their friends about it (when they do). Katie has a boy she talks to a lot. He's a junior (a year farther along than she is). He's commented to her about hiking harder than she can. With total conviction she tells us that she will take him hiking this summer, and that that will be the last time we hear about him out-hiking her.
Nolan, we are going back the week of June 11th. We'll start at Jawbone Canyon Road and work our way to Kennedy Meadows store. It would be wonderful to run into Liz, or to you and Liz (on the trail, or in camp). Can you find out about where she'll be then?
Apogee, I've got the Place Names of the Sierra Nevada book and I love it. I wish there was a similar book for other mountain ranges. So many place names must have fascinating stories behind them.
Another feature that's stuck out is a ridge near the trail in San Diego County: "Bucksnort Mountain." I mean really, who does name these things?
Tami, you're famous and I can't believe you're commenting here ( :) ). Are your two both girls or are they threats (er, I mean, uh, boys)?
Although I didn't do trip reports for our first three times out, there are ten more trip reports on the Mudn'Crud site (for anyone who's got the time). Each is mostly photos with a little commentary. All contain the phrase "PCT" in them and, so, are obvious. Here's a link to the correct part of that site:
http://www.mudncrud.com/forums/index.php?board=2.0
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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super cool, Brad and girls;.....crush it....(Seeing all those pics of hiking makes me hungry;...I need a cheeseburger...). I would love to do some backpacking with my kids soon;...they are still too young.....600 miles and heading north......good for you guys!
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msiddens
Trad climber
Mountain View
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Love these Brad and thanks for cross posting.
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seth kovar
climber
Reno, NV
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Really Cool!!!!!!!!
Thanks for posting up...
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2011 - 11:57am PT
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Todd, you might be surprised at what your boys could do backpacking.
To start with, each of your boys has more energy now than you'll ever have on any day of your life. You know this.
Getting kids hiking isn't about energy, it's about focus. With my Tricia I started with a very focused little girl. She's also been very determined to keep up with her sister, who's 6 years older than she is. So she's been a natural. Two days after she turned 5 she did an 11 mile hike (that was an exception then, every hike shouldn't push the limits; in fact most shouldn't push them).
To get them focused, try a short overnighter (two to three miles in and then out the next day). Go somewhere they'll be excited about (water! kids love water, find a lake to backpack into). Make it a goal and find interesting things to keep them going ("look, way up there on the trail, that rock looks like an elephant"). Get your older son to help lead. Once you get where you're going let them go wild; they've done the "work" for the day.
You'll go crazy with the planning and the logistics, but tough crap for you. You'll look back on it fondly and the boys will be that much more ready for another trip.
BTW, I just finished a cheeseburger for breakfast.
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Gene
climber
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^^^ +1 ^^^
Good advice.
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scuffy b
climber
dissected alluvial deposits, late Pleistocene
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A great report, Brad, and obviously great planning
and execution.
Thanks for sharing over here.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2011 - 12:48pm PT
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Oh, and Todd, one more suggestion. Try using a little bribery ( I use only a little, I try hard to not get carried away).
As an example, this last trip, the one that is the subject of the trip report, was an "extra" trip that I suggested off the cuff. The girls weren't thrilled at another trip right after Spring break and before an already-planned week in June. So I traded them. Three days on the trail for...
Well, let's get it out in the open. Me, a big tough veteran of 5.11 leads; nights and nights and nights on El Cap; leader of A4 pitches... in two months I'm going to a Taylor Swift concert with the girls.
(And I plan on having a great time).
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RocaLibre
Trad climber
Mexico City, Mx
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Great inspiration!
I have a 2 year old little girl and can`t wait to take her on longer hikes.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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nice.
cant wait for the taylor swift tr
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Joe
Social climber
Santa Cruz
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I thought you were taking me to Taylor Swift???
WTF?
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Karen
Trad climber
So Cal urban sprawl Hell
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This is so cool and will make for great family memories. Keep posting up, these are my favorite TR's, thanks!
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Brad-
Mandatory Taylor Swift TR.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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I still laugh at the idea of a Taylor Swift concert + Brad.
Get the girls to take pics of you dancing in the aisles.
HOOOT for sure!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2011 - 04:09pm PT
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Man, the pressure's on now. A Tayor Swift trip report? I'll work on it. I know I'm kinda old for her music, but on the other hand, it is pretty catchy stuff...
Joe, it's kinda been expected that you'll go with us to the concert. I just didn't want to make that public for fear of embarassing you. (Mandatory Frisbee session with T-Girl before the concert!).
Mighty Hiker, I've read many, many of your posts on this site. I think it would be great to meet you some day. And, given how long it will be until we make it to Washington (if we make it to Washington), it will indeed be "someday." If/when we get there, we'll certainly take you up on your offer of hospitality.
And, eKat, now and then you use the letters "TFPU" in your posts. Not to display my ignorance, but... what does that stand for?
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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TFPU = Thanks For Posting Up
An eKat original.
By the way, great TR. Good on ya. These trips will live with your daughters forever.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2011 - 04:23pm PT
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Thanks John. I've seen those letters in her posts for months, and tried and tried to sound them out. Now, of course, it's perfectly obvious what they mean.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Wow.. thanks for sharing this. What a great adventure.
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msiddens
Trad climber
Mountain View
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Brad-
Taylor Swift...you are getting off easy. All that hiking for a few hours of musac.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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A Tayor Swift trip report? I'll work on it.
Just don't be outing the SuperTopians you meet there, eh? I hear that Weld_It is a big Taylor Swift fan, and that's just for starters.
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nutjob
Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
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mtnyoung, I'm inspired!
I've been struggling with how to share the outdoor experience with my kids... my 7 yr old daughter is into it but 9 yr old son is pretty moody/inconsistent. He has fun when we do it, until he gets tired, and lately he has lost enthusiasm for outdoor activities.
Our most active trip so far was a day-hike in Pinnacles around the reservoir and high peaks loop, and then from west side to balconies/caves the next day. We've done Lembert Dome (but I carried my daughter much of the way when she was 5) and some other short explorations, but no overnight backpacking yet.
I'm latching onto the bribe/trade concept to get more buy-in.
Edit: Here's a link to our biggest camping adventure from 2 summers ago:
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/TR-8-days-in-Tuolumne-with-the-kids-Aug-2009/t215n.html
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euro-brief-guy
Boulder climber
Auburn, ca
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Brad,
Don't know if Dawson told you but while you were hiking we got rained out climbing at Donnell reservoir.......fun times.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Pretty inspiring outing for the family-types.
Looks like good family fun.
EDIT: The Pacific Crest Trail through Edison Lake would be super-fun too!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2011 - 08:36pm PT
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Nutjob, your kids look like they're having fun. I hope they like the Pinns (when you go there) as much as my girls do. Now that's a great place for taking kids.
Eurobrief, you asked: "Don't know if Dawson told you but while you were hiking we got rained out climbing at Donnell reservoir.......fun times."
Yep, I got the whole report. It was kinda tough leaving for the weekend when everyone was here to climb, but I guess being torn between two things you love to do is better than having none to do at all! Turns out that we only missed out on a little climbing.
And, BTW, huge congratulations to you and Jenn on the upcoming son or daughter (do you know which yet?). You are about to start learning how wonderful this parenthood thing can be.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Oh I mis-read. I thought you did the JMT, not the PCT. Shame on me!
I'd be more interested into really spending some time on certain parts of the PCT, Namely where it drops into/passes Edison Lake. Really cool area.
Maybe spend some days there alone. And they do have the general store there to re-supply. On the other side of the lake.
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Omot
Trad climber
The here and now
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Hey Brad,
Thanks for posting this great TR. I will have Aspen look at it for sure. She's had zero interest in hiking until this spring. Now we do short hikes around La Honda, at her insistence, and she wants to do a real backpack trip this summer! Thanks for the inspiration.
Enjoy,
Tom
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Beacon Rock is essentially right next to where the PCT crosses the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. If you ever walk that stretch you should stop by and get some pitches in.
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rockermike
Trad climber
Berkeley
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now that's the life; In my book hiking with daughter(s) beats first accents on high mountains any day.
My daughter (21 now) has been away at college for some years. She promises to come back for visit this July and we're thinking about climbing the east face of Whitney. (Royal Arches was our last get together, before she went East) Hope it works out. Photos will follow.
TFPU
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 10, 2011 - 11:33pm PT
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We're leaving early tomorrow for eight more days of family hiking, camping and backpacking. The plan is to hike seven out of eight days, totaling 101 more miles on the PCT (to Kennedy Meadows campground, which is around 40 miles south of Mount Whitney).
We'll get to where we get to; I just know this is going to be a lot of fun.
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apogee
climber
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Jun 10, 2011 - 11:37pm PT
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So you are hiking the section through Walker Pass to Kennedy Meadows? Good timing- water should be reasonably plentiful, and temps have been relatively mild this year. Should see lots of thru-hikers, too- or at least the tail-end of the pack. Have a great time, and remember that a TR is mandatory.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 10, 2011 - 11:42pm PT
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Wow, apogee, you know the trail well. Yes, that's exactly where we'll be.
Temps are predicted to be just about perfect for hiking at our elevations (and there are no reports of winds coming, at least not yet).
And we've got lots of extra, fresh supplies to share with through-hikers, which we do expect to see.
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apogee
climber
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Jun 10, 2011 - 11:55pm PT
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When I hiked the PCT (mid/late-80's), the section through the Tehachapis hadn't been completed- there were land ownership issues with the Tejon Ranch that had to be worked out. The PCT dropped down through the Antelope Valley, and for (what seemed like) a thousand miles, you walked along the California Aqueduct. Flat as a board, and boring as hell- every mile (exactly) there was a access hole where you could drop a water bottle on a string down into the aqueduct water- it was horribly chlorinated as it made the trip from the East Side to LA.
At the north end of Antelope Valley, the temporary PCT climbed up into the Scodie Mountains (sp?) through Jawbone Canyon, the mecca of the ORV crowd. That was one of the most miserable sections of the Trail, hiking with a huge pack, hotter than hell, thirsty as dust, with 3 wheelers ripping by you left and right. Travelling through those desert mountains, water was desperately scarce- lots of cattle and sh#t-filled 'springs'. Yellow Jacket Springs & Tunnel Springs, in particular, had disgustingly fetid water- it smelled worse than my socks!
Once past Walker Pass, you really start to feel like the mountains are nigh- hiking through Kennedy Meadows was like hiking through the gates to Nirvana. You knew that, from that point forward, pine trees would escort you all the way to Canada. Ahhhhh......
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 11, 2011 - 01:46am PT
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Apogee: we did that section (south of Highway 58) partly in December, 2010, and especially, last March and April. I hate to say it, but little has changed from your description (yet, a serious re-route is coming because of a recent land deal between the State of California and the Tejon Ranch).
And by "little has changed" I mean right down to weird hiking around the "ranch" borders, hiking the aqueduct, and all the abuse by (irresponsible) dirt bike riders. We actually saw three riders in April tearing holy hell out of the side of a canyon (huge plumes of dirt). The girls were appalled.
The trail is now, at least complete, though. It has a discernible path (well signed) the whole way.
Here's the Mudn'Crud trip report I did in December (it talks about the same Tejon Ranch issues you describe):
http://www.mudncrud.com/forums/index.php?topic=1400.0
And this is the Mudn'Crud trip report that shows all the miles on the aqueduct and through the Tehachapis (which, I suspect, we did in cooler weather than you did since we were earlier in the year):
http://www.mudncrud.com/forums/index.php?topic=1479.0
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apogee
climber
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Jun 11, 2011 - 02:39am PT
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"...but it does my heart good to see that I'm not raising two pansies"
That's the understatement of the year. Your girls are solid iron, with hearts of gold. Pretty hard to come by those kinds of people these days, without a dad like you.
Well done. Hike on!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Jun 11, 2011 - 07:50pm PT
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Wow-great adventure and lucky lucky daughters. What a wonderful inspiration for all. You have to be a proud dad.
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Bad Climber
climber
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Jun 11, 2011 - 10:56pm PT
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Nicely done. So cool that you're taking your kids out--and that they GET it! My wife and I have hiked that section through to Walker Pass. The next year we did Walker Pass to Whitney. Excellent!
BAd
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2011 - 11:18am PT
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We finished our week on the trail late yesterday. It was a fabulous week of great weather, great people, and wonderful wilderness. And laughter. It seems that, as a family, we laughed more than usual this week.
It all went as planned; 101 miles in seven days of hiking. We've now reached Kennedy Meadows (the one in the southern Sierra), and thus the southern Sierra Nevada.
I'm cross-posting below the first three days trip reports from Mudn'Crud. The rest of the reports will follow once I get them prepared.
Oh, and a quick pre-script: for all the fathers out there, happy Father's Day!!
Warning: these are long reports (but they are mostly photos):
June 11, 2011:
We started this trip Saturday, June 11. It was a smooth and practiced start, up at 6:00, drive down the Central Valley and over Tehachapi, and then out Jawbone Canyon Road. We arrived at 2:30 and quickly got ready to start the intended 13.4 mile hike. But first, Katie needed a bit more fuel:
We got going at 2:45; late, but still with plenty of daylight. Here's a photo of us starting past the same place, same sign as where we ended two weeks ago:
Just as we started we ran into a through-hiker heading the same way. The camaraderie between PCT hikers is very strong, possibly even stronger than between climbers. Our new friend, Greg (trail name "Malto" after the 600 plus calories of maltodextrin he was consuming, in addition to his regular food, every day) seemed happy for company. Although he was averaging 30 miles per day, and we offered repeatedly to let him pass, he was quite pleased with the pace Tricia was setting. We hiked together for our entire hike (which was half of his day's hike!):
Hiking doesn't get much easier than this, perfect temperatures, forested trails and, for 90% of the entire hike, slight downhill :
Soon we were six miles along, crossing Piute Mountain Road where we'd fed through-hikers last trip:
Katie signed us in to a trail register:
Then we met Vicki about a mile further, very near where she'd set up camp. We said hellos, made an introduction and had some trail snacks. Vicki and I reviewed the map for the end of the day pickup point:
Soon we were off. Mostly downhill, we were now heading out of the forest and back to the desert; just in the distance after we met Vicki, we lost over 1500 feet of elevation. The flora was changing:
We finished (obviously in the late evening) with two miles of real desert, hiking toward the setting sun, and toward Vicki, waiting on Kelso Valley Road (which can narrowly be seen in the center of the photo, rising from left to right, below the sun/shade line, but above the more obvious slash also rising from left to right):
Then, back to camp at Landers Meadow Primitive Campground (this photo was taken the next morning, since when we got there it was essentially dark):
A very good day. Now, however, we were in the desert. We knew the next day's hike wouldn't be so cool.
June 12, 2011
Since we didn't get to bed Saturday night until after 10:00, we slept in some on Sunday. Then we packed camp to move north. A reconnaissance of meeting and pickup points afterward meant we didn't hit the trail until 11:00.
In desert now, the trail dropped in elevation to Butterbredt Canyon Road, the lowest point we'll see on the PCT for at least 800 more miles. Then gentle uphill under Mayan Peak to meet Vicki for lunch at six miles:
Here's Vicki after the drop-off:
Obviously the girls are desert hiking veterans now:
On this stretch we encountered one hapless young man hiking the opposite direction. He looked worn out. He carried nothing but an empty one-gallon water bottle. He was headed to the road (where "trail angels" periodically replenish a bottled water cache). He'd literally abandoned his tent and camp to go desperately in search of water. We later came across his gear, still set up, right next to the trail (we didn't offer him water since we needed all we had, and he needed to go only another mile and a half to the cache).
Vicki drove out Dove Spring Road to meet us for lunch. She hiked out a mile to meet us:
We took an hour for lunch. The truck provided enough shade. Another nine miles followed, still through desert. Abandoned mines and nice views were the themes. One long, uphill, sunny stretch was pretty darned hot:
Soon we rounded Wyley's Knob and got a view of Bird Spring Pass where Vicki would be waiting:
Note in the last photo, just a glimpse, behind a Joshua Tree: there's a pile of water bottles. As I said, PCT hikers are a close community. Included in the mix are trail angels. They are usually people who've done all or some of the trail and who live near it. They undertake (voluntarily, and at their own cost) to help hikers by leaving water caches at roads, by doing trail maintenance, by posting current conditions. Whatever they can to help (kinda like the people doing rebolting at Pinnacles).
In this case the water cache at Bird Spring Pass included over 75 one gallon water bottles. And of these, only 14 were full:
We then headed down about two miles west on Bird Spring Road to make a peaceful "bandit" camp among pinyon pines in the desert:
Up next: an early start, a gruesome uphill slog, and the most miles yet of any day we've spent on the PCT.
June 13, 2011
Last night we camped just west of Bird Spring Pass. It's 20.6 miles from there to Walker Pass on Highway 178, with two reliable water sources along the way. So we decided on a day hike, starting early (with a teenager that means, in this case, hiking by 8:30 A.M.). Just as we got out of the car, two through-hikers came up from the south. We talked and visited extensively. Eventually the girls and I got going while Vic continued to talk with two more PCT friends (we'd see them and other through-hikers several more times each):
The day started with a huge climb up Skinner Peak. Switchbacks led to switchbacks. And then we encountered switchbacks. But we had a great views, and a gentle breeze kept the heat manageable:
Looking back at where we started from most of the way up the climb:
We then followed the pacific crest for several miles, moving gradually up and down. Our views north now began to include relative "close-ups" of the Sierra Nevada:
Many miles led to a nearly flat plateau that had once been badly burned. This had little cover, and was downright hot:
But finally we arrived at a seasonal trickle/stream that provided great (and, by this point 14 miles into the hike, needed) refreshment:
The next seven miles included only a little uphill. But the heat of the day, combined with the relentless pounding of step after step were starting to take their toll. Our first glimpse of Highway 178 was very encouraging:
The last three miles seemed like ten. Finally we could see tents in the Walker Pass Trailhead Campground. Still we pounded on, feet screaming at us now (and not nice words either). Finally, we came around a corner, and there, there was the ultimate trail angel: Vicki had come up to check on us:
As we arrived in camp, signs pointed to one campsite where there was offered a certain PCT "trail magic." As we walked by on the way to our site, we saw two trail angels completely rigged out, set up for days, intending to help. See, Walker Pass is a big milestone for through-hikers. These angels were there to be, well, angels. They had available vast quantities of fresh water. They had extra clothes and repair tools and parts. Big garbage bags into which hikers could dump parts of their loads (the campground has no water and no garbage service). And they especially had fresh food; barbecue, salad, soda, and ice cold beer. All there for passing hikers, no questions asked. All free, and all for the love of the trail and those who hike it:
And with that, we finished our longest one-day hike ever. We stayed there that night and Dad (that is, me) cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast the next morning:
We spent the rest of that day checking out areas farther north: camping spots, the trail, and drop-off and pick-up points. Then, with a 28.3 mile section coming (too far for one day - we'd need to bivy), we drove to Ridgecrest for a rest/preparation day.
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10b4me
Ice climber
Happy Boulders
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Jun 19, 2011 - 03:02pm PT
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keep up the reports. they are really cool
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Jun 19, 2011 - 03:29pm PT
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What a great way to do the early part of the trail. Thanks for sharing this.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2011 - 10:59pm PT
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Thanks for the comments.
Here's the next day:
June 15
The next part of our hike took us 28.3 miles north from Highway 178/Walker Pass to Canebreak Road, a dirt road on the edge of Chimney Peak Wilderness. We did this in two days, with light packs and an open bivy. Although we went back and forth a few times from desert to Sierra Nevada during these miles, we finally, truly made the transition by the time we finished.
The first day was rough though. Katie had had a G.I. issue during the last of our hike to Walker Pass and during the (next) rest day. Plus the temperatures had spiked some; Ridgecrest, where we spent the rest day was at 101 degrees by the time we left town just after noon.
But we stuck with the plan: Leave the pass in the early afternoon, endure the miserable heat in the early hike, and then burn up the miles in the afternoon and evening cool to arrive at camp right at dark.
And the first miles truly were miserably hot. Starting out was hot:
Resting in the shade was not quite as hot:
How often do you see a nine year old girl with beads of sweat on her chin?
But as we hiked we got progressively higher and a little cooler. We passed the five mile mark at the memorial to Jim Jenkins, and moved around to the east side of Mount Jenkins:
(That's Owens Peak's southeast side in the background of the last photo). We rested liberally at this point; it was still warm and Katie was less than 100% still:
By the time we made it to the Owens/Jenkins saddle (just over halfway through our intended 16.6 miles), it was 6:00 P.M. But we were starting to hit our stride (and I knew Katie was feeling better because she was talking freely again, this time about what electives and college prep classes she was considering for her upcoming junior year):
We practically ran the next miles of downhill to and past Joshua Tree Spring. We faced one more long uphill trudge then before the last two miles, downhill cruise to where we wanted to camp in Spanish Needle Canyon. But before the last uphill we took a break in the last rays of the sun (now Katie's appetite was coming back - she could eagerly eat an apple):
Right in here we hit mile 662.5, a very significant number. Multiplied by four it is 2,650, which is the total length of the PCT. Here are the girls making a crude "1/4th" sign with their hands:
And then, up and over the last saddle. I offered up the chance of sleeping there, but the girls vetoed it. On we'd go in spite of the now set sun. They wanted the chance to clean off the trail dust in the running stream and, especially, they wanted a shorter hike tomorrow:
Soon there was only one more mile to go. But the sun was truly gone now. Tricia needed a headlamp. Then Katie and I needed them. On we tramped. Then, we hiked around a corner, and, what's that? It sounds like the trickle of water. It is the trickle of water! Camp at last.
It took 10 minutes to wash off the dirt and set up camp. Then dinner: we used a patented back country food preparation method first taught me by my good friend David Harden: don't. Instead of a stove or anything fancy we brought deli sandwiches, which are fine for a few hours unrefrigerated (no mayo or other spreads though).
And, then, off to sleep we went.
Next up: a wonderful finishing hike during which we truly started to feel like we were in the Sierra Nevada.
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Dirka
Trad climber
SF
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Jun 20, 2011 - 01:03am PT
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kick ass!
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apogee
climber
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Jun 20, 2011 - 01:09am PT
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Thanks for the great TR! You do realize, though, that you've established the expectation for a TR each time you complete a new section....
That section is a tough one (even with Trail Angels & BBQ!)- hot and dry for almost any through-hiker- it tests one's resolve about as much as the first section to Idyllwild, when the resolve is about as soft as the ankles and feet.
When we hiked that section back in the 80's, at one point we noticed a single, narrow tire track in the dirt- we followed it for a while, then down a spur trail to a 'spring' (Yellow Jacket, if I remember)- the really stinky one I mentioned earlier- we filled our water bottles with the mess, then headed back to the trail following the tire track. It lead to the vehicle of Ruby Jenkins- Jim Jenkin's mother- she was out measuring trail miles and landmarks with a mileage counter (thus the wheel track). She had several gallons of clean water in her rig which she graced us with- we gratefully emptied our bottles of that skanky stuff from the spring. Though the Trail Angels weren't in force back then, Ruby was the first in our minds!
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Jun 20, 2011 - 01:52am PT
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Superb, enjoying every mile of it.
I'll be with ya all the way. Keep on keeping on.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Jun 20, 2011 - 02:09am PT
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I don't know why other people getting out there makes me happy, but it sure does. Maybe its just knowing that others value the same things that I do. Whatever it is, thanks for sharing your trip with us. I love to see the youngsters getting out there and the parents teaching them how. Good stuff.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 20, 2011 - 11:00am PT
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Hey, apogee, I take it that when you did the PCT it was as a through-hike? Did you start out alone or with other(s)? And did you finish the same way? We noticed some tendency for through-hikers to join up to hike with company (at least for a while).
And because of our location and the time of year, we ran into more through hikers this trip than we have in all other trips we've done combined. We're going to make a trip or two to Sonora Pass (45 minutes from home) in a few weeks to see whether we can catch a few of the many we met and be "trail angels" ourselves.
So, here's the next installment (with two more to come after this; we hiked seven days total):
June 16, 2011
We awoke early the next morning (due to Katie having a bad dream) which was provident, it allowed us to get an early start on another big climb via switchbacks:
It was kinda chilly when we started hiking, so we wore all the clothes we had with us. This caused a problem in that Tricia's clothing was so totally camouflaged. We actually lost her for a short time because we couldn't see her:
:) :) :)
Once we topped out on this morning's climb we followed a ridge to a saddle that was the actual pacific crest. This is the last time in 40 miles that the trail is on the actual crest:
A question came up about lunch: When is the right time? The answer, we decided, is when the view and the log are both perfect:
We started getting views north that looked like the Sierra (this one into Lamont Meadow, right near where Vicki would pick us up at the end of this second day):
More miles led into lower/drier country (again), but not desert:
We encountered a calm, quiet friend:
Before we started the two days I gave some thought to how things would likely go. I told Vicki that we'd probably be at the pickup point between 12:30 and 1:00 P.M. We finished 11.9 miles at 12:20 P.M. the second day (and if you think that was anything other than a lucky guess, well I could sell you some swampland, etc.):
The early start got us back to camp early. We enjoyed relaxing and a bunch of family laughing and fun:
We capped off the day with a nice sunset right over our camp:
And then dinner and to bed; to be ready for another (light) hiking day.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 20, 2011 - 10:15pm PT
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And the last installment:
June 17, 2011:
Friday's hike was our second to last. The next distance between roads was 7.9 miles, so we decided on a short day. We started, of course, where we'd finished the day before:
Just under six miles of hiking lead gradually uphill in hot but getting cooler temperatures:
Just before the high point for the day (8,020 feet) we started seeing the devastating results of the Manter fire from the year 2000. Apparently this burned a good portion of the Chimney Peak Wilderness and fully 75% of Domelands Wilderness (that's not a naturally bald hill in the next photo, much of the burn took everything down to bare soil):
Past the highpoint of the day we started getting very exciting views: relative closeups of the Sierra itself. Here's (I think) Mount Langley, the south-most 14,000 foot peak in California (if it's not Langley, it may be Olancha Peak, but it looks too big for that; I'm not used to seeing Langley from the south):
And the snow-covered Great Western Divide:
And then downhill for a few short miles (still through the fire) in the heat, to Vicki and the end of the day:
There followed another fabulous afternoon and evening in camp, hanging out, reading and playing around:
Next: our last day on the trail takes us down to the Kern Plateau, the South Fork Kern River, and, no doubt about it, fully and finally, into the Sierra Nevada.
June 18, 2011:
OK, finally, the last day of seven. After this, those of you still with this can stop reading these damn, interminable trip reports (at least for a while).
First the humor. Tricia is a fairly bright little girl. She also owns a purple pair of rubber/plastic shoes that she wears in camp a lot. These shoes are of a popular type called "Crocs."
This year the fad/trend among PCT through-hikers is to use a brand of gaiters called "Dirty Girl" gaiters. They're made by a small (one woman?) company and they come in screaming bright colors. The girls both thought these were totally cool. Of course, on the PCT gaiters are helpful to keep rocks and dirt out of the shoes and off the legs (as opposed to keeping snow off, which is what I've always heard of them for).
One day this trip, when the girls were doing well, I told them that, as soon as we got within range of the internet, I'd order for them each any pair of Dirty Girl gaiters they wanted. This thrilled them. Two minutes later Tricia was even more thrilled when she realized: "Daddy, that means I'm going to have both gaiters and Crocs."
Where the hell does she come up with this stuff?
So our last day was really fine. From what I could see of where we'd be hiking, I started getting excited the day before. We continued down the canyon we had been in all the way to the Kern Plateau, and then up the South Fork Kern River to and through Kennedy Meadows. The real Sierra Nevada.
The trail can barely be seen here on the left wall of the canyon (yes left); the Kern Plateau can be seen below, as can some of Domelands Wilderness:
This is the same canyon, showing more detail, and one of the prominent domes:
Once down this canyon we could see huge distances up and down the main (South Fork Kern River) canyon. The views were spectacular in spite of the extensive burning:
I was glad to have the old Southern Sierra Domelands climbing guidebook along, just to help identify some of what I was looking at.
We continued north, sometimes along the river, stopping for lunch alongside it:
After several pretty miles, we hiked into Kennedy Meadows. PCT through-hikers consider this the "true" start of the Sierra Nevada. Although geologically this is incorrect, it is easy to see why this is considered such a transitional point:
Soon we saw Vicki parked along the river waiting for us:
We met up with her, but carried on for 2.4 miles more, to the north end of Kennedy Meadows Campground, a natural starting point for a next trip:
Thus we finished 101 more miles on the PCT in seven days hiking. We're past one quarter of the way; we've walked every step of 702 miles from the Mexican border. Oh, and we're still having fun.
And that may or may not be it for a while. The next logical portion to hike will require just under 50 continuous miles to Horseshoe Meadow (and past there it's 200 miles, plus or minus, to Tuolumne Meadows, with no pickup point). We may backpack this in July of this year, on our way to a family vacation at Disneyland. Or, we may wait and hike to Horseshoe Meadow in June 2012, using it as a training hike for the big, many, many day trip we'll do into the core of the Sierra in July or August of next year.
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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Jun 25, 2011 - 03:18pm PT
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Bump for family awesomeness.
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Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
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Jun 25, 2011 - 04:55pm PT
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Awesome update!
Thanks for all the shots and keep it up!
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apogee
climber
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Jun 25, 2011 - 05:14pm PT
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I did California (Mex-Ashland) in '86, then did OR-WA in '88- California took 4 months, and OR-WA took 2 months. I started California with a buddy, and we made it as far as Lake Tahoe before differing agendas (he loves flyfishing, I wanted to crank miles) had us split. I did the rest of Cali solo, and did most of OR-WA solo as well, though I did hook up with occasional through-hikers.
The PCT at that time was very different from what it is today- it was unfinished in places, and there were very few people who completed it each season. No trail angels, though there were a few towns that were more attuned to through-hikers, and provided some support. (Wrightwood in particular.) It is a far more social experience now- packs of through-hikers each season- it's more like the AT nowadays- when I hiked it, it was common to go for a few weeks and not encounter another through-hiker.
Technology is very different, too, esp. with the advent of ultralite gear- Jardine's book really created a revolution in long distance hiking. I hiked with a Gregory 'Denali' 8,000 cu in pack that weighed 8 lbs empty! It was common to leave resupplies with a 70 lb monster. Though many through-hikers aren't total ultralite fanatics, they do carry much more manageable weights.
Kennedy Meadows really is a gateway of sorts- you feel the 'real' mountains in front of you, and you leave the hot, difficult ups & downs of the So Cal section behind. It will be interesting to see how you tackle it with your daughters, since road access to the Sierra is much more limited.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 25, 2011 - 08:03pm PT
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A nice report.
I wonder how PTPP would handle the PCT? He likes vertical camping trips, how about a (sort of) horizontal one?
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Jun 25, 2011 - 08:48pm PT
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I hiked with a Gregory 'Denali' 8,000 cu in pack that weighed 8 lbs empty! It was common to leave resupplies with a 70 lb monster.
LOL, Yep.. mine was a contour 4 and it weighed 7 pounds without the extra pockets I added because everything was so big. I still have a contour 4. My second one, but I don't want to carry it.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 25, 2011 - 11:55pm PT
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John and apogee: the fast/light/though-hiker that we met on this last trip ("Malto") epitomized this "new" approach. His base weight (weight without food or water) was eight pounds. That's single digits! As apogee said, that was the weight of the pack he used on the trail before he put anything in it.
After resupply Malto would be carrying eight pounds of food and he usually hiked with a maximum of a gallon of water (eight pounds). So, for 30 miles per day average, 20 to 25 pounds on his back.
I'm not sure I could go to that extreme of minimalism. And most of the through-hikers we met didn't; most seemed to carry around 40 pounds.
Kennedy Meadows is indeed a gateway, and we intend to change how we travel for our next trips. One of the reasons we started when Tricia was five years old was so that, by the time we reached the Sierra part of the trail, she'd be able to go on long, unsupported backpacks. Our next two trips will be 50 miles of backpacking (to Horseshoe Meadow), later this summer. Then, next summer, from Horseshoe Meadow to Tuolumne Meadows in one or two backpack trips.
I anticipate that the High Sierra part of the PCT will be one of the most exciting that we do.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 26, 2011 - 12:57am PT
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You may find the part where you cross the border into Canada pretty exciting, too!
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apogee
climber
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Jun 26, 2011 - 02:04am PT
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The two most spectacular parts of the trail (if you have to pick such things) are the High Sierra and the North Cascades. It snowed lightly on my last night on the trail- the next day I walked across the border, and down to Manning Park, leaving fresh tracks in the snow. It was a fitting and pensive way to finish.
I collaborate semi-frequently with one of the ultralight gurus who developed an entire line of ultralight packs & tents, as well as creating one of the web resources that is frequented by contemporary through-hikers. His name is Glen Van Peski- he started a company called 'Gossamer Gear', and one of his flagship packs was the 'Mariposa'. He's one of those guys who heads out on a multi-day trip with a base pack weight of 5-7 lbs- I've done a few trips with him, and while I'm not as willing to sacrifice as many creature comforts as he is, I have learned a lot about new techniques and gear that have helped cut my pack weight down. (It's hard breaking with old habits when they have served me so well for so many years!) Glen likes to joke that by cutting out all the excess weight, it leaves more room for the bottle of wine....
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jun 26, 2011 - 03:49am PT
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This is one beautiful thread. Thank you for sharing these precious times.
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dfinnecy
Social climber
'stralia
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Jun 26, 2011 - 10:14am PT
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Yeah, what everyone else said. This is so great mtnyoung. I love reading about your progress and it is an inspiring story for families growing up. Can't wait till my boys can walk!
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Jun 26, 2011 - 12:29pm PT
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That 8 pounds of gear still blows my mind. I don't recall, with food and water, ever getting out for a trip over 4 days with less then 50 pounds on my back. 30 pounds would be a dream. Anyone recommend a book that explains that? Or a website. I do like my comforts, so I doubt I would be able to hit the 8 pound mark. Does that mean no cook stove, so no morning hot food and coffee?
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10b4me
Ice climber
Happy Boulders
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Jun 27, 2011 - 01:23am PT
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I believe that peak is actually Olancha. Langley has more snow(even on the south face
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 27, 2011 - 11:12am PT
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You are 100 % correct, 10b4me, it is Olancha, not Langley.
I think I was still a little excited when I prepared the trip report, but I've checked some more since then. Among other comments I received that makes sense is that Langley would blend into the Whitney group more, when viewed from the south. And, you're right, Langley should still have snow.
Olancha doesn't seem that big on a map. But it sure stands out from the terrain near it.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 28, 2011 - 11:50am PT
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The girls and I just did our last PCT trip for a while, ending Monday. Four days of backpacking and 45 miles went very well. Here's the first two days cross posted from the Mudn'Crud site. The thread-title I used there was:
The PCT Volume 16: Self Propelled in the Southern Sierra
July 22, 2011:
Yes, it's the title of an excellent guidebook about backpacking in the south part of the range. It's a book that has always fascinated me and, finally, this trip, we got to see and experience some of the areas described by it; we were there, and "self propelled" for 3 1/2 days.
We're in Disneyland now though. Three days and four nights. This family vacation is definitely "well balanced."
To start, my friend Dean helped us with the long drive to Kennedy Meadows trailhead. We didn't get going on the trail though until after 3:00 in the afternoon. But, after all, when a young beauty is hiking with her "Dirty Girl Gaiters," what does time matter?
The hike along the South Fork of the Kern River was warm, but very pretty and mostly flat:
After just five miles, with the sun already behind the mountain and with no further assured camping (with water sources) for another six miles, we decided to camp at a pleasant little spot alongside Clover Meadow:
As usual, the girls each did a full share of setting up camp (Katie especially get's right on setting up the tent, while, normally, I get water and Tricia helps with the tent and starts getting sleeping bags out and deployed).
And that's it for the first day. Not much milage, but we were back on the trail, back on our way, and "all systems go" for another 49 mile trip.
July 23, 2011
We hiked up Crag Canyon for two pretty miles, gaining 1,000 feet of elevation (this was the first of a lot of elevation gain today - part of one of the biggest, hardest PCT days we've had):
After reaching the top of this drainage, we started down into Beck Meadow. This meadow joins with Monache Meadow, which is the largest meadow in the Sierra Nevada:
Continued easy hiking eventually led to an idyllic setting at a bridge over the South Fork Kern River, just under seven miles from our start:
Note in that last photo, the big peak on the horizon? That's Olancha Peak, one of the more prominent mountains in the south-most Sierra. More than ten more miles of hiking, 3,500 feet of elevation gain, and the rest of the day would take us to a point on it's shoulder where we'd eventually just crap out for the day near the only source of water we could find.
Meanwhile though, lunch at the river was very nice;
That last photo, by the way, shows the effects of eating freeze dried blueberries.
From the river we started up gradually. This part of the Sierra is flatter than what we're used to up north. At least it is in some places:
As we got higher the scenery became more alpine:
Here's the view looking back into Beck Meadows from up high (if it looks like a long way to have hiked, well, it felt that way too):
By the time we'd gotten up onto the Olancha Peak massif, we were getting close to tired. Lots of uphill, warm temps and full packs made this a significant hike. Finally, after 17.3 miles, we came across a small stream and a nearly flat spot. The sun and our energy levels were very low on the horizon. We dropped packs and made camp (with a nice view to the west):
And that was the end of the second day. I've known for years that the girls can do long, hard day hikes, but on those they've carried little or no weight. Now I know now that they can also do the same hikes with weight (and, here, the difficulty wasn't just the distance of 17.3 miles; we gained almost 5,000 feet total in those miles, up to an elevation of 10,500 feet).
In a way this was a critical test. In a year, when we can get back on the trail, we'll likely do seven or eight days of similar distances in a row, with weight and with lots of serious passes.
Up next: more wonderful, beautiful Sierra Nevada hiking. And a reminder that water isn't everywhere in the southern Sierra.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 29, 2011 - 10:47pm PT
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Here's the rest of our last report for what will probably be a year or so:
July 24, 2011
Day three was another beauty, but tough work too. Once we started packing we made quick work and got back on the trail:
Four easy miles led past Gomez Meadow, across flats to Death Canyon, which we thought might be the last source of water for ten miles (it was):
We tanked up on food and water there, expecting next a 2,000 foot elevation gain in the sun.:
Here's a shot of my band-aided and taped foot, which hurt every step, all because of a stupid move on my part: I "repaired" my hiking shoe with shoe-goo type material and then didn't check it to see how the repair went. It was only at the trail-head that I realized that I had just this one pair of hiking shoes and that the left shoe had unremovable little blobs of glue right where they would rub my little toe badly (more on this one later):
We only treated and took three liters of water from Death Canyon. This was mostly because that's how many water bottles we had; it was also partly because I was too reluctant (spelled l-a-z-y) to pull out the six liter bag we use when we get to camp and fill and carry part of that. I turns out that maybe I should have done so. Up we started into a series of 22 switchbacks:
We rested often, since it was still fairly early:
Near the top of the climb we reached again the true pacific crest (defined as where, on one side of an imaginary line, one fallen drop of rainwater runs to the Pacific Ocean, whereas on the other side of the line it runs to the Great Basin). The views from this point down to the Owens Valley were dramatic:
We topped out on the climb, but still had seven miles to go to a sure source of water. And water was needed; we ran out of our mere three liters just partway through the seven miles:
At least the views back toward Olancha Peak were sublime:
Eventually we arrived at a low rise of forest between two large meadows; this was actually on the pacific crest again. Although it looked dry, looks were deceiving, Diaz Meadow had a well-flowing creek and we tanked up in camp for the rest of the afternoon.
And this campsite was among the best. Lots of water, lots of flat, soft ground, lots of afternoon left, great views, and no mosquitos (at least until a short period right at dusk):
And so passed day three and another fun 14.7 miles. The long afternoon set us up for a relatively early start and 12 miles to the pickup point on the next day.
July 25, 2011
Another beautiful California morning started our fourth day:
But it was still a little chilly at 9,800 feet:
A quick few miles led us to Mulkey Pass, the first of three passes on the PCT from which one can bail to the Horseshoe Meadow trailhead:
Trail Pass came next on what amounted to a large half-circle around Horseshoe:
After less than eight miles we came to Cottonwood Pass where we would leave the PCT down to the trail and Vicki. Here's Tricia almost to Cottonwood:
Here's Katie having just left the PCT:
We ate lunch up high before heading down the many switchbacks:
The hike from Cottonwood to the trailhead took an hour. Vicki and I had thought we'd meet up there at about 2:00 p.m. (she drove from home to the trailhead that morning); she got there about 15 minutes "late" and we arrive six minutes after she did:
Once at the car we packed and cleaned up as best we could for the drive to Disneyland. After four days of nursing my foot the sock, bandaids and tape all came off as one with the skin (never again take an untested shoe - I'm old enough to know better!):
And so ended another good journey. We hiked just over 45 miles on the trail, bringing our total milage from the Mexican border to just over 747. We had fun. And that's it now for around a year. Next summer we'll pick up from this point with the goal of backpacking all the way to Tuolumne Meadows, followed by another trip to Sonora Pass (50 minutes from our house, what a contrast to the early days on the trail when the drive down took 10 hours!).
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Hawkeye
climber
State of Mine
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Jul 29, 2011 - 11:12pm PT
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!!!!AWESOME!!!
except for that blister.
thanks for sharing, this is totally awesome!
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Joe
Social climber
Santa Cruz
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Jul 29, 2011 - 11:50pm PT
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nice Brad...not sure what you did to deserve such a beautiful family...
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Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
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Jul 30, 2011 - 05:17pm PT
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A great summer of hiking!
We will be looking forward to the renewal of this thread next summer - and more great pictures!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Jul 30, 2011 - 08:40pm PT
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Vegas, I don't think they are done for the year.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 2, 2011 - 11:05am PT
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Promises are promises. And they must be kept.
Tomorrow, while many of my friends climb at The Lost World, a fantastic local crag, I will be driving to Sacramento with my girls to attend a Taylor Swift concert. This is me paying them back for an unusual and "extra" three day backpack on the PCT over this last Memorial weekend.
It would be nice to go climbing. But I've got Sunday and Monday for that. I'm looking forward to doing what my girls are looking forward to doing. Plus, tomorrow is my older daughter's 16th birthday - yikes!
Trip report to follow.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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One of my favorite threads.
Looking forward to the next TR.
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Sebastopol, CA
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Good luck in Sacramento Brad.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 4, 2011 - 11:23am PT
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Well, I did it, I went to a Taylor Swift Concert.
I'm leaving in a few minutes (I'm climbing/doing guidebook research for the rest of the weekend). I'll post a few photos and more detail after the rest of the weekend. But, first a few impressions:
 Overall, I had a blast. Part of this was due to the quality of the performance and part was due to the fun my daughters were obviously having;
And the girls did have a great time. I caught myself first looking at them looking at her, and, then, laughing out loud at how much they were enjoying it, clapping and singing the words to every song;
Taylor Swift is a very good musician. It impressed me that she has musical skills (she plays a lot of instruments) that match Lynn Hill's ability in climbing. And she performs her music with the obvious joy of someone like Peter Croft traversing a High Sierra ridge. A pleasure to watch;
Even though I was warned ahead of time, I was still surprised at the disproportion between male and female attendees. Row after row after row of the arena was filled with only girls and women. It didn't seem to be a proprietary thing though, everybody I could see seemed to be having a good time regardless of gender (and regardless of age also; at age 50 I may have single-handedly increased the average age of attendees by a year).
Fatherhood is great, and I'm glad my older daughter Katie got to spend her 16th birthday in a way that she'll not soon forget.
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J. Werlin
Social climber
Cedaredge, CO
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What an awesome family project. Good on ya! Memories for a lifetime and a great foundation for life for the young ladies. Thanks for all your efforts to post.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 5, 2011 - 12:36am PT
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Thanks J for your comments. It's been a fun trip.
To finish the "Taylor Swift trip report," below are two photos that prove that my girls can and do clean up nicely. These were taken as we were getting ready to leave:
We didn't get home until 1:15 in the morning, and, as a result, I kinda dragged climbing today, but it was all totally worth it.
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apogee
climber
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Always a great thread. Will look forward to next year's TR!
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Bravo Sir! Bravo!
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 15, 2012 - 07:30pm PT
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Bump for a kewl thread.
A friend is currently hiking the PCT. He left to Mexico/USA border on April 29th, and left Big Bear yesterday morning. He's an experienced and very fit hiker/trail runner, and all going reasonably well should be OK. A relatively low snow year in the Sierra should help - he's 10% of the distance after two weeks, but knows there's a lot to go.
He's posting to a blog at http://postholer.com/ whenever he gets to a place with a public library, plus has a SPOT GPS which he activates every day or two. Kind of fun following his progress. Who knows, maybe he and the Youngs will cross paths?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - May 15, 2012 - 08:37pm PT
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Mighty Hiker,
I clicked on the link and got only a general web site. I wasn't sure how to find your friend's blog from there. It would be fun to keep an eye out for him, although if he's in Big Bear already after a relatively late start, he may be past where we will be in July.
We've very much enjoyed the through-hikers we've met up with and hope to meet more this summer.
Our plan now is for a ten day backpack during the last third of July. We'll go from Horseshoe Meadow to Lake Thomas Edison (just under 135 miles). The PCT and the John Muir Trail are one and the same for much of this distance; this trip will be in what is really the heart of the Sierra Nevada.
And I hope your friend has found and will find enough water. The contrast between this last winter and the one before is amazing.
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nutjob
Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
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May 15, 2012 - 08:47pm PT
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Really inspiring! Thank you for continuing to share.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 22, 2012 - 09:29pm PT
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I'm reasonably sure that my friend won't add attendance at a Taylor Swift concert to his endeavour. An ordeal that might have been beyond Sisyphus, or even Herakles.
He posted to the blog today, from Agua Dulce, west of Wrightwood. About 20% of the distance covered so far. About ten days of desert plodding ahead, but then slowly into the southern Sierra. It does seem a tradeoff - it would probably be better to hike the southern deserts that comprise the first 1/4 early in the year, but then you'd have to wait at the south end of the Sierra for the snow to go.
It sounds like Agua Dulce is a major stop, with various comforts.
If you go to http://postholer.com/, and click on "Search Journals" on the left side, you can read the blogs of the various through hikers. My friend's last name is Golob, so that's how you can find his.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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May 22, 2012 - 11:56pm PT
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Yeah!
You are one special person for introducing the kids to this experience. TFPU!
Camping trips with the family when I was knee high to a grass hopper led to my love of the outdoors.
Good job!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - May 23, 2012 - 12:56am PT
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Thanks for the comment, johntp:
"You are one special person for introducing the kids to this experience."
I'm not sure my sixteen year old still sees it that way. She's committed for one long trip and two or three short ones this summer. I think I can bribe her into more trips next summer. But then she'll go off to college after that.
We'll see what happens then.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 23, 2012 - 04:47pm PT
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The classic through hike to end through hikes would be to do the PCT, then continue on the ski traverse of B.C.'s Coast Mountains. It was first done from February - July 2001 by John Millar, Guy Edwards and Vance Culbert, with Ruby and Lena Rowat hot on their heels. Starting at Pitt Lake, just east of Vancouver, and ending at Skagway.
Some of them, and others, later extended the traverse through the Fairweather and Saint Elias Ranges, and so into Alaska.
There would be interesting logistical challenges to the trip. Given seasonal issues, it would also be hard to combine it with the PCT - most finish the latter in September (Manning Park), long before the ski season, or at the Mexico-US border (October/November), at the wrong end. The total trip would probably be 8,000 km or more, and probably take at least eight and more likely ten months.
It might be a little ambitious for mtnyoung and his gals, though.
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briham89
Trad climber
los gatos. ca
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May 23, 2012 - 05:14pm PT
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It might be a little ambitious for mtnyoung and his gals, though.
Clearly you don't know Katie and Tricia haha. Those girls are tough!
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Karen
Trad climber
So Cal urban sprawl Hell
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May 24, 2012 - 02:07am PT
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Totally awesome! What adventurous girls and a great Dad for introducing and actually getting out there and taking on such a worthy challenge.
My daughter and I are bagging all the highest peaks starting a few years back but boy when I took her hiking when she was little she hated it, more than once I ended up with her riding on my back!!! It all paid off though since she loves it now (She's 25).
So it is neat to me to see the pictures of your young one's getting out and really experiencing what nature has to offer. Once again, kudos for you !!!!!
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 25, 2012 - 07:30pm PT
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But do mtnyoung's gals know how to ski?
On second thought, they could lie in a sled and their dad could tow them. While they listened to Taylor Swift, of course. Someone ask Ron A if the Sleds Over Everest team can spare some sleds.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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My friend is now in Kennedy Meadows, where he'll resupply before heading into the Sierra. It sounds like he'll have to pop out at some point between Kennedy and Tuolumne, maybe Mammoth, to stock up. He's averaged almost 20 mpd so far, including rest days, which seems respectable. As he doesn't have an i-phone or such, he's restricted to posting when he's somewhere with a library, or hiker-friendly facilities. Last time two weeks ago, at a place west of Wrightwood.
http://postholer.com/journal/viewJournal.php?sid=f8554a678b6cba70f1ace7713af75c41&event_id=1363
The PCT through hikers congregate at Kennedy in early June, depending on snow conditions. Many haven't used crampons or ice axes before, navigated with map and compass/GPS, and so on. So they're a bit apprehensive. It's a handy place to resupply and take on mountain gear, and maybe a bit of moral fortitude, after the end of the desert.
It must be awful nice to get out of the early summer heat of the desert, and get somewhere cooler and with more water. Plus finally be headed pretty much north, after a month skirting greater San Diego & Los Angeles. Kennedy is over 1/4 of the way along the total length of the PCT!
It is kind of fun following the adventure on the internetz. Some friends did the PCT years ago, and essentially disappeared for months, apart from the odd postcard. Nowadays some post quite nice blogs nearly every day - just google 'Pacific Crest Trail blog'.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Mighty-
Have your friend keep an eye out for "castle" to say hello. She is a few days ahead but they will probably meet somewhere on the trail.
Edit: look at trailjournals.com, as well as postholer
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Thanks - I'll let him know, plus have a look at the site you mention.
It sounds like Donald will be in Mammoth in two weeks, so I'll send him a care package there. With luck it'll get there before him. He's waiting at Kennedy for his package with bear canister and other important stuff to arrive - apparently they get hundreds of packages/day there at this time of year, for the hikers. Sounds like quite the social scene.
It sounds like he'd be passing through Sonora Pass in late June.
The PCT through hikers seem a different breed.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 20, 2012 - 10:02pm PT
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Anders, I was up last evening working on the guidebook (Sonora Pass Highway, second edition).
As I drove up I saw a hitchhiker/backpacker and gave him a ride. He was a PCT through hiker needing a ride back up from a re-supply. I had high hopes that, just maybe, it'd be your friend. But it wasn't.
Oh well, I'll keep an eye out.
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Jun 21, 2012 - 12:15pm PT
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"It must be awful nice to get out of the early summer heat of the desert, and get somewhere cooler and with more water."
It was like entering the gates of Nirvana!
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 22, 2012 - 12:40pm PT
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Assuming that Donald left Mammoth/Reds Meadow yesterday afternoon, he'd be at Tuolumne Friday afternoon or at latest Saturday. I don't believe that he has a mail drop at Tuolumne, but may be getting some supplies, and I encouraged him to spend a day in the area if he could. But he's already seen lots of meadows/rock peaks/tarns on his hike, so maybe they've lost some novelty. Anyway, he's out of contact, but if Donald leaves TM on Saturday or Sunday, he'd be at Sonora Pass in 4 - 5 days.
So if any SuperTopians are in Tuolumne on Friday evening and Saturday, check at the through-hikers camping for a Canadian named Donald, and buy him a beer. Likewise anyone who's in the Sonora Pass area about next Tuesday or Wednesday, though that may be a bit less likely.
And a bump, in the hope that mtnyoung will report on further adventures with his valiant daughters.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 22, 2012 - 03:41pm PT
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Plans and preparations are coming together for our next leg. We'll start where we left off at Horseshoe Meadow and then over Cottonwood Pass. We plan on being 10 days from there to Lake Thomas Edison (where Vicki will meet us).
The current start date is July 22. Although I'd considered carrying all 10 days worth of food, three climbing partners are now going to meet us at Kearsarge Pass trail at the end of day four with a resupply (thank you, thank you, thank you, Dave, Bart and Jerome).
It's already been a great summer, but this is the event I've been most looking forward to.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 21, 2012 - 10:58pm PT
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OK, it's official, I'm starting to get excited about "The PCT Volume 17," coming up starting tomorrow.
1. I've gotten 22 pounds of food to Dave for he and Bart and Jerome to shuttle in for us via Kearsarge Pass (thanks guys!!!);
2. Our gear is packed and stowed in the car (Tricia is carrying 11 pounds, Katie has 21 pounds, and I will carry 47 pounds to start);
3. We've got our permits and bear canisters (the required stuff);
4. Everyone is healthy.
5. We've got ten days and 135 miles to go (to Lake Thomas Edison).
Now I'm just waiting for six A.M. It's hard to focus on other stuff.
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John M
climber
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Jul 21, 2012 - 11:03pm PT
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Saaa Wheeet! I look forward to the trip reports. That is beautiful country.
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Joe
Social climber
Santa Cruz
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Jul 22, 2012 - 12:02am PT
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have fun Brad, best to Katie and Tricia...
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OR
Trad climber
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Jul 22, 2012 - 03:42pm PT
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Best TR ever......
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Jul 22, 2012 - 10:50pm PT
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Mighty Hiker, I read your friends's blog. Very interesting.
And then I found this:
We were warned of the major blown downs that had occurred last November in the Reds Meadow area from a storm last November at the Kick Off, and true to their word we encountered an enormous number of downed trees on the trail and surrounding areas as we started to get near the Meadows. Luckily for us, a good number of the trails around Mammoth Lakes have been cleared by the trail crews. They have managed to clear the PCT through to Tuolomne Meadows, which is our next destination. They Forest Service estimates that at least 10,000 trees fell during the storm. One of the volunteer Forest Rangers we encountered at Vermillion Valley Resort, who was at Reds Meadow earlier in the season, said that he stood on the PCT and the trees were stacked 15 feet high in a tangled mess across the trail.
*I* am that Volunteer Forest Ranger he spoke to! so I met your friend!
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Jul 22, 2012 - 11:33pm PT
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Have a grand trip;.....family stuff is the best......
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
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Jul 23, 2012 - 02:46am PT
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Miwok and I saw them leave this morning bright and early. All signals were 'go'
Though there was this one teenager type character who looked not so happy to start so early. 6:30ish, I believe, is when they pulled out to get breakfast on the way over the Pass.
Have fun Youngs!
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briham89
Big Wall climber
los gatos. ca
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Jul 23, 2012 - 10:49am PT
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Though there was this one teenager type character who looked not so happy to start so early. 6:30ish
HAHA. Saw that coming...
Have fun guy and girls!
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jul 23, 2012 - 12:08pm PT
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looks like you've had good weather for the first leg.
have fun out there
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jul 26, 2012 - 12:40pm PT
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Ken, it's a small world - although I don't think Donald has ever heard of SuperTopo!
Looking forward to the Young's daily if not hourly reports on their adventure, posted from their i-Phone. (OK, maybe not.) Anyway, have a fun, safe adventure!
My friend Donald got to Ashland on Monday (23rd). He's taking some R&R with his wife there, and should then be well-positioned to finish by early September. He got the care package that I sent him in Mammoth, most importantly including size 14 socks. Donald took only seven days from Shasta to Ashland, which is good going. People seem to hoof it through there, and also Oregon. Though with any luck he'll be able to visit Hood River Coffee company - almost everyone seems to resupply at the Oregon/Washington border.
He's working on connecting his SPOT GPS function to the Postholer blog, as others have done, so that once a day he can directly update his location, even if he doesn't post anything. So much for disappearing into the wilderness - "electronics" seem to be a popular subject of discussion amongst the through hikers.
There's apparently still a fair bit of snow above 2,000 m once you get to Washington, but warm, dry weather now seems to have settled in, so it should be under control soon.
A bit later in the season I may go out to meet some hikers as they arrive. The hike from Manning Park to Windy Joe to Monument 78 was one of the first backpacking trips I did with my father, when I was 14.
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Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
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Jul 26, 2012 - 05:48pm PT
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Looking forward to hearing the next installment of this epic series!
We were just up at Cottonwood Lakes, came out on the 22nd outrunning a nasty series of thunderstorms. Hope you stayed safe and dry. Other then that the weather up in the area was absolutely stellar.
Have fun - this is one of my favorite threads on the Taco, glad to see it will continue.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
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Jul 26, 2012 - 06:18pm PT
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Anders, I don't think we'll see any electronic updates from the trail this trip.
Maybe Dave, Bart and Jerome will come back with an update from the resupply point?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 27, 2012 - 10:14pm PT
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As explained below, we came out early, on our own, and safely. I started a trip report on Mudn'Crud that is entitled: "Making Lemonade." Here it is:
Sometimes life hands you lemons. And the best laid plans of mice and men (according to John Steinbeck) sometimes go awry. And on this trip our plans did go awry, at least somewhat. We didn't get ten days on the trail; because of a reawakened injury in Katie's left knee, we got "only" five. And we hiked "only" a little over 50 miles too, instead of over 130.
But they were five days in the heart of the High Sierra, among some of the most magnificent scenery on earth. We stuck together and explored the trail some more. We ate well (as we tried some new foods), enjoyed the views and talked and read and did crosswords (three of us working on two at a time). Katie (the strong, strong-willed teenager) and I (the incorrigible dad) feuded some. We even laughed a bunch (but, really, on this last subject, should a father draw the line when one daughter makes the other laugh so hard that pudding comes out her nose?).
As we drove down Highway 395 we worried a little about thunderheads building up over the crest. No-one likes to get soaked and cold while hiking. This is what we saw as we drove up to Horseshoe Meadow:
But it wasn't raining when we parked, only sprinkling, so we got going at 1:30 with the best of hopes:
The 3.8 mile hike to Cottonwood Pass was actually nicer (cooler) because of the clouds. We got periodic cloudbursts, but they gave way to sun and we dried out immediately. Once at Cottonwood we were back on the PCT:
It's a short distance from Cottonwood to Chicken Springs Lake. Once there we got truly pounded, first by rain and then by hail (at least the hail doesn't soak in):
Then came a decision that may have affected the rest of the trip. Less than five miles isn't a long way into a hundred-mile plus trip. So, do we make camp at the lake or do we continue on knowing it's almost nine miles to the next certain water? With some daylight left and energy too, we decided to move on:
That last view is out over a plateau called "Siberian Outpost," and the map shows some streams and tarns that we'd pass. We thought there'd be at least a slight chance of water, but because of the low-snow year, the whole area was bone dry. So we took our lumps and kept moving.
The hiking was easy, but soon the light started fading and then it was dark. We kept at it with headlamps, but Katie started to fall behind me and Tricia. We'd wait and she'd catch up. Finally, at about the fourth "wait," I asked Katie what was wrong: "My knee is killing me," she said. Oh. Sh#t. That's not good.
In 2009 Katie hurt her knee when the left side of a trail collapsed and left her involuntarily in the splits. We thought she'd healed. Then, last September she had to sit out the first few weeks of volleyball because the same knee acted up. We thought that had healed too. We did a 43 mile family backpack in April and she was fine (but that didn't have very much up and down movement). We'd even taped the knee before we started this trip using a special tape in order to give extra support "just in case." And now, here we are 11 miles out, and two more mandatory miles to go to water, and her knee is killing her.
Well, we made it to "camp." In the dark, still damp, tired and hurt. The girls set up the tent by headlamp in the only flat spot we could find, and I got water. Here's a photo of where we camped that I took by the cloudy light of the next morning:
It had been a tough hike, but we'd expected that. Setting up camp and cooking and eating were chores, not pleasures, but we knew that might be the case when we decided to go on; and we got it done. We'd finally gotten back on the trail, well set up for the planned nine more days in the heart of the Sierra. But were we really? I don't think I slept more than an hour that night from exhaustion, and, obviously, from worry: here we were 13 miles into the wilderness but in weather that was unpleasant at best, and, critically, with an injured 16 year old. The question went through and through my mind: What to do from here?
I could only wait until morning when we could decide.
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briham89
Big Wall climber
los gatos. ca
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Jul 28, 2012 - 02:19am PT
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Bummer on the weather and Katie's knee. I hope she is feeling better. But way to get out there and get some more miles in and spend time with the girls. Hopefully I'll see all of you soon.
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Enthusiast
Boulder climber
Port Townsend WA
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Jul 28, 2012 - 02:24am PT
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I notice your dog is a pack animal, bred to serve
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jul 28, 2012 - 12:20pm PT
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Sorry to hear about what happened, but it sounds like things worked out in the end.
Did the girls mention that now you have to take them to a Justin Bieber event?
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jul 28, 2012 - 12:27pm PT
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sorry about katie's knee.
still looks like a pretty outing.
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stilltrying
Trad climber
washington indiana
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Jul 28, 2012 - 01:28pm PT
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Great trip report and awesome family.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 28, 2012 - 05:08pm PT
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I've been having real trouble getting photos to upload to Flickr which has made posting them very slow. Here are the next two installments:
July 23, 2012
As always I woke up before the girls and had breakfast. I either needed the coffee I drank, or I didn't need it, I'm still not sure which (I was bone tired and I desperately needed the caffeine, but I was utterly/totally wired and stressed too, and so I didn't need it).
I wanted to make sure that Katie slept in since she's a teenager and needs the sleep. I waited under clouds that covered three-quarters of the sky and which extended well to the west (although the night had been crystal clear). Eventually the girls were up and getting ready:
As they continued to wake up we started talking about options. Katie's knee was stiff and it hurt enough to know it wasn't well, but that was no surprise. It was dark and cloudy too and so we knew we were in for something less than perfect weather. Going 122 more miles to Lake Thomas Edison was out of the question. But neither girl wanted to hike back out to Horseshoe Meadow either (and neither did I). We talked about two options: going another forty-something miles to exit at Kearsarge Pass, or going eighty-something more miles to exit at Bishop Pass.
Eventually we decided to "make Lemonade." We'd cut back the mileage and nurse it along to Kearsarge and then call it a trip. We started packing (and I started a daily process of transferring weight from Katie's pack to mine):
On our April backpack with Vicki we saw no other people in the San Rafael wilderness for over 3 1/2 days. The Sierra isn't so "uncrowded," and this morning I let this popularity work in our favor. I was able to give notes to two outbound parties letting Vicki know we'd be out early and where. And letting Dave and the crew know not to bring in the extra food (and the messages got through).
The first mile of the hike was very pleasant and easy along Rock Creek. We then humped up to Guyot Creek and then started up Guyot Pass. Along the way we played the "rain shells or not" game. At one point even I put on my shell. But every shower was followed by some sun, which dried us out:
Katie's knee was definitely hurting, but we able to keep a decent pace. We made it to Crabtree Camp, a staging area for climbing Mount Whitney from the west:
I'd never seen the view from here east to Mounts Russell and Whitney:
We decided on four more miles to make camp at Wallace Creek. This remaining hike was relatively flat and was made under clearing skies. We passed the point where the PCT and JMT join up:
Wallace Creek was very pleasant, if crowded. We made camp in dry, warm, clear and daylight conditions. Very pleasant indeed:
Dinner was good and we went to sleep shortly after dark. Katie's knee was definitely hurt, but no worse and she was clear that she could keep up this pace. The night was calm and totally clear. Except for Tricia's sharp little elbow poking me now and then as she moved in her sleep, I slept well. Things were looking up.
July 24, 2012
Our third day dawned crystal clear and with Sierra-blue skies. We'd chosen our campsite well; it got sun relatively early. Breakfast and visiting with our (very nice) near neighbors was followed by packing and a discussion of how far to go that day:
Both girls knew that the highest pass in the Sierra Nevada was coming up. Both knew it would be work, and we all knew that Katie would have to take the down side of the pass slowly and carefully. Would we cross the pass that day, ensuring easier days ahead, or would we leave it for tomorrow?
Luckily the first several miles of the day's hike were relatively flat. They were also incredibly "viewful."
We crossed the amazingly flat Bighorn Plateau:
Very quickly we reached Tyndall Creek where a long and gradual ascent starts to Forester Pass:
We passed tree line and ate lunch overlooking the Tyndall Creek drainage, Mount Tyndall and the Diamond Mesa:
We arrived very quickly and early at the base of Forester's switchbacks. The decision was easy: we'd do the pass, take it very easy on the way down and bivy at the first place we could find:
At the top we stopped and rested. Of course we weren't alone; the group of young men with whom we shared the pass were very nice, good kids indeed. They took a true interest as I told Tricia (now age 10) about my favorite Sierra Nevada flower: Polemonium ("Sky Pilot"). A fresh sample of the flower was growing right there next to the trail. Tricia carefully smelled the intense, intriguing smell of the flower and then she pronounced it "like Lupine, but better." Katie followed course (although it wasn't new to her - she'd seen and smelled Polemonium on Whitney years before). Then the young men, one at a time, went and smelled the flower too. Their eyes showed their surprise and delight as they too experienced this special bloom.
Anyone that says young people nowadays are not "like they used to be" hasn't been around enough young people. One of the young men was waiting at the top of the pass for his mom and sister, who were coming up from the north. Eventually he decided to descend to help his sister with her pack. Having learned of Katie's knee issue, he politely and gallantly took her pack down with him. He left it nearly half a mile below the pass as he then took his sister's pack and started back uphill. Katie got to do the steepest part of the descent with no extra weight.
The first and best place to camp turned out to be about two miles north of the pass at the headwaters of Bubbs Creek:
One very persistent marmot in particular shared our camp. Tricia made sure he didn't get into our stuff. But he was around enough that I hung our (empty) packs from a nearby cliff to prevent nibbled straps:
We ate (again with daylight) and read until dark. (As can be seen, Tricia isn't' a real fan of lasagna):
This brought to an end a truly great day, one in which Katie had to push herself through some pain, and did so without complaint. A day in which I got to see Tricia beam as people slogging up Forester Pass looked at her with astonishment and asked her age. And yet another day that I got to spend in wild country with my two girls.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 28, 2012 - 08:30pm PT
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Our camp on Bubbs Creek didn't get early sun and so the first part of the morning was fairly cold (lots of clothes were in order):
Once we got going the day was fun and relatively easy. The whole Center Basin/upper Bubbs Creek area is wonderful. Views upstream to the Forester Pass area are matched by views of East Vedette (a name that Tricia in particular seemed to like):
As planned we met Dave, Bart and Jerome. We visited for quite some time. Then Dave started hiking on, and dumb move on my part, I only then thought of photo of the girls with them (so Dave's not in the photo):
The climb out of the canyon was hot, but it afforded good views:
We found a nice place to camp not so far from Bullfrog Lake and passed the afternoon reading, doing crosswords and taking in the views:
It was at this camp that "the pudding incident" occurred. But I caught only the aftermath since I'd walked up the trail for a few minutes with the camera in my pocket:
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 28, 2012 - 08:57pm PT
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YAY!
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Jul 28, 2012 - 09:43pm PT
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Your kids are as hardy as any pioneer and an inspiration for all trekkers.
Truck on ya'all
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GhoulweJ
Trad climber
El Dorado Hills, CA
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Jul 28, 2012 - 09:55pm PT
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So good!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 28, 2012 - 11:58pm PT
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July 26, 2012
Our fifth day involved about a mile on the PCT itself before we exited on the Kearsarge Pass trail. We met a couple at the trail junction who were short on water. Tricia happily shared a quarter of our water with them (and made a good deposit in our karma bank):
More pretty pictures resulted from more pretty views (this time across Bullfrog Lake toward Junction Peak):
At ten years old she's pretty self-sufficient in the outdoors. At some point do I become superfluous?
Kearsarge Pass and the trail out passed fairly quickly, although the 2,500 feet of elevation loss played hell with Katie's knee pain and made us truly glad we'd called a halt where and when we did:
After a long hike we like to eat out (who doesn't?). Katie has the legendary Young family capacity for food:
And both girls wanted donuts (I swear we usually eat very healthy foods, and why Vic and Katie picked up a whole dozen of them is beyond me… and yes, I ate my share):
And so ended a good trip, one that, had it been all that we planned on doing, would have been great. Unfortunately it's the only hike that we'll be able to do on the PCT for 2012. We have already made an appointment for Katie with the only orthopedic surgeon anywhere near here that I trust (for answers at this point, and a diagnosis and options for making it better). She's 16 and a knee is fixable and should fully recover.
And then there will be 2013.
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John M
climber
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Jul 29, 2012 - 11:38pm PT
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Bummer about the knee, but good for her for toughing it out for the 50. That is beautiful country. Thank you for sharing the trip with us. Your girls are troopers. And yep.. there are still good youngsters out there.
Think about trekking poles next time. They really help the knees on the downhills.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 30, 2012 - 12:34am PT
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"Think about trekking poles next time. They really help the knees on the downhills."
Yes, poles for sure.
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Jim Herson
climber
Emerald Hills, CA
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Jul 30, 2012 - 08:25pm PT
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Awesome! What an outstanding family project. That's some hefty mileage for anyone but especially for little Tricia. Hope Katie's knee bounces back.
Well done!
-Jim
ps. I'm sure you have the lightweight tricks dialed but wouldn't a Kindle be lighter than a book?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 30, 2012 - 10:24pm PT
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Jim, yes, we try "all" the lightweight things. That is, except those that I'm too curmudgeonly about. Like taking a Kindle. My wife has one, loves it and offered it to us for the trip. But it seems wrong, and, besides, only one person can read it at a time (just like with a book or magazine). Katie leaves her I-Pod at home too.
I've also received two comments this year alone about how old my backpack is (it's a Lowe from 1983), and I'm not rushing out to replace that either. Someday, someday...
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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"The Donald", as is his trail nickname, was near Sisters, Oregon, two days ago, is now near Mount Jefferson, and is hoofing right along. He may make Cascade Locks this weekend - it seems fairly common for PCT through hikers to get through Oregon in only two weeks. In any event, he's well-positioned for getting through Washington in August, long before the weather usually craps out.
Donald now has a SPOT link direct to his Postholer blog, which makes following him a bit easier.
http://postholer.com/journal/viewJournal.php?sid=cbc8a679a7e0f7d9a385cd2abb97476a&event_id=1363
I may be in Seattle this weekend for some research, and if so hope to get down to Cascade Locks for a visit - Donald is resupplying there and taking a day off. Plus, of course, visit Hood River Coffee - he's desperate for good coffee!
Some seem to get rather carried away with the lighweight hiking thing, often less-experienced hikers who may not be able to judge what's safe. It catches up with them in places that are snowy (Sierra) or where the weather is poor. Also, mature males can comfortably take a larger payload.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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that burrito looks really good
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old toad
Trad climber
yosemite, Ca.
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Lovely country, lovely dog and lovely girls, but who is that old man?
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Aug 18, 2012 - 03:47pm PT
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The Donald (left) at Cascade Locks last Saturday. Two other through hikers in the photo, centre Matt and to right Rest Stop. [The group adjective is a smell of through hikers.] Cascade Locks is about half an hour east of Portland, in the Columbia Gorge. At that point they've finished about 80% of the hike, and given that it's barely mid-August and the long-range forecast is for stable, warm weather, they can be fairly sure of finishing by early September. Still, North Cascades to come. They typically lose 10 - 15 kg during the four months or so of the hike, despite eating continuously.
We visited Hood River Coffee on Sunday, but it was closed. (It turns out it's not really a coffee shop.) Still, Donald got some new shoes at Shortt Supply there, and groceries for the next leg, plus talked with his wife. I got some HRC at a local store, and we rehydrated at the Full Sail brewery. A nice town.
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splitter
Trad climber
Hodad, surfing the galactic plane
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Aug 18, 2012 - 03:57pm PT
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Really great thread! Thanks for sharing your wonderful family & adventuress trip with us!!
Good Luck & Godspeed!!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 22, 2012 - 08:16pm PT
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Following up about my older daughter Katie and her knee.
She and I met with her orthopedic to talk about the MRI results. The news was mostly good; she's definitely got a left knee problem, and it is a residual of that fall in 2009. But it's not surgical. Instead the problem comes from a kneecap that isn't tracking properly due to injury. It's not too uncommon and it's fixable with physical therapy and, then, home exercises. She's already been doing the exercises daily.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Aug 22, 2012 - 08:19pm PT
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Good luck with it - I have a similar problem, due to being knock-kneed. Subpatellar chondromalachia. Exercises to strengthen quadriceps and hamstrings help quite a lot.
Donald left Cascade Locks on the 14th, and got to Snoqualmie Pass on the 21st. Half way through Washington, though the easier half.
ps Hopefully the Youngs don't mind the occasional digression from their adventures.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 22, 2012 - 08:53pm PT
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"ps Hopefully the Youngs don't mind the occasional digression from their adventures."
Not at all Anders. It's all part of doing/loving the PCT.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Donald finished his hike today, in lovely weather, although it's starting to cool down. I went out to meet him with his wife and son. We were going to hike in, perhaps as far as the border, to meet him - his last SPOT post was from north of Hart's Pass at noon on Thursday, so we knew he'd be in sometime today. We got about 30 minutes into the hike, and there he was.
Here he is at the actual finish.
Perfect timing, too - today is his wedding anniversary. And a darn good hike for him, all considered.
Four at least finished the hike today - apparently about twenty have signed the register at monument 78 so far this year, so the herd can't be far behind. Here are the four of them, post-cleanup. The other three are Matt (Ottawa), and Hanna and Eric (Indiana). Eric is a climber. Later I gave Hanna and Eric a ride into Vancouver, and may show them around on Saturay.
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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mtnyoung, i hope your daughter's knee gets back to 100% and the 3 of you trek on.
I thoroughly enjoy keeping up with your reports here and wish you and yours the best on the trail.
Thanks.
PS, I hope the dog got a doughnut too. He looked in need of one.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 1, 2012 - 01:16am PT
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Anders, seeing Donald's finish in your post was very strange; the emotions that flashed through me. I've never really imagined we'd finish the trail, but I suppose someday we may. After all that is the goal.
If we ever do I think I will be unimaginably sad and happy at the same time.
And, Johnboy, thanks very much for the good thoughts. Katie's in PT with a young woman who we've come to feel really good about (she's got a reputation for doing good work on athletes and she is a climber herself; she seemed to hit it off very well with Kate).
Oh, and although we call the dog "Charlie," it's short for Charlotte (she's a girl). And, although we try not to overdo it on the treats, she's very much a member of the family (I'll leave the conclusion to you).
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 1, 2012 - 01:23am PT
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I guess I should post up a photo or two too about my and Tricia's recent trip. With Katie back in school (and with a bad knee), "T" and I took a few days before the start of fifth grade to backpack in the southern Sierra. She "bagged" her first 14,000 foot peak (Mount Langley):
We summited a few others too, including Cirque Peak:
And hiked out in off and on rain:
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mrtropy
Trad climber
Nor Cal
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Very Nice, Looks like lots of fun!
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Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
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Awesome pictures and updates and always. Hope the eldest gets better soon.
Was just in the area of that last picture when y'all were heading out on your trek a few weeks ago. Many, many pictures of OT Marmot were to be had!
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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the problem comes from a kneecap that isn't tracking properly due to injury. It's not too uncommon and it's fixable with physical therapy and, then, home exercises. She's already been doing the exercises daily.
knee crankers! hours and hours of quality fun.
congrats to tricia on langley
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Brad, when you and your gals get to Manning, I'll meet you there. You're about 20% done at this point, so it may take a few more years. Given that there are frequent roads, towns and resupply, it's reallly just a series of three to seven day backpacks - much like what you're doing. Some do it continuously, some not.
Still thinking of getting out once or twice to meet through hikers as they arrive, and also repeat the hike to monument 78, after many years. A bit of nostalgia. Timing is a challenge - many of them try to get to Manning fairly early in the day, so as to catch the bus into Vancouver at 11:15. So they cross the border the evening before, and just have an hour or two in the morning before finishing. I might even have to go up the afternoon before.
Apparently there's concern that hordes of utter nOObs will show up at the start next spring, inspired by a book by some flaky woman who hiked part of the trail, which was promoted on television. Luckily most of them will get weeded out in the first week or two, when it's still simple to escape.
From the blogs, there's still would-be through hikers in northern California. I'd pick up the pace if I was them, but even then it may be too late - although if we have one of those endless nice autumns that lasts well into October, they may luck out. (About a 20% probability.) Still, it's already freezing at night in the North Cascades, and many of them aren't over-equipped.
ps Brad, is your dog a Duck Toller?
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The Donald
Social climber
Vancouver Island, BC Canada
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Jan 15, 2013 - 01:54pm PT
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This is The Donald, Mighty Hiker's friend who thru-hiked the PCT in 2012, and who he mentioned in this thread. Really enjoyed reading the thread of your adventure. Awesome!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 27, 2013 - 12:12pm PT
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Donald and Anders, it looks like we're about to continue your way :)
Work's wrapped up for now. We're 80% packed and scheduled to leave on Monday. Briham and his girlfriend Whitney are going to drive us over to Onion Valley and hike over Kearsarge Pass with us. Katie has been in PT for her knee, we've got her hiking poles and a knee brace designed to push the muscle that's the problem back into place as she walks. We're thinking lower milage (102 miles in 9 days). We've got this whole weekend to finish packing and to relax.
I'm hoping for the best and looking forward to more fun, laughs, beauty and miles on the PCT with my two girls.
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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Jul 27, 2013 - 12:27pm PT
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mtnyoung -- great post, keep them coming.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2013 - 07:51pm PT
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Thanks, Frumy. Our trip went perfectly.
Here's what I've posted on the Mud'n'Crud site so far under the title "Sometimes Dreams Come True." I'll post more as I get it organized on that site:
COMMENT
This was the type of backpack that I've always wanted to do with the girls. It was my dreaming about just this type of long trip in the Sierra in the first place that started the idea of doing the whole PCT with them.
We went just over 99 miles in nine days. The weather was perfect. We saw about 20 mosquitos the whole time. We laughed a lot, ate well, made two good new friends, and saw some of the finest scenery that the Sierra has to offer. Vicki met us yesterday at Vermillion Valley Resort and we enjoyed that. Now we're in Santa Barbara ready to start Katie's university orientation tomorrow.
DAY ONE
We started this trip with some issues that we all hoped would work out OK. They did.
Katie's knee was a big issue, as was the weather. The weather had been very thundery/rainy for a week before our departure date. It turned out that we left on the last day any rain fell (and then only a few drops). We scored a wonderful weather window.
Because of Katie's knee, and because of our need for lots of food, and of a ride to the Onion Valley trailhead, I looked for help from two climbing friends. Brian (yes, Briham 89 on this site) and his girlfriend Whitney drove us down to the trailhead and then helped carry packs and weight 7.3 miles over Kearsarge Pass and all the way to the PCT (they hiked back out the same day).
Here's four of us getting ready:
The girls have been hiking in ultra-lightweight gaiters now for years ("Dirty Girl Gaiters"). These keep trail dust and small pebbles out of the shoes. I finally joined the club this season, letting Tricia pick out for me my own "Dirty Girls:"
And then we were off, Katie and Tricia in the lead, Brian and I and Whitney following:
We took a water break at a little over halfway up (we had 2,500 feet of gain to Kearsarge):
And then we were at the pass (where we took a series of photos, including one designed to match a similar one we took on the way out last year):
Beyond the pass is easy downhill to the PCT itself. Once there we knew the work would begin. Katie put on her pack, Tricia took the stove fuel and water from Whitney, and I took 18 pounds of food from Brian:
Although we'd (really "I'd") planned on getting over Glen Pass by the end of the day, it didn't work out that way. The combination of a later start and slower hiking than I'd intended meant that we didn't start our hike on the PCT until 6:00 p.m. Big loads and uphill toward Glen slowed us down enough that by the time we got to the last half-mile, steep uphill section leading to the pass itself, we were pooped. So we made camp at a small lake on its south side:
This was a late arrival and a chilly camp, but we got the tent set up, water treated and dinner going. Everyone felt OK (but tired), and we were back on the trail. We'd had a much better start than last year's. We followed up dinner by eating one of the eight packs (one per night) of a special treat that Vicki had found and sent with us: freeze dried ice cream. If the reader hasn't tried this amazing concoction, there is nothing I can say here; it must be eaten to be believed (it is that good).
Next up: over Glen Pass and into the Rae Lakes basin; can we make up milage tomorrow that we didn't do today?
DAY TWO
Day two started out cold, but the sun peeked over the ridge as we started hiking:
We'd camped half a mile from Glen Pass and reached it quickly (I saw climber David Wilson and his daughter coming down from the other side - it's a small world, you've got to behave yourself no matter where you go):
Next was a descent to the well known (and beautiful) Rae Lakes. This is a multi-thousand foot descent, so Katie put on her knee brace and took it easy:
From these lakes the trail goes down Baxter Creek to its junction with Woods Creek:
Woods Creek is a big flow, so there is a suspension bridge over it:
From this junction we continued, now uphill, almost three miles more before finding a nice place to camp near the creek. We'd done 12 miles even for the day, and thus made up some of the shortage of yesterday. The bad news was that, since the descent off Glen Pass, Katie's knee had been hurting. She was also pretty tired by the time we rolled into camp:
Of interest to us too were the number of people we passed (hiking in the opposite direction) during the day. As most of you know, the PCT is the same trail as the John Muir Trail is here. The tradition with the JMT is to hike north to south, so it was safe to say that most of those we encountered were JMT hikers. Katie made a game of counting; on this day we encountered 89 south-bound hikers, and passed six stationary people. Also, near the end of the day we saw, yet again, "the guys with the yellow packs," who were also headed north. We'd been seeing these two for most of the afternoon; we'd almost catch up to them and then we'd stop for a rest and they'd move out of sight. Just before we reached camp, we passed them (then they passed us to camp a little farther upstream). In subsequent days we'd get to know these "yellow packs."
After getting to camp, we relaxed some; Tricia and I did most of the camp chores to give Katie a chance to rest.
Day three would bring another big pass. Katie commented that she wasn't sure she could keep going for nine days. Tricia had been carrying all of our stove fuel, some food and one to two liters of water (in addition to her own gear). Could she continue this with no slowing down? We agreed that tomorrow would be another day, and that these issues would be there when we woke up. We ate our ice cream, gave Kate some "vitamin I" (ibuprofen) and went to bed early.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2013 - 10:05pm PT
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DAY THREE
Day three started out with a nearly five mile hike and 2,500 feet of elevation gain, to Pinchot Pass. This was a hard day for Katie. Her left knee hurt and she felt like that same leg was getting a shin splint. She was also tired from trying so hard on days one and two:
We kept the hiking steady. The "yellow packs" passed us and we talked for a while. They seemed like good guys, they were concerned about Katie and offered some extra ibuprofen in case we needed it (we eventually did). Tricia kept going like the Energizer Bunny. Here she is with Pinchot Pass in the background:
Here we are as we climb up Pinchot:
At the top of Pinchot Pass the girls and I decided to do something that we never wanted to do, something that I would give everything I've ever owned or controlled or ever could own or control to not have to do. You see, our friend Luc Gruenther died in January, in his F-16, in a training accident over the Adriatic Sea. Luc died ten days before his first child was born (Serene Gruenther). The girls and I have known and loved Luc and his wife (Cassy) for, in my case many, many years, and in the case of the girls, their whole lives. Luc was a great person; always upbeat, kind, generous and gregarious. For those who never knew Luc, here's a link to a Supertopo thread about Luc and about the tragedy:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/2059191/Missing-US-Pilot-in-Italy
Luc started a "life list" when he was in high school. Many of the items on the list were checked off, but many weren't yet. The list included crazy stuff like "ride in a car that is going 150 miles per hour" (checked off). It included trivial stuff too, like "give my kid an ant farm" (not checked off - we think Serene will get 20 ant farms for her second birthday). One of the unfinished items on his list was to hike the John Muir Trail.
At his funeral, Luc's mom (Romel) and his widow Cassy had asked the girls and I to spread some of his ashes at a place we liked on the JMT. We liked Pinchot Pass:
It's a beautiful, serene (yes, a play on words) location. Here's looking southeast from this pass:
The "yellow packs" (Bill and Reid, we'd learned their names by now) were at Pinchot (they took the photos for us). They were a great comfort to us as we gave a part of Luc a home on a beautiful pass in a mountain range that he always wanted to know better (Reid had lost his own father in Vietnam when he was eight years old).
After Pinchot we still had several miles to hike before making camp for the night. Here's Tricia hiking down off the pass, on its north side, past a series of wonderful lakes:
We continued our hike over and down, passing the South Fork Kings River:
The day was getting late and we made camp only a mile further on, along the same river:
Little treats are nice when one is going without so many things; so tonight we treated ourselves to (again - it doesn't get old) freeze dried ice cream:
Mather Pass beckoned for day four (it can be seen behind Tricia and in front of Middle Palisade in the photo just above showing Tricia near a lake). Katie had had a tough time on Pinchot and on the descent from it. How would Mather be for her? Could she keep going or would we have to bail from our trip early? Only time would tell.
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10b4me
Ice climber
Wishes-He-Was-In-Arizona
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I really like this thread, also.
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John M
climber
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I love this thread. I keep rooting for you. . Go Katie.. Go Tricia, you guys rock.
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Great to see you and your daughters are back on the trail again this year.
You must be very proud of them, and they of you.
Keep on trucking and keep on posting.
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briham89
Big Wall climber
san jose, ca
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Looking and reading great so far.
That was a wonderful tribute to Luc as well.
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Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
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This is honestly one of my favorite long-term threads on the site, and I have looked forward to each new adventure. Thanks for sharing this special time with us. You're one hell of a dad, blessed with very special daughters.
I never met Luc, but I hated hearing about the accident. What you did for him and his family was really touching - from what I have heard of him I'm sure he approved.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 9, 2013 - 11:52am PT
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I'm not ashamed to admit that, these several months later, I was in tears while we spread Luc's ashes. I know the girls were too, although that may have been in part from seeing me in such a condition too.
DAY FOUR
This fourth morning was the coldest we were to experience. As usual, I got up and had breakfast before the girls. But before long they got up too and soon we were ready to hike. Tricia loved my "hat hair:"
The approach to Mather Pass involved much less elevation gain than that to Pinchot. It is also much more open. Here's a shot of the pass with Middle Palisade right behind it:
And I took this shot too, from the same area, looking back on Pinchot Pass; it's a very pretty area, part of the heart of the Sierra Nevada:
Tricia flew up the pass (Bill and Reid were mostly hiking with us by now and I think they were still a little blown away by this little girl who flew up trails - they were blown away again later when they realized that she wasn't just carrying fluff - she had 15 to 20 pounds on her back the whole trip):
Katie had shin splints in both legs by now, and her knee was troubling her too. But she gamely held on (the hiking poles helped). Having started hiking a little before us, she continued hard toward the pass and we didn't catch her until we were nearly there, miles later:
We rested at the pass with Bill and Reid:
The hike down from Mather Pass to Palisade Lakes was a little slow, and perhaps the low point of the trip for Katie. Tricia and I forged ahead (mostly because we needed to find water); Katie lagged and, at one point was in tears when she caught up to us (tears from pain, from frustration, and, I think, from having been left behind?):
Eventually we stopped at the north-most Palisade Lake for lunch. Something happened to Kate here, the pain didn't go away, but her reaction to it started to. Her attitude started to pick up. It was here that I started to believe that, pain or not, Katie would be able to finish the hike.
We wanted to hike a little further, so the girls sunscreened up. Katie helped "T" with her hair:
Once we started hiking again, we came right up to the edge of "The Staircase," a long series of tight switchbacks that lead down into the lower canyon of Palisade Creek. Although these are not optimal for a hiker with a knee problem, Katie put on her knee brace and we all took it easy:
Although hiking down "The Staircase" was hot and hard, we made it down to creek level. A cool, slightly downhill trail led from there to a nice campsite about two miles further downriver. We got there with daylight to spare. The girls washed up and we made camp:
And, finally, with the day coming to an end, we all practiced proper oral hygiene:
The only disappointment about this camp/evening was that Bill and Reid didn't show up. These were two really nice guys; it was obvious that they'd taken an interest in the girls welfare, and that the girls enjoyed their company. I did too. At Mather Pass we'd let them try our Instant Breakfast trail milkshakes. They loved them. We talked about letting them try freeze dried ice cream, but it was buried and so we suggested that we'd see them when we camped. As it turned out, they got to the bottom of "The Staircase" and then camped fairly close to it, so we didn't see them. Both girls were quite disappointed.
Well, tomorrow would be day five, and we'd likely see them again. This fifth day would, in another way, also be crucial. I'd arranged for another climbing friend (hero maybe?) to hike in a food resupply for us on this day, coming over Bishop Pass. We'd have to be sure to meet Phil at around the time we'd planned or... or what? We'd just have to plan on meeting him, so we planned to be up and on the trail relatively early in the morning.
DAY FIVE
So here we are at Katie's U.C.S.B. orientation. She's pretty excited. And like good parents we're paying some attention to some of the stuff designed to orient us. And last night, in the middle of a presentation by one of the university deans (a wonderful lady with a proper English accent), a mom asks, in essence, "if you're such a prestigious school why can't you guarantee that my son will be accepted to med school." I'm not making this sh#t up; it can't be made up.
Am I allowed to throttle people down here? Was it OK to guffaw? Will there always be such clueless people out there, whose stupidity is matched only by their unjustified sense of entitlement? Maybe I like climbing so much because, in Darwinian fashion, it tends to weed out most such idiots.
Anyway, back to the PCT. Hair maintenance is always easy for me, but takes the girls some time:
Once done with such chores, we headed out quickly down Palisade Creek and then up LeConte Canyon. On the way up we passed under The Citadel (what I'm pretty sure was the Edge of Time Arete was very easy to see - wow!) and past Grouse Meadow:
We only had a little over six miles to reach the Bishop Pass Trail junction where our friend Phil and I had planned to meet. We made it by just before noon and were a little worried that Phil wasn't there yet. Still, we'd talked about a time range, not a specific time and so we settled down to wait. We watched the North Face team jog by on their way to a just-over-three-day, 211 mile speed record for the JMT. We made sure our water supply was full. We ate lunch. We visited with another backpacker who was hiking in to meet his brother. And then, just as promised, 12.5 miles from the Bishop Pass Trailhead, Phil showed up:
He had with him another 15 pounds of food (my girls eat a hell of a lot). This was obviously good, but it meant that I was back up to full weight now and the hiking was harder.
We visited with Phil for quite a while (he brought good messages from Vicki and we sent one out to her too). Then we swapped loads and saddled up. And, then, just a minute before we set off, Bill and Reid showed up, hiking up the trail behind us. The girls were visibly pleased to see these two and they were happy to see the girls too. Now we caught up with them, made introductions (to Phil) and then finally set off up the trail (this time hiking as one group by consensus).
Little and Big Pete Meadows were very pretty:
By the time we'd made two more miles, we were coming to the end of the day. All of us knew we'd have to tackle Muir Pass in the morning, and we thought we'd like to get up a little ways on the trail as a head start, but it was getting late enough to camp. We started looking at possible camp sites. At one point we asked a south-bound hiker about camp sites. We got a strange answer from her to the effect that "The Rock Monster" had good camping and it was only a quarter mile ahead. OK, we liked the quarter mile part, but what is "The Rock Monster?" All she gave us was a quick "you'll know it when you see it," and she was off down the trail.
We wondered at these seemingly less-than-helpful directions, but we thought we'd keep an eye out. And, a quarter mile later, there it was, we DID know it when we saw it and we knew immediately that it would be home for the night:
We set up camp. The girls did some "laundry" by rinsing out shirts and pants in the stream (Katie almost lost her pants downstream which caused her to laugh and me to choke - she did finally find them). Meanwhile Bill got out his fly rod. Bill almost always catches and releases, but when he and Reid learned that Katie had almost never eaten fresh-out-of-a-stream trout and that Tricia never had, they offered to keep a few:
These fish were golden trout and were prepared perfectly. Three fish among five people are really only appetizers, but they were ideal in the circumstance. Although Tricia's always been a bit picky about her food, we've never indulged this and always encouraged her to try new stuff. She's lately become much better about this and, in here on the PCT, willingly tried the crisp tail fin from one fish (she liked it - similar to a potato chip):
And with that we got ready for bed. This had been a lighter day (in terms of milage at least). It was one where we got plenty of rest, and on which Katie seemed to get caught up emotionally. She was hurting, but the pain was manageable; now we were past the only trail where she could exit and she seemed committed to finishing her days on the PCT in good style. We'd also linked up with two new friends who added a lot to the conversation and to the fun, and who we enjoyed thoroughly.
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John M
climber
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One of the hardest things is not knowing if your body will be able to handle something because you don't want to be the one to mess up the trip. Plus if you are concerned that your body will break down and you are far from any trailhead, then you get concerned about how you will get out. No one likes to be rescued. Once you find out that your body can handle certain situations, then even if you hurt, things are better. Though the pain can wear you out.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Fabulous. Go, girls go. THese experiences will help them for a lifetime. They are truly seeing the world, not just a vidoe screen. WHat wonderful times with their Dad. My Dad could never take that kind of time with me until after he retired. If they don't realize it now, they will appreciate the gift of time and nature eventually.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 9, 2013 - 01:32pm PT
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I've spent my whole life working to be able to "take the time," and I've been very lucky to get to this point. Not all parents/people are that lucky. Part of it too is being married to a woman who (for me) is just the absolute perfect wife. She understands, agrees and enables these types of dreams and trips. I've been very fortunate in life.
DAY SIX
Day six started with a big hump up Muir Pass, then included a gradual downhill to Evolution Lake, ending there early in the afternoon. This may have been the most fun of the nine excellent days.
On one early break we decided "the hell with it," and broke out the new can of Pringles that Phil had carried in. Man those things are good on the trail:
Another break was at an unnamed lake just east of Helen Lake. This water body seemed to have a healthy population of frogs (and no fish - I guess there is a correlation?):
More uphill continued to Muir Pass and the stone Sierra Club hut built there in the '40s:
While resting at the pass we realized that, after this trip, the time will have come for one of our constant PCT companions. Those of you who have read a few of these reports recognize Tricia's teal colored pants from many prior trips. These have served well, and although early-on she wore holes in the back cuffs, she's grown many inches since then (including more than two inches this year alone). Worn cuffs are not a factor anymore:
No, the real issue with these old friends is with the butt; it's just worn out, and these pants will likely be replaced before our next trip:
From the pass we hiked down through fields of talus and past several lakes:
After four of the six miles that remained we passed Sapphire Lake and then stopped to refill water. While there I suggested that the huge overhanging boulder up off the trail looked like a "klingon warship" and might present some fun photo ops. The girls thought the rock looked like the one in the movie "The Lion King," but agreed that the photos might be fun (Bill and Reid agreed with me - it must be an age thing):
After the fun we continued down to Evolution Lake and then along its east shore to its north side. We found a perfect camp site with plenty of time for taking swims, sun-bathing, goofing off, snacks and relaxing. Of the several hundred Sierra lakes I've hiked past and/or camped at, this north side of Evolution Lake has to be among the top 5% for sheer location and beauty:
The evening was capped off by a wonderful show of alpenglow on Mounts Darwin and Mendel:
And so ended another dream day, spent again with my two beauties in some of the finest terrain on earth. I'm very proud of both girls: they are pretty, smart, tough, kind and also gregarious. They're being raised in a way that makes me doubt that they'll ever ask such stupid questions of a university dean (when they're parents themselves, if they ever decide to become such). Yes, sometimes in life we are privileged to dream and then to have those dreams come true.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 9, 2013 - 04:35pm PT
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DAY SEVEN
On our Seventh day we continued down Evolution Creek to the South Fork of The San Joaquin River (all visible in the following photo):
We went through McClure Meadow on the way and across a ford of Evolution Creek (it's a creek but it seems to flow more water than the South Fork of the San Joaquin that it flows into).
About halfway through our hike I glanced at an approaching woman hiker; she then looked up and said hello to me by name. Only then did I recognize a high school classmate of mine who now lives above Sonora. Her husband is the Emigrant Wilderness guidebook author and one of the California PCT guidebook authors (and also a friend of mine). Wow, like I said above, you've got to mind your manners wherever you go.... Actually it was real treat to run into them (Ben was doing research for the upcoming new edition of the PCT book).
We reached a camp site on the San Joaquin with Reid and Bill. We ate, relaxed and mentally prepared for another massive uphill tomorrow into the John Muir Wilderness (and our friends would be diverting into the Muir Ranch nearby our camp site for a layover day - a "zero day" in the words of PCT throughhikers - and so we wouldn't see them after this evening).
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Very cool Brad.
Such an experience to achieve this goal with your girls.
Say hi to the family for me, and most especially the ground support team leader Vicki!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 10, 2013 - 12:54pm PT
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DAY EIGHT
On Monday we left Bill and Reid and started up into the John Muir Wilderness. The uphill was hot and heavy (we gained most of the 3,200 feet of up in the first four miles). We finally got some relief at Senger Creek:
After gaining the elevation we passed a series of very pretty lakes on our way to Selden Pass. Here's Sallie Keyes Lake:
And Heart Lake with Selden Pass in the background:
On Selden Pass we finally got into some of the smoke from the Aspen Fire. We'd been warned by southbound hikers that the smoke was terrible, but by the time we got there it was only bad:
We ate lunch and napped overlooking Marie Lake:
From Selden the trail leads consistently down all the way to Bear Creek. We kept going now, putting on more miles than we otherwise might because the girls were developing visions of hamburgers tomorrow at Vermillion Valley Resort. Also, we all missed Vicki after now eight days away from her and intended to get out with speed to see her tomorrow. Camp on Bear Creek was just under ten miles from the end of the trail. Both girls asked me to get them up early the next morning (what an opposite request that was!):
Next up: the last and fast day of an excellent trip, the culmination of a long-held dream. And a huge step in the big changes that are happening to our family; a bittersweet moment that I knew was coming, that we'd discussed at length, and which, when it arrived was more OK than I thought possible.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 10, 2013 - 07:06pm PT
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DAY NINE
As promised, I woke the girls up a little early on our last day. We packed and were ready to hike just as the sun filled our valley. We had four miles to hike that were actually on the PCT. Much of this was along the creek itself:
We then came to a trail junction at the Bear Ridge Trail where we were to leave the PCT for this trip. Well, at least two of us were to leave the trail for this trip; the third, Katie, was to leave it and not come back.
Katie's interest in these hikes has been declining for a long time. At first I didn't listen to her on this subject, I probably didn't want to hear what she was saying. Time's gone by, she's older and her interests have been changing. Although she likes climbing and hiking, she seems to like them more when she's doing them with other people. This will likely change in a few years or in several (or maybe it won't at all). I suspect that in time she'll be OK hanging out some with dad again. But for now she wants to do other things, and especially, she wants to do things with other people.
We talked about all this before this trip and also while we were on it. Katie made it plain that this was the last PCT trip she wanted to go on (at least for the foreseeable future). At first this decision was tough on me; for years it's been three of us and the thought of Katie not being part of this dream (really, my dream) was difficult. But it's also not ultimately my decision, it's hers. And so it was made: this trip, and now, on day nine, this trail junction, was the last Katie would do with us on this fantastic trail.
I'd had nine days to think about this issue. And nine days helped a lot. By this point on the trail I was OK with Katie's decision and with continuing the trail with just two of us. In fact I think this hike, and this whole issue, were critical in me letting go of Katie in a greater sense.
Katie turns 18 in two weeks, she leaves for university in six. During this trip I really came to realize that I am done. Or at least I genuinely feel like I am done. I feel like I've given her every bit of knowledge that I have to give her. By the end of this trip I'd actually come to feel like she's raised and ready for the world. I'm ready to move from being the father of a girl to being the father of a woman. It was and is a good feeling.
And so, at PCT trail mile 874.5 we posed for pictures, we walked our customary extra feet (to make sure there's overlap and that we haven't missed a step - even though Katie's not coming back) and then we all three turned left on the Bear Ridge Trail and headed down to end the trip:
The rest of the hike to the dam at Lake Thomas Edison was easy, although it was severely downhill and seemed to be one final insult to Katie's painful shins and knee. But we got there and soon got a ride to Vermillion Valley Resort:
Once at the resort, the girls faced a dilemma: after nine days on the trail was a shower or a deluxe meal more important? Vicki hadn't yet arrived by the time we checked in, and, rather than showering only to put on dirty clothes, the girls choose to eat:
Vicki showed up soon after our lunch. We then cleaned up, enjoyed a nice dinner and then enjoyed a nice evening. We left the next day for Katie's orientation at U.C.S.B. (and man is she ever ready for university - we all had another excellent time during these two days).
Tricia and I intend to continue on the trail this month (we plan to stop for the year at Highway 120/Tuolumne Meadows). There's much more of the Sierra coming, including still more of it's best parts. But there will be two of us now and not three.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Aug 10, 2013 - 07:22pm PT
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Just totally great! This thread is heart warming. Thank you.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Aug 10, 2013 - 08:00pm PT
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Agreed, one of my favorite threads :)
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HighGravity
Trad climber
Southern California
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Aug 10, 2013 - 08:02pm PT
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Best TR ever!!
I look forward to reading each season.
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10b4me
Ice climber
Wishes-He-Was-In-Arizona
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Aug 10, 2013 - 09:08pm PT
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You never know, Katie might have a change of heart by next year.
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spidey
Trad climber
Berkeley CA
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Aug 10, 2013 - 10:04pm PT
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Wow Brad! I can't believe Katie is 18, holy moly she grew up fast!!!!!
She will appreciate these trips a lot more a few years down the road...even if she never does one again I'm sure there are tons of great memories and you've given her all you can for now but there is way more to come down the road...
I have to say I love the JMT section of your TR as I've hiked it twice now and it is the most amazing trail ever!!!! Your girls are amazing and they are lucky to have the opportunity to do this with you!
Allen
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Washington DC
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Aug 11, 2013 - 09:39am PT
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This is really need Brad. I had no idea the PCT went over Tehachapi pass so close to the freeway! Great idea.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 11, 2013 - 12:06pm PT
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Of course you're right, Tami - at least rationally I know you're right.
Alan, yeah, she's a little bigger than she was when you were hanging out with us. Your comment caused me to go back and look at photos from our very first trip on the PCT, in early April, 2007.
We started the day after Tricia turned five years old. Katie was 11 then, Tricia's age now. My dad went with us for many of the early miles. My they have grown:
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 22, 2013 - 12:44pm PT
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We got back on the trail for another four successful and fun days. I posted a trip report on Mud'n'Crud under the title:
"The PCT Volume 19: Starting Strange and Ending Fun"
Here's the first installment:
Tricia and I spent another four days on the trail (as always, with Vicki's help). The trip was strange to start with - we returned after just two weeks away and it felt weird without Katie. But we quickly got into the groove of the trip and Tricia and I (and our dog Charlotte) had a very good hike.
Vermillion Valley Resort on Lake Thomas Edison is a fun place to stay and they have good food. Two trails reach the resort from the PCT, one is further south and one is further north. We'd exited last time at the southern-most trail (Bear Ridge Trail) and needed to go back there to resume our journey. But this is a long, hot uphill and we decided to do it without packs as a day hike, work up the PCT from there to the northern-most exit and then go back to VVR for the night.
Yeah, a 12.4 mile hike to get 4.2 miles of "our" trail done might seem excessive, but doing this part as a "day hike" made sure that we had walked every step of this part of the PCT and that we got to spend another night with Vicki (and with good food). It was worth it.
Here we are back at the PCT:
The actual PCT part of this first day's hike was flat at first and then went down a very serious set of switchbacks to Mono Creek:
Soon we reached Mono Creek and turned back toward Lake Thomas Edison, VVR, and it's boat ferry:
We enjoyed our evening at VVR with Vicki. We also enjoyed breakfast there the next morning. Afterward we took the ferry back across the lake:
From the ferry landing we moved back to the PCT:
We then had our work cut out for us. The hike to Silver Pass included 3,700 feet of elevation gain. One half mile long section of trail included 800 feet of uphill/switchbacks!
All the climbing was worth it however, the Silver Pass area is unusually pretty:
And - bonus - at Silver Pass we got a first, distant view of Mount Ritter and Banner Peak (man these are close to home!):
The rest of our 13.2 mile day led to Fish Creek and a nice camp near a meadow called (why not?) Tully Hole:
We spent a quiet night there (just the three of us), and looked forward to an easier, and again "viewful" day tomorrow.
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miwuksurfer
Social climber
Mi-Wuk
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Aug 22, 2013 - 06:13pm PT
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Great photos! Didn't know she was going to UCSB. If you are in town we should get out. Don't know when I'm going to make it back up there anytime soon.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 23, 2013 - 12:46pm PT
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And here's the last of the Mud'n'Crud report:
NEXT DAY
Our next morning was crisp and cold - I came back to the tent to see a practical, experienced, young outdoors-woman with two hats on to stay warmer:
We then moved up to Tully Hole and did another 800 feet of uphill/switchbacks (but that was most of the uphill for the day):
Easy hiking ensued, past Lake Virginia (huge and very pretty), and then to and past Purple Lake (it was blue):
We got more views of Banner and Ritter - these aren't as big as the Palisades and other parts of the Sierra to the south, but they stand out more from the surrounding areas, and are, in my opinion, more impressive:
Dark clouds built up as were were passing the ten-miles-for-the-day mark. Then we got sprinkles (but not enough to do any more than dampen the trail. Then it started to rain lightly. So we put on rain shells and pack covers which... made the rain stop within five minutes:
At just under 12 miles we came to Deer Creek and a nice spot to camp. We debated moving on (to be closer to seeing Vicki in the morning, and to getting a hot breakfast), but with the skies still black we decided that 5.9 miles in the morning would be easy and we'd stay here. We set up the tent. Five minutes after we got the rain fly on and the packs inside... it started to rain again. I hope that I am not teaching my daughter that she can control the weather, or that she'll think she can always turn it on and off by her actions ;D
The rain stopped before bedtime, but a big, big wind came up to replace it. Eventually it died too and we got to sleep. Next up: a cruiser morning to Reds Meadow, seeing Vicki, and getting a hot, delicious breakfast.
LAST DAY
We started early on our last day, on the trail by 7:30 under scattered clouds. The walk to Reds Meadow was very easy, slight uphill to slight downhill on a very nice tread. As we got closer to Mammoth we started seeing some of its unique terrain, like the only-several-hundred-year-old Red Cones:
And what a treat to see the actual ski resort from behind - man we've made progress to the north!
Two Teats and San Joaquin Mountain were easily visible - these are above the "high" trail, which will be the next part of the PCT that we hike:
And of course Banner and Ritter were even closer (it seemed almost like one could reach out and touch them):
Two years ago a very bad wind storm hit northern California, causing tree blow-downs all over the Sierra Nevada. The blow-downs were particularly bad around Mammoth, and we'd been told then that parts of trails were totally impassible until the downed trees were sawed away. We could see why as we passed through these areas:
By 10:00 we were at Reds Meadow. As we approached the store, a group of JMT hikers passed a message to us from Vicki to the effect that she had made it in past Minaret Summit by 7:00 and was waiting for us at the store. They laughed and we laughed, since we could see Vicki in the distance already when they passed on the message.
We dropped our packs and had our first hot meal in three days at the restaurant there.
After breakfast with Vic we packed a fanny pack so we could continue another eight miles to Agnew Meadow, which makes a great place to stop and then start another trip. This was easy, mostly level hiking through Devil's Postpile and along the San Joaquin River.
Near the end of this hike our views of the ski resort were from the north:
We reached Agnew Meadow in no time, walked the extra feet up the high trail (to ensure overlap with our next hike) and jumped in the car to head home:
This ended our first PCT adventure without Katie. I for one missed her a lot, but I also had an absolute ball with just "T Girl." Tricia is one powerful hiker, and I'm very proud of her knowledge and ability while backpacking (way beyond what one would expect from an 11 year old).
We're already planning a two-day, 28 mile leg to Tuolumne Meadows for mid September (which will wrap up our PCT shenanigans for the season).
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Aug 23, 2013 - 02:11pm PT
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Time moves on.
We can relate to the change in your life. Our daughter is spending the last few days with us before returning to college for her senior year. We do not know if our nest will ever have a chick in it again. Bittersweet. It hit my husband very hard. Dadd and daughters, a very special bond. If we are good parents, we raise them to be able to take care of themselves. Seems like you did a good job, Dad.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Aug 23, 2013 - 02:15pm PT
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awesome trs brad.
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Aug 23, 2013 - 02:40pm PT
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Wow. The temporary parting of ways brought serious tears to my eyes! Beautiful TR and people and dad and daughters and mom. Thanks. Might Katie ever consider posting a reply? I think about my nieces (no kids of my own) when they were 18, that would probably be "No! I'm not posting a reply". Good on y'all!
UCSB, ... surf!!!!
Darwin
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Aug 23, 2013 - 02:58pm PT
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What a journey. Memories that will last a lifetime and grow fonder with time I'm sure. 60 years from now I suspect they will be telling their grandkids about you and these trips.
Thankyou for the time you spent on these reports. I especially appreciate it, as not having any children, I know I've missed out on some treasures life has to offer.
Thanks for sharing a glimpse of them.
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10b4me
Ice climber
Wishes-He-Was-In-Arizona
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Aug 23, 2013 - 04:37pm PT
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I can't get enough of your trip report, Brad.
I liked the pic of you, and your dog in the tent. It looked pretty tired.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 23, 2013 - 09:06pm PT
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Darwin, Katie got home a short while ago. For a laugh I told her that you'd asked if she'd consider posting her thoughts on this thread (I was pretty sure ahead of time what the response would be).
Indeed, I got the "Dad-the-fact-that-you-even-breathe-is-so-uncool" look.
I actually quite enjoy being the least cool substance in the universe.
I suspect that I'll also enjoy being beyond that stage though....
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 10, 2013 - 01:03am PT
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Here's the trip report I posted on the Mud'n'Crud site under the title "The PCT Volume 20: Ending the Season 942.7 Miles From the Mexican Border:"
Tricia and I did the Mammoth to Tuolumne Meadows hike on Saturday and Sunday (helped as always by Vicki, to whom - if I mind my manners for a few more days - I will have been married to for 21 years come Thursday!). We had great weather; even the Rim Fire smoke was totally gone until the wind shifted on Sunday, half an hour after we got to The Meadows (and things then got pretty smokey).
We did the 27.8 mile trip in two days since it is too soon in the school year to take Tricia out for a day. It worked out well, Saturday we did over 16 miles and then had an easy, even cruiser Sunday during which we hiked just under 11 miles by 12:15 in the afternoon.
After spending Friday night in Mammoth, we got over Minaret Summit before the shuttle bus becomes mandatory and then had breakfast at Reds Meadow. After eating we drove back to Agnew Meadow where it was still cold enough that Tricia got ready in the car and so Vicki "stole" her too-small down jacket to stay warm:
I on the other hand wore my brand new jacket (the result of an "oh-shit" moment driving down the night before and remembering that I had forgotten to pack that item - thanks if you read this Erin of Mammoth Mountaineering for helping us on an emergency basis after normal hours!!):
Unlike the John Muir Trial, the PCT takes the "High Trail" to Thousand Island Lake. This trail has some of the most magnificent views in the Sierra, to the west, looking at Banner Peak, Mount Ritter and the Minarets (right to left in the following photo):
Tricia and I really flew up this trail. We made the 7.8 miles to Thousand Island by just after noon. We ate lunch there and then posed for photos:
Here's a view looking back toward Mammoth at the High Trail, San Joaquin Mountain and Two Teats:
With the day's milage half done, we looked forward to crossing Donahue Pass and entering Yosemite:
By the time we neared this pass we had hiked nearly 15 miles for the day and were feeling a little tired:
But we made it, rested for a while and then continued:
Just over Donahue appears one of the most sublime views in the Sierra, the wonderful Lyle Canyon of the Tuolumne River (our next day's hike):
We made our way another two miles then to a small, unnamed lake beyond the pass, but still above the main part of Lyle Canyon:
Once there we relaxed as the last sun of the day faded onto the surrounding peaks:
I got Tricia to laugh at how her long underwear matched the color of our water bottle:
Then we made a tent-less, stove-less, but very comfortable and pretty bivy (these were the lightest packs either of us had carried for quite some time). There really is something life-affirming about hanging out at 10,000 feet, in warm sleeping bags with your 11 year old, watching the Milky Way slowly appear in the night sky:
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Sep 10, 2013 - 01:17am PT
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You are living the life. Your daughters will remember these days.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 10, 2013 - 10:54am PT
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I also intend to remember these days!! :) :)
Here's the next/last section of this report (by way of explanation, I usually do a day at a time in these so that digging through/downloading lots and lots of photos on Flickr is less cumbersome):
Day two started with a chilly descent to the meadows of the Lyle Fork:
We then cruised a very easy and very "viewful" eight miles of hiking down this pretty canyon:
In the photo above, The Kuna Crest makes up the right side of the canyon. We decided to come back on an October weekend to spend a day summitting this formation (and we'll spend the other weekend day exploring the volcanoes near Mono Lake - Tricia is studying geology in science right now).
Other campers weren't moving yet, they were hanging around their campfire:
The day slowly warmed and the canyon slowly changed direction from north to west:
After a wonderful morning we started coming into Tuolumne Meadows. To have hiked to Tuolumne Meadows from Mexico was really moving for me; "mountaineering" in my boyhood meant camping and hiking with my family there. I knew Unicorn and Cathedral Peak by name and sight from any angle by the time I was six or seven years old. Dad and I hiked up Mount Dana when I was seven years old. So, when "T" and I arrived there, I was quick to grab photos of her, "the" trail, and these peaks:
We then quickly arrived at Highway 120 and crossed it. This is the end of PCT Section "H," and the end too of the first of the three PCT guidebooks:
We'd agreed to meet Vic at the Lembert Dome parking area at 2:00 p.m. But since we arrived almost two hours early, and since the next two tenths of the PCT weren't particularly aesthetic (the trail is the shoulder of the gravel, Soda Springs Road for that distance), we decided to get a small jump on next year's first hike (we dumped our packs with some picnickers at the parking lot first though):
And so, with the customary several extra feet of hiking (to insure overlap and that we haven't missed a single step), we brought to a close our best PCT season yet (when we got home we started talking about our first trip next year - to Sonora Pass, a 50 minute drive from our house!):
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10b4me
Ice climber
Soon 2B in Arizona
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Sep 10, 2013 - 11:13am PT
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Still one of the top five threads on Supertopo in recent years.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 10, 2013 - 01:29pm PT
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Thanks 10b. Obviously we're having fun on our end.
But it's time to shut it down now until next July or so (as much as I'd like to do the Tuolumne to Sonora Pass leg now, I don't think the school, or my wife, would appreciate me taking Tricia out of school for a week right now).
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Jim Herson
climber
Emerald Hills, CA
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Sep 12, 2013 - 12:13am PT
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Your daughters rock! Such great troopers. What a fun, memorable, gorgeous project. Good luck next season!
-Jim
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Sep 12, 2013 - 12:38am PT
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+1 for the good guys and gals!
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Michelle
Social climber
1187 Hunterwasser
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Sep 12, 2013 - 12:43am PT
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Kick ass!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - May 13, 2014 - 05:01pm PT
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I'm bumping this post now for two reasons:
1. We've got an excellent summer PCT schedule penciled out; and
2. I owe a bunch of you a "you told me so!."
First, we'll do one big trip this summer and a whole bunch of smaller ones. Mostly this schedule is dictated by the locations of the various trans-Sierra highways. Here's the plan (subject, of course, to fine tuning):
Late July, Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass, 76 miles, seven days (allowing an extra day for peak-bagging - also, since this is one of the very, very best parts of the PCT, I'm saving it for only me and the girls);
First half of August, Sonora Pass to Highway 4, 31.6 miles, two days (or maybe three days if a friend or friends join us);
First half of August, Highway 4 to Highway 88, 28.8 miles, two or three days;
First half of August, Highway 88 to Highway 50, 14.3 miles, one day;
August or September, Desolation Wilderness, meaning Highway 50 to Forest Road 3, 32.3 miles, two or three days;
September, continuing to Highway 80, past Donner Pass, 32.0 miles, two or three days.
Early October, Highway 80 to Highway 49, 38.4 miles.
Schedules are always subject to change, and plans don't always work perfectly, but these are the trips we're going to aim for.
Second (and here's where I owe some of you), I used the word girls (with an "s") in the first entry above on purpose. Katie is going to join Tricia and me on the first (seven day) leg from Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass.
Many of you told me to expect this (or something like it). In all honesty, I agreed and I hoped that she would join us some more. But I expected that she absolutely wouldn't do this until after college, or at best toward the end of it. It makes me very happy to say that I was wrong.
U.C.S.B. has been very good for Katie. She's been away from our small town for most of a year now. Friends who have stopped by to see her have used the word "thriving" to describe her. She's kept in good contact with us, and, to our surprise, she decided to join us for Spring Break, the whole family camping and climbing in Joshua Tree (she brought a friend too that we all thought was a very nice young man, the type of person that a parent wants their child to hang out with).
Early on down there she joined the university's Excursion Club and started sea kayaking, camping and hiking with them. I think she found her niche. After only a few months they made her a leader of the club, and now she's been taking other kids on hiking and backpacking trips (it does me a lot of good when she calls for gear and planning advice for these!).
I've been looking forward to this summer since we stopped our trips in September of last year. Now I'm looking forward to it even more.
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zBrown
Ice climber
Brujo de la Playa
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May 13, 2014 - 06:51pm PT
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Great idea you have here. It would be cool, I think, if you posted an annotated map showing the segments completed todate.
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HighGravity
Trad climber
Southern California
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May 13, 2014 - 11:05pm PT
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BUMP, for one of the best TR's on the site!!!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - May 13, 2014 - 11:44pm PT
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zBrown: Although we keep a map like that on our kitchen wall, I don't have the computer skills to find, label and post one here. (Yeah, I know, damn us dinosaurs).
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briham89
Big Wall climber
san jose and south lake tahoe, ca
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May 14, 2014 - 12:30am PT
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I was just thinking Whitney and I could join you on the Tuolumne to Sonora section but then I read on to just the girls, which is understandable.
I'm glad for you that Katie is joining in on the adventure.
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zBrown
Ice climber
Brujo de la Playa
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May 14, 2014 - 10:00am PT
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After playing with it, such a long route is hard to do on a map, but not impossible. I did this in Paint. If you click to enlarge, it's decent.
You could try taking a photo of it. I've had some success posting photos of book pages elsewhere.
I've only been on part of the PCT, the southern terminus and first 19 miles from Campo to Lake Morena. It's a very hot and dry segment. That's me in red.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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May 14, 2014 - 10:05am PT
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Cool, Brad and Tricia!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - May 14, 2014 - 10:22am PT
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...that's me in red.
I had to smile at that.
It is a long trail; over 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada. Your map shows it well, at least in a format that fits on this thread.
If you had the time or the inclination we could be shown (in orange?) as having made it to Tuolumne Meadows? That would show that, as much as we've done, we're not even halfway yet!
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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May 14, 2014 - 10:41am PT
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Looks like a great time! When we did the JMT two years ago, we ran into a father and his adult daughter at Forester Pass, and at Glenn we saw a kid and his grandfather headed southbound. They all were having a fine time.
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crusher
climber
Santa Monica, CA
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May 14, 2014 - 05:18pm PT
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BUMP for one of the most fabulous threads this site has ever seen.
I'm going to go back and read the whole thing again, I've enjoyed it so much!
TFPU!
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zBrown
Ice climber
Brujo de la Playa
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May 14, 2014 - 06:35pm PT
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Bump for subtle, delayed reference to Lembert Dome and All in the Family II.
Beginning of segment two of PCT, leaving Lake Morena. (That's me in the shadows)
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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May 14, 2014 - 08:43pm PT
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Wonderful journey and great thread. A real testament to a family relationship that's full of adventure. Thanks for taking us along.
Press on kids!
Scott
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 19, 2014 - 10:54am PT
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Well, that's pretty disappointing.
Everything has been shaping up nicely for our next PCT leg (Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass in seven days). We had to push the start back by one day due to an ongoing cycle of thunderstorms (we're starting Monday instead of tomorrow). But now we're leaving into a fantastic looking weather window. Work's in good shape. I feel like I'm in good shape, and Tricia's very enthused. Our friend from last summer, Reid (one of the "yellow packs" we met on the nine day backpack) is going to join us.
And Katie's got a cold.
Damn, damn, damn. I've been in denial all week. She was really bad clear into Tuesday. I thought she'd get better faster. But Vicki and I spoke with her last night (she's down at school in Santa Barbara) and she's just clearly not well enough. I can't see taking her to 9,000 feet and hiking 11 miles per day without her feeling like crap the whole time.
If we wait a week for her, we'll have no real chance of getting to Highway 80 by more hikes this summer. So we're going to go without her.
This northern Yosemite leg of the PCT is one of the most beautiful hikes in the world. I really had my heart set on doing it with both girls.
Katie doesn't seem to mind all that much. She's going to join us instead for two three-day legs later in the month (from Highway 50 to Highway 80). I know those legs will be great, and I'll love having her along then. But I'm pretty disappointed right now.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jul 19, 2014 - 11:28am PT
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that's too bad--
but grinding at elevation with a cold would suck
have fun-- looking forward to the pix
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whitemeat
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo, CA
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Jul 19, 2014 - 02:56pm PT
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My first time seeing this thread! Awesome!! I have been dreaming of the PTC for a while now! Thanks for the stoke to make me want it that much more!
You Guy's ROCK!!!!
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RP3
Big Wall climber
Sonora
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Jul 19, 2014 - 04:58pm PT
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That's such a bummer, Brad. Perhaps she will feel better in time...
Either way, have a blast! We will be thinking of you.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Jul 19, 2014 - 06:14pm PT
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Go, Team, GO!!
I look froward to the years you hit the Northwest, and I must see this, and plan a treat.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 28, 2014 - 07:52pm PT
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We got back last night after a truly excellent trip.
We went 75.9 miles, Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass, in seven perfect days. One of the absolute highlights of the trip was Tricia's reaction to passing the PCT 1,000 mile point (1,000 miles from the Mexican border at 12 years old!). On our last night Tricia and I slept at 10,500 feet directly on the pacific crest. Then we hustled out yesterday morning as the clouds and smoke built up.
What a trip! What a section of trail!
What a dinner of real food we had tonight.
I posted the first two days of our trip to Mudn'Crud under the title:
The PCT Volume 21: Closest to Home
Here they are (and now I'm waiting to get more photos ready for downloading):
FIRST DAY:
Our 2014 PCT kickoff trip went very well. Sitting here looking back, we seem to have filled the perfect weather window; the series of storms during the week before our trip caused some flash-flooding in the Sonora Pass area and, right now, serious clouds are building even way down the hill for what looks like more of the same.
We've got a long tradition on the PCT of starting completely, exactly where we left off on our last trip. This time we decided to (of course) do the same thing. Here we are in Tuolumne Meadows, near Lembert Dome, right at the gate on the trail to Soda Springs:
This trip included three people. I was mightily disappointed that Katie was still sick and couldn't go (in retrospect it was a good idea for her not to have done this fairly strenuous trip). But our friend Reid, one of the "yellow packs" that we had met on our nine day trip last year, joined us this trip:
As for most California climbers, Tuolumne Meadows is pretty special to me. But I haven't just spent huge numbers of climbing days there; when I was boy, my family vacationed there most summers. I came to know the peaks and domes of the area by heart. So, just like last year, being there again, pursuing a special goal with Tricia, was pretty cool. This shot of her on the way down the Tuolumne River well captures this new PCT adventure, some of the many domes I've climbed on there, plus some of the the better-known Tuolumne Meadows area peaks:
Although we had heavy loads, the trail to Glen Aulin is lightly downhill, and we flew down it:
The first waterfall on the river is as pretty as I remembered (and so is the second one - I still recall my family being at the family being at the second waterfall, the one right at Glen Aulin, swimming and playing when I was a boy 45 years ago):
From Glen Aulin, the trail heads up Cold Canyon, through forests and beautiful meadows, toward Virginia Canyon. This part of the trail was all waterless during this very dry year, even in July:
As we do each day on our hikes, we stopped for a "trail milkshake" as an afternoon pick-me-up. These "milkshakes" consist of one half liter of water mixed with powdered whole fat milk and two vanilla Instant Breakfasts. They make a nice energy boost late in the day (Reid started calling them "whales' milk" later in the trip; that name made us laugh):
This enormous boulder looked pretty cool, both as a climbing location and as a place to just hang out:
But we'd planned a fairly long first day and we had a few miles to go yet to water. So we continued on and then into Virginia Canyon (and the creek there, which, curiously, bears the name Return Creek, not Virginia Creek):
We ended that day in a pretty, slabby area of the creek. We had enough daylight left to relax and enjoy the cooler hours:
We made 13.6 good miles on this first day. We had fun and then got to lighten our loads (by eating!). And the next day promised more of the same.
SECOND DAY:
Day two started in a leisurely fashion with breakfast, coffee and some sunshine:
We then started three straight days of ups and downs into and out of deep canyons. Although not as severe as some of the passes and valleys in the southern Sierra, these canyons make for a lot of elevation change.
From Virginia Canyon we hiked up to Spiller Canyon. Switchbacks then led to pretty Miller Lake:
As we then continued north we got our first view of the Sawtooth Ridge on the northern edge of Yosemite (just up and left of Tricia):
The guidebook then describes "two dozen" switchbacks down into Matterhorn Canyon. Matterhorn is pretty and pretty remote. Among its beauties is a very large buttress of nice looking granite (I don't know of any name for the buttress and nor do I think it has been climbed). Here's the trail visible on the canyon floor (just higher in the photo than the creek):
Here's a photo of hiking on the floor and one of the buttress:
Having gone down, we then had to go up. Switchbacks and creekside hiking led in a few miles to Benson Pass. Although not particularly high, this pass is high enough to get really good views of most of northern Yosemite. The view to the west shows Volunteer Peak (Volunteer is also not very tall, except in comparison to the surrounding areas, and then it really stands out):
From Benson we headed down (naturally) to Smedberg Lake. I'd been to Smedberg once before, in 1982 with my brother (I was then 21 years old). I was quite pleased to see it again 32 years later. We found a nice camp there and spent the rest of the daylight hours reading, relaxing, eating and planning our next day's hike (to include summiting Volunteer Peak!):
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RP3
Big Wall climber
Twain Harte
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Jul 28, 2014 - 10:06pm PT
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Outstanding shots!
That buttress in Matterhorn Canyon is called The Pharaoh" and has some hard (5.11, 5.12) free climbs on it. A buddy of mine climbed one of them a few years ago. He said the whole formation particularly glacially polished. He had a blast though and that formation remains on my short list.
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labrat
Trad climber
Auburn, CA
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Jul 28, 2014 - 10:12pm PT
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Always a pleasure to read and look at your trip reports. Thank you!
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Jul 28, 2014 - 10:16pm PT
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Nice boulder.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jul 28, 2014 - 10:56pm PT
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the flying saucer!
looks like a blast-- tx for the pix. i haven't been back in matterhorn cnyn, so that stuff is entirely new to me-- nice to see it.
looks like you all are having a blast. hope the skeeters are mellow. if we';re gonna have a drought, there should be some payoff.
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Sebastopol
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Jul 28, 2014 - 11:06pm PT
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Great work Brad! Thanks for sharing. Hope to see you soon!
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Jul 28, 2014 - 11:08pm PT
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Great Update Brad!
Best TR on the taco.
It keeps giving, well until you finish!
Cheers!
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Jul 29, 2014 - 05:38am PT
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Wow! Making no small plans and going for it!!! Good on you Brad, thanks for sharing with us.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 29, 2014 - 09:19am PT
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Thanks. And here's the segment from our third day.
And not to give too much away, but of all the miles we did on this trip (and even of all the miles we've done on the PCT), the miles closest to home - the 10 miles up to Sonora Pass itself - were some of the most spectacular we've seen. These are coming up on days six and seven...
When I hiked this section of trail (north to south) in 1982, it never occurred to me to walk up Volunteer Peak (or up any other peak for that matter). Yet one of the photos I have from then is of the very steep, very tall, north face of the formation. When I see that shot it makes me wonder why I didn't just sidetrack now and then to a summit.
And Volunteer in particular is a cool peak. While it wouldn't even qualify as a "bump" in the Palisades or the Evolutions, it stands very far above it's surrounding terrain in northern Yosemite. And even though its north side is nearly vertical, its an easy walk up on the south.
So, on our third morning I decided that I would drop my pack about a mile into our hike and go to the top of Volunteer. Reid was totally jazzed at the idea. Tricia didn't apparently get the "I" part of "I" and just assumed that she'd go too.
Here it is from the northwest:
And the views from the summit:
Tricia quickly picked out where we'd slept at Smedberg the night before:
By now, Tricia's done many Sierra summits, and so she's quite comfortable descending talus (and let's face it: all 12 year olds should be absolutely comfortable on talus):
After descending Volunteer, we shouldered our packs and did the bone-crushing 2,100 foot descent down to Piute Creek near Benson Lake. And what a descent! They don't built steep, steep trails like this any more.
Just like she is good on talus, Tricia is also comfortable on fallen log "bridges" (and all twelve year olds should also be good at these too):
Reid does pretty well on features like this too (for an old guy):
A too-warm hump up Seavy Pass followed (that's Volunteer Peak in the next photo, just up and left of me):
In exchange for the heat and the uphill though, the hike up to Seavy included some very nice terrain. This included one feature that the PCT guidebook artfully describes as a "wind free, sparkling pond:"
And then we ended this third day in Kerrick Canyon, camped near the creek, oriented to get the last rays of the setting sun. We were nicely set up again for another day, and another section of a fantastic trail:
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Jim Herson
climber
Emerald Hills, CA
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Jul 29, 2014 - 10:51am PT
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Where's the "Super Like" button?! Tricia is such an awesome adventurer! Bummer Katie was sidelined on this leg but the Sierra will always be there. And what better excuse for a repeat trip than sharing a gorgeous section of the Sierra with your daughter. Congratulations on this ongoing beautiful adventure with such special young ladies!
-Jim
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Footloose
Trad climber
Lake Tahoe
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Jul 29, 2014 - 11:13am PT
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Thanks for the stoke.
Such beautiful pics and descriptions
I feel like I'm right there!!
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r2d2
Trad climber
East Bay
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Jul 29, 2014 - 11:33am PT
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Nice pictures. Well done!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 29, 2014 - 11:45am PT
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Thank you for the comments. Sometimes it's weird looking at these reports myself. I'm supposed to be a climber (I AM a climber), and yet the fun we get from and the passion we have for this project is as meaningful as any climbs I've ever done.
I suppose my reaction should be gratitude that I don't have to do just one or the other!!
And, RP3, here are my two reactions to your comment:
1. Your "short list?" Your short list is as long as Tricia's legs ( that is, it's really, really long);
2. It just occurred to me that, given the incredible breadth of knowledge you have of California climbing, you could well be the next "Clint Cummins" of this and of other climbing web forums. I'm impressed.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 29, 2014 - 02:57pm PT
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Here's what I posted to Mudn'Crud about our fourth day:
I always let Tricia sleep in on these trips. I know, I risk having a spoiled brat child by indulging her in this way, but on the other hand, she is putting out huge gobs of energy on these trips, and she's still growing at a fantastic rate too. I'll take the risk:
This day started with the usual packing rituals (everything in its place, everything buttoned down, lunch and water ready):
Today's hike required two big uphills, out of Kerrick Canyon and then into and out of Stubblefield Canyon. This photo shows about where the PCT crosses Kerrick Creek; this crossing was placid for us, but it has a reputation for danger when early-season through-hikers hit it in June of most years:
Like Kerrick, Stubblefield Creek was also placid, but it was also deeper:
The second climb of the day was out of this canyon. It was a hot climb. Here's what it looked like from the other side of the canyon (we climbed up the shallow side-canyon in the center of this photo):
Here's how it looked going up it:
We found a nicely shaded lunch spot with a breeze though:
At the end of this climb, according to the PCT guidebook, the "deep canyons" that had dominated the last 30 miles of hiking were done. We liked this. From the ridge top we quickly reached Tilden Canyon and then Wilma Lake:
We ended the day by starting up Jack Main Canyon (the creek through this canyon doesn't share that name - the creek's named Falls Creek; go figure). Jack Main Canyon is one of the longest north-south canyons in the Sierra (ten plus miles). It's also beautiful and the hiking is easy:
Our camp for the night was perfect. Easy creek access, beauty, near the trail, and good sun exposure. We relaxed and cleaned up before making camp and then dinner:
As we got into our sleeping bags that night, I thought back to the start of this trip; I had particularly looked forward to two sections of trail both of which I'd done many years before. One of these was the last ten miles to Sonora Pass itself. The other was the distance up Jack Main Canyon past Grace Meadow and then to Dorothy Lake. I knew that this latter section, which I remembered as gorgeous and gradual, would make up most of our hike tomorrow.
I also knew that we'd pass PCT trail mile 1,000 late tomorrow. That's only 1,000 out of 2,658 miles, but that's still a long way to hoof it from the Mexican border. I looked forward to "going quadruple digits" with my little 12 year old; 1,000 miles seemed significant to me, and it's taken her more than half her life to get that far. How would she react to this milestone?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 30, 2014 - 09:42am PT
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Day five:
Jack Main Canyon is a nice place to wake up. Here's the view downstream from our camp:
We headed upstream and quickly reached the lower end of Grace Meadow:
Reid and Tricia seemed to use every break this trip to soak their feet in the many creeks and lakes we passed:
Dorothy Lake sits near the top of Jack Main Canyon. Dorothy is a half-mile long, beautiful lake in a beautiful location:
Forsyth Peak stands over the lake (Forsyth was an Army officer back when the Army patrolled the park; Dorothy was one of his daughters):
By the time we'd reached Dorothy's northwest shore, we'd already hiked eight miles for the day. So we took a long lunch:
After Lunch we did a quick quarter mile up to Dorothy Lake Pass (which is very visible just above the lake in the second Dorothy Lake photo above):
This pass is the north border of Yosemite National Park. The Hoover Wilderness starts on its north side. This point, which I have passed over several times before, is where it hit me hard that, "man we're getting close to home!" We stopped for pictures:
On the other side of the pass are a series of smaller lakes (named for Forsyth's other daughters). The hiking past here is very pretty:
But we had another purpose by now. Yes, the lakes here are pretty. And yes, the hiking is easy. But Dorothy Lake Pass is at PCT trail mile 998.3; we had several miles of hiking energy still in us, and we were getting excited about that upcoming, meaningless, but oh-so-fun mile marker 1,000.
We didn't know what to expect. As usual, Tricia was hiking ahead of me. I had the map. I'd yell thoughts and directions to her as we moved. Then, just as I was describing a curve in the trail, she yelled back "here it is Daddy!" Here it is:
Tricia had actually seen a small "sticks and stones" 1,000 mile marker that is right on the trail:
But over the years, PCT hikers had also left a larger marker. This is off the trail, and it's subtle enough that other hikers might not even notice it (it is visible in the photo of Tricia above, a big cairn to the right of the trail). Reid, for example, had hiked ahead a bit at this point, and, since he wasn't particularly looking for it, he didn't see the marker. We walked over:
Tricia then asked if she could add a stone to the monument. "Of course," I said:
This was a pretty cool moment. Does the 1,000 mile mark have any more meaning than any other point we passed on this trip? Maybe not; certainly it doesn't have more meaning in any objective sense. But Tricia was pretty thrilled (and when we caught up to him a few minutes later, Reid was totally thrilled for her too). As for me? Well, the area there must have had some kind of odd bug in the air, just there, right at that one location; an odd and invisible bug that must have been buzzing, unseen, very close to my face. How else to explain the moisture in my eyes as I saw the beaming pride of accomplishment in my beautiful little girl?
We kept going after this marker. When the forest opened up we started seeing ridges and peaks that weren't granite. We were leaving the High Sierra now and entering the northern Sierra:
We got our first view of still-distant Tower Peak (a big, big peak for this area, it's in the high, left-center of this photo; Tower Peak also marks the northern border of Yosemite National Park):
We finished the day at a nice camp near the Long Lake Trail Junction:
At this point we were well along toward Kennedy Canyon and, after it, the Sierra Crest. We had a plan for tomorrow, and this campsite put us in perfect position to see it through.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Jul 30, 2014 - 11:52am PT
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1,000 miles - awesome.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 30, 2014 - 12:11pm PT
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Wonderfull! TFPU!
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RP3
Big Wall climber
Twain Harte
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Jul 30, 2014 - 01:01pm PT
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Thanks for the kudos, but I am entirely undeserving of THAT title. I just happened to walk past that formation ~6 times over the years and always dreamed of climbing it.
Have a blast on the next leg!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 30, 2014 - 02:24pm PT
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Secor lists The Pharaoh here…
Ironic that I had copied that very page to take with me regarding Volunteer Peak; and yet I didn't identify the buttress I was looking at :)
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 30, 2014 - 08:37pm PT
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Day six:
Our plan for day six involved going slow on purpose. We'd spent night five just four miles from Kennedy Canyon. The trail through Kennedy Canyon leads right up to the sierra crest. This canyon is also only 11 miles from Sonora Pass. Finally, we expected to find no water past this canyon (and we were right, there wasn't any).
So, after a leisurely start, we made the four miles, tanked up on water, added three gallons of water to our loads (three gallons total, not each), and humped up to spend a night right on the crest. And what a treat that was!
The climb out of Kennedy is long but not steep. After a gradual ascent to above tree line, it follows an old mining road up several dramatic switchbacks.
Here's the view back down the switchbacks and also one down Kennedy Canyon (beautiful country there above tree line):
This long uphill with extra water was worth it. Once we reached the top of the climb we were on the crest. The views were sublime and the location fantastic. Here's the view looking south, into the Hoover and Emigrant Wildernesses and Yosemite:
This photo shows the actual pacific crest heading north toward Sonora Pass. The PCT is barely visible right below that crest:
And here we see a view to the west, showing also a proud daddy who's having a hell of a good time with his daughter:
Once the PCT reaches the crest it stays right near it for the next ten miles to the pass. This is just an incredible section of trail; views in every direction, dramatic cliffs to one side, steep slopes to the other. I'd forgotten how cool this part of the trail is, and how close it is to our home:
Eventually we came to a spot that was flat, wind sheltered and right near the crest. The perfect last night's campsite:
Although we quit hiking a bit early for the day, we did so just to enjoy this spot (it was only 6 1/2 more miles to the pass). After settling in, Tricia and I decided to go one step further; she and I moved up to a flat, sheltered spot that was on the actual crest itself. This was a spot where, even laying in my sleeping bag I could have thrown a rock one way and it would have gone into the Pacific Ocean drainage, while a rock thrown the other way would have gone into the Great Basin drainage. We slept under the stars too, all at 10,500 feet (and that's an elevation that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "under the stars"). This was a really nice place:
The last rays of the sun looked particularly soft here; we were in the alpenglow instead of just seeing it:
We had a nice campsite, adequate water and just enough food. So we spent a great night and were well positioned for the next morning and for the rest of a wonderful hike.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Jul 30, 2014 - 11:07pm PT
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My bro-in-law used to rave about the TYT (alternative to PCT north of Yosemite).
Ultimate respect and thanks extended to you guys.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 31, 2014 - 10:14am PT
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And here's our last day (day seven):
Our last day was short and beautiful. We continued along the pacific crest:
The trail alternates sides of the crest. It also passes among volcanic towers:
We took a break overlooking Blue Canyon:
Before long Chipmunk Flat, a Sonora Pass Climbing area with hundreds of established routes came into view (this was quite a new way to see this climbing crag - too bad the smoke was thick on this day from the fires to the south):
One last flat stretch led to a point from which we could clearly see the paved highway at Sonora Pass:
Two miles of long switchbacks then led down to the closest point that the PCT comes to our house:
We continued another tenth of a mile to the picnic area located near the pass and then we were done. There remained only to wait for Vicki, our ride home (only a 50 minute drive!), and to add up all our remaining food. Here's the leftover food, left over from a three person, seven day trip (not bad, I wish I could call it that close every time!):
And now we're still waiting for the weather. Although Tricia and I had hoped to finish from Highway 108 to Highway 4 and then from Highway 4 to Highway 88 this week, the thunderstorm cycles are back, and we're not so foolish as to go out directly into them if we can help it. Instead it looks like we'll get out Saturday and Sunday for the 31.6 mile hike to Highway 4 and beyond that will wait until after Tricia's week at science camp.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Super cual guys and Tricia! We will catch a segment of this with you up trail. Up trail being north by a standard and correct globe perspective.
This,
Not this,
Which could lead to this,
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 5, 2014 - 09:33pm PT
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Trip number two for the summer also went very smoothly. I posted this to the Mudn'Crud forum (I haven't edited out the first name references to friends of ours on that site).
I used the title: The PCT Volume 22: A Highway to Highway Quickie:
DAY ONE
Tricia and I "ran" the 31.6 mile distance from Highway 108 to Highway 4 this last Saturday and Sunday. Well not really; we didn't actually run. But we did go very fast and very light (I started with 30 pounds and Tricia with just under 10). And we somehow missed (again) all of the precipitation that has been hitting the high country over the last several weeks.
We had a really great start on Saturday; a leisurely wake-up followed by a 55 minute drive to the pass (we were hiking by 9:00 a.m.):
Vicki hiked the first mile with us before turning around:
We reached and then traversed across the south side of Sonora Peak. This part of the trail is visible from the highway. Then the trail crosses the crest and heads north to the headwaters of the East Fork Carson River. It then follows the "river" first as a tiny rivulet and then as a stream until after five miles it might, maybe be called a small river. Here's Tricia just before the descent into the start of the canyon:
And here's a view in the opposite direction, looking up canyon from five miles down (in the prior photo Tricia is standing in the obvious saddle that is in the middle of this shot):
Nine miles into the hike the PCT leaves the river and moves up and to its west. Gentle uphill leads past pretty streams and, occasionally, really expansive views:
Stanislaus Peak seemed to always be visible. Here it is (the closer one) along with Sonora Peak (slightly left) and a six mile stretch of the East Fork Carson River Canyon:
We passed under Boulder Peak (a pretty but totally non-descript rubble pile that I climbed on one of Tricia's first backpacking trips in 2006):
By now we were 13 miles into the day and we were getting pretty weary. Slight uphill led to slight downhill. In spite of being tired however, we broke into smiles when we came to "Son of Hexentric." This volcanic rubble pile/peak had several faces that each looked like the Sonora Pass climbing route Hexentric. Here's one of them:
(For some reason seeing this formation made me think immediately of Rob. Maybe because I think he'll ask me how far into the Wilderness it is?)
As the day wound down we started to too. We began looking for a flat place to sleep near water:
And we found one, a nice one:
The photo of us in camp was taken by Elizabeth, one of only three other people we'd seen that entire day. She and her friend Don caught up near dark and we happily shared the area with them (they were doing the same hike as us, also in two days, and they were from Sonora - it was a real treat to meet them).
As Don and Elizabeth set up their camp and chatted with us, we all watched the evening light on the far side of the canyon. It was wonderful:
We slept that night under the stars, and there actually were some (we had a tarp handy though just in case). But, true to predictions, we would wake up the next morning to overcast, to the possibility of rain, and to another 14.8 mile hike to Ebbett's Pass...
DAY TWO
We woke up at first light on the second day. This was partly because we'd gone to sleep at 8:30 and also because I expected rain later in the day and I wanted to be on our way by the time it hit (but it never did).
From the moment we started walking, Stanislaus Peak dominated the area (it was behind us though):
Temps were very cool and we had thick overcast:
After only a mile the views to the north starting opening up:
Side canyons showed evidence of recent heavy washouts (so did the trail itself in places):
At eight miles for the day we hiked past Asa Lake. I found this small lake fascinating (it covered maybe three acres?). It's on a hillside, but there's a crater-like area that the lake fills on that hillside. It has a vigorous outflow stream, but no inflow stream. After we got home I read in the PCT guidebook that the lake is completely spring fed, that it does have a fish population and that beavers have been occasionally found in it:
From Asa the trail ascends to a saddle on the southeast shoulder of Tryon Peak:
Although I'd heard of the Highland Lakes, I'd never been there and I knew nothing about them. We saw them in the distance (and the dirt road leading in to them from Highway 4). These look like a wonderful place to car camp and day hike; very pretty:
From the Tryon Peak saddle we could clearly see the Three Chimneys, a well known formation that is in the Emigrant Wilderness, which is south of Highway 108 (it's at least 25 miles away; the Three Chimneys are visible in this photo just to the right of the closer, pyramid-shaped peak):
We passed a talus field of unusually pink blocks. We took this photo for J.C., but the light wasn't good and the photo doesn't really show how very pink the rock was:
After some more miles we knew we had to be close to Highway 4; but we couldn't see it. Unlike the Sonora Pass Highway, we never saw any of the Ebbett's Pass Highway at all until we were right onto it:
It's kinda surprising how narrow Highway 4 is, huh? I've only been over Ebbett's a few times before and had forgotten that it's a physically small road up there.
Anyway, we walked our customary 50 feet in to the next section and then turned to walk the quarter mile down to the PCT trailhead to find Vicki. And, no surprise (how does she do her magic?), Vicki had just left there to come look for us. We hopped in the car and headed home from another trip on "our" fantastic trail.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Might have driven right by you on 4. Thanks again for sharing.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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One of the best threads on the taco.
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Hawkeye
climber
State of Mine
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AWESOME!
GRAND!
Thanks for sharing this.
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labrat
Trad climber
Auburn, CA
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"One of the best threads on the taco."
Totally agree! Feeds my dreams....
Thank you
Erik
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Footloose
Trad climber
Lake Tahoe
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Yeah, very cool thread, one of the best. Thanks for the share.
We ran ptc sat from hwy 4 trailhead and hiked Highland Peak. For a moment around Noble, where the pct switchbacks up through western junipers I remembered this thread and I thought about leaving you guys a note and a few jelly beans under a root and rock or something as a cache, lol! that I'd then post to this thread about later that evening; then I thought, well, no, there's a chance they're already on the trail so I didn't (because then I'd have to return to pick up the "litter"). So I was right about you guys already on the trail, haha!!
A couple pics off pct Sat you probably recognize...
(I'll pull these later, just wanted to show.)
Again, thanks for the stoke from the very cool report and updates!!
EDIT to ADD: Okay, mtnyoung, thanks, I'll leave pics. Yeah, what a difference a day makes! Sunday we were further south at Sawtooth and weather was overcast and... menacing... very. :)
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 6, 2014 - 04:35pm PT
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Hey Footloose, don't pull the pictures.
I recognize each photo. I found them interesting too because we were there the next day under complete overcast and very different light. I liked the Saturday weather (and light much better).
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Too much fun!
Great to see your doggy out there!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 6, 2014 - 10:03pm PT
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We love having Charlotte along too High Traverse (she's the white faced dog).
Unfortunately our other girl, Madeleine, who you've met, and who was on many of our PCT trips with us, died just a few weeks ago. She was over 14 years old.
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briham89
Big Wall climber
santa cruz, ca
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Awesome as always Brad. The pictures and description of being on "the crest" are incredible. What a location.
Madeleine will be missed, again sorry for your lose. She lived a grand life with you guys; the best one a dog could ask for.
See you soon.
P.S. that puppy photo of Charlotte is obscenely cute
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 13, 2014 - 01:28pm PT
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Here's the first of what will end up being several days of trip reports (we're out for a whole week). I posted this on Mudn'Crud until the title:
The PCT Volumne 23: The More the Merrier
DAY ONE:
This trip isn't quite done yet (we're hoping to start another three day segment in the Desolation Wilderness tomorrow), but I've got computer access on this, our rest day. So I thought I'd start a new trip report.
As we'd hoped might happen, we had excellent company for the first part of this week on the PCT. All three Dawsons joined us for a three day, mixed backpacking/dayhiking, 28.4 mile "highway to highway" leg from Ebbetts Pass to Carson Pass. J.C. and K.C. joined us for this leg too, although they weren't prepared to backpack, so they day-hiked and spent their non-hiking time hanging out with our shuttle driver "par excellence," Vicki.
We met early at Ebbetts and got set up to hike:
Vicki joined us for an easy first mile around Ebbett's Peak. The Cooks stayed with us for the first 3.5 miles before turning around to rejoin Vicki and then help with a three-car shuttle:
Naturally, John played geologist among all the northern Sierra volcanic formations:
Here's where the Cooks turned around:
This section of hiking is some of the easiest I've ever experienced in the Sierra. We went 10 miles exactly this first day and gained a cumulative total of maybe 400 feet in the first 8.5 miles. And the views on this part of the hike were excellent to the north, east and south:
As we took in the views, we broke into smiles when we came to "Son of Hummingbird Spire." This spire on the east side of Reynolds Peak looked exactly like the Pinnacles National Park formation Hummingbird Spire. I just had to take photos. Here's one of them:
(For some reason seeing this formation made me think immediately of Rob. Maybe because I think he'll ask me how far into the Wilderness it is?)
Steve saw the resemblance too:
We enjoyed lunch on Pennsylvania Creek:
We then came to a shoulder/summit on the Sierra Crest where the views were so fine we just had to stop:
Although the skies weren't very clear, we got our first views from here of the Highway 395/Garnerville/Minden area:
Here's a shot I liked. It's of me with my friend/climbing partner/fellow guidebook author of 20 years now:
We arrived at the Raymond Lake Trail junction, a location that was just stunningly beautiful:
And then, as planned, we diverted three quarters of a mile to Raymond Lake; this is a small lake nested in an obvious cirque. It looked like it would be a beautiful location to spend the night:
And it was. We arrived early enough to set up camp, to walk around the lake, to play "fetch" with the dogs in the water, to eat dinner and then to sit through a nice (nice when you're prepared for it) 15 minute rain shower:
We had wonderful evening light among the lasting clouds. This was a fitting end to a really nice day in the wilderness, one spent this time with good friends who'd come out specially to join us on our beloved PCT adventure:
Next up, we spend a viewful morning backpacking just far enough to meet Vicki and the Cooks (and to switch to very light day packs) on Blue Lakes Road.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2014 - 11:12am PT
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Well Tricia, Katie and I just finished three wonderful days on the trail and we're home again (yep, I was wrong, Katie came up and joined us for three days, and oh, what a great time!):
So to get caught up, here are days two and three (still with our friends the Dawsons and the Cooks):
DAY TWO:
Raymond Lake gets early morning sun. We took advantage of it:
Then an easy hike led back to the PCT. And from there we switchbacked down and then moved across to a prominent trail saddle that we'd been looking at yesterday:
Notice in that last photo that nine year old Alex is in the lead? Although we didn't really intend or plan on it, Alex led our hike for most of this day. And I'm not talking about all of us taking baby steps either; he stepped it up and hauled buns. Not bad (for a boy that is :)
On her behalf, Tricia is getting to be pretty damn good at navigating, reading a map, and finding her way in the out of doors. Here we are in a map study:
After five and a half pleasant miles we reached Sunset Lakes Road where Vicki and the Cooks were waiting. We stopped for snacks and water and to drop our big packs. The Cooks were now going to join us for the rest of the day:
Like her sister, Tricia seems to burn through lots of calories (it doesn't help that she's growing like a damn weed). And like her sister she tends to grab calories from weird places (like here, eating uncooked ramen noodles):
The next three miles were about as easy as hiking gets. We planned to meet Vicki for lunch at the next road crossing, so we carried nothing:
Our after-lunch hike started in forest. Pretty enough, but not very viewful. That then changed as we approached The Nipple. This formation is above tree line:
And the views were 360 degrees - we could see for miles and miles:
We walked along the entire length of The Nipple's east side. The view down to Upper Blue Lake was nearly vertical:
The traverse around the Nipple led to Lost Lakes. Although there is bandit camping at these lakes, the area is used heavily by RVs and the like. It was a little dusty and rocky for our taste. But when I suggested moving a mile away to Upper Blue Lakes Campground, Vicki thought maybe not. Apparently the 8/10 of a mile she'd just driven from that campground to meet us at Lost Lakes was "about the worst she'd ever driven." Naturally, I've been on some of the roads she's driven, and so her comment carried great weight with me (as in "holy shit! - that bad?").
But she had to drive back that way at some point. So we decided to go down the 8/10 mile now, stay at the public campground, but then walk back to the PCT in the morning instead of having Vicki shuttle us all back up to the trail.
The campground was very nice (mid-week). We had a pretty good sized group though and so we also had some chaos:
And remember Tricia's appetite? She eats a lot because she burns a lot of energy on these trips. The amount of energy she burns also means that she occasionally takes naps; wherever and whenever she happens to fall asleep:
DAY THREE
Our third day was casual and fun; an easy hike in pretty terrain with good friends. We started from the campground up the road back to the trail. We immediately got sprinkles:
To this day Tricia carries on a tradition Katie started at the beginning of our hikes: calling out and trying to touch every PCT sign. But I outdid her on the first one this day:
Although the skies were dark, the views were excellent for the whole hike. Looking back at The Nipple:
Looking west to Summit City Canyon:
And east, down toward Hope Valley and the Highway89/Highway 88 junction:
We took shelter during a ten minute downpour (did breaking down and getting out our rain shells really make it stop?):
Laura used the rain to catch up to us:
After it cleared we moved around the east side of Elephant's Back. Here we got our first views of Highway 88 (it's a highway, and we're hiking, an activity designed to get away from roads, but we're also kinda trying to finish a long, long distance and passing known, identifiable geography is in that sense gratifying):
Here's a photo that I love. It shows two friends of mine, and it also includes a 12 year old daughter whose pose - just the pose - seems to tell me that she's having fun in the outdoors, that she's confident there and that the time and effort we've put in together on the PCT has been worth it and will be worth it to her 30 years from now:
It seemed too soon, but we arrived at Carson Pass before noon. It was time to split up and go our separate ways. But not before twenty extra feet of trail and a group photo:
And that was it for day number three. That afternoon we had three hours of pounding rain and hail (more than enough to make us glad we'd done a short hike and that we were off the trail).
Coming up: our fourth day, just the "T Girl" and I flying the trail from Carson Pass to Echo Summit and having a ball.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2014 - 05:14pm PT
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DAY FOUR
We woke up Tuesday to partially cloudy skies but a great weather prediction. We decided to go for it, just Tricia and I now, hoping and expecting that it wouldn't pound rain and hail like it had the afternoon before. After a nice breakfast, our very own "trail angel" dropped us off at Carson Pass:
This Carson Pass to Echo Summit part of the trail is about as easy as hiking can get for the first 10.5 out of 13.4 miles (after 10.5 it drops 1,500 feet of elevation, which is a little more difficult type of hiking). It also involves lots of very open terrain with great views:
We got our first PCT view of Lake Tahoe from about 15 miles away:
Our next view of the lake was even better:
One of the many volcanic formations we saw made me think of Clink (who did the FA of a Pinnacles National Park formation that looks just like it). I doubt he'll ask me how far into the wilderness this is ;D
Tricia and I really flew this section of trail. We did 13.4 miles in five hours flat. That's not so surprising for a 53 year old, but my little 12 year old left me feeling pretty impressed on this hike. Just at 10.5 miles, right where the PCT loses 1,500 feet, we got a fantastic view of Lake Tahoe (right along Lake Tahoe Airport):
Before we knew it we were at the parking area for Echo Summit. Our shuttle driver (who happens to be the love of my life) met us there with lunch and a faithful dog (who'd been riding in the car today with sore paws):
A quick and easy hike leads from Echo Summit to Echo Lakes. Charlotte joined us for this one (on soft forest tread). Along the way we saw this gigantic (huge) fungus:
Highway 50 is pretty busy:
We reached Echo Lakes, the end of this day's segment (but started across the dam so as to insure overlap with the coming hike):
After this fourth day we had to take a rest day (a "zero day" in the language of PCT through hikers). We weren't necessarily tired. And the weather looked good for hiking the next day. We could have kept on. But we needed and really, really wanted to wait a day for a certain tough and gorgeous 18 year old who couldn't make it up to join us until Thursday, two days hence...
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RP3
Big Wall climber
Twain Harte
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Aug 17, 2014 - 08:34pm PT
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Keep it comin!
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Aug 17, 2014 - 09:41pm PT
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I just read the whole thread from the beginning. What an inspiration at so many levels. I too can't wait for the next installment.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 18, 2014 - 08:39am PT
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Thanks for the encouragement. We live in a fine and wonderful place here (Twain Harte). But our internet connection isn't the fastest, and it's been taking hours for a day's worth of photos to load to Flickr.
So the additions to the report come slowly.
I got day five done though.
DAY FIVE:
The last leg of this trip was a three day, 32.3 mile backpack through the Desolation Wilderness. And the treat on this trip was Katie; it was to be three of us for this trip yet again. And oh what a blast we had.
We packed and got ready at Echo Lakes:
We had some confusion over which way we should go ;)
And then we got going up an easy if extremely crowded trail (I'd heard the Desolation Wilderness is crowded, but holy wow! Tricia counted 188 other hikers in 15.2 miles on our first day):
Very soon we were above the Echo Lakes, closing in on Aloha Lake:
Fuel (in the form of food) is critical to keeping these two going, so we take frequent short breaks to stuff it down:
We approached Susie Lake and decided to have lunch there at 9.3 miles from our start:
At lunch we talked about where to go for the day. The two choices were Gilmore or Dicks Lake. These were about 4 1/2 miles apart and they are separated by Dicks Pass. While this pass wouldn't be a big one in the southern Sierra, here it was big enough and late enough in the day that it would take some real grunting to get over it. But if we didn't do it today, we'd have to do it tomorrow. Big first day or big second day?
The decision actually turned out to be easy: Katie thought we should make it the 15.2 miles to Dicks Lake and then have two more-cruiser days afterward. Tricia immediately agreed.
While at lunch we also found out that Katie was getting blisters. In fact, she was also very tired and took a 15 minute nap. As both issues came to light I started to realize some of the incredible amount of good Katie has realized from just her first year at college. She had brand new shoes and hadn't done any training hikes with them before this trip, and so her feet were suffering. But she didn't complain, she just kept on walking. She'd gotten only a few hours of sleep before we started (she was traveling up here) and yet she hiked onward (and suggested the longest possible distance for the day).
Katie has become pretty heavily involved with U.C.S.B.'s "Excursion Club." Actually she's been more than heavily involved: as a freshman they made her a club leader. She's been leading hiking, sea kayaking, stand up paddle-board and backpacking trips for other, less experienced kids. And man has it toughened her up (mind you, she was fairly tough to start with). Nothing seemed to faze her, no complaints.
We started up Dicks Pass:
This geographic feature actually includes a "false" pass and the real pass. The false pass has the views, so we stopped there for trail milkshakes:
The views from here really were phenomenal. We could see our lunch spot at Susie Lake below (and Aloha Lake to the right of that):
We could see our day's destination, Dicks Lake:
And Tricia and I were thrilled to see Elephant's Back and Round Top from here. These feature (which she clearly recognized and described to me) are south of Carson Pass - we had hiked past them two full hiking days ago! They must have been at least 25 miles from us, and yet we could see them clearly. This telephoto shot shows Elephant's Back (which the PCT traverses) right in the middle. It's left side is steep and shaded, the right side is lower angle and curved (the larger Round Top is to its right):
The "real" Dicks Pass was pretty if a little plain (but it also provided great views):
Our last two miles down to the lake were one of the best parts of this wonderful day. Tricia blazed ahead on the trail (talk about a tough and together kid!), while Katie and I went a little more slowly. As we hiked she talked and I mostly listened. And as I listened, I realized even more how good for her this first year of college has been.
When we arrived at the last trail junction before Dicks Lake we got our first view of Lake Tahoe from the Desolation Wilderness:
And then we got to camp (Dicks Lake was crowded with campers - but a group of Tahoe Rim Trail hikers kindly showed us a flat and pleasant place to set up for the night). I went for water while Katie and Tricia started setting up camp. This is a normal routine - and for their part they usually start with the tent. But when I came back from the lake the tent wasn't set up. Instead the girls were "stretching" using the new acro-yoga methods that Katie has gotten into down at U.C.S.B.:
I may have strained some face muscles myself on this one. Not so much from the exercises themselves, but from coming back to camp to hear my two girls laughing and giggling together once again. I had a pretty damn big series of smiles.
The night was already late, so we ate quickly and then got ready for bed. But just before bed we had one more treat for the evening. Although we often have freeze dried ice cream for dessert, Vicki had found freeze dried ice cream sandwiches for us to try this time. Our take away? We gotta get more of these things! They are quite the treat when the overall food picture isn't up to high epicurean standards!:
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 21, 2014 - 07:49am PT
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I finished the trip report on Mudn'Crud:
DAY SIX
I let the girls sleep as long as they wanted on Friday morning (Katie hadn't gotten much sleep the two previous nights). But then we got going on the day:
We started our hike passing between granite outcrops and various lakes. This was pretty country:
As with some of our other recent hikes, the walking today seemed unusually level (at least by Sierra Nevada standards). So we made very good time:
After just a few miles the trail entered forested areas. Areas like this are pretty, and while we enjoyed ourselves, this part of our journey didn't offer panoramas particularly, and it didn't offer much variety. The hike wasn't very long either - we'd decided to hike just under 11 miles to Richardson Lake, a location which would put us in perfect position to meet Vicki tomorrow. We did reach the nondescript, northern edge of the Desolation Wilderness:
We got a glimpse or two of Lake Tahoe through the trees:
And then, quickly, we reached Richardson Lake:
Like Dicks Lake the night before, this one was crowded with campers. But as with the night before at Dicks, everyone was friendly here too. We had time to set up camp, explore the lake shore, and to play and relax:
And note the iPhone in Katie's hand two photos above? I've trained the girls that "electronics" (like music and telephones) aren't part of the wilderness experience. Katie told me - before she put it in her pack - that she was bringing it because it is her camera. Apparently she also makes notes on it to herself. In the particular photo above, that's what she's doing - she is making a note about backpacking gear of her own that she'd been discussing with me and which she needs/wants to get.
Dinner and the usual evening chores then ended a relatively non-eventful day, another we had been lucky enough to spend in peace, health and nature's beauty.
DAY SEVEN
Our last day came too soon. The usual start:
And then we were off on a quick six mile hike to meet Vicki at Barker Pass (on Forest Road 3, halfway up the height of Lake Tahoe). Most of this six miles was, like some of yesterday's hike, in deeper forest. I wonder if the PCT sections north of here will be more like this, or if we'll have open areas with views like we had in much of the southern Sierra:
We did catch occasional pretty views to the west however, over the Rockbound Lake area:
But our focus on this hike wasn't pretty views, nice forest or fast hiking. The focus was a little bit on seeing mommy, a little bit on getting fresh food for lunch, and a lot bit on our first meeting with an expected new family member.
Meanwhile the trail started to emerge from the forest as we got close to Barker Pass:
We got our first view of Forest Road 3:
And then we saw where our trail reached the road. Tricia was almost there when Vicki walked over the road berm:
Vicki seemed to be carrying a bundle in her arms. Tricia reached Vicki and met our new little bundle, Halifax ("Hallie"). Katie was right behind:
Although a week ago we hadn't intended on getting a new dog any time soon, Vicki had learned of a dog show in Reno to be held while we were on the trail. She'd decided to go to it while she was waiting for us, maybe to meet some breeders from whom we might someday get a dog. Email meetings led to more communications than we expected and before Vicki knew it, a buyer had dropped out and she was asked if she wanted a new little girl.
She did. So I did too. We found out the night before we left. The girls were very excited.
And so our little addition came to Barker Pass to pick us up with Vicki.
We did our normal after-hike things:
But the main focus at the end of this trip was on our new little lady, Halifax Young. We have no doubt that by next summer she'll be doing PCT trips with us:
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Aug 21, 2014 - 07:57am PT
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nice. & congrats on the full family outing lncluding the new puppy.
yeah, desolation & crowds: 108 spoils ya.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Aug 21, 2014 - 08:00am PT
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TFPU!
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r2d2
Trad climber
East Bay
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Aug 21, 2014 - 11:41am PT
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The girls must got those long legs from Vicki.
When can I go climb in your backyard again?
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Aug 21, 2014 - 12:53pm PT
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Even though I don't have time, I always make time to read this thread when it comes up. TFPU.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 5, 2014 - 01:08pm PT
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We're just about packed and ready. As soon as Tricia gets home from school we're leaving for Truckee to meet Brian, Whitney and Sharon. They're going to join us on the Forest Road 3 to Interstate 80, 32.3 miles section. We'll sleep tonight at the trailhead.
This may be the last of the PCT for this season. Certainly it's the last one we'd planned on (we'll see though how the autumn plays out...). It's going to be fun.
And, I've got print-outs of two photos that were taken in July, 2007. We were up climbing at Donner then with friends, and seven year old Tricia and I went for a hike on the PCT one day. Although we'd hiked only 32 miles of the trail by then (one trip, 32 miles from the Mexican border), we posed for photos at a trail junction on this July hike, wondering if we'd ever actually get to that point on the trail. Well it looks like we might just make it (and we'll pose for "seven years later" photos if/when we do):
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 9, 2014 - 08:33pm PT
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Our two day trip to I-80 was a great success. I started a trip report on Mudn'Crud under the title "Guest Stars and the Season Finale."
DAY ONE:
We couldn't have hoped for better conditions on this, our last trip of 2014.
We drove up to the Donner area after school on Friday, meeting our friends Brian, Whitney and Sharon at the I-80 PCT trailhead. Then we were off to spend a night at Barker Pass, 7 1/2 miles up and west of Lake Tahoe.
We woke up to blue skies, perfect temperatures, breakfast and wrestling dogs:
For a few years now we've used super light gaiters while we hike. These keep little rocks and most dust out of one's shoes. Ours come with screaming bright colors and a clever name ("Dirty Girl Gaiters"). Vicki and Tricia thought that our guests for this trip should have their very own Dirty Girls:
After our new clothes "fitting," we were off on our next two days, 32.5 miles to Interstate 80 and the end of the season:
Vicki and Hallie joined us - for Halifax, these were her first steps on a trail on which she'll likely end up doing hundreds of miles:
We rounded Barker Peak and immediately started getting great views (which often included Lake Tahoe):
After about four miles of hiking we reached the border of the Granite Chief Wilderness. From that point we hiked for about six miles right on the Pacific Crest itself. These are such excellent vistas here that, view for view, this section of trail might almost compare to the ten miles of trail south of Sonora Pass:
Although much of this section of the trail is in the Wilderness, it's pretty much on the edge of it. To the east, coming right up to the Pacific Crest itself are a series of (well known) ski resorts. So we had a mix of great views, nice wilderness, and... buildings:
But, overall this part of the hike really was fantastic. Eventually we dropped off the crest to reach Five Lakes Creek, a nice lunch stop:
The last part of the day involved a big hump up to a trail saddle between Squaw Peak (of Squaw Valley ski resort) and Granite Chief (a local high point). We were tired by this point, almost 16 miles into the day:
We did finally reach the high point (more great views all over the Tahoe area):
Another half a mile of steep (knee-insulting) switchbacks then led down to Squaw Creek, water, and a pretty place to camp (even the ski lift cables we passed under 200 yards from camp were easy to forget in the overall beauty of the place):
The sun was down by the time we arrived, but we had some light left, enough to do our camp chores. And I think every one of us was thrilled by a nice campsite, a just-finished, hard, but viewful 16.1 mile day of hiking, and by the prospect of another, similar day tomorrow.
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zBrown
Ice climber
Brujò de la Playa
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Great show - bravo Twain Heart!! I like youse guys.
He never printed another paragraph while he lived, and he never again signed Mark Twain to anything. At the time that the telegraph brought the news of his death, I was on the Pacific coast. I was a fresh new journalist, and needed a nom de guerre; so I confiscated the ancient mariner’s discarded one, and have done my best to make it remain what it was in his hands—a sign and symbol and warrant that whatever is found in its company may be gambled on as being the petrified truth; how I have succeeded, it would not be modest in me to say.
-S. Clemens
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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I love this thread! I can't wait until next year to read the sequels.
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Each mile keeps me coming back to this excellent adventure.
Cant wait to see Hallie tearing up the trails next year.
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Sep 10, 2014 - 05:42am PT
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Nice! What a wonderful trip it's been so far.
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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Sep 10, 2014 - 07:18am PT
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Awesome trip... kids rock...
Keep posting!
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Sep 10, 2014 - 07:51am PT
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Epic journey.........fantastic..
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OR
Trad climber
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Sep 10, 2014 - 08:19am PT
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Best TR ever.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 10, 2014 - 10:55am PT
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We actually got Hallie tearing up the trail on the last part of our last day (I'm working on that part of the report still).
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 10, 2014 - 11:13am PT
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SECOND DAY
As I sit here preparing this trip report I'm starting to realize that I must have a cold. All the symptoms are coming on; I don't feel very well, I'm getting plugged up. Although it isn't strong (at least not yet), I'm pretty sure I've got a cold. And I know who I got it from. I got it from Tricia.
When we woke up at Barker Pass on our first day she was stuffed up and snotty (literally, not figuratively). She thought it might be allergies (although she's never had them in that kind of country before). Vicki and I worried that it might be a cold. It didn't seem to matter to her either way; she ate breakfast, got dressed, grabbed a snot rag and on we hiked.
She had a badly stuffed nose the whole way, both days. But she made no complaints. She did hike a little slower than normal though (go figure).
And her symptoms didn't abate when we got home like allergies would have (they are getting better today though).
I think my 12 year old just backpacked 32 miles with a cold. I'm quite sure that I couldn't have done that at age 12. What the hell have Vicki and I created? Have we raised a child who's tougher than I am?
Anyway, day two started early (great eastern exposure). Brian cracked us up by bunny-hopping over to the "dining tarp" still in his sleeping bag (to stay warm):
Once we started hiking, we stayed up high for a mile or two. Our last view of Squaw Valley was pretty dramatic (its main gondola silhouetted against the lake):
We then descended slowly northward on a ridge; the views to the north must have extended more than 25 miles:
The next major feature we passed on our hike was Tinker Knob. It required a bit of a climb to get around its south side:
After the climb (we were now on Tinker Knob's eastern flank) we were back on top of the ridges and back into 360 degree views. From this spot we could still see "the" Lake (walking past it makes one realize just how huge this thing is). We could clearly see I-80 and the top of the Truckee River canyon. We could see Northstar ski resort and the North Tahoe Airport. All these things from 15 to 20 miles away. And to the north? Well, to the north we think we got a glimpse of the Oregon border (well, not really, but we sure could see a long, long way):
From Tinker Knob, the trail wraps around Anderson Peak's west side. It then regains the crest for another almost three miles. It may come as a bit of a surprise, but we had incredible views on these three miles as well:
Donner Lake came into view:
We could see all of Truckee and the I-80 east area:
Do great views get boring? Can a section of trail get tedious from the same expansive, neverending views? Somehow it doesn't seem possible:
To the north we were closing in on Mount Judah:
The last bit of the PCT south of Highway 40 traverses Mount Judah (Vicki planned to meet us with lunch at Highway 40 - then we'd continue to I-80). There was also a certain trail junction up ahead on Mount Judah that I, for one, was looking forward to passing again with Tricia, a trail junction that she and I took photos at more than half a lifetime ago (measured by her lifetime that is).
We passed just east of Sugar Bowl's Mount Lincoln:
And then we traversed the west side of Mount Judah to the junction of the PCT and the Mount Judah Loop trail. This junction was familiar to us. Tricia and I had hiked the Loop Trail back in 2007, on a rest day while on a climbing trip with friends to the Donner areas. Here we are in photos from July 2007 (Tricia was five years old - we'd made just one trip to the PCT by that point; we were 32 miles from the Mexican border):
I'd printed these photos out to take with us. Sharon, Brian and Whitney had seen them. And then we were at the junction. We started to pose for photos... and I just started cracking up. In 2007 we had no idea what adventures were ahead of us on this trail. But we took the photos. We had no idea in 2007 what a part of our family's story this PCT would become. And yet we posed for pictures, wondering, hoping, and yes, even expecting that some day - some day - we'd get to this point having hiked all the way from Mexico.
And today was that day. We posed again (thanks Sharon for the shots):
We had less than a mile "to Vicki" by this point. We made that mile and met up with her (and Hallie and lunch) just south of Highway 40.
After eating (and dropping our packs!!), we headed out for Interstate Highway 80 (right through and over the Donner Pass climbing areas that we'd been to so many times):
We decided that these last 3.7 miles would be perfect for Hallie - she'd be pushed a little, but she could sleep for hours in the car on the way home:
We zipped over toward I-80; in less than an hour we could see cars and trucks:
And then we reached it, tunnels and all:
We walked through the tunnels and then we were done. Vicki met us at the westbound I-80 rest stop (our dog Charlotte absolutely loves Brian; it looks like Halifax is gonna get there too):
As we split up and headed home, I reflected a lot on our now-passed, 2014 PCT season. We had a lot of fun and got a lot accomplished. We went from trailheads a "significant drive" from home, to trailheads almost at home, and then back to traiheads a "significant drive" from home. More awaits us, and I can't wait (eight months until our next trip seems like a long, long time - can a person have withdrawals from an adventure like this?).
Oh, and Hallie did sleep (actually, both dogs did) most of the way home:
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briham89
Big Wall climber
santa cruz, ca
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Sep 10, 2014 - 06:51pm PT
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Thanks for sharing such an awesome hike with Whitney and me. I always swear off backpacking right at the end of the trail when I'm sore as hell, but let's be honest, I'm in for more.
I can't believe Trisha had a cold and hiked that far. When Brad says "she slowed down" I don't know if I can't agree. She still smoked me the whole way!!! That girl can hike!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 25, 2014 - 12:30pm PT
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The birthday card I got from my daughter Tricia made me want go back and look at this thread. I did that this morning (a perfect read on a cold winter's day). It's a nice handmade card:
Really though, the things she says! She's a great hiker, but to claim that a 12 year old girl can really hike faster than her daddy? That's nuts, there's no way she hikes faster than me. Is there? Have I created a monster? Should I bust her? Make her carry more weight?
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Dec 25, 2014 - 04:30pm PT
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Merry Christmas to you, your wife and your daughters, this is a great thread.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 25, 2014 - 07:26pm PT
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Thanks johntp. Merry Christmas to you too. I hope everyone in Supertopo-land had a great day.
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Dec 26, 2014 - 09:23am PT
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Make her carry more weight?
Isn't "pack mule" half the reason to have kids?
And how 'bout a pic of the front of the card? Her comments made me curious.
Oh, and happy birthday.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - May 30, 2015 - 04:46pm PT
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Alright, it's time to update this thread.
Tricia and I have an excellent PCT schedule penciled out now for the summer of 2015. It looks like we'll do one short, three-day trip on this coming weekend and then three separate, week-long trips during the rest of the summer. The rough idea is to get through Lassen National Park and then some (which then puts us in a perfect place to finish California in the summer of 2016).
Here's the plan (subject, of course, to fine tuning):
June 6 through June 8, Highway 80 to Highway 49, 38.4 miles to Sierra City. Our friends the Dawsons are joining us again for this trip;
June 23 through June 30, Highway 49 to Highway 70, 91.7 miles. This will be a mix of backpacking and meeting Vicki at roads/campgrounds on the way. This trip will end at the town of Belden, the usually recognized halfway point of the PCT. Yep, only halfway, I think this thread might be around for years to come;
July 18 to around July 24, Highway 70 to Highway 44, 92.5 miles. Again, this will be a mix of backpacking and meeting Vicki to car camp since there are a fair number of roads that cross the PCT in the northern Sierra;
August 2 to August 6, Highway 44 to around or north of the town of Burney Falls 41.8 miles (or more). Katie will join us on this one - between her U.C.S.B. classes getting out in mid-June, other plans, and taking a dreaded class this summer (so she can focus on just that class), she can't get out with us until then.
After that we'll see what happens. We'll be awfully far north by then for a Labor Day trip, but who knows how enthusiastic we'll be at that point? I suppose if we did do a trip in September it might get us as far as where the PCT crosses Interstate 5, near Castle Crags State Park.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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May 30, 2015 - 07:17pm PT
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Can't wait for the trip reports.
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Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
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May 30, 2015 - 10:13pm PT
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Nice, very much looking forward to seeing some new tales on one of my all time favorite ST threads.
This thread was part of the reason I've decided to do a 6 day section of the JMT this summer - no where near as challenging as your hike, but I am looking forward to hiking in the Minarets.
I recently saw this really cool video of a PCT through-hiker that took a selfie every mile...watching the physical changes he underwent was kind of fascinating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyo8OIp7aHM
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John M
climber
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May 30, 2015 - 10:19pm PT
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one of my favorite threads!
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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May 30, 2015 - 10:56pm PT
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^^^
Indeed!
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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May 30, 2015 - 11:03pm PT
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Very much "all in".
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 6, 2015 - 08:05am PT
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Vegasclimber,
I watched that video/slide show of 2600 selfies. At first I thought it moved too fast and then I realized that even one second more time on the screen per shot would have made it over 40 minutes longer! I liked it.
If we helped inspire your JMT trip, then we're proud to have done so.
On this end we're packed and ready and setting off now for our first PCT adventure of 2015. We delayed one day so that while we'll be up there in today's expected heavy weather, we won't start hiking until tomorrow morning.
I'll hope to do a new trip report after we return.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Have a great time! Will be looking forward to this years reports.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 11, 2015 - 09:15am PT
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I started posting our trip report on Mudn'Crud under the title: "Grand Views and the Propane Incident." Here's the first day:
We're home again after an excellent start to the 2015 PCT season.
Pushing back our start by a day turned out to be a good decision. We had wonderful weather up to the end of our third day, and then, just several minutes after finishing, we got rain on the car windshield as we were driving home. And now today it's raining again. Lucky us.
Naturally this trip started where the last one finished. Here we are at the I-80 rest stop gearing up to get going on Sunday morning (the crew includes Sharon, who hiked with us to this point last September, and the Dawson family of Steve, Laura, Alex and Mo the family dog):
During our pre-hike planning I was a little surprised by the number of roads that cross the PCT up in this northern part of the Sierra. And these are mostly really good roads. Although we thought we'd be backpacking a part of this section, a map study closer to the day of departure made it obvious that three day-hikes would be easy (at 15.1, 11.5, and 11.7 miles, these were respectable but very doable distances). So we set up camp at a central point (Jackson Meadows Reservoir) and day hiked (as always, with Vicki's support).
Ever since we finished with the Desolation Wilderness portion of this trail, I've been expecting hikes in the "deep forest" that I seem to think dominates the northern California part of the trail. But on this trip, the first two days were anything but deep forest. And although the third day was mostly forested and view-less, the "oh wow" view we came to just before the end of that day was very gratifying.
The views started less than two miles into the hike at Castle Pass:
After this pass the trail continued fairly level along the western sides of Castle and Basin Peaks. This was very easy hiking; Tricia and Alex were usually out in front moving at a really fast pace:
We were high enough to run into several snow banks on north-facing slopes:
Meadowy canyons with big creeks alternated with gorgeous, open ridge lines with wonderful views in all directions.
We chose one of these ridge lines to stop for lunch, over ten miles into a 15 mile day:
After lunch we made our way into another canyon and then up and along another ridge. The trail here might be younger than similar sections of the PCT farther south (I don't know). I make this speculation because up here the trail did a really good job of staying high on ridges and saddles instead of marching straight up and down every feature in sight as it sometimes does down south (a slight exaggeration there).
So, here we are walking along the saddle near Bear Valley instead of descending into the valley and then climbing out the other side:
This "stay up higher" approach results in longer hikes, but those hikes are physically easier and are more viewful. As an example, we caught an early view of the Sierra Buttes (small and very distant in this first shot). These are an unmissable feature that is just across Highway 49 from the end of this trail section; they are 38 trail miles from I-80:
Here's another view of these impressive peaks from about five miles closer:
The 15 miles seemed to just fly by on this day. Tricia is used to such hiking days, and, it seems that now-ten year old Alex is too; they both led us to a mid afternoon meet-up with Vicki and then a pleasant afternoon and evening in camp:
The kids and dogs spent some of that afternoon playing in the lake. Tricia loved and photographed the sunset:
And finally, a note about the end of our day. As always, we hiked a little way into our next day's hike to ensure that we don't skip a single step of the trail. On this day we did this only to run into this sign (I'm open to interpretations on this one):
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 11, 2015 - 09:45am PT
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And here's day two (still uploading photos to Flickr for day three):
Day two started out on Meadow Lake Road courtesy again of my lovely wife:
A mile and a half through forest led gently up to the top of a bald ridge at over 8,200 feet. On the way we saw an unusual juxtaposition; snow plant, which usually grows in deeper forest, growing among mules ear:
At the top of this ridge, two miles into the hike, we could literally see all of PCT section "L." We could see well south and north of it too, as well as seeing for tens and tens of miles to the east and the west:
I have to admit that, as I was taking the photo immediately above, I was humming the song "...the hills are alive with the sound of...." Oh never mind.
While up there we'd also taken an opportunity to play in the long thin strip of snow that graced the north side of this ridge. We didn't know then that this strip of snow would remain visible from most points of the trail north for the next eight or so miles:
The trail stayed high for most of this day's hike too. We had an early view of the now-much-closer Sierra Buttes:
We stayed high and in open terrain. Fields of mules ear and/or sage covered every ridge:
Here's an example shot looking back at that long bald ridge that had all the views (note the unmistakeable strip of snow):
Then, on one north-bound, bald ridge, while I was hiking with Steve, I looked at the various clouds scattered all through the sky. Puffy white balls everywhere just resting in the bright blue. Except for that one up north, the one right on the horizon. That's a weird looking cloud, all streaked, vertical and jagged:
And then it hit me: "That's no cloud. That's not a cloud at all. That's Mount Lassen!!!" And so it was (zoomed and pixilated, blown up shot):
Notice the three exclamation marks in the quoted portion of my thoughts above? They're justified (and I'm sure Steve would agree). I got pretty darned excited by seeing MOUNT LASSEN from this far south on the PCT. Later, back in camp, Steve used the GPS function on his iPhone to determine that, from the spot on the trail where we'd seen it, Mount Lassen was 91 miles to our north by air. Wow!
More gentle downhill continued now as we closed in on Jackson Meadows Campground (and our camp, and my wife):
The bald ridge with the snow strip way behind us stayed in view (and so did Sharon, cruising along as usual):
These Daddy/Tricia shots are becoming somewhat of a tradition:
Before long we caught our first view of the reservoir:
Closing in now, the last mile and a half was through the forest:
And then we saw Vicki, who'd hiked up to meet us (and, by the point shown in this photo, had hiked back toward camp with us):
A short walk led back to camp:
And that was it for our second day. We said our goodbyes to the Dawsons and Sharon. Our friends had only taken Monday off and our one day delay meant that they had to head home earlier than us. Camp was quiet that evening, and it was also slightly lonely. Campsites that have been filled with good friends become that way once a large portion of the people are gone.
We "remainders" got to bed early that night and slept well, anticipating one more day on this section, and then an end to it tomorrow on Highway 49.
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Jun 11, 2015 - 10:07am PT
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Best thread ever is back.
Thanks
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jun 11, 2015 - 11:33am PT
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Yee Haw. BBST/TFPU
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 11, 2015 - 05:40pm PT
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And here's the last day of our most recent trip:
Tricia and I started our third day packed very light and moving fast (and, as is normally the case, Vicki took on the lion's share of packing up camp - maybe I should be posting this on the "The Totally Awesome Wife/GF Thread"). We had just under 12 miles to hike to get to Highway 49:
The PCT follows a paved road for 200 yards just past where we'd finished yesterday:
The first half of this hike actually was in deeper forest. Views were rare as we gradually ascended to a low pass and then continued to the switchbacks that lead into Milton Canyon:
In one of the few open sections on this part of the trail we came upon a very interesting meeting of rock types. Two of our very good friends/climbing partners, J.C. and RP3, are geology professors. We took this shot for them (and they should feel free to give us some idea of how the stark contrast - at least in rock color - came to be):
We got one clear view of Jackson Meadows Reservoir. Tricia didn't get it at first when I said "dam." Then she looked over her left shoulder. Thankfully she still finds my attempts at "daddy humor" mildly amusing:
At about six miles into the trip we came to a long set of switchbacks that were to lead us down into Milton Creek. We stopped there for snacks and water:
As we descended the switchbacks the cloud cover went from 5% to 95%. It was warm though, even walking along the creek, and a few sprinkles would have been welcome:
Milton Creek must have some big flows at some times; all the crossings had bridges. We stopped for lunch at the second bridge (as an indication of how dry 2015 has been, the hikers who took these shots for us were through-hikers - by the end of the first week of June they were at least 300 miles further into a through-hike than is normal, although they did start five weeks earlier than is customary):
At one point on our hike along the creek we emerged from the trees and, wham; there right in front of us were the Sierra Buttes. We'd moved more than ten miles closer to them since we'd seen them last:
Another bridge over Haypress Creek led us to the last stretch of the trail to the highway:
We crossed the North Yuba River (apparently that's the name; it's not the North Fork of the Yuba River):
Half a mile later we came to the highway and to Vicki (she's always there):
This third day seemed just right to us. We felt "broken in" for the season; ready for some rest and then another, longer and more intense session during the last week of this month.
We'll pick up the story again then.
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10b4me
Social climber
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Jun 11, 2015 - 06:14pm PT
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One of two best threads on ST.
That's a part of the state I've never hiked in. Looks really nice.
Thanks for keeping this thread alive.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 11, 2015 - 06:28pm PT
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Oh, and one more shot from the first evening, one that Steve took that I really like, but which I didn't have on my computer to post earlier:
And one from the third day that I totally forgot to post (I'm getting old and forgetful). Another PCT sign, this time showing someone's sense of humor:
Thanks too for all the encouraging comments.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Jun 11, 2015 - 07:53pm PT
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You guys are way inspiring and part mule(not referring to looks at all).
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Maeday
Trad climber
San Francisco
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Jun 11, 2015 - 10:16pm PT
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gosh, that is awesome!!!! very inspiring. i have three daughters of my own. i take them climbing sometimes.... your post is really inspiring. saturday we will hike in tuolomme meadows to young lake for a day hike. thanks for the thread:)
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Maeday
Trad climber
San Francisco
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Jun 11, 2015 - 10:40pm PT
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gosh, that is awesome!!!! very inspiring. i have three daughters of my own. i take them climbing sometimes.... your post is really inspiring. saturday we will hike in tuolomme meadows to young lake for a day hike. thanks for the thread:)
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Jun 12, 2015 - 05:27am PT
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THis is very cool. Wish I could get my kids to go out backpacking like that with me. Very nice! Keep it up.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Jun 12, 2015 - 08:03am PT
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I love this thread! Please post more!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 13, 2015 - 08:54am PT
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This post is for apogee.
I've never forgotten your comments early on this thread about your hike of the PCT. Your experience of the trail back in the 1980s was very different than ours has been; the trail itself wasn't what it is now, and methods and equipment were quite different from those we've used on this trip.
All of this came back to my memory about two months ago. My wife found a book then at a garage sale. She bought it for me for $1.00. It was published by National Geographic in 1975:
It's a cool book. I read it cover to cover over our recent three-day trip. As one might expect from National Geo, it's well written and contains great photos.
Some of these photos show how different methods and equipment really were:
Now that guy in the photo above isn't you apogee, but can you honestly say that your pack and your clothes were a lot different when you did the trail?
Here's another very revealing shot. This was taken in the southern Sierra. The young lady shown is well into multi-day backpack. She's wearing old Adidas shoes and jeans!? Jeans in the back country?
But apogee's description of the southern part of the trail is what's really stuck in my mind for all this time. When this book was written (and I think when apogee did the trail), parts of the PCT weren't even established yet. Here's the "San Filipe Hills" section of the "trail," in San Diego County (it's Highway 2 itself - when we passed through there we hiked a real trail in the hills about three miles east of the highway):
And perhaps the part of the book that hit me the most was a map. A map of the northern Mojave and Southern Sierra parts of the trail. Apogee described hiking up Jawbone Canyon north of Tehachapi, whereas we drove up that canyon in order to reach a PCT that traversed the mountains above it. Well look at the "temporary" PCT route on the National Geo map from 1975 - right up Jawbone Canyon:
The map also shows the temporary trail going out into the Mojave, way down and hotter then where the permanent trail now goes! Hot, hot, hot!
Anyway, I thought these photos would maybe bring back a few memories. They certainly brought your early posts straight back to my mind.
And, by the way, I'm laughing with you apogee, not at you. I suspect that I am five or so years younger than you; but in my early days I backpacked like that. I used a metal frame pack. And I wore cut off jeans as (normal length) shorts too.
Thanks again for everyone's support of this thread.
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John M
climber
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Jun 13, 2015 - 09:07am PT
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Great post mtnyoung. I used a metal frame jansport pack. And wore jeans in the back country. It was all that I had. Tough but heavy. And no protection if you got them wet.
The thing that gets me about today is the weight that people carry. My first 2 week trip into the back country my loaded pack weighed 67 pounds without water. And I was wearing Jeans.. hahaha..
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 13, 2015 - 09:08am PT
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Yeah, "the good old days."
Life was better though when shorts were actually short! :)
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John M
climber
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Jun 13, 2015 - 09:16am PT
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when the ladies were wearing them… yes. LOL..
As for nostalgia.. ugh.. my back aches just remembering some of the loads I carried. With thin shoulder straps. no thank you. Not going back to that. 25 pounds of gear sounds like a dream to me. A good dream.
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jun 13, 2015 - 09:42am PT
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*
The bearded dude looks like ..drljefe.
mtnyoung, I bet you Fifty cents ...that apogee is younger than you.....
For many years now, because of knee/ ankle problems..I mainly do light weight overnight trips in the wilderness...make camp and hump miles with day packs on.
My equipment got better,...but i still hike in jeans, dresses..and some light weight clothing with my trusty rain pants. Ha...I even hiked the ..Ray Lake loop in Teva's.....Finding the right shoe wear is difficult for me.
Keep the trip reports going...I love your adventures with the family....Is your older daughter joining you this summer?.....and...If you hike the section of the PCT through the Feather river, Belden area and need supplies...Contact Timid or I...It's not that far of a drive.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 13, 2015 - 10:20am PT
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mtnyoung, I bet you Fifty cents ...that apogee is younger than you..... or the same age.
OK, you're on. I was born in December, 1960. I hope I don't eat crow on this one.
Is your older daughter joining you this summer?
The plan is for Katie to join us for four days in August. She's a busy kid.
It was ironic though on this trip we just did; she specifically said in a text that she'd rather be with us on the trail than down at U.C.S.B. The fact that she was in finals week might have had something to do with this though....
If you hike the section of the PCT through the Feather river, Belden area and need supplies...Contact Timid or I...It's not that far of a drive.
We'll be hiking through there during the last few days of June (two weeks from now, ending at Belden) and then again in July (continuing north). We won't need supplies, but perhaps you'd consider camping with us and joining our hike for a day or for a few?
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jun 13, 2015 - 10:40am PT
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..
I would love to meet and join you...and if we get a chance...you had better bring 50 cents..(-;
My guess ..He is three −5 years younger..
Hey Apogee...What say you?
ps.. mtny...I'm older than you, and in my youth..I lived in Twain Harte for part of a winter..Do you know Greg Sonagere?
edit...pss..That a hot section of the pct your heading towards...Gotta be hard for the through hikers..so little water this year. There is a section, name i forget( Timid will know) maybe called, Cold creek..?
It has a trough & pipe with cold clear spring water.. yum... We have camped near several times and go filled up our water bottles at that spot.
Edit..Found it.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 13, 2015 - 11:52am PT
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ps.. mtny...I'm older than you, and in my youth..I lived in Twain Harte for part of a winter..Do you know Greg Sonagere?
What had you living up here nita, Columbia College for a spell?
Yep, I know Greg. Although by the time I started climbing up here a lot he wasn't climbing any more.
We'll be closing in on Belden on our next trip, probably reaching there on June 29 or 30. So if you've got time lemme know, we'd love the company.
P.S. I haven't lost the bet... yet.
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10b4me
Social climber
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Jun 13, 2015 - 02:06pm PT
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mtnyoung,
that map of the trail in the Mojave desert brings back memories. I remember sleeping above Hwy 14 one night, in 1980. As you said, the trail was somewhat discontinuous at that time. I got really sick on the trail, and had to come home. I never went back. One of the things I regret.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Jun 13, 2015 - 08:50pm PT
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Life was better though when shorts were actually short! :)
Oh god.
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MisterE
Gym climber
Being In Sierra Happy Of Place
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Jun 13, 2015 - 10:31pm PT
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The migration is in full effect in Bishop.
People with packs getting picked up by people in trucks.
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jun 19, 2015 - 11:53pm PT
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*
Mtnyoung,
Dang, I slacked getting back to you..I bet you are on the trail...
Timid and i will be meeting up with some old friends on the coast the weekend you are in the Beldon area... ...
Do you know when you will get to the Humboldt summit section? We actually like that area more better.....
We hiked it last weekend, and it was the first time we have not seeing any snow on the ground in June...)-;...........
Apogee, what is your answer?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 20, 2015 - 07:41am PT
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Nita, we're not leaving until Tuesday (Tricia's currently attending "Tech Trek" at Fresno State - a math and science "camp" sponsored by the American Association of University Women).
I looked up Humboldt Summit. I think we will reach that area (if things go as planned) at about the middle of our July trip. If I had to guess, we'd get there around July 20 or 21. Perhaps give some thought hiking with us for a while?
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jun 23, 2015 - 09:21am PT
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mtnyoung, We would love to join in on your hike...still not sure if we can rendezvous...Weekdays are an issue...We will be at a music festival the weekend before those dates...So it's iffy...Dang..
For this next PCT trek, what sections are you hiking ?... beginning, ending and possible dates?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 23, 2015 - 09:34am PT
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Nita,
We're leaving in 10 minutes (I'm waiting for everyone to be ready). The plan today is to hike from Highway 49 to Packer Lake Saddle (leaving late so as to do the hike in cooler afternoon temps).
From there we intend to go 12 to 16 miles per day until reaching Belden at the end of next Tuesday, June 30th.
If you feel crazy and want to hang with us for a day, try 209 768 4546 (although we didn't get any significant cell service in many places up there when we were there last). Obviously we're not entirely sure where we'll be each day. And we're not entirely sure where we'll be camping either each night. We know that we're likely to stay two nights at Little Grass Valley Reservoir (probably Little Beaver Campground, and likely Thursday and Friday nights). We're especially tentative north of there.
Maybe July if not this trip? We really enjoy hiking with company.
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Jun 23, 2015 - 09:36am PT
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This thread keeps on giving. You have a great family, man!
I was just talking with my future wife about the pros/cons of the AT-PCT. Naturally, I'm in the PCT camp. Someday...
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jun 23, 2015 - 11:11am PT
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*
Thanks for the info..That gives us a clearer idea....Not sure if we can meet, but ...July may be better.
ps.. Two weekends ago on the PCT, we were at Robbers springs filing up with water when we met a young german PCT hiker...He was hiking 29 miles a day.. with some rest days for showers and food pick-up...He barely had time to talk with us, wanted to celebrate at the 1/2 way point, which was 8 miles from where we met on the trail... He planed to complete the whole trail in less than 160 days...Sounded like he had seen & talked with very few people...I think he will succeed with his goal...
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Cragar
climber
MSLA - MT
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Jun 23, 2015 - 11:14am PT
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Awesome Brad! Some lucky ladies in your life eh?!
!!
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jun 23, 2015 - 11:54am PT
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Cheers! This is a great thread.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 1, 2015 - 12:43pm PT
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We're back after a great trip. Hot though, even at the upper elevations of our hike.
I've got part of a trip report done and I'll start posting that as quickly as I can.
Brandon, good on you for looking at the big trails. I hope you do get on them. Yes, them; you don't necessarily have to choose one or the other… :)
Cragar, That's a nice way of looking at it (my girls being lucky), but in all honesty, I've always felt that I was the lucky one.
Nita, you don't suppose I insulted apogee by making assumptions about his age? I certainly hope not, he's a very positive voice on this forum and I'd hate to have gotten on his bad side.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 1, 2015 - 07:38pm PT
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Day One:
Our first day's plan worked perfectly.
The climb up from our start point on Highway 49 (at 4,600 feet) would require almost 3,000 feet of elevation gain. A lot of the climb would be on a mostly-coverless trail with southern exposure. We knew temperatures would be hot. So we did the drive from home and started hiking late (we met Laura and Alex Dawson on the way; unfortunately Steve had work commitments). In this case "late" meant beginning a 9.8 mile hike at 4:20 in the afternoon. But it also meant cooling temps and a sun that was already to the west when we started up the east side of the Sierra Buttes. And after all, we were hiking on almost the longest day of the year. So we got to hike mostly in the shade.
Starting:
The first part of the ascent involved switchbacks in forest:
We passed trail mile 1,200 about a mile and a half into this hike:
Near the top of the switchbacks we encountered a "trail obstacle" (blurry shot, because - go figure - I used maximum telephoto):
When, after ten minutes, the obstacle refused to move from the trail, we moved around it instead:
After the switchbacks the trail breaks out into the clear and then winds its way around and up the south side of the Buttes, to the west, ending on their northwest side. As soon as we broke out of the forest we started getting great views:
Here's Sierra City from up high:
From this high up we could see Castle and Basin Peaks. Castle Peak is about a mile and a half north of Donner Summit at I-80 (where we started our last trip):
By the time we got to the west side of the Buttes, it was getting pretty late:
Tricia seems to have an eye for sunset shots (her photo):
And alpenglow:
We finished at the paved road at Packer Saddle (apparently the PCT is in the process of being re-routed here - dropping down a bit to the Tamarack Lakes so it doesn't follow a dirt and a paved road for half a mile). Vicki was, of course, waiting for us. Notice the amount of energy that Tricia and Alex have, racing to be the first "to the finish line" (after all, we'd only hiked just under ten miles):
We then drove the three miles to Packer Lake campground, had a very late dinner and hit the sack. What a great day.
We would be up early tomorrow to get ready for another, this one longer, continuing mostly on ridge-lines to the "A Tree Saddle."
Day Two:
Our plan for day two involved moving camp to Upper Jamison Campground at Plumas Eureka State Park (it's Vicki doing that part). From this park a rough dirt road leads to the "A Tree Saddle," a road/PCT junction that is a 12.5 mile hike from Packer Saddle (that's the others of us doing that).
We started in great weather:
Early in these PCT adventures, both of my girls adopted a habit of touching PCT signs as they go by them. Alex now tries to do the same (with a little help now and then):
Although the PCT guidebook is a bit negative about the PCT's chosen route in this area (it comments that maybe it should have gone nearer to the lakes in Lakes Basin), we found that the ridge hiking along this stretch of trail was both easy and viewful:
Water is short though, high on a ridge. Small Summit "lake" provides one source near the trail, although it certainly isn't a fresh-flowing stream. Water quality aside, our dogs loved the coolness of the water and romped to their heart's content:
The views we caught of the Sierra Buttes got farther and farther away all day; and this time we were north of them:
Along its length, the PCT is marked with various signs. The newer style sign is probably familiar to most who have hiked on or over the trail. But many parts of the trail were originally marked with plain metal diamond signs, and these are still there. Some of these signs in this area have been marked up by someone, mostly in a positive manner. Here's an example:
We headed south just before lunch. Yes, that's right, south, toward Mexico (the trail does that now and then, which is part of the reason it is 2,658 miles long). At the end of our southward segment we found a lunch spot we liked:
After an excellent 12.5 miles day we wound down through forest to the A Tree Saddle (and no, we never figured out why it was named that). Vicki was waiting for us:
The less-than-five-mile drive back to Upper Jamison Campground was totally routine, dirt road driving. At least it was routine until we heard the distinctive hissing of escaping air out the left side window. Luck has many forms; we'd had good luck that day in that the flat tire didn't occur until after Vicki picked us up. The bad luck though was that the flat was bad; we'd get a very late start the next day in part because we had to deal with this issue by driving all the way to Quincy (on the spare).
Day Three:
On our third day we started a 15.7 mile hike at 12:25 in the afternoon (due to the flat tire). It was hot by then. Fortunately a lot of our hike was in the shade. Even more fortunately, we were able to meet Vicki halfway through our hike as she drove from the east side of the range (at Plumas Eureka State Park), 15 miles over to the west side (at Little Grass Valley Reservoir) to set up a new camp.
We passed under Gibraltar Rock with its Pinnacles-like formations (too far in the back country to EVER be worth it):
Small creeks provided water and some relief (I'll say it again, these were some very hot days of hiking):
And after just under eight (quick) miles, there was Vicki, waiting for us on Johnsville-Gibsonville Road, right where we'd planned:
After lunch we continued. One of the first things we saw was this gnome-like tree (Gollum in repose?):
Then we were back to the beautiful ridgelines that were so prominent this trip (look how far the Sierra Buttes have receded in this first shot - we were really moving north):
We got our first view of Pilot Peak (it's very visible because of its fire lookout, and it's near our end point for the day):
Other, oddly named geographic features appeared:
Then a first view of LaPorte road let us know that we were closing in on a 15.7 mile day (ten year old Alex's longest day of hiking ever):
LaPorte Road has been an important county road since 1867. It's well graded and well paved, and yet in all the time we spent driving it we saw almost no other vehicles. This is a very quiet part of California:
On the drive back to our new campsite Tricia noticed that she had accumulated dust spots all over her legs, clear up to the knees. She thought this was pretty funny (she must have sweated a heck of a lot while hiking the dusty trails; I really like having a daughter who laughs at getting really dirty):
In fact, it had been so hot that, in spite of all the water we gave the dogs, Hallie found the camp water faucet as soon as we got out of the car and started to help herself:
We were in good shape after this third day. The Dawsons had one more day to spend with us and it promised to be one of easy hiking and good views. Then new friends would join us and we'd finish off with two really hard days (with an easier one in between).
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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I wish this trip could go on forever.
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Looks like your dog has a drinking problem, lol.
Still the best thread, bump to the top.
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Craig Fry
Trad climber
So Cal.
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Finally, you can enjoy the scenery with nice light packs
Luging a giant Pig wears on you after a while
Keep up the Fun!
I'm rooting for you!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 2, 2015 - 09:18am PT
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Yep, the light hiking is easier. And it's nice to share the evenings and camping with Vicki.
It's funny though - through-hikers call what we're doing "slackpacking." Never to our faces however, and seemingly with a little twinge of jealousy.
Day Four:
Although we thoroughly enjoyed our fourth day (nine miles of easy, shaded hiking), it wasn't particularly noteworthy for purposes of a trip report. The hiking did set us up for a hard, really hot hike the next day. It also insured that Alex passed 50 miles of hiking in four days - a pretty noteworthy accomplishment for a ten year old boy:
It was fun to start the day; we drove up to LaPorte Road, and there, in front of us (but 50 miles away) was Mount Lassen! We hadn't noticed it when we were there the day before. I'm really starting to like this mountain:
Fun Hiking (including touching the occasional sign):
We met up again this day with Vicki:
And we saw signs too:
Even signs about a small lake we passed:
But there were two signs for this lake (and, really how could this one ever have been taken out into the field and put up)?
And that was it for the fourth day; fun, and not too strenuous.
Day Five:
Today we traveled a short distance as the crow flies. But that short distance, across the Middle Fork Feather River canyon, required nearly 16 miles of hiking, 2,800 feet of elevation loss, and over 3,000 feet of elevation gain. All in 90 plus degree temperatures. We enjoyed it.
The Cooks joined us for this hike. At least Kathy did. John was gracious enough to join us for parts of the hike only (the beginning and the end) and to join Vicki in moving camp and cars around, through Quincy and over to a new camp on the north side of the river:
It was warming when we'd gone just a quarter mile and got a clean look across the whole canyon at Lookout Rock, the end point for the day's hike (up high on the canyon rim):
It was warm when we started down the switchbacks (after switchbacks, after switchbacks):
It was warmer when we reached the river (and the biggest pedestrian bridge on the PCT) at 2,900 feet (the lowest elevation we've been to on the PCT in a long, long time):
Then it became downright hot as we traversed to Bear Creek and then began the looooooong sets of switchbacks up to canyon rim level:
But we made progress. We gained elevation. And it got a little cooler:
We "found" John hiking toward us once we reached the rim:
Together we made our way along the rim to Lookout Rock (it's not all that much of a rock, but the lookout part is great):
We saw this sign right at the end of our day's hike; the PCT is truly unique in many ways and it's really cool to have seen again and again how love of the trail brings out the good in people:
We then met up with Vicki (and the dogs - their paws had taken a rest day today). We found a wonderful place about a quarter mile away to bandit camp:
From this camp site we could see all the way to the Sierra Buttes (photo taken from directly behind our car):
Dinner and socializing followed:
After we'd all eaten dinner, we did what all good, modern people do in the evening: we got heavily into electronics. No iPads though. And no televisions or Kindles either. Just a few iPhones, and those used as cameras only. We were present for a spectacular, distant sunset and lightning show, all seen from the rim of the canyon, 200 feet from our tent sites:
This really was a fantastic show (and free too). As the sun set we saw lightning bolt after lightning bolt way to the east (we could only occasionally hear low rumblings of thunder). We sat for an hour just taking it in (and both Kathy and Vicki actually caught bolts in photos):
This great day and evening were then followed by collapsing into our tents exhausted, just after dark. We knew we had two more days to come, one easy and the other a 20-mile push in the heat.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 3, 2015 - 10:23am PT
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Day Six:
The morning skies were cloudy and dark on our sixth day. We hoped for sprinkles and cooler weather and got a little of each, but it cleared more and more as the day went by:
The natural distance to hike today was just over nine miles - after that it's 20 miles of wilderness to the North Fork Feather River and the town of Belden. So we took it easy, and enjoyed the sights and the movement:
While we were hiking Vicki got to play "trail angel." We first crossed and later finished on roads that lead to Buck's Lake and it's small resort facilities. Most through-hikers use one or the other of the roads to go down for a meal and some resupply. At one point while we were with her, two young through hikers came out of the woods, looked around and started walking the road to the west. Vic interrupted them: "are you looking for the trail," she said. "No" they responded, they were headed over to Buck's Lake. "Well in that case could I offer you a ride?" (There are many advantages to having a large-capacity family car, and fitting lots of people and junk into it is one of them.)
The through-hikers were blown away. "Yes, yes," they'd like a ride, "hell yes." So Vicki ran them to the lake, let them do their business and then shuttled them back to the trail. A little later she picked up another pair and shuttled them too.
Another through-hiker saw Vicki again that day for about the sixth time. For some reason the timing worked such that for days, when Vicki would park to meet us or pick us up, this hiker would walk by. He wasn't very talkative, but they got to recognize each other and traded hellos and smiles.
Anyway, Vicki really likes meeting the through-hikers and helping them out when she can.
Because she was running around, we waited for Vicki after we finished at Buck's Summit. But we weren't in any rush, and before long she picked us up and we drove two miles over to White Horse campground (which we had all to ourselves - even the camp hosts were gone; such wonderful peace and quiet isn't common in a public campground).
We had a nice, long afternoon in camp. And, as usual when we hang with the Cooks, Kathy and John got Tricia to play the Scrabble-like game Bananagrams. They all three laughed a lot while they played (and the Cooks claimed that Tricia won two out of three games, but I'm not sure I believe them):
A campfire, giant marshmallows, and SMOREs rounded out what had almost amounted to a rest day:
We were again to bed early, knowing that tomorrow wouldn't be very "resty" at all.
Day Seven:
Our seventh day was great; a long and hot hike with great views ending in a town that many consider "halfway" to Canada (it's actually around 30 miles short of halfway). The Cooks joined us for the first four miles of the trip and then, after Spanish Peak, it was just me and Tricia:
The middle several miles of this trip are passed on the northeast edge of a large plateau. Clear areas provide wide vistas. Of Spanish Peak:
Of Highway 70 going through the town of Quincy:
Of the Sierra Buttes, now around 35 miles south of us:
And of Mount Lassen (I'm really looking forward to getting closer to this peak):
We hauled buns to lunch at Clear Creek, 10.1 miles into the day:
This photo, taken at Clear Creek is for our two geology professor friends, John and Roger. What are we looking at by way of this big orange rock guys, and why is it here?
After lunch we continued on easy trails, still flying along.
At this stage of our hike, while walking and dreaming, I started to realize something about my now 13 year old Tricia. She's still a kid in so many ways. But she's not a child any more. And this is true even more so in a hiking/backpacking/camping sense.
Tricia's now 1,300 miles into this trail. She's done killer-hard hikes, she's backpacked days and days at a time (and carried her share of the weight). She's starting to learn the lay of the land, to study maps and to find our way. She's met and seen a large variety of outdoor people (both by way of our hikes and through all the climbing we've done as a family). Tricia helps with every camp chore, from tents to food to getting a campfire going and clean-up.
On this day's hike it really hit me: Tricia is now closer to being my equal in this venture than she is to being my "student" or my "kid." Thirteen years old or not, we make most decisions on the trail now by consensus, or even without discussion. I like it.
This realization led me in turn to think about how incredibly proud I am of her. And then, the next thought was about how much I just like hanging out with her. She's totally fun to spend time with:
We were now about 15 miles into our 20 mile day. The dogs were hot, they were seeking cool in any way they could:
We got our first view of Highway 70 and the river way, way down below:
Open areas led slowly downhill (Mount Lassen disappeared behind the far canyon wall):
We hit the "endless" switchbacks that lead down to Belden town and the river:
While on the switchbacks we got a view of Chips Canyon. This will be our first day's hike on our July trip. It looks hot, hot, hot (the trail is visible on the right wall):
Finally most of the way down the switchbacks we got a view of the Belden Lodge and the town bridge:
After 3,000 feet of descent we hit the flats, crossing double railroad tracks to Belden Town Road:
While I'd expected Belden Town Road to have a town on it, Belden is actually much smaller than that; the PCT path is the town road for half a mile before any of Belden comes into view:
Naturally Vicki was waiting for us at the lodge:
Our first priority was cooling off the dogs; the river was perfect for the purpose:
After cooling off and having a cold drink we needed to finish the day's hike; across town bridge, along the highway, and over to the Eby stamp mill rest stop (where the PCT leaves Belden) and then our 50 extra feet (to insure that we never miss a step):
That wrapped up another fine trip. We made over 92 miles in seven days (it seems like we've made it way into northern California now). We had fun and enjoyed friends.
And now we're done, home and back to normal, waiting until July 18 when we leave for another trip. After that will be August when Katie will join us in passing Lassen and then heading northwest toward Shasta.
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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stoked to see this next installment. Cool that you can do day hikes in this section.
I was up at Spanish Mountain/Silver Lake a month ago. under the radar climbing. Spanish Mtn. is a chossy 4th/5th class "ridge" climb.
You'll love the Lassen zone.
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Gene
climber
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I love this thread.
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BMcC
Trad climber
Livermore
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Great to see your story and pics pop back up. Brad, thanks for sharing your ongoing adventure(s) with us!
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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I've said it once and i'll say it again...I LOve this thread!!...but it needs a little music...
I've played this before, but it's my favorite( PCT) hiking tune...
For mtnyoung and his daughter..
[Click to View YouTube Video]
The video that goes with the music is yours? Edit:..No.. but I know the guy that made the video.. His trail name is~ Weather Carrot ~..Kinda funny, i no longer can remember his given name.
ps, you should check out some other songs by Greg Brown .I love his music..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNHIreIBMeA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXW0chMDo7o
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 3, 2015 - 06:40pm PT
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Nice. I've never heard of him. The video that goes with the music is yours?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 16, 2015 - 02:41pm PT
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Nita, I just saw your edit. I asked because the music fit nicely with the video (which sure looks like the PCT).
We're heading out in a few hours for the drive to Quincy. We'll stay there tonight and get an early start tomorrow from Belden. This'll be "Volume 27" of our ongoing adventure.
It will just be the five of us (me, Tricia, and Vicki, and our two gorgeous canines). We may take one of our eight days to summit Lassen Peak (the high point of Shasta County BTW, and that's a fun oddity, but not a typo!).
We've also finalized plans for our August 3rd to 7th PCT trip, and Katie will be joining us. As much as I love hiking with Tricia, I like it slightly more when both of them are with me.
Meanwhile I laughed last night while we were getting ready. Tricia is on Bookface now. I'm not, but Vicki showed me what Tricia wrote. This is what she posted there about the upcoming four weeks (she'll be on the PCT, then at Girl Scout Camp, then on the PCT, then at Girl Scout Camp; and then she starts Eighth Grade):
Heading off tomorrow for a four-week long absence from home, with only one night (not 24 hours, mind you) in my own bed. The rest will be spent hiking and having fun at two Girl Scout camps: Golden Timbers and Two Sentinels (the second one is a backpacking camp-really looking forward to that!!). Luckily my parents get some time at home while I'm away. smile emoticon When I get back, I'll have two days to rest before school starts up again. Can't wait!!!
I can't wait for the PCT parts of this, but I will sure miss her when she's gone from home at the camps. Still, I look forward to hearing about the backpacking Girl Scout camp - it'll be her first time ever backpacking without me along.
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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Jul 16, 2015 - 03:07pm PT
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Fantastic!!
Great trip report.
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jul 16, 2015 - 04:15pm PT
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I don't know how you do it: still the best TR ever.
mtnyoung ; oh right! guidebook author. I just made the connection. I met you around Chipmunk Flats during that solar eclipse a couple years ago.
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jul 16, 2015 - 05:05pm PT
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mtnyoung, Dang..We will be at a music Festival in Grass Valley starting tomorrow morning...Maybe we can join you in Lassen Park next weekend....But that's a maybe ..
Either way..one of these days our paths will cross...
I hope it's not tooo hot for you guys..We should have a cool down on Saturday...thank God..
Have Fun...
Saludos...
Nita..(-;
ps..Love your doggies...
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Jul 16, 2015 - 09:21pm PT
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Wow, I missed a bunch while I was out of town for the week of the 4th. Glad to be up to speed, and thanks for digitally bringing all of us with you.
"halfway" to Canade
Wow again. I hadn't really put together how far along you guys have pushed until I read that. Fantastic!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 20, 2015 - 07:41am PT
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We passed the halfway marker yesterday. It says "1325 miles to Mexico" and "1325 miles to Canada."
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Gary
Social climber
From A Buick 6
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Jul 20, 2015 - 08:15am PT
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This is so cool, your documentation of this is terrific. The girls will treasure this trip all their lives.
Last year we accompanied a friend who was finishing his section hike of the PCT. We joined him at Stehekin and hiked north. It was a beautiful section, and Manning Park was a great place to end.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 26, 2015 - 03:09pm PT
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We finished our PCT hiking in time to attend a wonderful wedding yesterday in Lee Vining. Now that we're at home, I've started posting a trip report to Mudn'Crud under the title:
"The PCT Volume 27: We're Past Halfway (Only Halfway?!)"
Here are the first two days:
DAY ONE:
The first day of this July trip basically kicked our butts. In a good way though. It was hot, hot hiking and by the time we met up with Vicki both of us were pretty wiped out.
We stayed in Quincy on Thursday night so as to be able to get an early start from Belden on Friday. We'd hoped to beat some of the heat on a long, hot, 16.8 mile slog back up to elevation (over 4,700 feet of uphill in this one hike).
But there wasn't much escaping the sun for the first five miles, and so there wasn't much chance to escape the heat either; Chips Creek Canyon is just hot:
Eventually we hit forested sections of trail, still along Chips Creek:
We saw interesting geology near the river, here quartz apparently imbedded in other rock:
Unique trail clearing work (a tree carved into seats!):
By the time we hit ten miles, we'd reached the upper reaches of the canyon. We were were running out of steam by this point though. In particular, I hadn't consumed enough water and my legs were cramping (Tricia carried our pack for the whole second part of the trip to make it easier for me). We slowed down, taking sit-down rests. We enjoyed the near-alpine views (now back up to over 6,000 feet):
Eventually we got back up to "normal" elevations.
We got our first view of Lassen Peak for this trip:
We hit PCT mile 1,300. These "big" numbers are fun; like climbing ratings, they're a way to measure "success" toward a goal:
Luckily the last four miles of the hike were pretty darn level. We finally hiked slowly onto Forest Service Road 26N02, saw Vicki waiting, and plopped down to rest. Thank goodness (and as the week went on and we ran into lots and lots of through-hikers, the theme with all of them was the same - wasn't that hike up out of Belden an ass kicker!).
We set up camp, relaxed and ate. We also performed a critical chore, foot maintenance:
And that got us back on the trail, rolling north again and enjoying our adventure.
DAY TWO:
We needed our second day to be easier. Fortunately our needs coincided with the set-up of the PCT. We knew that some miles ahead of us was a long (19.4 miles) stretch of trail leading from Humboldt Summit to Highway 36. This stretch has no possible pickup points. We knew that when we got to this part of the trail we'd then have to day-hike that whole distance. And we knew that that long stretch of continuous trail started 8.1 miles from where we'd spent our first night. Perfect; day two would start with an 8.1 mile hike to Humboldt Summit and then we'd rest. We'd then be set up for a big push on day three.
As usual I was up early in our quiet and isolated "bandit camp" (sometimes I wish I could sleep longer):
The hiking was easy downs and ups this day. Heavy forest prevented much by way of views, but we were happy just doing easy movement:
After about three miles we hit Humbug Summit:
This dirt road was familiar to us; we'd been there in 2009, all four of us. Another thing that Vicki and I and the girls have done over the years is to try to get to the tops of as many California county high points as we can (not state high points, just those of the 58 California counties). This effort has been fun. It's also given us excuses to visit parts of California that we otherwise wouldn't likely have seen.
In August 2009 all of us hiked the three miles of PCT to the Butte County high point trail junction (the high point is actually 2/10s of a mile off the PCT). Naturally we took photos. Naturally I had those photos along now for comparison:
After our "photo op" we reached the only really open (and viewful) part of this day's hike:
We then quickly reached Humboldt Summit. Although the PCT guidebook warns about rowdy and loud campers here, we lucked out; although a few cars drove by 100 yards over, we had the whole place to ourselves. And we all agreed, our camp there was one of the top three camps we've used in all of this long adventure (how could it not be when, upon opening the tent door, Lassen Peak stands right there, almost at arms reach):
Since we finished hiking at only a little after noon, we had hours in which we could read, nap, snack, and rest. And in which we could just sit and enjoy the views. And we made good and appropriate use of those hours:
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 26, 2015 - 09:43pm PT
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Days three and four:
DAY THREE:
On our third day of this trip we hit a very significant milestone, one that we'd known was coming, one that we'd looked forward to, and one that we'd heard stories about. We hit the halfway point; halfway from Mexico to Canada.
But first we had to get started. The four-leggers and I woke up early to get the morning going. If anything, our "Lassen on the front porch" campsite was even better in the morning light:
The hiking started cool and easy and soon we reached a point where we could look back and see Vicki at our campsite:
Hiking mostly on open ridge-tops, we got our first ever view (from the PCT) of California's Central Valley:
The trail then took us up. Up onto an "east/west" ridge where we encountered a side trail to this:
One of the fun things we've seen on the PCT is all the unusual, funny and clever geographic names. As I've said here before, "who names these things?"
Soon we wrapped around the ridge and started north and downhill. We didn't know what to expect of the halfway point, but we knew it was close:
Would we see a sign? Would it be sharpie marker on a plaque? Maybe a cairn? The answer we saw (from a distance) was: "none of the above." To our surprise there was a fairly formal marker, much like those at the trail's start and end points:
The concept of a "halfway point" is pretty interesting on an adventure that is this long. For our part, we've been at this now for years (more than half of Tricia's lifetime, and nearly half of Katie's). Through-hikers have, by this point on the trail, been hiking 20 or more miles a day for two to three months. Halfway? Halfway to what? Canada for sure, but what else? Enlightenment (certainly some of that no matter who the hiker)? Exhaustion (bodies wear out; more critically so do spirits - although most through-hikers just smiled and kept on going in the days to come, we saw more than one such hiker that seemed just a little numbed by the concept that all that effort had only brought them halfway).
Anyway, we looked at the halfway point like this: We are on an adventure. We've been on it of years. The ostensible "goal" of the adventure is to reach Canada (the real goal is to have fun and grow as a family, and I'm going to cry like a damn baby if/when it ever ends, but I haven't told the girls that). A halfway point is just that much more fun along a long, long path.
We kept hiking, gunning for Highway 36 and the end of a 19.4 mile day.
On our way we got our first view of Lake Almanor:
We hiked through mostly forest now, some of it fairly shattered:
And, lo and behold, as we neared the highway we could see across it. And there was our trail angel, chatting with various through-hikers:
On this afternoon, having finished at Highway 36, we were only six miles from the town of Chester. We decided to go there for the night rather than look for a campground. After "shuttling" us into town, Vicki was able to give rides to six through-hikers in two groups going into and out of town (she gave several more rides the next day too; she's really gotten into being part of the trail, helping and visiting with lots of the long distance folks, some of whom she sees several times each as she leapfrogs farther up the trail tracking our movement).
DAY FOUR:
Most Americans live within 100 miles of a coast. And many of this majority refer to the states in the interior of our country as "flyover states." It's kind of a snotty phrase, implying as it does that these states are nothing but obstacles to be "flown over" on the way to real places. Certainly people in the "flyover states" have lives; mostly happy and productive lives it would seem.
But, if it isn't really polite, maybe even unjustified, the concept is at least understandable. And it's what came to mind during most of the 19.0 miles of our fourth day this trip. You see, not all of the PCT can be wonderful; it can't all involve great views and wonderful milestones. Sometimes one passes through "hikeover miles," and that's what we did for most of today. Pretty forest, worthwhile forest, and gentle trails for miles and miles, but nothing spectacular:
We crossed the North Fork Feather River (again, the same river - we crossed this at the town of Belden too; the river flows west at Belden, up here farther north, it flows east to Lake Almanor before it curves south and then west):
We broke the day up with a lunch meeting with Vicki (she had to divert three whole miles on her way to the next campground to meet us at midday):
And then more miles of "the same:"
Even the boundary of Lassen Volcanic Park was in deep forest:
We did have some fun though. Tricia's been taking "selfies" lately, and I try to "photobomb" them when I can:
Finally, after 18 pretty average miles we reached a place that was different and unique; we were after all now in a "volcanic" park. Boiling Springs Lake is only a few hundred feet off the PCT. It's a well know attraction in Lassen, and deservedly so. Boiling water and steam vents together with a hot lake surface and mud fumaroles were new to both of us. We walked over to look:
The "lake" was fascinating. Tricia loved it. I did too. But what I'll always remember about Boiling Springs Lake is Tricia's reaction to being near it. We were both pretty tired after 18 miles of hiking. We had another mile to go to our endpoint and to relaxation and comfort. It was starting to rain while we watched the steam vents. I was ready to let a quick look be enough, to turn around and head back to our trail. Tricia, although also tired, was fascinated. She really, really wanted to walk the extra half mile around the lake.
So we did. And we didn't regret it:
After circling the lake we still had that additional mile to go, but it didn't seem any harder for having spent the extra energy. We soon came out of the forest to view the Drakesbad resort (kind of an "Awahnee" of Lassen Park - I'd never heard of it before planning this trip):
Soft meadows led to Warner Valley Campground (in Lassen Park). "La Victoria Salsa" (Vicki that is) was waiting there for us (wearing my jacket!):
Eventually the rain stopped. We then enjoyed a nice evening in a National Park that I'd never been in before. Tomorrow we'd see more of it; the PCT goes right through the wilderness "outback" of this park, east of the peak itself.
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jul 26, 2015 - 11:54pm PT
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*
Hells- bells
Totally traveling through all of the stomping grounds that Timid and i hike every summer...mostly Butte county- butt mt, Humboldt summit, to the Lassen area....sigh.....sorry we didn't connect...
Lassen Park is a great park to visit..We can leave Chico late on Saturday morning and always get a space in the campground.....so far that is..
Love the picture of your daughters from 2009....So sweet!...actually love all your pictures...
Thanks and...Keep posting...
Cheers...
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 27, 2015 - 06:46pm PT
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And a nice stomping ground it is Nita. I've never been at or near Lassen National Park and have really enjoyed it (and after seven days on the trail we used our last half day to summit the peak - wow!).
Here's days five and six (with an apology for dragging this posting out - our internet at home isn't very fast and between work and sleep at night, and uploading many more photos than I post here, it's been very slow getting what I need onto Flickr):
DAY FIVE:
Tuesday, July 21 was fun. We had a relatively gentle 13.7 mile day right through the heart of Lassen's back country:
A quick uphill led over a ridge to Grassy Swale Creek (another of those cool names). That creek led us in turn to Swan Lake and the Twin Lakes.
As a Sierra Nevada aficionado, I'm used to back country lakes. They're open and granitey places, filled with fresh water; they have inflow and outflow streams. The lakes aren't quite the same up here. They're shallower and they don't have such big inflows (at least the several that we saw don't). And so in low years or by late season they've receded noticeably (they're still pretty places though):
We lunched at Lower Twin Lake and then continued for miles and miles on nearly flat terrain. This second half of the day was remarkable for two reasons. The first was the state of the forest - there'd been a really severe fire through here about a decade ago and it showed:
This part of the trail was also unique in that the PCT follows two old emigrant trails here. One, pioneered and cleared by William Nobles, was first used in 1851. Although this trail was mostly abandoned for better/easier ways after only several years, the incoming traffic then was heavy enough that there are still two noticeable, distinct wagon tracks through most of this area (presumably, traffic also didn't stop completely on this "road" for many years after it fell from popularity):
The skies threatened through all of this flat part too, and we heard lots of thunder in the distance; but we felt not a single drop:
Near the end of this part of the hike we emerged from the forest and came out from behind a ridge. We were able to see Lassen from here for the first time today. But this time Lassen was different; at last we were viewing this big peak from the north!
Once we finished our day's hike we drove west to Highway 89 and the Hat Creek/Old Station area to look for a place to camp. All the campgrounds along Hat Creek were completely full, which was actually fortuitous; in looking for alternatives we happened across a tiny little campsite near waterless Mud Lake. We set up our tent here, 50 feet from the PCT:
This spot was also only a few hundred yards from the Hat Creek Overlook. Camped here, we could see Shasta from our tent (through trees and in the distance mind you) and from the overlook we could see Lassen, Shasta, the whole Hat Creek Valley, and most of the Hat Creek Rim:
We liked this location so well that we decided to camp here for the rest of our trip.
Tricia continued to play with her camera, taking sunset shots:
And finally, in order to prove that my girl isn't just tough, she's smart, I present this photo (with the following explanation). In the evening, after dinner, Tricia wanted to go back to the overlook to see the sunset. While there we read the historical and geological information plaques that discussed the area. As she often does with my writing, Tricia read these carefully. And then, on this one, on this official (and presumably professional) plaque, she pointed out to me a typographical error that I had not noticed (and that many of you might not find either):
DAY SIX:
On day six we exited Lassen Volcanic Park and got our first clear views of Mount Shasta from the trail. Lassen receded further to the south:
We worked our way down to the forest floor near and east of Hat Creek and then just flew on the flat, easy trail. We enjoyed the temperatures and the pace:
This is lava tube country too (the PCT passes within 100 yards of "Subway Cave," a well known, larger lava tube). We saw this other/smaller tube that is right over the trail (making the trail about three feet thick!):
We finished at Highway 44, about three miles from our camp. We returned to camp at the end of the day to a new finding and a new discovery.
The new finding wasn't actually completely new. What we discovered is that the ultra-fine dust in this area penetrates into lightweight hiking shoes even more thoroughly than does the dust on other parts of the trail (although like I said in an earlier post, isn't it cool to have a girl who gets just filthy and doesn't give a heck?):
Finally, the new discovery is Tricia's and it might be worth patenting. Although we brought marshmallows on this trip, we ended up not having any campfires and so they went unused. Casting about for an alternative to SMORES, T-Girl came up with this beauty, the Oreo/Strawberry SMORE:
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 27, 2015 - 09:00pm PT
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Alright, the end at last; day seven of seven:
DAY SEVEN:
Climbers learn and know the history, mystery and challenges of their sport. Safety, fun and a level of adventure all depend on such learning and knowledge. What climber planning to do the Salathe Wall doesn't learn about, dread, and therefore prepare for the Hollow Flake pitch? What climber doesn't admire a fellow who goes for it against hard odds and succeeds? We all do.
It'll come as no surprise that PCT though-hikers face the same types of issues and react to them in the same way. And to them, the Hat Creek Rim is very much like the Hollow Flake pitch is to us. The Hat Creek Rim is the edge of a long plateau:
It's at relatively low elevation, exposed, burned over, and it's hot. And there's no water along it for nearly 30 miles (sometimes trail angels leave cached water on Road 22, about 13 miles into this hike, but who wants to depend on maybes?):
We saw many different reactions by through-hikers to this part of the hike. Many hiked it at night in one long stretch (yeah, 30 miles non-stop at night). Some just gutted it out in a "I'm gonna die some day" fashion that was reminiscent of those few climbers who are nuts enough to climb at Pinnacles National Park in the summer. Others changed nothing but the weight they carried; more water (some carried in bottles they held in their hands) and the same pace.
One young lady impressed me in particular. She'd never (as in never in 23 years) slept out-of-doors before committing to the PCT almost 100 miles south of this point (and yes, she really had lost her mom recently and she'd seen that movie). We crossed paths with this young lady several times during the last 40 miles of our trip. She was slow and obviously somewhat unsure of herself. But I could literally see her confidence growing as time went by. She paused at Old Station (a small settlement from which hikers set out on the Hat Creek Rim). And then she went for it, all by herself. When we last saw her she was well; I'm quite sure she made it and that she grew in the process.
Tricia and I had it easier. And that's OK since, as a tough, tough climber, I've paid my dues; I've led the Hollow Flake pitch and I've suffered plenty in other ways and at other places. I get to do the Hat Creek Rim the easy way (and Tricia's just a kid, right, surely she shouldn't have to suffer). We hiked the first ten miles of this section in a day, passing through our own campsite for lunch as we did so, and meeting Vicki at the end of the day, to be whisked away, back to the "camp" of milk and honey.
On the way we had some fun. Tricia tried (unsuccessfully) to push this burned out snag over:
We had more great views of Shasta (it's coming up; we'll get closer and then skirt it to it's south and west):
We passed along Long Creek's edge too, a huge indentation into the main Hat Creek Rim. With this edge we turned east and then south (back toward Mexico once again!) before resuming our trek to the north:
That evening we all walked up to the overlook again. This is a wonderful spot with great views that don't get old:
And that wrapped it up. In seven days "T" and I hiked 101.1 miles. We've now done over 225 miles for the summer. We're over halfway/only halfway. And we had a lot of fun.
We stayed another night in camp and left early the next morning to summit Lassen Peak on our way south to Lee Vining for a wedding (might as well summit the thing - we've been entranced by it for months).
Vicki and I are back at home now and Tricia's at Girl Scout camp. We pick her up Friday to travel to another wedding, this time in Eureka. And then we meet Katie in Redding to get back on the trail (all four again) for what may (or may not) be our last PCT trek this year.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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Jul 27, 2015 - 09:12pm PT
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Thanks for the great photos and views..Was that Jim's wedding in Lee Vining..? rj
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 27, 2015 - 09:43pm PT
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RJ, no not Jim's wedding, Roger's. Is it possible to have two weddings in tiny little Lee Vining in one weekend :)
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Jul 27, 2015 - 10:03pm PT
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I just showed pics of this to my daughter (from the beginning), and her first comment was that the dog with a pack was cute, like a donkey dog.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 27, 2015 - 10:04pm PT
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Oh, and maybe end with a few photos of our Lassen ascent. I totally enjoyed how thrilled Tricia was by the location and the view:
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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Jul 27, 2015 - 10:06pm PT
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I think Jim's was a Mono Lake Park..? So techincally yes it's possible for 2 weddings...Your daughters are very lucky to have such caring parents...rj
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 27, 2015 - 10:10pm PT
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Thanks, RJ for the compliment.
And, um, Roger's wedding was at the Mono Lake County Park too (on Saturday, and no, he didn't marry Jim). It is a pretty place to get married and, I think, is commonly used.
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Jul 28, 2015 - 05:12pm PT
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Found myself in the cookie aisle at Nob Hill today. Immediately though of this:
Snagged some Oreos and strawberries and tried it out as soon as I got home. Deeeelish!
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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Jul 28, 2015 - 08:13pm PT
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Fun stuff, mtn, dirty feet with the kids.
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Jim Herson
climber
Emerald Hills, CA
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Jul 29, 2015 - 01:23pm PT
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A wonderful adventure that just keeps on getting more awesome with every mile. Tricia's spunk and tenacity inspire us all. Having Katie join the next leg will be the best. Savor the moment.
-Jim
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2015 - 06:30pm PT
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I've been taking Jim's advice to savor the moment. I've also been savoring the good fortune that put us in a place where we could have this adventure, along with the good health to enjoy it (we went to a funeral today - of a man I went to high school with - so I'm really feeling lucky about these things right now).
We had a good trip, now finished.
I posted to Mudn'Crud about the first two days:
DAY ONE:
We had fun at a wedding in Eureka before heading east, through Redding to the trail. Vicki, Tricia and I spent Sunday night at tiny Mud Lake Campground at the south end of Hat Creek Rim (where we'd spent the last three nights of our last trip).
Vicki would pick up Katie in Redding late on Monday afternoon, so Tricia and I used part of Monday to almost finish this rim, starting right where we finished off last time:
We got moving quickly and started right into nice views (here's most of the Hat Creek Rim looking back south/toward Lassen Peak):
Although we should have been able to see Mount Shasta quite well, smokey conditions made the great mountain invisible:
We met Vic at Forest Road 22 (a good gravel road parallels the PCT about half a mile to the east along most of this rim; Road 22 crosses the road and the trail, and so meeting us was easy):
Easy, open and warm hiking continued from there:
Our dogs join us on these hikes and we let them run free. Normally they stay pretty close to us. But this particular afternoon they ran ahead at one point. By the time I missed them, it was too late; we came around a corner to see them in this (yuk!):
Although they loved the "water," we were less than impressed (we had to laugh though - we love these darn girls so much that there was nothing else we could do):
Soon we were done hiking for the day. Vicki dropped us off in camp to spend the afternoon while she went to pick up Katie. They arrived back in the evening. We spent time catching up, eating, and visiting with through-hikers (the last of the season were coming through next to our camp). We laughed a bit (a lost roll of paper towels was worth a few laughs in itself):
And then we went to bed, looking forward to tomorrow, the end of the Hat Creek Rim and a day with three of us on the trail again.
DAY TWO:
We had the clearest skies of our trip on Tuesday (which meant that Katie got to see the view from the rim, including getting a good view of Shasta). And we finished the Hat Creek Rim, passed mile 1,400, and started across the flats toward Burney Falls on this day too. Finally, today we had a dog "incident" that left us laughing, crying and wondering how, how, our pets can be so crazy at times.
Of course we started the day where we'd finished the last:
A short walk led us back to the rim:
And then, in two miles, we finally started dropping down off the rim:
It started getting hot in the flats. We had some shade, and we definitely had some views:
We passed yet another "hundred mile" marker (third one this summer!):
After ten miles of hiking we closed in on two small reservoirs (and a small town a mile away, a power plant, and a trout hatchery; all the trappings of civilization and near-civilization):
And then, just as we neared actual water, we crossed a seep that created a flow of mud across the trail. Hallie, our younger dog just dropped. It was hot, but it wasn't all that bad. It was dry, but we'd given the dogs plenty of drinking water. But Hallie must have had enough - she was hot and she wasn't going to take it any more ("Hurricane Hallie" is one of her nicknames):
Unfortunately, once a dog gets "wet" that dog shakes off (we should have known better than to stand and watch). Katie got the worst of this and I got a good load of mud too. Tricia was behind. But only she thought to take a photo:
Fortunately we were coming up on Hat Creek. And it was deep. And dogs, even brown dogs that were previously red, are fairly "rinsable:"
We continued now, actually between two reservoirs, closing in on Highway 299 and the end of the hike:
We were surprised to see pelicans here:
We came across a water cache (fresh and icy water):
Tricia took some time here, looking over the register (she's gotten to know the "trail names" of many of this years through-hikers - hell, we've actually met many of them too - and she likes to see who's gone past already). She also signed us in:
And then shortly we saw the road, our truck, and our own trail angel waiting on the Highway (who, come to think of it, has gotten to know even more through-hikers than us):
It was short drive from there to McArthur/Burney Falls State Park where Vicki had us set up in a campsite (we'd hike to and then through the park in the next two days).
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MikeMc
Social climber
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Wow! I stumbled upon this last night at about 9pm; at 2am I realized I should probably finish it later.
Now that I have finished, all I want is more. Such an awesome drawn out adventure for all of you!
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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I just love this thread. It was especially fun to see the comparative photos of what the girls looked like when you started the adventure and how much they've grown in the meantime.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Excellent thread. Keep it coming.
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Norton
Social climber
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I have loved this thread from the beginning, just wonderful.
Thanks so much for all the time and effort you put into sharing this with us!
And what a wonderful wife, daughters, and dogs too.
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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*
Brad..
Good to see your eldest daughter got to join back in on the trail.....
Your doggie pictures made me laugh out loud, great captures ...That area is a notoriously Hot section of the trail .Thanks goodness for mucky ponds, mud and clear cold water...
Cheers..and thanks again for the adventures.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 9, 2015 - 03:24pm PT
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... and how much they've grown in the meantime.
Jan: We feed them. A lot :)
We attended our second funeral today in as many days (this time one of our high school teachers who taught both me and daughter Katie in high school). That's enough funerals for quite some time to come please; we like weddings better (although both seem to have a way of making one focus on the good times and the good luck).
I've finished days three and four now (maybe the last of this thread for some time to come):
DAY THREE:
On day three we moved quickly to Burney State Park and Britton Reservoir. What easy hiking:
This hike was about as level as PCT hiking can get. Tricia found one higher spot on the trail from which to take a good representative picture:
The trail crosses Burney Creek only about a mile upstream from Burney Falls itself. And the creek here - one mile above the falls - is bone dry:
Here's Burney Falls (photo taken the same day!). We later walked from the bone dry PCT bridge area to the falls, along the creek; all of this water emerges from the ground as a creek slowly over the course of less than a mile (from tiny puddles to some water to a little water flowing to a full on flow). It's amazing:
We ran into one "problem" today though. Once we approached Britton Dam we faced a narrow section of trail onto the dam itself and we didn't have hard hats. We snuck past anyway (and note in the second photo a through-hiker - "One Step" - he'd been hiking with us for a while this day):
And then we wrapped it up for the day at a dirt road north of the dam (returning to camp for that evening):
DAY FOUR:
We only had four days to spend this trip. Between Vicki's family's wedding in Eureka, Katie's job in Santa Barbara, and Tricia having to be at a Girl Scout backpacking camp, we were only on the trail from Monday through Thursday.
Thursday we started north from Britton Lake, approaching Mount Shasta (we'll traverse almost due west to I-5 and Castle Crags now, skirting about 15 miles south of Shasta):
We were back in mostly forest this day, with the occasional vista (especially down to the Pit River):
Vicki's drive out to our end point intersected the PCT near Rock Creek. So she hiked out to meet us there:
We continued to the car, had lunch, and then pressed on (for the rest of the day in deep forest):
Conditions this afternoon were unfortunate too. Fires, especially a big one north of Clear Lake, resulted in very smokey skies. This was slightly irritating to the eyes and throat; it also meant that any views we might have had were just blurry when we saw them:
And that brought this trip to an end. Katie is back in Santa Barbara now, Tricia is at the Girl Scout backpacking camp "Two Sentinels" (they put her in an advanced group, the "Rovers," even though she's never been there before).
It might be it too for this year's PCT hiking. We'll see. Tricia's got school starting in two weeks, and so long trips certainly won't be possible. But the terrain we'll be in for the next 70 trail miles varies in elevation from only 3,500 feet to a little over 5,000 feet. It's also not all that far from paved highways. So we could conceivably do a three day trip there in October (and we've talked with our friends the Dawsons about doing just that). We'll cross that bridge in the next several weeks.
Meanwhile, I really ought to resume my climbing career. I haven't climbed that much this summer (yet - there's plenty left), and I think some of my climbing partners might be thinking of me as an "ex" climber by now (Roger, Joel and Brian?).
But more PCT this year or not, we're pretty darn happy. We've done over 270 miles of trail in 2015, averaging about 13 miles per day. The line on our living room map of the PCT is way, way farther north than it was just a few months ago:
And we've had a lot of fun.
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10b4me
Social climber
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Aug 10, 2015 - 07:53am PT
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That picture of Hallie, in the mud pit, is great.
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Aug 10, 2015 - 09:47am PT
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Bump for the best thread ever.
Ive enjoyed each leg of your hike.
Thanks so much.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 1, 2015 - 01:41pm PT
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Alright, we're outahere for the last PCT trip of 2015!
We'll meet the Dawsons in Burney and stay there tonight. Then three days on the trail. If all goes as planned we'll make 40 miles, putting us about one mile south of McCloud Reservoir and two day's hike from I-5. That would be the perfect place to resume next June.
The weather looks good (up there, starting tomorrow). Hoping for smooth hiking.
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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Thanks for a great thread. & the best to you & your's.
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susu
Trad climber
East Bay, CA
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First time seeing this thread it's wonderful!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 5, 2015 - 10:15am PT
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We finished a great PCT trip yesterday afternoon. I started a trip report on Mudn'Crud under the title:
"The PCT Volume 29: Crisp and Cool, a Gutsy Girl, and Mount Shasta"
DAY ONE:
Our end-of-the-year trip was great fun and a great success. We had cool, crisp temperatures that were perfect for hiking. We got close up, amazing views of Mount Shasta (man that thing is huge). We traveled 38 more miles of the trail in three days, bringing our total mileage for 2015 to just under 310. And we reached a low elevation on our way west to I-5 which should set us up perfectly for an early (May or June) start to next year's season.
But first the "oh crap, I don't believe it" part of the story.
A week before we started, Tricia was at her class's eighth grade outdoor camp for three days. On the last day there her best friend didn't feel well. And of course, a few days later, by the Sunday before this PCT trip, Tricia didn't feel well either.
She had a fever that day, which persisted into Monday. She also commented a few times on Sunday that her feet hurt. This last comment seemed strange, but as experienced parents we chalked it up to good old "oh well." We did keep Tricia home from school on Monday though; usually a fever indicates that one is contagious. It was only when Vicki called the school to tell them that Tricia wouldn't be at school that day, that it all fell into place: apparently several of the Twain Harte Elementary school kids had "Hand, Foot and Mouth disease."
Yeah, we hadn't ever heard of it either. Apparently this virus afflicts only kids. It results in fever and in blisters on the hands, the feet and in the mouth. That evening Tricia's hands hurt. And she showed us some blisters on her feet. But by then her fever was also gone.
Fever-less for nearly 24 hours, "T" went to school on Tuesday. She definitely felt better. On Wednesday she insisted that, blistered feet or not, she was going to run in her cross country race (and she did). We stopped worrying and checking at that point; these events, up through Wednesday afternoon, led Vicki and I to assume that her small bout with what I'd jokingly called "Hoof and Mouth disease" (which I have heard of) was over.
Um, not quite.
We'd given this tough little girl the option of bailing out on this PCT trip because of her feet. She scoffed at us. I'd suggested that we could possibly start hiking on Saturday instead of Friday to give her feet anther day of rest. She told me that she'd be "fine." So we went as scheduled, hiking nearly 15 miles on our first day alone.
Call it Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, or call it Hoof and Mouth disease. Call it any funny name or call it a mildly amusing little sickness. Call it only painful and annoying. Call it free range parenting. Call it what you want. Just please don't call Child Protective Services. Here's what Tricia's feet looked like two hours before we started hiking:
We'd driven up to the town of Burney the night before so we could start hiking early on Friday. We met our friends the Dawsons there. In the morning we found one of those "all American," small town diners and had a hearty breakfast:
And then it was out the dirt roads to where we'd ended our last trip, near Peavine Creek:
The first miles of hiking on this day were mostly in forest:
The PCT isn't in wilderness here. And just like it crosses roads, the trail must also cross other accoutrements of civilization (at least we got a good long-distance view):
And then, about three miles into the hike, we got our first view of Mount Shasta from the trail (wow!):
After this first view, the trail opened up nicely for most of the rest of the day:
We got a view of Castle Crags (it's on the other side of I-5 from this view-point, about 50 miles away):
Tricia had time for a few selfies (one of which Steve got to photobomb):
Alex tried to hold up Mount Shasta with a single finger (as a hiking crew, we know all the modern photo-taking tricks):
After just over 13 miles of hiking we reached a dirt road at Bartle Gap. We knew that Vicki would be waiting for us a mile down this road (she couldn't drive that mile because of a locked gate). During this mile we saw these (the first of very, very many we would see, especially on our second day):
We were happier to see her:
This last bit of road ended a wonderful day of hiking and views. One with extraordinarily clear skies and brisk Autumn temperatures that made the movement a pure joy. We then finished by piling into our cars and driving to Ash Campground over near McCloud Reservoir (we intended to finish our hike right at this campground after two more days).
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 6, 2015 - 09:07am PT
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Alright, I finally got the day two photos uploaded.
DAY TWO:
Temperatures on day two were noticeably cooler. Our first mile-plus on the road back up to the trail at Bartle Gap required us to wear all the clothes we'd brought with us:
We hiked the first third of the day mostly on the north side of a long, east/west ridge system. The lack of sun and a cold wind kept us wrapped up and moving:
We took a break at one nice, sunny, open area:
A second open spot on this side of the ridge gave us the day's first views of this great feature:
Although Steve's back was acting up today, he seemed to have a great hike anyway (and the movement helped with the stiffness). At times he and Alex hiked ahead:
Eventually we crossed to the south side of the east/west ridge. Temperatures jumped and the views multiplied. We stopped for lunch:
Beautiful hiking, west on a ridge-line followed (this shot shows the rest of the day's hike, including Grizzly Peak):
Views alternated to the south, the west, and the north. Here's the town of McCloud from 40 miles away:
And the Castle Crags again (right of center):
And that gorgeous mountain:
At one point we could see much of what we'd hiked on the the PCT behind us (all the way to the steep dirt and rubble escarpment that we'd hiked the edge of yesterday; it's in the far background, right of center):
Finally we started traversing under the south side of Grizzly Peak, toward our end point for the day. Here the amounts of bear poop became just crazy. Yes, we'd seen their tracks since late yesterday. And we'd seen many, many huge piles of their poop too (mostly filled with the remains of dark berries):
But here, on the south side of Grizzly Peak (how appropriate) it got to the point where the kids counted more than 100 plops of bear poop in a third of a mile! Here are two example photos; these were taken about 100 yards from each other. Each shows, on the trail itself, six or seven separate poops:
Here's what they appear to have been eating:
Now, I'm not obsessed with poop and I'm not even obsessed with bears (although it was a big disappointment for us that we didn't see even one live bear). But holy wow, I've never seen anything even close to this. Alright already; the clear answer to the age old question is "yes." And they do it in vast quantities.
Eventually we made it around to the west side of the peak and found our "always there" chaperone:
We got a view today of Lassen Peak (in the deepest background of this shot):
And that wrapped another great hike (and set us up for a very, very easy 10 miles tomorrow - just enough to make some progress and still get home on a school night):
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 6, 2015 - 08:19pm PT
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DAY THREE:
Our last day was as cruiser as a day on the PCT can get. We hiked 10.3 miles at a gradual downhill, ending right in Ash Campground were Vicki and the cars were waiting for us.
We started where we'd left off, again with clothes on for cold temperatures as we hiked down forested canyons:
The miles flew by. We took a break at a sharp bend where the trail cut into Butcherknife Canyon (another one of those names):
The kids were fascinated by a "sap waterfall" coming from a fir tree:
Fairly soon jackets were off:
Flora started to change (more oaks, fewer deciduous trees):
We came to Road 11 (which we'd driven to get up to our start point):
Tricia and Alex were in the lead at this point in our hike. They hoped to sneak into Ash Camp on the short section of trail from Road 11, so I got "shushed" by Tricia (it didn't' work - Vic was hanging out in a chair, looking right at the trail and saw them quickly):
And that wrapped it up for the trip and for the 2015 season. The trip home was long, but we've done longer. And we were all satisfied and comfortably tired (even the dogs):
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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The thread that keeps on giving.
Looking forward to next springs startup,
Thanks.
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Washington DC
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This is such a wonderful thread Brad. I really look forward to the updates. Fun to watch your kids grow up as well. Thanks,
Marty
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 9, 2015 - 05:57pm PT
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Marty, thanks for the comment.
Such a large number of people have made so many great posts in response to this thread.
And it's an odd thread in a way - unlike "discussion" type threads there isn't much room in a "report" like this for back and forth. Not much room for people who aren't actually "part of the story" to say anything other than just cheering us on. So how is one to respond to all the "cheering on?" It's hard to know. But it sure is gratifying; it adds to the fun to know that people are following along and wishing us well.
So really, thanks again to everyone who takes the time to read this.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 20, 2015 - 02:24pm PT
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I'm home with a cold today, trying not to feel too bad.
And, at 2:00, Tricia comes home with her report card.
I still feel bad, but I feel good too. She's not just physically tough, she's smart as a whip. (Sorry to bump the thread; I'm so damn proud that I just had to brag.)
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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Nov 20, 2015 - 02:26pm PT
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Good bump!
I blame the parents!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 20, 2015 - 03:36pm PT
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That was a really nice thing to say FRUMY. I would have said "I blame it on her mother." ;) :)
eKat, we've never met, but something tells me that my girls (tough and smart) aren't so different from you, eh?
Nice country to be from Charles. I'm kinda biased in favor of my part of the Mother Lode, but it's pretty nice country up there too (not that California's central coast area is awful either, mind you).
I might mention that other daughter too while I'm at it. U.C.S.B. has really been pushing her academically. And that pleases me immensely. She's been doing OK too; she just got a 97% on her English mid-term, and "killed" her Poli-Sci mid-term (I think I know what "killed" means in context, and I think it is good).
I'm very proud of Katie too (I just don't see her as often now).
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, A sailboat, or some time zone
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Nov 20, 2015 - 04:19pm PT
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Wowsa Wowsa!
Proud Poppa! Absolutely!
Susan
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Nov 20, 2015 - 04:42pm PT
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What happened in science?! Too much time with FA's, not enough time with the books, methinks. ;)
I hope you're happy that your girls are setting me up with unreasonable expectations for my kid as a teenager.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 20, 2015 - 04:46pm PT
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What happened in science?! Too much time with FA's, not enough time with the books, methinks. ;)
Alright, that got an LOL from me and from Vicki.
I hope you're happy that your girls are setting me up with unreasonable expectations for my kid as a teenager.
Start him young (as you already have).
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Nov 23, 2015 - 05:29pm PT
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^^
Cherish the days we have.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 23, 2015 - 11:09pm PT
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Wow Anders, I just saw this. I'm doubly glad that Donald was able to do this trail when he did. He must have been proud of his hike - it was mentioned in his obit (and yes, cherish the days!).
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 3, 2016 - 10:24am PT
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Alright, the 2016 PCT season is about to begin. I spent time last night and this morning getting maps together and making rough estimates for daily hikes. Here's the rough plan (not so rough for June, but definitely rougher later in the summer):
Eleven days in June, starting on Sunday the 12th. We'll pick Tricia up in Sacramento (she's arriving there from Washington D.C. that day; she'll have just spent six days at our Capitol with part of her eighth grade class). I know that we'll do the 31 miles from our last end point to Interstate 5 (at Castle Crags) in two days. The trail then continues west into the Marble Mountain and Trinity Alps wildernesses as it slowly curves north and then east heading for the Oregon border (240 miles from this year's start point). I estimate that we'll hike 110 to 140 miles on this first trip.
Eleven days in July. On this trip I suspect we'll cross into Oregon (!!) or come very close to it.
About two weeks in August, ending a few days before Tricia's first day of high school (yes, you read that right: high school).
These are long trips on purpose; the drive's getting to be pretty long again and long trips make the most of the "Interstate 5 boredom and suffering" that we'll be going through. Looking at this schedule, I realize just how lucky I am have such an incredibly understanding boss ::)
We've had one disappointment already this season in that Katie can't join us at all. She's just finishing her third year at U.C.S.B. and is leaving for a solo trip to southeast Asia starting from two days after the end of finals until the day before she starts her summer class. Not only will her trip prevent her from joining us; it's also fuel for Vicki and I to worry a little (a gorgeous 20 year old girl traveling alone in southeast Asia: what's to worry about?). On the other hand, she's been dreaming and planning for this trip for literally years, and we've been very impressed by her thoughtful and careful savings and preparations.
I am hoping to put together a fourth trip that will include Katie, sometime around Labor Day. She'll be free then, but travel will be tough and we'll need to take Tricia out of school for a day or two to pull it off. I'll leave that one as a thought for now and see what we can get together.
Other friends will be joining us too this season; Sharon in June and maybe others. Young Alex Dawson, who's appeared in these trip reports will join us for a week in August without his parents. Actually, he's become a story in his own right. After last year's trips with us he announced to his parents (at age 10) that he wanted to do the whole PCT in pieces, starting from Mexico. They listened and waited a month, expecting that he'd forget all about the trail. Uh, no. Alex has now dragged his parents on two trips, hiking (now at age 11) up to 24.0 miles in one day! His parents (some of our best friends) naturally accused me of "corrupting" their son. If getting a kid to hike with that level of commitment is "corruption," I'll gladly and proudly accept the label ;D
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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*
mtnyoung, looking forward to more adventures with your family and friends....You are heading into some of my favorite locations, Marble Mountain and Trinity Alps wildernesses..The lower elevations can get warm..but.. Love the higher elevations..The Marbles Mt, have some very purty colored rocks and the bears are afraid of people.
Cheers
N.T.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Looking forward to the TRs.
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Alright! Looking forward to more virtual hiking.
Where's Katie going (if you don't mind expanding details a bit)? If she hits Phnom Penh I can't recommend the Betelnut Tour to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center highly enough. It was the highlight of our trip to Cambodia for both me and my wife. http://www.betelnuttours.com/
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 3, 2016 - 01:15pm PT
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If that leg of your trip ends or goes thru Seiad Valley, have the pancake challenge at the general store/café/post office.
It's funny, I haven't yet studied enough ahead to be sure where Seiad Valley is (how far ahead of us it is). And yet I've heard of the "Pancake Challenge." It's one of those "PCT famous" things.
For those that don't know, a restaurant that is very near the PCT offers "free breakfast" to anyone that can eat the whole plate of pancakes (three huge cakes, I'm told). The legend is that only one person has ever done it.
Where's Katie going (if you don't mind expanding details a bit)?
She flies in to Singapore and then works her way north, staying in Malaysia and Thailand the whole time. She intends to really see those two countries.
She also has a high school friend who was here on a foreign exchange; she'll spend time in Malaysia with that friend and her family.
Katie's original plan did include Cambodia and Vietnam, but she changed that. In fact I was thrilled when she asked me seriously if I would consider joining her in Vietnam. I told her I couldn't but suggested that even if I could I'd really want to see historic sights associated with the Vietnam Wars. She said that she expected that and that she would have loved to join me visiting those sights (a further sign that I'm climbing out of the "Dad is the most uncool substance in the Universe" hole ;) ).
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crusher
climber
Santa Monica, CA
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REALLY looking forward to reading about your adventures this Summer! Thanks again for sharing.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Keep going there 'pops' you'll be cool in no time. :)
Tell Katie sunscreen, hydration, only drink your own watched poured drinks at clubs, and to climb on limestone. Columbia bouldering isn't the same at Phuket, etc. :)
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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My favorite thread. Look forward to hearing about your great adventure.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 4, 2016 - 07:37am PT
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Those are extremely interactive maps, clifff. They're enough to get someone raring to go hike the trail (especially when seen on our big screen Mac). I could see someone starting in on those while "just browsing," and ending up deciding to hike the trail.
I have to admit though that at my age I prefer paper maps (and they're the only type I'll take to the field!). Luckily the available paper maps are also fantastic.
I'm not sure whether I've mentioned them before, but there is a complete set of small-scale PCT maps available that are called the "Half-Mile" maps. They're free, on-line. Here's the link:
http://www.pctmap.net/
They're called the Half-Mile maps because the man that created them took standard USGS topo maps and marked the PCT clearly on them. He's also marked significant waypoints: roads, streams, trail junctions, popular places to camp (including in each case their distance from the Mexican border). And, he's placed a little purple diamond on the trail every half mile. Of course one can't click on them though and see photos of parts of the trail.
I don't know this guy's real name (his trail name is - go figure - "Half-Mile"), but he's kind of a folk hero to most PCT hikers. From my observations, few PCT hikers go without his set of maps nowadays.
The other cool maps are a larger scale. I call them the "Strip Maps." They're actually the "U.S. Forest Service PCT map series." They're available from the PCT Association:
http://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/maps-and-guidebooks/
These Strip Maps cover strips of the country that the trail goes through, on a much larger scale that the Half-Mile maps. They're very well done and are especially useful for planning purposes.
Sorry for the long post. I love maps.
EDIT:
Thank you Tad for posting the correct link; I didn't notice that mine was defective (I fixed it now).
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Footie
Mountain climber
Sonoma, CA
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Well Mr Mtn, "when I was Young..."(1972) and I hiked that section, the USGS maps were dated 1952 or '59 or something, the PCT was, at best, blue survey ribbons tied to twigs through brush fields (funding was approved but it wasn't built yet--I had to crawl some of it!)I remember being surprised to find Lake Shastina where my jeep trail was supposed to be. Have fun. Hope I get to Climb with you at Sonora Pass when you get back!
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Inspiring as always, the way you go for it with everyone included.
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SofCookay
climber
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Truly this is my most favorite thread on here and I look forward to reading the updates when it surfaces. I hiked the first 210 miles of the PCT in March and will continue to section hike it when I have time. Thanks for the wonderful inspiration - your family is just lovely.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 25, 2016 - 11:35am PT
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Our trip went very well. We got back at 7:30 Thursday evening and Vicki left the next morning to go camp for three more days at an instructor's course for adults training to be staff at a Girl Scout backpacking camp (she and Tricia are gong to this camp in July). I went to this thing I'd almost forgotten about (it's called "work").
I started a thread on Mudn'Crud under the title: "Who Knew?" Here are the first two days:
June 12:
Who knew?
Who knew how much rugged and beautiful scenery there is in the less-famous mountains of northwestern California? Who knew that the Trinity Alps and the Russian Wilderness contained so much granite, so many lakes and such fantastic vistas? Who knew that massive, wonderful Mount Shasta would continue to be visible (and powerfully so!) from mile after mile of the PCT? And who knew that we'd get more views of even Lassen Peak, now far, far south of us over this additional 128 mile trip?
We didn't know these things. I'd been in the Trinity Alps before, but way back in 1986 and then for only two days. I've been expecting lots and lots of what I call "forest marching" during this part of the trail, walking for miles in deep forest only. We had a bit of that of course, but we also learned that these are beautiful and substantial mountain ranges; not quite the Sierra Nevada, but very, very worth experiencing in their own right.
We know these things now. And we had wonderful family time gaining that knowledge.
The trip started very smoothly. Tricia did so well in school this year (again) that we treated her to a trip to Washington D.C. with two of her classmates and teachers and parents (as part of several eighth grade classes from around the state):
She flew into the Sacramento airport blurry-eyed at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday. So we picked her up there, stayed in Sacramento, and then resumed our drive north on Sunday morning.
I suppose it will start to get "normal" as we continue to drive farther and farther north each trip. But seeing Lassen and then Shasta from the road was and is still pretty thrilling. Memories of adventures past are complimented by the knowledge that we're on our way to start some more:
Even though we started this day in Sacramento, the drive was still long. And the last part of the drive was still winding and slow. We got to Ash Camp on the McCloud River at 2:00 and started a 14.7 mile hike at 2:15:
Right where we ended the last trip:
Today's hike started low and stayed low. This kept us deep in forested canyons; on a warm day it was cooler down there, and we were near water sources. But we had no vistas:
Tricia made up for the lacks of views by seeing her second-ever bear in the wild. She saw her first bear in the wild when she was in Kindergarten and Katie was in seventh grade; the girls were at their bus stop then, 100 yards from the house when a big bear casually walked out of the woods, stopped on the road to eye the girls, and then shuffled off back into the woods (we didn't get any photos then). Today's bear seemed just slightly curious. He or she watched us from 200 feet away before also shuffling off to more interesting things:
Tricia's eye for scenery impresses me more and more as time goes by. Late in the day she thought to take this pretty shot of the last of the sun's rays across the canyon:
And late in the day we made it to Squaw Valley Creek (where we knew that we'd have one more quick climb up to our pick-up point and Vicki):
This wrapped up a late day but a good start to getting back in the groove for the PCT season.
June 13:
We stayed at a small, private campground that was close to McCloud Reservoir and only four miles from today's start trailhead:
We let Tricia sleep in late since it seemed like she hadn't slept much on her Washington D.C. trip. Eventually we got going (at least still in the morning today).
This next hike would bring us to a milestone: Interstate 5 and the end of PCT Section "O." Our following days would be spent in the next section, "P," which curves way out west (even southwest) before bending north and then east and into (yes) Oregon in about 200 more miles. Every hike starts with a few steps, so our trusty (and beautiful) driver took us back to where we finished yesterday:
Today's trail was up high instead of down in the canyons. Although we were still mostly in forest, occasional gaps let us get some views:
This is one big mountain, and it's always a treat to see our progress around it:
And boy how much bigger the Castle Crags seem from only five miles away:
We got our first glimpse of I-5 (from the trail that is). It's a long way down to it on some long, long switchbacks that don't drop very quickly:
But we were finally on the last mile:
Then we broke out of the trees, hit a road and then found this bridge over the Sacramento River (the river is not so big this far north):
Now with Vicki, we made the short but satisfying walk over to and under I-5:
And that wrapped up Section "O." An easy hike tomorrow would start just barely west of the interstate:
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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Jun 25, 2016 - 12:40pm PT
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Glad to see you're getting after it again this season Brad.
You're gonna love the Klamath Mountains.
Also, a little plug for a friend who did the PCT a couple years ago and self published a fishing guide
http://www.troutfishingthepct.com/
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 25, 2016 - 03:15pm PT
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I agree, we'll love the Klamath mountains. I've never heard of them, but the surprises keep on coming. Hell, going through the Trinity Alps I felt like I need another lifetime just to thoroughly explore them!
Here are the next two days:
June 14:
Today's hike was an easy eight miles - we'd exit the PCT on a side trail after that distance so as to be set up the next day for an 18.2 mile hike with a lot of elevation gain. Vicki joined us for the first bit:
It was interesting to meet here our first "through-hikers" of the season. The words are in quotes because these three had started at the Mexican border early enough that they got to Kennedy Meadows south by mid-May. Kennedy Meadows is the start point for the Sierra Nevada, and in mid-May there was still too much snow in the Sierra for them to proceed. So they'd bailed from there to Ashland, Oregon and were hiking south from there (and would later continue north again from Ashland).
This easy hike was most notable for bringing us around the south side of the Castle Crags. These are big. They're also a fair distance uphill from any parking:
This trail junction is where the PCT and the Crags trail intersect. I think that "looks easy from here" mentioned this junction in his recent Supertopo climbing trip report for Castle Crags:
We took plenty of water breaks (and Tricia took more imaginative photos):
We quickly hit the Dog Trail junction, where Vicki was waiting (after a steep uphill hike of her own):
Since we'd finished early, we made a driving reconnaissance of our next pick-up points and campsites nearby. We watched a storm start rolling in (which, although we didn't know it yet, would force us to take the next two days off). And I just had to get this photo of "Hurricane Halifax" in one of her favorite positions - braced out the window and looking for trouble as Vicki drives the forest road:
And one final shot of my "color-coordinated" beauty back in camp, in the cool of the evening:
June 17:
Bad weather moved in as we were finishing our hike off the PCT at Dog Trail. The next day's forecast was bad - rain, heavy rain and thunderstorms up high (and our next hike would take us up high). So we took a rest day in Mount Shasta City. Then the forecast called for the same weather on a second day. More rain and thunderstorms. We didn't come up here quite ready for heavy rain, and we usually try to avoid hiking up high when there are thunderstorms. So we took a second rest day (at least we got to go see the new movie "Finding Dory"). Finally, after two rest days the forecast was for "rain" but with no mention of thunderstorms. Time to go for it, "mere" rain be damned.
The drive over to the trailhead wasn't all that encouraging (remember, we're from California and, although Brits might consider this "sunny," we did not):
Vicki helped at the trailhead:
Soon we were up Dog Trail and back on the PCT:
Although we have really good rain shells and just the right layers, I have a certain level of paranoia about getting really wet way out in the back-country. I know where the paranoia comes from too - it comes from having been caught up high on climbs by rain on far too many occasions. But hiking isn't way up a cliff face and I've been working on getting to be OK hiking in the wet (although without thunderstorms is still fine). Still, today we went with the "wimp option." Yes, umbrellas might look wimpy on the trail, but they add that much more water-proofness to the mix:
The first half of our 18.2 mile day required 4,500 feet of elevation gain. The rain and mist certainly prevented overheating. It also kept the flies away (the PCT guidebook talks about the awful flies that seem to swarm on this particular part of the trail):
The dogs are basically water-proof:
As we got up higher, some of the terrain seemed quite primeval:
The last seven miles of the hike were in and among a series of 6,500 to 7,000 foot peaks. The terrain was open (which made me really glad we hadn't ventured up during thunderstorms). And, we lucked out with a two hour period of no rain and times when the clouds rolled away and let us a see up to a mile at a time:
We spotted the gap we'd hike through in the Trinity Divide from half a mile away. Water falling on one side of this divide flows into the Sacramento River, while that falling on the other side (ten feet away) flows to the Trinity River (and eventually the two flow to the ocean 280 miles apart!):
From the divide it was a cruiser 2.3 miles to Forest Road 26 and Vicki. We moved with speed (the entire hike took us six hours and 50 minutes):
We were glad to have made this hike and to have gotten more used to hiking in wet conditions (we are after all moving quickly toward the Pacific Northwest). Still, we were also glad for the next several day's forecast: clearing to sunny with cold temperatures slowly increasing to the low 70s.
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Jun 25, 2016 - 05:57pm PT
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Kiddos to getting back on the traIL.
I love all the pics since I've never been to California.
Thanks a million for taking all of us along with with you and your family
Are those the Luci lanterns I see in the reflexion of the dash board.
We use ours every night
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jun 25, 2016 - 06:18pm PT
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Sweet and very welcome as usual. Ever consider putting packs on those dawgs?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 25, 2016 - 06:41pm PT
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Yep, Luci lights. We use them every time we go camping (and Vicki takes one when we backpack). I don't know who invented them, but I hope they make a fair bit of money from them - they're genius!
And John, the dogs carry their own food on backpacking trips, but packs wouldn't do much on day hikes (as you can see between two humans we do day hikes with just one small pack). Actually, with the dog packs, we put our trail garbage into ziplocks and then into their packs as their food gets used up.
Here's a shot from a trip I went on in April with Katie - our dog Halifax is carrying both dog's food (for just three days):
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, A sailboat, or some time zone
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Jun 25, 2016 - 06:45pm PT
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What an incredible saga to follow!
Susan
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 25, 2016 - 08:18pm PT
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Thanks Susan. Hopefully there will be a lot more this summer (I've set aside quite a bit of time through mid-August).
Here are the next two days:
June 18:
Cold morning today, but definitely clearing. The residual snow on the ground at Gumboot Trailhead made us glad we hadn't camped there:
Vicki hiked with us for the first half a mile:
We then continued up toward a trail crossing of Forest Road 40N41 which crossed the PCT and, coincidentally, leads (by car) right to our end point for the day. We waited there for a photo of our bad-ass driver, wife and mother:
Tricia caught this of me, doing what I do a lot of on the trail:
We had easy hiking (with one exception) and great views all day. Here's the trail slowly traversing above Toad Lake, up to the Trinity Divide crossing, and the day's high-point, at 7,600 feet (look for the trail up high on bare slopes):
The Castle Crags from the northwest:
The one hard part of this hike came at the Trinity Divide crossing. Here there was a significant cornice with a 25 foot high drop off/steep slope for the north-bound hiker (that's Trinity County's high point, Mount Eddy in the background in the first shot):
The two inches of fresh snow over the old winter snow made for really slippery conditions (especially with light, trail-hiking shoes). We decided to go up and around, avoiding the snow altogether (and it turned out to be way up and around). More hiking across snow slopes followed, but this was just routine, early season trail conditions:
Conditions to the east cleared enough that we saw freshly snowed-on Mount Shasta:
The freshly snowed-on Trinity Alps:
The girls made the highest and best use of Deadfall Lake:
And we saw this trailhead from a few miles away. In July, 2007 Tricia, Katie and I had used this trailhead to start a hike to Mount Eddy (because it's a county high point). Tricia was then 5 1/2 years old:
We crossed the Mount Eddy Trail too. I stood there for a moment and tried to fathom how and why I'd thought then that I could take a shrimpy little five year old on a hike of that magnitude (of course we made the summit):
On Mount Eddy in 2007:
The rest of the trail was easy. We linked up with our friend (and frequent PCT companion) Sharon on her way out to meet us. Vicki had hiked out too:
We all quickly made it to the car at the open and viewful Parks Creek Trailhead (that second shot is looking down toward I-5 and Mount Shasta City):
And while there we got a view of this peak to the north:
I didn't recognize the peak, which looked big and, with its mantle of new snow, quite beautiful. A little research showed that it was a long-distance view of Mount McLoughlin (9,495 feet high). My research didn't only give me the name and height of the peak, it got me pretty damn excited.
Mount McLoughlin is in Oregon.
June 19:
Over the years that Sharon has been joining us on the PCT we seem to have developed a few fine traditions. Traditionally she joins us just before one or more of our long hikes. So, traditionally, we're already in shape for the trail, she isn't totally yet, and we trash her (and, traditionally, she's tougher than nails and seems to have a ton of fun).
Such was to be the case today. We'd planned a 20.5 miles hike from Parks Creek Trailhead back to (primitive) Scott Mountain Campground on Highway 3 (we'd driven to it last night after hiking).
But first a start to the day. I got up early to enjoy some breakfast, coffee and reading. When first Vicki and then Tricia got up I got these:
It was Father's Day and they hadn't forgotten (and Katie had called me the day before - late night for her in Malaysia and so almost Father's Day).
Our camp here at Scott Mountain was very nice. The whole campground has seven sites and the whole time we were there we had it all to ourselves. The PCT goes right through it, and, it's centrally located (right on Highway 3) for pick-ups and drop-offs for several of our hikes:
We drove back to the trailhead and got started:
The hike today was long for sure. But we couldn't remember a PCT hike that was so nearly level for so long a distance. Starting at 6,500 feet, this trail ends at 5,600 feet and does very little other than drop very slowly for the whole distance. An example is the first 4.5 miles, in which the trail makes almost a complete circle at almost exactly the same elevation as it makes its way around the High Camp Creek drainage (photo is of the Halfmile map):
This part of the trail stays up relatively high though, and so the views are great in almost all directions, and the terrain is green and pleasant:
Here's Sharon, passing "Cement Bluff" (Mount Eddy in the background):
The Trinity Alps to the southwest:
Mounts Eddy and Shasta:
One price exacted by a nearly level PCT is that the path seems to traverse every cirque and every ridge:
In just under eight hours we'd made the 20.5 miles to Highway 3 and Scott Mountain Campground. And there was Vicki, just starting to hike up to meet us:
We enjoyed a great night in camp. We were joined there mid-evening by "Sprocket," the very, very first of the season's PCT though-hikers. We'd met him in Mount Shasta City, shopping for groceries. I'd then given him a ride back to the trail and told him where we expected to be camping for the next several days. He was behind us on the trail, but, sure enough, he pulled a 35.4 mile day and joined us in camp that night.
I couldn't believe we were actually seeing a through-hiker this far north, so early. And his tale of his Sierra Nevada traverse was incredible. After an early start on the Mexican border, he hit Kennedy Meadows south in mid-May. He proceeded to then traverse the whole High Sierra portion of the trail in one month, hiking 99% on snow, while navigating by compass and map (he's British, which probably explains some of this; he's also worked in far northern Sweden before, guiding winter trips there to view the Northern Lights, so the cold and the moving over snow weren't new to him, but still, wow!).
And finally, to close out this day's report, here's a shot that shows how Tricia's artistic imagination continues to develop - a shot I wouldn't ever have thought of; the full moon reflected in the window of our Expedition, and next to it our car's PCT sticker:
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jun 25, 2016 - 10:01pm PT
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*
Who knew how much rugged and beautiful scenery there is in the less-famous mountains of northwestern California Ummm, I did..(-;
So wonderful to see you back on the trail..Love your Trip reports and photos..
So Fun seeing your daughter growing up ....she got tall...!...
Such sweet pictures of the girls when they were little.
Looking forward to more ...thanks!
Cheers . .
ps..The photo with a portion of ~ The Wall ~in view .....Did you know the person who's name you are touching?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 26, 2016 - 09:01am PT
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Nita,
I thought that, of the people I know on Supertopo, you and Tad at least might "have known" how nice this part of California is. I'm really looking forward to the Marble Mountain Wilderness next.
And no, she/we didn't know any of the people in the photo of the Vietnam Memorial. Tricia placed her hand there randomly when she took the shot. But the hand that way seems to me (a biased dad) to show an appropriate respect and understanding of what she's photographing, and so I really like it.
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Jun 26, 2016 - 02:12pm PT
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I love that shot of the green moss on the trees glowing through the fog. Don't know who that goof "Rob" is, though. ;)
This trail junction is where the PCT and the Crags trail intersect. I think that "looks easy from here" mentioned this junction in his recent Supertopo climbing trip report for Castle Crags:
Yep. I've walked a grand total of 16 feet of the PCT-8' north of that junction, and 8' south. So I'm a bit behind you and Tricia (and Katie, for that matter).
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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Jun 26, 2016 - 02:17pm PT
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Thanks, Brad - always nice to hear your reports. I look forward to meeting you at Manning Park in three or four years - about the time that Tricia will be graduating. The hike from Manning Park to the border, and then to Mount Frosty, was one of the first I did when I started backpacking.
And if you need help through Washington, a year or two from now, that could be arranged. In fact, I've been talking with The Donald's widow, Susan, about working out better support for hikers finishing in Manning Park, in terms of getting to Vancouver etc.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jun 26, 2016 - 02:35pm PT
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Where was the help when I needed it in Manning? A huge fire blew up on the ridge adjacent
to the one we were hiking. It never showed any liklihood of going down into the deep valley
separating us and it didn't start blowing our way so we carried on.
I never claimed to be smart. ;-)
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 26, 2016 - 02:57pm PT
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Now, now Reilly, as you said, you didn't need the help. I've got a little girl with me and we could use all the help we can get ;)
Anders, I still recall when you extended that invitation a few years ago. We're working our way up there, and it's looking like we might actually make it. We could make it up to 1/3 of the way through Oregon this year. I look forward to meeting you.
Anyway, after some wrestling with Flickr (a rural first world problem it seems), here are days seven and eight (out of eight):
June 21:
We knew we had two more long hikes to finish out our trip (19.9 and 19.6 miles). And we had three days to do them. So we took the 20th off as a rest day.
Tricia took this photo of a real bug (although it looks like a toy):
On the 21st we started hiking straight out of Scott Mountain Campground. Our dogs' paws were getting a little worn after over 88 miles. We gave them a day off from hiking:
We quickly dispatched the initial uphill part of this hike and broke out to clear terrain. We got a nice view of Shasta (so big that Mount Eddy, the Trinity County highpoint - with an "S" like snow patch on it - seems tiny in comparison):
We ran into more snow up above 7,000 feet:
And, to our delight, we got clear views of Lassen Peak, now God knows how many miles south of us:
Hiking on and near ridge-tops today, we also had nice views of lower terrain. This shot is looking Down West Boulder Creek Canyon to the Scott River Valley (where the town of Etna is situated):
I had no idea that the Trinity Alps had peaks up to 9,000 feet (Thompson Peak), and permanent glaciers (well, at least for now):
As we wound around the various ridges, we caught our first glimpse of Carter Meadow Summit where we planned to meet Vicki:
And then, as always, we crossed over and walked a few feet of the next day's trail to insure overlap:
The drive back to camp was just slightly longer than the 19.9 miles we'd hiked for the day. With four people and three dogs, things were slightly crowded so our older dog, Charlotte rode on my lap. Again, Tricia's eye for a photo is so much better than mine's ever been; she took these two unconventional shots which I really like:
June 22:
Before we had left home I'd penciled out a plan (penciled out, as in "this might be fun to accomplish, if it works out"). The plan ended at Etna Summit, the end of Section "P." Ending here would be a great start to the season; we'd have done over 128 miles on the trail, and be set up to start a four day backpack through the Marble Mountain Wilderness next time up.
After our hike to Carter Meadow Summit, we needed one more twenty mile hike today and we'd be at this goal. It looked like a relatively hard hike though, lots of up and down, south facing areas that were sure to be warm, and 19.6 miles total.
The dogs came:
We started into the uphill right away:
I'm proud of how competent a hiker Tricia's become (Katie too, but she wasn't on this trip). Here's a shot of her waaaay out ahead with the dogs (try squinting). As usual she's seemingly unconcerned that her "trip leader" and "mentor" is so far behind:
Snow patches were fun on this hike, but in two places they also provided serious and very serious difficulties:
Here's the serious difficulty (a long, tedious and challenging work-around of a several-hundred yard long, steep section of snow which covered the trail):
The very serious difficulties came near the end of the hike. There (when we were already tired) a more than quarter mile long, north-facing part of the trail was covered with really steep snow. It took a huge amount of energy to work around and over this. And the "over it" part was objectively dangerous in that in many places a slip by any of the three of us would have meant a broken leg. It was difficult enough in this last area of snow that we didn't take photos (we were all too focused to think about them). I also used the old mountaineer's trick of using a well shaped rock to cut snow steps through a bunch of the more exposed sections.
Other parts of this "south of Etna" trail had been hit hard by winter too. We had lots and lots of tree work around/overs (although where the fallen trees were just really terrible, during the last two miles, a trail crew had cleared dozens of tree-falls with what looked like an incredible amount of work):
A notably hot part of the trail led uphill above South Russian Creek:
It was in this section that we saw some of the most intriguing granite formations too in this "Russian Wilderness" that I'd never heard of. This buttress was across the creek (long, long approach though, so I'm sure it's unclimbed):
But right above the trail was "The Statue" and large formations and a huge steep slab nearby. The rock quality looked very good in this area, and a potential climber could pack in and stay at Statue Lake, a few hundred feet behind the similarly named rock formation:
Tricia's always dealt with the heat in practical ways:
Payne Lake was beautiful (one of only two lakes that the trail touches in all of Section "P"):
We gained a view of the part of Highway 3 that ascends Scott Mountain from the north (right to where we were camped):
Another "routine" (i.e. great) view over, in this case, Smith Lake:
We were tired by the time we saw the road at Etna Summit, but mightily pleased to see Vicki and the truck:
The rest of the hike was a nice downhill cruise; very satisfying. A quick drive into Etna led to a tasty and filling meal at "Dotty's" restaurant (after all, we've gotta support the local economy).
We stayed one more night at Scott Mountain before packing up in the morning for the long drive home. And, just as we were packed, three young ladies came into camp looking for help. These three were "bouncing" through-hikers in that they'd hiked from Mexico to Kennedy Meadows south, hit too much snow and were now hiking south from Ashland. Unfortunately one of the three had a very serious foot issue (I think she had a stress fracture). The last three days of hard hiking had proven to her that a mere ten days off the trail weren't enough help and she really needed to see a doctor.
We'd learned through our stay that Highway 3 has very little traffic (especially on weekdays). So we rearranged the packing, got her and her pack in with us, and made a seven hour drive into an eight hour drive by taking her straight to the E.R. in Yreka (if not us to help her then who?).
Our next trip for this summer starts with that same drive (in reverse) on July 6th. And then the 49 mile backpack in the Marble Mountains is first up. I can hardly wait.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 13, 2016 - 08:41am PT
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We just finished our July trip - four days of backpacking through the Marble Mountain Wilderness, followed by two long day-hikes that brought us to a point 2.6 miles from the Oregon border (no, that's not a typo).
I'll add more by way of a trip report during the next week.
For now, these photos are for Tad ;)
As he suggested, while in Seiad Valley we ordered "The Pancake Challenge." Anyone who eats it all in two hours or less gets it free (we shared it, three people and two dogs, and did not come close to finishing!):
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Jul 13, 2016 - 10:06am PT
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The surprise look on mtnyoung's face, says it all.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 13, 2016 - 07:14pm PT
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Love the dawg pics!
This is a great thread.
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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Jul 13, 2016 - 08:11pm PT
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This thread just drenched in good energy and good feeling. Thank you very much for sharing! Inspirational to say the least.
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Jul 13, 2016 - 08:39pm PT
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I remember crossing into Oregon, and eating breakfast at a place in Ashland. I ordered up their buckwheat pancakes, thinking I was a long distance hiking badass who could eat anything.
Buckwheat is dense. Really dense. Couldn't finish the dang thing.
I love this thread. It should never end (or be locked).
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
ne'er–do–well
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Jul 13, 2016 - 09:41pm PT
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Jul 13, 2016 - 10:23pm PT
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Drat, I had a pic of T earlier today from the archives and now I can't find it. She was tiny and reading her book on the rock in front of the Yolk formation. Good kid.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Jul 14, 2016 - 06:08am PT
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I've got a little girl with me and we could use all the help we can get ;)
One of your 2 (two) girls is taller than me and T seems to be an inch taller every few months. You guys rock (and hike)!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 14, 2016 - 04:58pm PT
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I got the first two days of the trip report done on Mudn'Crud. It's under the title:
The PCT Volume 31: The Yin and the Yang:
In Chinese philosophy "yin and yang" describes how opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world; how opposites actually give rise to each other as they interrelate. In my American experience the phrase is used as a general description, sometimes ironically, when parts of one event turn out to be polar opposites.
That's what happened on this trip; easy and hard, hot and cold, brushy and rough trail tread and "trail tread" that was literally a state highway.
We had a great time, starting with too much heat.
Thursday, July 7:
It's becoming a long drive up to the trail again. Tricia thought to take this shot out the rear window as Mount Shasta recedes while we're still driving to the trail:
We stayed in the town of Etna and had a short drive to the trailhead after breakfast. Etna Summit is open and airy:
The girls waited patiently:
Soon we were off for four days; destination Grider Creek Campground (and Vicki) in 49.7 miles:
Tricia signed us in to one of the trail registers that seem to be placed randomly on the PCT every hundred miles or so:
We stayed up high on ridge-lines for the most part (and early on we passed PCT mile 1,600, but couldn't see any indication of it of any kind):
At one point we crossed a ridge crest and, dramatically, we could see where the next nine miles of trail went - along the near side of the ridge that makes up the opposite side of this valley (and it keeps going way out of the photo):
Here's the same valley from later in the hike, looking back:
It was fairly hot (low 80s) and we were in the sun. The hiking included a fair amount of uphill (with loads):
We diverted for lunch and then water at Cub Bear Spring:
But (it turned out) we weren't drinking or resting nearly enough. We eventually made it just over 14 miles to tiny Fisher Lake, but I for one was really tired.
Half of us went for a swim:
The other half (Tricia and I) just didn't feel well. Tricia, in particular, had a headache, felt nauseous and, for two hours was on the verge of throwing up. Still, we had to set up camp, get water treated and try to eat:
While we both managed to drink water and rest, we couldn't eat much. We continued to just rest. As we did so I had the bright idea that maybe we both had some level of heat exhaustion. She usually didn't feel nauseous at random. Neither of us was usually missing an appetite. Maybe in the eagerness of a new trip we'd overdone it?
Eventually it was nearing dark, so we let the girls into the tent and laid down to sleep:
It might be hard the next day to hike without fuel, but at least we'd get sleep. We'd see what came with the morning (and from what we'd heard, we were pretty sure it wouldn't be heat).
Friday, July 8:
We both felt fine at dawn, Tricia had no headache and no nausea. We both ate a good breakfast. And yeah, it wasn't hot.
The National Weather Service weather prediction for today had warned of: "a 70% chance of showers, especially before 11:00 a.m., with accumulations from 1/10 to 1/4 inch." So we came prepared and weren't surprised to wake up to heavy cloud cover.
It sprinkled while we packed:
It rained while we walked past Fisher Lake (in the first quarter mile of the 15 we needed to hike):
We saw "Mordor" in the distance (Tricia's description of this view):
It stopped raining for about 45 minutes after an hour of hiking:
And then it started again. Raining seriously this time, not "sprinkling:"
But we kept on. We had the right gear and had had a good experience on our last trip hiking in significant rain for a whole day (although not with full packs then, and not to a backpacking bivouac):
We were wet and somewhat uncomfortable; the "yang" of the rain and cold left no threat whatsoever of heat exhaustion today. And there were trail difficulties:
But honestly the "worst" part of the day may have been what we missed. We hiked right past Marble Mountain, Black Marble Mountain, and others nearby. We could tell through the mist and rain that we were on ridge-tops and that, if we could see any distance, we'd see a lot. But we couldn't see that distance.
Still, there were some consolations. A 14 year old's smile as she "toughed it out:"
Spectacular marble formations seen up close:
Her imaginative use of her camera and her love of the beauty of nature:
My style of hiking has always been to keep going; get it done and then relax. We did something today though two thirds of the way through the hike that took patience, calm, and a different approach: at about noon, after 9.9 miles, hungry and needing rest, we set up the tent for shelter. This worked wonderfully. Instead of shoving food down and getting a half-rest, we ate. We rested. Yes, our gear got a little wetter than it would have otherwise, but we knew it was going to be a wet bivy regardless. We also knew that we had the right equipment and that, uncomfortable or not, we'd be fine.
Our afternoon hike was relatively slow. It continued to rain ("hey Weather Service, it's after 11:00 a.m. and these ain't no sprinkles…"). We were wet on the outside but only slightly damp on the inside. And by 6:00 we'd arrived at Paradise Lake as planned.
We settled in (and ate a big dinner). Things were damp (Tricia learned about wet down when her "puffball" turned up wet). But we were where we needed and wanted to be, we were full, and we were warm:
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 14, 2016 - 05:04pm PT
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More dawg pics! Love it!
Wet dawgs in a tent; you are a brave man.
Cheers!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 14, 2016 - 05:05pm PT
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BIOTCH,
Love the photo of Statue Lake. I take it that it's your photo and you've been there? Did you climb?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 14, 2016 - 05:06pm PT
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Wet dawgs in a tent; you are a brave man.
I'm pretty sure that I smelled the worst of the four of us ;)
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labrat
Trad climber
Erik O. Auburn, CA
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Jul 14, 2016 - 05:16pm PT
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Just love this thread! Thank you for the update....
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 14, 2016 - 08:52pm PT
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I got the next two days set up:
Saturday, July 9:
Today the "yang" part of the equation continued, but in a more pleasant way. Instead of cool and wet conditions, we had cold and slightly moist conditions.
It had rained all night:
But we woke up to overcast and damp only, nothing was coming down from the sky:
More "alpine" hiking started the day, and conditions were misty and pretty cold:
We passed trail junctions to exotic places like Turk Lake:
And we started hiking north on Big Ridge (I guess that some names are imaginative and some are descriptive, right?):
We were able to sit and snack without worrying that we'd shiver:
And slowly conditions started to change from damp and cold to just cold. We started to get some vistas from this ridge called "Big:"
And then, lo and behold, the sun came out for a few minutes:
We left the Marble Mountain Wilderness and started heading down to Grider Creek:
It was interesting that we were still getting soaked from the waist down by accumulated water on the brush we passed through:
The downhill brought us into a much lower elevation and into warmer conditions:
And we ended the day with camp set up along Cold Spring Creek, in a clear spot. And, bonus, it was still early in the day and the angle of the sun let us get some rays. We dried stuff out, rested, read, and ate. A nice conclusion to another great day:
Sunday, July 10:
Day four was our "see Vicki" day. We love those.
I usually wake up first on these trips, and I did today. And honestly, even those of you who love a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, who wouldn't wake up and smile at this:
We'd planned a less than eight mile walk (with packs) down Grider Creek to Grider Creek Campground. We'd meet Vic there, ditch the packs (in a loving way, of course) and finish the day with pure easy - one of the longest road walks on the whole PCT.
It was "down-in-a-canyon" hiking that started out with no sun:
There were a few obstacles to overcome (two of the hiker bridges over Grider Creek burned down two years ago):
But in general, hiking doesn't get much easier:
As we were driving to Etna Summit on our first day I'd estimated to Vicki that we'd arrive at our rendezvous (four days later) at "about 11:00 a.m." We don't take timepieces on these hikes, but I think I know about how quickly we normally move.
Today we hit the only switchback of the day, dropped down right next to the creek, saw the bridge leading into the campground, and then saw Vicki. Right on time, it was 11:05:
We rested with her for a while (and ate some fresh food). And then we all hiked down the road/PCT together for half a mile:
Eventually Vicki went back for the car and we continued on what can only be described as a stroll (although because of the road and river configurations, some of the stroll was to the south - Canada's not to the south!):
We got our first glimpse of the Klamath River (big!):
We met with Vicki (and the dogs - we didn't want them walking on the busier part of the roadway) again at California State Highway 96:
Yes, the roadway is the PCT. The Klamath River is big, and although there was some early thought to bridging it for pedestrians and equestrians, it would have cost millions. The Forest Service left the "trail" on the "road." The map looks like this:
Hiking along Highway 96 quickly led to the village of Seiad Valley (population about 350). Seiad is one of the very few towns that the PCT actually passes through. And it goes right down the "main street:"
We came to the town's cafe. This cafe is PCT famous for it's "Pancake Challenge" (more on that one tomorrow):
After another mile we reached the trailhead where the PCT leaves the road and becomes a trail again (and we walked our customary 20 extra feet to ensure overlap and that we never miss a step):
And then we ended the day perfectly. Vicki had found a little resort on the river at Happy Camp, about 16 miles downstream. She drove us there. We checked in, cleaned up, and then enjoyed a perfect evening of relaxation, fresh food and Vicki (and I drank a beer):
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 15, 2016 - 08:06pm PT
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The last of the July trip:
Monday, July 11:
We had a relaxed evening at the resort and got going slowly. Our first step in getting going was the drive to Seiad Valley for breakfast:
Not only is the Seiad Valley cafe's pancake challenge "PCT famous," we'd heard from several locals that their food was just plain good. We had to try it, of course.
The pancake challenge involves just one plate of pancakes. One. And it goes like this: anyone that can eat all the pancakes on the plate in two hours or less gets their breakfast for free. We knew we couldn't eat it all (no one of us could anyway), but we had to order it and eat some.
Here is some of "the challenge" cooking:
And here's Vicki at the cafe too. She's sitting on the other side of a window from the actual Pacific Crest Trail:
When the challenge was delivered, it was delivered with a smile (and we smiled too):
After breakfast we headed back to the trailhead. On our schedule was a warm and steep 4,500 foot gain back up to elevation:
Views got good quickly though:
By 3.8 miles we'd gained 2,400 feet. It was warm again. We stopped and ate and drank more often. Tricia made sure we had water from slowly-dripping Lookout Spring:
We made our way across Lower, Middle and Upper Devils Peaks:
We watered the girls at off-the-trail Kangaroo Spring:
Red Butte beckoned:
And soon we could see the Forest Service road that Vicki would be using to join us:
She whisked us off to the Klamath River Resort again. We'd hiked fast enough that we had time for another relaxing evening there (and even Vicki had a beer):
One more day to go; we'd had fun and success so far, and with another 18.3 mile day we'd get to where we wanted to finish for this trip: Wards Flat Gap, a point 2.6 miles from the California/Oregon border.
Tuesday, July 12:
We started our last day with breakfast again at the Seiad Cafe. What the locals had told us was true, their food was good (and the locals were very friendly too).
We drove up to Cook and Green Pass (last night's end point) expecting a longer but easier hike today. And it was. Warm uphill for three miles and only 1,300 feet would lead us to a long ridge that we would then follow north for many miles:
On the north-bound ridge the hiking was really easy and, in several clear areas, the views were forever:
We saw a mix of old and new style PCT signs (here's a really old old-style):
Looking back south along the ridge we hiked including and past White and Black Mountains (Red Butte, which we passed yesterday shown too):
We saw Shasta, of course:
We made good time, although more damned fallen trees required occasional work-arounds:
Tricia did her "selfies:"
And then, near the end of the long ridge we came to one clear area and I saw what I'd hoped for all day. I'd been looking south in the area to the right (from our perspective) of Shasta. Most of the day there was a big part of the Marble Mountains right where I thought I should look. Then, finally, we came out of some forest and we could clearly see Mount Shasta and (relatively) tiny little Black Butte to its right. And there, just right of Black Butte, was Lassen Peak, barely visible. I gotta think that this is the last view of Lassen that we will get from the PCT (and I remember how excited I was last summer to get my first view of it from the south!):
The rest of the hike was also easy. We found a long series of unique trail ducks (given their size I'd almost call them cairns) marking the last couple miles of trail:
Vicki met us at Wards Fork Gap in the early evening:
Six dirt roads come together at Wards Fork Gap. Most of them can be seen in this shot, which, more critically, also shows the PCT (near a tiny sign between the two dirt roads leading away from us in this shot):
We walked that section of PCT several feet out and, even though we could almost smell Oregon, we called it a day and started on our (now long) way home. We had a great time and we're looking forward to getting back in early August for at least one more 2016 trip.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 15, 2016 - 09:22pm PT
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Suweet! Keep it coming.
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Jul 15, 2016 - 09:31pm PT
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even though we could almost smell Oregon Wow, that must have been tempting! "What's just one more hour..."
Slight sidenote, I gave a resupplying thruhiker a ride from the bottom of 108 to Sonora Pass yesterday, so if you meet a guy named Caveman with his left arm in a sling tell him Shane says hi.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 15, 2016 - 09:37pm PT
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I gave a resupplying thruhiker a ride from the bottom of 108 to Sonora Pass yesterday...
That's cool and it's good karma.
I've got one bear canister in the garage already that was mailed to us by some "bouncing thru-hikers" that we met. They're going to come down here for a break before continuing south through Yosemite (we live only 56 highway miles from the actual pass).
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Pea-dub
Ice climber
sun diego
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Jul 15, 2016 - 11:42pm PT
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The picture back a few of Dad And Daughter smiling in front of sign says it all no words needed. Nice pups you have along. Thanks for sharing.
Paul
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Paul S
Mountain climber
Portland, Or
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Jul 16, 2016 - 01:16am PT
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Bringing back fond memories of that section from my 2012 thru hike. Had a wonderful time in Siead Valley. Watched a fire burn the section between the Klamath and Cook & Green Pass from town. Helicopters were taking water from the river as I hiked the road. Closed the trail so I ended up going back the next year to complete that portion.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 17, 2016 - 12:01pm PT
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Bumpers.
We could use some levity today.
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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Jul 17, 2016 - 01:19pm PT
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that tent must have smelled great with the wet pooches. :)
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briham89
Big Wall climber
santa cruz, ca
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Jul 17, 2016 - 06:28pm PT
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Aside from the wet it looked like a great few sections.
For some reason I want pancakes now...
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 17, 2016 - 06:54pm PT
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For some reason I want pancakes now...
Yes, you would.
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Flip Flop
climber
Earth Planet, Universe
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Jul 17, 2016 - 07:05pm PT
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This thread rules!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Jul 17, 2016 - 07:30pm PT
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are you sure you are only 56 miles from the Pass?
how can you be so sure?
;)
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 15, 2016 - 06:56pm PT
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We're back home now from Oregon. I started another trip report on Mudn'Crud under the title:
"In Another State"
Here are the first two days (it's gonna take a while on this report; we hiked for - I think - 12 days):
What a great final trip for the 2016 PCT season. We finished in another state. And I finished in one too.
Tuesday, August 2:
Tricia and Vicki got back from Girl Scout Camp two days before this trip's Monday departure (while there, Tricia spent eight days backpacking with her group of girls, Vicki was a camp counselor).
After that much rest time, it was probably time to take off to THE trail again. We allowed a whole day for the drive, knowing that our "success" in our endeavor is making the drive longer and longer each time (but the drive isn't as long yet as it used to be to San Diego County!). Four of us start out on this trip; 11 year old Alex has joined us again (although to all of our disappointment, Steve and Laura can't go).
From a map, Mount Ashland Campground looks like a central, perfect place to stay for our first few nights. It's very windy when we get there though and the campground is dusty and not flat. Still the views are fantastic; from our campsite one can see Mounts Shasta, Eddy, and Ashland. The interstate is visible below, and regionally significant Pilot Rock can easily be seen ten or so miles to the east (here are three morning photos):
Naturally our first hike would start at Wards Fork Gap (where we left off last time). Twenty miles of dirt roads made for a slow, hour and a half drive out from camp:
The 20 mile drive parallelled and criss-crossed the PCT (they stay close all the way to Interstate 5). Since Vicki had to drive that same road back to our pick-up point, we decided that she'd wait for us periodically at crossings while we hiked. This meant that we got to hike packless:
The Dawsons spent a lot of time hiking (and climbing) with us when Alex was young (and they do now too). I like to think that my two girls played a significant role in making him the hiking fiend that he's now become (and I've grown proud of his hiking prowess). Yet, in the sometimes strange ways of the world, helping make him and my girls become excellent hikers, means that, on most hikes, I'm relegated to one of these two views (yes, I am their leader):
Our gentle uphill hike passed through Donomore Meadow:
And then we got there. Ten years in the making. Well over half of Tricia's lifetime. Always a thought in the back of our minds. California/Oregon, the border. We entered another state:
Tricia did a journal entry (and we found other entries blunt and funny):
Vicki walked down a quarter mile from the first PCT/road crossing to share this much-anticipated moment with us:
The rest of the hike involved gentle up and downs, mostly in the open, sometimes in the forest:
The open parts of the hiking gave us nice views. From the north moving clockwise/right, we saw the city of Medford:
Mount McLoughlin (which we first saw from much farther south in June with it's mantel of fresh snow):
Mount Ashland:
Mounts Shasta and Eddy (and Black Butte between them):
The Marble Mountains and Preston Peak:
We met Vicki again at Wrangle Gap, and then again at Siskiyou Gap:
I stopped to take photos and for another reason and the kids… they left me in the dust, a quarter of a mile behind:
Just past Siskiyou Gap we passed a second PCT milestone, the 1,700 mile mark (two fun points on the trail in one day!):
Tricia seemed proud to have reached now 1,700 miles from Mexico:
We then met Vicki at yet another Road 20/PCT crossing to end the first day, a nice start to what may be our final trip this year:
Wednesday, August 3:
Day two started with more wonderful, sunny weather:
An easy and pretty drive on Forest Road 20 got us back to our start point. We followed the same patterns today, Alex or Tricia in front, me (the trip leader mind you) bringing up the rear:
One great and fun PCT tradition that has developed over many years is the bestowing of "trail-names" by hikers on hikers. Normally through-hikers give their companion hikers nicknames as they get moving on a through-hike (the named person retains veto power though).
Some time ago Alex's mom and dad sort of gave him a trail-name: "Bear Bait." It comes from his habit of being way, way out in front of the hiking group (or, occasionally, way, way behind). He's resisted the name, but it fits him. Today Tricia and I tried to convince him to accept the name. We argued that it was a highly complimentary name, that it reflected how fast and powerfully he moves on the trail (at 11 years old). He disagreed. He argued that the name symbolized nothing less than his mom and dad's willingness to abandon him if they ever faced a bear attack. Of course, this was an argument only; Alex wanted a different name (that I've forgotten) which, in violation of all the traditions of trail-names he'd picked for himself
Bear Bait, or nondescript something or other? The verdict on this one has yet to be reached.
While we hiked in the cool forest for part of the day, open, alpine, pretty sections of trail predominated ("Sound of Music hiking"):
At 6.4 miles we left the PCT to join Vicki for lunch at Mount Ashland Campground. A little over nine miles then remained, easy and gentle downhill, paralleling the road all the way to the Interstate. The trail and the road cross at one point:
While crossing here I was amazed to see Tricia spontaneously do a cartwheel as she crossed the road:
Of all things, there was a decorated "Christmas tree" on the other side of this crossing:
The views remained expansive (straight across to Pilot Rock):
Soon we could see the interstate:
The trail then joins the old Highway 99 for almost a mile, "jogging" up past I-5 to an exit point where the trail becomes a trail again on its way up the northeast side of Siskiyou Summit:
We waited here for quite a while for Vicki to pick us up. Her "job" on these trips isn't all "wine and roses;" she'd had a hell of time getting camp moved from Mount Ashland to Hyatt Lake, east of Ashland (finding an open campsite and figuring out how to pay for it turned out to be ridiculously difficult).
Eventually of course, she arrived. As we drove over to our new camp we happened upon a hitchhiker/through-hiker on the road not so far from our now camp at Hyatt Lake. We stopped, but we were crammed full and had little room. He didn't mind though and we squeezed him in.
As we got to know each other he quickly decided to join us in our camp (it was almost 7:00 at this point). Of course we continued talking with our new friend. Tricia asked him a question she often asks of other hikers: "what's your trail name?" To her surprise and delight, he said: "T-Bird!" By chance we'd picked up the same T-Bird who's name she'd seen (and commented about) in two trail registers already this trip (recall that T-Bird has been Tricia's trail name since it was given to her in 2013). T-Bird and T-Bird both found great fun in "sharing" a trail name:
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Aug 15, 2016 - 09:37pm PT
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Glad the leader caught up to the pack ;-)
Thanks again for letting all of us to walk with you in spirit.
Bump for the best.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Aug 15, 2016 - 09:54pm PT
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Nice
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briham89
Big Wall climber
santa cruz, ca
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Aug 15, 2016 - 10:00pm PT
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Thanks, as always, for vicariously bringing us along!
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John M
climber
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Aug 15, 2016 - 10:02pm PT
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Great stuff! I love this thread. And I love mount Shasta. How many trail miles do you think that you have been able to see Shasta?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 16, 2016 - 08:22am PT
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How many trail miles do you think that you have been able to see Shasta?
We've been able to see it from the trail at least occasionally for 500 miles now. And an upcoming section 50 miles further (next year) near Mount Thielsen has high points that will no doubt let us see it more.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 16, 2016 - 08:24am PT
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I finished the next two days:
Thursday, August 4:
Our third day was supposed to be 10 degrees hotter than the first two. And our hike started relatively low, stayed in the sun, and climbed for its first third. But we had to get up off of the interstate, so off we went:
The highlight of today's hike would be passing Pilot Rock. This "beacon" is visible from far away; it was a significant way-point for early settlers coming to this part of Oregon. And it was a bit of a beacon for us too; we'd seen it for much of the two days we'd hiked so far:
Approaching the rock I naturally wondered whether there were climbing routes on it (there are). I also wondered how a non-technical route could go to the top (one does, but it doesn't look possible):
Tricia and Alex continued singing their trail songs (like the song "Three Chartreuse Buzzards," which Tricia had just picked up with the Girl Scouts; I think I've heard that one enough). They called out different PCT signs, identifying them by their style and age (this one is "ancient"):
The rest of the hike after Pilot Rock was gentle, but quite a bit of it was in open and hot terrain (the forest hiking was much cooler):
The views into the town of Ashland made us realize how far we move day by day (although it doesn't seem so as we're doing the hiking):
A piped spring of cool water provided a nice break near Little Pilot Pond (glad we didn't have to drink from the pond):
The hike turned truly hot as we started our gradual descent to Green Springs Summit on Highway 66:
Vicki was waiting for us there:
A short drive took us back to our camp at Hyatt Lake. Once there the kids asked to go play in the lake and to swim (as if almost 17 miles of hiking wasn't enough). The answer was, of course, "yes;" I figured that they'd cool off and be right back to camp. No, actually, I had to walk down and insist that they come up to dinner 1 1/2 hours later! (Ah to have that much energy again!).
And finally a word about boys. I was one once. But I guess I've forgotten those years. I've got two daughters. I like them. I've enjoyed raising them. But they are girls. Alex is a boy. He may well be the closest thing I'll ever have to a son. This trip is the longest trip that he's taken with us without his mom and dad. And so I had to be more involved in caring for him than on prior trips where he's joined us.
Man oh man did I learn a lot about "raising" boys. Start with this fact: they/he don't seem to care at all about being really dirty (at all, really dirty; my girls don't care that much about being dirty, but they care some!):
(And, in case it isn't clear, he was a joy to have along and we'll take him again in a heartbeat if he hasn't been gotten by a bear by then.)
Friday, August 5:
We were back to better temperatures today and Vicki got us back to the trail fairly early. She joined the "touch the PCT sign" game that Katie started oh-so-many years ago (and that Tricia and now Alex have picked up to play occasionally):
A fairly new part of the PCT makes a gentle circle around Green Springs Mountain and Hyatt Meadow (adding two miles to the hike to avoid hiking next to a dirt road?):
The longer loop certainly lets a hiker look straight down into Ashland:
Today's entertainment included the "bash everything you pass with a stick" game (started by the boy, definitely a boy's game). I imposed one rule on their play - no bashing and no loud noise any time we were near other hikers:
And there were other hikers. Our place on the trail, combined with the time of year that we are there, means that we're seeing lots and lots of through and section hikers. Today we saw more than any day yet. Here's a bunch (including some of us) working around a fallen log):
We passed through the north end of Hyatt Meadow:
More of the large, carefully arranged rock cairns marked this part of the trail:
Little Hyatt Reservoir was overflowing:
And at just over seven miles into the hike we passed our campground. We ducked in there to have lunch with Vicki.
After lunch we set off on another nine miles of almost pure "forest marching." We make distance toward our eventual goal this way, but the hiking isn't highly inspiring and we've got to take our fun where we find it. Like this burnt out snag, which my ever-inventive child immediately called "The Eye of Sauron:"
We soon arrived near Howard Prairie Reservoir:
We crossed its outlet stream and made our way another mile and a half to Keno Access Road (what's with the name - is there a casino hidden in the forest nearby?):
The highlight of the day, at least from a "majestic view" standpoint, came on the drive back to camp. At one point, while driving along the reservoir, we got this clear view of Mount McLoughlin which we first saw on the far horizon while in California and are now about to pass and climb.
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John M
climber
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Aug 16, 2016 - 09:10am PT
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Thanks for the continued trip reports. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I get to see a trail that I have always wanted to hike.
You are going to have quite a complete documentation of the trail when you are done. Have you considered creating a table top book out of it? My family went on a cruise a few years ago. 4 generations. My nieces took all the pics and made a table top book out of it. It cost about a hundred dollars a book to get it printed in china. It turned out pretty cool and is fun to have as a memento. Not something for sale. Just something to have for the family.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 16, 2016 - 10:31am PT
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Thanks John,
I've actually kept a separate journal about our trail adventures from day one. It's longer than these trip reports. I think readers here would find it dreadfully long and too detailed. But I enjoy it.
Once we finish the trail (if we finish), I intend to blend this journal in with the few hundred best photos from the years and give a copy to Tricia and one to Katie. My mother wants a copy too (that's what mothers do!).
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John M
climber
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Aug 16, 2016 - 10:39am PT
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I'm sure it will be a treasure for your family.
I forgot to mention earlier that its also been fun to watch your kids grow up on the trail. And as for boys getting dirty. LOL. I helped my sister raise two boys. One was fairly clean, but the other.. heh heh. We often needed a fire hose to get him clean.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 16, 2016 - 07:34pm PT
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Saturday, August 6:
Today we did a quick and easy hike. The just over nine miles from Keno Access Road to Dead Indian Road were easy, but more importantly, they were quick. And quick mattered since, after hiking, we needed to drive into Medford to stay the night near the airport for Alex's early flight home to his parents in San Jose.
This walk was true "forest marching." We also violated our tradition of trashing our friend Sharon with a long or hard walk on her first day with us (she'd joined us in camp last night):
We took only two breaks, but Tricia apparently found the first one somewhat entertaining:
One rare break in the forest allowed a view of Shasta from way north (the view came on the shoulder of a peak called "Old Baldy"):
Little things like National Forest boundaries and such provide the only way-points in this type of deep forest hiking (shown here with two resting through-hikers who'd we'd been passing and passed by since early on day two):
More forest marching led quickly to our pick-up point and Vicki, and we were done for the day:
We ended the day by checking out our next camping and pick-up points and then seeing even more of Oregon while making the surprisingly easy drive into Medford.
Sunday, August 7:
Between getting Alex on his flight and the drive back up into the mountains, we didn't arrive back at the PCT until after 1:00. But that's OK, we'd only planned an 11.8 mile hike from Dead Indian Memorial Road to Highway 140.
I thought this hike would end up being another "forest march." Some of it was, but it was fun and satisfying, and the last two thirds were more of a "lava march" instead.
Less than two miles in we came to the trail junction that leads left 300 feet to the South Brown Mountain Shelter. At the junction we were amazed (and then, after we read it, pleased) to see this huge banner hanging from a tree (pleased, as in, come on, we just left a long, straight stretch of paved road - can't a pipeline, if one is really even needed be run near the road instead of two miles into an otherwise undisturbed forest?):
There was a full-on kiosk with information about the proposed pipeline too; I was mighty pleased that Tricia was interested enough to read it all (she caught up with us ten minutes later):
The nearby shelter is used mostly in winter for cross country skiers, but it has a pump and unlimited water (in a fairly dry stretch of trail):
After four miles in forest we started circling Brown Mountain, an old volcano. Huge lava talus fields alternated with forest:
The trail construction across these lava fields was interesting; built, level trails with small rocks and dirt to make them more "foot-friendly" (imagine trying to boulder hop quarter and half-mile sections of this kind of talus):
There were only a few fallen trees on this stretch of trail. One in particular required us to climb over it (class four!):
One hundred yards after this tree crossing, we encountered two horse-men stopped dead on the trail. Some people think that riding the trail is easier than hiking. I've never agreed with this view. Between tending to the horses and a limited ability to move across country, horse riding in the back-country has never really interested me. And I've never seen my bias more starkly illustrated than here at this fallen log. As we passed the horse-men, they were trying to decide what to do; the log was an absolute barrier to the horses, but so too were the lava talus fields, which extended way, way out on each side of the trail. We never did learn what they did or how they did it.
The highlight of the day came near the end of the hike. We came around a corner to a "holy crap it's right there" view of Mount McLoughlin:
Soon we ran into Vicki on the trail; she'd come out to meet us:
Shortly we arrived at Highway 140 and the end of Oregon's PCT Section "B:"
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Aug 16, 2016 - 08:15pm PT
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Nice! And more pics with dawgs.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 16, 2016 - 10:34pm PT
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Thanks for the comments.
It occurred to me from Jody's post that, yes, this is actually one of the longest or longest ongoing trip reports on Supertopo. The trip has gone on longer than most and the trip report has followed suit. I hope we can keep going and that the report continues.
And yes Tad, this will be it for this year, although, believe it or not I'm not done yet posting about this last trip (we hiked 11 or 12 days - I can't recall offhand).
Here are the next two days worth:
Monday and Tuesday, August 8 and 9:
The PCT passes Mount McLoughlin to its east, three miles from the summit. There's a trail to the top, and the PCT guidebook highly recommends it as a side trip. And Tricia really wanted to do this summit (me too). We'd been looking at McLoughlin since June, and it sure seemed like the highest thing in far southern Oregon.
But starting from Highway 140, summiting, and then continuing to a PCT exit/side-trail to Fourmile Lake seemed like a bone-crushing type day. So we decided to do the hike to Fourmile Lake (spelled correctly) one day and then summit McLoughlin the next. The two days' paths would cross, sharing half a mile along the way.
The hike to Fourmile was definitely forest marching:
We gained 1,200 feet of elevation, but that wasn't the hard part. The hard part of this hike was the incredible number of downed trees. And some of them quite complex, almost as if designed to slow a determined hiker:
We took one break and got one view through the forest of this impressive peak:
Then we exited the PCT. Heading to Fourmile Lake we passed Squaw Lake, which I found to be typical of the area: large and utterly surrounded by forest:
We camped that night again with Vicki.
Sharon's knees begged out of the McLoughlin ascent the next day (in retrospect, a really, really good decision). Tricia and I got our usual, leisurely, late-morning start. We were surprised at the trailhead by the severe-seeming warnings at the trail-start kiosk:
Apparently is is very common for people to get sucked into the "easy" looking descent off this peak, and then to be way off trail out in forest and lost. Being new to the area, we payed attention to the warnings (and I could see on our descent how the wrong way looks "right").
On our ascent, forest hiking turned to uphill forest hiking, turned to steep uphill forest hiking:
Slowly the views got good. We saw Upper Klamath Reservoir from quite a distance:
Fourmile Lake and the relatively flat area the PCT traverses near it:
Brown Mountain, which we'd traversed on the trail two days ago (the PCT goes along the right side of the mountain in this photo):
And we had this view of Hyatt and Howard Prairie Lakes, Pilot Rock and Mount Ashland, and all of the country the PCT goes through for about 40 miles (the rock and the mountain are harder to make out in this photo than they were while we were there):
We started to emerge above tree-line:
The summit is fairly small, and the views are 360 degrees:
The descent came next:
I took this glory shot of Tricia on a protruding gendarme:
Once back on the PCT part of today's hike we contributed a little tiny bit to trail maintenance. I had a small, foldable saw with us in the car, and I'd brought it today. We cleared one (one!) of the medium-size trees that blocked the trail. The tree was still green, and our tool was too small. It took half an hour to move this one blockage (tomorrow's photos and text will make it even more clear that the Sky Lakes Wilderness desperately needs a trail crew for 40 or so miles of PCT that is horribly, horribly blocked by downed trees):
We ended this satisfying day with a campfire (and smores; Tricia still loves to make and eat them, and I sure appreciate the ones she makes for me too):
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Aug 16, 2016 - 10:55pm PT
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Nice. Your little girls have grown as this TR progresses. You on the other hand seem ageless. TFPU.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2016 - 05:45pm PT
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Well, that was interesting. The dogs were going bananas on the back deck. Tricia went out to shush them and, it turns out, we had a bear walking across our back yard.
I've got one installment left after these next two days:
Wednesday, August 10:
Back on the PCT today. We started with the easy hike over from Fourmile Lake. Tricia found the local flora amusing:
Forest marching predominated:
We got some views though, including Fourmile Lake, and Mount McLoughlin, "in the rear view mirror:"
We were into hot weather again and we took plenty of water:
Downed trees were still a problem. In fact, Tricia and Sharon started counting them just for amusement. We defined them first ("downed trees" are any that affect a normal hiking gait). Between Highway 140 and the south edge of Crater Lake National Park there are about 800 downed trees.
This example was easy to work around (other photos in later days will show - again - more massive messes that were a lot harder to pass):
We finished today by again hiking off the PCT to meet and spend the night with Vicki. In this case we hiked out to Cold Springs Trailhead (chased, for the first time on this trip, by mosquitos).
Another good day with fine progress north through Oregon.
Thursday, August 11:
Although today started with forest marching back to the PCT, and then some forest marching along it, most of the day wasn't that. Most of this day's hiking was in terrain that allowed nice views (sometimes really spectacular views) and which kept us in the breeze. This was a really great hike.
I started early, with a sunrise on the west shore of Upper Klamath Lake (we were camped there because it was a nice, central location). Soon everyone else was up and we were back to Cold Springs Trailhead (and Vicki was ready to give us some preventative mosquito spraying this time):
The dogs highly approved of today's return hike to the PCT; it went right by Deer Lake (lake - whatever else is in the name, it's the lake part they like):
Views and more open terrain started quickly (first photo is down to Upper Klamath Lake):
We got high enough to actually see some of the lakes that give Sky Lakes Wilderness its name:
Luther Mountain:
Looking at the next five miles of trail across Devils Peak and Lucifer:
Open hilltops and ridges on Shale Butte gave vistas all around (including Mount McLoughlin from well to the north):
We got a great view of sharp, distinct Mount Thiesen, which is north of Crater Lake National Park:
Devils Peak is a real mountain (not a forested hill). Passing its east side put us over 7,000 feet elevation again for short time:
We ended a long stretch without water among a series of nice creeks north of Devils Peak:
And then, just before today's exit point, we crossed the fourth "hundred mile point" of this summer:
We took the Sevenmile Marsh Trail out to meet Vicki (despite its name, Sevenmile Marsh Trailhead had nowhere near the number of mosquitos that Cold springs Trailhead had):
But poor Tricia was still suffering the effects of yesterday's mosquitos this afternoon. Both girls seem to have inherited my long legs, which, I think, is good for them. Unfortunately, Tricia did not inherit my relative immunity to the itchy nastiness of bug and mosquito bites; she is instead as sensitive to them as her mother (my "princess and the pea" little beauty):
And a nice sunset then capped off this, our second to last hiking day of a massively successful summer:
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Aug 17, 2016 - 06:28pm PT
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Eggcellent! Thanks!
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Aug 17, 2016 - 06:37pm PT
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What the what!?!? I've never opened this thread before and now I have some catching up to do!
This is so cool, thank you for sharing. I've got two toddlers at home and stuff like this gets me excited and inspired.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Aug 17, 2016 - 06:43pm PT
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limpingcrab-
this is a great TR and well worth reviewing.
edit: and it has dawg pics!
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Aug 17, 2016 - 08:53pm PT
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What the what!?!? I've never opened this thread before and now I have some catching up to do!
Gotta say, I'm a little jealous. Binging this thread for the first time is fantastic fun. And it definitely stokes the daddy-excitement.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2016 - 10:08pm PT
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A shout out to your awesome wife Vicki for being the team member that handles the shuttle/support service this adventure needs to succeed!
Cheers to her,
Tad,
My first reaction to what you wrote was to answer: "you have no idea how true your comment about Vicki really is."
Then I reflected on the recently reawakened thread about your wife and your 34 year marriage (I re-read the thread yesterday).
My second reaction was to then realize that, yes, you probably have a very exact idea how true your comment about Vicki really is.
So I'll just add to what you wrote: amen, agreed and thank goodness.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2016 - 10:32pm PT
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Gotta say, I'm a little jealous. Binging this thread for the first time is fantastic fun. And it definitely stokes the daddy-excitement.
And I'll say that I'm not the only one over at Mudn'Crud that wishes you'd post up some more of your adventures with Calvin ;)
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2016 - 10:33pm PT
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Alright, I've finally got it wrapped up:
Friday and Saturday, August 12 and 13:
We finally just had to take a rest day on Friday. We were "ahead" of "schedule" for what we'd hoped to get done this trip. Tricia and Sharon had hoped to take kayaks out on the lake but we hadn't had enough time during any afternoon yet, and I was just tired and sore.
So we rested:
Sharon couldn't join us on Saturday (she'd had to head homeward). The dogs took a second rest day; they'd been hiking barefoot for well over 100 miles and weren't allowed in the back country of a National Park anyway. So our last day, 18.4 miles of hiking, was just me and "T-Bird:"
More log-jams today slowed us almost right up to the Crater Lake border:
The hill/rock formation Lone Wolf was visible to us because of a previous fire (one wonders if the area was less forested - and more visible - a hundred or so years ago when geographic features were first named?):
We viewed Union Peak from a distance. This old volcanic plug is two miles west of today's end-point, and was an encouraging waypoint all day:
Mount Thielsen again (can't wait to get up close to this one next June):
And then we made it to the border of the National Park; Crater Lake (shown here without the lake - yet):
More miles through the forest were flat and easy:
After not-so-long, the forest cleared out, we saw the highway, and we'd made it.
Highway 62 had been a kind of "maybe" since spring. I hate to have hard and fast goals on trips like this. Better to go for it with energy, get what can be done done when it's fun and see where it ends. But on this trip, plans coincided perfectly with what we got done. This was pretty pleasing:
And that's it. The summer's statistics are fun, and deserve to be recounted: during the summer of 2016 we hiked 350.0 miles actually on the PCT and over 50 more on side hikes or in getting to the trail itself. We're now at trail mile 1,818.4 out of 2,650.1 total miles. So, over the ten years we've been doing the trail we've averaged just over 181 miles each year.
We've made it to Oregon. We're in another state now. We've hiked over one quarter of the PCT in that other state.
What a fantastic summer!
Which brings me to my own "other state." We've been home several days now and I'm still so damn pleased with what we got done and with how much fun we had. Yet I'm also in withdrawal. It's "up and down time."
There isn't likely to be any more PCT for us again for ten long months. I was completely jazzed on our last two days when Tricia started talking about "next summer," and how we'll likely pass the 2,000 mile mark. Ten months seems like forever right now.
We need to get back into a school routine (she starts high school in less than 10 days). I need to get caught up at work. This huge summer, with its days and days of outdoor family time, its fun, and energy and spontaneity is done. We will, however do all the other outdoor things we do, we'll remember this summer fondly, and we'll no doubt be ready next year to get after it again.
Hey! Maybe I should think about becoming a rock climber again ;)
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Aug 17, 2016 - 10:40pm PT
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We migrated north to the redwoods once it got hot, but when fall rolls around we'll be back. Not sure how much longer he'll go for the pack, though; my hikes might be getting a lot shorter and slower for a bit.
Edit: He (and I!) still need to meet you and some more of the crew in real life at some point. Especially since the one time I made something I wasn't able to climb.
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Aug 17, 2016 - 10:52pm PT
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Just wanted you to know that I sent a copy of your note, and a link to this thread, to Mike Dawson, the trail manager of the PCTA. He is most likely to be able to get the information about all the downed trees to the right people to get in there and clear them out.
This sort of report is VERY useful to us trail maintainers, who often don't know what's out there, without actually walking it, and we can waste a lot of time walking where there is no problem, and missing the problem areas. Some of it is historically predictable, but some of it is not.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 18, 2016 - 06:46am PT
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Ken,
Thanks, that's a great idea.
We're members of PCTA but we don't know anyone in the organization. And like people who assume that "someone else" has called 911, I assumed that PCTA, Forest Service and all involved agencies "would know" already. Maybe not though, so good move.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Aug 18, 2016 - 06:57am PT
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Nice! Now I wish we'd done McLoughlin when we were there a couple of years ago.
It looks like you did the alternate route by the lakes in that stretch between Fish Lake and Crater Lake? We did the "official" PCT and it was dry, dry, dry.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 18, 2016 - 07:29am PT
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Gary,
Nope, I'm a purist through and through. We've stayed on the official PCT the whole way, including that very, very dry 18 miles stretch south of Crater Lake/Highway 62. We'll do the same on our next leg (every source recommends the alternative that goes closer to the lake, but it's not for us).
P.S. Mount McLoughlin isn't going anywhere - climb it next time you're up that way?
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Aug 18, 2016 - 07:58am PT
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Good on ya! But if I did that stretch again, I'd take the lake route! :-)
Good luck ahead. You are getting so close. Do you plan on going into Manning Park? We spent one night there after doing the section from Stehekin to the border. It wasn't expensive and the food was mighty tasty.
The permit to cross the border was easy and quick to get. We felt bad for the "DUI bros" who had to hike back to Hart's Pass.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 18, 2016 - 08:54am PT
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Gary,
To be honest I don't know anything about Manning Park yet (well, except that Mighty Hiker has volunteered to meet us there!).
I normally look at maps and the guidebook for trail sections 100 or so miles out. Beyond that it starts to fuzz out into (present-day) irrelevance.
We'll certainly at least touch Canadian soil though (although, to use a Vickism: "God willing and the creek don't rise").
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Aug 18, 2016 - 10:06am PT
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do tend to the border crossing paperwork. I've heard tell of a number of problems that people have gotten into, lacking the right stuff. As you might know, there is heightened awareness over who crosses our borders these days!
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Aug 18, 2016 - 12:22pm PT
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IMHO, its better to go into Manning than turn around and hike back to Hart's Pass. There's really nice camping just across the border, and Manning Park is nice.
Getting a permit from the Canadians to enter via the PCT is painless. Took just a couple of weeks for us to get the paperwork back. Unless you have a DUI or other legal issues, then you're going back to Hart's Pass.
It is illegal to cross from Canada into the US via the PCT.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 24, 2016 - 07:51am PT
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And, the natural end of a great summer (we knew it was coming). Tricia's first day of high school (doesn't she clean up well):
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Dec 27, 2016 - 10:16am PT
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hey there say, someone recently... at facebook, shared about this PCT... pacific crest trail, and i been far to busy to check up on it...
finally--though i have to go clean HOUSE now ( a whole OTHER trail of its own, with only view of metal reindeers that light up at night--from a gracious friend) and view of covered up ponds, and a WONDERFUL TACO-SAVED SHED... well, i had to peek into this...
if i did see it, it was too long ago, or, i couldn't stay and see it all, but wow:
THIS share is fantastic!!!
thank you so much for sharing this!!!!!
and, many more happy daughter climbs... i only had far too few, of these, with my beloved daddy... :(
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 18, 2017 - 06:03pm PT
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We're still working on PCT plans for this coming summer (I really mean we're working on details - specifics beyond the obvious general idea that we go back and hike more).
Meanwhile I had to share this, the best photo to come out of my recent southern California trip. Katie asked me to do a slide show for her U.C.S.B. Excursion Club. When that was done we backpacked in the San Rafael Wilderness (the trailhead is an hour and a half drive from campus).
Katie's Excursion friend Emma took this shot of the two of us just after the sun went down where we spent our first night (this was up high - for the views - although we had to carry water up with us the last four miles of the day).
For those who've never been there, the San Rafael Wilderness contains some gorgeous and very remote country. It's a fantastic "off season" backpacking destination.
And by the way, both hats are made by my wife Vicki (she buys small sections of fleece every once in a while and makes 15 hats at a time for handouts - most of our climbing friends have at least one).
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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Apr 19, 2017 - 10:30am PT
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This has been one of the most enjoyable threads on the Taco. Keep up the good work.
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dee ee
Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
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Apr 19, 2017 - 02:27pm PT
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Sweet!
Keep it up guys!
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Apr 19, 2017 - 02:51pm PT
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The Los Padres backcountry is pretty awesome. Those wilderness areas are great winter time backpacking territory.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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Apr 21, 2017 - 09:19pm PT
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You reckon you'll make Canada in 2017, or will that have to wait for next year? (Oregon is the "two week challenge" of the PCT...) Well, I can always meet you at Cascade Locks later this summer.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
ne'er–do–well
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Apr 21, 2017 - 11:40pm PT
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“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 22, 2017 - 09:21am PT
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You reckon you'll make Canada in 2017, or will that have to wait for next year? (Oregon is the "two week challenge" of the PCT...) Well, I can always meet you at Cascade Locks later this summer.
We definitely won't make it to Canada this year. I'm hoping we can just make it to Washington State (and I'm skeptical of that).
My brother set up a once-in-a-lifetime multi-family trip to the Grand Canyon this summer (literally, it won't happen again). He and his wife, his kids, Vicki and I plus both girls. My sister's son is going too. Nine of us. It's going to be a fantastic event, but I am unhappy that it will put a big dent in our PCT summer this year (and that's a true "first world" problem, isn't it?).
Add to that the fact that Tricia wants to try out for girl's volleyball for her sophomore year. If she makes the team? Well like I said, I'm hoping we can make it to Washington this year.
We will make progress though. And Canada will still be there in 2018 (or even 2019). Won't it?
Are the Cascade Locks on the Columbia River? If we make it near there in 2017 Anders, and you're willing to come down and join us, we'd love your company.
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John M
climber
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Apr 22, 2017 - 09:42am PT
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We will make progress though. And Canada will still be there in 2018 (or even 2019). Won't it?
Don't get locked in on the end of the journey. Savor each step. The grand canyon is fantastic and a worthy interlude, though I do understand the pleasure of your long hike with your kids. Its been fun watching them grow up. What a great journey!
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David Knopp
Trad climber
CA
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Apr 22, 2017 - 09:56am PT
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Brad you will absolutely love the grand Canyon-i did my first backpacking trip there with a 75 yr old fireman from LA, it was the best-we spent 6 nights and hike d a nice loop from the moment point, it was incredible!
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Apr 22, 2017 - 03:08pm PT
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Well, I can always meet you at Cascade Locks later this summer.
If you guys and Anders make it to Cascade Locks then I will expect a day's climbing out of you all (Beacon Rock - 8 miles west of PCT on S.R. 14) followed by dinner at Skamania Lodge (3.7 miles east of PCT on S.R. 14).
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 22, 2017 - 07:05pm PT
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^^^^
All suggestions are welcome.
Naturally I know of Beacon Rock and would love to get a few routes in there. I've never heard of Skamania Lodge though (but it sounds almost walking distance from the trail).
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Apr 23, 2017 - 12:02am PT
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You could always ship your shoes and harnesses to me and I'd have them for when you got here...
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Pea-dub
Ice climber
sun diego
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Apr 23, 2017 - 12:43am PT
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Your daughter is always smiling.
Volleyball is great!!!
How is your oldest daughter doing in college.
Thanks for all the pictures, now I don't have to
think about doing this trip,😀 you are taking me along.
Thanks again.Paul
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 23, 2017 - 09:59am PT
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Healyje, the hard part about climbing when we're on PCT trips isn't taking the gear along, it's carving out the time to do it and changing the focus and momentum. As a not-so-subtle hint, having a person to climb with, one who knows the area, would make that easier (I'm an experienced and safe partner, although, fair warning, I much prefer leading to toproping, and, regardless, we may not make it that far north until 2018).
Pea-dub, the older daughter (Katie) is doing very well at U.C.S.B.. After a slow start there her grades have been consistently As and Bs. She went there determined to graduate in four years and is doing so (imagine how nice it is to have already paid for her last quarter of college).
The best thing about her college days though has been the group she's become part of, the U.C.S.B. Excursion Club (as it sounds, they take kids backpacking, climbing hiking, surfing, kayaking, camping - you get the picture). Since her freshman year Katie has been both a Club leader and a member of the Board.
And I love the story of how she became a club leader as just a three-month freshman: three months into her college career she signed up to go on a club hike. The planning for the hike may not have been optimal; the trail to the chosen peak was in terrible shape, the summit they hiked to turned out to be class three, and their timing was off and they ended the day crashing through brush in the dark to get back to the car.
Katie thought all of that was perfectly normal.
The next day the club president texted her to ask if she'd consider being a trip leader.
Since then basically all of her social circle has been Excursion Club leaders. I've met many of them (and climbed and backpacked with several too). She hangs with a great group of kids.
I'm also told that Katie hasn't been very soft on some of the kids who join her events; one friend told of two freshman boys on a hiking trip Katie led. When the two complained that the first half of the hike was "so long" (five miles), Katie is reported to have said (in a scornful tone) "my little sister hikes that far before breakfast."
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Pea-dub
Ice climber
sun diego
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Apr 24, 2017 - 12:26am PT
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Thanks Brad
Sounds like she is enjoying college and the path that her Dad & Mom started her on.
She probably didn't tell
the 2 guys that her little sister hiked the length of California.+
Maybe she did.
Enjoy your Grand canyon trip.
I have 2 daughter's also.
24 & 26
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Apr 24, 2017 - 05:40am PT
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Beacon is multi-pitch trad, you come we'll climb.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado & Nepal
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I just came across this video in which a guy who hiked from Mexico to Canada shot video for one second every day and then put it together as a 3 minute montage. I could recognize a number of the places from following this wonderful thread.
Maybe even the hikers will enjoy this quick review.
http://www.trendingly.com/pacific-crest-trail
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 9, 2017 - 12:03pm PT
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Well we’re off tomorrow for what might be our first PCT hiking of the new season. “Might be” is the right phrase too; past and present weather conditions are gonna make this an interesting trip.
In making plans, I assumed that the trail near Crater Lake would be at least mostly snow-free by this late in the spring. Certainly our ground here in the Sierra is very snow-free up to over 7,000 feet. And the first 30 miles beyond our last end point are lower than 6,500 feet elevation. Plus it’s June.
Not so fast though. Everything I’ve been able to find about the PCT through Crater Lake National Park shows that there is still snow over most (maybe even all) of the trail. So?
So we go anyway and see what (if anything) we can get done. We’re taking snowshoes, all-weather gear and backpacking equipment. Maybe we’ll hike some. Maybe we’ll backpack on snowshoes instead. Or, maybe we’ll end up calling it a reconnaissance of the area and retreating to the Oregon coast, or to lower elevations at least. Either way, we’re off for some family fun….
(And when we’re done we’ll drive down to U.C.S.B. for Katie’s college graduation; where the hell did those four years go!?)
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Climberdude
Trad climber
Clovis, CA
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I am keeping my fingers crossed for you and Trish for little to no snow on the trail.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Let me know if you make it to Cascade Locks - can always do dinner at the lodge even if you don't feel like climbing...
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 9, 2017 - 03:34pm PT
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Thankfully I made my peace with weather issues many years ago (if I can’t control it I must not stress over it).
Like I said, we’ll have family fun no matter what we get done :)
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 28, 2017 - 11:18am PT
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At the end of this week Tricia finishes with Band Camp (she loves her trumpet and playing in the high school band).
Once she gets home we’ll make the long drive again to try some hiking. Conditions look good for success this time.
I didn’t post about it then, but our last trip was a total “failure.” The word failure is in quotes because all we failed at was getting PCT miles hiked. We had a great time doing other things.
Here are a series of posts I made to the Mudn’Crud site (then). They explain our “failure:”
HAHAHAHAHA. Hah Hah Hah Hah. Geeeee-sssus.
Thirty degrees out with light snow flurries upon arrival at Crater Lake/PCT. Two to six feet of snow still on the ground. The snowshoes worked great. The only problem was, on our test walk, at a point 1/4 mile from the road, we could not tell if we were even within 100 yards of the trail. Flat, heavily forested terrain with no waypoints, and no signs. Rather than using maps and compass for 27 miles of that terrain (with gear for three days), we bailed on the PCT. Now enjoying the Oregon coast.
Crater Lake overlook is about 800 feet higher in elevation than the PCT where the trail crosses Highway 62. It was windy, cold and exposed (note the spindrift):
The trail wasn't much better; parking at the PCT highway-crossing was cold but not as windy or exposed:
The snowshoeing was easy, but after walking 1/4 mile we had no confidence that we could find the trail over the course of 27 miles to the next pickup point (walking in the featureless, mostly flat forest made us feel like ants walking in a field of grass):
So we bailed and we're hoping that enough snow has melted three weeks from now that we can do this hike. We'll be watching the National Weather Service Report daily; we also learned that the most reliable web-cam on the Park Service site shows just about the same conditions as are on the trail two miles away (so we'll be watching that too).
Meanwhile the Oregon coast isn't so bad. We found a great little restaurant for lunch and tomorrow we'll cross back into California and check out Prairie Creek Redwoods State and Redwoods National Parks. Then we'll try for the Humboldt County highpoint on Wednesday (50/50 on us being able to get in on the approach road).
Consolation prize: Salmon Mountain, the high point of Humboldt County, California:
Bivy at the trailhead:
Salmon Mountain in the evening light:
An easy and viewful hike:
Mount Shasta from the west:
On the summit:
And finally, here's a shot I call "Tuna on Salmon Mountain:"
To our beloved trail, the PCT: We'll be back....
Conditions are much more encouraging this time.
Among other things, we found out on our reconnaissance three weeks ago that the webcam at Crater Lake’s lower Visitors Center shows just about the same conditions as are on the PCT, two miles away. And this webcam’s view just keeps looking better and better.
So, here’s hoping for both fun and success this trip….
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kief
Trad climber
east side
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Jun 28, 2017 - 12:15pm PT
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Well done to Katie for making it through UCSB in four years. When I worked on staff there in the late 80s to mid-90s the majority of undergrads spent five years earning their degrees. It was a higher proportion than any other UC campus and a little embarrassing to the administration. When we underwent our accreditation review we blamed it on the beach.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Jun 28, 2017 - 02:16pm PT
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Nice photos and good luck this year. Fortunately you are way ahead of the herd. Down south here the PCT is coated with turds and TP. I'm not kidding. 3000 this year and they don't know the first thing about shitting in the woods.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 28, 2017 - 02:18pm PT
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Well done to Katie for making it through UCSB in four years. When I worked on staff there in the late 80s to mid-90s the majority of undergrads spent five years earning their degrees. It was a higher proportion than any other UC campus and a little embarrassing to the administration.
Thanks kief. We're pretty happy with her (for lots of obvious reasons).
When we underwent our accreditation review we blamed it on the beach.
Those of us who went to U.C.S.B. know that the initials really stand for U.C. Sunny Beach :)
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 28, 2017 - 02:26pm PT
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Gary,
Part of me wants to think that you're exaggerating about the "mess," but the rest of me realizes that you're probably not.
The dilemma of "loving the wilderness to death" gets more acute with more and more people. Especially when those more and more people are less and less experienced with how to act in the outdoors.
And yet getting people out and in the wild (even at some cost to it) means more converts, more people who love and support wild country. Ed Abbey said it well:
"The concept of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders."
Nowadays, perhaps more than ever, we can use every single defender we can get. Although disappointing (and occasionally disgusting) I'll put up with some mess.
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Nibs
Trad climber
Humboldt, CA
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Jun 28, 2017 - 02:32pm PT
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mtnyoung - thanks for the photos of Salmon mtn. I am heading out there next week to hike the Salmon/Trinity divide to/through the Alps from that TH. Great to see the current conditions. How did you pick that out of the way TH?
Best of luck on your next leg of the trip. Highly recommend the side trip up Mt Thielsen. We did that hike/scramble last year - spectacular view.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 28, 2017 - 02:54pm PT
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...great to see the current conditions. How did you pick that out of the way TH?
For years I've been working on getting to the summit of all California counties. There are 56 highpoints for 58 counties (in two cases, Mount Whitney included, one peak is the highpoint of two counties). The girls have been joining me in this effort for the last 25 or so summits (now that Katie's away, it been just Tricia joining me).
BTW, I don't know that he's published it here, but I don't think it's a secret: Supertopo's own Dingus Milktoast finished summiting all of our county highpoints some years ago. He was probably among the first 25 people to have ever done this.
There's a book about these highpoints (by Gary Suttle - it's out of print now). It recommends this road to this trailhead for Salmon Mountain.
By way of further comment, we were pleasantly surprised that this road was snow-free two weeks ago. We were very, very pleasantly surprised to find that most of the road to the trailhead is paved, and that the short part of it that is dirt is in great shape.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jun 28, 2017 - 07:50pm PT
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The real deal. TFPU!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 11, 2017 - 07:43pm PT
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We had a tough but successful and fun trip to the PCT in Oregon!
I started a trip report on Mudn'Crud under the title: The PCT Volume 33: Toughing It Out
Here's the first day:
July 3, 2017
Many of our PCT trips go smoothly and according to plan. Last year in particular, things just "clicked" for trip after trip and 350 miles.
Not so for 2017 and not so for this trip. Our first PCT attempt this year resulted in no hiking at all. And although this just-completed trip was much more successful, it did not go as planned; getting any milage done at all required some serious adjustments and a good dose of toughing it out. But we got past the snowiest part of the mountains of Oregon (in a year when the Crater Lake area got 48 feet of snow). We were the first to pass through some parts of the trail and at others we managed to continue where other hikers turned back.
The adjustments started with a late, long drive to Klamath Falls (Tricia got home from band camp more than two hours later than expected). But in spite of our late arrival, the next morning's drive to Crater Lake National Park went well. The excitement started to build as we saw Mount McLoughlin to west, over Klamath Lake:
The peaks surrounding Crater Lake were obvious too in skies that were clear, blue and gorgeous:
We arrived at the Highway 62 PCT trailhead and smiled immediately. The area had been covered with two to six feet of snow just three weeks ago. Today we knew we'd be hiking mostly snow-free (and, especially, that we'd be able to find the trail with what snow there was):
The terrain in Oregon doesn't have the big elevation changes that dominate some parts of the trail in California. In fact, from this start point, for all of the next 100 miles, the trail's elevation stays between just under 6,000 feet to just over 7,500 feet. So today's hike would be fairly level/easy.
We hit some snow right away (enough that we "lost" the trail twice in the first three miles - we found it fairly quickly, with some small effort):
And creeks were flowing that would normally be just trickles in July:
But mostly we had easy and cool hiking:
Well, mostly:
Viewless forest hiking predominated, although we got some open space where a fire had cleared the forest:
About mid-day I came to a realization that I'd made a bit of a mistake (and the mistake would require me to adjust - yet again - to hiking with painful feet). We hadn't hiked much yet this summer (I climb more than I hike, and Tricia's been busy with her stuff anyway). Recognizing that my feet would need some breaking in, I wore my very best lightweight hiking shoes. Nicely broken in, these are my favorites by far.
And yet, just eight or nine miles in, my heels were developing hot-spots. That was bad enough. But the real screw-up was my failure to take along anything to treat them. I was so confident in these shoes that I'd stuck myself, well into a hike that I had to finish, with no way to treat this developing problem. Yet again I'd put myself in a position where I'd have to adjust and, big-time, tough it out (photos - for the not squeamish - are posted a few days lower down).
Mosquitos were bad, so rain shells were needed at our warm lunch-spot:
Soon Red Cone - the only significant hill in 18 miles - came into view:
Another two miles of heavy snow caused extra effort (up, over and down - snow forces constant changes to the hiking pace, it slows a hiker and takes more effort):
But soon enough we could hear traffic on the park's North Entrance Road. Several more snow sections, and there was Vicki, right where we'd planned:
Across the road (to insure overlap in our hiking from day to day) and, success. We'd started the PCT season:
We finished a fairly hard day with a short drive to camp. On the way we crossed Pumice Desert, still within the park. There we got this view of Mount Thielsen (a wonderfully steep peak that rises so dramatically from its surroundings that I can't believe I'd never heard of it before):
Camp itself was excellent. Wondering whether we'd find a place in a formal campground on this July 4th weekend (and wanting to avoid loud crowds anyway), Vicki had found a dry, flat section of forest one mile off Highway 138 and 30 feet from the PCT - nice job Vicki!):
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 12, 2017 - 06:31am PT
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July 4, 2017
Today's hike promised to be about as easy as a day-hike can get. Gentle downhill and uphill, 9.2 miles, directly to camp. The temperatures were high enough that I decided to walk in shorts, a short sleeved shirt, and DEET:
A few early snow clumps and a broken bird's egg occupied the first mile:
Then it was mostly lodgepole pine forest for several miles:
We came up to the edge of Pumice Desert where we got this view of Thielsen (I really like this mountain):
The girls loved the little remaining snow:
Soon Highway 138 (and the end of Oregon's Section "C") came into view:
More flat hiking led directly into camp and to Vicki:
The short day let us relax some for much of the afternoon. Tricia read her summertime AP history homework. I tried to tend to my feet (yeah, after the fact). I don't suppose that a sock, bloody from under moleskin, is a sign of high intelligence:
After a while Tricia's first-day mosquito bites also needed tending (although she's got my legs, she's also got her mother's sensitivity to the little winged beasts):
And yes, we did use lots of repellant. But it was the Lemon/Eucalyptus oil stuff, which works but not for all that long. We switched to DEET starting this second day.
Finally, when darkness was near, we drove eight miles to the shore of Diamond Lake. We'd been told that the resort there put on a grand fireworks show and Tricia really wanted to see it. And grand was the right word; anyone who has seen July 4th fireworks at Donner Lake will understand the spectacular nature of this lake's show.
July 5, 2017
In planning our hike for today we had to decide whether to day-hike or backpack with one night out. The disadvantages of carrying weight were obvious, but we could pretty clearly make Windigo Pass (30.2 miles away) in two backpacking days. Lightweight movement sounded good, but in order to day-hike we'd have to exit the PCT to Miller Lake, an extra 2.8 miles for a long total of 20.3 miles for the day (and then, of course, we'd have to retrace that 2.8 miles the next day).
We had both sets of gear with us. After wavering a bit back and forth, we decided to go for it in a day. It might end up being a long day, but the ease of movement would be worth it.
Great plan. But, remember the themes of this PCT installment? "Adjustment" and "toughing it." This day brought both.
We started out easily from camp:
I was moving a little slowly at first as my body got used to the pain in my heels. But we very quickly caught up with a party of four backpackers who'd passed through camp half an hour before we started.
Two and a half miles passed in an hour. Flat to gentle uphill, working up to and then around Mount Thielsen's west side. But we were gaining elevation. The forest got thicker.
We hit the first snow patches right where we caught up with the other hikers:
At first these sections of snow were no big deal. We hiked with the others for a while. Snow patches turned into all snow (but here, unlike in Crater Lake Park, fairly frequent PCT signs make it possible to navigate over the snow, although with some backtracking).
After a slow half a mile of all snow, we turned a corner onto a south-facing slope. Here we had trail tread for a while. And we had some views (these seem rare for this part of the PCT - that's Pumice Desert and the peaks around Crater Lake in the background; but notice how much of the rest of the space is just viewless forest):
Coming around the end of another ridge we got a great view of Diamond Lake and Diamond Peak:
But coming around that ridge put us back on a north slope. And instantly, again, the whole trail was gone, covered in snow (usually steep, steep snow too, sometimes with significant exposure). A few breaks let us move 50 feet quickly, but mostly we went up and down, over snow, way down under it where it was too steep to move across safely. In one section small trees were bent over and into the trail and making 100 yards took crawling in and among them all. This was excruciating progress. It had to be though to stay safe (I thought long and hard in a few sections about whether Tricia would be OK; I knew though that she understood the difficulties and dangers, and that she could handle them). Although I didn't get photos of the worst parts of this north-facing slope, I got a few shots of the general area and conditions:
Here's another shot looking straight back over "the trail." This section right here isn't dangerous going (it's basically flat), but it's not straightforward, move-it-along hiking either:
After another two miles of this we stopped and sat down. We needed food, rest, and water. And we needed to rethink our plan. After an easy first hour, we'd now taken almost three more hours to go three more miles. We were moving at less than a mile per hour. Obviously we weren't going to make it 20 miles today (the north and northwest slopes that seem to keep the snow on this part of the trail go on for another six or seven miles past where we'd stopped). We texted Vicki about our difficulties, suggesting that we might have to exit the trail early, to the west (by now she was at Miller Lake, on the east side of the range).
We made up our minds to continue on to the PCT/Mount Thielsen Trail junction and decide what to do there (we knew that the Mount Thielsen Trail led down and west to the highway and that we could bail that way if we had to). At the junction we saw lots more snow ahead (to the left and trending down, and this isn't even north or northwest facing):
Sometimes plans don't work. Ours was clearly obsolete. We decided to bail off to the west, get a campsite, take a rest day and regroup.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 12, 2017 - 08:50am PT
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And here are the last two days:
July 7, 2017
The rest day helped. First, it gave my blistered heels some rest. They needed it. Here's how they looked at the end of the third day:
I don't forgive myself these foolish, foolish injuries. By assuming that a "trusted" pair of shoes would be alright, by omitting to take even a roll of tape on the first day, I'd let my feet get into deplorable shape, possibly jeopardizing our only chance to make PCT milage this year. Dumb, dumb, dumb, and I won't do it again. Until the day I die I will assume that any hike with any shoes under any circumstances can cause blisters and I will bring along at least a little tape, some moleskin, something which, if it won't prevent the blisters in the first place, will at least allow me to minimize them and minimize the damage.
Vicki helped me use gauze, tape and lots of medicated goo during the rest day:
We replicated this treatment then this day in preparation for an 18.6 mile, snowy day to Miller Lake (but instead of Vet-Tape, we wrapped over the gauze and goo with climber's tape - as if we were preparing a sprained ankle).
Tricia and I also talked about how to approach the heavy snow and difficult movement for this long a hike. We decided we'd do the first 3.8 miles back up to our "bail" point and then just start out. We knew what to expect now. We'd persist if humanly possible and, we decided, we'd make it a 20 hour day if we had to. We packed extra food and some extra clothes.
Things started well. Between the tape and ibuprofen my foot pain was consistently a "two" on a scale of 1 through 10. I could do that. Tricia moved quickly and happily. We easily made it back to the PCT/Mount Thielsen Trail junction:
Alright so far. Now for the basin around Thielsen's northwest side:
Wow! This stuff surprised us. Unlike the hard, steep stuff of two days ago this whole basin was filled with Goldilocks snow ("not too soft, not too hard, just right" for fairly efficient movement). We even laughed a little when we could glissade.
Mount Thielsen is as impressive from right below as it is from a distance:
Maybe we could do this?
The hardest part of the day was yet to come though (we thought). After crossing the bowl we came to a ridge edge where the trail turned sharply onto Thielsen's north side. I'd lost some sleep over what we'd find here.
It started with a big, intimidating looking cornice:
But a little exploration showed a weakness in the vertical cornice wall; we could get down to a shelf and then across to steep-but-doable ground:
Our movement became a series of traverses through open areas of snow. When we weren't moving all of our attention was focused on navigation. "Any sign of a trail?" And, "any PCT signs?" Careful searching revealed just enough signs to let us know we were on track (try squinting):
We weren't moving fast, but we hadn't expected to here. We came to a surprise: warm, dry talus:
The talus wasn't much, but it gave us a chance to regroup and look around. We hadn't seen a trail sign in a quarter mile and we couldn't see any trail tread. But given what we could see we knew we'd gotten across most of this north face, we knew the trail was below us, and we could see that the next miles of northwest-facing ridge-side hiking weren't as steep as we'd feared.
We moved down to find the trail:
Across Theilsen Creek, up onto a shelf, headed north now. And there's the trail:
As can be seen from Tricia's smile, we were making progress and we were having a little fun while doing it.
Snow conditions varied a lot while we moved north along along this Sawtooth Ridge. The slightest move toward facing south and we'd have some clear trail tread:
But mostly we weren't that lucky:
And then the clear patches disappeared for most of two miles. We moved carefully now, looking for signs, blazes on trees and occasional five foot sections of trail tread:
We found a trail junction:
Up and over a small ridge and suddenly we had clear ground again. A nice place to rest; time for lunch:
By now we were closing in on the highest point of the PCT in all of Oregon and Washington (a pass at 7,560 feet). We could see the pass from our lunch perch. It was just south of snow-free Tipsoo Peak. We had another mile and a half to go. It was mostly snow-covered:
Tricia made a snowman on a trail-side pole:
And then were were at the two-state high point:
We expected the snow to lay off a bit on the other side of this pass. We were wrong:
The snow was getting a little mushy now. It had already been a long day and we were tiring.
And then it happened.
We lost the trail. Completely lost it. I thought I knew where we needed to be. No trail. We moved over further. No trail. No hint or sign of a trail.
It's getting late. We don't have the time or the energy for this. And yet what are we to do? Twenty minutes of movement. No trail. No idea where it is. That's it. Out comes the compass. Look more at the map. Find the nearest clearing. Where's Tipsoo Peak? OK, now backtrack. Lost for 40 minutes, we reach a spot that I am sure is within 100 yards of the trail (what does "sure" actually mean in that context anyway?). But nothing. No signs, no tread, still 100% snow. Another 100 yards. There's a clear stretch of hillside. I go to search it, moving up. "What's that, isn't that a cut log?" I think it is. I move up further. It's definitely the cut end of a log. There a trail tread too!! Tricia comes up. We're on a trail. But crap, we've been so far around that were not sure it's even the PCT. We have no choice, we move along it (I'd pay big bucks for an actual PCT sign right now). And there it is; a simple diamond of aluminum, nailed to a tree. And it makes our day.
Back to business. The tread doesn't last long before we're back in the snow. We're absolutely fanatical now we're not going to lose the trail again. Eyes peeled, we see one sign and then move ahead searching for another (see a sign in the first photo, on a tree, near the right edge, closer to the bottom):
This is hard work. The trail here is almost all snow-covered and within a single mile it leads in all four cardinal directions! We lose direction a few times but always find it again. The snow thins some; we're losing elevation now. And slowly the "crisis" ends. Two miles from the two state high point were hiking on mostly trail tread again. Half an hour later we reach our trail junction, our turning point to hike down to Miller Lake and meet Vic:
Our long, hard day ends with a swim (not for me though, thank you) and a hug. One of our great PCT days, one I'll never forget:
One more day to go, as we "tough it out" with some success.
July 8, 2017
Today's hike should be as casual as yesterday's was challenging. We're past the snowy parts, the hiking is as close to flat as a back-country trail can get (well, at least after our initial climb up from Miller Lake). And we only need to go a little over 15 miles to reach a convenient place to stop for this trip (Windigo Pass - what a cool name).
Our morning climb takes us back to the PCT and to a rare vista point where we break for water:
And then begin long stretches of the trail that go on and on with the same terrain, the same facing and the same angle of ascent/descent (including, for example, a mile and a half of gentle uphill heading due north, two miles of gentle downhill heading northwest):
We get occasional views of the snowy country behind us:
Tricia loves the "Treebeard" effect in one section of heavier forest:
And, looking quite a way ahead, what are these snowy peaks (my S.W.A.G. is that they are The Sisters?):
A burned section of forest lets us get a glimpse of Windigo Butte. This is almost the end of our hike:
We walk in to Windigo Pass at 4:54. I'd estimated to Vicki that we'd be there "around" 5:00:
Extra distance to ensure overlap:
And we're done with a tough but excellent trip. We set off on part of the drive back to California and home:
And my heel? Well the "end of the trip" photo is just too graphic to post. Here's what my stupidity left before I took the tape off:
Never again (the heel that is - we'll be back to the PCT as soon as we can).
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jul 12, 2017 - 09:29am PT
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Ouch...
Well, let us know when you get back yo it - offer for climbing and / or dinner up this way...
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Cragar
climber
MSLA - MT
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Jul 12, 2017 - 09:34am PT
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Man, or I mean Brad, what a coo trip or a string of trips; thanks for pics and narrative!
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jul 12, 2017 - 11:49am PT
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Once again, a remarkable journey; I am glad you have brought us along.
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Washington DC
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Jul 12, 2017 - 05:41pm PT
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Love these write up. Your daughter and those dogs are real troopers (and yourself of course!).
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Jul 12, 2017 - 09:41pm PT
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Way to push on, snow Kat and Dad.
Thanks so much for this lastest installment, looking forward to the next as usual.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Jul 13, 2017 - 07:01am PT
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Gnarly blister Brad. Thanks for the narrative.
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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Jul 13, 2017 - 08:17am PT
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Slap a hot iron on that sucker and get going....
Truly great thread... keep it going!
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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Jul 29, 2017 - 01:05pm PT
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TFPU - great trip report.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 14, 2017 - 05:18pm PT
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This PCT season has been a little disappointing (too few trips). And it doesn't seem likely to get better.
As planned, we spent the last two weeks of July on a wonderful Grand Canyon trip (14 days!). Two weeks with all four of us (big, big bonus that Katie came too). Also along were all four of my brother's family, and our nephew (nine family) and other guests. As another big bonus, we rode in dories. These are smaller, wooden boats that have a great history on the Colorado River. They're really fun, a more intimate way to float the river.
The trip was "once in a lifetime" quality. Everything from the people to the guides to the food; plus the river and the canyon. It was a great trip. That's good
But it used up two weeks which could otherwise have been spent hiking on the PCT. That's bad.
And now, Tricia has made the sophomore girls volleyball team. Last year, she and all of the girls from her elementary "feeder" school were cut from the high school freshman team in a petty political move that really pissed us off. We let it go un-challenged though; Tricia asked us to leave it alone, and besides, sometimes kids need to learn harsh lessons about bureaucratic organizations.
So this year Tricia worked really hard. She made the team (she's a very skilled setter). She's really, really happy. And Vicki and I are as proud of her as can be. So that's very good news.
But it's also bad news; the girls have practice every day now and that means no more PCT for us. I'm going through heavy withdrawals.
Here are some of our best Grand Canyon photos to distract me for what might be a long eleven months:
Day one, Vicki and Katie getting used to the dory (notice the water color):
It can't hurt to look can it?
Getting Tricia and Katie together again is always a great treat for us:
Katie on the oars:
The dories are just fun (my brother and me in the first shot):
We had time for relaxing:
An occasional nap:
Tricia and her cousin Phoebe sing while boatmen Kate and Andy play:
We explored some ruins:
Spent great time with my brother and his wife and his kids (plus our nephew Chris):
We explored side canyons:
Here's one of our boats floating past Vulcan's Anvil, just above Lava Falls, one of the two famous Grand Canyon "class 10" (out of 10) rapids:
As described, this was a great trip. And the PCT will be there, and we will get back ;)
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labrat
Trad climber
Erik O. Auburn, CA
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Aug 14, 2017 - 05:29pm PT
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Great reporting as usual!!! Thank you
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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Aug 14, 2017 - 05:39pm PT
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So as to help with your PCT-withdrawal, a photo. Yesterday I went to the north end of the trail, partly for reconnaissance, partly to fetch some arriving hikers. Here they are - L to R their aliases are Barbie, Pinecone, and Almost Cowboy Camped. Aina, Kim and Lise - the first and last being sisters, from Bergen. Perhaps the first to reach the northern terminus this year, although Kim and Lise leapfrogged the northern half of California due to heavy snow, then did the coast trail through Oregon. They're now going back for unfinished bits of the PCT, or at least what they can fit in. Aina joined them at Winthrop, for the last bit. It was fun hiking out and meeting some new friends. Even better, a front came through, so it's suddenly cooler, the smoke is gone, and it rained a bit! I hiked about half way to monument 78, met them, and gave them a ride to New Westminster, where they're staying with a cousin. Practicing for when the Youngs arrive in a year or two.
Some may recall my friend Donald, who did the PCT in four months in 2012. He was in remission from kidney cancer then, but it came back, and he died in October 2015. So on August 31st, the anniversary of his finishing, his wife Susan and sons, with friends and family, are hiking to monument 78 at the border, to spread his ashes, perhaps have a bit of whisky, and remember him.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 14, 2017 - 07:48pm PT
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So as to help with your PCT-withdrawal...
Aaaaah... you made it worse. We're never even gonna get to Washington at this rate....
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Aug 15, 2017 - 06:29am PT
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You have the best bad news.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Aug 15, 2017 - 07:18am PT
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Our very own Homeric saga continues...
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 15, 2017 - 07:50am PT
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Thanks for the nice comments.
I might mention too that daughter Katie wrote two blog entries for the Grand Canyon trip. I really like her writing style, although she's not very subtle sometimes :)
These are fairly long entries (each takes maybe ten minutes to read?), but, I think, very well done and entertaining (and no, as yet there's no "Katie's view" on our PCT shenanigans). I got her permission to post links here in case any of this post's readers want to read her perspective:
https://lifeofk2.wordpress.com/grand-canyon-2/grand-canyon-week-1/
https://lifeofk2.wordpress.com/grand-canyon-2/grand-canyon-week-2/
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 1, 2017 - 03:54pm PT
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I’m about as happy as a pig in sh#t right now. My family loves me.
We’re on our way to Oregon. Yes it’s insane to go up for another 30 or 35 miles of PCT. But they’ve taken pity on me. We’re gonna get in two more days so that I can survive until next summer.
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Jay S
Mountain climber
Silver Gate, Mt
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Have a great trip!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 1, 2017 - 09:55pm PT
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Thanks Jay.
Both daughters are with. All four of us again. Almost to Oregon now.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 5, 2017 - 08:14pm PT
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I opened a thread on Mudn'Crud under the title: "The PCT Volume 34: The Quick Fix."
We did it. We crammed all we could into a three day weekend and still made it home yesterday in time for Tricia to do her AP History homework. Here's how it went.
September 2, 2017
Tricia was thrilled in early August when she made the J.V. Volleyball team. But, of course, she had to be at team practices every day after that, and as a result we didn’t get an August week on the PCT. So, I proposed a crazy three day run to Oregon over Labor Day Weekend. To my pleasant surprise, all three girls - Katie included - agreed.
The long drive up to Klamath Falls seemed worth it once we’d reached Windigo Pass on Saturday morning. Although Klamath Falls is still an hour and a half drive from Windigo Pass, we were there and ready to start hiking by late morning:
The trail in this part of Oregon is odd in a way. There are so many lakes in Oregon’s portion of the Cascades and yet significant portions of the trail stay along the crest and are bone-dry from about mid-summer on. As a result, most PCT through-hikers are pretty thirsty by the time they reach Windigo Pass. Trail angels have stepped into the gap though. Here’s Tricia looking at the Windigo Pass water cache (trail angels had left more than 50 gallons of water here, most of it in bombproof five gallon bottles):
Conditions upon arrival are very different than they were in July. It’s a little hotter. The roads and the trail have been used a lot more since then and are very dusty. And the smoke is just terrible (there are something like 30 fires within 50 miles):
Still, we make progress. Vistas (or what would be vistas) open up:
Soon Cowhorn Mountain is visible:
Cowhorn is like much of this part of the Cascades; it emerges directly and abruptly from rolling forest and is very dramatic:
Naturally the smoke continued. Here is our first “view” of Summit Lake (look especially in the gap between trees, about a third of the way from left to right, and then also right of that):
And, in what otherwise would have been a spectacular sight, here’s Diamond Peak as we were able to see it this day (look for patches of snow on the peak, just right of dead center):
More forest hiking:
After just under 12 miles we reached the shore of Summit Lake:
This is a big lake. We traversed halfway around its west shore, expecting to find Vicki somewhere (it’s Labor Day and we expect crowds, and she intends to set up camp where and as availible). Sure enough, when we find her, she’s found a spot well away from crowds; she’s set up and watching the trail, waiting for us to show up:
Although the lakeshore is crowded, we’re off the road a way and (other than the occasional car passing by on the dirt road and the pleasant- sounding wedding ceremony across the lake) we’ve got quiet and peace:
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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The north end, last Thursday, with Donald's family.
About 25 km round trip, plus about 700 m elevation.
The Diamond Creek fire about 20km to the east, which is apparently now threatening Mazama.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 6, 2017 - 07:12am PT
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Way to go Anders. They look pretty happy to have made the hike.
I envy the blue skies shown in your photo (even if they don't look like they were going to last long).
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 6, 2017 - 07:30am PT
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Here's the rest of the PCT part of this trip:
September 3, 2017
I wake Katie up this morning with a hot cup of coffee. I ask her “what were you doing 22 years ago today?” She smiles and then laughs. It’s her birthday and I’m pretty jazzed that she’s here on the PCT with us.
Our morning is slow, but nice:
We’re over to the trailhead and hiking by 9:00 a.m.:
The same conditions apply today; a little cooler, but still very, very smokey:
We can at least see Diamond Peak as we start around its east side:
Again, vistas open up but they're not vistas (but who's really complaining, I'm completely thrilled to be here with my girls, even without views):
Slowly uphill:
The east side of Diamond Peak has some open, alpine terrain (and a reliable creek for water and a break):
The four-leggers prefer larger bodies of water:
We started our slow descent to Odell Lake and Highway 58. Along the way we saw this fabulous fungus:
We reached PCT mile 1,900:
A little more forest hiking (we passed the lake without being able to see it):
By just over 17 miles for the day we were at the highway:
Another 100 yards brought us to a good stopping point (for the trip and the season):
And that was that, the quick fix.
We finished 17.2 miles before 4:00 in the afternoon. So we headed off. First to the town of Klamath Falls where we had birthday dinner for Katie at a fairly fancy restaurant. Then to spend the night in the Hat Creek area just north of Lassen National Park. The discerning reader may recognize Mud Lake Camp as a place we'd stayed for several nights two Augusts ago. The drive to this point got us halfway home and also set us up to do a California County highpoint before driving home on Monday (photos of that appear below).
The fix worked. I got just enough PCT to end the season happy. For those who worried (no-one), I'll be OK now until next summer.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 6, 2017 - 08:27am PT
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September 4, 2017
Brokeoff Mountain is about five miles from Lassen Peak (both are in the national park). It's the highest point of Tehama County, California:
The hike to Brokeoff's summit is on a Park Service maintained trail. It's a seven mile round trip. Katie's feet really hurt after 30 miles in two days and she was worried about the effect that the steep descent would have on her knee. She skipped this hike, hanging out instead with Vicki and the dogs (she was right about the descent - I was definitely done for a few days after Tricia and I finished!).
Here are a few shots of Tricia and my ascent:
Summit shots with Lassen in the background (the smoke prevented views of Mount Shasta):
It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, but like I said above, it was just what I needed (and Vicki and the girls seemed pleased too).
Now I/we lay low for a while, becoming a climber again and maybe getting some backpacking in. We'll be back though; next summer our goal is to at least finish Oregon.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 1, 2018 - 09:49pm PT
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Winter is done and my thoughts have slowly started turning to this coming summer and the PCT. We'll have more time than in 2017 (no two week Grand Canyon trip). I'm looking forward to it.
Meanwhile we did some non-PCT hiking for this year's spring break. We did a six day loop backpack in the San Rafael Wilderness, behind Santa Barbara.
I fell in love with the "San Raf" when I was a student at U.C.S.B. in the early '80s. It's some of the least traveled and wild wilderness in California (in my experience).
The trip report below is on Mudn'Crud under the name "Spring Break 2018: the Lower Sisquoc Loop." It references the fact that Vicki and I got engaged to be married while doing an eight day backpack in the San Rafael in 1992. it also references a different trip (and Mudn'Crud trip report) in which Vicki and I and both girls repeated most of our "engagement" backpacking trip 20 years later (in 2012). For anyone that likes this report, here's a link to the one from 2012:
http://www.mudncrud.com/forums/index.php?topic=1582.0
DAY ONE:
The Young family had a great time on our spring-break San Rafael Wilderness backpacking trip. We enjoyed perfect weather, just-right water flows, and great conditions.
The itinerary this year was the same as for our 2012 "twentieth anniversary of getting engaged" trip: the lower Sisquoc River loop. In 2012, the trip took five days. Six years have passed since then though. This means that on this trip Vicki and I are older. Vicki in particular is coming up on 60. Nowadays her first choice for vacation isn't backpacking; however much she loves the wilderness, the hard movement takes a physical toll. But Katie and Tricia have gotten bigger and tougher in six years. The combination of older, bigger and tougher means that, with careful planning and weight distribution (more on the girls, almost nothing on Vicki), we were able to do the loop again, this time in six days.
At Nira Trailhead parking:
Getting started (notice the girls' packs):
I started out this trip with a little less weight than in 2012 (big loads but relatively short distances so that that Vicki can join us - it's all so, so worth it):
The San Rafael Wilderness is one of the real gems of California's back country venues. It's relatively unknown (I've gone for literally days back there solo without seeing another person), and just gorgeous. It's lower reaches, along Manzana Creek look like this:
The first ten miles of this loop trip are on Manzana Creek. The first day ends at Manzana Schoolhouse Camp, where this creek joins the Sisquoc River. There's little elevation change in that ten miles, but the trail crosses the creek 33 times (!!). We wore river-type shoes the whole day:
This shot shows the last hundred yards of the trail into Schoolhouse Camp. Wheat Peak is in the background. On our 1992 "engagement" backpacking trip, Vicki and I continued a quarter mile past the campsite to a bivy on the south bank of the Sisquoc, under Wheat Peak. That's where we got engaged:
Manzana Schoolhouse is a wonderful springtime destination. We got there early enough for the girls to "chill" (to use the vernacular favored by our now 22 year old recent college graduate):
End of the day stretches:
Setting up camp:
DAY TWO:
Day two started with a pretty but chilly morning:
Then we were off, across Manzana Creek and up the Sisquoc:
In 1992 and 2012 the obvious trail out of Schoolhouse stayed on the river floodplain. This route gained no elevation, but required repeated river crossings. In early 2018 the Los Padres Forest Association Volunteers re-worked the old trail for three miles. The old trail takes a higher route on a bench above the river. The new trail requires some 150 feet of elevation gain, but overall is easier:
One advantage of hiking higher is that there are really great views of the river (the disadvantage was that, unlike on the 2012 trip, this year we did not pass the site where Vicki and I were camping when we got engaged):
As always the trail along the middle part of the lower river is sporadic. This is understandable though; the floodplain here is broad, and floods come every 10 or 20 years. Keeping a trail in existence along the floodplain is hard. So in part the trail moves up on benches and in part it just crosses the river a lot:
I realized on this trip that, after all these many years of hiking and backpacking, the two girls could easily, easily do a trip like this without me, just the two of them. Or either could go solo and be just fine. Continuing with the thought: in a way, this was a dream trip. Not only did I have all three (five) girls along, Katie and Tricia were both totally "on" all the "chores" involved in a trip like this. From finding the trail to finding and making a campsite (including set-up, clean-up and cooking, all of it), both girls did their "share" plus, plus.
Of course one "disadvantage" that arises from their skill and strength is that they did not always wait up for us (and sometimes got as far as three miles ahead before letting Vicki and I catch up). Here they are on a river bench, way, way ahead (squint for this shot, looking for two little blobs just up and left of center):
We lunched in Mormon Camp, on rock benches that others had left:
We're off up-river after lunch:
Not all river crossings are alike. Some are easy:
Some not so much:
We spent our second night at Miller Base Camp. Grass, oaks, and afternoon sun:
Oh, and removing sticker-burrs from thick retriever fur:
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 2, 2018 - 07:51am PT
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DAY THREE:
Three beauties in the morning sun:
Food scraps to rule them both, food scraps to find them, food scraps to bring them both and in the morning bind them:
Day three started with a river crossing right out of camp (surprise). Here are Vicki and Tricia getting going again, after changing shoes:
And then the girls (four of them) were off, at their own pace:
We all tended to gather again when the river crossings got close together:
Recent rains left interesting drying mud:
Above Cliff Camp the pattern changed and we followed trails up on the canyon slope for almost three miles:
Sometimes though the side-of-the-canyon trails go way into side canyons. The distance is longer then, but the hiking is way easier:
Looking up-canyon at some of the least crowded large wilderness in California:
A perfect rest rock:
Parts of the Sisquoc were sparsely settled up to around 100 years ago. Ruins (and some non-ruins, like the 101 year old schoolhouse at Manzana Schoolhouse Camp) remain:
As with our 2012 trip, we spent night three in Sycamore Camp.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 2, 2018 - 07:53am PT
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DAY FOUR:
Sycamore Camp was chilly on our fourth morning. We knew that the cold wouldn't last though:
We started the morning with a river crossing, regrouped afterward, and then two bad-ass daughters headed up the trail:
While me and my beloved moved out at our own pace:
The Sisquoc canyon narrows in this area, an area centered on the Forrester's Leap side-canyon. Cliffs make hiking on the river hard. Instead, the trail moves up the canyon wall and then down to a crossing. The pattern repeats about five times. We knew we'd see the human girls at the next crossing when we spotted this retrieving fanatic in the river, expecting a stick (NOW!):
And yep, there are the humans. And there goes a stick:
We do a lot of climbing and hiking with our friends the Dawsons. They've never been on the Sisquoc River with us though. But the oranges that they give us from their wonderful tree now have:
There were lots and lots of zenas (I think that's what these are) this year:
And then up and out of the river. Vicki is easy to see in this photo. Check out the background though for two monster hikers that she and I raised; they're already across the river again and heading up switchbacks:
Vic enjoys the trips at her own pace:
The afternoon heat got to Vicki this day. I wetted her bandana and hat when I could:
And used the river to cool myself down too:
We finally met up with the girls again near South Fork Camp:
Although Vic wasn't looking forward to it, we also decided to grind out the 2.5 miles of uphill to White Ledge Canyon now, after the heat of the day was done. But it was still warm. And exposed:
Of all the times I've been through and camped at White Ledge Camp, I've seen other people there (or nearby) on one occasion. This evening was different though. Nine people shared the camp (all were very pleasant neighbors). Is word getting out about this secluded and perfect "off-season" backpacking area?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 2, 2018 - 03:57pm PT
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DAY FIVE:
In 2012 we made it from Sycamore Camp out to the car in two days. The effort ground me to a pulp then, and all three girls were pretty tired too.
This year, the shorter hike from Sycamore to White Ledge Camp was a push, but we were all OK afterward. The next morning we were fresh and ready again:
Some morning reading (with friends):
Tricia got new hiking shoes just before the trip. Before that she'd gotten a new pack, one that fits her perfectly (thanks for the help Rosie). This trip she was very pleased with both:
She also thought my "hat hair" was pretty funny:
The morning was taken up by the hike up out of White Ledge Canyon:
Soon we were on the edge of Manzana Creek's canyon (it is a loop trip):
Switchbacks lead down into the canyon and then to Manzana Narrows Camp:
When Vicki and I were halfway between the bottom of the switchback and Narrows Camp, we heard the funniest and certainly strangest comment of the trip.
We'd come across four frenchmen hiking up-canyon. One spoke English well. Another, one who's English wasn't as good, started asking us what we knew of ticks and Lyme disease. He'd had a tick bite him and he was a little worried. Vicki and I explained that only certain ticks carry the disease and that it was unlikely to be passed on from a tick that hadn't been "in" for more than 24 hours.
Vicki carried on further, explaining how to clean and sterilize the wound. She advised using alcohol for sterilizing. "Do you have any alcohol?" Oh yes, they had some. However the fluent English speaker looked concerned. After a moment's thought he exclaimed, with alarm: "but that is for drinking!"
Oh well, I guess priorities are priorities. And partners may not always come first ;)
Narrows Camp is well-shaded and has nice, deep pools. I've never not at least stopped there for a break (and I've camped there many times):
We made Ray's Camp that afternoon, with extra time left over for relaxing:
Ray's is only five miles from Nira Trailhead, so this fifth day set us up for an early exit (and food - we were running a little short by this point).
DAY SIX:
Gear is an odd thing. Sometimes it lasts forever. And then it doesn't. This trip a plastic bowl and two small lighters that I've backpacked with since the 1980s all failed/broke on the same day. And a pair of reading glasses I've used for more than 10 years did too.
At least I was able to salvage the reading glasses for the rest of the trip (to, of course, serious eye-rolls from the daughters):
We’d had just enough food left for a light dinner last night. This morning we had enough for a light breakfast (but with coffee - Vicki always gets her coffee), and nothing more. We were literally out of food, not a morsel left after the last meal on a six day trip (in retrospect, another freeze dried dinner and about six bars would have been perfect). Luckily we only had five miles to hike to the car.
With a five mile hike, there aren't many photos of our last day. I took a few though of one tree.
I've been hiking through this part of the Manzana Canyon since 1980. I've been up and down it 25 times or so. And every time I've been there I've seen one "out of place" big cone spruce, right on the canyon floor. Big cone spruce usually grow up at higher elevation, and in cooler, north-facing draws. One can only imagine the flash flood 75 or 100 years ago that likely carried tons of rocks and debris and thousands and thousands of seeds down this far into the Manzana. And of all the seeds, one grew.
This is one of my favorite trees anywhere, this big cone spruce:
We drove home after finishing the trail. We cleaned up and got ready to enjoy Sunday, April 1 at home. Easter Sunday. And April Fools Day. But, more importantly, Tricia's 16th birthday. For her birthday we went to a matinee production of "Mama Mia" at our local (and excellent) Sierra Reparatory Theater. Here's proof that yes, my girls can clean up:
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Craig Fry
Trad climber
So Cal.
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How many more miles?
Keep the TR going till the end
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David Knopp
Trad climber
CA
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Hey Brad! Are your dogs duck tollers? And all girls on your trip... lucky you!
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Norton
climber
The Wastelands
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gee I love following this thread, reading every word and looking at the pictures, thanks!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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old news, some guy on mud n crud already posted your trip report!
welcome back
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 2, 2018 - 06:49pm PT
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Once we get back on the PCT this summer we've got just under 750 more miles to Canada. It's looking like we'll finish after Tricia finishes high school though (summer of 2020). Until then her school-related stuff will limit how much summer time we can take to go up there.
David: yes, our dogs are Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers. Charlotte is our third of the breed and Halifax is number four.
Munge: that old geezer on Mudn'Crud is outta control. In fact there are a lot of old geezers on Mudn'Crud who are out of control.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 3, 2018 - 12:06pm PT
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One of the great things about Supertopo is the very broad knowledge-base of its members.
Thanks clifff for the clarification about Phlox. I've never heard of them before.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Apr 19, 2018 - 10:27pm PT
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I haven't visited the forum often in the last few years. I immediately looked for the continuation of this thread. I'm hoping there is more.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Apr 20, 2018 - 07:11am PT
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Nice report on the San Rafeal! That's great backpacking country, in winter anyway.
She Who Must Be Obeyed and I just did Section F first week of April, Tehachapi to Walker Pass. That gives us 948 miles of PCT. It must be the toughest section, 21 mile water carries and all that. We expected to have it all to ourselves, but ran into four thruhikers. They were all knocking out 25 mile days. Also six section hikers, all southbound.
Loved the views.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 23, 2018 - 08:26am PT
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healyje, that's really good news!
Besides Tricia's limited availability this summer, trail closures from last year's fires are going to be our biggest obstacles this year. If would be nice if that part of the trail does open. An even bigger concern is the currently-closed section at around mile 1946, in the Sisters Wilderness (we're at mile 1904, so if that section of trail doesn't open relatively early...).
I had no idea Gary that you too were a PCT hiker. Are all your PCT miles in California?
And that's early as hell for through-hikers, but I'll bet they plan to hit Kennedy Meadows South and then take a few weeks off while snow melts (maybe not though - we still fondly remember the British hiker "Sprocket" from the summer of 2016 - he was clear up near Shasta by the end of June then and hadn't skipped any of the trail).
And Seamstress, I'm hoping there is more too! I'd like to see more starting in early July.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Apr 26, 2018 - 05:36am PT
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Are all your PCT miles in California?
Negative. Our good friend, Lightened Up, section hiked the trail, doing about 500 miles per summer. We joined him in Oregon and hiked Fish Lake to Crater Lake, and then again from Stehekin to Manning Park. That was a gorgeous section, we're looking forward to doing more of Washington.
I enjoy your reports very much.
In 2009, the thruhikers gave her the trail name of Snake Lady.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Apr 26, 2018 - 06:52am PT
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She Who Must Be Obeyed and/or Snake Lady
Nice.
Good to see you Brad, and Tricia at Pinns Sunday.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Apr 26, 2018 - 07:26am PT
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Almost forgot:
And that's early as hell for through-hikers, but I'll bet they plan to hit Kennedy Meadows South and then take a few weeks off
Nope, they were going to bomb on through. They were traveling awfully light to be headed into the Sierra in April, though.
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Jun 19, 2018 - 01:08pm PT
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Looking forward to updates.
she's guiding backpacking trips in Yosemite this summer Sweet gig. Definitely beats flipping burgers for 3 months (speaking as someone who worked under the Golden Arches for 2 years in college). What age range is she leading?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2018 - 04:47pm PT
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The clients Katie is working with are all adults. So far they've included, as examples, a younger, just-married couple, two brothers in their 50s, people like that.
She's also been helping other guides by "portering." My tiny little 5' 11" daughter's been carrying up to 60 pounds at a time up 3,000 feet of elevation gain. She's tough.
I gotta stop there. If I start in on all the ways we're proud of her, this post will never end.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Jun 19, 2018 - 05:05pm PT
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How does she feel about carrying haul bags filled with pitons, beaks, and cams? Oh and water? Between 2 and 17 miles? I have certain backcountry wall objectives I have no intent on carrying a haul bag full of gear for! heheheh
Btw, have fun on the PCT!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2018 - 05:26pm PT
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^^^
She loves her Uncle Mungy and I'm sure she would gladly carry huge loads for you deep into the back country... for the right price ;)
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 30, 2018 - 08:30am PT
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We passed PCT mile 2,000 near the end of yesterday’s 17.1 mile hike. And finished the trip at mile 2,001.
What incredible country in the weather conditions we had (that is, perfect). We had a fantastic trip.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Jun 30, 2018 - 08:41am PT
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Welcome back Mountainyoungs! 2001 miles!
Munge, combining Outward Bound and child labor! What this society needs!
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Jun 30, 2018 - 09:28am PT
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2001 miles is pretty good for a broken old man averaging 0.020 mph. ;D
(Yeah, I did the math.)
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 30, 2018 - 09:35am PT
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^^^
Ouch.
Remind me to introduce you to the concept of “penalty slack.”
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johntp
Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
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Jun 30, 2018 - 02:03pm PT
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The tale that keeps on giving a better view of humanity. Thanks mtnyoung
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Jun 30, 2018 - 02:26pm PT
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I think you're supposed to wait to tell me that until I'm already on the sharp end.
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johntp
Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
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Jun 30, 2018 - 04:35pm PT
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I think you're supposed to wait to tell me that until I'm already on the sharp end.
Isn't it not said out loud, just done?
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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Jun 30, 2018 - 08:15pm PT
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Here's what's waiting for you in only 1,000 km or so. About 30 days steady hiking, so maybe in 2019?
Note prototype 'wall' in background, soon to be replicated on Mexico/USA border. Corruption, incompetence, racism, laundered money, bribes and grift only go so far. Bigliest wall you ever saw, eh?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 4, 2018 - 09:36pm PT
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I started a thread on Mudn'Crud about our just-finished trip. It's titled:" Peaks, Passes, Trails…”
Here are the first two of eight days.
June 20 and 21:
This thread’s title: “Peaks, Passes, Trails…” describes a lot of what we experienced in this wonderful part of central Oregon. But it also ends without really ending. The list isn’t quite complete. In fairness the list should also include mosquitos by the ton, literally hundreds of lakes, at-times endless forest, open volcanic country and, eventually, incredible, incredible views. We also passed a pretty signifiant milestone at the end of the last day.
We’re far enough north in this adventure now that we need basically a full day to drive back to the trail. On this trip we planned to drive past our last end point at Willamette Pass, directly to a campground near huge Waldo Lake. A campground there would serve as an ideal base for three days of hiking and three nights of camping.
But the National Weather Service gets a word about plans like this. And it can supply good news and bad news. Here, the good news was that the weather looked fantastic for all of our planned hiking days. The bad news though was that on the afternoon and evening of our drive, thunderstorms and hard rain would pound the whole area.
At our age, setting up camp in pouring rain just isn’t high on our “fun” list. We checked into a motel in Chemult, on Highway 97, 40 miles from Willamette Pass (it turned out to be a good decision, it did pound rain):
Our start the next day was routine. But after this long off the trail, it was really, really nice to get going again:
Vicki walked us from the trailhead to the trail:
And then we started a pattern that lasted for much of our first four days, hiking in forests:
To and past lakes. On this first day we passed the three very pretty Rosary lakes (the dogs just love lakes):
The PCT guidebook describes the many lakes along the first 45 miles of this trip this way: “they support a superabundant mosquito population from late spring through mid-July.” Yep. It is after all mid-June and we knew what to expect before we even started. Superabundant is an ideal descriptor. The lower elevation lakes aren’t terrible, but most of the lakes above 5,000 feet are. Mosquitos. Billions of them. I didn’t take any photos.
The trail climbs briefly out of the Rosary Lakes. On the climb we gained one clear spot that provided the only “grand vista” of the day. And what a view, looking south over the Rosary Lakes, and, beyond, to the much bigger Odell and Crescent Lakes:
We also got a glimpse southward to Diamond Peak. This peak had been shrouded in smoke when we passed it last September. It wasn’t today:
Mount Thielsen from the north:
Per plan, after just over nine miles, we exited the PCT on a side trail to the Waldo Lake Road to meet up with Vicki (A short hike today to set us up for a medium hike tomorrow and a 22 plus miler on day three). Here the girls are waiting for Tricia to catch up at the “exit” trail trail-junction:
While we were hiking, Vicki drove over and set up camp (complete with a few cans of a seemingly-appropriate beer):
A great day. An easy and short hike, but smoothly executed and with great weather. Once again we were on our way!
June 22:
Often, while the girls and I hike, Vicki does “driving recons” of possible pick-up/drop-off locations or of places to camp. It’s part of how this family adventure is fun for her too. She’s been doing this now for years. We’re careful in our planning and in our preparatory discussions. And, for example, she’s never failed to be at a pick-up spot (she was an hour “late” once though - that was cause for worry).
She did such a reconnaissance yesterday. While we were hiking she tried to drive a seven mile long dirt road from Waldo Lake to a campground at Irish Lake. The campground there is just slightly off the PCT and would make the perfect destination for a 15 mile, second day’s hike.
Unusually for Vicki, this time she failed.
Vicki got two miles out on the road and turned around. Apparently the road was so bad that even turning around was an epic. Here’s a woman who’s so determined to “get there” that in trying to get to us on one trip she inflicted thousands and thousands of dollars of damage on the Expedition (that was in 2011, and we don’t talk about it). And yesterday she couldn't drive this seven mile road.
As seems often the case in life, we saw later that this failure was actually fortuitous. When we eventually hiked past Irish Lake, it was swarming with furiously famished mosquitos (whereas camp at Waldo Lake was only bad early and late in the day). Also, I ran into a “four wheel drive” enthusiast partway through the trip who laughed at any attempt to drive that road, saying he’d only ever seen ATVs there.
But for now the “failure” required a change of plans. Instead of a 15 mile second day, we’d do a really short eight mile day. And then, instead of a 22 mile third day, we’d do 27.6 miles to the Elk Lake trailhead as a backpack with with one night out.
Here's the Bobby Lake Trailhead as we get ready to hike back out to the PCT:
Lots of forest hiking again today:
To our surprise we found some snow on the trail:
First we laughed at the small amounts of snow (so different from last year’s difficult hikes). And then (in honor of those hikes) we fed it to the dogs:
With one exception, today’s hike was forest marching. The one exception was a rock-outcrop vista point that allowed great views of Diamond Peak to the south and Waldo Lake to the west (Waldo is so big that I couldn’t fit the whole thing into the viewfinder):
More snow:
Here’s a photo of Tricia changing her shoe-sole inserts. This photo matters because, eventually, these inserts made us change our plans again (the inserts were recommended by her doctor, but Tricia used them incorrectly for the first three days and her feet suffered, and as a result we had to allow more rest time and do shorter hikes than we’d intended - but even this turned out well, allowing us more days on the best part of the hike):
And finally a barely visible teaser shot of what's ahead. We got this view through the trees of a triangular peak and a snow-clad behemoth nearby. I think we were looking at South Sister (the behemoth) and, to its right, an end-on shot of Broken Top (making it look smaller and steeper than it looks from the sides). I'm still not sure that I've identified them correctly. But, whatever their names, they were big. We were impressed:
Our short day ended at Charlton Lake Trailhead. Vicki hiked out to meet us at the lake itself (so many, many lakes in this part of the Cascades!):
Things happen and plans change. We were forced to change here (again). So be it; we kept moving right along.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
ne'er–do–well
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Super stoked to see this update.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 5, 2018 - 06:50am PT
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Thanks. I was pretty stoked to finally get back out there. Here are the next two days.
June 23:
On day three we headed back out from Charlton Lake Trailhead, north to Elk Lake near Mount Bachelor (who’s that elf in the second picture, behind the car?):
Charlton Butte burned some years ago. We got some views into the distance. Tricia loved the “Pick-up Sticks” pattern of the now-fallen trees:
We quickly passed into a Wilderness that I’ve often heard about and longed to visit:
And then lake after lake after lake. Irish Lake:
Brahma Lake:
Jezebel Lake for lunch:
Stormy Lake:
And an unnamed “lake” that’s just a puddle. No outlet and no inlet. Snow-melt that diminishes in size as the season goes by:
Am I exaggerating about the lakes? Maybe, but maybe not. There’s not a lot else to see when hiking in such forest. Here, for the discerning reader, is a photo of the area’s map. Lakes? Yeah, just a few (the PCT is shown by the red line):
Desane Lake:
And, finally, S Lake, where, after 16.4 miles, we decided to camp:
The lakes and forests we passed through seemed strangely sterile. Not lifeless, that would be silly. But we saw no fish, no mammals and only one species of bird (a grey and white beauty about the size of our Scrub Jays). Of course we were just passing through and not searching. But less diversity, less life than we expected.
Except for the mosquitos (and really, they’re not “diverse” either). The only refuge in the evening was in the tent (and then it took ten minutes to hunt and kill the invaders who entered the tent with each human):
Dinner was peanut butter sandwiches and bars (no stove needed with just one night out). With the long days of late June, we were fast asleep by dark.
June 24:
The PCT comes within 0.9 mile of Oregon Highway 46 near Elk Lake, west of Mount Bachelor. We intended to come off the trail there and meet Vicki. It worked as planned.
First, the four of us were up at the crack of dawn (along with the 20 billion local residents). Breakfast was cold, homemade “overnight oats.” Vicki and Tricia “cooked” up this idea. Normal three-minute oats combined with water, chopped fruit, a few containers of coffee cream and some agave nectar packets. Left overnight in a ziplock.
It worked as planned too. Oh, except for the part about not having a bowl or a spoon with which to eat near-liquid oatmeal. Crap. Well, necessity is the mother of invention, right (or something like that)? Did you know reader that now-empty Pringles cans will hold enough oatmeal for two? Neither did we. We know now:
More forest-hiking today past lakes:
We crossed Reserve Meadow which seemed to us quite similar to typical Sierra Nevada meadows:
Island Meadow was very big and continuous:
Early to bed and early to rise made us fast on the trail. By 11:30 we’d made the 11 miles to our exit for the day. As it turns out, the exit trail goes through recently burned areas too. For the first time we got mostly-open views of some of central Oregon’s magnificent Cascades. Here are Mount Bachelor and Elk Lake from the PCT:
And, finally, close enough to really impress, this beauty - South Sister:
Tricia’s feet were alarmingly painful by now (beaten up by the improperly used inserts earlier, she was having some trouble recovering overnight). Also, both of us had on at least 20 pounds each of accumulated mosquito repellent.
We decided we needed a rest day. We met up with Vicki and talked about options. This was a Sunday afternoon and, in Vicki’s words, the whole Elk Lake area was a zoo (no parking, every nearby campsite taken, every lake surface area in the vicinity covered with kayaks, SUPs and other types of boats as local Oregonians made full use of a glorious and gorgeous summer weekend day).
We bailed to Bend, 40 minutes away (what a fantastic town too!!).
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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What an amazing legacy and experience to share with your kids, what a lesson in sticking with something. Pretty cool! Makes me smile.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 5, 2018 - 08:11pm PT
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June 26:
Holy wow! There’s simply no question about it.
Over the years that we’ve been hiking the PCT I’ve often been asked: “what’s your favorite part?” Single favorite part? Damn, that’s a really tough question. Asking that is kinda like asking: “what’s your favorite pizza?” There’s so many good parts/pizzas, that choosing just one can, at times, seem impossible.
I suppose though that, if pressed, I’d select the ten miles south of Sonora Pass as my favorite part of the trail so far. The jaw-dropping views, the exposure, the whole feel of the area. I could hike that section every summer week and never get tired of it.
If I could add to the list, the “High Trail” from Agnew Meadow to Thousand Island Lake might come in second. On that segment it seems as if one can magically reach out across the canyon and touch Ritter, Banner and The Minarets. They look like they’re that close.
Today we hiked into the north part of Oregon’s Three Sisters Wilderness. And I’ve now got another absolute favorite place on the PCT. Holy wow indeed.
Our plan was to start late and go only a little over ten miles for the day (we think that Tricia’s feet are lightly bruised from wearing the inserts wrong and so we’re going to do this leg in three days instead of the two we’d originally planned).
South Sister and Broken Top from the drive out from Bend:
Fresh and ready to go:
As sometimes happens with human perceptions, the 0.9 mile walk back to the trail seemed half as long going in as it did coming out:
Forest hiking followed, although the lower elevation and drier conditions meant that we had only a few of the voracious winged predators for the first miles:
We got excited by this almost-unobstructed view of South Sister (little did we know that “almost-unobstructed” wouldn’t be a factor for very much longer):
And then, from the top of Koosah Mountain, to the south, nearly 80 miles away, Mount Thielsen again (I still really, really like this peak):
Mount Bachelor to the east:
On that mountain top we also started seeing signs of more recent volcanic activity:
From Koosah we dropped down into the forest (and more residual snow):
We came to the wonderfully named, self explanatory Sisters Mirror Lake (it wasn’t still enough to act as a mirror when we were there):
So much pollen that it looks like paint:
More flat forest past The House Rock:
And then it all changed. We got 75 feet onto Wickiup Plain and saw this:
Tricia and I have hiked a lot of trail together. Thousands of miles now on the PCT and hundreds and hundreds of miles off it. And yet this pumice flat, this Wickiup Plain grabbed us anyway. Dry and mosquito-free, flat and easy to hike. But mostly just shockingly beautiful. Our younger dog Halifax ran about like a wild-woman. Tricia and I found ourselves giggling. She even claims I was swearing (as in “oh my #$%&$ God”):
Next to the plain, between it and South Sister was Rock Mesa. Recent volcanic rock. Bald, jumbled and piled up. Primeval looking:
We soon came to a transition zone between the pumice and older terrain, moving into Mesa Meadow:
Here we found more beauty, consisting of green grass and trees, flowers everywhere and a full and flowing creek. And unfortunately, again, winged beasts. Well, with the better and with the worse, this was home for the evening:
Tricia napped a bit (without mosquitos) while the dogs and I looked around:
And this shot. Is it a joy or a privilege to act as a human chin rest for two wonderful friends? Or both:
Coming up, our middle/full day in the gorgeous, gorgeous northern Three Sisters Wilderness!
June 27:
I love hiking. I love hiking with my daughters and with my wife. The dogs too. I love the desert and the plains. And the mountains. Every day hiking is a good day.
But inevitably some days are better than others. And today’s hike, what we did on June 27, was absolutely “the money.” Hiking - and life - simply does not get any better than this.
Although I woke up at my customary, in-the-mountains, 5:30 a.m., I stayed as quiet as possible so that Tricia could get extra sleep (she’s a teenager and needs it). It worked; we didn’t start hiking until almost 9:00, but we had all day to go only 14 miles and Tricia got extra rest.
Easy, semi-forest walking early in the day:
Early views of South Sister:
First signs of last year’s fire:
Approaching now Middle Sister:
The day's first view of The Husband:
Sharing the trail with butterflies:
A snack break at Reid Lake (everyone we talked to called it by that name, but it’s not so designated on any map):
More sections of snow (in open, wonderful, alpine terrain):
Tricia catching up after a break:
The husband in front of The Husband:
And then we started to climb a little. Still in volcanic, open country. I looked south. And the view dropped my jaw. Diamond Peak and Mount Thielsen (Thielsen by now over 100 air miles away and, visible next to it the peaks that surround Crater Lake):
And what’s that little white blob between Diamond Peak and Thielsen? A mountain? Yes. Mount McLoughlin there and visible, what, 130 miles south of us. Unbelievable (this pixelated photo was taken with telephoto and also then blown up):
Moving right along to a point due west of Middle Sister:
By three miles later we were approaching serious lava country. Recent stuff, deposited hundreds, not thousands of years ago. My jaw had started to recover. And then we saw this to the north:
Good God! Can it get any better?
Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Mount Jefferson, and yes, Mount Hood. All lined up and viewed across unbelievable fields of lava rock.
We kept hiking. No, maybe we were almost floating over the trail by now. What country. What views. What weather. More heavy lava country:
And then the view changed to this:
Now we weren’t only looking at Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Mount Jefferson, and Mount Hood from this high point on the trail. There, to the right of Hood, tucked into a low point between lesser peaks was a white blob. Mount Adams. In Washington State. Here’s a highly pixelated close-up:
Now certainly floating (not hiking), we kept going across the lava:
And found “home” for the night near Minnie Scott Spring, still among substantial snow at 6,600 feet:
What a day.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
ne'er–do–well
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Nice photo- all those peaks strung out like that.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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Hmm, you may get to Canada sooner than I'd thought. Maybe this year?
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John M
climber
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I love the Sisters area. Beautiful country. I spent a good part of a summer near and on the Metolius river, which is just above Sisters, OR. Feeding the fish at the Wizard Falls fish hatchery is fun. And the river is beautiful, though it gets crowded. The Metolius River comes up out of a ground as a spring. The color is amazing.
Thanks for taking us along!
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado & Nepal
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Thank you. I love reading this thread every year!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 6, 2018 - 07:32am PT
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Hmm, you may get to Canada sooner than I'd thought. Maybe this year?
There's actually no chance of that Anders.
Tricia's schedule this summer will limit us to one more ten day trip on which we'll likely make to the west slope of Mount Hood.
She's leaving today with Vicki for a special Girl Scout backpacking camp that she absolutely loves. Vicki will be a counselor to younger girls for a week while Tricia is part of a group that spends a few days preparing and then goes backpacking for 12 days. That ends July 25, and we'll pick her up from it on our way back north to the trail (by the time we finish that trip she'll have been away from home for one full month).
We've got to be back here on August 5 so that Tricia can try out for the girls high school volleyball team (which she also loves and will very likely make).
She'll have similar limitations next summer. So, I think we'll get well through Washington next year and then finish the trail the summer after she graduates from high school (2020).
Katie may join us on some of this next 2018 trip.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 6, 2018 - 07:39am PT
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I love the Sisters area.
John,
I hadn't spent much time in Oregon, other than on its coast, until our PCT trips.
So far, the whole Bend and Central Cascades areas have been very, very impressive. Fantastic country and wonderful town. I'd love to look around/explore there more. I think I could see myself living there (if I didn't already live where I love it too - the central Sierra Nevada).
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 6, 2018 - 01:32pm PT
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And, finally, the last two days. What an excellent trip.
June 28:
Today we were both up early. I tried to let Tricia sleep in, but she was up at ten-after-six ready to get ready. And that was fine by me; today was another “Vicki” day. We’d start with an eight mile hike to Lava Camp, a drive-in campground where Vicki had camped the night before.
We were hiking by just after 7:00. Lots of lava fields and lots of forest. We passed north of North Sister:
Quickly we were at the turnoff to Lava Camp (we’d drop packs with Vicki, get caught up with her too, and then go back and finish the trail to Highway 242):
After eight miles done before 10:00, we enjoyed the rest of the morning in a leisurely fashion, in camp with Vicki. Shortly after noon we walked back over to the PCT. The trail now crossed pure beds of lava, and we were anxious to see how this type of trail would be to walk:
We had open views of the Sisters to the south:
Getting closer and closer to Mount Washington:
And views of Belknap Crater, which we’d pass tomorrow, on our way past Mount Washington. Oh, and a little odd bump too. It shows in the foreground of the first photo below:
In 1927 the CCC built an “observatory” next to highway 242. It was named after the man who inspired it, Dee Wright. The Dee Wright observatory isn’t for watching stars, its for seeing the surrounding area. And it’s made of local rock, so it blends in completely with the surrounding terrain.
Actually, so does the highway. We couldn’t see any of it until we were within 50 feet:
Other views of Belknap Crater showed odd and interesting “islands” of forest contained within lava fields:
We crossed the highway and kept on to the PCT trailhead a tenth of a mile further. Vicki and the dogs met us there (we let them have the short afternoon off so their paws would be a little fresher for tomorrow):
The hiking day ended with a visit to the observatory. It’s a very interesting “building.” We thought the “lava tubes” were particularly cool. In addition to the regular window-like openings on the first floor there were almost a dozen fairly narrow tunnels in the walls, each “aimed” directly at a nearby peak or crater:
After our visit we had a fine evening in Lava Camp as we prepared for the next day’s hike (our last for the trip).
June 29:
The PCT strip-map starts its description of the next peak to our north this way: “at 7,794 feet, Mount Washington is modest in elevation.” Modest? I guess that 7,700 feet isn’t actually all that tall. By Sierra Nevada standards it’d be a pimple. But it’s all relative isn’t it? When all of the surrounding terrain is at 5,000 or 5,500 feet and a peak stands out like an outright spire, it just doesn’t appear all that “modest” to me.
Our last day, from Highway 242 to Highway 20, centered on Mount Washington. We started south of it and by the end of the day it was firmly in the rear view mirror. We’ll see it again though and I’ll never forget it (or the other Cascades). What a beauty.
But first the lava fields.
We drove over to McKenzie Pass:
The hiking starts in the forest “islands:”
And then the trail crosses almost two continuous miles of lava:
Looking back at Highway 242 and the observatory:
We worried about the dog’s paws, but they seemed fine (maybe a little sore at the end of the day). Meanwhile, are they yawning or laughing in this photo:
Back onto dirt, and then to lava, and getting closer and closer to this impressive peak:
Burned-over forest on Washington's south side. And a Tricia photo of dead and sculpted wood:
Moving around to the mountain’s west side:
Last views of Diamond Peak and The Husband to the south:
As we got well north of Mount Washington, we neared Big Lake and the oddly impressive Hayrick Butte on its other side:
Looking up the trail to the north, Three Fingered Jack, the next big peak, is coming into view:
Vicki drove around to meet us at 13.5 miles into the day:
Some rest with her, and then off to finish the last 3.6 miles of the trip:
Oh, and on the way, to cross PCT mile 2,000. Two thousand continuous miles of hiking from the Mexican border. Two thousand continuous miles of hiking since the day after she turned five years old. She’s not five years old any more. The two thousand mile point:
I think it's fair to say that the PCT has been a big part of Tricia's life:
Vicki hiked south from the trailhead to join us. Once we turned around it was a quick mile to the Santiam Pass PCT Trailhead:
Mount Washington from Highway 20/Santiam Pass:
And that wrapped up a wonderful trip. A total of 95.4 miles on the PCT and 7.5 miles getting to and from it. Oh, and tons of fun!
Off we went back south:
Through Bend and back home (to rest and prepare for the next trip - coming up sooner than it seems - we’ll be at it again at the end of July).
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2018 - 08:55am PT
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I posted on Mudn'Crud about our recent PCT Trip. It's under the name:
The PCT Volume 36: Very, Very Satisfactory
Here are the first two days:
Day One:
Another excellent and successful trip. We started with a long drive to Bend by way of Tricia’s Girl Scout camp near Kirkwood (she’d just spent 12 out of the last 15 days backpacking in the Hoover Wilderness).
“We” in this case is a little different than the last trip. It includes our friend Alex Dawson. Over the years, Alex and his mom and dad have joined us on many of our PCT trips. He’s now doing his own “piece by piece” hike with them (they’d made it into the southern Sierra by June of this year). He's wanted to do even more of the trail, so he’s “jumping ahead,” joining us again in Oregon.
Our morning in Bend is a little slow. First we re-organize Tricia’s gear. Then we pack everything for this trip. The drive from town to Santiam Pass is easy. It's fairly hot when we get there. And we’re starting our hike in a burned-over, shadeless area. Oh well, there’s no time like the present.
Back on the trail:
A glance south over Highway 20 at Mount Washington:
And then uphill in the heat:
On a map the first four miles up to Three Fingered Jack look easy. Here it is, getting closer:
But I for one am really feeling the heat. Those first four feel like 15, with three-day loads and all uphill. The views are some compensation. In this first photo we can see Bend (well, we can see a long way in its direction anyway):
We cool off a little as we pass “Jack’s” west side:
We reach the north end of the ridge that makes up the peak:
Onto the east side of the ridge, and, suddenly: “next view please.” The periodic views don’t seem to stop up here in the Cascades. In a matter of ten steps, there’s Mount Hood:
Distant views are nice. But so are dramatic close-ups. Looking back on Three Fingered Jack from the north:
By now we were more than 10 miles into it. Unfortunately the forested “relief” we’d had in the west-side forest ends abruptly. After coming around that formation’s north end, we faced miles more of burned-out forest in the heat of the day. First downhill in the heat. Then a break for water (not so many lakes, and no streams, up on this part of the Cascade Crest). Alex was great about running down to this pond to fill the bottles:
“Crest” is the right word too. In spite of the heat, we had long, long and enjoyable views. Here’s Wasco Lake:
Looking southeast toward Bend again (look for the strip in the forest that is Highway 20):
The Cascades to the south, from Three Fingered Jack to The Sisters:
Finally we reached small but pretty Rockpile Lake 13.8 miles from the trailhead. “We.” Actually the kids and our younger dog Halifax got there a full 15 minutes before Charlotte and me (man was I dragging; Char too).
It was late, but we made camp and dinner and still had a little time left to relax in the last of the daylight:
A good day, and a good start.
Day Two:
Today was a full day in a gorgeous wilderness. We had a couple of “bumps,” but days like this are good.
The first bump was our gorgeous and tough older dog Charlotte. She’s hiked so many miles that I couldn’t begin to count them. Her paws stay tough from the hiking and from frequent climbing trips too. And yet the temps were so bad yesterday, the sun so unrelenting, that both dogs were constantly running to shade. And this morning Charlotte is barely able to move because her paws are so sore. Uh-oh. What to do way in the back-country with a relatively immobile dog?
Duct tape is supposed to fix “all,” right? Well, we don’t have any duct tape. We've got other types though. I play veterinarian. She's calm about the whole process.
Once her feet are taped up, Char can move fairly well (and I was very surprised that she never fought the tape after it was on either). We tried to make it as easy for her as we could, and she kept going. Here’s what she looked like at the end of this day:
Other than paw issues, the morning was very nice. It was much cooler and the hiking was smoother (both of which also helped Charlotte’s paws). We hiked mostly along the Cascade Crest, with great views in all directions:
Mount Jefferson dominated our views to the north:
More ridge line above Hunt Lake:
After two thirds of the day’s hike we started to hit the creeks that flow off Jefferson’s west side. Milk Creek, named for the glacial silt that colors it:
We were cruising along by this point. We didn’t even take a break after Milk Creek - only a quick two-mile uphill to go until our intended camp, so we thought we’d “get it over with.” But then we hit “bump” number two.
Just at the last of the uphill, right when we came over the crest from the deep forest, this is what we saw:
Toothpicks. Black, tall toothpicks. Ugly, shadeless and hot as hell, with ground cover that consisted of inches deep dust and ash. Yuck. The 2017 Whitewater Fire had devastated the area where we had intended to stay. The little pond where we’d intended to camp? It was there. No shade, miserably hot, and all the flat spots nearby “poofed” with every footstep. We couldn’t stay there.
It was only six-tenths of a mile to Jeff Creek, so we hiked to it. Nope. Toothpicks and poof. On still further, although by now we were over 15 miles hiked for the day. Russel Creek? Another glacial-melt torrent this one, with warnings about the “dangerous” crossing that needed to be done in the morning, before it became swollen by snow-melt (not to make light of it too much with those quotes - people have been swept away into the gorge below with catastrophic results):
We crossed safely. But the Russel Creek canyon has no flat spots even if its whole canyon wasn’t burned. Onward.
Hot. Uphill. Nearing 18 miles for the day.
Finally, nearing the second Russell Creek, voila, toothpicks to forest within a 50 foot length of trail. What relief. Less than one more mile and we come to the perfect reward, a green, flat camping area with plentiful water and a great view:
We washed up (dust and sweat everywhere; although 13 year-old-boy Alex gets dirty just walking on pavement, even Tricia was dirty today after this last, hideous section of trail):
Although we went over 18 miles (not by choice), and we were pretty pooped, we finished with plenty of time left in the day. Time to visit with “Buzz Kill Bill” (his trail name), a through-hiker from Bishop who is also a climber (that’s his knee in the photo above of Alex laying over the top of his pack).
And time for this evening view of Mount Jefferson (now firmly behind us):
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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So nice.
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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Outstanding as usual Brad.
After a short backpack trip to the Sisters last year, I really want to hike the PCT section along the west side of the sisters. Looks incredible and very diverse. Must have been nice after all that forest hiking south of the Sisters.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2018 - 11:16am PT
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After a short backpack trip to the Sisters last year, I really want to hike the PCT section along the west side of the sisters. Looks incredible and very diverse. Must have been nice after all that forest hiking south of the Sisters.
This is a really big understatement. Make the time to do it!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2018 - 11:18am PT
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Day Three:
An early finish yesterday let us get to bed early and sleep well. So we were up and off earlier this morning.
The first part of the hike was through “Jefferson Park,” a relatively flat, beautiful, lake-filled area of wilderness that isn’t a “park” in the city sense at all (it is pretty heavily used though). Gorgeous and viewful:
After the “park,” we started up Park Ridge (who thought of that name?). Lots of uphill getting up this very alpine ridge:
Looking south at Mount Jefferson:
But the uphill was worth it. At the crest of Park Ridge there’s a whole new set of views to the north. Here, seen from that crest, are Olallie Butte (big and forested), and Mount Hood (self-explanatory). Lots of lesser stuff too:
The dogs’ gaze was focused on a location closer than ours though. SNOW. Yep, their favorite non-food substance. We had to make some play-time:
We continued down the north side of the ridge. Soon we could see Forest Road 4220, Vicki’s path to reach us for a pick-up:
Poor Vicki got caught up in a “bridge-out” road closure though (delaying her for over an hour and stressing her out). She was "late." But we were content. We rested and ate the last of our food (hey, Alex, I said you could have SOME OF my Payday bar):
Vicki showed up, of course:
We dropped off the packs and the dogs (after today Charlotte wasn’t ready to hike again until she’d had three full days of rest). And off then for another six miles to Olallie Lake:
Then a short drive to Olallie Meadow Campground (“Olallie” is what natives call the huckleberry), and a comfortable camp with Vicki:
Day Four:
We started our fourth day with a slow and relaxed morning:
Steam coming from Tricia’s hot chocolate:
Then we had some decisions to make. The terrain and the road situation both change north of Olallie Lake. Plus, a certain 22 year old was driving up to meet us. Should we hike? If so, how far? Where to camp/meet Katie?
Coming up less than four miles from our last end-point was an area where the trail passes up the west side of the Warm Springs Reservation. This area is heavily logged and the dirt logging roads there “change” a lot year by year (even the PCT guidebook mentions this). As best as I could tell, we’d likely need to do 24.6 miles through that area in one push. We could look around some, but it didn't seem likely that we could shorten this. So, for today it seemed logical to hike just under four miles to set us up for the longer leg and then drive north to find camping.
Our less than four miles hike traversed the west side of Olallie Butte on easy terrain:
About the only break in the forest was where the trail passed under high tension wires:
We finished with Olallie Butte well to the south:
A very interesting driving reconnaissance then followed. The maps we had showed possible dirt road pick-up points. We thought we’d check these out and maybe thereby cut the coming, long, 24.6 mile day into two pieces. A discerning reader, seeing the words “very interesting,” might think to themselves: what, in the context of these nut-jobs, do those words mean?
Well, let’s see. How to answer politely…? To start with, the “main” dirt road we took was fine. But then we needed to take a side dirt road. We barely made it. Over three miles Vicki kept it in first gear, four wheel drive and we still barely made it. Dust, bumps, and trees resulted in massive jostling, many stops and tight turns, and, ultimately, scratches to the Ford and a destroyed right running board. But she did it. She did a masterful job of driving really.
The “quality” of this side road left us with an easy decision too. We made it to a better dirt road and unanimously agreed: no way. No way on God’s green earth were any of us going back there. To hell with cutting the distance down, we simply were not driving anywhere near those three miles again.
That decision made, we had only to find a place to camp. Instead, we got lost. After we got off the really bad road, what was there, in that forest by way of roads, bore absolutely no resemblance to what was on our maps. We tried “dead reckoning,” but in a forest? With a third of a tank of gas, no phone reception and no road signs? Sketchy. We kept calm (mostly).
Half an hour of driving passed. Nothing. I used the InReach to text Steve (Alex’s dad). “Where are we relative to Road 42?” (The InReach sends a message that includes a map link with it - Steve could click on this and then text back some idea of where we were.) But nothing again. Steve got the message, but for the first time in either of our experiences ever, the message did not include a link. Crap again. We kept going, now at least headed in the right direction (northwest, thank you very much).
Finally, we stumbled on the road we needed, paved Road 42 (like many such crises, we went from “oh shit” to “thank God” in about three seconds). Relieved, we continued north toward Timothy Lake and our intended camp. (I’ve never, ever, ever seen maps that are so far off that I couldn’t at least reconstruct where I’d been after the fact - even using Google Earth, the Half Mile and strip maps bear no resemblance whatsoever to what we drove).
Once there we tried to put together the remains of a rest day. We set up camp. We ate. Katie texted that she’d be there by 4:30. Then it was time to clean ourselves up (Olallie Meadow Campground is dry and we’d gotten there after the three-day backpack short of water). Tricia and I decided to walk over and at least wash off the dust in the lake (we’d been doing what we could along those lines each day). And Alex? Well, Alex is a 13 year old boy. I was one of those once, and, at least I thought, I know what it is like to be completely unworried about getting and staying dirty. After four days though, I thought he must be pretty dirty and ought to clean up at least a little. Vicki and I insisted that he join us in the lake.
Pretty dirty? He wore long pants hiking for four days. When he took them off to go in the lake? Well, I’m at a loss for words; it can’t be described. Here it is:
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Da-Veed
Big Wall climber
Bigfork
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Good for guys! I've been reading this for years as you progress, its been one of my favorite posts on ST. I have been through the entire Cascades for the last 40 years and the sections you just visited brought back many good memories. Thanks for posting!
The North Cascades are something to look forward to, as well as the Goat Rocks in WA. Keep up the great work!
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Norton
climber
The Wastelands
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I SO look forward to reading this thread !
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2018 - 02:59pm PT
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EDIT: Thanks Norton for the support. I must have posted just seconds after you!
^^^
Yep, looking forward to more of the Cascades. Just today Vicki picked up a map of the state of Washington. I haven't yet looked at the PCT there, but I plan to start soon (even though we're not likely to get back now until next June).
Here are days five and six:
Day Five:
I haven’t hiked more than 21 miles in a single day since I was in my twenties. But none of us wanted to carry full packs for two relatively short days and the road reconnaissance yesterday made it very clear that we weren’t going to cut down the distance (I guess the recon was successful in a way). So we decided to go for the full 24.6 miles in one day. By the end, 24.6 miles didn’t seem all that bad.
Also, to my extreme pleasure, today we’d be joined by a fourth person. Katie has a job this summer guiding backpacking and hiking trips in Yosemite. She loves the job, but, well, Yosemite hasn’t exactly been “open for business” with the Ferguson fire and all. She’d always wanted to check out the Bend area and so she decided to come up and join us for some of this summer’s trail.
Katie got us all up and moving early. We made the drive down from Timothy Lake on the main roads (no diversions and no recons!). We started hiking by 8:15:
A quick 3/10 mile hike got us back to the trail:
And that’s about the extent of the “interesting part” of this hike. Yeah, it was 24.6 miles, but most of that was in deep forest. There were no trail junctions until the end, and so I cut the kids loose to hike at their own pace. Here’s what I saw occasionally:
Mostly though I saw this:
They did wait now and then:
I caught up at Lemiti Creek (a nice looking place to camp, but we only took a break):
And then they were off like a shot again. There followed more hiking in forest (alone). Although mostly "in" forest, we went directly through one clear-cut and got glimpses through trees of others. This made me curious, and, checking later on Google Earth I saw that the whole area is a checkerboard of old and new clear-cuts; the trail mostly stays in the remaining forest, creating only the illusion that the whole area is continuous trees:
Eventually I caught up with the kids again at the only “really nice” place on the hike, Warm Springs River. In spite of the name, the water was very cool and refreshing. We took a nice long lunch:
After lunch we continued north in nice conditions. And I saw something I’ve never seen on a trail. This trail, this PCT was well maintained in this area. Very well maintained. From new erosion banks and log steps to a “re-flattened” tread, the trail had clearly been worked on recently. Oh, and someone had weed-eated (eaten?) both sides of the trail for over two miles. Seriously:
By the last few miles we were all hiking together again. After only 9 1/2 hours we came to our end-point, Road 42 (I’d estimated to Vicki that we’d take 11 hours):
A quick drive back to camp at Timothy Lake then left time for some in-the-lake cleanup, a nice dinner, and some more PCT planning:
Day Six:
Our sixth day was an easy 13.1 miles, split into two sections by a visit to “Little Crater Lake” and lunch with Vicki and Katie (Katie’s knee was slightly sore from the 24 mile day, and since her legs are “working assets” these days, she decided not to hike today).
Off from the trailhead:
Next to the Oak Grove Branch of the Clackamas River:
Quickly to the shores of Timothy Lake (the PCT goes halfway around it, on its shores):
Views across to the campground where we were staying:
Soon we leave the trail to hike over to Little Crater Lake. This is an interesting feature that might better be called “Minuscule Crater Lake.” Minus its garage, our house could fit into it. The “lake” is actually an artisan spring gushing 40 degree water. It’s hard to photograph its wonderful teal color and depth. This shot will have to do:
A nice rest stop with Vic and Katie:
And then off again, forest hiking toward Mount Hood and Highway 26:
Forest marching that is until we came around one corner where the trail is high up on the canyon wall of the Salmon River. The trees part and there’s this view:
Nice mountain!
The highway was an easy hike away:
By mid-afternoon we were back to camp and a relaxing afternoon and evening (this “heavily supported, ultra, ultra slow through-hiking” does have certain advantages).
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johntp
Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
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Once again, thanks for this ongoing saga. This is a really cool thread. A family experience that we be forever remembered by the youth.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2018 - 06:31pm PT
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Thanks john too.
Here are the last two days of this trip (and, most likely, this season):
Day Seven:
This day was kinda yin and kinda yang. Highway to highway forest marching for the first half, a break with Vicki, and then an ascent through forest onto the open flanks of a magnificent mountain.
First though this shot from our morning in camp. I gotta admit that this woman looks very, very nice in pink:
Punks and one mature adult at the Highway 26 trailhead:
Then off, together at first, and then me slowly “letting them” get ahead:
To the PCT trailhead on Highway 35:
After lunch we crossed the highway and started up the southwest side of Mount Hood:
The terrain got more and more alpine:
Soon we could see Timberline Lodge:
We met up with Vicki at the headwaters of the Salmon River:
Then hiked the few hundred yards to the PCT exit point (for the day):
And then a miracle happened. At least it seemed to. Somehow, somehow, I'm not sure by what means, we suddenly made another 256 miles (miles!) of progress north from Mexico in the course of less than five minutes walking:
Miracles are a good way to end hiking days. And this one wrapped up our second to last day of hiking. Notice so far the clean skies for days on end, the lack of clouds and the warm temperatures? That’s about to change….
Day Nine:
After seven straight days, we took a rest day on day eight. This let us regroup and check out future hikes (we drove up to the end-point for the next hike and then continued all the way to the Columbia River and then around). Also, heeding the advice of a certain poster on this site, we visited Huckleberry Inn in the town of Government Camp (she wasn’t kidding about the size of those maple bars, and Huckleberry milkshakes were the perfect antidote to too many straight days of hiking).
When we woke up the next day, intending one more hike, the weather had changed. The night before, the prediction for this day had been for cold and drizzle. That sure looked accurate as we got going.
It was 47 degrees and clouds were blowing through in the Mount Hood parking area:
As always, these two were ready (just give the word - please!):
The cold persisted up at the trail:
This shot shows summer skiers on Mount Hood. I couldn’t believe how small they looked (little dots), but there were lots of them:
And then we were off on a partial traverse of Mount Hood in the clouds:
Alex is 200 feet away and only just visible in this shot:
A lot of this part of the hike consists of getting past the creeks and rivers that start as snow-melt high on Hood. Typically we’d come to the edge of a huge erosion canyon and then switchback down near it, cross the stream/river and then move back up a little.
Here’s the edge of the Zig Zag River erosion canyon:
There’s a creek down there (if someone had told me we were on the Oregon Coastal Trail this day I could have come close to believing them):
Down the switchbacks:
To Zig Zag River:
Repeat for Rushing Water Creek:
And then the biggest canyon of the all (and the biggest set of switchbacks down), the Sandy River:
Mount Hood started making wispy appearances when we took a break on this river:
We were down at low elevation now and we stayed there past a few more creeks. The Muddy Fork crossing:
And then the last big climb of the trip, back into the forest:
We saw Mount Saint Helens (in Washington State) through breaks in the clouds and trees:
Other breaks let us see a very dramatic version of Mount Hood:
And then Lolo Pass, the end of this trip and this year’s very satisfactory PCT season:
Post-script: I told Tricia what I’d posted about Lolo Pass in the Volume 35 thread. I said that I thought Lolo (as in Lolo Pass) was a combination of of the modern acronyms L.O.L. and Y.O.L.O. and that it stood for “Laughing Out Loud Once.”
Her immediate reply was simply: “HA.”
I sure like her ;)
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Climberdude
Trad climber
Clovis, CA
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Thanks for the great trip report Trish, Alex, Katie, Vicki, Brad, Halifax, and Charlotte!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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I just talked to this guy and this pops up?! Collusion!
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Your latest adventure is a good read with beautiful pictures. What happened to the kids? Who are these people? ;-)
The 4WD section of obscure road I can relate to a little more of late, after getting almost stuck while lost on a few of our explorations this summer. These "roads" were suitable for a high clearance jeep with a winch, chainsaw and dead-man. A companion vehicle with similar equipment and like minded mechanic/adventurers to help would be great. Oh, and got to have the extra gas cans too!
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