Monday, May 18, 2009
San Felipe Hills
On the east coast they'd call these mountains.
Moon Boots Close-Up
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Good News!
Okay...so I think most of you following me know by now that my sunglasses were found. I'm super stoked about this and despite the fact that the lenses are a little messed up, I'm relieved that I don't need to spend any time or money for new shades!
What happened was the hiker behind me--a native Englishman named Peter--found them somewhere between Rodriguez Spur Truck Trail and Scissors Crossing. They were just lying there in the middle of the trail! Then for us to both be checking in at the town of Julian (12.5 miles from the PCT) at the same time was very fortunate. Definitely a lifter of spirits for me after dealing with the slow start.
So now I've put a little piece of duct tape on each side of the glasses to hold the croakies on. I definitely don't want a repeat! Between the duct tape shoes and sunglasses, I guess I won't be collecting any fashion awards on this hike!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Failure of Technology
So here I am in the San Diego County Public Library in Julian, California. I've hiked about 80 miles thus far, but I'm only about 20 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The rest of the miles have been ups, downs, into and out of gullies, and switchbacks...oh switchbacks. Thankfully the last couple days have generally been downhill, but that's about to change.
Since I left Mt Laguna, I've been unable to send or receive email and only occasionally been able to make cell contact with people. Complicating matters is my solar charger is officially worthless so I've been borrowing cell chargers whenever the willing owner of the charger and I are within the same area where there is an AC outlet. In other words, not very often. However, I should be getting my charger from home in the next couple of days so at least I'll be able to power up when I'm close to civilization! The bottom line though, is that I won't be able to post as many updates as I had hoped.
So after hiking as far as I could on Sunday, I camped in the first suitable spot available, but not after putting my feet through additional hell. It's like trying to walk on baseballs out on the trail in some places with all the loose rock around. Combine that with shoes too small due to swollen feet and you've got yourself a perfect storm of pain. After that long day of hiking, I tended to my feet which were bleeding by now. The next morning (yesterday), I woke up and couldn't go on without doing something for my feet--I had to have bigger shoes. So, I walked gingerly to the closest paved road and started hitchhiking. The flat pavement felt much better on my feet, and I walked 3 miles before getting a ride into the closest town (Julian). There, I bought the only shoes that would fit me--a size 14 "hiking" sandle. They are really sturdy with good toe protection (the source of most of my pain). So I wrapped them with duct tape to keep the rocks and dirt out, went back to the trail, hiked another 18 miles between last night and this morning, and hitchhiked back to Julian! I'm going to pick up another couple rolls of duct tape and retape my "shoes" before hitting the trail later this evening. When I can, I'll post pictures because they look ridiculous! It's like Jeff Foxworthy met moon boots.
So yes, the plan now is to make it to Idyllwild and reassess my issues (a lot of them!) there. My #1 priority will be getting some good hiking boots that will actually handle my feet if they swell. Also, I'll be cleaning up and hopefully feeling human again.
Other items worth mentioning include a rattlesnake sighting (my first ever!) and my lost sunglasses (so sad). The rattlesnake was about 3 feet long and I saw him last night about 30 minutes before sunset. I make a habit of alerting them to my presence by hitting the ground solidly with my walking sticks as I plant them. They feel the vibrations and generally get out of your way. This guy was about halfway off the trail by the time I saw him, but I got a somewhat obscured photo of him. He seemed really annoyed that he had to move for me. On a sad note, my sunglasses of nearly five years are somewhere up in the mountains. I know I lost them after the sun went down and I'm guessing that my croakies slipped off one end and I didn't notice them fall to the ground. I loved those sunglasses...guess I'll have to find another pair.
Since I left Mt Laguna, I've been unable to send or receive email and only occasionally been able to make cell contact with people. Complicating matters is my solar charger is officially worthless so I've been borrowing cell chargers whenever the willing owner of the charger and I are within the same area where there is an AC outlet. In other words, not very often. However, I should be getting my charger from home in the next couple of days so at least I'll be able to power up when I'm close to civilization! The bottom line though, is that I won't be able to post as many updates as I had hoped.
So after hiking as far as I could on Sunday, I camped in the first suitable spot available, but not after putting my feet through additional hell. It's like trying to walk on baseballs out on the trail in some places with all the loose rock around. Combine that with shoes too small due to swollen feet and you've got yourself a perfect storm of pain. After that long day of hiking, I tended to my feet which were bleeding by now. The next morning (yesterday), I woke up and couldn't go on without doing something for my feet--I had to have bigger shoes. So, I walked gingerly to the closest paved road and started hitchhiking. The flat pavement felt much better on my feet, and I walked 3 miles before getting a ride into the closest town (Julian). There, I bought the only shoes that would fit me--a size 14 "hiking" sandle. They are really sturdy with good toe protection (the source of most of my pain). So I wrapped them with duct tape to keep the rocks and dirt out, went back to the trail, hiked another 18 miles between last night and this morning, and hitchhiked back to Julian! I'm going to pick up another couple rolls of duct tape and retape my "shoes" before hitting the trail later this evening. When I can, I'll post pictures because they look ridiculous! It's like Jeff Foxworthy met moon boots.
So yes, the plan now is to make it to Idyllwild and reassess my issues (a lot of them!) there. My #1 priority will be getting some good hiking boots that will actually handle my feet if they swell. Also, I'll be cleaning up and hopefully feeling human again.
Other items worth mentioning include a rattlesnake sighting (my first ever!) and my lost sunglasses (so sad). The rattlesnake was about 3 feet long and I saw him last night about 30 minutes before sunset. I make a habit of alerting them to my presence by hitting the ground solidly with my walking sticks as I plant them. They feel the vibrations and generally get out of your way. This guy was about halfway off the trail by the time I saw him, but I got a somewhat obscured photo of him. He seemed really annoyed that he had to move for me. On a sad note, my sunglasses of nearly five years are somewhere up in the mountains. I know I lost them after the sun went down and I'm guessing that my croakies slipped off one end and I didn't notice them fall to the ground. I loved those sunglasses...guess I'll have to find another pair.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Trail Angels
A trail angel is someone on or close to the trail for a PCT hiker. They usually provide a hot meal, a cold drink, a ride somewhere, etc. Today during my afternoon break I had the privilege of being invited to join a family Mother's Day outing with the Danielson's from San Diego! They didn't know I was going to be resting at this particular picnic area, and they didn't even know me, but they invited me over to join them for hot dogs, potato salad, chips, and cold sodas--it was awesome! So thank you to the Danielson's for hooking me up with some good grub and cold drinks in the afternoon heat! Happy Mother's Day to each of you (that the title applies to). :)
This morning's hike was definitely a productive one and I got 10 miles under my belt before it got too hot. I'm still enjoying the shade of a tree in the picnic area and will likely head down the road in another hour or so. My feet held up decently, but not perfectly. But with a much lighter load on my back, I think I'll be okay for the next couple of days until I get my shoes mailed from home. The ones that I'm wearing aren't being kind to my still swollen feet so I'm going to wear a bigger pair of lighter running shoes until I head into the Sierras in a few weeks. In the more near-term, if my feet cooperate, I'll be in Warner Springs in three days and Idyllwild in six days. I'm planning to take a day off in Idyllwild because I hear it is a very hiker-friendly town (plus I'll need it!).
In other news, I learned what a gopher snake is today because one was lying in the middle of the trail and refused to budge, even after I threw rocks at it! (I didn't yet know it wasn't a rattlesnake.) I literally had to pick it up with a long stick and move him off the trail!
This morning's hike was definitely a productive one and I got 10 miles under my belt before it got too hot. I'm still enjoying the shade of a tree in the picnic area and will likely head down the road in another hour or so. My feet held up decently, but not perfectly. But with a much lighter load on my back, I think I'll be okay for the next couple of days until I get my shoes mailed from home. The ones that I'm wearing aren't being kind to my still swollen feet so I'm going to wear a bigger pair of lighter running shoes until I head into the Sierras in a few weeks. In the more near-term, if my feet cooperate, I'll be in Warner Springs in three days and Idyllwild in six days. I'm planning to take a day off in Idyllwild because I hear it is a very hiker-friendly town (plus I'll need it!).
In other news, I learned what a gopher snake is today because one was lying in the middle of the trail and refused to budge, even after I threw rocks at it! (I didn't yet know it wasn't a rattlesnake.) I literally had to pick it up with a long stick and move him off the trail!
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