Monthly Archives: June 2017

Settling into Third Class

Looking at Mount Lassen

There are a number of hazards on the trail at any given time. Some are small, like loose rocks, things to trip over, slippery sections. Some are larger, like branches, larger rocks, etc. Today has been snow, fallen trees, rivers, and large creeks. Let me describe this in more detail. It’s not just a dead tree, stripped of branches, laying by its lonesome on the forest floor. No. This is an enormous tree, still green, branches everywhere, and it decided to take down several other trees in the process of falling. The kind of mess that obscures the trail so bad, you have to spend several minutes maneuvering around it to try to find the trail again. At one point today, this occurred every 50 feet or so. When there weren’t trees, there was snow. Several feet deep and and melting enough to fall through.

One of many marshy meadows

What’s fun about the snow is that it makes the trail completely disappear, making you compulsively check your phone, search frantically for footprints, walk in blind faith, or follow the deer tracks because they seem to know where they’re going. The majority of the time, the deer is correct.

Storm clouds dissipating for the evening

Now, put the snow and the fallen trees together and the real adventure begins. Luckily, nature mixes it up by adding a water crossing. The small ones or still ones are no problem since my brother bought me some awesome, waterproof shoes, but the issue is the raging ones that will knock you off your feet. Sometimes you have to walk a quarter of a mile up the river, clawing your way along a muddy mountain side, in order to find a slippery-looking log that might pass as a bridge. Then hope that you’re steady enough to cross without falling. All this makes for a very interesting, very tiring workout that no amount of stair-stepping can train you for.

Welcome to Lassen. I think it has been a tough winter for this forest and no one (besides thru-hikers) is dumb enough to go into the forest to clean it up. It has been another challenging week. The heat and humidity coupled with walking over piles of snow. What a strange year. Northern California has left an impression on me…mostly in the form of mosquito bites.

Coming up on Terminal Geyser

Lassen is amazing. I walked down a side trail to “Terminal Geyser,” which boiled the cold water coming into it and everything running out of it was soup-cooking water. I also saw a boiling lake.

Terminal Geyser

The steamy creek flowing out of Terminal Geyser

I saw several deer and a fawn, which I was really excited about because I have never seen one in nature. The whole day felt like vacation. To top off vacation mode, I stopped at Drakesbad Guest Ranch for lunch and chatted with a hiker I camped with the night before.

Another snow plant because I love them so much

A couple other hikers showed up and we all hung out. The funny thing about this place is that they are hiker-friendly, but they make it perfectly clear that the other guests come first.

Boiling Lake

I understand this. The other guests pay a lot of money to stay there. We get everything half price. I imagine if the other guests knew this, they would be upset. So the place keeps us separate from the guests. I felt like the hired help and it made me laugh the whole time. We couldn’t eat until the guests were done, we couldn’t shower in same showers the guests use, and we could use the pool only when the guests were at dinner. It was hilarious.

A deer 15 feet from me.

One guy got pretty upset about it, but that’s just the way it is. If we paid full price, we’d get full price treatment. Honestly, I was happy as a clam in my podunk, outdoor shower. I was really excited to have the pool all to myself which was neat because it was heated by geothermal energy beneath the ground (something something…my brother would know). The pool was kept at a comfortable temperature by the ice-cold stream water flowing into it (which is why the water is a bit brown). I came back to the table in such a good mood, they started calling me “Pool Maiden.” Trail name? I haven’t decided yet.

A tiny fawn, 12 feet from me, running after momma. The first I’ve ever seen.

I guess my experience there goes back to the issue of perspective. If you choose to be upset about the way things are done, of course you’ll have a bad time. But if you take it as it comes and enjoy the moment, you’ll me much better off. I slept amazing that night. Which is great, because the next day was the difficult day of obstacles.

Boardwalk to Drakesbad

I am now at a strange little store with camping out back. It wasn’t good enough for other people, but the grass is maintained, there’s privacy fences, running water, and a flush toilet. What else do you need? Michelle, the woman who helped me out after hours was also really sweet and showed me around. I’m happily sitting on a bench by the road, using their internet and outlets.

Fancy dinner after the guests were served

Natural water pool

I’m not sure what the trail will bring next, I’m hoping this is the end of my skipping around. I hope the snow is over, but I also hope the heat isn’t atrocious. For now, I am content treating this like a vacation. Tomorrow, I will go through a lava cave!

The shower stall around the back of the bath house.

One of many tree/snow disasters on the trail

River Crossings with Lazarus

Can you find the trail? The deer did.

Determined little fungi

Lower Twin Lake in Lassen. Was so close to jumping in. I should have…

Camping with Double and Lazarus at the end of a long day

Final pic of Lassen before moving on to Shasta.

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Tahoe Detour

Gettin’ in the Groove

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Storm brewing over the Sierras

It has been an eventful and awesome week or two. I now have a signal for a quick moment to tell you about it. I am officially out of Southern California!

First Sunset in the Sierras

I started my hike at Walker Pass and it was an immediate and unrelenting climb for the day. I was nervous camping alone because I was reading about bear problems in the area. Luckily, each night, I’ve been able to camp with someone. The water sources here taste infinitely better than in Southern California. The weather is more intense, though.

Beginning the Climb from Walker Pass

I haven’t been feeling all that well, and of course I’m worried that it’s giardia or something equally unpleasant. On my absolute worst day feeling sick, I was about to make another 1000 ft climb in the afternoon but I couldn’t get my body to do it. Whatever the sickness was, sapped my energy and made me nauseated. The wind was insane and I was about to camp for the night. One of the hikers, stopped to talk to me and then was nice enough to come back and check on me once I set up camp. Between the sickness, exhaustion, and wind, I was going to have a panic attack. And I did. Not my proudest moment on the trail.

Celebrating with an Eclair Cake

The next day, I made my way back down the trail, down a hill, across a creek, through some bushes while crawling uphill, then to a small dirt road I had seen the day before. That is where my family met me for my birthday. I turned 31 on Sunday, the 11th, and my whole family showed up to celebrate! It was awesome! I just wish I were feeling better. My mom made me the best cake ever and I blew out candles in the tent. My parents got me a new cell phone (that I’m way too excited about) so that I’m able to update my blog and everything else, they also got me new trekking poles.

Fancy Waters

My brother cracked me up by buying every type of fancy water on the shelf. Other hikers kept commenting on them which made me smile more. He also got me fancy hiking shoes.

That weekend, we were able to get solid answers from a very helpful and wonderful ranger about the snow and water conditions in the Sierras. It isn’t looking good. So my parents met me again to drive me farther. Another section I will have to complete later. I’m a hiker, not a mountaineer, and I don’t possess the skills necessary to do the high Sierras right now. What really worries me are the dangerous river crossings.

When my family left, I bonded with a few other hikers around a fire then went to bed. The next day was more climbing, followed by an incredible view of several of the stow-covered peaks of the Sierras, followed by 5 miles of downhill. Everything was absolutely gorgeous. On the way down, I ran into Scott, the hiker that checked on me a few days earlier, and we hiked together to the next water source, where we were both planning on camping. Other hikers had the same idea and soon, several of us were sitting in a round, eating dinner.

Bear Just Before Kennedy Meadows

One hiker walked away to do something and we all heard him casually say, “Oh hey, bear.” We all thought he was talking to a friend or just messing with us until he said, “No, really. There’s a bear over there and I think he’s stealing someone’s food.” We all jumped up to see. I got a blurry picture of the bear running off with a food bag. There were 6-8 of us and the guys were all shouting and trying to scare him off. It didn’t work. The bear gave a “yeah, right” look, sat down on the other side of the creek (about 40-50 feet from my tent) and happily ate until morning. “Double,” the hiker whose bag was stolen, was distraught so we all gave him food, but he stored the food in my and Scott’s bear canisters. Several of the other hikers continued on, not wanting to be bear meat, but 4 of us stayed and diligently went through our packs to rid them of anything scented. I slept surprisingly well.

700 Mark. This was 500 miles for me.

The 4 of us ate breakfast and made the shortish walk to the Kennedy Meadows General Store. When we arrived, all the other hikers clapped and cheered. This is one of my favorite customs of the trail. At this store, everyone claps for hikers that walk up, because it means you officially made it through the desert portion of the trail. For me, it meant I completed 500 miles! I’ve been waiting over a year for that moment. We celebrated by going out to dinner and eating more than was necessary or smart. I didn’t need breakfast or lunch the next day.

South Fork Kern River After Kennedy Meadows

The majority of people hit Kennedy Meadows and quit before the Sierras, others are jumping ship to flip flop (start farther up the trail and come back when the rivers aren’t so dangerous), and the minority (tough Europeans) are going to try to traverse the Sierras. I am a flip-flopper. But I did do the 4000+ foot climb up to Cottonwood Pass, and I was glad I did.

Gorgeous Meadow at 8,000 ft

The 45 miles from Kennedy Meadows was exactly the reason I wanted to do this trail. Where every moment is inspiring. I got to the top of a pass, and the trees opened up into an enormous meadow surrounded by tree-covered mountains. Streams and rivers cut through the meadow, fed by the snow on the top of the hills. It was a perfect scene. It was a perfect day.

Another View of the Meadow

Steel Bridge over Kern

Kern River

Perfect Platform for my Tent

The next two days were filled with streams, rivers, snow, marmots, deer, grouse, wildflowers of every shape and color. I was practically floating, I was so happy. Then I came upon a “though European.” He told me he was quitting. I asked why. He told me he went to the top of the peak I was climbing, took pictures, and turned around. He replied, “One peak? Okay. Two peak? Eh. Okay. Three peak? Pfff. Snow, too much.” I told him I’m going around and lot of hikers are too. He said, “This I know. My feet are walking, but my mind, not. I have longing for home.” I completely understood. We wished each other luck on our journeys.

Showing off my lovely legs at the end of the day

An hour later, at 10,000 feet, I was walking over piles of snow, some 8 feet deep. I postholed (fell through the snow) and banged my knee hard against the edge of a log. I cursed more in that moment than I did the entire previous two weeks, and hobbled my way out and over to a rock to assess the damage. I’m going to live. Just bruised and really stiff every time I start moving again.

Green Hills Next to Spring

Mountain Spring

Being Stared Down by a Yellow Belly Marmot

My parents met me on the trail and we took adorable backpacking selfies after camping. I was glad they got to see how amazing it is up here. And I’m glad we got to do something fun for Father’s Day.

I walked each of the mountains in the distance in the center left

Looking back on what I climbed

We hiked back to the car, up hills, through meadows, taking shoes off and crossing flowing creeks. Then we talked to another ranger about where to start and they suggested Tahoe. So here I am at lovely South Lake Tahoe. I’m glad we jumped off the trail when we did. A huge storm brewed in the afternoon and we would have been stuck in it. Upon being here, we talked to another ranger that said the trail is still too difficult. I am now just going to follow trails along the lake so I can at least make miles adjacent to the PCT.

Walking through snow at 10,000 feet

Parting with my parents was tough because this was the last time I will see them until August when they come up to Oregon for the eclipse. I was feeling pretty down, but I’m feeling excited and nervous about tackling this on my own. The adventure continues.

Backpacking Selfie

Dad carrying our little, old dog

Crossing Slimy Creeks

Horseshoe Meadows and Cottonwood Pass

The first time I’ve seen snow on the Sierras from Hwy 395 in summer

Adventures and Misadventures

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The Sierras of Southern California

I saw a cartoon strip on Pinterest where a zombie was pictured smiling up at a red balloon in his hand. In the next scene, the zombie was sad as his arm had ripped off and was floating away with the balloon. At the bottom was the caption, “Happiness is fleeting.” I laughed and laughed, then took a screenshot and continue to laugh each time I see it. But isn’t it the truth? A few days ago was the longest and hardest (or possibly a close second) climb I’ve done. It took hours upon hours to do a 2,400 elevation gain. It very nearly defeated me. As I hobbled my way over the crest and could, alas, see the canyon on the other side, I raised my trekking poles to the sky in triumph. I did it! I conquered that mountain! I was smiling to myself as I made my way down the other side for no more than 5 minutes when a spindly man in his early 70’s, wearing a full backpack, jogged past me. He wasn’t even sweating. As I stared at his skinny little legs kicking dust at me as he passed, my face settled back into a frown. Happiness is fleeting.

Ending the day with a cold evening and a great view

It has been a challenging week or two to say the least, but I have had a lot of moments of feeling good. I have climbed mountains, sometimes more than once. I have been frustrated and exhausted. I have also spent quality time with my family. Last week was the end of my slackpacking (leaving my pack at home and being picked up each night). My mom walked with me out of Wrightwood and we had fun walking to Devil’s Punchbowl where my dad barbecued tri-tip for dinner. Hiking out of there was the most difficult, and I apparently was the only one who chose that detour around an endangered species closure. No one was around, water was scarce, and the bugs were relentless. Even the ladybugs bit! Back on the mountain was gorgeous and there was wonderfully cold, flowing water. It was like snow melted straight into my mouth.

From there, it was a huge fire area. I stopped at the Mill Creek Fire Station and met several awesome people moving at my pace and feeling somewhat discouraged. We all vented and had a little therapy session. My brother, Brent, met me there on Friday and we hiked the next day.

Now, I must preface this story by telling you that Darlings are notorious for adventures… or misadventures. Trips with us tend to be exhausting, because things just have a tendency to go awry. Our hike was supposed to be an easy 12 miles to a campground where our parents would meet us with our stuff. Naturally, we left all but food and water in my brother’s car with the assumption that our plan would work out. It was a hot day and we were working through our water. Along the way, Brent was realizing the things he left behind, such as lunch, or fuel to cook food later. He ended up cold-cooking his food and it didn’t come out that great. We walked along an abandoned road because the PCT is often an illogical path.

We walked through what was once a conservation camp but is now nothing but untouched, charred remains of buildings where people died. It was unsettling. On the top of the mountain, the only things with much life were the abundant lupines growing in the burn. We looked down at our meeting point and found it to be closed. We were running low on food and water and knew the next water source was another 6 miles away. In contacting our parents, we found that they couldn’t find any roads open to the area, so we made the decision to continue to the water. A couple miles later, we were both out of water. Saving energy, we switched back and forth from trail to road, sometimes having to bushwhack our way. We rested often in the shade until finally making it to the water cache. There was also a cooler of cold sodas for sale. That was the best Sprite I’ve ever had. We talked to our parents again to find the roads were still closed to where we were. It was windy and the sun was going down. If we had our things, we would have camped, but that was all in the car. We were out of food, but did fill up on water. I told a girl I met the day before what was going on and someone at the table donated a couple of Clifbars to us. We were about to do another 8 miles.

400 mark that someone made out of pinecones

The sun was setting as we tried to get a little rest, but there was no point. We left the comfort of other people and made our way down the mountain with already sore bodies. The trail seemed to go on forever. We stopped on a ridge to eat Clifbars and get out our flashlights. We calculated that we would get there by midnight and continued our journey by the light of our flashlights. We could eventually see lights of the valley below. When we reached the valley floor, we thought we had less than a mile to go. We were wrong. The PCT sent us back up into the hills and we were both angry about it. It was at least another 3 miles. At each parked car below, we flashed our lights until one finally flashed back. We found our parents and made our way to the base of the mountain where dad set up chairs and mom made quesadillas. It was 11:30p.m. when we arrived and we had been hiking since 7:30 that morning. We did 26 miles and we were exhausted and slept right there in the parking lot. All in all, I had a great day bonding with my brother, even if we felt beat-up afterward.

Top of Mount Gleason with Brent

The next day, mom made burritos and Brent got ready to leave. My parents fed every hiker that passed by, giving them either a burrito or beer. Everyone was really excited. The rest of the day was filled with errands and resupplying. I had a breakdown. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and told my mom about it. We both cried as they left that night.

Strange flowers

It has come time to make a tough decision. Stay or go? I made it 454 miles to Agua Dulce and the heat was too much for me. I called my mom at the end of another hot day and told her I want to jump (move ahead). Tomorrow, I will be jumping 200 miles to Walker Pass and will return in fall to complete the section I didn’t do. Of course I would love to do this in order but I underestimated the heat and overestimated my speed. I expected to be past the desert before June, but it didn’t happen. Jumping ahead will mean I’m closer to making my goal date and I won’t die of heat stroke in the desert. Now I will be tackling the extreme snow conditions in the Sierras. This has been the biggest snow year since 2011. Some places are impassable right now. Some places that are usually tiny creeks are now raging rivers. The adventure continues… just farther up the road.

	BestFlorencia on Moving Right Along
	Kate G on Adventure Types Footnote
	Paula Green on Fall
	Paula Green on Lessons in Letting Go
	Paula Green on Rain and Concrete