For all you future PCT hikers/thru-hikers out there, here's an ultra-light trekking pole comparison. The Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z poles and the Gossamer Gear poles are by far the 2 lightest poles on the market, and both are quite popular with thru-hikers. So which is better?
Answer: Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z Poles
Why?
Because EVERY SINGLE HIKER I know with the gossamer gear poles (many) has broken either one or both by now. I don't know of any hiker who has broken the black diamond ones. Well, mine fell apart before Sierra city, but it wasn't the poles that broke, just the string inside that held them together. But i just secured the joints together with duct tape and they were good as new. Plus, black diamond fed ex'd me a new pair to Sierra city. So yeah, the Black diamond poles are way more durable.
They all cost about the same too. BD poles retail for around $150 (I got mine cheaper because they were on sale), the GG poles are $110 fixed length or $160 adjustable length. BD are fixed length and they have them in different sizes. I personally prefer fixed length poles, because less moving parts = less things that can break.
If $150 is a little steep, black diamond makes the "distance" poles for around $100, they're the same as the ultra distance, just not made of carbon fiber, and not as light. But still lighter than an average trekking pole.
The only thing I didn't like about my poles is that the tips wear out fast. But you can replace them and they're good as new.
Sunday, August 05, 2012
Day 108: Old Station, and a Mohawk!!! :D
Saturday 8/4/12
Miles 1369-1378 (9 miles)
Elevation 4,363'
Wow it's toasty today! Around 100 degrees. Yikes! I thought we were done with the heat in the Mojave desert! This is NorCal! Wtf?! Lol. Ah well. I do pretty well in heat, and I have the umbrella too, so that helps.
At one point on the trail I passed by this huge tree with a target spray painted on it. In the same area I heard a crapload of gunshots on the other side of the creek. That was unnerving.
We got to Old Station just in time for the PO to open. Yay for post offices that are open on Saturdays! :). There were a ton of other hikers there. Magellan got a kilt mailed to him! Whoo hoo Team Breezy!! I took a pic of Magellan with his new kilt. He got a Sport Kilt, it's made of a lightweight material and closes with Velcro. It's really badass. For the last month or so, I've been trying to convince Kyle that he needs to hike in a kilt. after seeing Magellan's I think he's closer to being convinced. :) I looked at how it was constructed, I could actually easily make one, if I has a sewing machine and some fabric. Too bad I don't have an ultra-light sewing machine to take with me on the trail. I could make all kinds of cool stuff :D
Kyle got tons of stuff at the post office. He was quite overwhelmed. Lol! I took a pic of him with all his boxes. Thanks to all his friends and family who sent stuff!
A local trail angel Firefly came to pick us up. Apparently there was a chance of thunder/lightning storms tonight and tomorrow. That alone would have been fine, except the next 30 miles of trail is on a bare and exposed section, which would be a really crappy place to end up in a lightning storm. We ended up staying at her house with Magellan, Veggie and Dead Animal. (veggie got sick and was puking on the trail so she needed some time off). Other hikers decided to keep going.
Firefly's house is absolutely incredible!! It's a 5 acre property and she has a tree house with electricity, insulation, and tomes of Shakesphere and Kipling and Poe. It was a nice break from the heat. Underneath the treehouse was a hammock and a hangy chair, that's where we spent the rest of the day. Lol. In fact we ended up sleeping there. The other 3 stayed in the treehouse. It was a big treehouse! A bunk bed, huge floor space, and a loft. It was amazing.
Oh! And the most epic thing that happened today. So, a while ago Kyle agreed to let me shave a Mohawk in his hair when we got some hair clippers. Firefly had some clippers! Whoo hoo!! Lol. I've given people Mohawks before but this was the first time I would have done it without drinking lots of margaritas first. It turned out really good!! Lol! Especially considering it did the entire thing with just the light of my headlamp. Haha! :D. Pics tomorrow, it's too dark now :)
Miles 1369-1378 (9 miles)
Elevation 4,363'
Wow it's toasty today! Around 100 degrees. Yikes! I thought we were done with the heat in the Mojave desert! This is NorCal! Wtf?! Lol. Ah well. I do pretty well in heat, and I have the umbrella too, so that helps.
At one point on the trail I passed by this huge tree with a target spray painted on it. In the same area I heard a crapload of gunshots on the other side of the creek. That was unnerving.
We got to Old Station just in time for the PO to open. Yay for post offices that are open on Saturdays! :). There were a ton of other hikers there. Magellan got a kilt mailed to him! Whoo hoo Team Breezy!! I took a pic of Magellan with his new kilt. He got a Sport Kilt, it's made of a lightweight material and closes with Velcro. It's really badass. For the last month or so, I've been trying to convince Kyle that he needs to hike in a kilt. after seeing Magellan's I think he's closer to being convinced. :) I looked at how it was constructed, I could actually easily make one, if I has a sewing machine and some fabric. Too bad I don't have an ultra-light sewing machine to take with me on the trail. I could make all kinds of cool stuff :D
Kyle got tons of stuff at the post office. He was quite overwhelmed. Lol! I took a pic of him with all his boxes. Thanks to all his friends and family who sent stuff!
A local trail angel Firefly came to pick us up. Apparently there was a chance of thunder/lightning storms tonight and tomorrow. That alone would have been fine, except the next 30 miles of trail is on a bare and exposed section, which would be a really crappy place to end up in a lightning storm. We ended up staying at her house with Magellan, Veggie and Dead Animal. (veggie got sick and was puking on the trail so she needed some time off). Other hikers decided to keep going.
Firefly's house is absolutely incredible!! It's a 5 acre property and she has a tree house with electricity, insulation, and tomes of Shakesphere and Kipling and Poe. It was a nice break from the heat. Underneath the treehouse was a hammock and a hangy chair, that's where we spent the rest of the day. Lol. In fact we ended up sleeping there. The other 3 stayed in the treehouse. It was a big treehouse! A bunk bed, huge floor space, and a loft. It was amazing.
Oh! And the most epic thing that happened today. So, a while ago Kyle agreed to let me shave a Mohawk in his hair when we got some hair clippers. Firefly had some clippers! Whoo hoo!! Lol. I've given people Mohawks before but this was the first time I would have done it without drinking lots of margaritas first. It turned out really good!! Lol! Especially considering it did the entire thing with just the light of my headlamp. Haha! :D. Pics tomorrow, it's too dark now :)
Day 107: casual morning, casual day
Friday 8/3/12
Miles 1354-1369 (15 miles)
A whole bunch of us were camped at this picnic area right outside of Drakesbad Ranch. Picnic areas are awesome, because there are picnic tables! And those are such a luxury! At that spot was us, Kristo, Hee Haw, Veggie, Dead Animal, Swiss Army, Cowboy, and Shep Dog. Kyle and I and Kristo hung out at that picnic table til about 1pm. Lol. Yeah, it was a casual morning... I have a pic of Kyle and Kristo at the picnic table. Kristo has a guitar, Kyle was playing it for a while. I got video, I'll post it later. It was a fun morning. Dazzle wandered by in the morning, he's the guy in the blue shirt reading that sign.
The hiking today was quite mellow. Sometime in the evening we all stopped at the same place to take a break. Hee Haw is the guy sitting, Swiss Army is the guy laying down.
Hee Haw and I were discussing my tent. Oh, the tent now has a name, I call it Worm Hole. Because its a tube tent. Lol. Anyways, Hee Haw knows of the maker of the tent, because he is from New England too. He says this Stevenson guy is kind of a maniac. Haha, that's awesome! That made me feel better about the tent. Maniac outdoor people who make backpacking gear out of their garage are pretty epic, by my standards. :) Actually, to my understanding that's pretty much what most ultra-light gear companies are: dudes making stuff out of their garage. My backpack (ULA), is made by some guy in Logan Utah out of his garage. My original tent (TarpTent), is made by Henry Shires out of his garage somewhere. Yay for awesome people who make stuff out of their garage!
Anyhow, Hee Haw and I were discussing my tent, and winter camping in general. I have a huge aversion to cold and snow, so I was saying how I don't understand why people would intentionally choose to camp in winter conditions. It just seems like absolute hell to me (then again that's how some people view thru-hiking the PCT. lol! To each their own eh?). So Hee Haw (who likes to backpack in the winter) explained it as 1)it's absolutely beautiful, 2)you can camp anywhere, 3)there's water everywhere. Meh, despite all that, the fact that there's cold and snow everywhere totally turns me off. Haha. All of life is relative and subjective ya? :)
Miles 1354-1369 (15 miles)
A whole bunch of us were camped at this picnic area right outside of Drakesbad Ranch. Picnic areas are awesome, because there are picnic tables! And those are such a luxury! At that spot was us, Kristo, Hee Haw, Veggie, Dead Animal, Swiss Army, Cowboy, and Shep Dog. Kyle and I and Kristo hung out at that picnic table til about 1pm. Lol. Yeah, it was a casual morning... I have a pic of Kyle and Kristo at the picnic table. Kristo has a guitar, Kyle was playing it for a while. I got video, I'll post it later. It was a fun morning. Dazzle wandered by in the morning, he's the guy in the blue shirt reading that sign.
The hiking today was quite mellow. Sometime in the evening we all stopped at the same place to take a break. Hee Haw is the guy sitting, Swiss Army is the guy laying down.
Hee Haw and I were discussing my tent. Oh, the tent now has a name, I call it Worm Hole. Because its a tube tent. Lol. Anyways, Hee Haw knows of the maker of the tent, because he is from New England too. He says this Stevenson guy is kind of a maniac. Haha, that's awesome! That made me feel better about the tent. Maniac outdoor people who make backpacking gear out of their garage are pretty epic, by my standards. :) Actually, to my understanding that's pretty much what most ultra-light gear companies are: dudes making stuff out of their garage. My backpack (ULA), is made by some guy in Logan Utah out of his garage. My original tent (TarpTent), is made by Henry Shires out of his garage somewhere. Yay for awesome people who make stuff out of their garage!
Anyhow, Hee Haw and I were discussing my tent, and winter camping in general. I have a huge aversion to cold and snow, so I was saying how I don't understand why people would intentionally choose to camp in winter conditions. It just seems like absolute hell to me (then again that's how some people view thru-hiking the PCT. lol! To each their own eh?). So Hee Haw (who likes to backpack in the winter) explained it as 1)it's absolutely beautiful, 2)you can camp anywhere, 3)there's water everywhere. Meh, despite all that, the fact that there's cold and snow everywhere totally turns me off. Haha. All of life is relative and subjective ya? :)
Day 106: old faces, new places
Thursday 8/2/12
Miles 1335-1354 (19 miles)
Elevation 5,712'
We didn't get moving til around 11am today. Lol. Somehow we still managed to do almost 20 miles. :) Today was an awesome day! I saw Dazzle! Yay!! Dazzle is one of my favorite people on trail. I know I say that about a lot of people. Lol. But he really is. I first met him on my 3rd day on trail, didn't see him again til Yosemite, and we've been leapfrogging since.
I took a couple pics of Kyle this morning. That was him, refusing to acknowledge the fact that we needed to get going. Lol. Not that I was doing much better. I was sitting on my ass eating his bag of gummy bears and M&Ms. Lol. It was a very casual morning. Haha Kyle is so funny. He likes to eat but he's too lazy to cook and prepare stuff. But he needs to eat cuz he's losing a lot of weight. And both of us have a lot of extra food since we had to skip those miles from Belden to Chester because of the fire. So I'd just make something that smells good and leave it in front of his face and at some point he'll break down and eat it. Lol :D this works out in my favor because it lightens my load. So everyone wins. Yay!
Parts of the trail were exposed today, and it was pretty hot. I'm so stoked I have my chrome dome umbrella! That is my most favorite piece of miscellaneous gear I have. It's totally worth it's weight in gold (it weighs 8oz). Today was a lovely day of hiking. We went through Lassen National Park. A good portion of the trail had red dirt, like Hawaii. <3 Yay iron oxidation!
I wonder how that fire is doing. Bleh. Ugh I hope that whole valley is ok. Ive been thinking about that all day today. Firefighters rock. I think that firefighters and school teachers/educators are the two most noble professions. One saves lives and the other enriches lives. Maybe that's why I am so drawn to all the school teachers on trail. They're just so cool. Lol. And all the firefighters I've met along the way are super awesome too. I wonder how those two JMT gals are doing. The schoolteachers from Corona Ca. I imagine they're done by now. I often wonder how all the random travelers I've met on trail are doing. Like the two motorcycle harley dudes from portland we met at Big Pine. They were so cool. They're riding route 66 across country.
We got to Drakesbad Ranch around 8pm. It's a little rustic resort right off the trail that is super hiker friendly. There were a bunch of other hikers there, including Hee Haw and Kristo! Yay!! I really like those two guys. Haven't seen them in a while, especially Kristo. Both of them are carrying guitars with them, and they're both really good. A group of us camped along the trail just outside of Drakesbad Ranch, Hee Haw and Kristo were jamming on their guitars in the evening. It was soooooo epic! :)
Dang, I finally ripped a hole in my skirt. But, as a testament to my craftsmanship, the fabric itself ripped, not at one of the seams. I'm so stoked, I haphazardly sewed that skirt in about 15 minutes, and it has lasted over 1,300 miles. Whoo hoo! So has my shirt. It has a lot of holes in it now. And I tried to sew the holes but the fabric is so deteriorated around it that it made bigger holes. Lol. So I turned the shirt around and am wearing it backwards. Hopefully it'll last another 1300 miles like that :)
Miles 1335-1354 (19 miles)
Elevation 5,712'
We didn't get moving til around 11am today. Lol. Somehow we still managed to do almost 20 miles. :) Today was an awesome day! I saw Dazzle! Yay!! Dazzle is one of my favorite people on trail. I know I say that about a lot of people. Lol. But he really is. I first met him on my 3rd day on trail, didn't see him again til Yosemite, and we've been leapfrogging since.
I took a couple pics of Kyle this morning. That was him, refusing to acknowledge the fact that we needed to get going. Lol. Not that I was doing much better. I was sitting on my ass eating his bag of gummy bears and M&Ms. Lol. It was a very casual morning. Haha Kyle is so funny. He likes to eat but he's too lazy to cook and prepare stuff. But he needs to eat cuz he's losing a lot of weight. And both of us have a lot of extra food since we had to skip those miles from Belden to Chester because of the fire. So I'd just make something that smells good and leave it in front of his face and at some point he'll break down and eat it. Lol :D this works out in my favor because it lightens my load. So everyone wins. Yay!
Parts of the trail were exposed today, and it was pretty hot. I'm so stoked I have my chrome dome umbrella! That is my most favorite piece of miscellaneous gear I have. It's totally worth it's weight in gold (it weighs 8oz). Today was a lovely day of hiking. We went through Lassen National Park. A good portion of the trail had red dirt, like Hawaii. <3 Yay iron oxidation!
I wonder how that fire is doing. Bleh. Ugh I hope that whole valley is ok. Ive been thinking about that all day today. Firefighters rock. I think that firefighters and school teachers/educators are the two most noble professions. One saves lives and the other enriches lives. Maybe that's why I am so drawn to all the school teachers on trail. They're just so cool. Lol. And all the firefighters I've met along the way are super awesome too. I wonder how those two JMT gals are doing. The schoolteachers from Corona Ca. I imagine they're done by now. I often wonder how all the random travelers I've met on trail are doing. Like the two motorcycle harley dudes from portland we met at Big Pine. They were so cool. They're riding route 66 across country.
We got to Drakesbad Ranch around 8pm. It's a little rustic resort right off the trail that is super hiker friendly. There were a bunch of other hikers there, including Hee Haw and Kristo! Yay!! I really like those two guys. Haven't seen them in a while, especially Kristo. Both of them are carrying guitars with them, and they're both really good. A group of us camped along the trail just outside of Drakesbad Ranch, Hee Haw and Kristo were jamming on their guitars in the evening. It was soooooo epic! :)
Dang, I finally ripped a hole in my skirt. But, as a testament to my craftsmanship, the fabric itself ripped, not at one of the seams. I'm so stoked, I haphazardly sewed that skirt in about 15 minutes, and it has lasted over 1,300 miles. Whoo hoo! So has my shirt. It has a lot of holes in it now. And I tried to sew the holes but the fabric is so deteriorated around it that it made bigger holes. Lol. So I turned the shirt around and am wearing it backwards. Hopefully it'll last another 1300 miles like that :)
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Day 105: odd day, and an unintentional zero
Wednesday 8/1/12
Miles 1294-1335 (zero miles walked, all miles were hitchiking)
Elevation 5,600'
Oh man, that fire got really bad overnight :( last I heard it was over 1,000 acres. The Belden PO was still open. Whew! We got a ride from a couple who goes by "Chillbilly" and "Stands With Fists". Oh my gosh they are absolutely hilarious. I was laughing the entire car ride there. They are possibly the funniest people I've met. Lol! And their dog Knuckles is so cool. Looks a lot like a bigger version of Gizmo.
We got to the Belden PO and there were fire trucks everywhere. I took a lot of pics. You could hear chainsaws going off all over the forest. Its nuts too, because the hillside is really steep, it was hard for them to get ground crews up there. They had a helicopter dumping water on the fire too. Dang the firefighters are awesome. There is this huge gigantic water pipe that goes up the side of the mountain, there was a crew there clearing brush on both sides of the pipe. I thought to myself, holy crap how the hell did they get up there?? Not only is the hillside almost vertical, but they had to get up there, carrying chainsaws! Anyhow, hats off to all those men and women out there. Dang that is so nuts. But the fire crews are doing an awesome job protecting the canyon and the communities in there.
I took some pics of the fire and the smoke. It got way gnarly around 1pm which is right when we left the area, because the winds came up. There's a pic of the fire I took with a lake in the foreground. That was just outside of Chester, which is 30ish miles away. O.o
So the trail is closed here, and the road walk detour that hikers took a couple days ago is now closed too. Dang. So we had to hitch to Chester. It was an interesting trip. Our hitching went something like this: Belden (hwy 70) --> hwy 89 --> Greenville --> Canyon Dam --> Chester --> PCT
Whew! You know those days where you're on an airplane flight with many layovers, and at the end of the day you're super tired, yet you've done nothing but sit on your ass all day? That's kinda how we feel like. Lol. We really didn't do any physical activity today, yet I'm tired. Lol. Weird. Anyhow, stoked to be back on trail and away from that fire. Ugh, I hope it's going well. Firefighters rock. <3
Thank you to all the epic people who picked us up! You guys all rock!! Oh man I've met some pretty interesting people in the last 24 hours of Hitchiking. Lol! I literally could write a book just on my pct Hitchiking experiences alone.
It's interesting how, people-wise, there was a dramatic change since we left Tahoe. Dang. Now I finally understand why people from northern California dislike people from southern California. Lol. All throughout the trail I've experienced amazing kindness and generosity from random strangers. I honestly didn't think people could get any cooler. And then I enter norcal. WOW. People just got exponentially cooler. <3. Seems like the further north we go, the cooler people get. I think the majority of LA tourists stop at Tahoe and dont go any further north. Lol! Bibi was telling us, she's from Spokane WA, and said people up there are super cool.
So does that mean that level of awesomeness is directly proportional to degree of latitude? And distance away from equator? Lol. Cuz I really like Australians and Canadians and they're both kinda far from the equator. Lol. But then again Hawaii and Costa Rica are right by the equator and both are filled with epic people. Hmm. :)
Miles 1294-1335 (zero miles walked, all miles were hitchiking)
Elevation 5,600'
Oh man, that fire got really bad overnight :( last I heard it was over 1,000 acres. The Belden PO was still open. Whew! We got a ride from a couple who goes by "Chillbilly" and "Stands With Fists". Oh my gosh they are absolutely hilarious. I was laughing the entire car ride there. They are possibly the funniest people I've met. Lol! And their dog Knuckles is so cool. Looks a lot like a bigger version of Gizmo.
We got to the Belden PO and there were fire trucks everywhere. I took a lot of pics. You could hear chainsaws going off all over the forest. Its nuts too, because the hillside is really steep, it was hard for them to get ground crews up there. They had a helicopter dumping water on the fire too. Dang the firefighters are awesome. There is this huge gigantic water pipe that goes up the side of the mountain, there was a crew there clearing brush on both sides of the pipe. I thought to myself, holy crap how the hell did they get up there?? Not only is the hillside almost vertical, but they had to get up there, carrying chainsaws! Anyhow, hats off to all those men and women out there. Dang that is so nuts. But the fire crews are doing an awesome job protecting the canyon and the communities in there.
I took some pics of the fire and the smoke. It got way gnarly around 1pm which is right when we left the area, because the winds came up. There's a pic of the fire I took with a lake in the foreground. That was just outside of Chester, which is 30ish miles away. O.o
So the trail is closed here, and the road walk detour that hikers took a couple days ago is now closed too. Dang. So we had to hitch to Chester. It was an interesting trip. Our hitching went something like this: Belden (hwy 70) --> hwy 89 --> Greenville --> Canyon Dam --> Chester --> PCT
Whew! You know those days where you're on an airplane flight with many layovers, and at the end of the day you're super tired, yet you've done nothing but sit on your ass all day? That's kinda how we feel like. Lol. We really didn't do any physical activity today, yet I'm tired. Lol. Weird. Anyhow, stoked to be back on trail and away from that fire. Ugh, I hope it's going well. Firefighters rock. <3
Thank you to all the epic people who picked us up! You guys all rock!! Oh man I've met some pretty interesting people in the last 24 hours of Hitchiking. Lol! I literally could write a book just on my pct Hitchiking experiences alone.
It's interesting how, people-wise, there was a dramatic change since we left Tahoe. Dang. Now I finally understand why people from northern California dislike people from southern California. Lol. All throughout the trail I've experienced amazing kindness and generosity from random strangers. I honestly didn't think people could get any cooler. And then I enter norcal. WOW. People just got exponentially cooler. <3. Seems like the further north we go, the cooler people get. I think the majority of LA tourists stop at Tahoe and dont go any further north. Lol! Bibi was telling us, she's from Spokane WA, and said people up there are super cool.
So does that mean that level of awesomeness is directly proportional to degree of latitude? And distance away from equator? Lol. Cuz I really like Australians and Canadians and they're both kinda far from the equator. Lol. But then again Hawaii and Costa Rica are right by the equator and both are filled with epic people. Hmm. :)
Day 104: day full of cool people, and tragedy :(
Tuesday 7/31/12
Miles 1255-1265 (10 miles)
Elevation 6,000'
Well today was an interesting day. It's days like this where I am so glad Kyle and I don't hike on a set schedule. We just kind of roll with whatever happens. Lol.
Scenery was awesome, as it is everyday. :) I met these two really cool section hiker dudes. They are both schoolteachers from Valencia, CA. Seems like the school teachers I meet on the trail are extra cool. Like those two JMT gals we met in Yosemite the day before we did Halfdome. They were both teachers too, and possibly two of my favorite non-pct hikers I've met on trail. Anyways, these two guys are ending in Belden, and were going to Reno after. I told them about Sushi Pier (we went to the Tahoe one, its an all you can eat, made to order, sushi joint). Oooo it's so good. One of the dudes said, "I'd put them out of business!". Good luck! Kyle and I tried. We ate til we almost couldn't move. Lol :D. Oh my goodness that place was soooooo good. I hope the Reno one is as epic as the Tahoe one!
We decided to hitch into Quincy early and bypass 25 miles of the PCT. We were almost out of fuel, Kyle was almost out of food, I wanted to avoid the crapload of poison oak on the descent into Belden, and steep downhills aren't Kyle's forte. Plus he smashed his toe pretty badly coming out of Tahoe (we thought it was broken), and downhills hurt.
It's interesting; statistically, I have a much greater success rate hitchiking in middle-of-nowhere locations than in big towns. The PCT crossed a windy little mountain road with almost no traffic going our way. However, we got a ride from the 6th car that passed. The first car actually turned around and came back, apologized that they couldn't give us a ride because they were full, and offered us water. Thanks dude!! Two cars passed. Then a us forest service truck pulled over, apologized that he couldn't pick us up, but said he'd alert his friends coming our way to look for us. Thanks dude!! Another car passed. Then we got a ride from 2 guys going home to Quincy from Chico; they had to detour because hwy 70 was bumper to bumper due to a car accident in a tunnel. This took about 1.3 hours. When we hitched out of Bishop, *hundreds* of cars passed by before we got a ride.
Quincy is a cool town. It's a really big small-town, if that makes any sense. We ate pizza. Uuuuuuggh we were so hungry! Lol! Kyle rehydrated with about a gallon of coke. We were both craving soda. I dunno what it is, neither of us normally crave soda but for some reason, the cold bubbliness of soda is soooo yummy. And for me it's diet coke that I crave. From a fountain machine. Lol. Weird.
We didn't hitch out of Quincy til around 8:30pm. I didn't think there was any way we were going to get a ride. It was late, almost dark, and not much traffic coming our way. Then a car pulls over. Cool!! Zach and Bibi were actually going to Belden (30 miles away) to look at the fire. What luck!
So, I didn't even know there was a fire until I got to Quincy. Some hikers ahead of me mentioned it. However, back then it was a small fire, by the time we got to Belden it was 800+ acres, burning the hill right above belden, which is a tiny tiny town in a deep canyon. YIKES!! It was so nuts, there was glowing red and smoke all over the hillside! Also, the PCT was closed, because it went though the burn area. Guess we'll have to find a detour. Oh, Zach is a firefighter for the US Forest Service. He goes to work tomorrow after having 2 days off. He's gonna be busy. O.o. It was cool to get the inside scoop on the fire.
Anyhow, I mentioned earlier there was a car accident on hwy 70. Here's the tragedy part. :( the US Forest Service evacuated all the campgrounds in that area (there are many) due to the fire. There is an elderly couple around 70 years old that were campground hosts for 20 years at one of the campgrounds there. Since they had to leave, they drove to their home in a nearby town. They never made it home. They were the ones involved in the car wreck in the tunnel on hwy 70. The wife died. They were married for 50 years. This was the info I got from a local ranger. That is just awful awful awful awful awful to hear. Uuuuuuugh.... :(
So the 4 of us, me Kyle Zach and Bibi, were informed of this and also the inside scoop on the fire, from the ranger lady that drove by, as we were at one of the hwy pullouts watching the fire burn. It was a very very somber evening :(
Zack and Bibi offered to take us in for the night. Thanks guys!!! We were going to just throw our sleeping bags in the trees off the side of the road somewhere. They let us camp in their yard instead, and let us use their shower and even gave us beer! Wow!! They are so awesome. <3 I took a pic of them. And their dog Gizmo is sooooooo cute!! Oh my gosh what a cool dog. I took pics of the dog too. Lol. Anyhow, they have an awesome house on a dirt road off hwy 70. Their entry room is so epic; they had all their rock climbing gear and mountain bike helmets and stuff stored there. Epic room of fun!! Lol :) They also had a lot of Tibetan/Indian artwork here and there. I wish I got to talk to them more about that, I am absolutely fascinated by the Tibetan and Indian culture.
Miles 1255-1265 (10 miles)
Elevation 6,000'
Well today was an interesting day. It's days like this where I am so glad Kyle and I don't hike on a set schedule. We just kind of roll with whatever happens. Lol.
Scenery was awesome, as it is everyday. :) I met these two really cool section hiker dudes. They are both schoolteachers from Valencia, CA. Seems like the school teachers I meet on the trail are extra cool. Like those two JMT gals we met in Yosemite the day before we did Halfdome. They were both teachers too, and possibly two of my favorite non-pct hikers I've met on trail. Anyways, these two guys are ending in Belden, and were going to Reno after. I told them about Sushi Pier (we went to the Tahoe one, its an all you can eat, made to order, sushi joint). Oooo it's so good. One of the dudes said, "I'd put them out of business!". Good luck! Kyle and I tried. We ate til we almost couldn't move. Lol :D. Oh my goodness that place was soooooo good. I hope the Reno one is as epic as the Tahoe one!
We decided to hitch into Quincy early and bypass 25 miles of the PCT. We were almost out of fuel, Kyle was almost out of food, I wanted to avoid the crapload of poison oak on the descent into Belden, and steep downhills aren't Kyle's forte. Plus he smashed his toe pretty badly coming out of Tahoe (we thought it was broken), and downhills hurt.
It's interesting; statistically, I have a much greater success rate hitchiking in middle-of-nowhere locations than in big towns. The PCT crossed a windy little mountain road with almost no traffic going our way. However, we got a ride from the 6th car that passed. The first car actually turned around and came back, apologized that they couldn't give us a ride because they were full, and offered us water. Thanks dude!! Two cars passed. Then a us forest service truck pulled over, apologized that he couldn't pick us up, but said he'd alert his friends coming our way to look for us. Thanks dude!! Another car passed. Then we got a ride from 2 guys going home to Quincy from Chico; they had to detour because hwy 70 was bumper to bumper due to a car accident in a tunnel. This took about 1.3 hours. When we hitched out of Bishop, *hundreds* of cars passed by before we got a ride.
Quincy is a cool town. It's a really big small-town, if that makes any sense. We ate pizza. Uuuuuuggh we were so hungry! Lol! Kyle rehydrated with about a gallon of coke. We were both craving soda. I dunno what it is, neither of us normally crave soda but for some reason, the cold bubbliness of soda is soooo yummy. And for me it's diet coke that I crave. From a fountain machine. Lol. Weird.
We didn't hitch out of Quincy til around 8:30pm. I didn't think there was any way we were going to get a ride. It was late, almost dark, and not much traffic coming our way. Then a car pulls over. Cool!! Zach and Bibi were actually going to Belden (30 miles away) to look at the fire. What luck!
So, I didn't even know there was a fire until I got to Quincy. Some hikers ahead of me mentioned it. However, back then it was a small fire, by the time we got to Belden it was 800+ acres, burning the hill right above belden, which is a tiny tiny town in a deep canyon. YIKES!! It was so nuts, there was glowing red and smoke all over the hillside! Also, the PCT was closed, because it went though the burn area. Guess we'll have to find a detour. Oh, Zach is a firefighter for the US Forest Service. He goes to work tomorrow after having 2 days off. He's gonna be busy. O.o. It was cool to get the inside scoop on the fire.
Anyhow, I mentioned earlier there was a car accident on hwy 70. Here's the tragedy part. :( the US Forest Service evacuated all the campgrounds in that area (there are many) due to the fire. There is an elderly couple around 70 years old that were campground hosts for 20 years at one of the campgrounds there. Since they had to leave, they drove to their home in a nearby town. They never made it home. They were the ones involved in the car wreck in the tunnel on hwy 70. The wife died. They were married for 50 years. This was the info I got from a local ranger. That is just awful awful awful awful awful to hear. Uuuuuuugh.... :(
So the 4 of us, me Kyle Zach and Bibi, were informed of this and also the inside scoop on the fire, from the ranger lady that drove by, as we were at one of the hwy pullouts watching the fire burn. It was a very very somber evening :(
Zack and Bibi offered to take us in for the night. Thanks guys!!! We were going to just throw our sleeping bags in the trees off the side of the road somewhere. They let us camp in their yard instead, and let us use their shower and even gave us beer! Wow!! They are so awesome. <3 I took a pic of them. And their dog Gizmo is sooooooo cute!! Oh my gosh what a cool dog. I took pics of the dog too. Lol. Anyhow, they have an awesome house on a dirt road off hwy 70. Their entry room is so epic; they had all their rock climbing gear and mountain bike helmets and stuff stored there. Epic room of fun!! Lol :) They also had a lot of Tibetan/Indian artwork here and there. I wish I got to talk to them more about that, I am absolutely fascinated by the Tibetan and Indian culture.
To Bibi and Zach
Hope you guys see this! Thanks so much for EVERYTHING!!! You guys are amazing!! <3. Not sure how but I think I left with your cell phone charger. It's a black cord that is USB on one side and looks like it plugs into a cell phone on the other side.
The US Forest Servce lady that we saw last night by the "DP-2" sign, at the PCT trailhead, I saw her again today, I gave her the cord, I think she says she works at the same firehouse that you do. The one by your house on hwy 70 but towards Quincy. Either way, she has it and I think she is going to drop it off at the firehouse . I put it in a ziplock back with your names on it and "Twain Manor", so i really hope it finds its way back to you.
I would have dropped it off at that store next to your house when we got a ride out but I heard a rumor they were evacuating that whole rv park, so I didn't want the cord to get lost in all that madness.
Anyhow, I hope you both are well, that your house is well, and that Gizmo and the cats are all good! I'm currently in Greenville right now, hitching toward Chester, the sky is so thick with smoke, it's gnarly. :(
Zach, please be safe out there, and thanks to you and your crew and the tons of firefighters and us forest service people we saw out there battling the fire, and situating the area, you are all amazing!!
Let me know if you guys got the cord back. Kealadancer@gmail.com. Aloha!!
The US Forest Servce lady that we saw last night by the "DP-2" sign, at the PCT trailhead, I saw her again today, I gave her the cord, I think she says she works at the same firehouse that you do. The one by your house on hwy 70 but towards Quincy. Either way, she has it and I think she is going to drop it off at the firehouse . I put it in a ziplock back with your names on it and "Twain Manor", so i really hope it finds its way back to you.
I would have dropped it off at that store next to your house when we got a ride out but I heard a rumor they were evacuating that whole rv park, so I didn't want the cord to get lost in all that madness.
Anyhow, I hope you both are well, that your house is well, and that Gizmo and the cats are all good! I'm currently in Greenville right now, hitching toward Chester, the sky is so thick with smoke, it's gnarly. :(
Zach, please be safe out there, and thanks to you and your crew and the tons of firefighters and us forest service people we saw out there battling the fire, and situating the area, you are all amazing!!
Let me know if you guys got the cord back. Kealadancer@gmail.com. Aloha!!
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