Day 4 - The Real Desert

Sunday, April 19

I cowboy camped last night and LOVED IT! When I first made camp the coyotes started yelping. I yelped back. It seems like forever since I looked up at the stars. I saw shooting stars and satellites. And on the morning it was so easy to break camp.

The trail up from Scissors Crossing is notorious for being hot. This is the real desert. I loved the barrel cacti.


The plan today was to make it to the water cache, which was about twenty miles up the trail. Although the trail climbed steadily, it was a gradual climb. I love my hiking shirt and pants because they are well ventilated. I made 11 miles by ten so I kept a good pace.

At the water cache I met Rasputin, Full Roll and Phantom. Full Roll got his name because he always carries a full roll of toilet paper!

I ate my lunch-dinner at the cache and then headed to Barrel Springs, the next reliable water source. It was a nine mile hike through the heat of the day. I paused at Billy Goats cave.


Just before getting to Barrel Springs, I hit the 100 mile mark!


I like the sign posted there.


To top it off, when I got to Barrel Springs, there was trail magic awaiting. I got a beer and a chocolate pancake!


Tomorrow is an 8 mile hike to Warner Springs. I hope to get a shower there, a real breakfast and pick up my first resupply package.

I am camped tonight at mile 101.2.

Day 3 - Epic Desert Hiking

Saturday, April 18

What a perfect day for hiking. I got on the trail before 6 AM and made good time. Patti, my hiking buddy, sent me a text as she and Debbie were on their walk. I surprised them by giving them a call and we chatted for a few minutes.

By 10 AM I had already made 11 miles. My feet are doing pretty well because I stop every 2 1/2 hours to clean them and change socks. I've seen a lot of people with really bad blisters.

From where I camped last night, the trail drops down 3,000 feet in the next 30 miles. That made the hiking really fun. The desert is in bloom everywhere. The cacti and desert flowers are amazing.








The major problem in this area is the availability of water. There is a listing of all the reliable water sources and everyone stops to fill up. I met up with a number of through hikers, but I seem to be a faster hiker than most so I haven't been hiking with a group yet. I think I'm a failure at my social skills!

At the last reliable water supply, there was a lot of talk about how to make it to the next water source. There's supposed to be a water cache about 22 miles away, but some wondered if there would be any water left. The next resupply is 32 miles away. I loaded up with 6 liters and headed down the trail. I finally found a campsite just as the sun was setting. This is the view as I "cowboy camp" for the first time.


I am camped at mile 75.3, just under 30 miles today!

Day 2 - Up 3,000 feet - Oh My

Friday, April 17

As I mentioned yesterday, today I had to climb 3000 feet. The PCT kicked my rear!

I started packing up at 5 AM, and was on the trail by 6:15. It's taking me way too long to get ready to go.

An interesting sign along the way warns about explosives that were lost and are likely to explode if you find them.



I must have seen over 100 lizards.



The reward for getting to the top of the climb was to be in a forest of pine trees.



There have been some very pretty flowering desert plants.



Some of the pine trees have giant cones.



I stopped at Burnt Ranchiera campground and had my breakfast – lunch – dinner and then headed on down the trail. Needless to say, I am exhausted.

I am camped at mile 46.4.

Day 1 - Mexican border

Thursday, April 16

We arose bright and early at 4:30 AM. There are five of us starting the trail this morning. Bob Riess, our host, drove like crazy and got us to the southern monument just before sunrise.

Everyone is really excited and we all paused for pictures at the monument.


In order to claim a full through-hike, I walked over and touched the metal fence at the border.

I also signed the trail register and wrote this note:
I start on a journey that will likely answer questions that I never even thought to ask.

I started hiking at 6:15 and watched the sun rise over the hill. Soon I was at the one mile marker.


I felt really strong all day and found the desert to be amazing. There is a lot of greenery and lots of blooming plants. This one had an amazing spiked pod.



At the start there was a strong wind and it felt chilly. When I finally got out of the wind it was perfect hiking weather.


I had to take a picture of my shadow on the trail.

I made it to Houser Canyon by 11:30. There was a group of through-hikers there resting in the shade. I got to meet "Mother Goose", a well-known hiker of the trail.

From Hauser Canyon starts a 1,300 foot climb with no shade. To my surprise, I didn't have much of a problem and made it to Lake Morina by 2:30. I fixed my dinner there, filled up on water, and hiked on until 4:30. Here is my camp site.


I ended up hiking 26.6 miles today!
Here is the elevation profile from the PCT Gutthooks app:



Tomorrow I have a 3,000 foot climb so I'll have to start early to beat the heat.

One day before start - Travel and Trail Angels

Oh my gosh, HERE I GO! It is Wednesday, April 15.

I got up at 2 AM and my wife, Valorie, took me to the Seattle Tacoma Airport.



My flight on Alaska Airlines left at 6:30 AM and I arrived in San Diego at 9:15.

What is so amazing about this adventure are the people who support the hikers. They are called "trail angels".

This video explains who trail angels are (https://youtu.be/cVi6Ce0vvZM):

Bob Riess is one of these people. He is the original "trail-head hiker host" who pioneered the idea in 1999. He has hosted over 500 hikers, and helps them get last minute supplies, hosts them for the evening in his home, and then gets them to the southern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail at sunrise.

He met me at the airport and hosted me for the day and night in his home.

There are two other hikers here. One from San Francisco and another from Germany. There are two others arriving tonight. We will have an early breakfast and arrive at the trail head at first light.



Here is a short video about Bob and the work he does (https://youtu.be/7t4h5lUq25I):

Tomorrow morning I will start walking the trail. I'm not sure I will get much sleep tonight.

An amazing journey is just beginning!

One week before start - Thankful for friends and family

One week before I am on the Pacific Crest Trail!
One week!

The waling buddies: Me, Patti and Debbie

As I think about how all this came about, I remember that weekend when my hiking buddies (Debbie and Patti) were talking about a book that Debbie had just read. It was called "Wild".

Debbie was quite impressed with it, so Patti borrowed the book and read it too.

Well, to make sure I could be part of the conversation, I downloaded a copy of the book to read it on my Kindle. It was a great story and included wonderful descriptions about a woman as she dealt with her problems and hiked on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

Soon, we were all talking about the book.

One day, Patti said to Debbie, "I think we should hike the PCT. Wouldn't that be GREAT?"

Debbie responded, "Yes, that would really be an adventure."

Then Patti turned to me and said, "OK, Bob, are you IN?"

I hesitated a bit, thought about it for a minute, and said, "Sure!"

What neither of my hiking buddies knew is that I had already been thinking of hiking a long trail. Some time ago, while looking for a movie to watch on Netflix, I stumbled upon the movie, "The Way". It is about a man who ends up walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The idea was exciting to me and planted the seed for walking a long trail.

Now the seed was planted and the idea began to grow.

What would be required to walk such a distance?
How may others have done it?

The questions went on and on, but in the end, I decided to start training, gathering some gear, and going on some long hikes to get ready.

So here I am now, one week from starting on a journey into some of the most beautiful wilderness in the world.

I am so thankful for the help and support of my family and friends.

My wife has been incredible, keeping me positive and focused. She has driven me to stores, picked up items that I needed, repaired my sleeping bag and hemmed my hiking clothes. And, she has stepped up to sending me my food boxes while I am on the trail and keeping the home fires burning while I am away.

Grizz Bob - a catchy trail name

My hiking buddies are so supportive, and want to meet me on the way up. Debbie plans to hike for three days with me from Timberline Lodge to Cascade Locks. Patti has mentioned meeting with me in Stehekin.

There are countless folks at work who encouraged me. Bret gave me a light-weight tripod to use with my camera. Steve gave me tips for my gear. And Karan was always so positive and encouraging as I talked about my plans.

Of course, my brother, made the entire process FUN, trying to come up with a unique trail name and giving me positive suggestions about gear.









Finally, there a so many on-line friends who have helped and inspired me.

"Wired" (Erin Saver) documented her PCT hike in 2011 in her blog, "Walking with Wired". Many of MY gear choices were because of her thoughtful and thorough descriptions. She convinced me that I could blog from the trail, and explained in detail how it could be done. I also used her choices for resupply in my decisions for resupply while on the trail.

Another positive influence was Freebird. I met him on one of my hikes near Stampede Pass in Washington State. He put together an amazing journal of this hike of the PCT in 2010, and documented many good ideas for a successful hike.

Another influence was the journal written by Drew Reams, who documented his hike of the PCT in 2010. He had some extremely thoughtful reviews of gear, and led me to choosing my trail clothes and some of my other gear.

Patches Pal met with me to talk about the PCT

And finally, there is "Patches Pal" (Steve). I met this man on the day that I walked over 30 miles. I stumbled into camp in the dark, trampling through his camp to find a place to set up my tent. In the morning, he talked to me about my gear and told me to get in touch with him on Facebook. He gave me good ideas on how to reduce my gear weight, and let me review his gear choices. Yesterday, he took the time to drive from Seattle to meet with me an my wife and talk about the PCT. He gave me a lot of useful tips and gave me confidence that I CAN DO THIS!


So now, there are a couple of going away celebrations,  and soon I will be on the trail.

It has been an amazing journey so far.
I can't wait to see what is in store in the coming weeks and months!

Two weeks before start – tying up the loose ends

In two weeks, this shadow will be near the Mexican border heading up the trial!

Two weeks before I am on the trail!

The days seem to be flying by and I can barely catch my breath.

Things that I need to do keep popping into my head at the most random times. I'll be walking along a trail in the woods and think, "Oh my, I need to call the bank and have them put a note on my debit and credit accounts so they'll know to expect activity from many of the little towns along the trail".

Unfortunately, later, when I have some spare time at home, I'm racking my brain trying to remember my "need to do" list. "What was that I thought about on the trail this morning?"

I sat down today and made a list of all the things I need to do in the next 14 days. I now have a FULL PAGE of things to remember to do. Some are "last minute" tasks like getting extra cash, putting the wall charger for my phone into my pack, packing my medications, and putting new batteries in my head-lamp and SPOT device.

Other tasks are things that must be done soon. I want to label my extra gear that I won't be taking, but might need to be sent to me. The idea is to avoid confusion regarding which item I need. For example, I know what my Sawyer Mini-filter is, but would by resupply person know? If I put my water filter in a plastic Ziploc bag and give it a number, I can simply say, "Send me my mini-filter, which it item number 10." My resupply person won't have to guess which is the filter; they just grab the bag with the number 10 on it and put it in my next resupply box.

This past week has been wonderful as I have continued my training hikes. I am still averaging over 20 miles per day and wonder if I am getting close to having my "trail legs"?


I thought it might be nice to close out this post with a few pictures from the past week.

A few days ago I saw my first raccoons! I have often seen their tracks on the trail, but had never actually seen them. This little guy climbed up in a tree.

Raccoon peering down at me

I also was lucky enough to see the elk in the early morning light.

Elk wonder who could be out and about so early in the morning

And, in two weeks, I will miss seeing these wonderful sights:

Sunrise in the "enchanted forest"

Trees embrace the trail; a tunnel in the forest.

A pond and meadow as seen from the forest

Mount Rainier in the early morning light

I am tying up the "loose ends" and eager to take the first steps in my Pacific Crest Trail adventure.

It's just two short weeks away!

Three weeks before start - Itinerary (the plan)

Everyone wants to know "when and where"?

• When do you start? And just WHERE is THAT?
• When are you going to get to the Sierras?
• When you going to make it to Oregon, or to Washington?
• Where does the trail end?
• When do you think you will finish the trail?

I have spent the last several weeks working on my itinerary.
I used an on-line tool, Craig's PCT Planner, to select my resupply points.
The cool feature of this program is that it takes into account your hiking speed, and factors in such things as elevation gain, extra mileage required (getting off and onto the trail), and can be customized for a slower pace due to altitude or trail conditions (snow).

Here is a sample of the detail it provides:

I chose Warner Springs as my first resupply point. It is almost 110 miles from the border.
Since I am starting on April 16, it uses my average estimated hiking speed of 2.5 mph and factors in an adjustment of 45 extra minutes for every 1000 feet of elevation gain. I plan on hiking (moving) for ten hours each day.

Given this, it shows that it will take me 5.1 days to get to my resupply point. That is how much food I need at the start to make it to Warner Springs. The program calculates that I will be averaging 21.6 miles per day for this segment, and has a cool little elevation chart showing the challenges of the trail.

I spent a lot of time adding notes to each entry, including whether I planned to MAIL or BUY food, how much food I needed for the next segment of the hike, and additional notes regarding how to get there, notes on where to buy food or places to stay (if I am going to stay overnight).

An INCREDIBLE resource that I used was Yogi's Pacific Crest Trail Handbook.

She has compiled an amazing summary of trail tips and a town guide.
It is updated yearly and has the most current information about the trail.
Many of my notes were added directly from her book.
Anyone thinking of hiking the trail or doing a section of the trail would benefit from this resource.






I saved my entire itinerary in PDF format, and will have ready access to it from my phone.

In addition, I decided to put together an OVERVIEW of my entire trip, based on the information from each resupply entry.

And now, to answer everyone's questions, (drum roll), here it is:

I have borrowed the overview map from Halfmile's PCT map set, and augmented it with the dates from my itinerary. The projected dates are listed on the right-hand side. It predicts that I will get to the Canadian border by September 30th.

Of course, this is just the PLAN. I might find that I can hike faster, or my be surprised that I am going more slowly. I may decide to take an extra day off, or skip a planned day off.

And, as past through-hikers have stated, your plan will likely go out the window within the first week of your hike!

Here is the summary of my hike generated from the tool:

So there it is.
I have finished my planning for the hike, and now am continuing to tie up a few loose ends.

Family and friends are planning a couple of  "Bon voyage" parties before I go!

I am SO excited!

One month before start - butterflies in my stomach

Time is flying by as April 16th approaches, the date of the start of my adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail.

I feel like a youngster who is getting ready to drive the car for the first time. I've taken all the lessons. I've passed all of the required tests. I've practiced, and practiced, and practiced some more. Yet it seems there is always more to learn; more questions that remain unanswered. I have butterflies in my stomach!

And soon, it will be time to go and prove that I really can do this!

To me, the biggest challenge will be learning to live in the outdoors. At the end of most days, I will still be in the wilderness and sleeping in the cool of the night. No longer will there be a cozy bed and comfy sofa. No longer will there be easily obtainable water and food. And I will need to adapt to the changes in weather. I suppose all of this is part of the adventure.

Last week, I set up my tent and adjusted the lanyards of the "bathtub" ground sheet. The ground sheet attaches to the inside walls of the tent, and is designed to keep me dry. I have heard that splatter from rain sometimes comes over the sides of the ground sheet if the lanyards are not properly secured. I also decided to get a different set of tent stakes. I currently have titanium stakes that have round-shafts. They are great for holding in dirt, but are not as effective in sandy, rocky or snowy ground. I purchased a set of titanium stakes with a V-shaped shaft.

What I have accomplished since my last post?

• I now have all of my permits, with the "Entry into Canada" permit arriving two weeks ago. It took four weeks to get the permit.

• I now have all of my gear. I just got my new rain coat from ZPacks. It is their "Challenger" jacket which is made from a special fabric that is breathable. I have been wearing it on my training hikes for the past week, and it seems to work fairly well in allowing sweat to pass through. It does wet up however, when I am really perspiring, but not as much as my old coat. I walked with it in last weeks rain downpour, and the shell keeps the rain out. 
• I have gathered together more food. I still need to put together the last boxes that I will need for the hike through Washington state. I got some more Mountain House meals. I found that I can buy a bucket of them from Amazon that includes the three classic meals: Spaghetti with meat sauce, Chili Mac with beef, and Rice with chicken. I also found some Tuna Salad foil packs, that will be good rolled up in a tortilla shell. I stopped at Trader Joes and got some banana chips, candied ginger, and a mixed fruit mix. I heard from a through hiker last year that these taste really good as snacks while hiking.

• I finally perfected a recipe for brown rice, refried beans and taco meat. I found that if I add a chicken flavored bouillon cube to the water it adds more flavor. I also added butter flavor and Parmesan/Romano cheese. The mix smells and tastes really good.

                    1    Cup Refried beans

                    1/2 Cup Brown Minute Rice

                    1/3 Cup Taco Filling

                    1    Tbsp Parmesan/Romano cheese

                    1    Tbsp Butter flavor (Butter Buds) 

                    1/2 Tsp salt

                    1    Chicken flavor bouillon cube

                    Place everything in a one-gallon zip-lock bag.

                    To prepare, add 1 3/4 cup of water and let set for ten minutes.

                    It is even more tasty if a little cheese is added along with some Fritos corn chips!

• I have continued walking/training every day. In February, I have averaged 21.6 miles per day. That's over 600 miles in February alone.

As I walk through the woods each morning, I feel like I am a guest just passing through.

A few days ago, I heard a loud squawking coming through the trees. Several crows were dive bombing a hawk, trying to drive it away from their territory. And yet, it seemed to understand that this is just the way life it in the wild.

I noticed that there are birds in the same places each morning. 

Along one stretch of the trail, the red-wing black birds were especially vocal:

And, of course, on some mornings, I get to see Mount Rainier as the sun rises. Just like the picture at the beginning of this post, it is one of the most inspiring sights!

Mt. Rainier captures the morning sunrise.

For those who are interested, I have updated my gear list and provided links to each item.

Oops, the butterflies just jumped again!

2 Months before start - closer to being "ready"

The "Grizz Bob" Look - my beard is six weeks in the making

In two months time, I will be on the Pacific crest Trail.
Although it doesn't seem like it to me, a lot has happened during this last month.

Picture my brother posted on my Facebook page

First, as you can see in the picture (above), I'm growing a beard! I figured that shaving is just one more thing that I don't want to worry about on the trail. The only thing that bothers me are the little hairs that sneak into my mouth. I keep trying to chew on them!

My brother posted a picture on my Facebook page, calling me "Grizz Bob" (picture to the right).

He might be pretty close to getting it right for my look on the trail!

Food that I am planning to have sent to me

Second, I am almost done packaging my food, a project that consists of 15 boxes with 68 days worth of meals. This is food that my wife, Valorie, is going to send to me while I am on the trail.

For the most part, I hope to buy my food along the way at towns that have adequate groceries. 

Of course, buying along the way has the advantage of saving postage and allowing me to get food that I like. 

The disadvantage is that I am at the mercy of whatever the store has in stock, and it takes more time and planning to get/find the food and pack it up.

I now have all of my gear except for the one rain jacket that I ordered from ZPacks. It should get here sometime in the next week or so. I decided to get their "Challenger" rain jacket which is made from waterproof-breathable cuben fiber material. It is extremely light weight (a big plus on the trail).

My PCT long-distance Permit

I went to REI in Seattle a few weeks ago and got a BV500 bear vault food canister which is required for storing food while hiking between Kennedy Meadows in the south and Sonora Pass in the north in the high Sierras.

I also got a light-weight down jacket (the Ghost Whisperer) made by Mountain Hard Wear, along with (5) pairs of Darn Tough socks, a pair of sun gloves, and a light-weight sun hat. By using my $550 dollars worth of REI gift certificates, I was able to get out of the store by paying just $60!


I now have all of my required permits except for my "entry into Canada" permit, which I applied for about four weeks ago. I should get it in the next week or so.








The US Forest Service in coordination with the PCTA (Pacific Crest Trail Association) has started a quota system this year to regulate the number of through-hiking permits issued for any single day. The limit is (50) hikers leaving the southern terminus at the Mexican border on any one day. The PCTA put together a nice summary page discussing the need and reasons-for the new permit system.

The graph (below) shows when I am leaving (April 16).
As you can see, I am right in the middle of the pack, with many, many others on the trail ahead of me. Hiking "solo" might not be so "solo"!

As February 15, this is the spread of hikers leaving the southern terminus of the PCT. I am in the middle of the "pack"

Here are a few thoughts I had on my morning training hike:

Two months to go until I am on the trail. WOW!
Time is flying by!
I'm excited and worried, but ready to start this adventure!

3 Months before start - Planning and Training

I love George Bernard Shaw's quotation, "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

 I, for one, refuse to stop playing!

It is now just over three months before I head south to start my adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail.

I have started the detailed planning process to determine how I will resupply over the five months or more on the trail. There is a great resource on the WEB, called "Craig's PCT Planner". It helps me choose resupply locations, determines how many days of food are needed between supply points, and projects arrival dates based on hiking speed and terrain. I am nowhere done, but have planned out the first 500 miles of my trip. You can preview it here: Bob's Preliminary PCT Hiking Plan








I still need to get all my permits. Yes, PCT thru-hikers need to have all the permits for their travel. Fortunately the Pacific Crest Trail Association has a web page where I can start the application process: PCT Long Distance Permits. I foolishly applied for the California Fire Permit last December, and then noticed that it was only good to the end of the year. I guess I'll be re-submitting for that one! I can't apply for the long-distance permit until February.

I have decided that I am happy with my gear choices. There is always lighter gear and different products. But, really, how much weight am I going to be able to save and at what cost? Unless I was willing to go without a stove and willing to take only a bivy sack instead of my tent, I have very few options for removing significant weight. I am happy with what I have, EXCEPT that I still need to get a warmer / lighter down jacket and perhaps a light-weight rain / wind breaker.

I am very happy with my training progress.
Since the first of the year, I walk over 20 miles on most weekdays, with more than half of that carrying my backpack at just over 30 pounds.

Here is chart of my day-to-day step counts for last year (2014):

My average steps per day - 27, 452 steps
My average miles per day - 14.3 miles
My total miles for 2014 - 5, 219 total miles!

I am so lucky to have a place to walk / train that is close by. And, I am very lucky to have hiking buddies to encourage me and to walk with me.

I put together a short video which shows what a beautiful area I have for training.

Three months to go. WOW!
I am filled with excitement and worry. While I was trying to determine my resupply points for the Sierra's, I re-read WIRED's account of her trip during a high snowfall year. YIKES!

CAN I REALLY DO THIS?

I guess that is why they call it an adventure!

5 Months before start - Training, researching, worrying

I just realized today that it is about five months before I will be starting my adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Five months.
It is both a long time and a short time away.

It's been a long time preparing my body.
I have been walking EVERY DAY for the last seven years.
Walking before work.
Walking during my lunch break.
Walking on weekends and on holidays and vacations.
Walking up steps, hills and along wooded trails.

Enchanted sun rise out on the trail

The trail around Oak Lake as the sun rises.

This year, I have averaged 14 miles per day; half the distance of a good day on the trail.
I am happy with my progress.

This morning I followed my normal weekend "walking routine":
I arose early (very early) and walked on the treadmill for two hours.
I set the speed at 3.7 miles per hour on a slope of six degrees.
By the end of my work out, I am drenched with sweat.

I take a short break and remove my shoes and socks.
My feet feel hot to the touch!

After my feet cool off, I put on a new pair of socks and switch to my trail runners.
I grab my pack and hiking poles and head out to meet my walking buddies.
I am fortunate to have friends who like to walk on weekends, rain or shine.
We meet just as it gets light and head for the trails near Lake Sawyer.
My walking buddies have a good pace, and we cover just over six miles in the next two hours.

By 9 AM I will have walked my fourteen miles.

The trail was flooded this morning. I am getting used to walking in wet shoes.

But five months until the start of my PCT hike is a short time as well.

I still need to get the rest of my gear: a light-weight warm jacket, rain pants, and windbreaker.
I need to decide where my resupply towns will be.
I need to determine where to send food, and where to buy it.
I need to decide on my start date.
I need to get food and pack / label boxes.

There are permits to obtain, a plane ticket to buy, and lists / reminders to make.
I need to have my wife take over paying the bills and helping with my blog.

So many things yet to do.

Five months.