Trail Guides, Gear Reviews, and Backpacking Tips
DATE: June 18 START: Carter Meadow Trail Junction FINISH: Just before junction to Horseshoe Lake DISTANCE: 37.6 miles TOTAL DISTANCE: 1359.1 miles An early start saw me reach the halfway milepost of the PCT just after sunrise. With the first Read More …
DATE: June 18 START: Junction to Horseshoe Lake FINISH: Cache 22 DISTANCE: 39 miles TOTAL DISTANCE: 1398 miles After a longish day, which included a couple of hours worth of burgers, ice cream and V8 vegetable juice at Old Station, Read More …
DATE: June 17 START: Braaten’s at Little Haven FINISH: Carter Creek Junction DISTANCE: 32 miles TOTAL DISTANCE: 1321.5 miles Fresh fruit, coffee, cereal and yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle for breakfast…..suffice to say I didn’t hit the trail at the crack Read More …
DATE: June 16 START: About 1.5 miles shy of Lookout Rock FINISH: The Braaten’s at Little Haven DISTANCE: 31.5 miles TOTAL DISTANCE: 1289.5 miles Soon after Buck’s Summit I met Christie (trail name ‘Rockin’), a 55 going on 25 year Read More …
DATE: June 14/15 START: Red Moose Inn, Sierra City FINISH: About 1.5 miles shy of Lookout Rock DISTANCE: 60.5 miles TOTAL DISTANCE: 1258 miles A short day (nero in hiker parlance, ie close to zero, but not quite) out of Read More …
DATE: June 13 START: A couple of miles or so after Peter Grubb Hut. FINISH: Red Moose Inn, Sierra City DISTANCE: 32.3 miles (plus 1.4 off-trail miles to Sierra City) TOTAL DISTANCE: 1197.5 miles Lots of mud and snow for Read More …
DATE: June 12 START: Just before PCT and TRT junction FINISH: A couple of miles or so after Peter Grubb Hut. DISTANCE: 33.5 miles (53.9 km) TOTAL DISTANCE: 1165.2 miles (1884.8 km) Regular snow drifts continued, the remnants of some Read More …
DATE: June 11 START: Stealth site above lower Echo Lake FINISH: On ridge, just before PCT and Tahoe Rim Trail Junction DISTANCE: 34.7 miles (55.8 km) TOTAL DISTANCE: 1131.7 miles (1820.9 km) Began the day with sublime early morning views Read More …
DATE: June 6 to 10 START: Just over Donahue Pass FINISH: Stealth camp above lower Echo Lake DISTANCE: 167 miles (268.7 km) DAILY AVERAGE: 33.4 miles (53.7 km) TOTAL DISTANCE: 1097 miles (1765.1 km)
DATE: June 5 START: Just past junction to Duck Lake FINISH: Just over Donahue Pass DISTANCE: 34 miles TOTAL DISTANCE: 930 miles
DATE: June 3 START: Muir Pass Hut FINISH: Junction to VVR DISTANCE: 40.1 miles (64.5 km) TOTAL DISTANCE: 878.7 miles (1365.6 km) “Backpacking: An extended form of hiking in which people carry double the amount of gear they need for Read More …
DATE: June 4 START: Junction to VVR FINISH: Just past junction to Duck Lake DISTANCE: 17.5 miles (plus 7.5 off-trail to and from VVR) / 25 miles total TOTAL DISTANCE: 896 miles (km) Cruisey day, during which I resupplied, did Read More …
DATE: June 2 START: Just before Lake Marjorie FINISH: Muir Pass Hut DISTANCE: 30 miles TOTAL DISTANCE: 838.6 miles (km) Soon after breaking camp, I ran into Carrot and Dream Laugher. I had hiked with Carrot BPB (before Poodle Bush), Read More …
DATE: June 1 START: Tyndal Creek FINISH: Just before Lake Marjorie DISTANCE: 33.8 miles TOTAL DISTANCE: 808.6 miles (km) One walks up a hill with their heart and down a hill with their legs. Big day on the climbing front, Read More …
DATE: May 31 START: One mile past turnoff to Diaz Creek (742.8 miles) FINISH: Tyndal Creek DISTANCE: 32 miles (51.5 km) TOTAL DISTANCE: 774.8 miles (1246.7 km) Mellow sort of day. Nice weather, early finish, lots of breaks. Still not Read More …
DATE: May 30 START: Kennedy Meadows FINISH: One mile past turnoff to Diaz Creek (742.8 miles) DISTANCE: 40.5 miles TOTAL DISTANCE: 742.8 miles (1130.8 km) With the heavens as my ceiling and the morning songbird as my alarm clock, how Read More …
May 29 Made another visit to the hospital yesterday. The swelling had subsided by about 80%; the rash a little less so. I was prescribed some extra medication and on the proviso that things continued to improve, given a tentative Read More …
I make a shitty patient. I rate an extended period of convalescence right up there with a roaring case of hemorrhoids on the old ‘fun-ometer scale’. Nonetheless, my enforced layoff here in Ridgecrest hasn’t been such a bad thing. I Read More …
DATE: May 24 START: Half mile past Long Valley Loop Road (690.1 miles) FINISH: Kennedy Meadows General Store DISTANCE: 12.7 miles (20.4 km) TOTAL DISTANCE: 702.8 miles (1130.8 km) Shuffled into Kennedy Meadows, the final twelve miles taking a painfully Read More …
DATE: May 23 START: Saddle at 660.9 mile mark FINISH: Half mile past Long Valley Loop Road (690.1 miles) DISTANCE: 29.2 miles (47 km) TOTAL DISTANCE: 690.1 miles (1110.4 km) My optimism in regards to having seen the worst of Read More …