Thru hiking – Page 4 – wandering chardonnay

Can’t carry it with you, if you want to survive

Do you see the way that tree bends? Does it inspire
Leaning out to catch the sun’s rays. A lesson to be applied.
Are you getting something out of this all encompassing trip?

Seems that needlessly it’s getting harder to find an approach and a way to live. -Eddie Vedder

Laying in my bunk at the hostel last night, hikers sleeping in nearby bunks and rooms. I couldn’t help but think how lucky we all are to have the experience of this journey. It’s all so similar yet so personal. We are all headed the same direction, though the trail is the same our paths will be our own. Getting there will change who are.

camp after Mather pass

I’ve changed, so much I hardly recognized myself when looked in the mirror recently. Or maybe it’s the same I’ve always been I just haven’t been looking close enough. As a solo hiker I’ve had concerns about going over passes, crossing streams and generally wondering around the wilderness with just my paper maps. So imagine my surprise when I realized I had just crossed a roaring stream and was headed up Mather Pass alone. I got hella nervous, especially with gray clouds building. Would it be icy, dangerous, would I be able to find the trail? I took a deep breath ate a handful of gummy bears and just started climbing like crazy, figuring I’d deal with what was on the other side when I got there. I really enjoy hiking on my own, however there is a certain comfort and safety in having others around, ya know. They say you pack you fears. I certainly did, my packs pretty heavy. At some point you have to face them to lighten your load. That’s the learning and growing part, you need to do that on your own. Mather was the second pass that day at 12,100 feet. I summoned energy from who knows where. Got over the pass alright, pushed myself, sliding, post-holing, falling through the wet snow. As the sun slipped behind a mountain I managed to find the trail! Picking up the pace I made it to camp before dark, the boys (Geo and Scout) already there tents up chillin. Two passes and 20 miles, all in one day, in the High Sierras. That’s crazy exhausting and cool! Learning to rely on myself……priceless. Follow me on instagram

It just got real

Hiking, PCT

I’ve been seriously deep in nature! At mile 790 and it’s been a trip getting here. Took my first zero(s) at mile 702 in Kennedy Meadows, no rest day in a hotel as there is not one anywhere near there, but I did camp in a teepee! (check our my instagram @elsyew, I haven’t figured out how to post pics here yet).

Anyway up until now we have just been hiking trying to stay hydrated. But once you hit Kennedy Meadows it’s like planning an expedition. People have ice axe’s, crampons extra clothes and a million plans. I got none of that. I’m just winging it, with my new shoes and insulated over sized gloves)! That’s how I ended up trudging through a snow storm 2 days out of Kennedy Meadows! Yeah…what weather report? But I survived and didn’t freeze to death, so far. Yeah me.(side note:low snow year does not mean no snow or warmer temps..just so you know)

My dreams of climbing Whitney were dashed as there was just waaay too much snow. When 2 guys with ice axes and crampon’s aren’t going I figured I’d better pass too. I’m crazy not stupid.

I’ve been hiking with Toasted Toad, he found me wondering around, kinda lost, just past the Kern River. Darn paper maps. So with Whitney out, on we went to Forester Pass, the highest point on the PCT at 13,153 feet. The hike up was looong, snowy and cold. I have seen pictures but to see it with your own eyes CRAZY!!! At the approach a guy told us “don’t go, it’s too dangerous, it’s not worth risking your life”. But heck at that point it was either go over or hike back 16 miles, nope no going back. I was crossing the pass with Toasted Toad (a retired special agent) so figured I was in good hands. So on we went! It was all good, sun shining and all, til we crossed over the pass, then it got real. And I thought that guy may have been right.

Forester Pass…….

The north face of the mountain was all socked in! You couldn’t see the trail or 20 feet in front of you. I was seriously concerned, we were post holing, slipping, falling….it was beyond an adventure. But we made it, finally, thank the sweet baby Jesus. I have never been happier to see other tents. Then we got to camp and got snowed on overnight…3 inches! Yeah that happened.

So right not I am at a hostel in Independence, CA with the others that survived the pass trying to regroup and figure out a plan to move forward……

Stay tuned….

Nero Zero breakdown

Hiking, PCT, Uncategorized

Made it to Kennedy Meadows, that is major. The gateway to the Sierras! 700 miles without a Zero! Financially that is great because I can’t afford all the the hotels and time in town. The last few miles into KM were long and winding, but I was pumped every time I got a glimpse of the Sierras! Walking up to the General Store (where I would camp, shower, eat, and worry) was great the hikers sitting on the patio cheer for you as you walk up, nice!

bear canister- thanks for the loan

Staying 3 days in KM was not in the plans….but, first I needed to pick up my bear canister that I got through the loan program. You only need the canister mainly through the Sierras, so they loan it to you and you mail it back when done! Second, I needed the rest and the opportunity to socialize with other hikers. Chatting with other hikers was good and bad, though. It was nice to know that other people struggled or disliked the same sections that I did. Sitting around the deck or the fire at night laughing and learning about everyone is a big part of this experience. However, the guys quickly picked up on my nervousness about the Sierras. They made a point in telling me all the scary hypothermia stories they could think of. This combined with the incoming storm, plus watching people pull rope, ice axes, gloves and well, winter gear from their packages sent me into a tizzy. Bring on the wine!!

My wine peeps!

KM General Store

Quickly realizing I might be unprepared for the mountains, moreover my finger less gloves might not cut it. Luckily, I was able to score a ride into town with another hiker and headed straight for the outfitters!

So headed into the Sierras, hopefully I won’t freeze to death. But I made it through the last snow storm. So send me lots of warm vibes!

tent inside teepee, yes!!

Desert wind

Hiking, PCT

Hiked out onto the California aqua duct alone, the first mile or so is open then it’s covered. It’s a mostly flat section so I was dinking along til Willie and 7 caught up to me. Man these guys are great to hike with. Willie is a marathoner and 7 has well, done the 7 summit’s! They are older gents but they smoke me every-time. We whipped out 24 miles in no time, I was distracted trying to keep up and chatting!

Jetta Blue- Mojave

aquaduct

After the aqueduct we hiked through a giant wind farm. Yep it was super freakin windy. Climbed a big hill (always) then down to camp in Tylerhorse Canyon. It was a great campsite til the wind started. The wind blew down my tent 3 times! After the third time I just said screw it an slept in in collapsed tent. About 4am the wind finally stopped.

Dragged my sleepy self out of the tent at 6 and chased Willie & 7 the 17 miles into Mojave. Great trail angel Jetta Blue drove us the 11 miles into town from the trailhead. Resting here tonight til the post office opens tomorrow for my bounce box. Then I start my last week in the desert!

It never rains in Southern California

Hiking, PCT

Yea….that’s crap. It rains and it’s super chilly. I’ve been cold pretty much since Mt Laguna, weird since this is the desert portion.

For the most part it is a blessing, climbing those last mountains would have sucked in the heat. I’ve been hiking with the 3 wise men (Stewart, Willie and Little Brown) since about Cajon Pass. They are a joy and a challenge. I struggle to keep up on the uphill as they fly up, then I catch up on the downhill. They may be older but they have serious hiker legs. They’re also pretty cool to chat with.

Stewart had to hop off the trail for a bit and Willie had to wait for a package, so I have been chasing Little Brown up the hills the last couple of miles.

A quick stop at trail angels the Anderson’s -Casa de Luna. (thanks Terry for the hot chocolate, bandanna, ride back to the trail….! Wish I could have stayed longer and had taco salad, but the trail calls) The weather caught up to us last night, just made it to camp before it really started to rain. (If you happen to be in Lake Hughes, CA stop in the Rock Inn neat place, good food) Anyway, I stayed dry (so I guess my seam sealing worked, yeah!). I took the 10 mile road walk detour made it to Hikertown to let my tent dry out,order shoes and figure out this next section.

All in all I have been chilly but lucky. Some hikers got hail or snow. Stay safe & warm out there wherever you are.

Attempting a Thru Hike

Hiking, PCT, Uncategorized

Now I understand why people say ‘attempting a thru hike’. There is no guarantee you are going to make it, period. So many temptations, injuries oh and the mind games.

Once in town it is very hard to not want to stay….for awhile. The comforts of food, shower’s, and well, clean water make it tough to hike on. Momentarily I am taking a nero (short mile day) in Wrightwood, this place is great…..they have water and stuff!

There are so many people off the trail already due to injuries, blisters, shin splints, hips…you name it. So thankful every day my body is holding up, for now.

Now the mind games….walking for hours with nothing to do but think, well it can be tricky. Without all the things to distract you like work , tv, computers, people….your mind is going there. Sometimes it’s rough, I call it trail therapy.

The post brought to you by water

Hiking, PCT

So water is a thing out here, for real. You need it, you want, you plan where to find it, but you don’t want to carry it. (I don’t)

I was concerned about water before I left, so I carried a bunch, well 4 liters, which is a lot for me. I was really not wanting to get into the whole filtering water thing right away either. It’s a process with my mini Sawyer water filter.

So the other morning, I hiked down to the water source, a stream. I decided to pour water from my bottle into the Camelback without removing it from my backpack, bad idea. Before I could stop it water was pouring into my pack! Doah! I took off my socks and shoes to quickly cross the stream then spread everything out to dry. By the time I filtered water and got my shoes back on things were more or less dry. Lesson learned.

water

Things happen as they should

Hiking, PCT

Plans on the trail change constantly. My plans to go to kickoff blew away with the wind. I just couldn’t justify possibly 4 days off trail. It was a good choice to keep hiking, as I was told there are many temptations on the trail. (great advice from Paint your wagon)

I hiked on to Big Bear ignoring my weather fears. Half way the cold dreary weather moved in, it was really cold and windy on the exposed ridge. I made it to a windowless doorless cabin to hunker down with a bunch of other cheery hikers. Trail magic (thanks to ‘Cribbage’) got us through a chilly night.

A bunch of us slackpacked into Big Bear, amazing how quick you can move less 25 pounds and cold rain/snow coming down. A little bit of everything out here.

The cold rain moved in as we entered town. As I went to resupply at the local grocery store, I found out a dear friend just happened to be in town, Skyler!

burner lover_preview

Once we connected he and Adam swooped in and picked me right up! They took me out fed me and resupplied me with so much love!

You see sometimes plans change for reasons you can’t even begin to imagine.

oh….if you happen to be in Big Bear stop in and say hi to Lorraine at Captains Anchorage tell her chardonnay sent ya!

Up then Down then Up……

Hiking, PCT

Past mile 200 today! Left Idyllwild hiked up devils slide and San Jacinto. Spent the night just below the peak. Very cool to wake with a deer outside my tent and above the clouds! I was pretty excited that I would be headed down hill. Little did I know I had to climb up then down then….down for a long time. Matter of fact it took me full day and a morning to get down off that mountain. But with the amazing views off Fuller Ridge it was all worth it! Crossed hwy 10 the windmill farm, whoa super windy!

This morning I arrived at Ziggy and the Bear (trail angels)! They have been hosting hikers for 14 years! So I got my 2nd much needed shower and so much more. I’m learning a lesson about letting go of plans. I’ve been so caught up in my “plan” that I haven’t really stopped to take in the experience. So I am taking a day here and heading to the PCT kickoff.

Ziggy and the Bear’s

Michigan peeps on trail!

Sometimes you go uphill and it’s tough but don’t quit, then you cruise downhill but be careful of rocks that might trip you up! Remember pick a direction, keep moving forward and enjoy the journey!

Happy Trails- chardonnay

I’m on the TRAIL!!!

Hiking, PCT

So I have officially been on the trail for a week. It’s been everything I imagined and so much more. I don’t have a snappy Iphone so updating from the trail just is not gonna be happening. I am currently in Idyllwild.

How’s it been? Let me quickly catch you up. Well I got off to a roaring start I cranked out 20 miles to Lake Moreno, then 21 miles the next day into Mt Laguna. That hiker hunger people talk about has not hit me yet. So I hit a major wall going in to Mt Laguna, I was really dragging finally made it like 8:45 pm it was cold, dark and my mp3 battery died. I ended up stealth camping alone and meeting up with a friend Andrew the next morning because I just couldn’t make it another mile.

The hike to Julian was lovely and hot. For the first time ever I hitchhiked, it took me a bit to get a ride into town. Oh and no I did not have the pie. Man what is with people and the Julian pie. I did stop by the local grocery and picked up some cheese! Next time you are in Julian try the cheese, it’s tasty. I was trying to hitch out of Julian back to the trail when a sheriff pulled up. (doah, I thought he was going to tell me not hitching) But nope! Instead he gave me a ride! Woohoo!

Got a little trail magic on my way to Warner Springs. Rolled into the campsite and there was this girl ‘Veggie’ just making up chocolate pancakes and handing out beers! Amazing how the littlest things are so great out here. I about danced a jig when I saw the Warner Springs sign that stated showers, laundry and food! Speaking of Warner Springs, man are they hiker friendly. There were ladies there just waiting to ride to the post office and back. I got resupplied clean clothes, clean me, food and I was back on the trail in no time!

I hiked with fun group of ladies out of Warner Springs, it was good to hook up with a group for a bit and kinda slow it down for a while.

Warner Springs

Eagle Rock

Mostly I hike by myself, which I like. Then I can go my own pace be that fast or slow and talk to myself without distraction. I keep running in the same people in the last few days anyway. We leap frog and the end up camping in the same areas. Met a nice kid ‘SnackMaster’ from Washington, we hiked together one morning he was quite fun to talk to. So many interesting people you meet out here.

All in all I have to say I’m pretty happy with the way my body is holding up. 150 miles in and she is still purring like a kitten. No blisters and no pains that haven’t resolved themselves with a little vitamin I and some sleep.

I have to mention all there are so many great trail angels out here! TA Mike/Tom/Mary thanks for the water, food, soda, beer and places to camp.

So I am leaving Idyllwild this afternoon, skipping the road walk.

I will try to keep updating as much as possible but I learning on the trail you just never know.

Happy Trails ~ chardonnay