Monday, June 15, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Change of plans, again
Greetings surprised blog readers!
I am currently in the city of Lone Pine at mile 744ish, about a day south of Mount Whitney. As you might imagine, I didn't expect to be here. However, the weather has been a bit nasty the last few days with thunderstorms and snow and such. About 11:00 I got to a trailhead and talked to someone heard who said that for the next four or five days there would be 20 to 30 percent chance of snow with highs of about 32 degrees. That's highs, my loyal blog readers, not lows. And oh, by the way, the next 100 miles includes a lot of stream fords (one that's about chest deep) and snow field crossings. Hmm. The trailhead I was at is not an easy place to hitchhike from as it's essentially the end of a road, but just then some local hikers came off the trail and headed to their car. I asked for a ride into town and they agreed, and so I got to town and found a hostel. It turns out there are a bunch of hikers in town waiting to see what the weather does. We're all prepared for cold-weather backpacking, but most of us are not prepared for what the forecast is saying.
SO ... I have no plan right now. I don't know where to get food, I don't know what I'm going to do about getting better/warmer gear, I don't know how long I'll be here, and I don't know how I'm going to get back to the trail. This is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I keep reminding myself that being stretched is a good thing and if I wanted an easy and relaxed summer I would have just stayed home.
That's all for now. Hopefully the weather will turn for the better and the next few days will find me back on the trail, up Mount Whitney, across Forester Pass, down Kersage Pass, and into the city of Independence for my next resupply. We'll see. Be flexible, right?
Joel
I am currently in the city of Lone Pine at mile 744ish, about a day south of Mount Whitney. As you might imagine, I didn't expect to be here. However, the weather has been a bit nasty the last few days with thunderstorms and snow and such. About 11:00 I got to a trailhead and talked to someone heard who said that for the next four or five days there would be 20 to 30 percent chance of snow with highs of about 32 degrees. That's highs, my loyal blog readers, not lows. And oh, by the way, the next 100 miles includes a lot of stream fords (one that's about chest deep) and snow field crossings. Hmm. The trailhead I was at is not an easy place to hitchhike from as it's essentially the end of a road, but just then some local hikers came off the trail and headed to their car. I asked for a ride into town and they agreed, and so I got to town and found a hostel. It turns out there are a bunch of hikers in town waiting to see what the weather does. We're all prepared for cold-weather backpacking, but most of us are not prepared for what the forecast is saying.
SO ... I have no plan right now. I don't know where to get food, I don't know what I'm going to do about getting better/warmer gear, I don't know how long I'll be here, and I don't know how I'm going to get back to the trail. This is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I keep reminding myself that being stretched is a good thing and if I wanted an easy and relaxed summer I would have just stayed home.
That's all for now. Hopefully the weather will turn for the better and the next few days will find me back on the trail, up Mount Whitney, across Forester Pass, down Kersage Pass, and into the city of Independence for my next resupply. We'll see. Be flexible, right?
Joel
High Sierra hiiiiigh, California.
Amy got a call from Joel last night. It might be the last one for awhile as he's headed up into the high sierras and might not have cell phone or internet service for awhile.
High Sierras means no more desert! YEAH! He’s excited about getting into the mountains. No more desert means no more rattlesnakes (yey!) but also means new wildlife enters the picture. Bears and mosquitoes are the biggest concern at this time. Joel is using the bear canister to hold his food, and he’s seen a fair number of mosquitoes but they haven’t gotten bad yet.
Prayers for finding people to hike with for a part of the hike as he gets up into the mountain and the trail gets a little hard to find with snow fields, etc. He’s going to hike to the top of Mt Whitney if the weather holds out. Mt Whitney is the highest point in the lower 48 states so it would be awesome to be able to summit. It’s been so cold (below zero windchills at the summit of Mt Whitney) there’s been ice on Joel’s sleeping bag every morning. That’s quite a change from the desert heat.
We'll post pictures when we get them next... keep praying for Joel!
High Sierras means no more desert! YEAH! He’s excited about getting into the mountains. No more desert means no more rattlesnakes (yey!) but also means new wildlife enters the picture. Bears and mosquitoes are the biggest concern at this time. Joel is using the bear canister to hold his food, and he’s seen a fair number of mosquitoes but they haven’t gotten bad yet.
Prayers for finding people to hike with for a part of the hike as he gets up into the mountain and the trail gets a little hard to find with snow fields, etc. He’s going to hike to the top of Mt Whitney if the weather holds out. Mt Whitney is the highest point in the lower 48 states so it would be awesome to be able to summit. It’s been so cold (below zero windchills at the summit of Mt Whitney) there’s been ice on Joel’s sleeping bag every morning. That’s quite a change from the desert heat.
We'll post pictures when we get them next... keep praying for Joel!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Official PCT Joke
Greetings ever-insightful blog readers!
I would like to share with you the semi-official PCT trail joke:
Question: How do you make thru-hikers laugh?
Answer: Tell them you have a plan.
Today I'm in the town of Lake Isabella. I didn't plan to come here, but I was on schedule to enter the Sierras earlier than recommended and I ran into a group of people who all had a ride into town, so on a whim I decided to go into town with them to take a day off. If you know me well, you'll know that "Joel" and "on a whim" rarely are found in the same sentence. However, I'm starting to learn to be flexible and go with the flow rather than try to plan in detail and then execute my plan without deviation. It's difficult for me, but I'm happy to be stretched as I believe it will make me a better person. If I just come out here and have a grand ol' adventure but don't learn and grow through the experience then the whole thing is a bit of a waste in my eyes.
So here I am in Lake Isabella. I have 50 more miles to Kennedy Meadows, which I will hike Wednesday through Friday. I'll then rest again at Kennedy Meadows for a day or so while I repack food and some new gear for the Sierras before I head into the mountains. Yesterday I caught my first glimpse of the jagged peaks of the Sierras, and I'm really excited to get out of the desert and into the rougher terrain!
In the last few days we've had some thunderstorms come through. I was on the edge of most of them and only got drizzled on, but some other people I am in town with got half-inch hail. I discovered that my ponco tarp is not as well vented as I thought, and I got really hot and sweaty hiking with it on. I might have to switch it out for something else before I get to Washington where it rains a lot more.
The other fun story from this last section is that a few days ago I hiked 25 miles to the place I was hoping to camp, and when I arrived I saw a sign that said "Trail Magic: 2 more miles." I flew through the 26th and 27th miles, and found a small group of former hikers who had set up at a road and were feeding hikers. I ate a huge dinner of pasta and meatballs and fruit, then got up in the morning and ate a huge breakfast of french toast and hash browns, and then made sandwiches to take on the road with me. We also sat around a campfire and sang songs and talked. It was a really fun break from normal trail camping.
Once I get through the next 50 miles I have no idea what to expect as far as phone and internet access, but I'll try to update the blog myself when I can or at least call my wife and give her an update that she can type up. I've also sent home a few more memory cards, so there should be more pictures up soon.
Thanks,
Joel
I would like to share with you the semi-official PCT trail joke:
Question: How do you make thru-hikers laugh?
Answer: Tell them you have a plan.
Today I'm in the town of Lake Isabella. I didn't plan to come here, but I was on schedule to enter the Sierras earlier than recommended and I ran into a group of people who all had a ride into town, so on a whim I decided to go into town with them to take a day off. If you know me well, you'll know that "Joel" and "on a whim" rarely are found in the same sentence. However, I'm starting to learn to be flexible and go with the flow rather than try to plan in detail and then execute my plan without deviation. It's difficult for me, but I'm happy to be stretched as I believe it will make me a better person. If I just come out here and have a grand ol' adventure but don't learn and grow through the experience then the whole thing is a bit of a waste in my eyes.
So here I am in Lake Isabella. I have 50 more miles to Kennedy Meadows, which I will hike Wednesday through Friday. I'll then rest again at Kennedy Meadows for a day or so while I repack food and some new gear for the Sierras before I head into the mountains. Yesterday I caught my first glimpse of the jagged peaks of the Sierras, and I'm really excited to get out of the desert and into the rougher terrain!
In the last few days we've had some thunderstorms come through. I was on the edge of most of them and only got drizzled on, but some other people I am in town with got half-inch hail. I discovered that my ponco tarp is not as well vented as I thought, and I got really hot and sweaty hiking with it on. I might have to switch it out for something else before I get to Washington where it rains a lot more.
The other fun story from this last section is that a few days ago I hiked 25 miles to the place I was hoping to camp, and when I arrived I saw a sign that said "Trail Magic: 2 more miles." I flew through the 26th and 27th miles, and found a small group of former hikers who had set up at a road and were feeding hikers. I ate a huge dinner of pasta and meatballs and fruit, then got up in the morning and ate a huge breakfast of french toast and hash browns, and then made sandwiches to take on the road with me. We also sat around a campfire and sang songs and talked. It was a really fun break from normal trail camping.
Once I get through the next 50 miles I have no idea what to expect as far as phone and internet access, but I'll try to update the blog myself when I can or at least call my wife and give her an update that she can type up. I've also sent home a few more memory cards, so there should be more pictures up soon.
Thanks,
Joel
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Pictures (part 3)
Sorry these have taken so long to post... hopefully they are pretty self explanatory, but if you have any questions about them, just ask Amy - she knows where most of them are from (and some stories to go with them)
Pictures (part 1)
Watercache, pretty vista, rattlesnake,(see earlier blog for the full story!) and start of the hike.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
