A long day and an unsettling night

April 21st, 2015

I woke up fairly late in hiker terms, which is around 7am. Then I worked on my blog and went over my food. All I had left was three cups of dehydrated beans and rice and a cliff bar. I was about three miles from a small resort area or I was around thirty two miles from Warner Springs. Since it was getting late and probably would start getting hot I decided to try a long day and try to at least get close to the next town. 

I packed up and started climbing out of the valley that I was camping in. As I started going up the mountain I caught up with a hiker that was quite interesting. Her name is Mother Goose and she is eighty five years old and attempting to hike the entire PCT. She asked me where I was hiking today and I told her I was trying to get to Warner Springs. After that she wished me luck and said, "you young whipper snappers can do that." Then I walked on passing a couple more hikers until I caught up with another older hiker named Tin Man. He told me a story about falling twenty feet out of a tree and getting metal plates in his leg. I hiked with him briefly then continued up the trail. After hours of going up the mountain I got to see the valley where I was camping the night before.

For some time after that I was just walking and taking it all in. I really didn't think the desert would be very stimulating but with all the cacti blooming and strange lizards scuffling about I can see why some people choose to study botany of wildlife. I saw some interesting snakes and lizards that I never knew existed. This guy on the bottom blended in perfectly with the rocks and had these strange horns on his head. To get this picture I had to climb a little up off the trail and he blended in so well it was hard to focus on the guy.

As I kept hiking there were more and more pleasant surprises. One of those surprises was another water cash with more than 200 gallons of bottled water. I was carrying enough water to make it without this but it's always nice to have a little extra water to drink. Also if you are ever feeling a little bit lonely water caches are a pretty good social spot on the trail there are always at least 10 to 20 hikers at these caches.

As I kept walking I finally reached the 100 mile mark. Not a very big accomplishment as a sign says that there are only have to go 100 miles 26 more times.

As I moved on I met a hiker named Paparazzi. He use to work at a wilderness school and was a mountaineering guide for some time. He even  led a trip up Gasherbrum which is the 12th largest peak in the world. I drilled him with a million questions about climbing, gear and exhibitions.  On the way saw a big gardener snake and eventually made it to Eagle rock. You can't see it but there was someone camping right in front of it which is a little disappointing for the people who want to take pictures of it. 

As the sun started to set I picked up the pace and made my way to Warner Springs hoping there would be a store open because I finished off the rest of my food in the afternoon. I got to the small town and there was nothing open. Also there were about twenty to thirty tents set up and hikers sitting around shooting the breeze. This was a little overwhelming and I wasn't about to camp among all  these people. Mainly because there are bound to be a few people snoring and I would rather not hear that. So I walked off and found a place that was a little quieter and laid out my sleeping pad. After walking thirty two miles with a backpack lying down is almost a religious experience.  As I was about to fall asleep I started to become a little concerned because the right side of my face has been numb ever since I got hit right before starting the trail. The swelling finally was starting to go down and started to feel my cheek and under my eye. I noticed a few differences below my eye and my cheek bone. After five days I was just starting to realize that there might be a real possibility that some bones in my face might be fractured or even worse I I might be bleeding internally. Because since I started the hike my nose has been bleeding pretty much all day every day. I thought it was just the dry desert air. With all these things running through my mind I drifted off to sleep.

Recovering and going north

April 19th and 20th, 2015

After I rested for a little bit I went to Mount Laguna and stop by the outfitter to chat to some hikers and locals. I saw a hiker name Pillsbury,  a hiker I met on the trail while section hiking last year. I briefly talked to her and then talk to a local guy about hiking in the area. He was very nice and told me all about his family and about the trails in the area and about anything on it his mind. 

After this I decided to try to find some food so I went to the general store. When I went in everything was way overpriced. I was going to buy a little bit of cheese but it was five dollars for a very very small piece. So I decided to go to the restaurant instead and order some food to go. I ordered a couple of things and was resting on the couch while I was waiting for my order and the chef came out and told me I couldn't sleep there and tried to get me out. I told him I was just waiting for my order and would leave as soon as I got it. So after a little bit it came up I went to the RV camp. Ate some then packed up and started moving on. 

 I hiked into the night to the next campsite about six or seven miles up the trail and when I went to camp I couldn't find water anywhere. Luckily somebody was up at around 9 o'clock and I asked him. He told me where it was so I filled up my water bottles and went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning I drank a lot of water and started to pack up and head out. I went back to where the water was, only to see a spicket and a sign saying that it was non-potable water for horses only. I just hoped that this water wouldn't  make me sick. Then I talked to a trail angel for a while, he offered me some coffee which was very nice and told me about the water up the trail. I packed up cleaned up, wash my shirt, and started at around 10 AM. 

There's a lot of exposure and no shade on the trail but there were occasional winds that felt really nice. The warm spots, not so nice. At this point I basically was feeling better so I walked all day and  got to this humongous valley that was very flat and very exposed. But it was very beautiful seeing all the stars at night. I was gonna keep walking and then I ran across the trail magic. A cooler full of water that wasn't cold but a pleasant surprise because I was rationing water. I grab some and decided to camp. Overall a much better day and finally making some progress.

... Hiking into the night

April 17th, 18th and 19th, 2015

Later that day I was sitting around Campo icing my head and not feeling so great. I was really hoping to get on the trail but with my injury and how I was feeling I didn't think it would have been safe for me to go on the trail. But then I had an idea. I can put a lot of ice into my water bladder the

and use it for an ice compress later. So I went to the market, bought my second 7 pound bag of ice and went back to fill up my water bladder. After I finished I ate some yogurt and had some coconut water then headed out on the trail around 7 PM.

 I so was still not feeling great but I kept going. As the sun went down and as it got cooler started to feet better. Once it got dark I was around 4 miles north and as I continued to go border patrol helicopters started circling me.  They never use the spotlight and didn't get too close but they would take very large circles about every 20 minutes and would come around again. I guess they eventually figured out that I was not an illegal immigrant. As I walked I listened to some owls hooting and tried not to step on any big spiders.

That night I got to about mile 14 at 2 am and found a place to lay out my sleeping bag and slept until I could see the sun coming. I crawled out of my sleeping bag feeling tired and sore and then packed up and started moving on. As the sun came up my face started to swell so I grabbed my bag of ice/ water container and pressed it against my face.

 I did this for about three hours and as I passed some runners they would ask me if I was alright, probably thinking I'd just gotten jumped. I would just say I'm fine and mosey on.

After a couple hours I made it to lake Morena, a small RV campground with a store up the road. I bought some food, took another really quick nap, packed up and started hiking again and pushed on to mile 30 by 9pm. 

When I woke up I was feeling nauseous. I slept the whole night with my head flat on the ground as a result the swelling was back.   

I decided to start walking and I felt like throwing up a couple times but didn't because it might make me really dehydrated.

 After about two hours of hiking and stopping every 100 feet I started to feel better.

 Then I had a pleasant surprise as I went up the mountain I got to a point where that cactuses and brush disappeared in pine trees appeared. So I decided to take a break where the environment is nice and after that I felt much better. 

Day one

April 17th, 2015

I woke up this morning and I was feeling a little bit sick, dehydrated and my face was swollen. I was out of water so I went to town and asked the fire department where I could find a water faucet. Then they were nice enough to invite me inside and use the refrigerated water dispenser. Then I got on the road and started walking south to the Mexican border.

On the way a car stopped and asked me if I wanted a lift. I jumped in and I met two people were a couple that hiked the entire PCT in 2011. They were very nice and here we are at the Pacific Crest Trail Monument near Mexico. 

Then I started to walk back north  on the PCT back towards Campo. On the way I started to feel pretty nauseous and as the sun hits the side of my face my swelling started to become worse. I think one of the reasons I felt sick is because I haven't been able to eat as much and I've been taking antibiotics. So instead of continuing on the PCT I went back to Campo to buy some ice and try to get the swelling down.

 I went to town and bought a 7 pound bag of ice. Then I found a shady spot with a water faucet and benches behind the railroad museum in Campo to recover a little more. Now I am waiting until I feel a little bit better before I do the first 20 mile section.  I hope I will be able to eat more so I can hike but now I'm really not feeling 100 %. But I'm very thankful for the kindness of the people here in Campo. 

Home, black eyes, blood and the beginning of my hike

Finally I'm finished doing everything back in my home town. It was a great visit, the last few times I've always missed spring.

I'm on the Amtrak train going to San Diego and from there I will go to Campo to start my hike.

I had a really good time at home visiting my friends and family. I also did a lot of hiking around the area where he grew up, but unfortunately a lot of deer also live around there.

During that time I got three ticks in me and went to the doctor and got some antibiotics to take care of any Lyme disease in my system. Hopefully it doesn't happen again while out in the middle of no where. 

On Wednesday the 13th I spent a night in San Luis Obispo and had an unusual visit. The first thing I did was check into my hostel and got all my stuff sorted out. The I felt like getting a little bit of exercise. So I put on running shorts and started to go towards on of the many peaks in the area. While trying to get there I was stopped short by highway 101. I kept trying to find a bridge or an underpass but I had no luck

Then I saw this huge covered pipe on the other side of a fence. So I jumped it and got a little scratched up in the process. Then I went through it just to find myself in a residential area. Then finally I got to some trail leading up the mountain. I made it to the top and had a wonderful view.  While I was going back down I saw tons of bitty college kids talking and acting like I was a strange vagrant, which I suppose I looked like. It was strange being back in a place where most people seem to be very privileged. On my back to the hostel I found a much easier route and didn't have to go through the pipe again. 

After getting back I went to Palazzo Giuseppe's the restaurant where I use to work to see if a gift certificate that I got a long time ago would work. 

When I got there I started asking if anyone I knew still worked there but know one I knew was still around. Then the manager asked me when I worked there. I don't thought it was a couple years ago but when I said 2006 the manager said, "that is nine years ago" and laughed. I was surprised how the time passed. The I sat at the bar and had a beer and ordered some pizza to go. It was weird going back to a place where I went almost every day where nothing really changed except the people.

Once I got my pizzas I went down the street to a bar and sat down for another beer. Having a stack of pizzas made me popular pretty quick. I was talking to people about the PCT and school then all of a sudden I was on the floor with blood all over me. I heard someone saying "I don't know why he hit you." I have no memory of 20 seconds before or after the incident but I guess someone snapped and punched me then took off. I think I got a concussion because I was not good a finding my way back. I was walking around for hour going in circles and passing familiar streets until I finally got back to the hostel to sleep for a few hours then jump on a train heading to San Diego.

  

On the train I tried to sleep and eat some food but each bite I took shot pain from my teeth to the entire right side of my head. I hope that it will get better soon because it is a real challenge to eat anything that requires chewing.

After arriving in San Diego around 3pm I hopped on the orange tram heading to El Cajon, a transit center on the eastern edge of the city. The place wasn't the best but there was a small store that sold soft serve ice cream which was nice. Then at 545 I got on the bus to Campo. During the entire two and a half hour bus ride I didn't hear much English. At times I felt that I was going to somewhere in Mexico. Especially with the burning buildings on the side of the road. I later found out that this was the Tecate factory in Mexico.

Finally I made it but feeling worn out and tired.  I'm in Campo and I'm ready to start my hike in the morning. Kind of a rough start, hope this means my hike will be like a tranquil walk in the park... We'll see.

Gear, ticks, over nighters, and preparing

Getting back to California 

Since I got back I've been training and preparing for the trail. I recently walked down to the American River near where I grew up and tested everything that I plan on bringing on my hike. 

Overall I am happy with all my gear that I'm bringing. I was thinking about just bringing a minimal list water filtration system. But during this test hike I had some problems threading my filter into a platypus water pack. So I decided to bring my heavier but more reliable system. It consists of a large MSR water bladder and a Sawyer filter. This water filter system can be used as either a gravity filter or it can be used as just a water bladder that you drink out of.

A tick

Also one more thing that was a little bit concerning on that happened on my hike was I got bitten by a tick. I woke up in the morning and my left arm had a pretty sharp pain and I thought that I got a bad case of poison oak. But when I checked to see what was on my arm there was a tick, and it was not coming out. Then I remembered a trick that I learned when I was a kid to remove tick from a dog.

What you do is take a match and light it. Then you touch the tick with the hot part of the match. Then the tick is supposed to come out. This I think was a pretty bad idea.

So I took my lighter and burnt the tick. This killed it but in the process I think I made the tick throw up all its gross stuff into my arm. 

Then I dropped the tick on the ground and I couldn't find it. Later after I got home I learned that it's not good to burn a tick while it's still on you. I guess what's good for dogs isn't necessarily good for me. 

Also I learned that it's very important to keep the tick to get tested for Lyme disease. If you don't have to tick then it takes around two months to get an accurate test. You can take a series of antibiotics but most them have negative side effects, especially if you plan on being constantly in the sun like I am in a few days. So I've decided to see if there's any early symptoms like fever, headaches, flu-like symptoms. If that happens I will try to find antibiotics. But nevertheless this whole scenario has been a little concerning.

Gear

Now let me talk about my gear and what I'm bringing. Most lightweight backpackers will weigh each item to make them more aware of how much they're bringing. I did not do that because I can't be bothered to buy a scale just for that. Instead I try to use common sense and bringing things that I know I will need.

For example my first aid kit is pretty minimal. I think most people might bring more but I found through experience what is useful and if I need something else like find it on the trail. I'm bringing sunscreen, mosquito repellent, Chapstick, a toothbrush, some antibiotic ointment, and a repair kit that has a sewing needle, some duct tape some other types of special tapes to repair cuben fiber.

I also have a mosquito net and an ace bandage just in case I sprain my ankle or twist my knee really bad. I have some other things I like superglue, and extra battery for my light, and a razor. Last year when I did a section of the PCT people were quite surprised that I wasn't growing a beard like everyone else. It's just not for me.
I also got some giardia meds for later on in the trail when there will be more cows and livestock around. 

As far as water filtration goes I have lots of different things. First I have my 6 L MS our water platter. I chose this because it's very strong I've heard that for military officers test these by driving over them in their Hummers. So I chose to bring this just to have something strong. The downside is it does have a slight taste to it like a tire or garden hose. But if you can get past this very good water platter. They also have a 2 L Platypus bottle. This I can connects the 6 L MS are bladder and hang it to create a gravity water filtration system. I also have one backup 16 ounce Sawyer squeeze bottle and I have a bicycle water bottle I forgot to put in this picture. I also am bringing aqua Mira droplets. Which are basically chlorine droplets that have little to no taste to them. I will use this when I am re-hydrating my food and cleaning out my tupperware container. If I can dry my dishes properly I can use this to sterilize also. You need to be careful, especially if you're not bringing a stove like me, to sterilize your water for everything, even cleaning.

The next thing I have is the clothes that I am bringing. I am bringing a lots of down products. I have a down jacket made by Mont Bell which weighs about 12 ounces. Down pants also at our made by Mont Bell and they weigh about 7 ounces and lastly I am bringing down vest from Feathered Friends that weighs about 6 ounces.Which are excellent if you keep them dry. But if they get wet could be a problem. Therefore I might change out some of my down for fleeces later on on the trail.

 I am also bringing two pairs of socks some gloves and wind jackets and wind pants.

Next I will go over my sleeping system. Basically I plan to sleep in a bivy sack most of the trip. The only time that I will be sleeping inside my shelter is when it's wet or when it might be wet. I'm bringing a Zpacks 20° down sleeping bag. I tested this bag a couple times and it's a lot cooler than my other Mountain Hardware down sleeping bag. But it's a lot lighter. I'm also bringing a Gatewood Cape which is basically a poncho. That you can also use as a tarp like shelter. I used last year on the Pacific Crest Trail  section hike quite a bit. Because there were lots of thunderstorms and I recall even one day it was raining all day into the night and it served its purpose. The only tricky part is if it's raining and you're wearing your poncho then you have to set up your shelter very quick.

Next my cooking system. My cooking system is very simple and I am using this for the first time. Last year I brought a alcohol stove but I am trying to save some weight since I'm bringing more warm clothes in the desert. So I will re-hydrate foods like beans, potatoes, couscous and in a Tupperware. It has a locking lid and seals fairly well so I can also use this for water, or for making drinks if I need to. Also I am bringing a bag for my food, and putting that in a plastic Opsak bag that will help keep food odors inside the bag. I hope with this system I'll have little to no odors to prevent any encounters with critters.

My electronics are not so simple in my opinion. Also they're not the lightest thing for carrying in my backpack. I'm bringing an external battery to charge my camera and my phone. I'm also bringing my Sony DS X 100. This camera I have been using for over a year now and it is very small and it takes some really great pictures. For all you people that are into photography also takes raw photos in JPEG's. I got a Wi-Fi memory card for this camera so I can transfer photos from my camera to my phone. The only thing it's not the fastest thing to do and in the process you would waste your camera battery and your phone battery. Oh and that brings me to my phone I am currently using. my phone to take these pictures. So it's not included but it is an iPhone 5 with a waterproof case. Also I have a zebra lights headlamp that requires one AA battery and a Swiss Army knife that also has lights some chords the charger and it's and next for battery for my camera. 

I am going to bring these things with me also mostly I'm going to be wearing or using everything here. I have a baseball cap at all use with the bandanna to keep the sun off my head and neck. I have some running shorts that are made by New Balance. And a Real Raiders long sleeve shirt that has ventilation to keep me cool. I also have all Altera running shoes with a wide toe box, kinda look like clown shoes, but I just got them and I really like them. They're a little bit bigger than most running shoes but they have a lot of room. This helps prevent blisters if the shoe is breathable which these are. I just wish they had different color because black will get hot in the desert. I also have some socks which are nothing special they are Marina wool and the person I talk to at my local running store told me they would be very durable and cool. So I am giving them a shot. Normally I would use Darn Tough running socks but supposedly these are better. Also lastly I am bringing gators they're made of spandex and they're called Dirty Girl gators and I really love them. They keep stuff out of your shoe and they're very lightweight.

That is all my gear I hope you found this posting useful or interesting or neither. Really soon I will post a blog on my food. I still haven't gone through everything in my food box but it's very daunting thinking about going through all the towns and putting all my food in boxes and dividing out. But I will get to it very soon because I plan to be on the trail in a week or less from today. I don't have a specific date that I plan to go to the Mexican border. I just want to feel healthy and have everything prepared and taken care of before I go.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Until next time thank you again for purchasing my photos and helping me fund my hike.