I (3rd Monty) just got back from a weekend in Sacramento. coaching high school Awana kids.   It was awesome!   Our kids totally outdid themselves in everything they entered, from music to Bible quiz, to AwanaGames competition.   We are so proud of them!

Driving to Sacramento, with a carful of kids, I was dealing with heavy rain for much of the way, that made it sometimes even hard to see on the freeway.  The signs about having to put chains on your car to cross the Sierras up ahead were all lit up.  Oh joy.   That means another big dumping of snow we have to get through in a few months!    Next morning, all the clouds were gone, there was a cloudless sky, and the Sierras on the horizon were totally white.   Most of our highschooler’s families were planning to “head for fun in the snow”  right after the AwanaGames finished up.

Well, maybe White Beard and I will be having  “fun in the snow”, too, this year.  Hmmmm.  So, I thought I’d lay out what we do about cold weather (and snow).   The key to being comfortable on the trail in the cold is LAYERS.  We have our basic hiking clothes, of pants and shirt, but when a cool breeze blows, we may add a layer of the top only from polyester long underwear.   That usually takes care of things quite well, but if it is colder yet, we have lightweight fleece jackets to put on, and fleece mittens and fleece hats.   If it gets colder still,  I put on my raingear, and that does it.   Once I have that many layers, I have never been cold, as long as I keep hiking and don’t sit around very long.  

Snow on the PCT can vary from bits and patches to totally burying everything.   Depending on the time of day, it can be hard, icy and scary or so soft that you posthole.   When I KNOW there will be nasty snow (like near Tahquitz Peak or on Fuller Ridge or Mt. Baden-Powell or the High Sierra) I like to have an ice axe just in case.   But trek poles usually handle it pretty well.  I get out the ice axe when things are steep and icy.  Sometimes, like at Sonora Pass, we looked at a steep icy snowfield and said “I don’t think so!” about trying to cross it.  We scrambled down AROUND it instead.   You don’t want to mess with really steep icy snow.  Just last year,  Bill and I were preparing to go up ‘n over Old Army Pass, south of Mt. Whitney, when another hiker we met warned us, “Don’t try to cross the snowfield at the top of the pass.   A lady DIED up there yesterday, trying to do it.   When you get to the snowfield, shinny up the rock chute right next to it.”   Well, we did “shinny up” and avoided the steep snow, though the “shinny” part was totally terrifying for me.  Bill just chugged right up it, but I’m height-challenged.  I ended up taking off my pack, climbing up a bit, then reaching back down to haul my pack up before going on.   I did that enough times, and finally reached the top.

When the snow isn’t icy, and is nice to walk on, but the hillside is steep,  Bill often goes ahead of me and then I can just step in his footprints. 

Postholing is no fun.   Snowshoes of course would pretty much solve the problem, and we do use snowshoes for snow camping,  but for the PCT,  they are too heavy to be worthwhile.   But I have hiked in snow without snowshoes, and  done my share of postholing, and all I can say is,  “You just deal with it.”

Route-finding in lots of snow is “fun”, if you have enough time and enough food so that if you are lost for awhile you are OK.    If the snow is not too deep, you can look for sawed/cut logs (very good indicators of “trail here!”).  If the snow is deep enough to cover the logs,  you can look UP for signs of branches that have been trimmed off above the trail to allow horses to pass through.  Of course, if you have decent weather (meaning, you are not dealing with rain and clouds) and landmarks, you can figure things out that way, too.  When Bill and I were in a puzzlement about where the trail went to under the snow, we would fan out (staying within shouting distance, of course) to hunt for it.  Usually one or the other of us would find it that way.    And if you are hiking along and it starts SNOWING, actually that’s not a problem at all, as long as you can make out the trail.   Even a foot or more of snow on the ground–no problem!  

But if you are on the PCT, hiking in snow, one thing is for sure.  You CAN’T camp on the snow, not with the lightweight equipment PCT hikers carry.   The snow is just too cold.   When we snow camp, we bring SEVERAL insulating, closed cell foam sleeping pads to insulate us from the cold snow we are sleeping on.  One is not enough.  On the PCT, you have got to find some clear ground to camp on, even if it’s a flat rock.   Several times in 2005, we had a bit of a tough time finding a snowfree campsite, but always found something, usually in a grove of trees.

So far it’s been a very cold, very rainy spring here in California.   We will see what that translates into once we are on the PCT.   I have a feeling it may be colder than usual in general this year.  (Gee, back when I was younger, the fear-mongers were pushing the idea that “Oh, no!  We are going into another Ice Age!”   That  got replaced with “Oh, no!  Global warming!”  and now it’s Oh, no! Climate change!”   What will be next?  Anybody got any new scary slogans?

The “fever ‘n sore throat ‘n cough thing” that is making the rounds here has gotten to Bill “White Beard”.  He’s had to take time off from training for the trail in order to recover (quickly, we hope!)   So I (Monty) went on another “hike alone” day at Annadel State Park near Santa Rosa, CA.  Annadel is a great park to practice for the PCT.  It has lots of hills, rough trails, creeks, a lake, deer and other critters, and AWESOME views.  The oak trees are just beginning to leaf out, and the willow trees’ new leaves are just enough to create a sort of green misty effect.  Since it hasn’t rained for a few days, the trails are drying out a bit, which is nice–less mud to deal with.

I ate lunch at a place called Buck Meadow, and talked with another hiker named Dan.  He said he’s only done the PCT by Lake Tahoe, and that in July,  he meets one PCT thruhiker after another.  Wow!  That’s a lot of hikers!   We talked about the snow in the Sierras this year.   Everyone we know who has friends/family who live up there are saying that this is a WEIRD year, snow-wise.  Some places are way below normal (they’ve been getting rain instead of snow) and other places are ABOVE normal.   I am not sure what this translates into for thruhikers (us!) who arrive in late May and  early June.  

At any rate, I am very encouraged that so far our plan of training hikes with steadily increasing pack weight is definitely paying off.  My feet are clearly getting tougher on their sides and soles.  Here’s what Bill and I have concluded regarding feet and knees on the PCT…

1)  Blisters–you can totally avoid these by making sure your shoes are BIG enough, and that you have toughened up your feet by carrying weight in training hikes.   Bill had awful blisters on our first hike because he didn’t realize how much his feet would swell up in the heat of the desert, plus just the stress of hiking over 20 miles a day on rough terrain.   I would say that your shoes need to be at MINIMUM at least a size larger than normal (and even that is taking a risk of not being enough).  A size and a half larger at least is better.    I also recommend WrightSocks–they are very helpful in preventing blisters.  Bill also says that if you find yourself out in the middle of nowhere with a set of nasty blisters because your feet swelled up so much, one quick ‘n simple solution is TAKE OUT the inserts from your shoes!   He was hiking with a friend of ours on the John Muir Trail, and the friend got awful blisters from his feet swelling.  White Beard persuaded him to take the inserts out of his shoes, and in short order, the friend’s feet healed up and were fine.

Just in case, bring along some bandaids and tape in case you do get a few blisters.   And keep in mind that Ray Jardine was right when he said if your blisters get too bad,  take a zero day and let your feet get lots of air and sunshine.   The blisters will heal up amazingly fast.   When we got to Agua Dulce in 2005,  Bill’s blisters were so bad that he was starting to talk about giving up the whole hike.   But a zero day of rest at Hiker Heaven plus Donna Saufley’s epsom salts soak had his feet healed up amazingly in a short time.

2) Shoes and socks–Bill and I wear trail running shoes.  Every shoe company uses a different last to shape their shoes.  Find one that works with YOUR unique feet.  Some lasts are straight, some are curved.   You might want to consult a sports podiatrist for advice on which brands would work best with your feet.  I personally wear Vasques.  Bill is still experimenting.   

 Then you have other considerations, also.   I tend to pronate, so I look for shoes with pronation control.   The PCT is very rough, so you need shoes with forefoot plate protection or you will have very sore feet!  You also need to decide whether you will get Goretex linings or not.   Shoes with Goretex will keep your feet nice and clean, but on the downside, the Goretex makes the shoe heavier.   I had Goretex shoes in 2005, and it was wonderful to have clean feet at the end of each day (while Bill’s feet were filthy and he had to wash them every night),  but I have decided that the lighter weight of non-Goretex shoes is going to win out this time.  I find that REI has very helpful charts which compare the various shoes they carry as to these and other factors. 

A final thing to consider about shoes is whether or not you need to wear orthotics/Superfeet inserts.  For me (I am bunion-prone), these are a MUST.   Basically, if you have any knee or feet problems, get orthotics!!   But be sure they are the kind that can go through creek crossings, snow, mud, etc.   They should be lightweight, washable and tough.  I got mine from one of the best sports podiatrists on the West Coast,  Dr. Dave Hannaford, in San Rafael, CA.  He is awesome! (He was recommended to me by “Red Leader”, a guy who teaches backpacking classes, and who often attends ADZPCTKO.)

I know some people do like to hike in sandals, but due to the roughness of the PCT (lots of rocks, sticks & obstacles) I like the protection that shoes give me.  Even with shoes on,  my feet took a beating.   Up in the North Cascades,  Bill’s feet hurt so much that he could hardly walk, just from the roughness of the trail.

As to socks, there are lots of opinions!   Personally,   I wear TWO layers of socks.  The inner one is a WrightSock, which does a GREAT job in keeping my feet happy and preventing blisters.  The outer one is a more soft and padded sock for cushioning.  I prefer what are called “half-crew” socks.  Crew socks are too long and heavy.   Quarter crews don’t protect my ankles very well.   But half-crews are great.   Wearing two socks protected my feet from both HOT and COLD.   On the trail, I carry 3 pairs of WrightSocks (one to wear, one to wash, and one that is dry and at least somewhat “clean”.   I only bring two pairs of half-crews.

Further foot/ankle protection comes from wearing gaiters.  These go a long way toward keeping your feet, shoes and socks clean and grit-free.  If you wear long pants as I do, they will also keep ticks off your legs.

3)  Foot problems–Bill battled with plantar fasciitis for a time along the PCT in 2005,  but he won the battle by getting some very lightweight “night splints” to wear.   Using these, plantar fasciitis will heal up quite quickly, and sure enough,  Bill was fine for the rest of the trail.   The other problem is that sometimes your feet just plain ACHE and hurt from heavy pack plus rough trail.   For that, we found it’s good whenever you take a break (we take 15 minutes, morning and afternoon, plus lunch break), it is good to lie down if you can, and drape your legs over your pack so that your feet are UP.   Take off your shoes if you have time, also.  If you lunch by a creek, soak your feet in the cold water.   And as a last resort, there’s always “vitamin I” (ibuprofen).

4) Knee problems–When we did the PCT in 2005,  I quickly discovered that I had a fairly bad knee problem.   About 10 years before, I had a knee infection in that knee, which weakened everything.   So by Warner Springs, my knee was seriously hurting.   I talked to one of the other hikers at the Warner Springs Resort, and she said, “You need a patella strap.  Here–you can borrow one of mine till you can get your own in Big Bear City.”   Wow!   She was right on!   You often see runners wearing these–they are simply a little padded strap that fastens with velcro.  You wear them just under your kneecap, and they support the kneecap, which ends the knee pain.   Eventually, my quadriceps muscles got so strong that they took over the job of supporting the kneecap, and I sent the patella straps home.   This time, I plan to bring a patella strap along for the first part of the PCT in case it turns out I need it for awhile.

Using trek poles as you hike is also a BIG help in preventing knee problems.   We met some older guys who were out backpacking, and they were singing the praises of their trek poles.   They said they’d had to give up backpacking because of knee problems, till they discovered trek poles!! 

The key to preventing knee problems, though, is STRONG quadriceps muscles.   You get these by bike riding and by going up and down hills.   So when you are training for the PCT, keep that in mind!

“March madness” is in full swing for us right now, but it isn’t basketball!    It’s our Awana Club involvement, with THREE big weekend events back-to-back.   By the time this is over, all the kids in our club, from the kindergarteners through the high schoolers, will have had a chance to compete with kids from other clubs both in the North Bay Area as well as all of northern California/Nevada.   So far we are doing VERY well, and I’m proud of our kids and how hard they have worked.  One of the great features of Awana is that NOTHING is ever just given to you.   Kids have to EARN every “perk”, every award, every privilege.  And once they catch on (and even more importantly, their PARENTS catch on!), they jump in with enthusiasm. 

Meanwhile, we are doing about 40 miles a week of hiking with packs over all sorts of terrain.  I am very pleased to see my feet are responding and starting to get tougher.   By the end of the PCT in 2005, I had unbelievably tough skin, especially on the balls of my feet.  When we were training in 2005, I kept getting blisters, and I actually began the trail at Campo carrying various “blister protection devices.”  But after awhile, I sent them all home, because I didn’t need them anymore.  In the entire time we were on the PCT, I only got two very small blisters, and they were easily fixed.   This time I do not expect to get any blisters.

White Beard and I have also been hashing out our resupply itinerary.  This has taken some discussion!!!  But here is what we’ve decided (I’ll list the locations and try to explain WHY we chose these and not some of the other ones)….

(One basic principle that guided us was “We hate hitch-hiking!”)

1) We plan to drive a rental car to San Diego, then take trolley & bus to Campo.  We will camp at Campo, then hike the PCT to Lake Morena the next day, which will probably be the Friday of the ADZPCTKO weekend.

2) We will attend ADZPCTKO till after dinner on Saturday, then head out.

3) WARNER SPRINGS will be the next stop.  We will skip Mt.Laguna (went to it in 2005,  and it’s really cute and pretty, but this time we’d rather just keep hiking).   We plan to enjoy the amenities at Warner this time–last time it was just a quick overnight stop.

4) PARADISE CAFE–we will stop and get our resupply box here rather than in Idylwild.  Getting to Idylwild is a pain.  You have to either hitch-hike or walk 4 miles down the Devil’s Slide trail, then another goodly ways into town.  Last time we were there,  we found the place was very pretty and the people very nice, but all places we could stay were totally full and we couldn’t even camp at the campgrounds, because they were all full, too.  We don’t want a rerun of that experience.

5) BIG BEAR CITY–This is one place we WILL hitch-hike to. Last time, we walked down Van Dusen Canyon Road.  Nobody would give us a ride, and it was pretty discouraging.  Finally, not too long before town, a couple gave us a ride on the back of their hay trailer.  But we’d already been passed up by so many cars that we vowed we’d never try Van Dusen again.   This time we will try hitching at the highway.  Other thruhikers have told us that they didn’t have much trouble hitching from there.   As to where to stay, last time we stayed with a trail angel we met at the post office.   Not sure where we will stay this time.

6) CAJON PASS–We resupply here rather than Wrightwood because getting to Wrightwood is a pain.  Last time we did the PCT, the trail to Wrightwood was totally covered with snow and there was a sign warning that it was dangerously icy and slippery, and to hitch-hike in at the highway instead.  Fortunately, we had already resupplied at Cajon Pass, so we didn’t care.  We have been to Wrightwood, and it is very cute and pretty, but we stick with Cajon because it’s right on the trail and it has TRAINS!   We love to watch trains, and there are plenty to watch at Cajon.

7) AGUA DULCE–Hiker Heaven!!!  We plan to take our first zero here,  to be able to relax for a day and hang out with all the other hikers.  Also, it’s a good place to get reports on what’s happening in the Sierras.

8)(Tentative–we are trying to find out if the place is still open) GIL’S COUNTRY STORE . We stopped here last time and had a blast.  Besides picking up our box, we enjoyed good food and fun conversations with the locals–and since they LIVE in the Mojave Desert, they are definitely “interesting” folks!

9) TEHACHAPI–This is an unavoidable hitch-hike, but worth going to.  It’s a very pretty place, with lots of trains going through.  We stayed at a motel that was very hiker-friendly.  The only downside to Tehachapi is that it’s very spread out.  The grocery store is WAY off in one direction and the post office is WAY off in the other direction.   Once you get to Tehachapi, there is a trail register that lists trail angels who will drive you back to the PCT.

10) KENNEDY MEADOWS–we really enjoyed our “nero” here in 2005, and left with clean clothes, clean selves, and HEEEEEAVY packs ready for the High Sierras. 

11) VERMILION VALLEY RESORT–Last time, we had a “nero” here. This time, depending on how tired we are and how low on food, we may either not stop at all, or we will just stop off and eat, scrounge through the hiker barrels, and then be on our way.   I guess you can say it will be more of a “pit stop” than a resupply.   We do not plan to send a box here this time (we did in 2005).

12) MAMMOTH LAKES–We plan to zero here, after leaving the PCT at Red’s Meadow.   We figure we will be pretty tired and hungry at this point!   We didn’t stop here in 2005, since we had already nero’ed  at VVR.

13) TUOLEMNE MEADOWS–This is where we hope and pray that the post office is open!!   If it isn’t, we’ll have to go all the way down to Yosemite Valley to get our box.   In 2005, we arrived here around lunchtime and by the time we finished eating, sorting out the stuff from our box, etc. it was late afternoon.  Knowing the “bear situation” in Yosemite, we opted to stay the night with our food safely stowed in a bear BOX at the campground before leaving early next morning.

14) ECHO LAKE–This is a very pretty place. Last time we hitched down to South Lake Tahoe from here.   This time, we will just stop and eat and get our box and go.

15) POOH CORNER–We have never been to the Person’s place at Donner Lake, and it sounded great, so this time we decided we’d check it out!

16) SIERRA CITY–A wonderful town; a bit of a detour off the trail, but well worth it.   The restaurants in Sierra City are AWESOME, and the people are very friendly to hikers.   You can camp by the church lawn for free.  (Don’t camp ON the lawn, or you’ll get well-watered when the sprinklers come on at midnight!)

17) BELDEN–Last time, we picked up our box at the post office, and that was kind of an “experience”.  But this time we are going to try Little Haven.

18) OLD STATION–The postmistress here will phone Georgi Heitman when you pick up your box, and next thing you know, you are in another “hiker heaven” with the Heitmans!  We had planned to just pick up our box and keep going in 2005, but we met so many people who said, “You HAVE to stay with Dennis and Georgi” that we  reconsidered.  And we are glad we did!

19) BURNEY FALLS STATE PARK–We don’t plan to stay here, just pick up our box and go.   But the staff are very friendly and helpful to hikers!

20) CASTELLA (AMMIRATI’S MARKET)–Last time, we picked up at the post office.  Glad the store takes boxes now!   We bought a bunch of  food at the store and took it over to the State Park next door, where we spent the night and got all cleaned up and had a great meal. 

21) ETNA–In 2005, we were not planning to go to Etna, but a snowstorm forced us down off the trail.  We ended up staying at the Hiker Hut, and enjoyed fantastic food in town till the storm had died down enough for us to return to the PCT.   This time, we are PLANNING to go to Etna!   Superfriendly town, supernice people!

22) SEIAD VALLEY–How can any thruhiker bypass a chance at the famous pancakes here?  White Beard and I were very conservative, and ordered ONE pancake each.   We could barely finish them!   You can camp at the RV park next door.  We didn’t stay at Seiad–just picked up our box, ate a pancake & milkshake and headed on.

23) HYATT LAKE RESORT–We bypass Ashland; it’s too much of a hassle to get there, and we’ve been to Ashland before anyway, many times, so it’s “no big deal” to us.   Instead, we go straight to Hyatt Lake, where you can get a shower,  food and friendly conversation.  We even got to spend the night for free, in the campground.

24) CRATER LAKE (MAZAMA VILLAGE)–We plan to pick up our box at the Mazama Village Store instead of the post office.  ( Getting to the post office is a major pain.)  The Village has everything a thruhiker could want–resupply, laundry, showers, an all-you-can-eat buffet, and a campground (even cabins, if you want to be more civilized).

25) SHELTER COVE RESORT–This is a very pretty, friendly place.  You can get your box, go for a swim, eat, etc.   For us in 2005 and again in 2010, it will be a “pit stop”, not even a nero.   We try to buy enough stuff at the store to make them glad they held our box for us!

26) BIG LAKE YOUTH CAMP–This place is beautiful!   We hung out at the beach and relaxed for a whole day.  For very little money you get big, delicious vegetarian meals, plus free laundry.  If there’s room, you can stay in a cabin–if not, you go off and camp in the woods by the lake.   We love it here, because we like to hang out with Christian folks.   Fear not–if you come here,  nobody will “bug you about religion”–they will just do their best to be helpful and kind in every way they can..

27) TIMBERLINE LODGE–for us, this is a “pit stop” where we just get our box, eat, and go.   But it is a really fun place!

28) CASCADE LOCKS–We plan to take a zero here, in order to visit with family from Portland.  There are some really good restaurants here.

29) STABLER’S COUNTRY STORE–We didn’t stop here in 2005, since it’s only a day and a half into the trail, but we have learned that in Washington State, you are in RUGGED hiking, and anything you can do to save weight in your pack is good.  Stabler’s is only a half mile off the trail.

30)WHITE PASS (KRACKER BARREL)–We stopped here in 2005, and ate and ate and ate.  They also have a laundry, but no showers.  We washed our clothes, then decided it would be nice to take a break, so hitched into Packwood for the night.  Next day, it was a nightmare trying to get back to the PCT.   So this time, we will just resupply, eat, wash clothes and head out.

31) SNOQUALMIE PASS (SUMMIT INN)–Last time, we sent our box to the post office.  Not good.   The post office is a closet in the gas station, and it’s only open for 2 hours a day.  So we are sending our box to the Summit Inn this time.   Snoqualmie has a great restaurant, and it’s a good place to rest up for a night before tackling the next tough part of the trail.

32) STEHEKIN–Notice that we didn’t schedule Skykomish as a resupply.  We didn’t plan on going there in 2005, either, but ended up making the trip down the hill because we needed more food, and we were very tired.   The Dinsmores have moved, and are now 24 miles from the PCT, so you have to hitch-hike to and from their house.    We do not plan to try that again unless we are desperate.   So we will just tackle the long, long hike from Snoqualmie all the way to Stehekin.   Once in Stehekin, you have options.   Last time, we stayed at the Ranch owned by the Courtneys.  It’s not cheap, but it was awesome!  This time, we have not decided where to stay in Stehekin.  We love the beauty of Lake Chelan, so staying in town is very appealing.

33)  MANNING PARK–We come in here to wash up, change clothes, eat a bit, and catch the bus for Abbottsford.   From Abbottsford, we walk back into the USA.

Well, I’m at “One down and two to go!”  I just got back from California’s capital, Sacramento, where I spent two days with a team of junior high kids from our Awana Club–they were competing with teams from all over northern California and Nevada.  Next weekend it’s a more local competition (only northern San Francisco Bay Area) with the 3rd-6th graders, then the last weekend back to Sacramento again for the high school level competitions.

Our junior high kids were totally AWESOME!  They have worked so hard, and they left every other team “in the dust” in the Bible knowledge competition, then went on to a solid 3rd place in the Games.  It is a wonderful thing to see hundreds of junior high kids all gathered together and so focused and so determined.   They’ve learned through Awana training how to have a good attitude in all circumstances, be good sports and live to honor God in everything they do.  I love these kids, because I can still vividly remember being a junior higher myself, and the incredible challenges of being that age and making decisions that will literally impact the rest of your life. 

No kidding that attitude is important!   And one place where I think I can almost say “Attitude is everything” is thruhiking the PCT.  When Bill White Beard and I did the PCT in 2005, we were amazed at some of the attitudes we encountered in other hikers.   And by the end of the trail, I think it’s safe to say that our conclusion was, “If you need to be all jazzed/pumped up/motivated to do something, then you won’t finish the PCT;  if you are inclined to pityparties and want “time for ME”, you won’t finish the PCT; if you depend on other people being WITH you to keep you motivated, you probably won’t finish the PCT (unless you are lucky enough to find a buddy);  if you are easily demotivated by difficult circumstances, you won’t finish the PCT……well, you get my drift!

We were amazed at how many people who started at Campo vowing, “Canada, here I come!” had quit by Warner Springs (only 100 + miles into the trail) and a bunch more quit at Idylwild.  Others quit at Horseshoe Meadows or Tuolemne Meadows.   One lady I talked to (who ended up quitting at Idylwild) said to me, close to tears, “I thought I was ready for this trail.  I really trained.  But this is way tougher than I thought.”   We were sitting by the trail up on the Desert Divide at the time; it was horribly hot and we were very short on water (my husband Bill and her husband had gone down to Apache Spring to get water–we weren’t even having to make that steep, rough scramble down to the spring, then the steep, hot climb back up; we got to sit in the bit of shade of some bushes and commiserate, while our gallant husbands took on the REALLY tough stuff).  I tried to encourage her with “It’ll be OK–pretty soon the trail will level out, the sun will be lower and it will be cooler,” but she was too far gone in misery to be encouraged.

Two years ago, a hot, drought-stricken, forest fire year in California,  Bill and I were in Horseshoe Meadows acclimating for climbing Mt. Whitney.  It was Ray Day, June 15, and there were a lot of  PCT thruhikers taking a break from the trail by coming down from Trail Pass, then returning by way of  Cottonwood Pass.   I have to say,  it was a depressing experience.  Many of the hikers were in pityparty mode, and I heard that later, many quit.  they complained of the heat, the fires, the lack of water, of being dirty for days on end.  They were taking every opportunity to slackpack or even totally skip parts of the PCT if they got a chance.   When you get into that kind of mentality,  your days as a thruhiker are definitely numbered.

We noticed that the people who FINISH and make it to Canada are the ones who are steady, determined, generally cheerful, able to “pick themselves up” if they become discouraged, and are not overwhelmed by what Ray Jardine called “the avalanche of adversity”.  I myself had days when we did the PCT when I was desperately tired, horribly hot or cold, being driven nuts by hordes of mosquitoes, dealing with very sore shoulders, or being terrified by a river crossing or trail-on-the-edge-of-a-cliff.   There were times I had to ask Bill to wait a few minutes so I could sit down and cry.  Then I would pull myself together, hoist pack, and head on, still sniffling a bit, till I was OK again.   Bill had his own issues to deal with–awful blisters, plantar fasciitis, stomach troubles, etc.   But we kept going, knowing that eventually whatever the problem was, we would (with God’s help, many times) figure out a solution, and all would be OK.

One of the reasons I encourage people to have a disciplined training program (which I described back on January 1) is because you are not just toughening your feet and legs and shoulders for the trail–you are also toughening your ability to keep on hiking no matter what.   So far this year, since we started training,  it’s pretty much been in the rain and mud and cold every time we went out.  But that’s good!   It helps build our MENTAL strength for the trail.  Back in 2005,  we had no idea how to really train; I remember one day we spent in Sugarloaf State Park carrying our packs up and down every hill in the place.  By the end of the day we were totally worn out.   I remember sitting exhausted by the side of a trail in the late afternoon and saying to Bill, “The PCT could not possibly be as tough as this.”   Hah!   The PCT was WAY tougher!! 

But the PCT is also a trail where every single day brings a new adventure (some wonderful, some scary, some beautiful, some challenging) and that’s what often kept Bill and I going.   We’d get up in the dark early in the morning, when it was cold, and be saying to each other, “Well, I wonder what the adventure will be today?”   Once it was barely light enough to see the trail (and sometimes, in the desert, while it was still dark), we’d hoist packs, and hug each other and pray, “Lord, walk with us today,” and off we would go, genuinely looking forward to whatever the day might bring.

And it always brought something wonderful, because the PCT is one incredible trail!

A couple of days ago, we had our FIRST day since DECEMBER when we weren’t hiking either IN the rain, or with a THREAT of rain!  Wow!  No need to carry raingear!  No need to carry thermoses of hot drinks!  And both Bill and I were feeling much better after fighting off whatever the latest “cough thing” that’s going around.  So off we went to another of our favorite places to hike–Jack London State Park, near Sonoma, CA.   The park is basically the property that used to be Jack London’s “Beauty Ranch” and it well deserves its name.  It has a mountain to climb, with superb views at the top (including all the way to San Franciso–Jack London rode up here on the morning of the great earthquake in April, 1906, and could see the smoke coming off all the terrible fires in “The City”)   and there are lakes,  magnificent oak trees and grassland WITH NO WILD PIGS to mess it up, plus the latest round of spring wildflowers putting in an appearance.    And if you have time, you can visit the ruins of the Wolf House, or poke around in The Cottage or in the House of Happy Walls.  It’s a great place!

I am still up to my eyeballs coaching kids at Awana club–the first big competition is the weekend of Feb. 26-27, then another on the following weekend, March 6, and finally the last one on the weekend after that, March 12-13.   At that point, I may collapse for a day??? and then leap into SERIOUSLY preparing for the PCT, starting with collecting boxes to mail ourselves resupply packages.

But every day I take 15 or 20 minutes to do what I call GUIDEBOOK CODING.  It saved us TONS of time and frustration on the trail when we were consulting maps and trying to figure out where we were.

We use the good ol’ Jeffrey Schaffer/Wilderness Press guidebooks, and carefully take them apart so that we only need to deal with a few pages at a time–just enough to get us to the next resupply point.   I know there are some new guides out there, but we have not had a chance to really LOOK at them and decide if they are OK.  So we are sticking with the tried and true.

The problem with the Schaffer books is that the TEXT which describes the trail is often not on the same page with the corresponding MAP.   And once you manage to coordinate the two, then you have the “fun” of trying to figure out exactly where you are.  When you are on the trail and it’s raining or it’s ghastly hot, or you are very tired, or the sun is about to go down, or whatever, trying to deal with this is a major pain.  So I came up with a simple coding system that makes it possible to instantly coordinate map and text and know where you are.

First off, at the top of EVERY column of text, I write the number of the map that goes with it.  For example, if you are in Section K, and the column of text corresponds to map K4,  I write “K4” at the top of that column.  If the map number changes partway down the column, I draw a very black line across the column at the point where the map changes, and put the new map number next to the line.

Then I add what I call “guide posts.”   I study the map and text carefully and on the map I CIRCLE trail junctions, landscape features, etc. and assign each a number, which I write next to them on the map.   Then I study the text to locate exactly where in the text that trail junction or landmark is mentioned.  I underline it and write its corresponding “guidepost number” next to it.

Yes, that’s a fair amount of work, but on the trail, oh man, did it save us time and grief!   I would hate to think of the frustration of not having a pre-coded guidebook.   And what’s fun about doing it is that it’s kind of like “virtual hiking”.   I enjoy thinking about the things along that part of the trail.   OK, this is easy for me, since I have ALREADY HIKED the trail, so I have a mental picture to draw on, but even the first time,  it was still fun to do.   I highly recommend coding your guidebook, whichever one you use!