Category : Pacific Crest Trail

The Pacific Crest Trail is a 2,668 mile (4,294 km) trail running through the tallest mountain crests and volcanic peaks of California, Oregon, and Washington from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. I walked its entire length in 2013 and was back on trail for more casual fun in 2014 and 2015. In my opinion, it is a 16″ by 2,668 mile slice of heaven.

How to Do Trail Magic Right

This is a post about trail angeling and trail magic on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and why perhaps it has become detrimental to the trail and trail culture.* Between 2013 and 2015, whether because of the “Wild” movie effect or due to an influx of Appalachian Trail (AT) hikers wanting more trail time or even triple crowns, the population of thru-hikers on the PCT doubled. The Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA), a governing body of sorts in charge of maintaining access to the trail, again issued permits arbitrarily and for free — several thousand of them. Between April 6 and May 1 this year, I camped out at mile 42 of the trail, doing backpack shake-outs at Mt. Laguna Sports and washing dishes at the Pine House Café. Between May 1 and May 15, I worked with trail angels continue reading…

Hitching Sign

860 Miles by Thumb

I just got into Portland, Oregon after hitching from Lone Pine, California to Cascade Locks for the 9th annual PCT Days. Most of the ride was much less eventful than anticipated, and took me much less time than I budgeted for. It took 16 hours in 6 strangers’ cars, with an overnight in Bend at a friend’s house. And then I was there at Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks having a great time with fellow hikers. More on the wacky part of the hitch hike soon.

Prayer Flags at Muir Hut

Muir Pass hut, view of smoke from the Rough fire Wednesday night. Pray even harder for rain! Everything south of Muir Pass on the JMT/Pacific Crest Trail is pretty bad smoke-wise for hikers, with many of them abandoning their hikes. I stayed up there, looking at it this way: most inner city children have worse air quality 365 days a year with not nearly as beautiful or safe a scenery. Who would I be to complain? I had a lovely time, and for the first time in a while actually resented returning to town. Would have stayed an extra day but didn’t want anyone to worry. Aside: The Muir shelter was paid for by a forestry magnate, which is humorous to me given that Muir Pass is one of the only passes in the Sierra without a view of a continue reading…

That Asshole

Throwback to 2 years ago on the PCT. Hiker “That Asshole” unwittingly walks away from one of the biggest trail dramas of the year – the owner of the Red Moose in Sierra City accusing him of stiffing them on his pancake breakfast. Cool guy, funny and a gentleman; unfortunate situation. Anyway, don’t steal on the Pacific Crest Trail – even people just _suspected_ of stealing are ostracized and treated very poorly all the way up trail like That Asshole was. That’s probably why theft almost never happens. But it happened this week to a friend on trail and it’s a crappy reminder that it’s not all unicorns and rainbows out there.

Ziggy and The Bear

And off I go, leaving my adopted grandparents and the sweetest Pacific Crest Trail trail angels ever behind for the year. Ziggy and The Bear! They took incredible care of me and about 1500 PCT 2015 hikers this year. I’ll miss them so much. And it’s possible that due to the Lake Fire, many more future hikers will miss them, too. Look at a map, think about it. You can retrospectively support these guys by paypal’ing funds to whitewatertrailhouse@gmail.com. They’ve done tons for PCT hikers over the past 15 years and deserve big thanks (and help paying for those porta-potties!) Also, if you haven’t picked up your box there, get in touch. One of them smells really bad. 😜

Throwback to two years ago today along the Pacific Crest Trail – at Kennedy Meadows North, a pack station and resort near Sonora Pass. Someone was surprised when I told him how many cowboys are in California and Oregon: a lot. It’s true. There are a lot. And bears.

Throwback to two years ago to the hour – atop Selden Pass (10,800ft) looking down at Marie Lake. That morning I had a nice dip in Blayney Hot Springs, spooked two black bears out of a tree and nearly shat myself, and left a large group of entangled hikers in my dust despite a hugely overloaded pack – having just resupplied at Muir Trail Ranch – in order to get these views to myself. Unfortunately the other side of the pass was a mosquito NIGHTMARE, and found me hiking all day in my rain gear. I was still in absolute heaven.

hikers doing yoga

Yoga at Ziggy’s

There’s nothing like talk of backpacking gear and filthy hikers doing yoga together in the morning. (This is the first time I’ve seen organized yoga at Ziggy and The Bear’s.) I’m getting a bit burned out in the PCT-hiker-all-day-everyday thing and antsy to strike out on my own hike. Day after day I’ve watched other people strike out on adventure dreams, and I haven’t been exactly living mine. What with a little nagging MTB injury, I’ve had a couple days where it was hard to stay my usual chipper self. I don’t like that. In a week I’ll be in Yosemite, and I think I might take the High Route for a bit. That should get me out of the crowd.

View of the San Jacinto foothills from Ziggy and The Bear’s front yard. It rained all night and got cold, and there’s snow down to about 5500ft! Hikers must have had a rough time out on the mountain last night, and the same for those headed north yesterday. Brrr!!! But nature doesn’t wait for anyone, and nor does Manning Park. Keep walking!! Pacific Crest Trail @anzaziggy

Jam

Hiker Benjamin “The Sheik” leads an a cappella Beach Boys bear vault and stick percussive jam while attempting to light a cigarette with a burning pine cone. Happy Little Trees whittles a stick in the foreground left. The guy hom-hom-ing – Bradley – is hiking barefoot, and the man to his left – Nude Dude – is often found naked and does a brilliant but unsettling free flow jam himself. I found this lot to be particularly weird, and that’s saying a lot on the Pacific Crest Trail. Today was the busiest day with hikers at mile 42 yet for the 2015 season. (Postscript: Someone wrote another book about the PCT and included this scene, and me, in it. I found it fascinating how what I said to them fliply about how well they’d already congealed after only 42 miles continue reading…

Julian Crew

Tent deliveries from David’s gear shop in Mt Laguna to Julian involved picking up a hitch-hiking Legend (far right) in his own truck, Gypsy, pie at Mom’s, and a truck-signing party. Surprisingly cold, drizzly, foggy, and windy weather in the the area has hikers hunkered down and re-considering gear choices.

Lighthouse Surrounded by Trail Trash

The Best Ultra Lightweight Sleeping Bags

Ultra lightweight sleeping bags are purpose-built for long-haul treks where space is at a premium and weight is counted in grams, but they can also be used on your ordinary family camping trips. I call that win-win! The sleeping bag is part of “The Big Three:” your backpack, your tent, and your sleeping bag. These three items comprise the most weight, and take up the most space of all your gear. Also, they are items (aside from food and shoes) that can make–or break–your hike or tour. Be prepared to shell out good money up front (and not have to re-purchase something better later). This is an investment you’ll be putting to very good use. A sleeping bag is a camper’s best friend. Considerations Bag girth and length. You want enough room to be able to roll over in your continue reading…

Hitch-hiking Pro Tips

I did done a ton of solo hitchhiking both during and after my PCT thru-hike — over a thousand miles and many dozen hitches. I learned a lot about hitching and from hitching and thought I’d share with you. Before my thru-hike it never occurred to me to hitch-hike. Not only that but it seemed dangerous and rather taboo. But on a thru-hike it becomes not only necessary but mostly fun. And for me, I wondered not only why I had never done it before, but why not keep doing it? And so after my hike, I continue to hitch-hike. Of course I’ve seen firsthand that it is easier to get a ride when you’re a female (or two or three females) on the side of the road. The minute you pair up with a guy it gets a little continue reading…

Stoned Boners May 14 2013 in Wrightwood

Backpack Choices for a Thru-hike

(UPDATE 2023) I realize these days all the “cool” kids want a tissue-thin artisanal custom sub-2-lb backpack for their thru-hike. If that’s you, maybe you don’t need this article. If you’d prefer to carry something sturdy that can actually handle water carries, snow gear carries, and possible longer stretches, then this post is for you. (UPDATED 2019) Here is a run-down of all the popular backpacks on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Also included are a couple pack comparison charts for you, looking at a range of the most common and reasonable packs for normal people. I hope this helps your selection. Please correct any mistakes or omissions in the comments below. Index Common Packs Outliers Other Ideas Considerations 55-60L Comparison Chart 65-70L Comparison Chart Common Backpacks of the PCT (As of 2015) Here is a list of packs that continue reading…

Pepper Flake stretches out his back at Sunrise Trailhead trough

My Portraits of the Pacific Crest Trail

I was super excited to find this excellent photo gallery of PCT hiker photos over at Outside Online today (thanks Pacific Crest Trail Association for the link). How cool is it that an unwitting trail angel became a documenter of some of the 2014 personalities? I met a few of those hikers (Justin, Blanco, Far Out, Sarah!, Namaste) , and maybe met a few others before they got their trail names, and got teary-eyed looking at their beautiful portraits. But it made me remember that I took some 2014 PCT portraits myself, and still haven’t shared them beyond the ephemeral Instagram base. So here you go: Hiker Apache. Now I’m partial to this guy because I hiked a few miles with him in 2013, and he’s just sweet and mellow. Here he is back again in 2014 to see how continue reading…