Week 2: Wild World of the Desert

Today we had a bigger climb of 1200 ft out of town. If I was one the AT, I know that would mean a grueling climb immediately out of town. However on the PCT, it means a gentle wandering stroll meandering out of a valley.

It wasn’t a terrible hike, just long.

That’s the thing about this trail, you can see where you have come from and where you are going. You can watch the trail meander and bend around the canyon edges or gently wander through a valley floor. While this might feel like a blessing, it really is a curse in disguise. It is infuriating and exhausting being able to see the trail meander straight up a hill.

It is so weird seeing the trail laid out in front of me. On the AT, you were under so much cover from trees that you never got to see where the trail went. There were a few occasions on the balds of Tennessee or in the White Mountains where you could see the trail ahead. Generally, during those few occurrences that the trail was visible, you were scared shitless because it was generally a devastatingly steep uphill climb or dramatic downhill descent… My knees still creak in memory of those climbs.

While it is nice being able to see the landscape and the beautiful views that surround me, I miss the comfort and security of the green tunnel. While the PCT has spoiled me with beautiful views and stunning landscapes, I miss the protection of the tree cover and the sounds of the forest. Well, at least my skin misses the shade and sweet protection from the sun.

I am beginning to look a bit like a lizard. My skin is scaly and dry despite the amount of Sunscreen and balm I am using to help my skin heal. The desert has it out for me. If it isn’t the sun, it is the thorny sharp stabby plants trying to tear away my skin or clothes. The desert is not a kind or gentle place.

However it is a beautiful one. The vistas are studding and the sunset and sunrises are sublime. I understand why Homer used the phrase “Rosy fingers of dawn” in his writing so frequently. Getting up to see the pink gentle fingers of dawn slowly pull away the deep dark blanket of night is one of the little delights I look forward to on this trail. I am so blessed and so lucky to get to experience these small delights around me.

Water cache – really nice tent site 21.8

My Tramily is growing and it is something so wholesome and fulfilling to watch.

We have gained some new faces in our little crew. A fellow Nebraska Hiker, Tito, has joined our crew or at least is in orbit of us. Apparently, Tito lived three blocks down the street from my most recent apartment in Nebraska and was part of some of the same run clubs as me. It is really amazing how thru hiking can bring together strangers from as distant as across the world to neighbors from down the block to unite them together in the woods. It is pretty amazing how this call to walk thousands of miles across America can really unite a bunch of strangers.

Anyway, it was an excellent day with easy miles and our first big landmark, Eagle Rock. We were told by some locals from the nearby Native American reservation that Eagle Rock is a sacred site. That it is believed that the spirit of the eagle will take your prayers up to heaven to be answered by the Creator. It made me think about how I wish my Dad was still alive. My father had a master’s in Native American history and was fairly well versed in Native American folklore. Maybe he could tell me about the nuances and practices of the area or about the archetype of the eagle in this region’s folklore.

Eitherway, today made me feel homesick. The trail cuts through a section of prairie that made me long for my dear Sandhills of western Nebraska. The place I learned about my love for the outdoors and a place that truly feels like home to me. It was hard to hike through this section without feeling bittersweet for my past self and for the place I call home.

Really nice tent site to solo camp in a gully. 22.3

This might have been our worst day on trail to date. 

The desert sections of trail are windy. So windy, that it can be hard to get a tent up securely as the ground is incredibly soft. So if you are a proud owner of a Durston 2 x mid like me, you can guarantee you will be cowboy camping.

Today was a long day and pushed through a lot of gnarly weather. We were caught in a chilly mist storm. Getting caught in this weather is always tough, you are cold and miserable. You can’t really stop to take breaks and just have to keep moving.

While you could pop up your tent and take a rest day to ride out the weather. This wasn’t really an option because of the high winds and loose dirt issue. I didn’t want to keep watching my tent collapse and get wet and gross sand. I also didnt want to see it damaged from the violent winds and sharp rocks.

Toque and Dumpster were absolute troopers and pushed through the worst of it. They put up with the wet cold misty wind and gritty sand sticking to everything. They also managed to be incredibly cheerful despite the conditions, goofing around while we trudged along the trail.

I am glad I have Toque and Dumpster around to remind me that this isn’t serious business. That hiking is a joyful thing. That we all collectively decided to quit our jobs and freeze life for 5 months to enjoy. I’m glad that they are helping me not sweat the small stuff.

This was the first night on trail that I was actually nervous. Not because of terrain or because of anything actually scary, but because it was the first night in my thru hiking career that I was cowboy camping alone. If I am being honest, one of few times I have actually ever camped by myself.

It has been thrilling and an experience in self discovery thru hiking by myself. During my last thru hike, I sacrificed so much of my agency to preserve the group dynamic between my hiking partner and I. I didn’t realize how much I missed out on. One of the things I sacrificed was self discovery and learning more about myself.

I very quickly found out that I was nervous about big spiders, venomous snakes, and big kitties as I hunkered down in a gully out of the wind. Sleeping in a gully during the spring in a desert wasn’t my brightest move. Probably not, given a flash flood could have absolutely ended me. However, I did find that being alone and watching the stars in the desert is delightful. That the whistling of the wind through the canyons is hauntingly beautiful.

It’s the little things that you get to experience when out in the woods. Don’t forget to stop and savor the small things.

Getting to Idylwild and Town Day

Did I mention that the desert is bonkers?!?! This place is fucking bonkers. 

I have been through mind numbing heat and sleat today. I knew it was a possibility, as I am from the midwest and we have some really whacked out weather (if you have ever seen the sky turn green, you know what I am talking about).

But this shit?!? This is bonkers. I have been whipped around by winds that could drive a less stable person insane, crippling heat, sleet, and chilling mist all in less than a week. Make it make sense!

While our push into town wasn’t hard (you know a casual 18.6 miles). It was the weather that was screwing with us and slowing us down. I was struggling to stay consistently placed throughout the day due to the strong gusty wind knocking me about and making it hard to take breaks.

It was a relief when we got a hitch to town and Ithink this may have been my favorite town day ever. Period.

Like best town day or zero in my hiking career.

I have always wanted to go to Idyllwild ever since learning about the PCT. It had always looked like such a cute and fun little town nestled in the mountains. Cute, touristy, walkable, and they have a dog mayor.

Yup. You heard that right. The town of Idyllwild has a fucking golden retriever as the Mayor. His name is Mayor Max and it has been my dream to meet him.

Besides their canine mayor, I had a blast. The Commonwealth and I got a cabin at the Idyllwild inn and did what hikers do best during a zero. We rested and didn’t move.

It was glorious. 

Thru hiking isn’t like normal hiking, where you leisurely take your time enjoying nature. During a thru hike you are on a schedule. Further, you are on a time table (or at least I am). There are so many factors directing your thru hiking schedule. Money and time are major factors, but also daily mileage and amount of food until your next town.

Thru hiking can feel like a job. You are walking thousands of miles in a set period of time with a limited amount of money. While it is a hell of a fun job, it is demanding and not as leisurely as one might think. 

So getting a day off from hiking, to explore a new town and relax is a ton of fun. It might be one of my favorite aspects of thru hiking. I get to visit a little town for a day and have the pleasure of absolutely nothing after I get my town chores accomplished. It feels so sinful to be so slothful.

A few things made this town day extra special. My friend who hiked around me on the AT, CBS, came up and visited me during my zero day. It was really special getting to see a familiar face on a new thru hike. I have missed so many of my fellow thru ’23 AT thru hikers.

One of the things I have noticed while hiking my second triple crown trail, is that it feels like going back to school. After enjoying a long summer vacation, you return to the routine of school where it is similar but not quite. You are in new classes with new faces and new teachers. The same goes for thru hiking a new trail. While there is a similar routine to hiking the PCT as I had on the AT (wake up and walk a lot of miles and complain at hills), it feels different. You are surrounded by new faces on a trail with different challenges. While it feels similar, it isn’t quite the same.

Sometimes I am homesick for the Appalachian Trail and those hikers that surrounded me during my 2023 thru hike. It makes you realize that in the end we don’t thru hike for the trails, but the hikers we meet along the way.

Sure, you will remember the day you walked on Mcafee’s Knob or saw Eagle rock, but it’s the people you surround yourself with that really make your hike. Perhaps, that is why I am a little bitter about my AT thru hike. I surrounded myself with someone who wasn’t worth my time. Maybe I am trying the redeem myself on my PCT thru hike and really delight in making memories with this new batch of hikers 

Anyway, it was amazing getting to see CBS and getting to pal around with him. He was so insightful in helping my novice tramily with thru hiking tips and tricks. It was good to see him and chat with him about life.

CBS knows I am a sucker for a cigar and a good deep conversation about life. We did exactly that, walked around town with two massive cigars, chatting about our lives since the AT and our hopes for our futures. We talked about everything from mindless chatter, relationships both successful and failed, and even grandiose ideas that can come from the choices we can make and the lessons we gain from them.

I have missed these mindless deep conversations that I can have with deep and good friends.