Ed's Journal

Ed's Prelude:

The first time I heard about the PCT was when I went on my first real backpack trip. That trip is also where I got to know Kathy. We hit it off from there and our friendship has grown ever since. The next time I heard of the PCT is from our mutual friend Dennis. He has hiked most of the sections of the PCT in Washington. The next thing I know I've hiked one section with him and now I'm hooked on this trail called the PCT. The cap to this glacial push to wanting to hike the whole trail was watching a presentation about two thru hikers(Bob and Joy Turner). After the slides and talking to them it became clear that this is something that I need and have to do. That was 1998, now in the year 2000 my dream is taking hold and here I go. See you on the trail.

Edman

4/25/00 Kickoff! I've never been to Southern California before. It was an eye opening experience. The topography was more daunting then Kathy and I realized add 80+ degree weather and hiking can be a bitch. Flowers and views were all around. I was definitely impressed. Met alot of other thru hikers. Great day.

4/26/00 First day on our own. Both Kathy and I have underestimated the heat. This area is more beautiful then I ever expected. Flowers and views that are so different from what we are used to. Meeting alot of other thru hikers. Sage, Arron, Robbie. Mt. Laguna here we come.

4/27/00 We hiked to Laguna Camp. Loaded up lots of H2O and took a long break. Cooling down our feet. Using umbrellas is exotic but keeps us cool. I wish it would work as well on our feet. Hiking a short distance. I read the trail description and took refuge in the last for sure shade there is. Hiked on until night fall. On ridge runs looking down into what is probably desert. The flowers have been great so far.

4/28/00 Kathy and I got an early start this morning to try and beat the heat. We woke to wind and early sunlight. We started a great routine of hiking for an hour then eating breakfast. I never would of imagined nights would get so cold in So. California. We had our first chance to see 3 different cactus bloom. As we hike down into Rodriguez Canyon it was like hiking in open meadows of the Cascades. Flowers blooming right out of the trail. Any direction that you look was totally on display.

4/29/00 Whenever I've done any long distance hiking I've always been given the itinerary by choice. Now with me navigating I've really found a love to have someone else in charge when the hiking isn't always cut and dried. The trail is easy to follow. Figuring out the water is hard. Some water caches are there others are two miles round trip off trail. So far neither of us have dropped dead from dehydration. (OK it's hotter then hell if it weren't for the scenery and flowers I wouldn't be here.) Foot problems are starting and I'm fixing them as fast as I can. Met Merlin, New York, David Hillman Houston, Texas (He took a few days off in Julian.) and a local from San Diego. All thru hikers. One of our off trail water experiences took us to W-W Ranch. There we met Dina and Dave. Great people. Both were generous to us. Fresh strawberries and ice cold water.(Big time craving.) The berries hit the spot but the water was pure heaven. Camping up on a ridge outcropping with views all down the valley.

4/30/00 Early morning, neither Kathy or I wanted to get out of bed this morning. Great ridge hike all the way down to Berral Springs. There we met a man and his son out for a ride. They were heading up trail from us. We also met Sandy a day hiker who was doing 17 miles just to clear her head from work. That was impressive that someone would do that much in the heat of the day in dry meadows and creek draws. Reminds me of Dianne Murray and what she sometimes thinks of as a day hike. We made it to Warner Springs at 1:00. Kathy and I took full advantage of their garden hose. Cleaning up and washing off the trail dust. The boy and dad show up finishing their ride and asked if we needed a ride into town. Not much for a town but cold Orange juice hit the spot. Went to the golf course and had dinner and ended up meeting a couple that have friends hiking the trail. We had met them at Mt. Laguna but told them that it was unlikely that they would make it here today since we hadn't seen or heard of them since. They were gracious enough to give us a ride back to the fire station that Kathy and I are calling home for the night. Web site of two hiker friends pct2000.com raising money for Boy's to Men program.

5/1/00 "Meadow Ed" Today was the first day that we met him. We reminisced about him knowing Bob and Joy Turner as we walked into town. Real nice man, he helped us with water drops that are coming up and what to expect from here on out. Sage, one of our hiking friends caught up to us today. She was resupplying also. We will see her in Idyllwild. We also met Peter on our hike today. on thecrest.com. He has Parkinson's and is planning on hiking to Canada. Great views all the way to camp. We went through two climates as we climb into the San Jacinto mountains.

5/2/00 Back to the desert. Two rattlesnakes and three other snakes. All of them suprises. Nightmares of snakes tonight. Today was basically a hike from water hole to waterhole. Kathy and I have come to the conclusion that it is easier to dry camp then to try to stay at the water. It's either too close together or 22+ miles apart. The only high note of today is watching the lizards run all over the place staying well clear of our feet.

5/3/00 Wow, today was great. We had view after view. Looking down into fault canyons or off of ridge tops. We started our push up today, we climbed 2700' from camp to camp most of it coming in the last three hard miles of the day. We covered 22 miles today. It's not too bad we have become accustomed to long days. Yoga has saved both Kathy and I from being sore in the mornings. Today Kathy was funny, we were hiking to water right between 12 and 2 and she tells me that if we don't get to water by 2 she is not going any further without taking a break. Kathy and I have come to realize that between 12-2 we become cranky and are usually real hot from hiking all morning.

5/4/00 What a great morning, we have been so lucky with weather. We had a good time getting to a water hole all scratches aside. Today turned out to be a very special day for me. We came upon Marge(the old gal) sitting on the trail right after a rock avalanche. She is one person that Kathy and I wanted to meet. Unfortunately for Marge she had broken her left leg in what she called a boot top break. Never before have I come across an injured person that had not received any help. She told us that she couldn't walk and that she had only a cup of water left. I gave her all the extra that I had(2 liters) and wrote down all her info for rescue. I can feel every muscle tighten as I write this. Marge happened to be seven long uphill miles from the junction that leads to town. From there its another 2.5 miles to the trail head. Then 2 miles to town. I hiked my brains out to do what had to be done. Starting down the trail to town I came across a lady with a cell phone and bad coverage. 911 worked and as far as I know a helicopter is on its was to save a lone stranded hiker. Marge is going to call Dick when she is in the hospital. Ok, so I wrote the last part before Kathy got down the trail and the Riverside Co. Sheriff showed up. Deputy Morano and Deputy Meadows show up as I'm lounging at the trailhead waiting for Kathy. They responded to 911 a full hour after I called. Both were great people to talk with and I gave all the info that I had to them even pointing out in the PCT book where I thought Marge was. Kathy and I then are asked to come with them down to Hermit,CA. They offered us a place to shower as they coordinated the rescue. In the end Kathy and I received our first ride in a police car and it wasn't for crossing the Canadian border as illegals.

5/5/00 Town day, feed a craving, I needed pancakes real bad. We met all sorts of new hikers today, Guy with a hurt knee, Kirsten his partner, they were laying over for 5 days to heal the leg. Didn't really get to know them but seemed nice. Steve another lame hiker was taking 3-4 days off for back spasms. Jason, he came in with our friend Sage, he is about the same age as me and is experienced at long distance hiking.(completed AT in 97) Celebrated Cinco de Mayo at great Mexican restaurant.

5/6/00 Two ghosts in a sleepy town. Our five AM starts were way to early for most all Idyllwild. We walked 4.5 miles up to the PCT and had great views all day looking west or east we could see the rugged peaks all around. Towards the end of today we started to see in earnest what we are taking in next. The only thing that stand in our way is San Gorgonio pass 7600' below. Kathy and I made it down to 6400' for the night the rest is tomorrow. To give you a mental picture of where we've been hiking imagine the upper parts of Leavenworth without the meadows or running rivers. It's real cool we have been crossing patches of snow that melt all the runoff into the ground.

5/7/00 Some days you just laugh at what you have done or you are about to do. Well today we both laughed at what we were doing. Hiking across the San Gorgonio Pass in winds that stopped you in your footsteps. I was blown over in one gust. Hope we hike out of the severe wind tomorrow.

5/8/00 Woke up this morning to a rushing river, that pushed us out of bed. Rushing to beat the waves we packed our things as fast as we could keeping a death grip on everything since the current was pulling it away to be lost downstream. Ready to go and off like a shot, we plunged down into the river for the struggle to shore. Working all our muscles to hold fast to the raging current fighting to keep our breath we moved closer and closer to shore. Every time we thought we were free an eddy would trap us and pull our packs and us back out to fight the battle once more. What seemed like days, but was only an hour and a half we reached the turn in the valley to the calm smooth water. Relieved we picked a spot out of the wind that flowed like water to have our breakfast. If that was how our day started then what could be left for lunch? Route finding 101, the first thing I ever remember learning about it is "look for the obvious". David White, hoof prints from Poncho the mystery horse and Lenny the ghost rider. They are seen by all others so far but us. That helped the other bootprints of the ones ahead of us. The other thing is the book and maps. Thank you Lynn Smith for map reading 101. All in all, what a great day beats work any day.

5/9/00 We met up with Robbie today, it's been since Mt. Laguna that we saw him last. He met up with two friends from L.A. and is hiking with them for awhile. Kathy and I keep meeting people that skip this part or that part of the trail. I just don't understand why, yeah some days suck but others are great even today we had views of San Jacinto mountains and we crested one mountain pass to the next looking down the valley that we are in tonight. Tomorrow looks good we made up some mileage so that tomorrow is only a 17 mile day. We'll be in town by 5 PM if all goes well. Today was 22 miles with 3000' gain off and on all day.

5/10/00 This was a special day for me as you have read we had a day of hard route finding. Well one of the things that helped our way was a man on a horse. We met his wife in Warner Spring and today we met Lenny and Poncho. They are from Washington, planning to ride to Kennedy Meadows. We gave our many thanks and well wishes for a safe trip. We then pushed on into Big Bear City. We did get a view of the Mojave Desert. Kathy's quote "It looks like a sea of sand."

5/11/00 Big Bear Tom(from Santa Barbara), Mark(from England) Chris(from Phoenix, AZ) they were all here when we came. Chris is section hiking to Lake Tahoe to go back to school. Mark is waiting for gear, will leave Sunday. Tom has friends coming and will be leaving Sunday. Our friends Sage and Jason have yet to arrive but we hope to see them soon. Sage and Jason made it into town. We started a tradition of Mexican for dinner. Had a great time talking about the different experiences we had on the trail.

5/12/00 Today started out cold, 20 degrees at the Fire station's thermometer. We met a trail angel named Bill McConnel yesterday and today he was gracious enough to give us a ride up to the trail head. This day also brought us into the area that was burnt by the Willow Creek fire of 1999. In our update for 2000 it said we would have to detour this area since USFS was not going to clear the trail. As luck would have it the PCTA stepped up and cleared the trail we are hiking through. It's sad to see all the destruction that a fire can cause but the bright side to it is that wild flowers filled the lower ground that didn't burn too hot. If you ever saw the movie "Always" that is similar to how it looked to us. Blackened forest with patches of green. Camped at Deep Creek. Trolls under a bridge.

5/13/00 To think we were to detour this awesome area is heart breaking. The wild flowers were spectacular all day. I must of taken twenty pictures today. We also came to Deep Creek Hot Springs the biggest green spot in the drainage. Talked to some of the PCT thru-hikers that were there. We didn't go in though. They would of been great this morning when we were freezing but by the time we arrived it was hot. We did play in Deep Creek when we filtered water for our last big push out of the area. All day you could hear the creek or see it but you would of needed to rappel down to get to it. We are both looking forward to hitting I-15 and McDonalds for dinner. We both eat pretty much guilt free. Since our bodies have burnt up a lot of reserves already.

5/14/00 What a day! We climbed up above Silverwood Lake and contoured around it. If it wasn't for it being a cool day I would of been cooling myself in that lake. We proceeded to climb up to Cajon Pass. Listening to all the trains lug over the pass. Only a few times could you actually see them. This was also one of those days that if you don't like the view wait an hour and it will change. Lake views to desert then to lush valleys then to sandstone cliffs we even came upon civilization: I-15 and McDonalds. One should never know what's up ahead since they tend to rush towards it.Twenty miles by 3:30 was more than enough but 6 miles to work that Quarter Pounder, large fry and McFlurry. Oh yeah, dessert was a 39 cent cheese burger. Totally stuffed we went under I-15 then under BSNF tracks that lead under UP tracks that go over BSNF tracks again. Mormon Rock stands out in the area, to me it looks like Mother Nature's cement. Sand with rocks. We made our final resting spot at a dry spring doing tick checks tonight since we were pulling them off us all day long. McDonald's was done so that Kathy didn't have to cook on Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day mom I enjoyed talking to you in Big Bear.

5/15/00 As I'm sitting here in the Yodeler Bar in Wrightwood, it's hard to believe today ever happened, twenty two miles and our butts kicked harder then San Gorgino Pass. The only difference between the two days is the 4500' gain. The wind was bad in the beginning up until the crest. That is when we started seeing the clouds. They started in the pass in front of us, our next couple of days work. We looked behind us to see Cajon Pass closed in by the same storm. For us we were still above the clouds. God let go his wrath on the mountains. Keeping up right was a challenge. Moving was the heat our bodies screamed for. Rain gear, winter hat, gloves were not enough to keep us comfortable and warm. Then you dropped down off the wind swept ridge to the sweltering heat of the gear that couldn't keep us warm before. The highway was a welcome sight to us and the ride we received 15 minutes after reaching it. Wrightwood is great. So is the beer that I deserved after today.

5/16/00 Leaving Wrightwood we learned that one of those old fables is true in these parts, that being there are Dragons in the hills. When we arrived at the trail we could see the clasp of his icy breath. Not all dragons breath fire some are cold breathing, snow blowing, fog causing monsters. We showed it no fear as we headed down the trail after him. We climbed and we dropped but no luck in finding him. Then his breath parted and we came upon him at Vincent Pass. Quietly we snuck up his back Full of confidence we talked about summiting his humps. Baden Powell as it's called. Then we hit where others had made him mad. His icy breath lay on his back. We crossed one patch then more and soon it became hard to find where others had made a trail before.That was when his fog of a breath started closing in. Never seeing his head he started blowing his ice crystal breath at us. Making us so cold that it felt like we were going to be frozen in time just like him. With all our strength we walked past his ice covered hump. Just wanting to get down so we didn't have to fight him all night but he wouldn't let us go that easily. He reared up so that we not only had to pass his main hump but three more stood in our way. All we wanted was a passage to the next gap in the mountains but he made sure we would not go easily. We finally reached a spot to get off and go lick our cold, cold wounds. As a last laugh that dragon took our water filter as his trophy. So now comes the true test inside us. Survival till the new one arrives.

5/17/00 Ok what the hell happened yesterday? Today was blue skies a cold wind that didn't last long and a whole bunch of downs and ups. Walked along flowing water. Real flowing water, we even saw an awesome granite waterfall. This morning we walked through ice fall from the trees. Imagine dumping bag after bag of light ariee ice on the steps and then as you put your foot down it makes that crushed glass sound. Under your feet, the ice was like bare foot on new carpet.We met Phil a 72 year old man who is recovering from Prostate surgery. He hikes about ten miles a day to get the blood flowing again. We also met up with a bunch of day hikers all retirees from Hughes Aircraft. Asked about cell phone coverage and there was none so our first chance to call for a replacement filter was lost. We did come to a L.A. Park and Rec camp off the trail with a pay phone, left message for Dennis since all others were not home or were on the phone. We'll know Friday if Dennis is a bigger hero to us. My fingers are crossed.

5/18/00 Today was one of those we can't be here so early days. We seemed to be traveling fast for some reason. It's not even a town day. We were lucky with water since the only places to get it was "water from a pipe" in campgrounds or closed ranger stations. All in all today was boring, not much scenery or we were looking out over flat land below. Didn't see any hikers or many people. Walking along the side of a ridge all day. I did make the mistake of reading the small map wrong instead of down I read up. Kathy waited at the top thinking I was there when I actually had descended to the campground below. My mistake wasted a 1/2 hour as she looked up and I waited below. I did realize my mistake when Kathy didn't arrive the usual 10 minutes apart. I headed back up just as she realized I must of continued and headed down. I just hope I don't make these mistakes too often since they waste so much time.

5/19/00 You never know what the day will bring until you pull yourself out of your sleeping bag and start hiking. Today was the return to low land hot Chaparrel. The great part is the views all the way down to Agua Dulce. Full moon has been spectacular. We are getting a great workout going down alot then up some then down more. We met Mule and Dave two speed demons. They are doing 26+ miles a day and haven't taken a day off since they started. We also met Sundance Jim and Jenni Owens and Brad(Mohawk). We are staying at Jeff and Donna's house. They are Hiker Angels of Agua Dulce. Sixteen thru hikers all over the place. There is a trailer, a motor home and the perfect patch of grass to put the tent up on. Life is great when you meet the nicest people willing to put you up. She did our laundry and had the best of all things: showers. I also had my first chance to get on a scale since I left, 175 at home and three weeks later I'm at 155. I'm eating more now then ever. Who knew.

5/20/00 Brad, Drew, Emily, Sundance, Kathy and I all of us went to Mexican for lunch, This is the time that you really get to know the different hikers and learn the immense differences in personalities and where they come from. Brad is a boat captain, Emily is going off to grad school in Boulder. Drew is out of the Marines and enjoying life for a few years. Sundance works the ski season in Sun Valley and plays the rest of the time. Drew, Sundance and Brad all completed the AT last year. Jason pulled into town while we ate and we took him up to Hiker's Heaven. All of us hung out for the day watching a movie and sleeping. Sundance has a friend coming to Tehachapi for Saturday and Sundance and I want to get her to take us to Magic Mountain for the day. Two days off in Tehachapi I'll go nuts if I don't find something to do.

5/21/00 Some times it's easy to psyche yourself into thinking that one day is going to be worse than the other. Today was the day. We started the bad-bad-bad section. Only today wasn't that bad. We had great views of three different valleys. We also had the chance to look back over what we had covered. San Gabriel Mountains were great with the sun coming up showing the deep shadows of the valleys. We ran into the whole crew today: all at different places. It looks like we are not going alone any more. Hikers are all over the place now. The only thing that is looking hard to do is drinking hot water all day. Yuck!! I'm sure fantasies of ice are going to start.

5/22/00 Today was great with two quick ridges to cross and then a real long traverse. We had great views all around this morning then the traverse was in the shade of live Oaks, Pine and Cedar trees. It was still hot but the day seemed to pass without too much complaining from my feet. the bad part is we made a 3.4 mile detour for water. That ate up the end of the day. It also cause us to miss our mileage goal for the day. Kathy and I talked it over and we are going to push it to Thursday so that Dick has a better chance of picking us up from the trailhead. Time to figure ou tomorrow. See ya.

5/23/00 A short day for once 16 miles and the chance to go to a store. We hiked the last part of the ridge in the Sawmill Mountain range. This is also a turning point for us. We start heading Northeast more. The reason for such a short day is that it will work better for us to meet Dick at the trailhead around 3 p.m. The other reason is that we are about to push across Antelope Valley, part of the Mojave. We hiked down with Brad most of the way but his feet have been burnt on the bottoms. Yes, burnt, not sun burnt or scalded but trail burnt. This has happened to me today also. Mine is like little craters around the balls of my feet. Whatever, I still hike. Jack Fair, this is a man that I remember from the Turner slide show, but I couldn't for the life of me know what was so special about him. Kathy and I walked up through the gate- No trespassing signs everywhere. A ring of trees for wind block and a house with a detached garage. Doug and Krista, two people we met briefly at Agua Dulce were there and their dog Monte, a black lab about a year old. Jack is a very interesting person. He is crude, profane in language and always telling you something. When I walked up to him his first comment was "She walks more like a man than you do." My response to this was "She is more of a man than most men." From then on he was telling us all about Jack Fair and where everything is. He lined us out on the fees: $2 to hang out, $1 shower, $1 ride to the store or $5 to camp and shower. For $6 each we stayed the night went to the store and even showered. Sitting in the shade of the garage we shared 1/2 gallon of ice cream from the store. It's 105 in the shade.

5/24/00 It's 2 a.m. and everyone is checking to see if it's 3 a.m. Kathy and my first attempt at night hiking. Brad has done some earlier but didn't like it. He joined Kathy and my schedule for getting through the next three days. The three of us are off. What a delight to hike in the cool morning using the 3/4 moon as our light. Our guide: the LA aqueduct. The trail uses the berm of dirt as it's trail and the next turn is when we follow the Sierra aqueduct. This one we must of followed for 12 of the first 16 miles. The only time we were away from it was when it goes into a hillside and we take the access road around. We stopped at Cottonwood Creek for a long break. We have 16 miles under our belt and it's just turning 10 a.m. on the watch. Cooking, cooling and filtering all in the shade of the aqueduct bridge. Kathy and I leave Brad, Doug and Krista to break in the shade for a while. We want to get to where all of us plan to camp for the evening. This last 6.6 miles is two things up and a straight shot. We walked a straight line most of the way. Only detouring for gullies or hills. Ticks are back and all over in our chosen camp. Quick checks and I'm off to dream land after writing this.

5/25/00 Again an easy day for us. One would expect more from us two die hards. Brad has decided to start calling us the "militants" because Kathy and I work better off a routine. I think he had corrupted us since this is our second 16 mile day this time around. We hiked up and out of our windblown, tick and ant infested camp site. Actually, it was a great spot next to a creek in a small canyon. The three of us are hiking into Tehachapi together. We spent our day slowly doing the 16. Wandering back and forth between views of the Mojave and Oak Creek Canyon. Soon we hit the windmills then the trailhead. Dick hadn't arrived yet but the pullout became home until he arrived. Now I'm sitting in my motel room fed and happy. The next step is cleaning up and checking what all I need for the next leg. Before that happens we, Ryan, Johnathan, Mark, Brad and I, are headed out to drink beer and get all messed up. Thank God we are not driving. See ya back on the trail 5/28.

5/27/00 I'm sitting in my hotel room after eating dinner writing this mainly because of the people I keep meeting. Adolf, a hispanic man in a kid's body. He lives at the hotel and I've seen him around the entire time I've been here. Tonight he finally found the way to talk to me when I came back to the hotel from dinner. There is a group of guys I've already met here. They ask me if I need a ride tomorrow morning. I explained the situation and was about to leave when Adolf asked what am I doing. I explain the goal to him. He is very interested on why I want to do this and how I feel about the trip. So I gave him my personal feeling about the trip. I explain it like this: There are 3 things that I'm getting from this trip so far. One is the physical hiking of it. The next is the simplicity of my life and the last thing is the beauty of it, that is the scenery, flowers, the different areas and the people. I've met so many people and how the inner beauty of these people affect me. He started to fully understand what it is that brings me to this. I said goodbye to him since it's 9 p.m. and I'm meeting Kathy at 6 a.m. to get going again. I can't wait to hit the trail. I start getting bored almost instantly in town. My stomach is full and I'm ready for bed. Time to dream about tomorrow.

5/28/00 Finally back on the trail. I'm glad Dick came down to see Kathy but two days off is hard for me. This section starts with a bang. Too many switch backs to even try to count. We had great views all around, down to the Mojave and it's sand dunes to hills forested with windmills. Sometimes we even walk through these mammoth power generators making that ominous whoosh, whoosh sound. We camped at an improved spring along the trail. We had an amazing discovery here too. The poles to our tent were missing. Talk about the OS factor. I turned around with a water bottle and flashlight to go look. Hoping they were lost in the last couple of miles. Luck was against us on that one. So I came back and talked to Kathy. She had made up her mind as to what we should do. I listened to her plan and personally don't agree. I thought through our options also but there was no changing her mind. In the morning she is planning to back track to the last place we went through a bunch of brush. Sounds like this has happened before doesn't it? It has. I look on the map and guesstimate how many miles it would be. The shortest it is is 11 miles. The likeliness of it being more is highly probable.

5/29/00 Kathy is off. I'm sitting here writing my journal and figuring in my mind that I won't see her for a minimum of 5 hours. She talked about hiking all the way out if she didn't find them. I told her that is totally wrong and if she did it leaves me here for two full days. Not that being out bothers me, what does is by doing that I will no longer have food to the supply box. Kathy left on tense terms with me. These decisions must be thought through. Her answer to this whole thing is maybe I'll have to go hungry for a day. This is totally wrong to me and I'm not willing to play these B.S. games. We will detour at Onyx for resupply if necessary. We will go to a phone here if she didn't drop down to the highway. It's 2 p.m. and Kathy's back, no poles. We now are on the trail going forward figuring on Onyx for a lifeline. But wait that's not all the bad news. Our new filter is broken. Still useable with TLC. REI or Cascade Designs will get the nasty call too. We are going to go 9 miles for today. Alot since Kathy has already done 22 miles loaded light and now 9 miles heavy with all our stuff. All I can say is we will overcome the problems we are having with gear and do this thing.

5/30/00 Wow!! Long day but we had some great stuff to see. Bear tracks down the trail. Not any old bear tracks but how about 15-25 minute old ones. How I know this is bear sign really smells and fresh water spot. I was hoping for the chance of seeing one. Also no luck. Sundance is ahead of us, she has taken to this bear as stealth bear. I like this name since we had a second chance to see a mom and cub. We headed down to a water hole after setting camp and low and behold we are following two sets of tracks all the way to pavement. They were smart not to go for water since it was a slag pond with a spring. The worst part was range cows enjoyed the spring also. Slow moving elk(cows) are all the big wildlife we've seen.

5/31/00 Stealth bear is watching. If someone would have told me I would see bear tracks in the middle of the desert I would have told them bears live in the woods. I would eat those words today. Well I could of imagined any of today since we basically hiked 12 straight and covered 26 miles. This is one of the last(crossing fingers) big water carries left. These last two days have been like a flash back of all the places we've been so far. Mountains with jagged peaks, the now sizzling desert walks, and cool shaded forest. We even ended in a burn section. At least water is 50' away and cool, clean and cold. We have come into McIvers Spring to camp. There are three six shooters here all taking aim at the new, old west. Coleman coolers abound. These guys are super nice and fun to talk to. Cleaned up washed all the stuff and now I'm ready for bed.

6/1 Long day back in the desert, we started in a hole and had to hike up and around on mountain then cross a multitude of roads in the passes that we came from. This was one of those big water carries. We dropped down to a small pass then headed up and over the next small range of mountains. We dropped into Bird Spring Pass and found two water caches. I didn't take any because I had enough. The other part of that is the trail angel that does those caches uses used milk and other plastic containers. I appreciate all the help we can get but the water in those containers after sitting in the sun had a funny taste. Crystal Light comes in handy for those situations. That trail angel also left a note about Yellow Jacket Spring that helped us out. We hiked back into forest, thank God for shade on the trail. Went through a burn section and stopped at McIvers Spring for the night. Three men with six shooters strapped to their wastes were there also. Real nice men, had a good time talking with them while I cleaned up clothes and me.

6/2 Seven miles and a hitch hike and we are at a phone. Kathy and I hiked steady to the trail head only stopping for breakfast. We were lucky about getting a hitch into Onyx. Met an older retired man going to Isabella to sell his father's house. Onyx: Kathy is on the phone to Dick exploring the tent poles and water filter. I mailed our journals and film. We both hit the store for a quick fix and water and headed for the highway. Within a mile we caught a rid with Luke. Great kid with a stereo system that could blow your ear drums out. He asked about our trip and told us a little about himself. He offered me to pick any of his CDs to listen to. Hole was one of the mellower tunes that I saw. I also needed a different song in my head. We were back on the trail in no time since Luke drives like most young drivers: fast. Back on the trail we climbed up out of Walker Pass and around Mt. Jenkins. I love these trails that go on the side of steep mountains with big views. We met Mike a just married solo hiker that wasn't taking days off. His wife was going to come but broke her leg right before the trip. We hiked to Spanish Needle Creek found water and set up camp. As we were cleaning up and babying our filter Doug and Christa showed up for the night. They asked what happened to us so we told them the whole story.

6/3 Five miles and Kennedy Meadows or so we thought. This was one of those spots in the guide book that is wrong. At least that is my perspective of it. We took 3 hours to hike the 5 miles. Great intro into the Sierras walking through a giant meadow with an actual river flowing through it. I would call it a big creek but in South California that is a river. The Kennedy Meadows General Store is the hiker hangout. A huge deck with 15+ hikers tearing open boxes and buying out the store. Some of us are leaving tomorrow. A few are taking the day off. We take off in the morning. The tent pole problem has been solved. A hiker behind us found the poles and carried them for five days and finally caught us in Kennedy Meadows.

6/4 Cold morning. We headed out and up. We passed the campground where most of the other hikers camped. All day we hiked with different people. Mark is Hair Bear. Mother Bird is Joe. Sundance is Robin. Drew is Kilted Yak. Ryan and Johnathan, Tom and Cyclone is Doug. This was such a great day we had rivers off and on all day. Creeks to follow and a giant meadow to walk through. Mountains and 4000' of gain. Swimming in the South Fork of the Kern River. Dennis probably can't read my hand writing because I'm so excited to be in the mountains. We set camp on a small saddle with most of the gang. We watched the sun set over the next mountains we get to enjoy. Kathy and Ed split up. Just want everyone at home at ease about this. Kathy and I are friends first and foremost. We are closer now then ever. It's because of this bond it is not a personal issue. This will give each of us the flexibility to stop or go in towns if her family comes she will no longer have the partnership to hinder or hold her back. This also helps me. My Mom and Stepfather are coming to Spokane the first week of September. That means alot to me especially now. Everyone also needs to realize we are only separating gear. We may hike together off and on the rest of the way. I hope everyone at home understands but this is our choice may it be right or wrong. Both Kathy and I are strong intelligent people. We will do this as easily on the people supporting us as possible.

6/5 Down to a meadow first thing this morning. Let me say for the millionth time- I'm so glad to finally be in the mountains. Today, like the last, was warm, sunny and has water about every two to five miles. We even walked in the shade. Mike and Motherbird are hiking in between Kathy and I for most of the day. These guys are great. Mike is thru hiking. He is married and his wife is home with a broken leg. He won't let her come out from Maine to see him because he thinks he'll crack. Motherbird is also a unique man. He is a pharmacist by schooling and job. He also is a mountain rescue instructor. Unfortunately he is only out here for two months. It would be fun to hike more with him. He leaves at Tuolumne Meadows. We have had some great views this day climbing up and crossing small saddles looking every direction. Towards the end of today we were looking at Mt. Whitney. The most unimpressive mountain I've seen in a long time. I still want to climb it. Tragedy struck the water filter, they don't make them like they used to. Iodine tablets suck but it's better than the consequences. I almost took a wrong turn today. Totally missed the junction. The only thing that saved me was checking behind me before I went to the bathroom on a tree. I have to pay better attention now that there are other trails around. I've been so use to watching for Jeep roads that we would have to hike. I have a birthday cake in my pack for Kathy. I've been trying hard to keep it a secret from her. I just had to tell someone. Yes, I know what your thinking. A real birthday cake? No, it's two chocolate brownies from Kennedy Meadows Store. I even have a few candles for her "cake." I'm hoping to get Mike and Motherbird to help with pictures and singing. Tell you tomorrow how it goes.

6/6 Kathy's Birthday: what a great day. We woke up to blue skies, no real wind to speak of. We started out of Poison Ivy Meadow for Mt. Whitney. We passed Chicken Spring Lake took some great pictures I hope. As we climbed away from the lake we had breakfast and planned out our food. Both of us are ending up lean in here. We both have very few snacks to carry us through today and tomorrow. But we both have an extra dinner and breakfast. Two dinners today and two breakfasts tomorrow and what we have left for snacks we are using sparingly. So anyway we hike down to Rock Creek for out first dinner passing into Sequoia National Forest. The sign read: No Pets, Weapons, No grazing. Finally Kathy and I are out of Cow Poop Creek, Muck Spring and a bunch of no where trails. Rock Creek was raging down the valley meadows on either side with a small Lodgepole forest. This is where Motherbird and Mike caught up to us. I asked Mike if he would help me suprise Kathy with the brownies and candles. He did. Kathy went to wash her clothes out and I scrambled to get it all put together. Just as she came back I hid everything from her. Motherbird finished filtering and joined us. That's when I lit the candles and we sang happy birthday as I handed her the cake. I handled the camera and took a picture. After cake we headed out and Kathy confided in me that she was wishing for a chocolate cake to be in the bear box where we ate. We climbed and dropped into Crabtree Meadow. Our turning point for Whitney. We hiked up through subalpine then to alpine and Guitar Lake. We set camp and ate again and threw rocks at a very aggressive Marmot. The dirty bugger tried to eat our stove. We made all things secure around camp and are calling it a well fed night.

6/7 Mt Whitney here we come. We woke up to a beautiful day right nest to Guitar Lake. We rushed to get our packs packed since it was below freezing last night. We started climbing switchback after switchback up to the junction. The snow was cement hard when we had to cross the small patches. We ran into Brad on the way down. He spent a cold, windy night on top. He didn't sleep in the shelter he bivied outside. We continued up to the junction dropped packs and took only what we needed for the top. We got to the top in no time using an exposed rock area to get up to the ridge. We then made our way through the rocks to the hut and summit. I took so many pictures from here I almost used all the film in the camera. We didn't linger too long since the wind was blowing hard on top. I used the last two pictures coming down the mountain to the junction. We met a young lady on her way to the summit. She informed us about leaving crampons by our stuff. That was a surprise to me: Crampons? Is the east side of our exit route that bad? So the next group I ran into I inquired about the trail conditions and they told me that by the time Kathy and I make it to that side the snow should be soft. We gathered our gear and headed into the unknown. We reached the saddle in no time and looked down. Oh sh... came to mind right away. Here we are out of food except for a bar or two and ahead a wall of snow. Both Kathy and I are nervous about getting hurt on this trip and here we are doing normal mountaineering stuff with a very conservative streak. My thoughts were to make long traverses to hit an exposed rock area since people were going straight up the head wall. For their safety we wanted to stay out from on top of the upward climbers. We also wanted the possible safety of a clean runout if we fell. So here we go traversing over finding the rocks and the trail. Most of the trail was exposed so we took it down. We did run into some minor snow fields to cross and an ice field that wasn't bad. The worst part of this whole ordeal was I ran out of film. We came down this beautiful valley with sub alpine lakes, waterfalls and great views all stored in memory until I make it back later in life. We met two day hikers that had planned to go to the summit but were turned back by the snow. Lisa and Curly were gracious enough to offer us a ride to town after we hiked the last three miles of the trail. I wanted to get down so I could get Kathy a pin from the Portal Store. Sitting in the parking lot as Curly rearranges their car to make room for us. Kathy and I sat on the curb and drank OJ. All four of us were glad to be done with the many switchbacks it took to get down from the last campsite.

6/8 Back on the trail, well sort of, we waited 45 minutes for ride. Figured that out and caught a $50 ride to the trail. We split the ride 3 ways with Skid (Trail name, doesn't give out his real name.) So off we went in Terry's truck sitting four across the front seat. The reason the ride was so much was it's 23 miles one way to the trail and the road goes up about 8000'. We hit the trail or our access trail by 12:30 and headed up to Cottonwood Pass and the PCT. We took a short cut on a stock trail to Chicken Spring Lake. We are rehiking a 13+ mile part of the trail we are camped at Rock Creek where Kathy's B-day party was held. I hiked to camp with Skid talking about thru-hikers and the definition of one. We also talked about our own lives and what brought us to backpacking.

6/9 My legs feel like Jello. They just don't seem ready for today. Today is the day we go over Forester Pass. At 13,200 it's the highest we go on the PCT. Now all we have to do is get there. From Rock Creek it is either 18 miles or 21 miles it just depends which book you read. I hope it's shorter but that usually means it's the longer. We finished up our backtrack by 8a.m. Ran into alot of tents at Crabtree Meadow. Ryan and Johnathan(Hair Bear) were getting ready to leave. We also ran into Guy, he is a hiker that I never would see again. He took 5 days in Idyllwild for a knee. He is no longer thru hiking but his girlfriend Kirsten is. Back to the trail, we entered into the golden zone of hiking for me. That is alpine environment, moraine fields, lakes that are frozen and best of all snow. We forded 3 creeks in the day. Boy was that cold. Kathy is a pro at water crossing and even admitted she enjoyed them. We spent the latter part of the day route finding to Forester Pass trying to guess where the trail is. Sundance and Drew joined us for the fun of crossing the pass. South side was pretty easy the north was a giant snowfield with great runout, the only bad part was that going down wasn't what we needed to do. We hit this thing perfect. The snow was soft but held up well. By the time we made our way down the snow was hardening up for the night. We are camped on this shelf with great evening and hopefully morning views.

6/10 Started an hour late today hoping the snow would be softer and to rest after Forester Pass. The down side to this morning was that everything was frozen. Our boots, tent, everything. One cold morning out here is better than work. We are definitely doing some scary but fun mountaineering out here. We dropped along Bubbs Creek. Great waterfalls and swimming holes just too cold to swim. We ran into Drew and Sundance climbing up a canyon wall. They were headed to Independence to resupply. Leaving them we headed to Charlotte Lake and on to Glen pass at 11,978 Feet. We met four men from Boston on top of the pass. They were headed south as we headed north. They told us about the head wall we were about to descend. We went down the snow steps that were already there since they were holding up for the upward guys. After getting back on the trail for a few minutes we saw where we needed to go. Rae Lakes are deep cut lakes in the Sixty Lakes Basin.On and off snow all the way to the first lake we made our way. Had dinner at the first lake and then headed down to Wood Creek. This valley we are passing through is just scattered with evidence of avalanches. More lakes and waterfalls grace our descent to camp. Kathy and I looked at the total miles to resupply versus passes to cross. We are playing tomorrow by ear since we would need to do two passes in one day to do the mileage by math. We decided if we don't make both on one day we will make it up later or push it to the last day. Food is the only issue that we need to check further. Without it we don't go anywhere. Both of us are hungry big time. So we watch what we have to make it last.

6/11 On the way up to Pinchot Pass. We had the fortune of crossing a swinging bridge. I sure felt like a drunken sailor on that bridge. Neither of us knows if there was a view off of it or not. Ambling up the trail we ran into Emily. She decided to join us for the day. As a group we made our way up this deep cut canyon to the basin before the pass. When we started to really lose the trail I lead the way finding the best route for all of us to take. I'm getting better at not just going after it but looking around more for the easy. I don't know what it is about hiking and climbing at 10,000 feet and above but boy do I get hungry fast. What seemed like forever we were able to hit the summit by 12:00 p.m. I just don't feel like I have energy at the climb. We were rewarded with some great views of the next pass. Kathy and I decided it would be best to call this day short since both of us have enough food for a half day before Vermillion Valley. I actually brought more food than I had figured on. One day that I am totally hungry I can feast on the extras. OK enough about food, I'm starting to get hungry. We ended the day with a log crossing at one fork of the South Fork river. Then a 3 phase ford of the second fork. Pulled up a flat grassy spot and we are happy campers for the night.

6/12 Up and over Mathers Pass. The approach was loads of fun. We had to route find in a glacial scarred basin. In other words we hiked up and over granite shelves gaining on the head wall to the pass. The other obstacle was streams, creeks and nine rivers. Some were easy to cross others were hard to find a place to cross. Then some we crossed on snow bridges. My least favorite. Slowly we found the top after using snow and rock climbing skills. Again we were rewarded with great vies of the next valley and mountains we were going through. Again the descent from this 12,000+' pass was not all that fun, OK I loved the heck out of it but Kathy and Emily were more concerned about it. We made it down crossed more streams and creeks than I can count. I even put my foot in one. I hate hearing that squish, squish every time I take a step. Finally we come to the Golden Staircase, a trail that defies the imagination. This trail clings to the side of the valley as Paliside Creek roars down the middle. I just can't desrcibe the beauty of this area. Mountains stand straight and tall pushing the clouds aside. Valleys so deep that you can hardly imagine that you are going down into them. Did I mention how crisp and clear the water looks? That blue green that is so inviting on a hot day. And the flowers, man the ones that are out will knock your socks off. I even saw a black bear. Too far away for a picture but he was big. Now I have to try and sleep tonight knowing that a bear is so close. I'm not afraid of him I just want to keep my food. Craving of the day.(Blueberry pancakes and strawberries)

6/13 We are ending up with some long days in here. Today we went over Muir Pass. He was smaller that the other four we have done but talk about long. First off we decide to kick our own steps to a plateau. That wasn't bad except Emily lost her footing and had to self arrest. She had problems getting a foot hold when she slid again. Stopping short of rocks and a ledge. She was able to get control with Kathy's guidance on how to get back up to the foot holds. Then I lead us around the wrong peak in the valley. Luckily we were able to come back to the trail near the elevation that I took us to. We also thought we passed a landmark that we didin't. When we did it made us feel disappointed since we thought we were further than we were. Finally we made the pass. Took a small break in the hut that is at the top. We made our mark in the journal that was there. Read the other comments about the false summit, minding twisting pass. Don't get me wrong I had a great time, loved the views even got a red tan on my face. Coming down was a wet snow slog. We had a hard time moving through the sun cupped snow. We are now down in Evolution Valley surrounded by peaks that are named after the great thinkers. One more pass before Vermillion Valley Resort and we are going after it later in the day tomorrow. I can't wait to see what challenges it holds for us.

6/14 What a day!! We started out of camp knowing that in two miles we had a creek ford. Looked more like a river that a creek. I'm guessing that the creek was 30-35 feet across and as I went across first I found it was about waist line deep. I had a hard time fighting the current especially in the last 10'. That was where it moved the fastest. After everyone was across we found some sun and took breakfast and warmed back up. As we headed down the canyon wall we saw the falls in the creek. Knowing now that if this current would of picked you off your feet this is where you would end up. the rest of the afternoon we stayed low in the canyon following the creek down. After 5-6 miles we started our ascent towards Seldon Pass. We ran into two day hikers that told us the way up was very snowy. When we first saw the pass it did't look too bad. As we climbed up to the pass snow was around but nothing like we had before. I have come to taking a wait and see attitude towards passes and creek crossings. The downward side of the pass was like all the others. Full of snow and no trail. Route finding is becoming my #1 job out here. Mainly in these passes. It was 8 p.m. by the time we found a place to camp for the night. Still no trail but I know about where it is.

6/15 There is nothing like fording a river first thing in the morning. Especially when you hiked over the head waters the night before. we looked up and down the river looking for that sweet spot to cross. I started to cross at a spot pocked by the girls. The bad part was that three feet from shore the water was s o deep that I thought I was going up to my chest. I made a quick about face and headed back to shore. We headed down stream and found a better crossing. We made two island hops and then headed for the big crossing. We headed across the icy water. This wasn't bad until the very end. That is where the river went deep and the current picked up. The water stopping at my upper thigh. Two quick leaps and I was up on shore. All three of us are walking with frozen feet and fighting pain every step of the way. My feet have never felt this cold. Five to ten minutes later I could actually feel my toes screaming in pain. We started hiking trying to get warm. then the next water crossing comes and we hope there is a good way to cross. The only one that was hard on us was Hagard Creek when Emily feel in crossing a small log that I had just crossed. I jumped in and tried to help her back upright. Between the two of us we were able to get her to shore and up on land. This was only the first of three fingers to this creek. Kathy forded across and helped get Emily across the other parts of the creek. They found some rocks and had a yard sale of all the wet gear. It's a good thing this was a town day. We picked up after an hour and headed back down. We ran into four men hiking up for the weekend and asked about the VVR Ferry. They told us it wasn't running yet. So Kathy and Emily felt I could take off into the resort. So I did. Had a great time once I got to the resort. Had a big hamburger and saw a whole bunch of hikers that I'd met before and traded stories of our different adventures. Had some good beer and ate again when Kathy and Emily showed up. Scale said I lost ten more pounds since Agua Dulce.(146#)

6/16 Breakfast at Vermillion Resort was one of the biggest I've ever eaten. First off I met the cook yesterday as I was doing laundry so I had an "in". Three eggs, 4 sausage, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy and 2 pancakes. When I left to pack nothing was left on any of the plates. We took a Ferry to the far end of the lake to get back on trail. Much faster than the 6 trail miles from the PCT. Back on trail and back to just Kathy and I. The first thing we do back on trail is a creek ford. Not too deep or fast. We then continued on our journey crossing two more rivers. The second one was a total blast we crossed right under a waterfall getting soaked and smiling. We ran into Bruce and Gordon on Silver Pass. Taking turns leading down the next valley. All of us watching thunderstorms build in the surrounding mountains. Kathy and I started us to tally ho when the first drops of rain started falling. we started looking for a spot for the night when the rain started to turn to sleet. Kathy and I have been here before. We set our tent up in a flash, throw our packs inside and jump in after them. We are just sitting around reading the guidebook and writing journals waiting for the weather to break.

6/17 There is something my grandmother always says about where she lives. "I have to have a view of the mountains from any place that I live." I remembered this today as Kathy and I are sitting on top of a saddle looking at two spectacular views. It's because of the peace of mind they evoke inside. I have never felt so relaxed in my life. Nothing really seems scary out here. I know that I can handle adversity when the time strikes. I also know that I can hike in a zone that frees my mind but remembers all the physical attractions around me. Today, Kathy and I had a nice choice of eating dry pack food or stopping at Red Meadows Cafe. We contemplated dinner or just dessert. Then it became clear to us we don't get this choice very often so you can guess what that means. Fifteen dollars later and full stomachs we head back to the trail and find our next excursion. We headed 1 mile off trail to Rainbow Falls. It just happens to be one of the big attractions of Red Meadows. the other is Devil's Postpile. We are planing a side trip to it in the morning. Kathy and I have also come up with a grand plan about the last week and a half we are together. I hope the thing I've learned about the book I can pass on to her.

6/18 Kathy and I decided to take the John Muir Trail for a 12.9 section over the 12 mile PCT route. The big reason was scenery. the PCT traverses a valley when the JMT takes you on the other side of the same valley but you are on the spectacular scenery side. We hiked around numerous lakes over ridges with views and picture opportunities galore. We basically had another great day on the trail. The scarry crek fords at the end of the day were log crossings and one was under water. We looked for a third as mentioned in the book was just a rock skip. We are camped in a tight spot for the night but no one or animal should disturb us. Happy Fathers Day!!

6/19 Up and over Donaue Pass and down the Tuolomne River Fork we are done for the day. The pass like all the others was covered in snow. Sometimes I had footprints to follow but most of the time I had to find a way to the pass. Good thing this is on a gentle grade up with only one valley. We get to the top and Brad and the 3 J's catch up. The 3 J's are Jason, Jeff and Jeremy. All are from Wisconsin and have know each other since the third grade. We talked with them for a few minutes then headed down. We found the drop off that is mentioned in the book. Went over to a snow bridged creek traversed it on the flat and came down 20 feet found a 2nd crossing on the snow. This time it was on part of the cliff so we crossed the snow bridge again and skied down the rest. A 200' descent in less than 1 minute. So much fun!! The rest of the hike we enjoyed walking down the river going in and out of large meadows. We saw more people today then ever. I ended up talking with two couples that were on a picnic table. They had never heard of the PCT and didn't know they were on it now. The first question for me was how many days have you been hiking? The response usually shocks the crud out of people. I chatted with them until Kathy showed up. One lady gave me in her words "a fresh Washington Apple." The only thing was I had to share. We bid them goodbye and headed to the store. Here we ran into seven thru hikers all trying to resupply or leave. It didn't take Kathy and I long to realize that we want to leave tomorrow. This place is a vacationer zoo. We plan to go slow the next couple of days and enjoy each others company for the last of our partnership. Happy Anniversary Dennis and Steph. You are the greatest. We also met a section hiker that has followed these journals. His comment was that our site is the most updated so far. Great job Dennis!!

6/20 Back to the trail. We were supposed to take a day off here but the amount of people coming and going is more than Kathy and I want to deal with. That and there is nothing to do here except eat, sleep, fight off mosquitoes and bears. We never saw one in our camp but the ranger said they had problems all night. So we took our time getting ready and left around 11:00. On the trail we had alot of people in the first mile then just a few. By six miles we had passed the Tuolomne Falls and we were alone the rest of the way. I love starting a new section in the book. It just seems like you step across the road and everything changes. We are now in Lodgepole pine and granite mountains. The contrasts are so unique I never would of imagined the solid mountains of granite everywhere you look. I understand now why this is such a climbers paradise. The only disappointing thing is the lack of wild flowers in the meadows. The price you pay for coming to an area early. We are camped early hoping to stay dry in our tent. A late afternoon thunderstorm is building in the mountains beside us.

6/21 What a day. I didn't feel like getting up this morning and all day my energy level has been down. I think it's time for a 0 mile day in Echo Lake. On the bright side we had a wonderful hike. We dropped down into some fantastic canyons and then climbed over a pass. Then we did it all over again. We also are in creek ford mode. I can't count how many we crossed and recrossed today. Some of these forks are a blast. The waters cold but refreshing. One today was that cold to the bone feeling right away. One last one was supposed to be one creek and it turned out to be 3 or 4. I lost count as we were trying to make it back to the trail. This is also mosquito hell. What isn't a deep creek is swamp land or stagnant ponds. Camped quick to avoid the bugs.

6/22 The rocket man is out of gas!! We are in some of that slow moving up and down cross and recross fords. In this section I've been tired everytime we go uphill. I have to push myself to keep moving and get to the top. The days I would let a 15 minute gap happen between Kathy and I are gone here. I think I've just burnt myself too far. I'm starting to have fantasies about rest days. We haven't taken a 0 mile day for over a month. I'm still having a great time and I enjoy all the different landscapes we've been going through. Today we have gone from lush forest on one side of the river to almost desert on the other. The granite mountains here make for some spectacular waterfalls and trail configurations. We wind around alot. We also seem to be in the false summit zone. The last two ridges have had more false summits than I can count. All with their own personality like lakes or meadows. Some alive with flowers others alive with mosquitoes and Dragonflies. I've never seen an orange Dragonfly until now. All the creek fords were moderate to easy today. We had on bridge washed out so someone put a log in place of the bridge. I carried both our packs across in two trips. It was just too much for Kathy and I have great balance when it comes to logs and rock hops. Tak caught up to us today, he had dinner as we cleaned up at a creek.

6/23 Up and over Dorothy Lake Pass. That was the first thing on our list of many today. finally a pass that isn't completely snow bound. We hiked around the lake and then climbed the 100' to the pass. Coming down was a different story. We had the usual route find down to Harriett Lake. After that it was a cruise down to a trail junction that I took us down. The only problem was we were not supposed to go straight we were to turn. I figured that out after a mile and we were next to a river still. Huffing back up the elevator loss we were back on track. We hit a milestone today: 1000 miles. We had a jellybelly moment and dinner. Back on the trail and hiking as fast as we can. We hit a quandary at 4 p.m. Call it a day because weather threatened or go for it 13 miles to the next water and place to camp. We went for it. We climbed up to 10400' on a ridge line the weather moved closer to us. Thunder started to rumble the valleys below. I could hear the static on my ice axe: a very bad sign. So we started to bust it across the ridge line. This is also a section that is known for treacherous snow fields. Hiking fast but enjoying the spectacular views. We moved. We had to stop part way to put raingear on. The storm is pressing in on us. There is one bowl that we must traverse and it's covered in snow. The runout if we fell is rocks or a lake at the bottom of the moraine. Diligent in our steps we move swiftly across. As we get to the other side rain and storm move away from us. Both Kathy and I are exhausted. Taking up on instant energy(jelly belly). We forge on to descend to Senora Pass. This where fatigue, long day (now 7:30) and more miles than either of us want to count. We made a poor decision. We tried to slide down a snow field that was large material. The thing is we have our ice axes but we decide to keep our poles instead. I can tell you that yes, when you fall a trekking pole can be used for self arrest. It doesn't work well but it stopped me from hitting the rocks. Kathy had a similar fate near the same place as me. Both of us are OK just bruised pride.

6/24 We met up with Doug and Krista today. They were kicked out of Yosemite because of Monte the dog. No dogs on National Park trails. Today was easy up and down hike in trees or on top of the Sierra Crest. For the most part a day to relax and enjoy the places we've been and where we are now.

6/25 Larry, a section hiker has joined us for the day. He camped with us late last night. So we are off hiking to a pass that is cut by a road. We first have some snow fields and a winding valley to get through. Doug and Krista caught up to us as we prepared to make our way down. Lots of fun sliding down the snow fields when available. This place is more amazing then one could ever imagine. The volcanic rock formations are real eye catching and then you have weather deformed Juniper trees holding on where little else grows. Kathy met a woman from Beldon and ended up with a contact for getting Richard to Reno. We then continued on the other side of Ebbits Pass passing lakes and small meadows. After a while we were in this huge open area with Pink Indian Paintbrush, Blue Forget-me-nots and Sagebrush. What a color display. Yellow and red flowers start to appear. What a great sight. We stopped for the usual dinner and water filter break when the afternoon thunderstorm moved in. We ate and started hiking in the pause of the rain showers. Ducking in the trees up ahead for some relief we held up for the next lull in the rain. When it finally came we headed over the next open ridge really noticing the fragrances of all the flowers after the rain. The air was thick with the sweet smell. We then crossed more snow fields hanging onto our steep sided trail. Finally we found a spot to call it a night and rest up for tomorrow's adventure.

6/26 I just don't understand the weather here. Every morning we start out with blue skies and by 2 p.m. we are running for cover to beat the rain and lightning. Then by the time we are ready to call it a night the sky is opening back up. I just can't figure it out. The great part about today was the amount of meadows that we went through. I have seen more flowers of different variety today than I have the rest of the trip. I love this stuff. We also did some fun snow crossings on the side of Elephant Head Mountain. Dropping into Carson Pass we ran into a few day hikers and a store. This was a bad store since they sold only books and walking sticks, no food. I'm dying for an A&W Rootbeer. Soon so soon. Tomorrow is Echo Lake and a day off. All we have is 8.5 easy miles I hope.

6/27-28 A dropping eight miles to Echo Lake Resort. Well that's what I thought. We did drop most of the way it was that last mile where we climbed up over a small hill that had me. I started climbing and instantly thought I missed something. Checked the map and realized that we needed to get over this hump before we see our stopping point: Echo Lake Resort. We met two new thru-hikers. Both are from the East Coast. I'm terrible with names. Anyway six of us head into town for some R&R as Kathy waited for Dick at the resort. I settled into my room for the two nights that I'm here. Got organized and started all the big town chores I had lined up. The six of us made plans to go to an all you can eat buffet at on of the casinos. We figured we would get our money's worth since all of us have hiker appetites. Five plates of food and 2 desserts later I felt like I was going to explode. Headed back to the hotel for the night already planning a breakfast run back to the casino. I had the breakfast run across the state line and then ended up at a gear store to replace my H2O filter. Great place they exchanged filters for me w/o me having to pay. They also had a one man Sierra Design tent. I have it now. It affords me a place to write my journals and I can sit up in it. Kathy has the same tent coming I think.

6/29 Back on the trail. I was able to get a ride from the owner of the hotel. Saved a lot of hitchhike time. Desolation Wilderness is where I returned to the PCT. What a great place all subalpine with lakes about every 1/2 mile. The glaciated slopes and wildflowers just made for a great day. Thunder moved in late afternoon and of course I was up on a ridge when it started to get active. With a little pep in my step I got down as fast as I could. I did end up dropping into a mosquito melee. These buggers act like 20 hikers at an all you can eat buffet. They land 10-15 at a time all trying to bite me. I ended up putting on my rain gear just to escape. Even where I'm camped it sounds like a steady hum of an amplifier. I just hope I can sleep through it.

6/30 The million dollar question for today is how long till I get out of the mosquito hell I'm in? I woke to the buzz of hundreds of the little buggers caught between the tent and the rainfly. Not exactly what I would call a good morning wakeup. I packed as fast I could with new gear going here no there no over here. I think I have a system after this morning. The hike today started as a forest walk then by noon I had come to Barker Pass. I crossed the road and headed up to the crest. I took a side trip out to a knob for a look at Lake Tahoe. Man that thing is huge. I also ran into lots of day hikers. I sure can tell there is a holiday soon. I must of seen 10-15 people today. Usually I'm lucky if I see one other person that isn't a thru-hiker. Back on the crest I think Dick flew over. Small plane that had brown letters or stripes on the side. If it was him I wasn't in plain view. Enjoyed all the wildflowers and views from this perch. The rest of the day I spent either on the crest or crossing a valley to get to the next crest. The trail took me by the tops of 3 ski resorts. I know of some places I want to visit during the winter. When the snow is almost off these places you have to wonder how the heck you ever ski on that. Tonight I'm perched up on the side of a ridge tucked nicely in some trees and boulders. The wind that is blowing doesn't even touch my tent.

7/1 Some mornings I have to wonder if the sun and moon switched places. Today felt like a full moon evening. The first thing I see is out of the ordinary is this up cropping that had the face of a clown. Then as I'm coming up to the ridge line I see a bunch of white firs bent at the bottom then growing straight up. This looks like I'm walking in a sea of elephant trunks because of the scale of the bark. The next thing I know I'm seeing group after group of day hikers. One asked if all that on my back was my lunch. A different one wanted to know how the summer skiing was since I use trekking poles. Then it was all the trail runners with 2 and 3 dogs a piece. With all this going on I still enjoyed the great scenery. I even had a few ridge walks that were impressive. Donner Pass is a very busy place with I-80 going over and the weekend. The best part of today was when two young girls (about 5 to 7) told me I move too slow. I never thought I would hear that from anyone. I met back up with Doug and Christa this afternoon. We talked about meeting in Sierra City for dinner. Who know, neither of us knew where we would end tonight. For me I'm on a ridge tucked in some trees to help with the wind. Then I'll know tomorrow.

7/2 The wind never died down from yesterday so I started up and over Lacy Peak dressed to the nines. Rain gear on, gloves and a winter hat. I've only used my rain gear once for rain the rest of the time it seems to be more of a wind breaker or a source of warmth. More ridge walking today. Great views of all the lakes down in the valleys. Today is also a town day for me so that usually entails going down and boy did I. All 24 switchbacks. Doug and I hiked down together. This was the valley without a bottom or so it seemed. We were clinging to the side wall of the valley on a very narrow trail looking at the tree tops of the trees below. When you switched back again you could almost touch the tree tops of the next set of trees below. Doug and Christa, the two boys Huckleberry and Grover camped at the forest service road below where I camped. After talking with them it looked like all of us were going into Sierra City about the same time. In town we ate out of the only store in town. No restaurants were open for Sunday and we have to stay for the post office in the morning. This is a cool old gold mining town. Just nothing is left but some older businesses all with for sale signs tacked to the porch. Back on the trail in the morning.

7/3 I had to wait for the post office to open this morning so the best place to wait is the breakfast diner. Great food and fun staff. I made resupply quick and was hitchhiking up to the trail when I saw the library opening. So I took a few minutes and checked out the new pictures on the website. I wanted to do e-mail but it is against their policy. So I hitched a ride with a guy and off to the trail I went. Larry the section hiker also caught this ride so him and I are hiking together for as long as he likes. I guess what I'm saying is I hike my pace and he comes along as far as he can. He hurt an ankle a while back so he can't do the miles I'm doing. What I thought was going to be a one wow day turned out to be a wow every time we had views. This place is great. We hike on the ridge looking down on all these lakes. Some are huge with car campers all at one and while some are tucked back in these mine valleys with no real access but trail. Some even look like they are perched on the side of the cliffs that flank one side. I met a day hiker that wanted to know all about being a trail angel and how or what he could do to help the thru-hikers. I gave him as many ideas as I could from rides to setting up camp near the trail and offering free pop and a candy bar. I told him most of us appreciate anything that comes our way along the trail. For me I get excited over letters in my drop box. Any bonus snack or food. Your level of what's special and exciting turns simple. I really look forward to the thing I take for granted at home. Showers, clean clothing, new socks that kind of stuff. Looking forward to tomorrow since today is already gone.

7/4 Being the Fourth of July the scenery could of used some fireworks. Most of the day was spent hiking in the trees. The few times I peaked out of them I could see Sierra Buttes. This was cool because you could see the progress I've made in the end of the Sierras. I ended up at the Feather River for the night. I shared a campsite with a couple that are hiking to the Columbia River. We ended up talking until 9 p.m. about the trail and all the experiences I've had on the way. Larry also joined up for the night.

7/5 With a nice healthy climb to start the morning who could ask for anything more. I met Lady Godiva she is the first thru-horse rider that I've come across. She is slipping all over the place because of the snow and downed trees. It was also her birthday today. Along in today's mostly forest walk I was mainly alone. I met one other person and I was heading for the last ridge walk before town. He was out for just the 4th and 5th. Another person that wanted the website info. The end of today has me on this exposed ridge with no real cover. I'm tucked in a draw that seems to be free of the light breeze that's being blowing. A little over 5 miles to town and 4000 feet of elevation to lose. My knees are going to hate me soon.

7/6 Where I was camped last night ended up being the best place to watch the sunrise. I wanted to take a picture of it but I was a little slow on the draw. By the time I got up, unpacked my pack from it's protective slumber I missed the full color part. Some mornings it's hard to get up when the temperature outside is below freezing. My tent and everything inside had a thick layer of frost. I slowly packed and headed the short amount of miles let to town. At 8:30 and sore knees I pulled into the small town of Belden. I opened my box to find a B-day card from Dennis and Steph. They put in some Jelly Bellys for me unfortunately they were everywhere in my box. Ate some put some in the ziplock. I also had a box from my sister Kim. She was filling the birthday cake request. Homemade brownies with peanut butter swirled in them. Half are gone and I don't even feel full. She also sent pepperoni sticks from Eggers. Two vacuum packed bags and only one of them came out of town with me too. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment I started the next section today after I organized my food. I did have dinner at the restaurant before I left. I received a complimentary beer for today. Huck and Gruven pulled in along with Larry, a guy from Germany and Blue. I met Blue at Sierra City he was coming as I was going. I finished all the town stuff I could and headed out at 3:30 p.m. I didn't expect to get far but I sleep better out here than I ever do in or around towns. So I pulled up a flat spot and I'm calling it a night. The trail here is hard to follow so far. It's covered in small branches and downed trees.

7/7 What a morning. It took me an hour and 1/2 to go less than 2 miles. I had huge trees down on the trail that's when I could find it. Then I came to the wash out. I was standing about 10' above the creek with deep cut sides no real easy way down or up. So I looked upstream then down then back up to the one spot I thought would work. Basically slid down one bank crossed and then tried to climb up the other side. It sure wasn't pretty but I was able to get out. Now where is the trail? I went up since it is easier to see the trail below than above. I thought I found the trail 2 or 3 times before I was on the right one. So off I went up the trail I met a family not too far up the trail. What is weird about this is I could hear them last night but they were camped over 1 1/2 miles away. Anyway I climbed the zest of the day. Some downs but not many. I saw Lassen Peak a couple of different times but clouds kept me from seeing all of it. The rest of today was forest walking.

7/8 A cold morning start, I was cold and so was all my stuff. Some mornings it's just hard to want to get out of that warm sleeping bag. I headed out as fast as a cold body will let you. But once I start down that trail everything starts coming alive fast. I still have homemade brownies in the pack. They help getting going this morning. Three squares left for tomorrow. Anyway, I had great clear views of Stump Meadow. The rest of the day it was ridge to valley hiking. That all changed as I came closer to Terminal Geyser. This was a quick side trip so I went. This was the first time I remember ever seeing one. Not bad, more steam then shooting water still a sight to behold. Then on the trail I passed Boiling Spring Lake. That too was different. I could hear the ground under me bubbling and churning. Just the different colors of the bank were cool. Then this lake looks like a giant mud lake. You can actually see the surface bubble and spit mud. As I left there I met the soon to be lost wife, she was headed up to see all the different sights. I'll get back to the lost part. So then I came down the ridge to my first views of Warner Valley and the lodge. Hot springs are coming out the side of the bank where I'm standing soon to disappear into pipes feeding their pool and hot tub. Big sign at the trail junction "For guests only, Don't ask." Too bad they sure looked good. So I get to the trailhead parking area and there is water and garbage cans. I lighten the load and fill the water. When a guy comes down the trail stops and asks if I've seen a woman around here. No is my answer. So I describe the woman I saw on the trail. "That's her." he said. I told him where I saw her and asked if she would know how to get to the car. He told me she is the navigator of the two and she would know exactly how to get back. I left him heading back to the lake as I made my last push for a campsite away from all the people here.

7/9 Twenty miles to Old Station and hopefully a new pair of boots. The one's I have are on their last leg. The hike in was good, passed several small lakes and lots of trail junctions none of them seemed to be marked for the PCT. I did met two week enders up fishing at one junction. These guys were amazed at where I had come from. Had a good conversation with them then I pushed on. Pizza is calling my name. So I headed on going for food.

7/10 Huck and Gruven and myself are sitting on a bench in front of the store that opens at 7 a.m. and isn't. Watching car after car stop, get out, try the door, ask us when it opens, then leave mad because it's late. This show went on for the restaurant and Post Office. Everyone in a hurry for this or that but the owners and us do our thing and when we are ready we will be there. I had breakfast at the diner and found out the owner let's hikers use her Internet access for free. So I checked out the website to see the pictures then to e-mail. Bad news awaited. Larry the section hiker wrote me about him leaving the trail early. His ankle was too much to bear. He also told me that Doug and Krista took the dog to the vet because of facial swelling. Monte(the dog) was ok but something was causing the problem. Dr. speak for "I don't know." Krista had a checkup on her pregnancy 5 months along. Was told she was not receiving the proper nutrition on the trail. So the three left for home not wanting to risk the health of the baby or dog. As for me and the rest of the day it was great. I stopped at Subway Cafe for water and decided to take the self guided tour 1/3 of a mile in the lava tube. What the heck. I put a new battery in the Micro Mag Lite and headed in. Cool, damp cave on a hot day what could be scary about this. Have the bulb of your only light source burn out. So here I am in total darkness fumbling with my light when a family starts coming through. I asked if I could finish walking through with them versus dropping something on the flashlight while changing bulbs. Back on top loaded with 6 liters of water and 30 miles to the next safe water. At least this part of the hike was up to a rim of a valley. All along the way I had open views of the valley below. Looking north was Mt. Shasta standing tall. Behind is Mt. Lassen covering the head of the valley. I decided to hike into the evening because of the cooler air and sunsets are great from the rim. Or so I was told. They were right on the mark. Oranges and reds lit the sky and purples and maroons finished the site.

7/11 A sort distance left to get water and then another 13 miles before water re-supply. This part of the hike was a valley floor that I just hiked around. Headed to Burney Falls. What an awesome sight these falls are huge the main fall are great then there are springs all around the rim making tons of smaller ones. I wish I had more daylight to get all the different pictures. Oh well next time. I think 10 a.m. would put the light on the falls for the best shots. I'll just buy the postcard like all the other tourists here.

7/12 I had some great views of Shasta today. Then I had a bunch of different views of select and clear cut forest. I met two south bound section hikers and was told about climbing Shasta. Sounds very doable. I also ran into a trail crew out working. They were fun to talk with. They had been working on the trail for two weeks. They told me about all the other thru-hikers they had met. Huck and Gruven caught me at a water stop towards the end of the day and we are now camped in the only flat spot on the trail for miles. Ridge hiking is great but hard to find places to camp along it.

7/13 I remember reading in one of the PCT registers a note about the section I'm in. It's started out section O stands for "Oh my God is this boring." Well I kind of have to agree. The only real highlights are the rivers and creeks. The occasional view is always a treat but for the most part I hike in the trees. One of the things I'm growing accustomed to is north face lush with Fir and Hemlock. South slope dry Scrub Oak and Poison Oak, a few Ponderosas but not much. I can also tell this is a seldom used trail. Busting brush on the upper slopes is the normal way to get through. By the end of the day all I want to do is wash off my arms and legs looking for the million deep scratches that I know should be there but most of the time I look unscathed from all the bushwacking. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. It's a town stop and this doesn't sound too easy of a town to get to. With the book in hand I'll be making all those in a hundred yards turn here and there. In 2.5 miles I'll know every alley and street in Castella.

7/14 - 7/15 Wow, what a two day experience. I hiked into Castella and re-supplied quick. the reason was that I wanted to go climb Mt. Shasta. Huck and Gruven also wanted to go. So the three of us started asking for a ride to Shasta City. I needed boots, crampons, and ice axe. I get us a "I'll come back for you in a few minutes" ride. We were all hoping on her to come back she was a nice looking lady. We ended up with a ride right after she left. This retired fisherman gave us a ride and history lesson on the fishing around the area. Cool guy, just totally into his element. We get to the rental place and get our gear. They unfortunately wouldn't rent me crampons without boots. Oh well so I need to do. I also needed to buy socks since mine have holes in them from the old boots. Kim sent me down stuff but some of it wouldn't work. I did get some homemade cookies out of the deal. Anyway, I was ready to go up to Mt. Shasta and those two wanted to do more stuff in town. So I headed out to hopefully catch a ride up to Bunny Flat. Not even five minutes pass and I'm on my way. A teacher from Seattle gave me a ride. He wanted to check ski conditions on the mountain before going up. I hiked into Horse Camp. It's owned by the Sierra Club and has spring water cabin(that you can't sleep in) and a self composting toilet. All the comforts of home. It amazes me how fast I can accomplish my goals, I was at the camp and set up by 5:30 p.m. I started cooking dinner when a guide service employee asked me about left overs. I stopped cooking and said sure. A cheese pasta with fresh veggies. Heather the guide and I had a great time talking about our adventures and I offered to do the dishes since I didn't have to cook. She also gave me some great tips in the route of the mountain. I asked a different group that was climbing if they would wake me up when they went to climb. In bed by 7:30 and trying to sleep when a guy comes and sets his tent and stuff less than 5' away. Finally by 10 p.m. he is done making all kinds of noise then he snores not like anything I've ever heard. He makes Galen sound like a church mouse. So no sleep and I'm up at 1 a.m. on my way by 2 a.m. full moon guiding my route and not a sole around all the way to Suffer Flat. As I got there the sun's morning color hit some of the smaller pinnacles making them glow an orange-red color. At 6 a.m. I summited and met my first group. They were getting set to head down. I wasn't alone long on the summit before the next person showed up. I took a few pictures when my camera wouldn't load any more film. So no picture of me on the summit or of the hordes of humanity coming up the standard route. Going down was fun since the snow hadn't softened at all. Down I met tons of people asking about the summit. Then I hit campground at 9 a.m. and more people showing up every minute ready to climb tomorrow. At the rental store I start talking to these four guy that were headed up after they get some gear. As they ask more questions I tell them I'm not a good gauge for how long it takes me to climb since I've been hiking the PCT. The one guy asks me if I know of the Spokane Mountaineers or Ed and Kathy. So I introduced myself and found out Dave Rudneck is from Spokane. He heard of us from my friend Robert. some days my world feels so small.

7-16 Last night I met two new thru-hikers Shaggy and Mercury. And today Mercury and I hiked the day together getting to know each other. We had a great place to do it to Castle Crags State Park and Wilderness. A big climb this morning and then views after view. Have I told you how tired my legs feel today? I didn't know how long I would be able to hike today that climb this morning took all I had. But the day went great and the company was a welcome sight. I did meet a day hiker that had a hard time understanding why we hike this. He warmed up to the idea after talking to us for a while. Camped on a ridge, sunset was great and I was able to hike the usual distance today tired bones and all.

7/17 I'm still paying for the Shasta climb. My body is tired and I don't want to get out of bed. I finally get up at 5:30 hit the trail. I had no idea where I ended up last night I wanted to get the usual day in but I thought I was short. Within ten minutes I reached a trail junction looked at the map and I went two miles further then I needed. It didn't matter since I had been hiking along a ridge most of the day and camping was slim. So today I traversed almost the entire day in one glacial bowl. Out and then into the next. Some of today was even headed south. I hiked forever up and down the valleys always staying in open slope with a view. If you flew from where I started to where I ended today I'd say it was less than 5 miles but I took all day and 30 miles to get there. This is what the PCT is all about. Hiking from one place to the next whatever way they want to take you. It's fine by me since they seem to like the different views of Lassen, Shasta and Trinity Alps. This time out I shorted myself on food so I hitched a plan that if I saw anyone at the camp I was going to Yogi food from them. I pull up to a place and start reading when the people in the van nest to me start stirring. They open their window and ask me about gold panning or fishing this one lake. I told them I was a thru-hiker and don't take the time to. A million questions later they asked about food and what I'm carrying. I told them and added that I was short this time. As easy as that I ended up with some cookies and beef jerky. I thanked them and headed over to camp sharing my bounty with the other three.

7/18 If one day is easy the next should be hard. I went up today and down then up. It wasn't bad most of the day only one spot where I was kicked off the trail by some ranchers driving their cattle down the PCT. This totally mad me since this trail is for horses and humans only. Then to make things worse this one was in a designated wilderness. I've come to learn that the word wilderness means no logging this year. But roads, grazing and off road vehicles are ok. this is nothing like the ones I've been in up north. Wilderness is wild no cows or machines of any sort. OK I'm done. The views were great and the mountains were awesome I went from volcanic to granite mountains. The lakes and meadows were in the picture perfect look. Springs flowing all along the trail. What a great day. Now I get to look forward to seeing Lynn Smith tomorrow. He came down for Kathy and I. Our personal taxi. It'll be great to see him. The mentor: him and Dennis.

7/19 Ten miles to the trailhead and Lynn Smith. He ended up sooner than the trailhead. Where I camped last night was less than great. I ended up 20 feet above the trail on the only semi-level spot I had seen for 12 miles. Great ridge walk to here though. What I should of done was read the book about the water I was at because in the morning 50 yards down the trail was a campsite that he mentioned. Oh well. So what I slept good anyway. Just a great ridge walk all the way to where I met Lynn on the trail. I came over a snow drift and there he was. We hiked together back to his truck and headed to Etna for food. I cut myself short on snacks so bad that I was out when I met him except for dinners I had extra. Lynn the always prepared man had some rolls and some fruit. That banana he had was the best I'd ever had. Down the long windy road to town. Cute small town. Post office then to the drug store for the register. An honest old drug store with a soda fountain and ice cream. Ice cream came before the register. The great part of Lynn being there was that I had great company and a mode of transportation. This re-supply was done by 2 p.m. That was shower, laundry, sorting food and making a list for what I wanted to take out and then food. Lynn and I went to a sit down restaurant and he witnessed first hand my appetite. Two meals plus dessert. Checked out the library and Internet and bought supplies. Then went back for glue. That dang filter broke again. Now if it breaks one more time I'm going to Iodine. Yuck!!! Back at the restaurant for senior smorgasbord all you can eat. I love those things. Then finally we headed back up to Lynn's campsite the previous night for tonight's rest.

7/20 I made Lynn get up when I do so that we could start on the trail around 6:30. Great ridge line hike for us both we had some views, small meadows and some forest. Lynn came in about 10 miles to Shelly Lakes outlet. If I only knew. He should of hiked about 30 minutes more. Out of the trees I went to an explosion of color. Flowers of every sort were blooming. The ridge line was only five steps away and this huge view of Marble Mountain almost all white glistening in the sun. Man what a spectacular sight. From this spot on the day kept getting better and better. I crossed the ridge line off and on dropped down for a traverse that yielded more views and flowers waist high. Then one waterfall and then more all just an arm stretch from the trail. As I rounded a bend a small lake would appear and disappear. Up and over the ridge to man eating lake all I can say is WOW! Deep blue water holding the bottom of the ridge across from me. The further I went today the more spectacular the flowers, ridges or old glacial bowls became. Until now. I'm in the process of hiking the best of the open ridge in this section. Tomorrow I'll be dropping 4300' to Seiad Valley. But tonight camp is on top of the ridge in a small grove of trees. They still afford me views from my site.

7/21 Well today was short and sweet. I dropped down along Grinder Creek all the way to Seiad Valey. One creek ford felt great in the 90+ degree day. What a lush valley though just tons of Blackberry and Thimbleberry bushes. Oh and my favorite Poison Oak that plant just loves these lower elevations. A quick six mile road walk on the PCT and I'm in Seiad Valley. The RV Park and store are nest door to each other making life easy and that's all that is here. This Rv Park is quite a community in itself. I was invited to dinner by one family before I even had the chance to drop my pack. I met two section hikers and had a few conversations with them. Went to the barbecue and still ate my other dinner : brownies. My box here had homemade brownies from my neighbor Kim. Notes from the gang in the neighborhood. Just a great little stop. I'm leaving tomorrow morning big climb ahead and all morning truck with fire crews are headed to a fire 2-3 miles south of the PCT. The owner of the RV Park is a volunteer fireman and told me to leave now since I'd probably have problems later. The fire went from 40 acres to 1000 in 5 hours. I'm out of here.

7/22 All the best intentions sometimes fall on deaf ears. I started my day by making one phone call to Kim my sister for info for out here. I didn't get up too early and she and I seem to always talk too long and at 7:30 I finally left Seiad Valley. No pancake challenge for me I need to get past that dang fire. Fifteen or twenty miles from town hopefully only 20-25 trail miles. Not even close. I'll be past it in the morning probably 10 miles from where I'm camped. There were two things that happened today. One is I'm eight miles from Oregon. The other is sad. I passed the 1000 mile countdown mark. I am on my way home now. I can feel the progress I've made just by entering Oregon in the morning. Great view day, I climbed up and out of the Klamah River Basin and started a ridge walk that offered great views all day. I could see where the fire was by its smoke. All the springs along the way offered cold water. Great on a hot day like today. Flowers were pushing the sides of the trail. I could feel the dew on my legs from them. Just a great day.

7/23 A coughing and gaging morning. The air was so still last night that the smoke from the fire is suoer bad. I'm not that far from it anyway. So i beat feet out of the valley and headed up on a ridge walk in and out of trees but finaly north of the fire. Ups and downs all morning then the one thing I've been waiting for "Welcome to Oregon." What a feeling I'm finally done in California now I start the odessy called Oregon. Three miles from the border I met a group of two of the 13-16 year old kids hiking section A of R depending on what book you are using. I can't remember if I mentioned group one. I met them late the night I arrived they bailed on their section hike because of an injury to one of the kids. They also had a flat tire on the car and nothing seemed to be going feel for group one. Group two on the other hand were having a great time in a bad section. The section is full of roads and logging. I chatted with them for a while answering all the different questions they had. The best one was how much does my pack weigh. By all the signs mine was a lot lighter than theirs. I had a great time talking to them they also wanted to know how many miles a day I go. I just told them 3 times what you do. They were on an 8-10 mile a day plan. I left them in good spirits knowing that I still had a long way to go today. I figured on a day with few or no people on the trail. Boy, was I wrong. I dropped into a saddle where a shelter is and from then on I saw 6-7 groups hiking. Some were friendly and talked and others just let me pass with little or no word. My pack decided to lose some of its stiching today. One of the load straps came off and the other is about to go. It looks like my next day off is going to be gear repair day. None of this affects me I found temporary fixes that will hold me together for awhile. I'm camped 3 miles from I-5 and spitting distance from a forest servicce road. Hope no sirens or traffic.

7-24 I still get amazed everytime I start a new section. Oregon and section B are no different. I started out in lush foliage with springs running here and there then as I crossed a small ridge I was in a bone dry valley where the trees turned from evergreens to oaks instantly. Back and forth for the rest of today. Pilot Peak stood tall as my guide in progress. Soon I passed it and met the first two backpackers of the day. A couple hiking south for twenty days and they were stopping at Ashland. Then I caught up to Christian, Jessie and Dan. I had seen these three sign in since Sierra City. But after awhile they had to stop for lunch as I wanted to get to Hyatt Lake for the night and re-supply. This is a great little spot with a big lake with Mt. McLaughlin standing tall at the far end. My new guide for the trek north.

7-25 Today I finished what the author of the PCT book calls on of the least desirable sections in Oregon and Washington. Again I wish he would not describe the uneventful way we are going. Today wasn't bad. Cows in the trail in the morning, logging early in the afternoon and a huge group of Boy Scouts hiking south to finish Oregon. Great bunch of kids. One of the leaders suggested where I'm camped tonight. Then I was off hiking in an open forest with Huckleberry bushes everywhere. I was able to find one ripe berry. The rest were green or nonexistent. I crossed on of the many roads out here to find some trail magic. Some person named Lance left a cooler out for the hikers. In it he stocked water and pop. Some of the best rootbeer around comes from coolers left in the middle of nowhere. A smile on my face and a belly full of burps. I hiked on to a great little cross country ski shelter. This place was great with cold water from a pump, picnic table and a 3/4 cabin with a stove. The only thing missing was a picnic. Dinner in style I love it. Next was a traverse around Brown Mountain, a basalt volcano with a red pumice trail around it. Now I'm across highway 140 and getting ready for Sky Lakes Wilderness. But that will be tomorrow.

7-26 The build up to today fizzled by noon as I hiked through trees so far. I did run into two section hikers that have friends out thru-hiking. I think I met one yesterday he was the south bounder. The others all started after me and none had passed. One I recognized by name from the PCT Digest on the computer. They were going to my dinner spot for the night so I hiked with them for as long as possible but I totally missed the turn at the junction. I had it in my mind that it was past Devil's Peak when it was actually before. That's just one of my two blunders the other came when I wanted to go up Devil's Peak. Two trails connect on the PCT. Passed the first junction and was at the second when I realized both of my mistakes. So I dropped the pack and headed for the summit instead. Great views all around. Crater Lake rim just ahead, Mt. Thieson standing back from it. Then south I had McLaughlin right there then off in the distance Shasta. Probably my last views of it. The haze is bad for some reason. On my way down I met two ladies hiking south they started at Hood and are going to Kennedy Meadows. I suggested farther if they had problem getting out of there. Four more days and they could chose between Tehachapi and Agua Dulce or closer they could go out at Walker Pass. Great conversation we played question and answer for almost an hour. Time sure flies by out here. What seems like an instant can be hours. Crater Lake tomorrow.

7-27 At 1 a.m. a deer decided to have dinner right nest to my camp. So I chased it off once, started to get comfortable when the dang thing came back. After the fourth time it finally got the hint that I wanted to sleep. We'll see if I pick a grassy spot again for awhile. This morning's hike into Crater Lake was uneventful hanging out in the Lodgepole Pines all the way to Highway 62 and Mazama Village. At the village I met up with "The four old guys." and I'm sharing a campsite for the night. I wasn't at this place for more than an hour when I got an invite to dinner. I didn't even try to Yogi it. It was just offered.

7-28 Some times I write my journals too early. The 27th was on of those days. As I was going through my box organizing my food a lady came looking for some of the shade. Not much but I was hid in it. So we started talking mainly me answering questions about me and my pack. She told me of her two nephews that were with her and her daughter. She had told them about the PCT and how hikers would do the whole trail. So she invited me to dinner and I told her I'd try. So last night I made it over to her camp spot. I missed dinner but made it in time for dessert. Apple pie, two pieces, am I in heaven or what. She also had popcorn for the kids but that didn't sound good. We talked about the things that have happened on and off the trail. Her daughter asked if there was anything I missed or craved. I told them about my pineapple craving but I don't have a can opener. This place didn't have pineapple anyway. This lady pulls out a can of pineapple out of he RV and opens it for me. I sat there and ate the whole can. I paid my respects to her and the kids. It seems we all had a great time. This morning I had 4 miles to go until I hit the rim. Great morning hike. I saw a herd of Elk and lots of deer. I love climbs to great views especially in the morning. Slowly as I climbed out of the gully next to Rim Village, Crater Lake and the rim came into full view. Just awesome. The dark blue water with the jagged cliffs and peaks encompassing it, you just stop and say wow. I slowly made my way to the cafeteria for breakfast. Hey, it's not every morning you're next to a restaurant at breakfast, that and I could smell the grill working. I headed in and had pancakes: another craving. Real butter is the other and I don't care for butter. I met yet another person, Wendy, who was fascinated by how small all my stuff was. I'm glad someone thinks that. To me it weighs a ton and I have just enough. We talked off and on as she worked and I tried to get everything done before I left. My last chore is filtering water. I have 25 miles without water and a lot of small ups and downs as I go around Crater Lake. If you ever come here on vacation 10 miles one way take the Discovery-PCT trail it's totally unmarked but spectacular. Views and flowers all the way. After that it's forest to Mt. Thielson where I'm camped tonight.

7/29 Long forest walk with some views, unfortunately that sums up the hiking. Water was the issue today. Sixteen miles from Thielson Creek to my favorite, stagnant water. I'm glad my filter is holding together since stagnant water or lakes are what I get to drink for two days hiking. I re-supply and I'm laying over a day at Cascade Summit. I met a dad and son today, they are hiking all of Oregon. I'll see them Monday at Ollalie Lake. There were back country horsemen maintaining the trail also. I'm so ugly out here I freaked out one of the horses. They cleared the trail from Summit Lake to Wingo Pass. Nice people and real friendly. I'm camped at a stagnant pond for now. The mosquitoes drove me to stopping. My camp has never gone up this fast. It wasn't that they were thick they would fly in y ears up my nose and in my mouth faster then I could keep them out. So much for Deet. These little buggers didn't care.

7/30 A quick pack and get moving morning. Deet was the perfume of choice and the mosquitoes loved it. When someone asks me about the bugs in Oregon I'll have to try this type of explanation: "HAAAAA!" It was hard to hike today, they were unrelenting. Summit Lake was great. This huge lake that was so blue. I need to start planning my days better so that I hit a great spot like this around 2 p.m. when I'm hot and sweaty. The rest of today was spent climbing up to Diamond Peak. Once I was up to the sub-alpine traverse the views and lakelets were fabulous. there are more lakes and ponds along the trail then I can count. Some are picture perfect. Others are brown stagnant water that look gross. A bunch of runoff creeks to cross and get efreshingly cold water from. Then the descent into Cascade Summit. More lakes but these are larger and more inviting looking. One Midnight Lake is a definite hike and see again. The end of today has me at a small resort on Lake O'Dell. Quaint spot for the fishermen. I have a huge campsite for an RV and there sits my little on man tent. I find it funny how I'm here surrounded by the RVs and fifth wheels then there's me and the on man taking presence among the big dogs. Only I see more then one of these big rigs will.

8/1 My day off was great. Shelter Cove was a quiet place to relax. Walt and Brian, two section hikers. Dad's doing Oregon and Brian is doing up past Sisters. Came in yesterday, I'd met them earlier on the trail. They stayed in my campsite last night and are headed out today as I did. Today's hike was very boring in trees all day and some great looking lakes but the hundreds of small ponds along the route make it diverse. Mosquitoes are still bad but tolerable, the only break from them came in a burn section of the trail. Bugs gone, replaced by the smell of Huckleberries ripening. Man what a smell, I feel hungry already just thinking about it. I can't wait to hit the first ripe patch. I'll be eating them faster then the bears. I found three school teachers to camp with tonight. All are from the Salem area. Nice bunch, they are funny about my mileage and what they are doing. I try my best to keep perspective with others. I've been hiking so long it's no comparison for others just coming out for 5 or more days.

8/2 Today was just like yesterday except for the end of the day. All morning and afternoon I hiked in the trees passing numerous lakes that had blue-green water and a ton of those ponds that look gross but the water tastes OK. I stopped at Dumbell Lake for water and a quick swim. I needed something to take the bugs crawling all over you feeling away. That and it was a great refresher on a hot day. On the trail I met a small boy scout troop. They were complaining about 10 mile days until the leader asked what I did a day. The best part was that I had just hiked ten miles when I met them so I asked if they were going to camp there. Two of the boys couldn't believe I left there at six and was at their camp by 9 a.m. I left them after answering some other questions and met up with a trail crew at about 1:30 p.m. They asked about the trail and I told them about a few down trees that I remembered but all in all the trail has been great. All the ups and downs are graded real gentle and the trail is in dusty but great shape. I asked about a fire that I'd seen before O'Dell Lake but they had no clue it was out of their district. Onward, I finally climbed up the side of a mountain and I was hungry for the great view it was hopefully going to provide. I was robbed. No great view. The summit was treed in and the on rock outcropping with a view was partially treed. Oh well maybe next time. I dropped down into a meadow where the view was better but it was the smell of Lupine blooming that stole the show. The sweet smells just filled the air to where you felt light headed from the sensation. The best four miles today were at the base of South Sister. View included and the sweet smell of Lupine blooming. I feel clean from the freshness of the air. I called it a night next to Mesa Creek, boy is it a cold one.

8/3 My prayers have been answered. Views not just one but a whole day of them. I saw all three Sisters, Father, Mother and Brother within the first two hours. The northern and southern views started. I could see all the way to Hood in the north and south I could make out Mt. Thielson, Diamond Peak and others. The whole day it was something. Meadows, glaciers, and lava flows. Obsidian Falls where great. This is one of those areas that I would love to come back to hike with others. It's an all day wow fest. Since it is so cool that meant people with all the ones I met today I'm amazed I camped alone last night. Two high school groups I met were like the ones around CA/OR border. Out for 5 days having fun. I ended up hiking with a group of four adults for a mile or two. They were great to talk to as I caught each one as I headed north. I met a family of eight. Grandpa was way out front and I slowly met the rest going up hill and then down. One of the ladies in the back asked where I started "Mexico". She about choked on her breath. She instantly stopped and started asking all types of questions about my trip. That inquiry and the where are you going are my favorite. I never know what kind of response I'll get. These are just the ones that I remember now I know I met 10-15 more today. What a great day to share my trip with others.

8-4 Some days are stranger than others out here. I didn't see a soul for most of the day until the end. I'm coming around a small lake with maybe 5 miles to go until camp. The first people of the day are swimming when a ranger comes down with an authoritative voice telling them that they need to secure their food or tent I'm not sure I just go. I get to the end of the lake where some people are when I hear someone yelling at me to get my attention. So I stop and wait for this guy to come up to the trail. His first question "Are you a thru-hiker?" The next was would I like company to Olallie Lake? I said sure but I hike 30 miles a day through here. He told me about him hiking the PCT last year to here and was looking for someone to hike with to the lake. I laid out that I planned to be there tomorrow evening. Jay was grateful that I was willing to have him along. Fifty five years old from Penn State. I just glad to have someone around for the day tomorrow. Back to this morning and the hike. I had a hard time hiking for and hour or so those darn Huckleberries were ripe. The mind wanted to go but the hands and mouth had control. There is something about the first berries you see for the year. They taste better then any fruit in a store: Plump and juicy. I can't wait for the pictures of Three Fingered Jack. What a great day hiking.

8-5 Jay and I stayed at a small pond tucked in a bowl last night. Man what a great spot. Even with the wind blowing it was picturesque. We headed out early this morning for Ollalie Lake. This has to be one of the best areas in Oregon. Alpine and Sub-Alpine meadows all around and lakes tucked into some of the most obscure places. Definitely a place to lose yourself. The Coup de Gra is Mt. Jefferson towering over you with it's jagged peak and glaciated sides. What a sight. The trail seems to take us closer and closer to these wonderful peaks. We then dropped to Jefferson Park. A total wonderland of lakes, meadows and views. Trails go in every direction. Lakes that are blue-green. Just a wonder to be standing in the middle. Up and over to a southern view of Jefferson and a northern view of Hood. The next landmark goal. At the lake resort Jay bought the camp: a Yukna. I haven't slept this hard in town since I left. The three beers helped a lot in relaxing my body. I bought the fixings for our blueberry pancake breakfast. What a treat.

8-6 Jay and I had the best home cooked breakfast this morning. I feel like a car camper. OJ in the ice box a huge tent or Yukna, a propane two burner stove. This is pure leisure. I took a picture of Jay and I at the stove, lake in the background and Jefferson towering over us. I then left for my northward journey. Today's hike in trees or logged out areas. One cool looking lake and two river crossings. These things should be called creeks and some of the creeks I've seen are like rivers. I just wanted to get some miles in today so that I could break up my two day trip to Timberline. Well what can I say it was flat and easy. I covered 25 miles today and I have about 29 to the lodge. This is turning out to be a good thing. I'm having gear failures again. This is the worst too. My Thermarest mattress has decided to come apart inside so now it looks more like a hotdog than a sleeping pad. It holds air still but I can't blow it up. The other thing was my bear bag rope. I have no idea what happened but it broke as I hauled my food up a tree. Then my leatherman, the Micra is sitting on the table in Ollalie Lake. I set it down for once. Usually I carry it around in town stops so I can open my stuff or anything I buy. It's just the way things go. I'll be stopping in Cascade Locks to get everything replaced or fixed. I hope Larry the section hiker is home and free to help. If not I have two others I've met that might be of help. Transporting my butt to and from town. All else fails: the thumb.

8-7 Some days are just great out here. Today is one of those days. My hike was quick but fulfilling with Huckleberries that is. I'm mainly in forest but the berries are everywhere. I swung in to Little Crater Lake and pick up water, man that water is almost ice. I'm glad I didn't decide to go swimming my brain would of froze. Hiking straight up the side of a volcano is the best. One minute you are in forest the next you are in a huge meadow with Mt. Hood at the end of your nose. This is so cool: then Timberline Lodge. I've been on the other side of Hood but not here. Feeling my way around I found the store where my box "should be." My worst fear this whole trip was arriving some where and no box. Well here is the place. No box, US Mail lost it or the lodge. So now what? I went to the Blue Ox and had a beer and pizza so I could think the situation over. The girl working at the bar was totally out there for me. She (Susie) checked around with all the people she knew having a search party for the box but still no luck. She offered me a ride to Government Camp where she lives so I could hit the store in the morning. She went totally out of her way and offered me the couch at her housing area. The four roommates wouldn't care. Awesome group of people. Their hospitality has been great. This is one of those trail magic stories that really make you love doing this. The people you meet on the way make this all the more enjoyable.

8-8 Went and had breakfast as I waited for the grocery store to open. All I can say about the grocery store is that a quickie mart has more stuff than this. Making things work is the name of the game here. After a few times up and down the two isles I made my two days of food choices and headed back up to the apartment to get organized. At quarter to ten no one was up so I left them a note of gratitude and the offer to return the favor. I had a ride to the lodge in no time and back on the trail by 10:30. I'm totally out of words to describe hiking around Mt. Hood. All I will say is they don't call it Paradise Park for nothing. The other highlights were Ramona Falls. The views looking back towards Hood. What a sight seeing Adams and St. Helens for the first time this trip. I met a section hiker at the place I was to camp named Mike. A nice man that is from the LA area. A ridge hike in the morning and then an alternate route full of waterfalls. I would hate to miss this trail it should be a great deal of fun.

8-9 Up and packed quick the mosquitoes have found me this morning. The sunrise was just excellent. The red and yellows made the bug problem seem small. My body knows I plan on taking some time off after today the creaks and groans are all too real this morning. I hit the trail following a treed ridge line north. In a short time I cross the last forest service road on my route to Washington and enter the Columbia River Wilderness area. I wish all the wilderness started this way. Open meadow along a ridge with three spectacular volcanoes begging for their picture to be taken. St. Helens was the first with her missing top then Rainier and it's glorious beauty and finally the one I'll be hiking around: Adams. Here is one of those places I wish I carried a panoramic camera also. A picture with all three in one view is just moving. I had to stand there for some time just to breath in all the sights and smells. Slowly I made my way to the junction of my waterfall route. Turning at this great lake and starting a 4000' descent to the Columbia River. The first hour was creek crossing heaven. Then a quick switchback and I dropped down to Eagle Creek Canyon. This is where I met two young girls out for 4 days. Their goal was Wahtum Lake. We chatted for a few minutes mainly talking about the PCT and swimming holes they had enjoyed on their way up. The whole time we were talking my mind was working on how old these two could be. Instinct had them at about 15-17 years old. When I finally asked to my surprise they were 14-15 a month apart in birthdays. To me that was young to be out alone, no parent or adult. Their dog was way too friendly to be a guard dog for them. Just wild. So off I went thinking about the places they suggested I stop hoping they are safe. As they described it I came to this deep hole along the creek that was too much to pass up. Two guys from Portland were there and totally agreed with the girls this was a great spot to dive in and cool off. It definitely has my vote too. After this stop the waterfalls really started and the trail took on a whole new meaning. I walked above the first falls looking 40 + feet down. just amazing but that was just the start I turn the corner in my cliff hugging trail to see Tunnel Falls. This 100'+ falls has a tunnel blasted behind for the trail. Hiking up and standing in it's mist I met three school teachers out for a hike. They were giddy with excitement when they discovered I was hiking the PCT. They had tons of questions on how they could do it in two summers of three. How many miles I traveled and more. I was starting to feel the time crunch to hit the post office before they closed so I bid my goodbye and started to hike hard. Only the waterfalls were going to stop me now. That they did. If anyone reading this has a day where they can hike 15-20 miles round trip in a day or go backpack this in two. I highly recommend it weekdays only. I hear weekends all day hikers in Portland are on this trail on weekends. So I finally make it to the trailhead and 3 miles left to Cascade Locks. This last three miles were the worst. One you are right next to I-84(bad air, thick air) the trail is a roller coaster and I have one hour left to get there. So off I went pushing my feet as fast as I they go. I cross under the freeway and I'm at the Bridge of the Gods all of a sudden. This is the place and just 17 minutes before they close. I start down the main street in town when I hear a horn beeping. This car pulls to the curb in front of me. To my delight and surprise it's Larry the section hiker. I was never so happy in my life, he is a true Trail Angel now. He wisks me away to the P.O. get my box and a place to stay at his house. Between him and his Mom, Pauline, I have every amenity in the world. Shower, bed, home cooked food, just the works. Larry was kind enough to take the next day off so that we can work on my gear problems in town.

8-10 I never woke up to such a great smell ever. The outdoors are a wonder for the senses but breakfast being cooked below you as you are just waking up is heaven. Ok so I'm hungry what can I say but man was that ever good. We leave for REI and there great return policy. I was able to swap out my thermarest get credit for my rain pants(that was a struggle). So off shopping we went to replace the pants by the third stop we found light weight full side zip pants 8.8 ozs. Great deal or so we thought $100. The salesman told us about the works pack. This is designed by the founder of Dana Designs. So we went on a lets look and see adventure. Cool packs but the deal was better. Same rain pants for $30 less. Can you say return. Like lightning we return the other now expensive pants and head to Trader Joes another one of those places that anyone coming to Portland should stop. All natural food sore with great store prices. This place is cheap to me. We are done all running around is complete tomorrow is a do nothing day. No moving for this kid I need to get back feeling rested for once. See ya on the trail 8-12 in Washington.

8-12 A fabulous breakfast compliments of Larry's Mom. It's sure has been a treat staying with them these last two days but the trail is calling. A quick ride back to Cascade Locks and I'm walking across the Bridge of the Gods. I can't keep that childish giggle from coming out. My smile must give it that extra release. I'm home and short timers syndrome is starting to kick in. The hike up from 140' to 3000' was easy the drop afterwards was quick too. The Huckleberries tried to slow me down but I resisted until the tops of ridges. Then the pack was off and I was eating like a bear getting ready for hibernation. These things are huge here. Easily the size of marbles. Meaty and good. I had planned to hike only 20 miles the first day. I have new boots that have never seen the trail. They are hurting my ankles some but all in all they are fine. This pair is the same as the others just never broke in. Dennis is again a hero in my eyes. These are his new pair and he sacrificed them to me for the last leg. All in all today was good some views some creeks a huge clear cut and my all time favorite: detours. Wouldn't have been too bad if the loggers wouldn't have put Kelly Humps every 10'. Things were going well at 4 p.m. I'd done my 20 and figured I could do 4 or 5 more. Big mistake at 8 more miles and 8 p.m .I finally found a flat stop on top of the ridge to camp. Sometimes I should read the book better.

8-13 Today was an absolutely quiet day. I met a family out for a hike but that was it for people. Oh yeah I did see the bear end of a car camper, I totally surprised her, those pants have never moved that fast before. I hiked all day in the trees working my way up to the crest. Slowly I made progress to Indian Heaven Wilderness. I'm camped at the first lake that I passed.

8-14 Headed for Indian Heaven Wilderness this morning. Some cool lakes tucked in the forest but the highlight was Sawtooth Ridge. The hucks were great then came the views Adams first then St. Helens, with her dirty glaciers, and the crown Mt. Rainier. This ridge could go on forever if it were up to me but quickly its over and down I go. The first people I ran into were berry pickers and that meant I had to be close to a road. Not even 3 minutes and I'm at a trail head with cars parked all over. I kept going and the next person I saw was close to quitting time for me. He was already bunked in for the night. I never caught his name but what an interesting story he had for me. He mountain biked up from LA area got sick of riding and sold the bike. Now he is hiking south to Seiad Valley in CA the interesting part is he has no guide book or map he is using one of the biography books about the trail. No map or anything. I wished him good luck and he needs to talk to all north bounders about water in Oregon since there are long dry stretches. Further on I met an older man that is hiking all of Washington now. Something about an infection stopped him earlier at Donner Pass in CA. I said goodbye to him since it was late I figure I'll see him tomorrow. Tonight's campsite is great. I'm next to a small creek with this 15' drop in it.

8-15 This morning as I was packing the elderly man passed me. Not long in the climb up to the base of Adams I met Ken the Potato Man. For the rest of the day he and I would see each other. The base of Adams is great with lots of meadows and creeks even some good views of the mountain and the other volcanoes. I met a couple with two golden retrievers. The dogs were funny because they were totally afraid of me at first. As I talked with the couple one all of a sudden realized I was ok and came up under my hand expecting to be petted. The other followed quickly realizing that they were missing out on the attention. One of the things I wish I could do better is remember the names of paces that I passed. I ran into a guided high school group. One guide asked about a creek in a meadow. I couldn't tell him how long ago I passed it or if the name of t