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2012
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August
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Finally finished those pesky 64 miles around Tahoe!
08/02/12
After a long hiatus from the PCT, I finally got the opportunity to fly out to Reno where I meet up with my friends Jim and Jackie and together we tackle the 64 miles from Echo Lake to I-80 that I was unable to do last year.
On the first three-day weekend, we hike the 32 miles from Echo La
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Finally finished those pesky 64 miles around Tahoe!
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August
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2011
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October
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10/19/11
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10/19/11
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Some Thoughts
10/15/11
I've been decompressing and readjusting to civilization for a while now, and doing a lot of reflection on my hike. Here are some categorized thoughts...
Raw Facts
I still need to comb through my journal for exact specifics, but roughly here are the statistics from my hike.
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Snow Shots
10/07/11
The colors are all wonky because I haven't had time to work with the raw images to set it straight. Here are the last few photos I took of my aborted attempt to hike from Echo Lake to Donner Pass in 1-3' of snow. It was fun at least!
Hiking around Echo Lake. -
Smart enough to know when I'm doing something stupid - or - optimism doesn't pay off
10/06/11
Wow, now THAT was/is one heck of a snow storm for the first week of October! I'll get some photos up tonight of my rental car buried in snow, among other snowy shots.
So I hit the trail around 6am, beginning with a 1 mile road walk followed by a walk around Echo Lake. I say walk, but -
The Storm and the Plan
10/05/11
The storm has hit. From the valley I can see lots of snow on the mountains, and the clouds are certainly thick and ominous. South Lake Tahoe itself did indeed see several inches, while other parts of the lake saw no accumulation.
Around 4pm today Jim and I were up above Truckee, CA, near -
Weather update as of 3:15 PM PDT on October 04, 2011
10/04/11
12 hours later we have a slightly larger storm predicted, hehe. From my view here in the valley floor, there are definitely large, black clouds lingering up there in the mountains. For your information, the trail from Echo Lake to Donner Pass (the 60 miles I have left) is all between 7000 and 9000 f -
10/04/11
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Blargh!
10/03/11
The bad news is that Tuesday night through Thursday afternoon there is a winter storm warning for the Tahoe area - where I am - with 100mph winds and 10" of snow (the worst of it Tuesday night). The good news is I am comfortably holed up at Jim and Jackie's house in Carson City, NV. I have
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September
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Sierra's
09/25/11
I am currently at the Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) enjoying some laundry, clean clothes, and food. I haven't had a lot of time or internet availability, nor will I for another 10 days, so forgive the infrequent blogging.
I got back on the PCT around Lone Pine, CA, 20 or so miles s -
Oh Canada!
09/16/11
It's Andrea-- I got the fabulous news yesterday that Ken made it into Canada. Today he's on his way to Vancouver, Sunday to Reno, and Monday to the southern Sierra's where he'll hike north to Truckee to finish the segment he skipped. Only a couple weeks more to go! -
09/06/11
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CORRECTION
09/01/11
Correction to my previous statement... I am apparently eating huckleberries, not blueberries. Turns out there are several varieties of huckleberry, ranging from very blueberry-like (although tart) to something shaped like a blueberry but is deep red in color (and delicious!). The huckleberry everyon
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Sierra's
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August
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Complications
08/26/11
While the east coast is being hit with earthquakes and hurricanes this week, I too am facing complications... wild blueberries! Oh boy are they in season and EVERYWHERE! I can hardly walk more than 100 feet without stopping to eat a handful.
Ok, so it's hardly a complication, but it -
Sisters, OR
08/22/11
Yesterday I hiked 18 miles along the base of South, Middle and North Sister mountains (aka The Sisters) which are old volcanoes covered in snow. In the distance I could see Mt Jefferson and Mt Hood. Sisters are still surrounded by old lava flows, heaps of obsidian, springs, meadows, snow, craters an -
08/13/11
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Complications
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July
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Returning to the trail!
07/31/11
I'm all set to fly back to continue the PCT. If all goes according to plan, I could be hiking again this Saturday, August 6. I will need to maintain a good pace in order to finish Northern CA, OR, WA and the Sierra's by October (a good deadline for weather related reasons). That should sou -
Taking a break
07/13/11
On Thursday, July 7, I hopped a Greyhound bus from Weed, CA to Oakland, CA. On Friday I flew home. On Sunday, when my wife returned from a weekend away with relatives, I was there to surprise her.
I didn't want to spoil to surprise by blogging about it, so I had to keep all of you in -
07/09/11
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1050 Miles!
07/06/11
If you're keeping count, I hike 702 miles in Southern California, jumped to Truckee, CA, and as of this moment I have hiked 350 miles from there! That's 1050 miles! Cha-ching!
The last few days have been trying. For about 3 miles I had patchy snow and hillsides gushing with wate -
Frozen Lakes, Volcanoes, Hot Springs, Bear and Desert
07/02/11
It's so strange to me that everything in the title of this post can be experienced in only 4 days of hiking in Northern California.
A few miles before Belden Town, in between stretches of snow, I rounded a corner and found the large butt end of a brown bear pointing my way. 100' -
Truckee (1158) to Burney (1415)
07/02/11
Here is my snow report for Truckee to Burney.
I am currently in Burney, CA, having started in Truckee on June 21.
1. Basically, going in to town or a highway crossing you will see the trail.
2. Between towns/highways i had lots of snow. Above 6300 i rarely saw the tr -
On Hat Creek Rim
07/01/11
It's Andrea again. I just got a call from Ken-- he's made it to Hat Creek Rim north of Old Station. He's fine and enjoying good views and clear weather. Happy trails!
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Returning to the trail!
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June
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06/21/11
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On the Trail Again...
06/19/11
Hi everyone- it's Andrea. Ken resumes his hike today from Donner Pass near Truckee, CA, where the trail crosses Old Highway 40. He thought there might still be quite a bit of snow on the trail but that it was safe to continue from there. He hopes to finish the rest of northern California in -
06/13/11
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Where am I?
06/04/11
On Tuesday, May 31, I hitched from Kennedy Meadows an hour and a half to Inyokern airport to pick up a rental car. From there I drove over the mountains, up Highway 99 to Oakland to spend the night at a friend's house. On Wednesday I drove several hours northeast to Truckee (near N Lake Tahoe)
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May
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05/30/11
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No more desert! Oh, and our pipes froze...
05/30/11
I am at mile 702, Kennedy Meadows, the END of the DESERT and the START of the SIERRAS!!! Woo hooooooo!
Unfortunately, however, the weather situation isn't all that great, and as evidenced by the snow that fell on the mountains just north of here yesterday, and the pipes that froze at -
Kids Corner
05/24/11
Today is a two-for-one edition of Kids Corner!
A week ago I took a detour on the trail - that's like if one end of your street is closed and you have to go around a different way to get home. The detour was because somebody discovered a rare (endangered) mountain yellow-legged frog l -
Snow pack
05/24/11
I'm hearing that snow conditions are not just bad (for hikers) in the Sierra's, but that Northern CA, OR and WA are just not worth skippong ahead to. In previous years skipping ahead was possible because those regions didn't get the same recods snows as the Sierra's. This year it -
Not your typical desert
05/18/11
I am at mile 454 in Agua Dulce, CA - a town where the trail literally goes down main street for a few miles. I'm at the Saufley's, a very hiker-friendly Trail Angel home that can accommodate up to 50 hikers. Next to their house they have a nice prefab house with two bedrooms, a bathroom/sh -
Kids Corner
05/13/11
Not to scare the adults, but it's time to talk about bears. For 370 miles I have not had to worry about a single bear - they simply no longer inhabit Souther California like they used to - but apparently a few have been sighted in the area I am now hiking. It's nothing for a hiker to wor -
Mile 370 - Wrightwood
05/13/11
Walked over the San Andreas Fault yesterday, after spending a few hours relaxing at a McDonalds. What?! Yup, that's the PCT for you, fast food one minute, slow continental drift the next.
I'm in Wrightwood, CA, a small town on the San Andreas Fault and at the base of some very -
Snow in SoCal
05/09/11
I am currently watching snow falling at almost a whiteout rate, but no accumulation on the ground. Welcome to Big Bear. The roof of my inn is covered in white. Tomorrow i leave town and can only hope things warm up as i leave this mountain town. -
Kid's Corner
05/09/11
I've recently been seeing lots of roadrunner birds in the desert. Can you, with the help of mom/dad, figure out what a roadrunner looks like? Hint, it's not a cartoon character. ;) -
265 mile overview
05/08/11
I am currently sitting in a motel room in Big Bear City, CA. Only partially by coincidence it is raining outside! You see, I was planning on staying here tomorrow night, and arrive via mile 274, but it's been a very cold day (mid 30s overnight, 40-60 during the day) and when i hit the highway a -
A few things about my blog
05/08/11
Thanks to everyone leaving comments, it helps me to better cater this blog to my audience! Since I know there are children following along, I will be including a Kid's Corner section as often as possible!
Often I will be using my iPhone to update my blog, so forgive me when I only ha -
05/01/11
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April
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Departure eminent
04/24/11
Okie dokie, it's been an amazingly hectic couple of weeks trying to get everything organize and packed properly. I thought I had enough time in my weekend, but in hindsight perhaps painting the doors and trim in our apartment wasn't the best way to spend my last few days. Then again, it -
The Scoop
04/08/11
Alright, here's the scoop. I don't have a lot of time to blog now, and I probably won't have a lot of time when I'm hiking, so don't count on this site to be uber full of comments and updates.
That said, I have finally purchased my air fare to San Diego and will
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Departure eminent
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March
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Fruition
03/24/11
Things are coming together. I have received approval for a six month leave of absence from my company, I have lined up a few options for getting from San Diego to the trail, and I'm basically all set for gear.
I'm still working on this website, I still need to make a bivy, and I
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Fruition
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October