Happy one month trail anniversary to me! I left Campo on May 7th and now find myself exactly one month later some 550 miles closer to Canada. So, before I head out today from Tehachapi (it is hot so a bunch of us are heading out late with intentions of night hiking), I thought I would do a bit of a review on how this first month has gone.
Before I started the hike, pretty much everyone asked me if I was going to hike alone. My answer remains the same, but for different reasons. Yes, I rarely hike with anyone on the trail. We all hike at different paces (mine being one of the more pedestrian speeds) but I have fallen in with a really great group of upwards of 15 hikers that I leapfrog with all day long. Rarely do we all camp together, but it a fun night when we do. The entire group loves a good laugh, and as far as I am aware, there is no tension or drama involved. I am the senior member by quite a bit, but luckily I was born with a young heart! So, no I am not hiking with anyone, but yes I am hiking with a big group.
What does a typical hiking day consist of, you may ask. When you read one of my daily summaries on this blog, it may take you five or ten minutes to do so. But it has taken me 10 to 12 hours to do the miles that are summarized. I generally get up at 4:45 which allows me to pack up and be ready for the day's hike by first light just after 5:00 am. I rarely eat breakfast in camp, preferring instead to head up the trail a few miles. Lately I have been trying to eat more calories at each meal, so I have been breaking out the cooker to make a couple of packs of oatmeal. One consistent throughout the day is the commitment to refill on water at every possible source.
Somewhere around noon or whenever I get hungry I stop and make lunch. Early out of each resupply, this is generally tortillas with either tomatoes or avocado with string cheese and hot sauce. Then when I have run out of fresh produce, it is a pack of ramen with peanut butter. Lately in the early afternoon, I will find a shady spot which usually is loaded with other filthy hikers and wait out the heat of the day. This is where I start to look at the maps to figure out a camping destination for the night. I have been targeting twenty miles per day since day one and that plan has served me well to date. It also seems to be what the rest of my hiking companions are doing as well.
If I have taken an afternoon break, I head out at about 3:30 to complete the days miles. I am keeping a video record of the hike and I try to consistently do a short recording early in the morning and a second one later in the afternoon. I try to be at camp between 6 and 7. This gives me plenty of time to do the camp chores. First one is set up the tent and get everything inside without allowing a lot of insects in. Key at this point is send the family a message on my Spot PLB that I have made it to camp for the night. Then it is time to cook dinner. Most nights it is rice Sidekicks or KD or ramen or instant mashed potatoes. This involves boiling the appropriate amount of water and then putting dinner in the water and let it "cook" in the pot in a cozy. Fuel is too valuable to simmer food. While that is cooking, I type in the bones of the blog entry for that day.
After dinner, it is usually approaching 8:00 pm which is bedtime. In order to sleep well, I usually pop some Vitamin I because without it, the legs and hips are sore to lie on. Then I may read a few pages on my book on the iPad. Then sleep and repeat.
Generally the first month has been kind to me. The PCT is never in a hurry to climb a hill, so the exertion level is never at max. Please do not get me wrong, I am beat after a days hiking, but it is not extreme. Food consumption has been a problem. I am definitely burning more calories than I am consuming. There is a K-mart a couple of doors down from this hotel so I wandered in there yesterday and stood on one of their bathroom scales. Now normally I weigh myself buck naked so as to achieve the optimal result, but I felt that may be frowned upon at a K-mart. So doing a bit of adjusting for clothing weight, my estimate is that I have now lost 14 pounds in a month on trail. Must eat more food!
I leave you with a picture taken a couple of weeks ago back in Holcomb Creek. Nathan is a through hiker who is hiking with his dog Bandit. We were all taking an early morning break in the shade. If you look closely, you can see that a butterfly landed on Bandit's head and stayed there long enough for a photo opportunity. Photo credit to Nathan.
Bandit accessorizing with a butterfly
