July 19, 2013
42 miles
Mile 1423

Got to thinking about a meteor shower going on and the dry section to come. Got to thinking about the predicted temperature of 102°. Got to thinking about catching Orbit, Halfway and Red Beard somewhere up ahead. But really got to thinking about how far I could comfortably walk in one day. Voiced my thinking. All around asked for the same early wake up call. As always with early starts and excitement, I slept poorly. Was awake anyway at 3:30 AM so I sounded the Allah Akbar. Groans about the burdens of Islam arose from the darkness.

Was out of camp by 4 AM and on the trail making miles. Had to give up on the meteor shower quickly. As every time I looked skyward a shadowed rock would take me down. A night of unutterables. It was cold but a long climb to an escarpment warmed the soul. There the trail followed a rim ridge for the next five hours. To the right flat plateau. To the left a straight drop off of a few hundred feet to a valley of lava. As I understand it my walk took me along the upper edge of a fault line. My witnesses the occasional sleeping hiker and nonresponsive cows.

A water cache set up by a thoughtful trail angel ended all my water concerns and so the day reduced itself to time x distance. I, just a spectator. The sun came up with a whisper and the path turned towards it. Felt like I was walking into a mystery as the brightness blinded the trail. Finally the path turned and I returned to clarity to see two massive valley bookends come into the picture. To the south Mount Lassen and to the north the snow coated Mount Shasta. The rock shadows eased. My unutterables more infrequent. The air still cool to the touch.

The inevitable drop to the valley floor coincided with the arrival of some serious Fahrenheit. My goal was the fish hatchery at mile 30 for lunch. If fish are being born there must be water. Made it to mile 27 at 12:30 when hunger bonked me. Some shade found me and I ate the usual. Red Beard showed up at Dessert and we pushed on to the trout birthing center. There a ranger explained that their biggest problem was ospreys getting through the netting and beheading young trout. Seems they have an interest in fish brains but not the body.

After a rest in lush shaded grass and the arrival of the others I pushed on to Burney Falls State Park some 12 miles distant. The idea, to be there before the 8 o’clock closing time and consume copious amounts of hotdogs and waffles . The park stores only two menu items. I had plenty of buffer but an amazing cache set up by a fine gentleman named Randy hijacked my progress. Who can pass tootsie rolls and root beer? Not I. Chatted with Siesta, Orbit and a woman from Alaska and forgot that time was on the run. A glance at the map revealed a miscalculation in distance’s favor and now I was on the run too.

Patches of skin wore away as my pack,unaccustomed to such distances, dug in to my back. Fat waffles danced in my head. A wrong turn, led to a panicked phone call to the ranger station. My course righted I stormed into the store at 7:56 and ordered everything in sight. With a 12 pack in one hand and a bag of food in the other I was shown the door four minutes later. Collapsed on a picnic table and toasted my day. A truism —-42 miles is a long way to amble in a day.

The others trickled in. All were spent. Luckily the forest provided a nearby home and I was quick to horizontal. Ran through the days thoughts of significance and this is what came to mind. But first two updates. Tortuga is off the trail with a serious flareup of tendinitis. Her return tentative. In Ohio, Catherine opened the door and let Doc in. They are happily ripping apart fish together for her masters thesis. He seems content but misses our joint morning constitutions and post discussion. Back to my last thought of the day. This was in the cache register at Randys.

What does a fish say when he swims into a wall? Dam. What does a fish say when he swims over a waterfall? Dam it. Not significant enough? How about that sent to me by a friend who understands the PCT. “And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” Khalil Gibran

Steve Halteman
On the Pacific Crest Trail
Hiking the PCT for the Kids of Escuela Verde

If you’d like to help out and donate, please click here!

July 15, 2013
24 miles
Mile 1320

Deer jumping over Veggie began the awakening process. First out of camp is a bonus because the animals have yet to be scared off their nighttime occupation of the PCT. Thus I sent many a startled deer crashing into the undergrowth. Kept moving north, every footfall had the heel landing lower than the toe. A reflection of the climb.

Halfway caught up and we spoke of his life in Maine. How he was trapped and free at the same time. The roller coaster hike up was anti-climactic as there was no corresponding freefall. Just a flattening out. We continued the far-ranging conversation to mask our disappointment. Lunch, 14 miles, and an amazing spring coincided and we laid down in the dirt to savor all. A gun range provided background music.

The path after lunch, though beautiful, failed to inspire. Every once in a while I’m just unenthusiastic about hiking. Today was that day. But in the end the miles must still happen, regardless of a mental state. I popped in the headphones and started marching under orders. Keeping cadence to Taylor Swift singing about this mall or that mall, (Thank you Madison.) a grind returned to a hike as the miles twisted through volcanic chaos. Enthusiasm crept back in. Tired, waterless and grinning I stutter stepped into camp. Plopped down and then plopped back up for another hike down to the spring. A nomads life.

Polished off the last of my food reserves at dinner. A lurking panic. No hiker has affection for a food-less existence. To hike without food in the vernacular is known as a VisionQuest. Mine would be a short one. Only 14 miles to Chester and a supermarket.

Looked up for the weather forecast. Stars only spoke of a lovely morning. Cowboy camping it was. As my head hit the spare clothes bag I thought not of town food, but of a trail marker some 9 miles ahead. A marker that would exclaim halfway there, halfway from.

Steve Halteman
On the Pacific Crest Trail
Hiking the PCT for the Kids of Escuela Verde

If you’d like to help out and donate, please click here!

July 13, 2013
24 miles
Mile 1273

The sun was late to sink down to the bottom of our valley, so the process was late in starting. Left the river cut and began the inevitable climb. With 4,000 feet to reclaim the trend was obvious. Switchback after switchback brought me to ever thinner air. Finally surfaced on a crest after two hours of effort. Miles of firs and Pines spread out in every direction. Timber or scenery depending on your perspective.

Once up, I stayed up. The path meandering along the ridge until it intersected with a paved road. There a choice. Stay on the PCT and eat out of Ziploc bags or follow the road, an alternative loop, and swing by a restaurant with half pound burgers and 18 kinds of beer on tap. Hmmm? Asphalt walking after forest paths is unpleasant, if for no other reason then it is hard on the joints, but the hitching was unsuccessful, so we walked the miles.

Before we could make our restaurant, the proprietor of a newly built establishment leaned from his porch and shouted “free beer for through hikers.” Is that possible to ignore? The food was excellent as was the Monster Truck show on the tube. Though grave diggers defeat in the final hard to digest. The band of 14-year-olds abusing rock ‘n roll did not fall into the excellent category. Back on the road we attempted to bypass the Lakeshore Resort and it’s 18 flavors but the lure was overwhelming.

Inside, inevitably, sat Track Meet, Veggie, Ole and Halfway, who as a quartet were doing damage to the tap hinges. We sat down to help because that is what friends are for. Throughout the afternoon a return to the trail was discussed several times but never seriously pursued. Pizzas were eaten, phones charged, but mostly t was conversation and beer. Supportive locals bought a number of rounds. Many stopped by to satisfy their curiosity about the motivation to walk 2,600 miles. Many wanted to discuss “wild” a popular book about a woman who walked the PCT. The book is not so popular on the trail itself. The afternoon turned late, the trail talk more serious.

We left the bar. And made it to the porch, where we started in on ice cream. More locals hung out. We promoted the PCT and it’s virtues including unlimited ice cream consumption. A bald eagle circled overhead. Finally two women with a vehicle called our bluffs and hauled us in shifts to the trailhead. There Veggie pulled out a six-pack, but it was only delaying the inevitable. At 8 PM the start bell sounded. We were off with talk of a summit some 5 miles away. Whatever state a through hiker might find himself in, they are capable of a couple of things, if you put them on the PCT. They will turn North, they will hike, they will find a flat spot near water and they will get their eight hours of slumber. Two miles later we were down. A sweet camp spot tripped us up. And down hard we went. Aggressive snoring frightened away the mosquitoes and all was dark for the others. But I read, until the book hit me in the face. The end before the end.

Steve Halteman
On the Pacific Crest Trail
Hiking the PCT for the Kids of Escuela Verde

If you’d like to help out and donate, please click here!