Chief, aka Kevin. PCT 4 me 2013: July 2013

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Saying Goodbye at Etna....Hello OREGON!

Etna Summit mile 1605.5

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It's been a week since I left Chief at the Etna Summit to start his walk into OREGON. I can't tell you how excited all the hikers are to get to a new state. I think it's just something to look forward to? Whatever it is, they are all seem very motivated to keep a good pace for the next 100 miles until the Oregon border. With a few extra pounds and a new pair of shoes (#4), I said my goodbye's to my walking man.

As my status has changed from MTA - Mobile
Trail Angel back to just Maureen, I am having to give you information from texts and satellite messages that Kevin has been sending. Thanks to Paul C, aka BeeMan, for giving me this lovely title of MTA. It really stuck and all of the hikers enjoyed the support for 3 weeks on the trail. I had the most wonderful time. Words can't really do justice to this trail and the PCT community. Both Kevin and I decided we will always give back to the PCT during the Spring of every year.

When Kevin left Etna Summit, he walked 56 miles over a period of 2 days to reach the Seiad Valley (still in CA). It was a hard two days, very dry, very hot, and very exposed - due to fire damage of recent years. The trail meandered through some private land and therefore camping was a bit difficult, so putting in the long miles seemed necessary to get to both water and camping spots. He always has a hard time leaving after I've been around. I feel so bad watching him walk away. But his spirits are up and he feels good physically, so more power to him. Walk on. In Seiad Valley the hikers can step up to the PANCAKE challenge!

The Pancake Challenge

The Seiad Valley Cafe (in Seiad Valley, CA) is right on the Pacific Crest Trail. They are home to the infamous "Pancake Challenge". Hungry thru-hikers who take the challenge try to eat 5 one-pound pancakes in under two hours. If you can do it the pancakes are free, and you'll get your picture placed in their Wall of Fame for all other hikers to envy until the end of time. Few have ever succeeded. Many have taken a zero day to recover from their failed attempts. The Pancake Challenge is so popular that it has even appeared on the Travel Channel.

So we had heard about this and read about it and even watched in last years, Class of 2012 video ...but Kevin said it's crazy. The town of Seiad Valley (all 80 of it's population) will come to the cafe to watch the PCT hiker who steps up to the challenge. When Kevin was there, one hiker decided he would try the challenge. The town showed up, but at the last minute, he decided against it. Pretty crazy stuff.
check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbs2tI2hPCY
Needless to say, as much as Kevin LOVES pancakes he declined! Thank God.
From Seiad Valley it's a mere 64 miles to the Oregon BORDER. Apparently that wasn't such a great walk either, as you were on a asphalt road for about 8 miles which was hard on the already sore, bruised feet. Not to mention that the forest was so thick with very narrow canyons only allowing you to see green every where one looked, to either side or up and down...for miles. Then there was the challenge of attacking a BIG climb of 4000 ft first thing in the morning. All sounds dreadful to me.
Either way, OREGON was right where the data book said it would be!

Kevin got to the intersection of Hwy 99 and Hwy 5 ready for his hitch into Ashland for a zero. Thanks to Loy, John and Judy, who arrived early and hiked the trail for a bit to greet him with cold beers, brownies and a ride into town for both he and Smooth Operator. After a nice lunch with all of the above, he checked into a hotel and began taking a multitude of shower/bath combo's, cleaned up and bought new clothes. Out with the old shirt and pants. Laundry can only go so far. Mile 1726 demands a new shirt for sure. One of the hikers, Beads, met a very nice couple during our time at the Etna Bluegrass Festival. They insisted that she call them when she got to Ashland and invite whoever was around for a backyard BBQ. So through the great technology of texting, a nice group of hikers enjoyed an Ashland BBQ complete with ribs, beer, potato salad and Loy's brownies. Then off to a play in town. It was a great evening and all of their neighbors came to enjoy the PCT company. It made Kevin miss home. Ashland proved to be a wonderful trail friendly town and a nice zero day. Last zero he will take until Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, mile 2107.

Left Ashland on July 27. Got a ride back to trail with a friend of Smooth Operators. Did 23 miles that day and had the best campsite at mile 1750. Hyatt Lake BLM campsite. Hot showers, electricity in bathrooms to charge phone, and water at all the faucets! What a surprise and all for $2.00. He did mention that it was very smokey from all the Lightening Fires in No. Cal. He is going to take it a bit easier with miles as the air quality is not so good. Will only do 24 mile days to make it to Crater Lake in 5 days. I sent a resupply box to Crater Lake with lots of good stuff so that will be a nice surprise.

A side note on Smooth Operator. Kevin is reading Mark Twain. Smooth O asked him how he likes the book and Kevin mentioned that he has been reading quite a bit of Twain on this trip. Well, after some probing questions from SO, it appears that he knows quite a bit about Mark Twain..go figure, he graduated from UC Berkely and is a Mark Twain Scholar! The trail continues to surprise you on every turn.

Keep walking Chief. See you at Timberline Lodge!!!!!
Maureen

Finally, OREGON!

My dinner at Ashland BBQ

Thanks Kevin

Lunch with Loy, John, Judy and Smooth Operator

Lithia Park, Ashland, Zero day

Coming into Ashland, Oregon

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Bluegrass and more in Etna

Etna, Ca. mile 1606.5

Left my traveling vortex on July 16 at Castle Crags for the 100 miles to Etna.

First day I gained 5000 ft. coming out Castle Crags. You circle around the Crags and end up above them looking down. Had a campsite that night with a beautiful view of Mt. Shasta. The terrain and flora has changed now from the thick forest, dogwood and hundred of green plants growing from the surface to the tops of the trees. Leaving the Crags, the vegetation became less and terrain was a bit more rocky...not the thick forest I has just walked through where it was hard to get your pack through the trail.

The water situation remains a bit crazy. The trail goes on steep trails and ridges and to get down to all those lakes, rivers and creeks you all see on my map at home, is impossible and dangerous. I spend my day planning where I am going to get water. The best pleasure of my day is when you see fresh, cold spring water coming out of a pipe along the trail. A real treat.

Flashback. Thinking about Maureen. They are calling her the MTA (Mobile Trail Angel) - thanks again Paul, aka BeeMan. Many of the thru's look for Maureen in the camper. In fact, when I was coming down towards Chester at Hwy 36. I was so excited as I had contacted her and told her I was pretty close. NO camper to be seen at pull out on trail and Hwy. 36. I text her and she replied, "oh oops." Went on to say that she was in Chester with Roger Dodger. Roger Dodger is younger, better looking, Princeton grad and faster walker. Of Course she's in Chester with Roger Dodger!

Also, we had some really exciting news from our son this week that he proposed to his long time girlfriend. He told Maureen, but what she didn't realize is that Shane had told me during his week with me on the PCT, in those beginning days. He explained that he was planning on asking her sometime in the near future, but I would still be on the trail. He made me promise not to tell Maureen Well, Maureen was sitting at the Brewery telling everyone that she was so excited to see Chief to tell him the BIG news. Across the table from her sat Kiddo. She made a funny face when Maureen announced the news. Kiddo had been sworn to secrecy by me that she was to tell NO ONE on the trail of this upcoming event! Well, there's Maureen in the Etna Brewery and ready to spill the beans and Kiddo knew already! She blurted out..."Is Shane engaged!!!" From what I've heard from the other hikers, it was absolutely hilarious. Maureen was stunned. It is a special thing that one can talk about life, family and other important things to people you hardly know on the trail. Thanks to Kiddo for her big secret.

Big Mile days. I'm so exhausted at the end of the day. Coming to the end of a 29 mile day, I came into Moosehead Spring and found a nice campsite. It was also good bear habitat. I heard the Bear about 12:30 at night. It was so close that I could hear his heavy breathing tearing the log apart near my tent. I couldn't see him, but had my flashlight in hand just in case. Somehow, I fell asleep with the flashlight in my hand and the bear was gone. Exhausted.

Flies, Bee's and other things??? There are these black fly things that sound like a B-52 bomber. They do these insane circles around you as your walking. One or two times is ok, but after a bit, it's sort of freaky. Then there's the black and yellow bee looking things. They hover and stare at you. I did a stare down with one. It was ridiculous and lasted at least 5 minutes. Then there are the flies. They are everywhere and almost worse than the mosquitos. They don't bite much, but they are EVERYWHERE.

Trail Names. Every once in a while you will meet somebody that their trail name just fits. Walking a couple of days from Etna I met a southbounder (SOBO) who stopped to chat. He had heavy boots, heavy pack, long sleeved shirt, long pants, towel under his hat and he had this smile that was kind of off kiltered looking. He seemed a little off, not trying to be judgemental, but just a bit off. He started North bound at Mexico, then changed his mind, flew to Canada, started Southbound, but got caught in the snow. Changed his mind so he started walking to fill in the gaps. Asked him his trail name and he replied, "Oh Delaware Bob gave me the trail name of FOREST GUMP" - nailed it!"

The Etna Buzz. Roping competition right across from our campsite. Sorting, roping, Maureen's in heaven...even a few appaloosas! Softball tournament on the other side, neighbors playing Blue Grass until 2am (wonderful, by the way) and then there's the main street of Etna. Don't really know where to begin to describe our Friday evening on main street. It was so classic, small mtn. town experience. Etna closes their 3 blocks of main street (that's all there is) and everyone jams with the Blue Grass perfomers, very casual. It was so cool. I had my Tom's Place hat on and met a couple that was originally from Bishop. They are active in the Backcountry Horsemen unit here and we had a great time talking with them. Then John Lyons found us and talked for about 1 hour about packing on the PCT and his lifelong committment to the PCTA trail volunteers. We promised to join him in the N. Calif. trail work week next year. What a great volunteer he is. Lyon's Pride. They fed over 50 hikers and worked over 50 miles of overgrown trail. Nice fellow. Otis would love to chat with this man! Had others come and sit with us as they heard I was walking the trail. Lots of questions and nice people. Everyone loves Bodie. They are not sure what kind of dog he is...seems silly as Aussie's are so popular back home. Apparently, not here. People just stare at him and ask a lot of questions (not that I don't ask myself questions about this dog most of the time!).

Chief and John Lyons

Blue Grass on Main Street

It was a very special night. Looking forward to resting my body tomorrow on my Zero Day in Etna. More brewery action for sure.

Chief

Mt. Shasta in the background

The Crags

My walk for the last 100 miles

Bodie finding Chief on trail at Etna Summit

What's missing from this picture! Yep, broke.

Beautiful Scott's Valley/Etna

Getting ready for the next 200 miles...almost to OREGON!

Checking for socks without holes

The complete kitchen. 1600 miles ... 1000+ more to go

Our private little roping arena fun

Etna folks and their horses...they go everywhere together

Forest Service Packing for the PCTA trail crew. Saw them at Etna Sumitt

Had visitors..my brother Bob and his wife Sara

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Copco Fever (all about ME!!!!)

Chief is somewhere between mile 1506 - 1606 (mile 1562 8/17 at 7pm)

Left him at trailhead early morning of July 16 (outside of Castle Crags State Park), walking to Etna (pick up point is at mile 1606)

After dropping him off, I had my first big driving adventure since I had left almost 2 1/2 weeks ago. The I-5! Wow. I have only been on backroads and old mtn roads. Never really traffic or getting that speedometer above 50! Holy crap. Lots of trucks and cars and gotta get used to this again. :(
Before heading to Etna to find a campground for the next 4 days of waiting for Chief, I decided to take Loy and John's (SB friends) offer to join them at their "Lake House." NICE. What a great decision I made. Copco Lake is a somewhere out there off of the I-5 going East from Montague. "Where is Montague, you may ask?" East of Yreka. But way east of Montague. There you find Copco Lake. What a special little place. Vacation homes and a few full time residents live around this beautiful lake. Actually, it appears it is their PRIVATE lake. When Loy and I kayaked for over 2 hours, we never saw one other person on the lake. Pristine. There is a little Copco Town at the end of the lake where the Klamath river access comes down. The real bonus was the Wild Mustangs inhabiting the "other side" of the lake. What a great adventure we had. John and Loy were the perfect hosts. I can never, ever, Thank you enough..You are MY TRAIL ANGELS. And to even make it more special, Shane proposed to Lindsay when I was there. Fantastic news. So happy for them.

Driving out of Copco Lake, very slowly, I see a lady hiking. She come's over to the truck as asked me if I was "Chief's Wife!!" Ok this is just a little wierd, I think? Not really, it was quite wonderful. Got to meet Judy, who lives at Copco and has been following Chief's blog and map since the beginning. She and her husband hike sections of the PCT and were so excited to have Loy forward them the blog. She was so thrilled to be able to follow him. Perhaps she can join Loy and John when they attempt to pick up Chief at the junction to get down to Ashland.

Kevin does not know about Shane and Lindsay, but will be so excited to hear the BIG news when he arrives in Etna. Looking forward to a nice zero day with him and hanging out at the Bluegrass Festival and the Brewery! My last big attempt to put some added weight on him before heading home on Sunday.

My thoughts are to our dear friend, Wendy, who passed through this life today....on her husbands birthday. A day to celebrate 2 special lives. We will all miss her tremendously and will never, ever forget her strong will to live. Don't worry Wendy, we will watch over Claire. We love you.

The Lake House

Their own private Lake

Kiley and Bodie

Canadian Geese

This is complete decadance. Don't even have to get out of the kayak

so many, a bit too high

Loy on the mirror lake

Big Bucks

Wild Mustangs

A Shasta Lily and Hundreds of Blackberries! Nature's Trail Magic.

Near McCloud Resevoir - Castle Crags State Park
mile 1476-1506

After staying at a wonderful campground a few miles towards McCloud Lake, I am now at Castle Crags State Park (July 15). I've read about this park in Sunset magazine and have always wanted to stay. It's quite beautiful. Outside of McCloud, the owners of the small park we stayed out were the most gracious couple. They drove Chief and I around their inherited 450 acre ranch, which they have turned into a Fly Fishing RV/campground. It has 3 ponds which are stocked for fishermen and only 29 campsites spread out among the beautiful valley with Mt. Shasta looming over you. Mr. Friday (Bob) was intent that I see a Shasta Lily, as they only bloom during a small window of perhaps 7-10 days and we were right in that time period. Bob and MayLawn drove us all around in their little electric cart to find the lily. Chief had been talking about this flower for a day or two, as the aroma is undescribable and you can smell it above anything else when walking through the forest. Sure enough, we found a small patch of 5 - 6 lily's. They were quite aromatic.
Such nice people. I hope we can go back to this little gem of a place, in the middle of nowhere.

Leaving Chief at trailhead early this morning, I set off for my short drive to Castle Crags State Park, where the PCT meanders through. Stopped in Dunsmuir early at the coffee shop to have breakfast. Apparently, just missed Roger Dodger who was also in Dunsmuir. Would have really liked to see him again. Drove a bit south, as the trail now does some wierd south-west bendy crap. It's the big bend WEST, towards Etna. Got to Castella (store and Post office...that's it!) and picked up Chief's box. Had some new shoes sent here by REI (shoe number 4). The store is the hangout as it is also the resupply and Trail Angel for the area. Nice couple who run this little store, The Ameritas Market. They have the biggest selection of IPA's I have evers seen! Even their own brand!

Will leave here tomorrow and head north towards Etna (him walking the 100 miles and me driving, far less!) Very excited to be back in that neck of the woods. There is also the plus that there is a Blue Grass Festival this weekend in Etna! Chief is going to take a zero day and we will definitely enjoy our last couple of days together, listening to music, eating and drinking.