PCT Field Notes

WHAM! geology  Cruising in Cabazon The day started slow and easy, but it quickly heated up. I had to walk a few miles to get to the highway, I needed to restock a bit before heading up toward the San Bernardino mountains. I came across a king snake that quickly held its ground, then darted off. I made it to the underpass to find a giant sheet of paper on the wall with PCT hikers signatures. As I was looking it over, considering where to put my own name, another hiker yelled at me from the other side of the underpass. They wanted to see if I wanted to split the Uber cost they had ordered and that was set to arrive any moment. Destination: In-n-Out. I ran from the wall, refueling called me. Traffic was a bit hectic with Coachella going on, and In-n-Out was a madhouse with a bunch of people seemingly trying to keep it together as they nursed their alcohol and chemical hangovers from the festivities. The fellow hiker and I parted ways, and I continued my resupply day. The day went fair...

“Desert” The rain had soaked the grass to the point where it all collapsed under the weight on the water, too much to drink up all at once, hanging on to be dried off by the morning sun. This meant pants and shoes. Which actually felt really nice, the cool water squishing in my shoes were cleaning them and easing the swollen pain from walk long all day. The only problem was the center I was at, I washed my dry set of clothes and they couldn’t dry because of the rain. This meant I very few dry clothes left. I tried to dry them in my sleeping bag liner with me, which you can imagine how comfortable it is to sleep with a bag full of wet clothes. I do swear by merino wool form this reason, it dries quickly and isn’t cold if wet. This was hugely appreciated the next day. The sun decided it was not going to come out to burn the water off the grass. More rain was to be expected, in wet gear.    As I rose into the mountains around the Los Coyotes Reservation, I was quickly distracted ...

Obligatory Terminus Photo What is the Pacific Crest Trail? The Pacific Crest Trail is a 2,600ish-mile route from Mexico to Canada, following the mountains of the western United States through desert, forest, and high alpine terrain. It’s a continuous trail, but what it becomes depends a lot on the person walking it. I didn’t get the best sleep the night before starting. I’ve slept on that air mattress before, but I couldn’t quite figure out my head this time. Still slept, just not deeply. A lot of people were packed up before me in the morning, but it didn’t matter. The Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) gave us breakfast, walked us through logistics, handed out tags, and then we were off. It didn’t really hit me until about two miles past the terminus. That quiet realization that I had actually started. Around mile five I passed a rattlesnake, tucked just off the side of the trail. I heard it before I saw it. That sound is something else. I approached slowly, leading with my tr...