Getting closer to being ready

Only a few more days to get ready. Trying to get the RV buttoned up, pack for hiking and packing, and working... what stays here or goes to AR is proving to be... challenging. I finally just decided to do my best and allow myself room (in my way of thinking--not literally!) to forget something or take unwanted stuff. It's bound to happen.

To add to the mix, the weather has been uncooperative AND TBG has a monstrous tooth infection. It looks like he has a golf ball in his cheek. We actually managed to get him seen and the dentist said the tooth needs to come out but we'll wait until we get back to AR. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in and it will be better soon. So happy it happened now and not when we're in the middle of nowhere! God truly has His eye on us!! 

Not done yet!

 It's been ten years since our PCT thru hike attempt. Since then we've tried to knock out more miles but life kept interfering. This fall we are trying yet again. We plan on on starting in Yosemite and walking to Mt. Lasson. We're older and out of shape so we are setting a goal of 15 miles a day. I'm optimistic that we'll be better but I'm also realistic enough to not push too hard. We know what to expect now and I think that's half the battle. We know it's going to be hard and we're going to be tired, sore and hungry. We also know we enjoy it and look forward to the experience one can experience in this way. 

So, all that being said, I'm restarting the blog. I'm not sure how blogging will go but that is my plan.

Yesterday we bought the last of our food resupply and today we packed it all in the drop boxes. We're going pretty light. I'm worried that it won't be enough for Jeff--aka  The Bald Guy (TBG). We estimate we packed about 2000 calories a day. We're planning Three 6/7day stretches and two 3/4 days for a total of 26 days of hiking. We can do this...

Got our haircuts done and trying to wrap up closing up the RV for the winter and preparing to head back to Arkansas for the winter. 

The only photos I have so far are of our wimpy food...

Seven days of food for two...it all needs to fit in the bear canister which makes it even more challenging to bring enough food.

One day's supply for two. This is actually pretty close to what we've done in the past.....

The bear can. Try as we could, we could only get 6 days of food in. We'll carry day seven's food in our bear bag. This handy unit has traveled a lot of miles with us. A good investment for sure. 

TBG will carry this while I take the tent, etc. 

Wish us luck!

Yep, you guessed it....

We still love hiking!

Koko & TBG

Burney Falls to Echo Lake

"Hike smart."

That's how we think.

 It's how we plan each section, each day,  each water source,  each campsite, each step.

Beautiful Burney Falls. A must-see if you are ever in the area.

So...as we were hiking the section into Burney Falls, we got news (via the trail hotline) that the store where our resupply box was waiting for us, had new hours. Now open Wed thru Sun. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Uh-oh. We were on track to arrive late Sunday. If we didn't adjust our hiking speed/mileage, we'd have to wait until Wednesday to resupply. With no extra food. No viable restaurants or stores.

Part of the beauty of section hiking is flexible schedule.  No big push. Generous food in our packs. Low mileage days.

We have another saying, "It's all part of the adventure."

We did it.

And we paid for it.

Things happen on the trail every day. Sometimes mentally. Sometimes physically.  Add the fact that we're hiking as a couple, the variety of happenings is, shall we say, challenging?

A typical day finds us stubbing our toe, dodging poison oak, getting whacked in the face with a branch, or hitting our shin while climbing over a downed tree. We just walk it off.

On the push to Burney Falls,  KOKO twisted her ankle.

Okay. Walk it off.

One and a half days and 29 miles later, we make it to Burney Falls and successfully retrieve our resupply box. Whew. Made it.

Meanwhile,  the temperature has been averaging between 90 and 100. Our next section is the Hat Creek Rim. Known for it's lack of shade and water.

And KOKO's ankle/foot isn't getting better...

"Hike smart."

After researching our options and with very little debate, we came up with a plan. Hitch a ride to the town of Burney, ride a bus to Redding, rent a car and drive to South Lake Tahoe.

Sounds simple enough.

As you can imagine,  we have way too many stories to share in one post!

Our quaint hotel-with air conditioning AND a Jacuzzi tub! Whoot! Whoot!

We were the only riders on the commuter bus to Redding. Plenty of opportunities to goof off!

Our rental car freely shared the temperature.  Some things we wish we didn't know!

Our new friend,  "First One" the German hiker who rode with us to Chester. A load of entertainment, information, encouragement, hiking wisdom and fun

Sign at Drakesbad guest ranch where we picked up one of our skipped resupply packages. Very remote but totally cool place to go.

Famous milkshakes at Caribou Crossroads (Belden). Expensive but tasty.

One of our stops on our road trip. Informative and free and a great leg stretcher after being in the car awhile.

Donner Memorial State Park. We camped here one night and took in the visitor center. This quote was especially meaningful to us.

Donner Memorial. KOKO was last here as a 13 year old!

Our campsite showing our tent, bear box and rental car.

Lake Tahoe.

Two goofballs at the Lake.

Poster at Hard Rock Hotel that had meaning for us.

Castella to Burney Falls

Another week on trail. I think we are the slowest hikers on trail but we are getting there! No matter how many miles you do per day you're tired and sore at night.

The trail was...easier? Different? It was more conducive for us whatever the reason. We were able to meet our goal each day and exceeded it the last full day. Then woke up early the last morning and did our 13 remaining miles in 6 hours (FAST for us) so we would be sure to get to Burney Falls in time. Their hours just changed so if we didn't get there in time we'd have to wait 3 days to get our resupply. Pretty good incentive!

We met some great NOBO hikers and friendly folks this week. We even had a deer lead us to an available campsite!

It was so hot. After talking to locals and NOBO hikers we did some reconsidering of our plans for the next sections. The heat has been high 80s in the shade and it's supposed to get worse in the next leg. One hiker recommended to us to skip the next leg if possible due to high heat and exposed trail conditions. Locals comfirmed our concerns when they told us the typical weather is in the 100s.

I apologize. Doing the blog on my phone is challenging. We have so much to share about the photos but are unable to. Please ask us about them and we'll try to answer! Here is our attempt to share our week in photos...

Etna to Castella

What a journey!

We're still trying to figure the best and easiest way to share our journey. Please bear with us as we experiment! This week we're trying a video.

It's been a tough, slow week. With Jeff still having some foot issues (we think he has a deep bruise exacerbated by the inconsistent trail). We managed to make our goal all but 2 days.

The views have been beyond description. Please note how much closer we get to Shasta as the week progresses. Just getting close to Castle Crags was so exciting. It was amazing (and eventually exhasting) literally walking at the feet of those impressive crags.

The California Pitcher Plant was fascinating. I thought of our daughter Kei often as we came across the ever fragrant lillies. There was one brief stretch of a honeysuckle-like flower, beautiful and so fragrant. Nature's bouquets bring life to the rocky terrain.

The heat was far cooler than predicted but still averaged in the high 80s keeping us nursing our water bottles. Water sources were mostly consistent with only twice worrying us. TBG stays well covered even in the heat due some sun sensitivity but I expose-and burn which peels adding to the itching from multiple bug bites. I have taken to resorting to strange attire during the heat of the day to alleviate burning so bad.

We continue to be light eaters. TBG is better at eating than I am. I am generally just so thirsty and sweet foods offer no appeal at all!  TBG's fave food has been his cashews and mine has been cheese sticks.

We fall into bed early and exhausted each night and fall asleep to the sounds of nature. The sunrise wakens us. If we have been fortunate, we have a level, smooth site! The campsite in the video was the worst one we've had-JUST barely big enough for the tent but desperation frequently dictates placement and we were so done that night!

Our last full day we met Wit and Brightside a couple about our age from Alaska hiking Ashland to Dunsmuir to finish thier goal of completing the PCT. They were pretty excited to be almost done!

The days blur. I never know what day of the week it is and only know the date as I keep a journal. Although we look forward to completing the hike, it's the journey that is important.  We may be slower than most and have our limitations, but we're out there hiking our own hike. We encourage you to do the same, whatever "hike" that may be.

Until next time, keep on keepin on.

Seiad to Etna

I don't care how much the maps all say you will go downhill. They lie. For every down there is an up is not true either. The hills would just kill us but we'd hang on in anticipation of the downs only to round the corner for...yep, more up.

All in all it's been a good 4 days. We've experienced many fun hikers, a fantastic trail crew who finished clearing nearly 100 downed trees the day we passed thru. We were happy to let them have the campsite we wanted!

We've dodged poison oak, bugs, ants and walked mostly on broken and uneven rock trail making our blisters and otherwise tired bodies cry out for mercy.

We've slipped across some small snow fields, ran out of water, worried for available campsites.

We watched beautiful distant mountains grow closer with each climb. We've seen the majestic views that words cannot describe.

We've seen so many deer and feel they are hiking with us as their heart shaped tracks lead the way down the trail. Lizards too, have provided frequent entertainment. We've seen fresh bear scat and the bear that left it.

We're sore. We're exhausted. We're hungry.  We STINK. I'm dreading the next portion which is longer and promises to be every bit as challenging. But it also promises to be rewarding and so we hike on.

It took about 30 minutes before we caught our ride to Etna. Thank you kind locals who give rides! We may take an additional zero day in town to rest bruised feet. We are staying in a quaint little hotel that makes us feel at home.

Until next time. We miss you all and look forward to hearing from you!

UPDATE: We stayed in Etna a few days and shopped/visited every business. What a warm and receptive town. A special thanks to Cassie at Collier Hotel who bent over backward to make sure we had what we needed and to Jeff at Mountain Healing for the fabulous massage.

On to the trail again...just saw where it will be triple digits in Castella-our next stop. We miss Oregon!

July 12 Ashland to Seiad Valley

Our first milestone! Bryan, Hunter and Stephen gave us a ride down to the drop off point on Sunday and took a few photos before they left us alone on the road wondering what in the world are we doing? And so it began.

The last 5 days have been full of ups and downs. Literally. Our trail notes might indicate our next waypoint will be down (or up) x amount of feet but what they don't tell us is that we may go up and down hundreds of feet between points. We have had some trouble with the altitude. It couldn't possibly be lack of conditioning or heavy packs!

We've had one day with very light rain but the rest have been in the mid to high 80s. Tonight, in Seiad it was 89 at 7pm. The heat makes the steepness steeper and we peter out faster.

To add to the adventure we developed blisters. TBG on the ball of his foot and me one on the pointer toe on each foot. I am sure I will lose both nails. Since TBGs are where he walks, he notices it more but rarely complains. Mine just get huge, pop, and grow again. We did the needle & thread trick tonight and hope that solves it.

We have met so many fun hikers. Mostly thru hikers but a few SOBOs as well. We have grown quite attached to Doug and Harold, two gentlemen from the Seattle area. We leap frogged with them all week but bid them farewell in Seiad today as they headed for their next section. There is a chance we meet again. We sure hope so.

Thru hikers have regaled us with tales of adventuring thru the sierras this year (not too many) or the different skips they are doing in efforts to still complete the trail. Most have been sharing what to expect and giving helpful advice.

We have been meeting about a dozen NOBO hikers each day but only 2 or three SOBOs. It feels like we're going the wrong way on a one way street. It's a bit discouraging to have them tell us we'll find water in 20 minutes or1/2 mile or so when in OUR time it'll be much longer. We definitely agree with other mature hikers that have similar speeds-stop, move and "I think I am gonna die!".

Seriously, it's been a good week. We miss our family and friends as they enjoy homecooked meals and rest in their easy chairs! But we can't trade the silence of the mountains or the open skies.

We've seen squirrels, chipmunks, lizards, birds, deer and even a bear. We enjoyed mountain flowers including the oh so fragrant lilies. We are learning to be adept at identifying poison oak as it is so ever present.

Our food lasted beyond our time out. I just had no appetite. I guess because I have so much stored. That's fine with me. We feel good over all.

We are having...fun. We are trying to rejoin with nature and rediscover parts of us we've been missing.

We love you and thank you for following us! Here's to Etna next week!

Please bear with us as we try to blog from our phone. We'll try to uodate and improve!