ALDHA - West is this Weekend

The 15th Annual gathering of ALDHA-West is this weekend (September 24-26) at Camp Morning Star in Angelus Oaks, California.  Apparently, this is the first time that ALDHA-West will be gathering in southern California.  I have read through the grapevine (Facebook) that there are a lot of hiker trash and some trail angels (including the Andersons) that will be there this weekend. 

One of these days, I will make it there, but I get a feeling I will only make after I have fully completed the PCT, and my Triple Crown.  I am just 38-miles shy!  Nonetheless, I keep hearing great things about the event, and I should make it a priority to head there once a year.  That said, I already have ADZPCTKO and PCT Days in Cascade Locks on list for the year, and I just cannot make all the trail events.  Where are my priorities?

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, here's a video of Nimblewill Nomad getting his Triple Crown Award back in 2008.  Enjoy!

Hit and Miss Ready to Finish the AT

First AT southbounders, Hit and Miss on top of Max Patch

While out on a 70-mile section hike on the Appalachian Trail, I ran into Hit and Miss, a young couple from New York, on top of clear and scenic Max Patch. Both of them had identical, ultralight backpacks that I had never seen before - Miss stitched them together - and I had no idea that they were southbounders on the AT, since I thought September 14th was too early to see southbounders.  However, after some questioning, they told me that they are the front of the pack, and that they were planning to finish in ten days. Cool!

I asked them if there was anyone behind them (I figured that someone has to be chasing the leader!), but they told me that they were unaware of anyone right behind them.  They told me that they would welcome other hikers to join them for the march to Springer Mountain to have some different company.

Band of brothers from Virginia, Toothpick and Thrillbilly

About 6-hours later I ran into the chasers at Walnut Mountain Shelter: Toothpick and Thrillbilly.  The two are brothers from Virginia, and they started their AT hike three weeks after Hit and Miss started their hike from Mt. Katahdin on May 27th - to say that they are hustling to catch them is an understatement!  I told Toothpick and Thrillbilly that they were about a half day behind Hit and Miss, and that they had planned on camping near Davenport Gap that night.  Also told them that they planned on arriving to Fontana Dam on Friday the 17th, and Toothpick's eyes lit up.  He and Thrillbilly had the same plans to arrive in Fontana by Friday.

I wonder if Toothpick and Thrillbilly caught up with them.  I wonder if Hit and Miss really don't mind the company for the last 7-days of their journey.  I wonder if there really will be a genuine race to the top of Springer.  Hmmmm... I can't wait to hear how it unfolds.  Good luck to you Hit and Miss, and Toothpick and Thrillbilly.  Enjoy the rest of the trail, and congratulations on completing the Appalachian Trail!

Trail Maintenance: Report from the PCT - Part II

Freefall maintaining trail in Section O

The “O” in Section O means “OPEN!” After working two more hitches with members of the Northwest Service Academy on a three mile section of the Pacific Crest Trail from Peavine Creek to Red Mountain, and after hiking from Interstate 5 (Castella) back to Burney Falls State Park with a pair of hand clippers, I can with certainty say that Section O has never been in better shape - seriously.  That said, there are still brushy sections on the trail (Red Mountain to the PCT crossing at Grizzly Peak Road), and blowdowns between Mushroom Rock and Alder Creek Trail.  However, one Forest Service employee mentioned that he would be clearing the rest of the blowdowns soon, so there’s reason to be ever more optimistic on trail conditions through the section.

My volunteer service on the PCT is over for the meantime, but I sure wish that I could stay out here.  Seriously, I have thoroughly enjoyed sleeping out in a tent every night, getting my hands (and the rest of me!) dirty every day, hanging out and eating supper with the trail crew in the evenings, and hiking the trail in my off time.  I also got to make a big contribution to a trail that I so dearly love and enjoy, and I leave here knowing that users of the PCT will have a more enjoyable experience.

As I mentioned earlier, I got to hike Section O during one of my breaks, and the hike was so different than my 2003 thru-hike experience.  In 2003, I was suffering from an in-grown toenail, the heat was terrible, and the “O” in Section O stood for “Overgrown.” I remember manzanita, deer brush, vine maple, and tree branches growing in either side of the trail, and interlaced, which made the hiking a frustrating adventure.  Now, the corridor through Section O is very agreeable.

Trail Maintainer John Lyons

Another huge reason why the trail is in good shape is due to the Lyons' Pride, a trail crew headed up by John Lyons, who is also a backcountry horseman.  He has led a crew in May, June, and July, clearing brush and cutting trail near Ah-Di-Na Campground, Centipede Gulch to Butcherknife Creek, and from Deer Creek to Grizzly Peak.

When I ran into his crew, there were about 15-volunteers there, and among those volunteers was Warner Springs Monty. Monty was hiking the trail, but got off because his foot was giving him problems.  Instead of heading back home, he decided to help the Lyon’s Pride with cooking duties, since he is after all the stellar head chef for ADZPCTKO.

Monty was sure surprised to see me hike into the basecamp.  He introduced me to everyone who was doing trail crew, and I was kindly offered a soda to drink.  I introduced myself as a trail maintainer to the crew, and I told them about the section that I was maintaining.  I was offered supper, and I enjoyed some incredible barbeque chicken, salad, macaroni salad, and potatoes.  I rested at that campsite for about two hours, said my goodbyes, and I moved on to the summit of Grizzly Peak.

Vandalized fire tower on top of Grizzly Peak

One of my memorable experiences from my 2003 hike was camping out on top of Grizzly Peak, so I went for a repeat performance.  Again, I had wonderful sweeping views of Section O as I viewed Mushroom Rock to the east-northeast, Bald Mountain and Red Mountain to the East, 14,000-foot Mount Shasta to the northwest, and Castle Crags to the West.  The view was breathtaking.

One disappointment I experienced was the seeing the vandalism of Grizzly Peak fire tower, which was built in 1953.  In 2003, the windows were still in place, but now the glass is broken and scattered all over the top.  The bedspring that was in the tower in 2003, now sits near a newer, but ugly solar-powered weather station.  The peak is a mess, and I hope someone from the Forest Service or a volunteer group can get up there and clean it up.  Nonetheless, I found a spot for camping, and I enjoyed another stunning, memorable sunset and sunrise on the peak.

Chris Pyper of the Northwest Service Academy

There's a ton of work to do out on the trail, and each year, following winter's storms, the trail is littered with blow downs, the tread is eroded, or the brush creeps in yet another foot.  It's a never ending process.  Props to all those trail maintainers out there who give their time and talents to keep the PCT open for hikers and equestrians.  It's awesome!  Finally, I want to give a shout out to Northwest Service Academy's PCT II crew: Kate, Vyper, Shaughn, Sam, Max, and Libby.  Thank you for a memorable July 2010, and thanks for choosing to work on the PCT. Also, thanks to the PCTA's staff (Technical Advisor, Greg Baxter; Regional Representative, Ian Nelson; and Assistant Regional Representative, Val Sokolowski) for your guidance with all trail projects.  You are making a difference!

Trail Maintenance: Report from the PCT - Part I

Tamping dirt on rock water bar

Damn it's hot up here in Northern California.  For the last six days, I have worked with volunteers from the Northwest Service Academy's PCT II crew to clear three miles of trail from Peavine Creek to Red Mountain in the infamous Section O, and let me tell you, IT IS HOT! Every day temperatures surge into the mid 90's, and from what I've seen in the weather reports, it is supposed to get warmer.  Ugh.

Nonetheless, I am having a great time doing the much needed work on the trail.  I get to work with seven twenty-somethings, who are all keeping me on my toes, but I am keeping up with them.  I get to live in my tent at Headwaters Camp in McArthur-Burney Falls State Park.  I get to work and sweat every day.  I get to do a lot of reading - something I don't do enough of back in San Francisco! Finally, I get to experience the whole trail crew culture, which has intrigued me ever since I ran into trail crews back on the Appalachian Trail.

Northwest Service Academy PCT II and Freefall

The first two days of our hitch (that's what trail maintainers call their trail maintaining sessions) I helped install a rock water bar, which helps divert water off the trail and prevent erosion, and I assisted with doing some rock work to help repair/rebuild tread.  Kate and Vyper, the two leaders on this trail crew, told me that the first mile following Peavine Creek needs this tread work, because the tread had eroded into a U-shape.  They told me that the main culprit of this erosion are cattle, which freely graze in the mountains.

I did brushwork on the last four days of the hitch.  I ran a Stihl four stroke brush cutter, which has this awesome three-pronged blade on it, for two days, and on the other two days, I lopped and swamped. Swamping means that I picked up brush that was cut by the cutter, gathered it into stacks, and dumped it as far off the trail as I could.  If I wasn't swamping or lopping branches, then I was removing staubs, which are the those small stumps from bushes that are left over after clearing with a brush cutter. Many of the staubs are from vine maples, which seem to grow crazily on the PCT in Northern California.  The work is tedious, time consuming, and when done during the heat of the day, kind of gnarly.

Morning view of Mount Shasta from the Hat Creek Rim

I am currently staying at the home of Georgi (Firefly) and Dennis (Fire Walker) Heitman in the Hat Creek Resort area near Old Station.  I have never been here before, and now I can understand why hikers really enjoy coming here to the Heitman's.  There's a lot of room to spread out here, and Firefly does a great job of making hiker's feel welcomed.  Her hospitality has been much appreciated, especially after hiking 46-miles from Burney Falls and over the blistering hot Hat Creek Rim to get here.  I got to see Weather Carrot and Squatch while I've been here, and tonight I get to visit with Brenda Murray from the PCTA, and I looking forward to telling her about my latest adventure here.

I have two more hitches out here, each of which will be four days long.  After the next hitch, I plan to hike all of Section O to Dunsmuir, and then hitch (another use of the word!) a ride back for the final hitch (original use for the word).  After that, I will come back here to the Heitman's on the 27th, and from here I will hike to Belden to complete my hike of Section N. What a way to spend a July!  I only hope I don't melt by the time I finish my work and hiking.  Let's hope for cooler weather.

Taking the Next Step

For the longest time, I observed the hard, gritty (and somewhat unheralded) work of trail crews on long-distance trails. These crews are made up of volunteers, interns, and youth corps members, and I have always envied their choices to take time out of their lives to do such valuable work.

So, I have made the choice myself to get out on the trail, and get my hands dirty. Yes, I will be one of those trail workers moving rocks, lopping branches, doing cut and fill, and installing waterbars on the Pacific Crest Trail. I will be based up at McArthur-Burney Falls State Park for the month of July, and I will be serving with the Northwest Service Academy. I look forward to the opportunity to get out of the city, and live in a tent for the month. Most of all, I am eager to work side-by-side with other volunteers, who share a passion for the trail, and serving the trail community in a fun and unique way.

I look at this opportunity as the next step in my hiking career. The trail has given me so much, and now it is time that I give something back. Have a great summer!

Google Maps on Postholer.com

Recently I discovered some cool maps on postholer.com. The maps feature most of the major long distance trails in the United States, and are good fodder for winter daydreams. I could not figure out the "location" menus on the map, but one really sweet feature is the MyTopo view. Seriously, check it out.

Triple Crown Recipient Video

Prodeal put together this video for ALDHA-West, and it features all those who received their Triple Crown Award for 2009.  He did a wonderful job with putting this together.  Check it out.

2009 Triple Crown Video from Bristlecone Media on Vimeo

I am myself hoping to be in the next video for 2010. I've got 30-miles to hike on the PCT, so I cannot be a Triple Crowner until I get those last miles done. Yes, I am a stickler for details!