Author: memoriesaheadmilesbehind

June 4-7, 2018

Well, this was how Monday started. Nothing better than a morning cup of coffee and comfy chair to start the day off right. Uncle Walt made us feel right at home and aided us in running a few errands early in the day, namely getting me to a doctor.

The doc visit was needed. I hadn’t allowed my body to rest and my sinus problems seemed to get slightly better but really they needed more than OTC stuff to combat what I had going on. I was given an inhaler and antibiotics and instructed to take at least 3 days off from hiking. Well poop, I thought. It was more just sinuses and more like acute bronchitis. What I didn’t want was an upper respiratory infection or pneumonia–all possible if I’d ignored my symptoms.

From that point on, I concocted a plan to head home to Las Vegas. I also knew that getting Justin back to the trail would be first priority. He needed a few things before he’d head back to the PCT on Tuesday, like fuel and a GPS. With stops at a taqueria for lunch, Big 5, Dicks Sporting Goods, Cold Stone Creamery and Bass Pro Shops we made all the necessary purchases and Uber’d back to the house. Aunt Carrie made her delicious Calico Beans and Uncle Walt grilled ribs and chicken. Delicious dinner feast, check.

When Tuesday came I was barely 3 doses into my antibiotics. Aunt Carrie made us breakfast bagel sandwiches to tide us over until lunch. Since Sunday, Uncle Walt had been talking about a restaurant in an old township outside of Sonora and we agreed to stop there for lunch on our drive back to the PCT. We ate a place called The Standard Pour. It used to be bank back in the day but it’s now been turned into a cool bar and restaurant. The food was delish! It was a great place for Justin to chow down on some extra calories before heading back into the woods.

We made it back to Sonora Pass and as excited as I was to be there, I’m glad I wasn’t headed back to the trail. I could almost immediately feel the pressure in my sinuses. My ears still had no relief. Justin on the other hand was packed an ready to go. I know that guy is going to walk every mile of the trail, I admire his dedication.

So we said our “See you laters” and Justin hiked on. You can see a berm of snow that clearly marked the first few steps for him. Ugh. We discussed meeting back up down the trail when I get better. I may skip ahead to find friends and get out of the snow–if that is possible–but I haven’t made that decision just yet.

As far as the friends go, I know that Joey and Tyler (Fireman) have made it through most of the Sierras. Laura and her brother, Dan, are headed to Markleeville in a few days. Heidi went into Bridgeport as she hyperextended her knee but she was planning to head back out on Tuesday as well. I believe Seeker, Groover and PaceCar are all together trucking along as usual. I’ve seen posts from Shrink (who had skipped ahead to the CA/OR border) and he’s dealing with snow there but having a blast again. And Dani — who left the trail in Big Bear if my memory serves me correct — is back on Trail and having her own hilarious yet scary moments. She started back up at Truckee and has been dealing with snow as well.

So as much as I want to be out there, I’m very much okay with being sick and taking a break. Sure I wish I felt better, but everything happens for a reason. This time has allowed me to visit with family I hadn’t seen in years. I spent some time with my cousins and their children, whom I’d never met. Such a pleasure to see how sweet their kids are and catch up on the lives they lead. My cousins, Sarah and Andrea, were full of questions for me and my experiences of the trail. They both made me laugh telling me this blog was like reality TV for them. I’m glad to know I can provide a little bit of entertainment for you all.

Yesterday (Wednesday) we (Uncle Walt, Aunt Carrie and myself) coordinated a dinner meet up in Livermore. My brother and his girlfriend Giovanna drove over from El Cerrito. We had an amazing dinner (Thanks again, Uncle Walt) and then I rode back to El Cerrito with my brother Glen. I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long, but they’ve lived in this house for 6 years and I’ve never been here. See! These are the reasons I love this experience, the reconnections I’ve made I will cherish forever!!!!

Tomorrow I will fly home to Las Vegas. There’s a few things at the house I will take care of. I’ll also attempt to get my Recurrent training done while I’m in town so I won’t have to think about it next month when it’s due.

As I mentioned before, I’m scared to go home because time off from the trail has a way of sucking you back into normal life. I’m going to do my best to get back to the PCT. I’m settled with the fact that I may not walk every mile of it, but I still have time to cover a lot more ground of it. I still have a permit to walk into Canada and I want to make use of it 🙂. With more people starting to enter the Sierras, by the time I return I think the hiking crowd will be even a little more dispersed. Enough hikers have bounced around and skipped forward so I’m expecting that the number of NOBO hikers in the NorCal/Oregon area will continue to grow… especially with the warmer tempts and melting snow.

From here, I’ll take a few days off from the blog. Time to get rid of this crud!!!! When the backpack is packed again, you will all know. Thanks for being a part of this adventure this far. It’s been 875 miles of smiles. I still hope for plenty more!

June 3, 2018

Mile 1006-1016

We were hiking by 7 this morning. Jazzed to get out of here but not so jazzed about route finding in the snow again. Getting up and around Leavitt Peak was going to be a chore. I pretty much wore my crampons 75% of the day.

The unfortunate part being we were so hopeful we wouldn’t have too much snow to deal with today. I will admit. I was weak and tired. I’m still fighting the congestion in my sinuses and chest. The snow was the last thing I really wanted to see all day long. We figured “anyone can do 10 miles.” But our 10 miles seemed like 20.

With about 5 miles to go, I had a message from my dad asking if I’d talked with my Uncle Walt about meeting me on trail. I knew my Uncle had mentioned meeting me at the next highway, but thought it wouldn’t hurt to see if he was available for a Sunday drive. We were in luck! The one day he actually checked his phone and he was just hanging out at home. He was out the door and on his way to Sonoara Pass to meet us (from Modesto). It’s over a 2 hour drive so when he said he was on his way I was super excited.

The snow was deep most of the way to the highway. As the trail was mostly on that north-facing slope, the melt was hardly in effect. In fact, there was so much snow we talked with some guys up top who had hiked in so that they could ski down. No really, there’s too much snow when you’re hiking in between 2 skiers bombing down the same hillside. We took a short cut down the left side of the trail to avoid some snow about the last mile down. We were both over the whole day. The sidetrail wasn’t much better as it wasn’t really a trail and we ended up on a steep hillside and eventually back in slushy snow only to posthole the rest of the way down. Actually, we did get one glissade in so that made up for the erroneous detour offtrail. I like the glissades.

So in the end, you all know Uncle Walt saved the day and became a TrailAngel!! He was waiting for us when we arrived at the bottom on the trail at Highway 108. We were out of water and low on snacks when we got there. He had brought Snapple drinks in a cooler and already had a place in mind for some grub–best tasting Snapple EVER! He drove us into Kennedy Meadows North to pick up our boxes and then down to the town of Strawberry for a burger and RootBeer Floats.

I should mention, the previous plan between Justin and I was to grab the boxes at KM (which would have been an 8.5 mile hitchhike or road walk to the West). We also discussed going into Bridgeport (30 miles to the East) so that Justin could let his trench foot breathe (yup, I said that, gross) and I could visit a doctor. Uncle Walt upped the ante by offering us a ride down to Modesto (and back of course) and a cozy place to stay. Justin agreed and the rest is history.

By the time we made the drive down from Strawberry, showered and cleaned up, we were ready to eat again. Uncle Walt took us to his neighborhood watering hole, UNOs, for pizza and beer. I went with his recommendation of Cheeseburger Pizza–which is not on the menu–and it was kinda the best of both worlds. Yum!

June 2, 2018

Mile 990-1006

Passed the 1000 mile mark today. Pretty cool, but I figured it’s my 875 mile, I’ll take that.

Today started better. We had decent trail for the first 6.5 miles Before the Dorothy Lake Pass. Then it all just fell apart. It took us almost 3 hours to go 2.5 miles. Snow, post holing, route finding. And just down right tired bodies. Short version of a long day.

We eventually made it over the pass which felt like a huge relief. We then had to cross a creek not once but twice, which is always a pain. We took break after the 2nd crossing to recollect our thoughts again. Still miles to be had.

Making it over the Dorothy Lake Pass was the exit point as well for us of the Yosemite National Park. It seems like it went by so fast, but man it was tough when I look back.

We are camped at mile 1006. We have 10.7 miles to Highway 108 where we will then have to road walk 8.5 miles to get to KM North. We are thinking of going into Bridgeport and discuss options from there.

I’m tired. And torn. Not sure what the right decision is going forward. I know I will not want to deal with any more snow travel. This is not the hike I expected it to be thus far. Maybe I was naive to think that; but plenty of others have wondered as well. I’d like to continue, but id also like to go home. Maybe take a break. Maybe I’ll want to come back. I don’t know. I do know that this has been really tough. I can say this, looking back to Thursday when I walked that icy ridge just above the raging Rancheria Creek, nope, I wouldn’t want to do that again.

There are so many things about these past few days I didn’t write about. So many feelings of doubt. I saw my life flash before my eyes in one crossing. I froze with fear on top of a log in another crossing. I know I have joked about “surviving” situations, but those situations did not compare to the days I had this week. I have cried over those moments. I sat on the end of the log crying–trying to get my wits back in place. I didn’t come out here thinking I would conquer fears but man, did they ever slap me in the face.

I’m looking forward to getting out tomorrow. The reality is we are really low on food now. I gave my extra meal to Justin. So for tomorrow’s day all I have are a bag of m&ms, 2 packs of ShotBloks, a Luna bar and a Kind bar. Nothing really sustainable, but it’s going to have to fuel me for 10 miles in the snow uphill.

I guess that’s the short version of the long story. Goodnight.

Justin captioned this: …”even the sign gave up.”