Wind, constant wind & Trail Provides (D-4)

Finally the hike thru the "real" desert - as I had imagined it - happened today. No trees at all, only shrubs, cacti, dusty, wide flat vistas and absolutely relentless wind that almost never let up till the late evening. The wind was so strong in the second half of the day that it even literally pushed me uphill sometimes. The extra backpack weight seemed like the only thing that kept me from being blown here & there 😄. One good thing about the wind...it made the day seem cooler. And wind/sun way better than wind/rain.

I have been drinking water from 1 liter bottles that are kept in the side pocket of my pack. Unfortunately they are not easy to access and I have to carry a bottle in my hand when I need to sip it frequently. This is a pain! So, I had decided to buy a thin tube at the next town in a few days and insert it into the bottle cap to make a flexible straw to make my life easier. However, this afternoon, I came upon the water cache along with a couple of hiker boxes (where hikes leave stuff they don't need and anybody can take those for free) next to it. And one of the boxes had not one, but two drinking tubes that fit my bottles. Cleaned one up and checked it - it worked! As they say...the Trail Provides 😊

A most welcome water cache at Scissors Crossing, below the highway bridge, with water, chairs, some food, hiker boxes & trash cans

Ta-da!

Trail markers - very well-placed to make sure you don't get lost

Filtering water

Desert blooms:

My tent site:

For my data-minded friends :

Comments

[v] said…

You're totally rebelling against runners. Stopped few 100 metres short of 42.195!

Why why? 🤣

April 20, 2022 at 10:38 PM

Kavita Nair said…

Raviiiiii 300 freaking mts for a FM! why didnt you? aghhh, i am having a Sheldon brain Itch now! hhahah

April 21, 2022 at 2:16 AM

Aam Aadmi said…

Enjoyed reading the updates, learning about Trail Magic etc. The pictures are lovely and I am impressed that you got the wifi and power to keep these updates coming.

And, you stopped just short of a FM reminded me of Forrest Gump.

April 22, 2022 at 6:57 AM

Kanchan said…

Loved the pictures and your experience. Keep going Ravi. I am sure it's tough but tour descriptions make me want to try Long trails

April 23, 2022 at 9:25 AM

Vipul said…

Great going Ravi, I am just wondering is it you alone throughout the day ? Are there days when you dont see somebody at all ?

April 29, 2022 at 6:59 PM

Pleasures of being on PCT (D-16; 303.7 - 328.8 miles)

Heading out from the cowboy camping experience last night, I was looking forward to Deer Creek Hot Springs that is apparently very popular among the locals too & tended to get crowded during the weekends, even though one has to hike in a mile or so from the trailhead parking (or hike 308 miles on PCT 🙂). Reached it early enough, but still it was chock full of people - locals & thru-hikers both - most of whom had camped there overnight in spite of it being a No Camping zone. People were lazing around in some of the pools in various states of undress, as it was a clothing optional area. It was way too crowded for me and I decided to head out. But, as I was heading out, I saw a small pool of water with nobody in it and the water was pleasantly hot (not just warm). Pool I "discovered" away from the crowds Close-up of the pool Me in the pool 😋 What a lovely feeling to be in a hot pool, especially after not having had a hot

Why you shouldn't (or should) thru-hike the PCT? (D-115: 2592.1 - 2613.1 - Nero @ Mazama, D-116: 2613.1 - 2642.6)

Over the last 116 days, I have had plenty of time to think about what's good or bad about this thru-hike and just in case, one of you is thinking about doing a PCT thru-hike, here are my thoughts about why you shouldn't or should do it. Why you shouldn't do a PCT thru-hike - It is very tough physically and mentally - There is less than 50% chance that anyone starting it will finish - Almost everyone seems to have negative physical effects including weight loss, muscle loss, days & days of tired legs & feet etc - You will definitely get scratches, bruises and cuts, if you are lucky. If you are unlucky, major sprains, muscle tears & other hike-ending injuries. Btw, most people who stop do so 'cos of injuries. - You will trip & fall down multiple times (when the avg number of steps is 50000 - 70000/day over uneven paths, the law of large numbers takes over and some of those steps will lead to falls) - It is an expensive activity, with a bulk o

A thru-hike attempt... successful! (D-117: 2642.6 - 2653.6, D-117S (SOBO): 0 - 17.1, D-118S (SOBO): 17.1-30.6)

It is done! Finally, on August 10th, 2022, 117 days after I started at the US-Mexico border on April 16th, 2022, I reached the US-Canada border. Walked 2653.6 miles (4270.6 km) south-to-north through the states of California, Oregon and Washington. No bittersweet moments...just sweet relief to be done 😀. We were few of the lucky thru-hikers this year who were able to go south-to-north continuously without any interruptions. People who started even a couple of weeks earlier and maintained this pace hit a lot more snow in Seirras and a hell lot more in Washington, the latter being almost hike-stopping. By the time we got to Seirras, the snow was much more manageable, and almost all the snow had melted in Washington. People who started later or were slower have had to skip parts of Northern California due to forest fires. Even Oregon and Southern California have some fires starting already. Anyway, reached the northern terminus of the PCT yesterday morning around 8:40 am

A thru-hike attempt

Search This Blog