Did you know about Mountain Yellow-legged Frog? (D-21 383.9 - 406.6 plus 1.5 miles & D-22 406.6

Did you know about Mountain Yellow-legged Frog? (D-21 383.9 - 406.6 plus 1.5 miles & D-22 406.6 - 430.4)

Encountered this trail angel, Cheshire Cat, within 2 hrs of starting the hike yesterday (D-21) morning and he offered sweet, juicy fresh fruit. Took a piece of honey dew melon and an apple.

Breakfast

And this is the reason for the title:

Thanks to this frog, a section of the trail was closed and all hikers had to long detour walking on the highway and then a side trail before joining the PCT, which added 1.5 miles extra 😬. The frog species better survive for making us all go thru the extra miles 🙂.

While walking thru the side trail, we came across this brilliant red plant, called the Snow Plant per another hiker, in the middle of all the brown:

The obligatory rattlesnake photo:

And, a little bit of trail magic near the end of yesterday - Tootsie Rolls and boiled eggs. Strange combination! Skipped the eggs.

Trail magic today, thanks to a friend of a fellow-hiker:

All the hikers resting in the shade of the truck, after the beer, and before the long, hot climb this afternoon.

I thought the trail looked nice here

Finally, the tent site tonight

Data:

D-21

D-22

Comments

LisaB said…

The snow plant is really neat! I was curious and looked up more info. Apparently it is edible and can be cooked like asparagus, however it is rare and is therefore protected in CA so it is illegal to pick or disturb it. Kind of cool that one protected species (the frog) allowed you to see a different protected species. Thanks for sharing! - Lisa

May 9, 2022 at 5:56 PM

My gear and my tramily (D-97 @ 2148 - Zero day)

Some of you have asked about what gear I am using. Since today is a Zero day (the last Zero day was on D-57) and there is nothing much to report other than the fact that I shipped the last set of resupply boxes to different places in Washington state and ate substantial amounts of food today, I figured I might as well talk about my gear, and also a bit about the other most essential component on the hike - my "tramily" (trail-family). Tent : 1-person Rainbow Li from Tarptent (bought new). This has worked very well for me and as you know from my earlier posts, Tarptent has given very good customer service too. I haven't had the chance to use the tent in heavy rain or snow (luckily) though and can't comment on it. I use a Tyvek ground sheet (already owned), also from Tarptent. Backpack : Catalyst from ULA (already owned). I started with Zpack Arc Air Robic 60L (bought new) and used it for 700 miles, but it was not comfortable at...

Monthly Data Update (M-4; Day 91 to 118)

All data below in italics is for M-1, M-2 & M-3 respectively, for comparison. M-4 is 28 days (all other months were 30 days) Distance traveled on PCT: 702 mi / 1130 km ( 631 mi / 1015 km; 554 mi / 892 km; 798 mi /1284 km ) Total time: 281 ( 280; 280; 320 ) hours Total ascent: 126,923 ft / 38,686 m ( 117,830 ft/35,915 m; 99,040 ft/30,190 m; 123,951 ft/37,780 m ) Total descent: 128,161 ft / 39,063 m ( 115,912 ft/35,330 m; 99,730 ft/30,400 m; 123,921 ft/37,771 m ) Highest point: 7174 ft / 2187 m ( 9407 ft/2867 m; 13,120 ft/4000 m; 7580 ft/2310 m ) Average distance/day: 25 mi / 40 km ( 21 mi/34 km; 18.7 mi/30.1 km; 26.6 mi/42.8 km ) Average distance/hiking day: 26 mi / 42 km ( 21.8 mi/35.1 km; 21.3 mi/34.3 km; 26.6 mi/42.8 km ) Average time hiking/day: 10.0 ( 9.3; 9.3; 10.7) hours (incl Nero days) Average pace: 2.6 mph/4.2 kmph ( 2.3 mph/3.6 kmph; 2.0 mph/3.2 kmph; 2.5 mph/4.0 kmph ) Number of Zero days:...

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 ...

A thru-hike attempt

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