… a long arduous journey, especially one made on foot.
Dateline: Bishop, CA (20180725)
Although not a part of the official Pacific Crest Trail, the side hike to the top of Mount Whitney, at 14,505′ the highest point in the contiguous United States, most PCT hikers attempt to summit the mountain. For many reasons, many do not make it. Weather, physical conditions, and time constraints top the list for reasons for PCT hikers to fail to reach the top. To see if Rob made it, watch the video.
Fair winds
Dateline: Bishop, CA (20180725)
After a six week hiatus, Rob is back on the Pacific Crest Trail. He’s starting at Kennedy Meadows, considered the southern gateway to the Sierras and headed to Crabtree Meadow, the junction to the trail headed to the Mount Whitney. The trip starts a bit hot and dry, but builds to be plenty cool and wet. See for yourself in the video linked below.
Fair winds
Dateline: Kennedy Meadows Campground, Lone Pine, CA (20180716)
It has been a while, but I’m headed back to the trail. The PCT has been calling. Or maybe those are just the voices in my head. I’m headed into the Sierras and there is little cellular coverage and Wi-Fi is rare. So, you’ll have to wait for video and pictures, but you can keep track of my progress at Find Rob.
Fair winds
Dateline: Vista, CA (20180615)
The great majority of people that begin to hike the PCT never finish it. Life gets in the way. Sometimes its related to the trail. Often it has nothing to do with it.
I came off trail planning to spend about three weeks to rehab a knee and let a twisted ankle recover. I also came off trail because someone very close to me was having some minor surgery during that period. Actually, not ‘minor surgery’. Minor surgery is what doctor’s do to someone you don’t know. So, it was surgery.
Well, the surgery didn’t go exactly as planned. Rather than a minor procedure completed in a surgery center, that visit became an exploratory procedure that is leading to a major surgery to be completed in a hospital. So, I’m going to stick around.
I’ll be off trail for the foreseeable future, but likely until mid to late July. When I get back on trail, I’ll post it here. Until then…
Fair winds
Dateline: Vista, CA (20180614)
Although I’ve been a sailor since I was 13 and a backpacker since I was around 20, it’s only when I started planning this trip to hike the Pacific Crest Trail that I’ve realized the strong similarities between these two activities. There are some differences, but many are differences only in magnitude, not requirements. Are they truly the same? You be the judge.
Continue reading “Cruising on a Sailboat vs. Backpacking – Is there really a difference?”
Dateline: McDonald’s, Cajon Pass, California (20180530)
The Pacific Crest Trail: California Section C starts and ends in the desert with freeways and trains, but has the mountains of San Bernardino with Big Bear and Silverwood Lakes in the middle. It’s a 132 miles of Southern California PCT. Follow along on this next leg of the journey.
Fair winds
Dateline: Big Bear Lake, California (20180524)
I finished California’s Section B of the Pacific Crest Trail about a week ago, but today is the first day I’ve had WiFi, or good cellular coverage for that matter. There’s a lot more back country out there than I realized by driving though it at 70 miles an hour. Walking gives you a much more detailed perspective. The video below continues to follow this trek north on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Fair winds
Dateline: Warner Springs, CA (20180509)
Our PCT adventure has begun and it has more learning than expected. Both cold and heat played a role. Water and food consumption were both radically different than expected. In the desert, I was needing a third to a half again as much water as I had needed on my training hikes. And losing over 14 lbs in 10 days, I know I’ve got to consumer more calories on future hikes than I have been in Section A. It’s not that I didn’t have the food. I simply didn’t have the appetite. Reflections on those items and much more are in the video that follows.
I apologize for the long video. I didn’t have time to produce a short one. I’m back on the trail to start Section B this morning.
Fair winds
Dateline: Campo, California (20280501)
It’s begun. I am on the trail!
Fair winds
Dateline: Estes Park, Colorado (20180415)
With 2 weeks and 2 days left before embarking on the Pacific Crest Trail, I had the opportunity to take another quick training hike with my son Ken, the Task Master. To date, all of my training has been near sea level in temperate Southern California conditions. At sea level, I can put in the miles and achieve the elevation gain. However, jumping up to 9000′, putting on a pack, dropping the temperature, and hiking on snow was something I wanted to do to test both myself and some of my gear. Conclusion: New clothing tech is AMAZING and I’m ready to go!
For the record:
Fair winds