Changes/Additions: using older 2015 arcblast pack which weighs less stove kit liner sock + waterproof sock to keep feet warm in snow fleece rain pants camp bra (so I can change out of sweaty bra) extra pair of gloves to try out before Kilimanjaro camera kit clothing worn: convertible pants and not skirt book games … More Chilkoot Ready: Gear List II
I’ll be setting foot on the Chilkoot Trail in exactly one month from today. I’m like, oh my gosh I need to get everything ready…….and then I’m like, wait, I think I’m ready. I figure that about a week out from departure I’ll check the weather and then I will know what gear I’m taking. … More Chilkoot: One Month Out
Chilkoot Trail 2018 oz. lb. zpacks 55L arc blast with hip belt pockets 22.5 zpacks 0F wide long bag with draft tube 27.1 big agnes platinum fly creek UL1 + GG polycryo sheet, 30 oz. 30 79.6 5.0 thermarest xtherm long 16.5 gossamer gear … More Chilkoot Trail Gear List I
I’m back at home now, knee-deep into the berry harvest. There’s nothing like the meditation of picking berries and then the subsequent consumption. You can not go to the store and purchase this kind of fresh and tasty berry and so it’s tallied in the column of Smart’s Mountain blessings. Any thru-hiker would go mad … More 2017 Pacific Crest Trail Reflections
Tuesday, June 6 Start: ridgetop Stop: Tehachapi 11.5 miles Total Miles: 380 Yep, it was a bad spot to camp. The PCT joins a road atop the ridge but when hikers get there they don’t know which way to go. They go back and forth on the road, talking to their hiking buddies with headlamps … More Day 31: That’s One Way
Monday, June 5 Start: Canyon Country Stop: ridge top, mile 462.29 5.63 miles We run errands all morning going to the library, UPS store and USPS. The library was cool but they made us sign up for a membership card and then they wouldn’t let me borrow a pair of scissors. Kinda strange. A complete … More Day 30: The Reluctant Return
Wednesday, May 30 – Sunday, June 4 Five days of fun things like: Shopping at Goodwill for town clothes Going out to dinner in said town clothes Buddha finding a mall bear he could ride Fruit flies in wine and free drinks Renting a car to drive to LA Going to REI Attending a private Opus … More Days 25 – 29: The Five Zeros
Tuesday, May 30 Start: mile 407.36 Stop: Santa Clarita Travelodge 11.25 miles I awake absolutely exhausted. I slept ok but my body is tired. And the only way to get out of here is to hike. I’m climbing by 6am and our camp must have been a cool pocket of air because I very soon … More Day 24: The Great Escape
Monday, May 29 Start: Road near Little Jimmy Camp Stop: mile 407.23 23.37 miles I hike two miles into Islip Saddle by 630am. As I approach, there is a sudden scurrying. My brain goes deer. But oh, look at that white rump. The San Gabriel Bighorn Sheep kinda scatter along the roads edge but then … More Day 23: San Gabriel Bighorn Sheep
Sunday, May 28 Start: Wrightwood Stop: Little Jimmy Camp 14.6 miles It’s Memorial Day Weekend and everyone and their mother is out. The parking lot is teaming with hikers and birthday celebrators. I start the climb just after noon and here’s some of the characters I met. Now remember, the downhill hiker is suppose to … More Day 22: The Characters of Mt. Baden-Powell
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