So nice to be somewhere that is not in the woods!
I have really been missing Aloe on the trail and have been looking forward to seeing my friends from Newberg so this is going to be a great trail detour! So much has happened in the last few weeks, I need a break from hiking.
After a tearful goodbye with Aloe in Ashland I started off, determined to finish the trail as fast as possible and get back to real life. Unfortunately, my motivation was sapped, I was sad Aloe was gone, and everyone else I was hiking with was also feeling the 2,000 mile blues. I made it to Crater Lake in good time and was just about to get back on the trail when Das Boot and $5 convinced me to go to the dinner buffet with them. I ate so much I puked, it was awesome.
After Crater Lake (beautiful! by the way), I met up with Smokey and Blue and hiked with them for a while. We ended up yellow-blazing (hitchhiking ahead) with Boot and $5 to Shelter cove for pizza and beer. We had a great time, then hiked about 3 miles the next day to Willamette pass Ski area for more pizza. For the next few days everyone felt pretty lazy and it took us forever to get to Sisters.
Sisters was a lot of fun. I saw a lot of people I hadn't seen since Ashland and we squeezed 8 hikers into one tiny hotel room. We saw and movie and did a lot of general lazing around. Surprisingly, I got back on trail pretty early the next day with Smokey and Blue.
The next morning I was awakened by rain. We hiked 13 miles and then decided to hole up for a while, hoping the torrential downpour would pass. We huddled in Smokey's huge tent and played Uno for a few hours, waiting for the rain to stop. I finally decided to keep on and said goodbye and took off by myself. The rain didn't let up the next day, in fact it got worse, and it got cold. I finally decided I couldn't hike any more and set up my tent (which was already soaked) and got in my sleeping bag (also soaked) and tried to battle hypothermia. It was pretty awful.
After a few hours, the rain was still coming down and I didn't know what to do. Finally, Carhartt hiked by and informed me that there was a shelter about 4 miles from where I was! We booked it to the shelter, made a fire and I was very thankful that I didn't die in the Jefferson wilderness.
Took off the next day for Timberline. My feet were killing me, probably had something to do with the fact that my shoes have 1,400 miles on them and are basically worthless at this point. After a painful hike to Timberline (and an amazing lunch buffet) I decided I was done hiking in Oregon and hitchhiked to Portland.
I'm going to be here until Tuesday, visiting friends, watching football and generally being lazy. It is going to be great!
Love all of you,
Splinter
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Etna, CA to Ashland, OR
Whaddup all?!
We are finally in OR! This is a huge milestone and we are super psyched to have come 1,700 miles already. This last section was a lot of fun and went by fast.
Aloe and I met back up in Etna after a long separation. It was a super cool town with a park where you can camp for a free and a brewery with free beer for hikers. We stayed in town a lot longer than we thought and hung out with all the other hikers. We took off for Seied Vally and made it there in 3 days. A friend of ours tried the pancake challenge there (5lbs of pancakes in 2 hrs) and failed. Aloe's knees were hurting so she decided to yellowblaze (hitchhike) to Ashland with Whiskey Jet. I hiked with Warren and Luna across the border (woohoo!) and into Ashland in about 2.5 days.
We have been chillin in Ashland for a few days, but will probably get back on trail today. It is a really fun town, we have seen a free play and a free movie at the library. The hostel is full of hikers and we all had a huge feast last night.
Things are looking up! We'll be in Portland around the first week of September and are looking forward to seeing friends.
Love all of you,
Splinter & Aloe
We are finally in OR! This is a huge milestone and we are super psyched to have come 1,700 miles already. This last section was a lot of fun and went by fast.
Aloe and I met back up in Etna after a long separation. It was a super cool town with a park where you can camp for a free and a brewery with free beer for hikers. We stayed in town a lot longer than we thought and hung out with all the other hikers. We took off for Seied Vally and made it there in 3 days. A friend of ours tried the pancake challenge there (5lbs of pancakes in 2 hrs) and failed. Aloe's knees were hurting so she decided to yellowblaze (hitchhike) to Ashland with Whiskey Jet. I hiked with Warren and Luna across the border (woohoo!) and into Ashland in about 2.5 days.
We have been chillin in Ashland for a few days, but will probably get back on trail today. It is a really fun town, we have seen a free play and a free movie at the library. The hostel is full of hikers and we all had a huge feast last night.
Things are looking up! We'll be in Portland around the first week of September and are looking forward to seeing friends.
Love all of you,
Splinter & Aloe
Monday, August 10, 2009
Portland, OR
Splinter can comment about this later with his thoughts.
This past two weeks that I've been in Portland, Splinter has had some adventures. When he reached Old Station, CA the trail was closed down. This was due to a huge wildfire in the area. He couldn't get the package of food I sent and had to find a ride to the next town. After detouring a hundred miles or so to Burney, he was ready to start back out. Unfortunetly the fire spread and they wouldn't allow hikers to continue. He is now with a huge amount of pcters who are stuck. They all drove to the next town, Castella. From there they got the green light and are now hiking to Etna. In Etna I will be meeting up with Luke and we'll continue. Continue at a very slow pace that is. Splinter told me the other day that he did a 36 miler.
I miss Splin like crazy and can't wait to get back to him
I hope everyone enjoys the pictures, sorry they took so long, but having internet is another nice thing about being in civilization. Until next time,
Aloe
This past two weeks that I've been in Portland, Splinter has had some adventures. When he reached Old Station, CA the trail was closed down. This was due to a huge wildfire in the area. He couldn't get the package of food I sent and had to find a ride to the next town. After detouring a hundred miles or so to Burney, he was ready to start back out. Unfortunetly the fire spread and they wouldn't allow hikers to continue. He is now with a huge amount of pcters who are stuck. They all drove to the next town, Castella. From there they got the green light and are now hiking to Etna. In Etna I will be meeting up with Luke and we'll continue. Continue at a very slow pace that is. Splinter told me the other day that he did a 36 miler.
I miss Splin like crazy and can't wait to get back to him
I hope everyone enjoys the pictures, sorry they took so long, but having internet is another nice thing about being in civilization. Until next time,
Aloe
Monday, August 3, 2009
Portland, OR
Hi -
Well, here I am, living it up in Portland for the last week. I've been hanging out with friends and getting chores done. I tried to send Splinter two food packages this week and every time he gets there before the box! He is doing crazy miles and is enjoying himself. He's hiked with Ben, a guy from Scotland and Gravitron. They did 32 miles the other day! I'm going to have to send any more packages WAY ahead. Which brings me to the next info: I'll be staying here another week. I've been able to work at the Coffee shop (my previous job) for quite a few hours and need to get in some more. The trip is a bit more expensive than we originally planned. It's okay though, I'll be back soon enough!
Some might get upset that I'll be skipping over 200 miles while I'm here. To them I scoff and ignore. I am hiking from one end of the country to other. I don't care about mileage and the end goal. This trip is about an adventure. It's about cool towns like Idylwild and Tehechapi. Amazing trail angels that renew my faith in human spirit. It's about finding out who I want to be and the confidence to live that way. I am having a wonderful time and a relaxing necessary break. So there!
Hope everyone is also wonderful, and that you enjoy our pictures!
love,
Aloe
Well, here I am, living it up in Portland for the last week. I've been hanging out with friends and getting chores done. I tried to send Splinter two food packages this week and every time he gets there before the box! He is doing crazy miles and is enjoying himself. He's hiked with Ben, a guy from Scotland and Gravitron. They did 32 miles the other day! I'm going to have to send any more packages WAY ahead. Which brings me to the next info: I'll be staying here another week. I've been able to work at the Coffee shop (my previous job) for quite a few hours and need to get in some more. The trip is a bit more expensive than we originally planned. It's okay though, I'll be back soon enough!
Some might get upset that I'll be skipping over 200 miles while I'm here. To them I scoff and ignore. I am hiking from one end of the country to other. I don't care about mileage and the end goal. This trip is about an adventure. It's about cool towns like Idylwild and Tehechapi. Amazing trail angels that renew my faith in human spirit. It's about finding out who I want to be and the confidence to live that way. I am having a wonderful time and a relaxing necessary break. So there!
Hope everyone is also wonderful, and that you enjoy our pictures!
love,
Aloe
Friday, July 24, 2009
Mammoth Lakes to South Lake Tahoe, CA
WHEW!
We are here in South Lake Tahoe, which is a very nice place. The lake is really pretty and we got to stay in a hotel room for only $35 last night. It was wonderful to have a shower and a bed!
We had a very tough section this last bit, although I feel like we say that in every blog. Aloe is still getting over being sick and the terrain was much more difficult that we thought. In Yosemite We took a few extra days in the Valley to rest up, which was great. We saw all the famous stuff (El Cap, halfdome, Ansel Adams Gallery etc..) We even met an amazing family who comes to Yosemite every year. They feed us and we had a great time chatting. Thanks you guys!!
We ended up having to stop in Bridgeport, CA early to get more food b/c we went too slowly, and now are hanging out by the beautiful Tahoe lake. The slow walking will be over for a little while since Aloe is going back to Portland for a visit and Splinter will be continuing on by himself. We will miss each other, but excited for our own seperate adventures. Aloe will relax and get a lot done at home while Splinter is going to try and get in some 30 mile days. Until next time!
love,
Splinter and Aloe
We are here in South Lake Tahoe, which is a very nice place. The lake is really pretty and we got to stay in a hotel room for only $35 last night. It was wonderful to have a shower and a bed!
We had a very tough section this last bit, although I feel like we say that in every blog. Aloe is still getting over being sick and the terrain was much more difficult that we thought. In Yosemite We took a few extra days in the Valley to rest up, which was great. We saw all the famous stuff (El Cap, halfdome, Ansel Adams Gallery etc..) We even met an amazing family who comes to Yosemite every year. They feed us and we had a great time chatting. Thanks you guys!!
We ended up having to stop in Bridgeport, CA early to get more food b/c we went too slowly, and now are hanging out by the beautiful Tahoe lake. The slow walking will be over for a little while since Aloe is going back to Portland for a visit and Splinter will be continuing on by himself. We will miss each other, but excited for our own seperate adventures. Aloe will relax and get a lot done at home while Splinter is going to try and get in some 30 mile days. Until next time!
love,
Splinter and Aloe
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Independence to Mammoth Lakes, CA
Holy smokeys! This has been by far our craziest section, let me tell you all about it:
We started out from Ind feeling good. Got over Kearsarge with full packs and hooved it to Charlotte Lake to chill with some hiker buddies. The next day we were all lazy. Left camp late, stopped to jump in a 11,000 ft-high lake (cold!) and finally got up enough gumption to climb Glenn Pass (12,000 ft). I broke my walking stick sliding down the snow on the other side :( and we feasted on trout that Whiskey Jett caught us all for lunch. That night I started feeling lousy and we all stopped early.
Woke up the next day and I was sick. I guess climbing up to 12,000+ feet every day for the past five days caught up with me. We spent a day sleeping and puking and I didn't feel much better the next morning. We decided we would try to at least get over Pinchot Pass (12,300 ft) and I was in hell the whole time, stopping every half mile to lay on the ground and pant. The next day I felt a little better and we did Mather Pass (11,900 ft), probably the most technical pass on the trail. By that evening I was feeling a lot better.
I woke up the next day ready to take on Muir, the last pass over 11,000 ft, and also the longest. But of course, Jana was now sick.
We took another zero day, feeling discouraged while we watched our food dwindle. The next day we made 7 miles, barely, and didn't even get near the pass.
Jana was feeling no better the next day and we decided she needed to get into a town. I really didn't want to miss the rest of this section, which has some of the most beautiful scenery on the entire trail. She finally convinced me to let her go through Bishop pass (12,000 ft) into the town of Bishop while I went on to Mammoth Lakes.
Everything worked out pretty good, here's what happen to me:
Left Jana the morning of the 4th (my b-day, and nation's too, by the way) and hiked 23 miles over Muir Pass (beautiful), a great way to spend my birthday. I missed Jana of course, but I was consoled by Marmots and the most beautiful views I have ever seen. Busted out 23 miler-s for the next 2 days and got to Mammoth on the afternoon of the fourth day (11 total days since my last town). I was so happy to get to town and get some real food, a shower and a beer! Found Jana and heard her story over some much-needed greasy McD's burgers.
Jana's story:
Made it half way up Bishop Pass on her first day, still feeling lousy. Made it over the Pass on the second day and met up with a day-hiker who lived in Bishop. She got to talking to him, told him her story and he offered to let her come stay the night with him and his wife! They were super nice, gave her a guest room, fed her and drove her around town. She even had her own b-room! The next day they drove her to Mammoth where she met up with Mover, a PCT friend. They hung out in Mammoth, sampled local cuisine and camped at the campground. The next day she hung out in town until she met up with me.
Oh, the whole time my Spot Tracker wasn't working and she was super worried about me. Poor thing.
Well, now we are kicking it in Mammoth, a nice little ski town and are relaxing it up until we get back out to the mountains.
We have the best parents on earth, by the way. They are paying for us to stay in a motel while we get some much needed R&R! If you see any of our parents, give them huge hugs!
We love you all. We're glad to be alive and healthy and are having the time of our lives!
Sorry for this tome, now you can get back to your lives :)
Splinter and Aloe
P.S. Still no pictures! There will be tons when we get a chance to update. You should be excited, they are good.
We started out from Ind feeling good. Got over Kearsarge with full packs and hooved it to Charlotte Lake to chill with some hiker buddies. The next day we were all lazy. Left camp late, stopped to jump in a 11,000 ft-high lake (cold!) and finally got up enough gumption to climb Glenn Pass (12,000 ft). I broke my walking stick sliding down the snow on the other side :( and we feasted on trout that Whiskey Jett caught us all for lunch. That night I started feeling lousy and we all stopped early.
Woke up the next day and I was sick. I guess climbing up to 12,000+ feet every day for the past five days caught up with me. We spent a day sleeping and puking and I didn't feel much better the next morning. We decided we would try to at least get over Pinchot Pass (12,300 ft) and I was in hell the whole time, stopping every half mile to lay on the ground and pant. The next day I felt a little better and we did Mather Pass (11,900 ft), probably the most technical pass on the trail. By that evening I was feeling a lot better.
I woke up the next day ready to take on Muir, the last pass over 11,000 ft, and also the longest. But of course, Jana was now sick.
We took another zero day, feeling discouraged while we watched our food dwindle. The next day we made 7 miles, barely, and didn't even get near the pass.
Jana was feeling no better the next day and we decided she needed to get into a town. I really didn't want to miss the rest of this section, which has some of the most beautiful scenery on the entire trail. She finally convinced me to let her go through Bishop pass (12,000 ft) into the town of Bishop while I went on to Mammoth Lakes.
Everything worked out pretty good, here's what happen to me:
Left Jana the morning of the 4th (my b-day, and nation's too, by the way) and hiked 23 miles over Muir Pass (beautiful), a great way to spend my birthday. I missed Jana of course, but I was consoled by Marmots and the most beautiful views I have ever seen. Busted out 23 miler-s for the next 2 days and got to Mammoth on the afternoon of the fourth day (11 total days since my last town). I was so happy to get to town and get some real food, a shower and a beer! Found Jana and heard her story over some much-needed greasy McD's burgers.
Jana's story:
Made it half way up Bishop Pass on her first day, still feeling lousy. Made it over the Pass on the second day and met up with a day-hiker who lived in Bishop. She got to talking to him, told him her story and he offered to let her come stay the night with him and his wife! They were super nice, gave her a guest room, fed her and drove her around town. She even had her own b-room! The next day they drove her to Mammoth where she met up with Mover, a PCT friend. They hung out in Mammoth, sampled local cuisine and camped at the campground. The next day she hung out in town until she met up with me.
Oh, the whole time my Spot Tracker wasn't working and she was super worried about me. Poor thing.
Well, now we are kicking it in Mammoth, a nice little ski town and are relaxing it up until we get back out to the mountains.
We have the best parents on earth, by the way. They are paying for us to stay in a motel while we get some much needed R&R! If you see any of our parents, give them huge hugs!
We love you all. We're glad to be alive and healthy and are having the time of our lives!
Sorry for this tome, now you can get back to your lives :)
Splinter and Aloe
P.S. Still no pictures! There will be tons when we get a chance to update. You should be excited, they are good.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Independence, CA
(so, I will write this blog as if it was a week ago and I am actually in Independence. Splinter will update you after that)
WE ROCK! In the last three days we've climbed Mt Whitney, (14,500 ft) (Oh yeah, the tallest mountain the contiguous U.S.) Forester Pass, (13,200 ft) and Kersarge Pass (11,700 ft). We are feeling young and strong! After finishing the desert, this is quite the way to start off the Sierras! Independence is a tiny tiny little town so we went into Lone Pine to resupply. We hung out with Buddy, Strider, Garbanzo and her dog Stink. We are feeling good so we're gonna rush out of here this morning thanks to an awesome trail angel couple who is giving 10 hikers a ride up to the trailhead.
Interesting fact: i just found out that the PCT is approx 14million feet long. chew on that!!
love,
Aloe
WE ROCK! In the last three days we've climbed Mt Whitney, (14,500 ft) (Oh yeah, the tallest mountain the contiguous U.S.) Forester Pass, (13,200 ft) and Kersarge Pass (11,700 ft). We are feeling young and strong! After finishing the desert, this is quite the way to start off the Sierras! Independence is a tiny tiny little town so we went into Lone Pine to resupply. We hung out with Buddy, Strider, Garbanzo and her dog Stink. We are feeling good so we're gonna rush out of here this morning thanks to an awesome trail angel couple who is giving 10 hikers a ride up to the trailhead.
Interesting fact: i just found out that the PCT is approx 14million feet long. chew on that!!
love,
Aloe
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