PCT 2020 part 1 Start (0/Aprl 29) to Kennedy Meadows South(680.8/May 30).

Before I start to tell of my adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail I would like to thank some people for helping make this journey a little easier. Laurie for helping with all the resupply. This saved me a lot of time out there. John for picking me up at Harts Pass in WA and giving me a ride home. John, Linda, Roger, Laurie, Scott, Leila and my daughter, Brenda and her family for coming to see me and bring me treats at some of the road crossing. As you can imagine, the same diet for months on end can get dull. Last, I would like to thank all the people I meet on the trail and in the town for all they did to make me feel welcome and enhance this experience. 

What is the PCT? 

2,653 miles on a trail between Campo CA and the USA/Canada border. 

489,418 feet of elevation gain and 488,411 feet of elevation loss on the PCT.

The high point is 13,153 at Forester Pass in CA. The low point is just above sea level at the town of Cascade Locks OR

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Crest_Trail

I will break this trip down into sections

Start to Sierras

  

Here I am at the southern terminus of the PCT on April 29 2020. I flew in to San Diego from Seattle. It took me three buses to get to the town of Campo where the terminus is about a one hour walk away. I saw five border patrol vehicles as I did this section. One of them saw me and stopped to chat. 

The desert is not flat. This was my first misconception. Here are a few photos for this section. 

I meet a few friends along the way. 

Young couple I meet on day 2.

My shadow that was with most of the time. 

I saw these dudes most everyday in this section. 

Gentleman who checks this water supple  here. 

Gal is fellow PCT hiker and guy is trail angel who gave us fruit and ice-cream. This is a real treat in places like this. 

Rock formation. I wish I could have jumped on and gone for a ride. 

PCT hiker Case and Momma Bear. MB is a trail angel that had soda, fruit and water for us. 

Giggles, I spent a couple days hiking and camping with him. 

Some Off road people that gave me a sandwich and snacks. 

At the bud farm. My new buddy.

At Action KOA. Fellow PCT  hikers. 

I saw lots of these. They did not want to sit still for photos very often. 

Part of trail family I hung with for a few days. Snack size, Joy ride, Pittsburg, Cinderella.

Pittsburg, Cinderella and Mother ship.

Trail family on LA aqua duct. Me, Pittsburg, Joy ride, Cinderella and Mother ship. 

Can you see me? This guy does not move unless you are going to step on him

A nice and slow fellow taking his time in life. 

One interesting thing about this section in getting water for yourself. I use 5 to 8 liters of water per day. Sometimes I had to walk up to 1/2 mile off trail, usually downhill,  to the water source. There were times when I had to walk 20 miles between water sources. There were sections where the water source was provided by some generous person for us PCT hikers. Without people like this, it would be a very long way between water sources. 

Nice easy source for water. 

Not as nice, but easy to access. I always filter my water. 

Note water bottles filled in the tub. These would be refilled once they were empty. 

Again, water in bottles to be refilled once we get what we need. Some of these places ask for a small fee to help with the cost. 

Water tanks at Mike's place with water for us. 

This is Mary's place. She had water, outhouse, portable shower and covered picnic tables for us. Her place comes after Mikes place. On this day all my water came from the generosity of people who own land on the trail. 

Kind of ugly. When you need water and will walk 1/3 of a mile down hill to get it, you do not complain. 

One of those water sources where I walked to get. I am thankful that they are here. A lot of these have a sulfur smell. 

Look what is around here. The gov put this source in for the hikers. Your tax dollars at work. 

An oasis in a very dry place. 

You make due with what is out there. Note all my supplies for getting water and filtering it. 

Generous people, thanks. 

One the springs on the trail. 

Mother ship and I getting water from a tank someone built. We had to pre filter the water first to get the floaties out before running it through our filters. 

One of the springs for getting water. 

Thanks to who keeps this water supply filled. It is a bit warm here. 

The last thing I want to show you from this section is some of the flowers and plants I saw along the way. I do not know the names of them. I would enjoy them every day on this section. The desert is a very beautiful place and harsh place. 

I finished this section on May 30 at mile marker 680.8 on the PCT. This is day 32 on the trail. 

Please stay tuned for more sections on my PCT journey. 

What I am bringing on the PCT

What I am bringing

In making the choices of what to bring, I considered cost, weight and convenience of each item. Someone doing a trip like this could spend more than I did and have less weight to carry.


As far as cost of gear goes, I used a lot of what I had already for this trip. I have been playing in the Cascades for over 30 years in all seasons.  Most items I bought were on sale. I was looking for well-rounded items I could use for other adventures in my life.


On weight, I am not a little person nor am I looking to set a personal best or a record of any kind in doing this hike. I lot of the lighter gear gives up some comfort and put you out there to hope for the best that all goes well. Having done much ultra-light adventures in the Cascades, I know what it is like to suffer to meet the goal of moving fast. I tried to find the balance of being light as possible and still able to enjoy what Mother Nature will throw at me for ~four months.


On convenience, the biggest question I asked myself was, does this piece of gear do what I need it to do? If the answer was yes, it is coming with me. We all have our fears in our life that dictate aspects of our lives. Preparing for this hike, how are my fears influencing what I am bringing? If you are an experienced hiker, you might think I have some items that you would not need. Having never done a backcountry outing over 10 days, I know I will pare down some items as I learn to adjust to what I need for the trail.


Item- (why I am bring it.)


Tent-Big Agnes Fly Creek High Volume UL 1 (I already owned it and it works for me)

Sleep system

Sleeping Bag-Patagonia 850 down 20 degree rating (I got it on sale and the temp rating is what I was looking for)

Sleeping pad-Nemo Tensor 20R mummy (discounted and it was the r rating I was looking for)

Nemo inflation bag/pillow/stuff sack (on sale and I did not want to blow up my pad every night for ~four months)

Thin light foam pad (It is my sit pad and I do not trust my sleeping pad 100%)

Mountain Smith sleeping bag liner, light weight-(I need to be warm to sleep; it will help keep my sleeping bag clean.)

Pack, Six moons designs, Minimalist-(Much research and going to PCT days to try different packs on.)

Cooking and water system

MSR pocket rocket-(It got good reviews)

Evernew titanium pot 900ml-(It was the size I was looking for)

Titanium spork-(It does what it is designed to do)

Swiss Army “Little Vicky” – (It does what it is designed to do)

Homemade cozy for my pot-(I like to keep my food warm)

Two Smart water bottles-(They fit on my water filter)

Sawyer squeeze water filter-(good reviews)

Four collapsible water bladders-(They take up little space and light weight)

Bear Vault BV500-(I am not willing to share my food with the bears in the Sierra)

UR Sack-(I am not willing to share my food with the other critters when not in the Sierra)

Gear to aid in travel over land

Ice axe-(I have had this for many years: used to travel on snow)

Micro Spikes-(I have had these for many years: used to travel on snow)

Black Diamond Z distance poles-(I have had these for many years: used to help with balance)

Umbrella-(Keep the sun and rain off me)


Shoes and such

La Sportiva Wildcat shoes-(They fit my feet well)

Darn Tough socks-(The standard for long trails)

Outdoor Research gaiters-(They work for me)


Electronics

Google Pixel 3 phone-(It has good battery life and takes good photos)

10,000 battery pack-(usb-c  for quick recharge, I hope this is enough juice for my phone and headlamp)

Spot gps messenger-(for calling help and checking in so others know I am ok)

2 port plug in for charging devices-(usb-c for quick charging)

I-pod-(I like my music, audio books and podcast to past the time)

Rechargeable headlamp-(This will be a huge saving in batteries)

Cords for all this stuff


Miscellanies

TP and duce of spades trowel-(One has to do their duty)

Repair kit-(to take care of my gear so it will not hinder my progress)

Small fire making kit-(You never know when you will need it)

There is probably many little things I am I will take that I am not listing here.


Clothes

Rain jacket and pants – (One has to be prepared)

Patagonia nano puff-(I have had it for many years)

OR light pile jacket-(I like to stay warm and my nano puff is not by itself)

Patagonia light vest-(I use this trail running a lot in cool weather, I figure it will do the job here)

Pants, shorts, tee shirt, long sleeve tee shirt, light weight long johns, sunhat, two beanies and some mittens. (These clothes are from my adventures of the past.  I figure if they did the job then they should do it now. )


This is not complete, but closes enough to get the idea of what I am carrying. The weight of what is in my pack is around 14 lbs. This does not include water, food, ice axe or micro spikes.

Pacific Crest Trail 2020

Hi All

I will be hiking the PCT in 2020. If you would like to follow me, here is the link for my SPOT gps device.

https://maps.findmespot.com/s/0N27

I will sent out a ok message every few days to show where I am at. I will update the blog as I have time and access to the internet with photos and information on my hiking.

If you would like to contact me, please text me on my phone. I will reply as I have time and access. I will give my phone number out to people I personally know.

Thanks for following me, reading my blog and looking at my photos.

Bye Jeff