Monday was spent emailing back and forth with Joe Valesko, owner of ZPacks. Once he understood the issue he sent a new hip belt out express overnight. He also beefed-up the cloth channel the frame bar goes through with larger webbing. These are new packs for this year and may still have a couple of … Continue reading Equipment Failure – Resolved!

My pack is broken... See below. It was a Sunday morning. In hindsight, not the best time to hitch. There weren't many cars going past, and most of those were woman (who as a rule don't pick up male hitch hikers) and people in their antique cars out for a Sunday drive.  After 30 minutes … Continue reading Equipment Failure!  Stuck in Wrightwood

Wrightwood is a nice town and hiker friendly.  As usual I was up early and nothing was open except the coffee grind, which gave me tea for free this morning!  He even allowed several hikers to sleep on his covered deck overnight. Real nice guy.  The Pines Motel might rate one or two stars in … Continue reading On to Acton – Mt Baden Powell

McDonalds at Cajon Pass was way more fun than I anticipated; it was a hiker hangout. We arrived just as it started to rain again. It was relaxing sitting inside watching the rain. One lady, Thunder Bunny spent the previous night under I-15 and then spent the whole day in McDonalds.  While I was there, … Continue reading Wrightwood

Two things left out of the previous post: I'm over 300 miles!  I'm at 344 right now. There is a picture of me overlooking Big Bear below.  Thursday --------- It was cloudy when I left the hot springs at 5am. The temperature was cool and never warmed up throughout the day. The wind came up … Continue reading Cajon Pass

Tuesday -------- The "Hiker Hunger" finally hit. I even know the moment it did.  Leaving Big Bear was hard. Outside of the winter, the PCT hikers are the tourists and we were welcomed with "Hiker Discounts" and warm smiles. It was a great way to relax and enjoy the town.  But the trail must be … Continue reading Deep Creek Hot Springs

It's 6am and I can't get back to sleep. At least my roommate, a nice young man from France here to get boxing lessons (??) was quiet.  I finally decide to wash my clothes, which in hindsight I should have done last night with all the others.  Of course, damp clothes are in the dryer, … Continue reading Big Bear, waiting on shoes 

It was a wonderful night on the ridge; quiet, no wind and only 40deg. I woke rested and slept in a bit, being lazy. Most of the elevation gain needed was yesterday and it was an easy two days of 24 miles to hwy-18.  Then I checked the weather report: chance of thunderstorms tonight. Peachy.  … Continue reading March to Big Bear, day 3

Friday ------------- The goal was to make Mission Creek at 16 miles and at 3000ft, possibly cooler.  Playing it safe, I left Ziggy's at 3:45am.  Other than 10 minutes wandering around finding the Trail Head, it was pretty smooth leaving.  The moon was nearly full but was setting, so I left in the warm morning … Continue reading March to Big Bear, days 1 & 2

The afternoon at Ziggy's was low key, but nice. I mostly lounged around sipping water. There had been a Pizza run earlier for lunch and several boxes of cold pizza were still available.  I had two slices and couldn't eat any more. I am convinced I'm not eating enough and I should have more energy … Continue reading Ziggy’s day 2