Catching the Coat-Tails of Spiff & Polydactyl

Johann, baby Gustav, and I were in California for a wedding, and managed to cross paths with the dynamic duo on their pit-stop in Independence, CA before they hiked out of Kings Canyon and back into the mountains. It was our luck that they had packages to pick up and had to hang around for the weekend until the post office opened on Monday morning.

We shared a campsite with Sye, who slept in a sleeping bag out in the warm night. Alex slept in a hammock at the hiker-friendly Courthouse Motel a half-mile down the road. She joined up with us in the morning for a breakfast of apricots, cantaloupe, cherries, pastrami, cheese, yogurt, and fresh juice. (There were also some Danish potato pastries, but a week of inadequate refrigeration left the custard filling a little fizzy and alcoholic. Perhaps the proper word is "rancid"? But the marzipan was still good, and anyway hikers aren't terribly discriminating.)

While the PCT isn't quite cut off from civilization, (hikers do have periodic access to pay phones, internet, Tecate, or a showing of The Incredible Hulk), it seems that exciting foodstuffs are still a little hard to come by. Actually, anything unavailable at a gas station mini-mart is less than common. Which is just one little reason these two get so happy from your thoughtful and creative care packages.

After a nice hot morning, watching the two as they went about their refueling routine, reading mail, opening packages (Alex tested potential new shoes and Sye donned a screen-printed mythical walrus shirt), and mailing supplies two weeks down the road), we drove them out of the town, up into the mountains, towards the trailhead. Those are two serious super-troopers. They scuttled up that mountainside as if it were flat as a flapjack.

We walked away with some trail mail, fantasies of following them on their journey, and a few gig of photos. We uploaded the photos to a photo-sharing website, www.flickr.com/photos/gaytrees, so all can enjoy them. And for the meanwhile, we'll continue to fantasize and follow them through the photos and their posts here on Blogger.

Journey on!

More Trail Mail

Alex writes:

June 16, 2008
Mile 734.3
On top of a saddle at 10,400 feet

We're in the mountains!!! Have I mentioned I LOVE the mountains? I mean love. Head over heels, drooling and bumping into things love. There are big pine trees, pinyon and ponderosa and some I don't know, and big sequoias, and there are giant slabs of granite all around, on the sides of hills and under our feet and off to the side of the trail. There are meadows that are green, bright brilliant zingy green, and there's hellebore! Hellebore is the most poisonous plant that grows natively in Washington State, and Sye and I first really noticed it when we started using its leaves to wipe our asses years and years ago. Know why there's hellebore here? Because there's water EVERYWHERE!!!! I ran out of water today during a supposedly 4 mile dry stretch, according to the Data Book, but lo and behold, I came across a trickle of a creek right away, and then another one soon after. I LOVE water! Even the sound of it makes me smile.

The first real river we hit was the South Fork of the Kern River about 3 to 4 miles before Kennedy Meadows, the entry way to the High Sierras. Coming upon that river was incredible, perhaps one of my favorite moments on the trip thus far. We'd been hiking through a recently burned area and the trail was totally exposed. It was dry and hot and suddenly I could hear it, that wonderful gurgling and blupping, and I immediately wanted a drink and wanted to pee and wanted to immerse my whole self in that river, and I also just felt better. I could hear the water off and on for about 30 minutes before I could actually see the river, and when I finally did get to it, I had the most glorious swim. I found a spot with a swift current on one side and an eddy and pool sort of in the middle, and I could ride the current into the pool. It was like a slip 'n slide or water park ride all for me! Then when I got to Kennedy Meadows, I drank orange soda and then a Vitamin Water, ate pretzels and crackers and a half pint of Chunky Monkey. That was a good day. That was also the end of our desert stretch. Did I mention that I like mountains? And water. And Chunky Monkey.


Sye writes:

6/17/08

We're camped here at 750 miles, at the edge of Chicken Spring Lake (wonder how it got its name) and we're now, undoubtedly, out of the desert. I guess I'm a little shocked it's all behind us, and that now we're camped at 11,250 feet, fighting mosquitoes off with head nets and a breeze, and will be at the meadow below Mt. Whitney tomorrow. There's still a lot to say about the desert, about how there were no mosquitoes, and we really only had to set up the tarp once for rain, how hiking in the mornings and evenings was amazing, how we saw all different kinds of cactus flowers, and wildflowers, and lizards, and ants. So many busy ants, sometimes next to my head while sleeping. And there was the wind. But the desert seems to bring out the trail angels -- places to stay in extreme weather, caches of water & beer & soda, people in small towns who just want to chat. I have a feeling we'll see less of that friendliness from strangers, but what I really want to tell you about is where we are now. On a lake that looks much like the Enchantments in WA, in sub-alpine meadows and peaks of rock and golden crags. We're hiking slower, maybe because everyone said we would or because of the altitude, or because we don't need to get to Independence for a few days extra because the post office is closed on Saturday and Sunday. So our days are slower, with a lot more gandering at the scenery. And while I worry that we're getting to many days behind schedule, I should really just enjoy these mountains while we got them.

All the folks we spent a lot of time hiking with through the desert are in front or behind us, and I miss their company. Everyone's new again and already has their adventures in common and I suppose we feel a bit like outsiders. But everyone says, you always see people again on this trail, even if it's a few hundred miles later.


Alex writes:

June 17, 2008
Chicken Spring Lake
Mile 750.7

Today was our estimated summit date for Mt. Whitney. I guess we're 2 days behind schedule. Not bad. We've spent the last couple days wandering, or so it feels. We're only doing ≈ 16 mile days through the High Sierra, mostly because Yogi kept suggesting it, but I'm sure glad we're not pushing for 20+ miles per day like we were through Southern California. First off, it's way too beautiful to rush through. Second, I just feel so lazy -- and I'm not the only one. I want to stop all the time and rest or look at the views or take a nap. I'm thinking maybe it's the altitude. We've consistently been above 10,000 feet for the last couple days -- maybe we're just adjusting.

We got to the first alpine lake today, Chicken Spring Lake. Beautiful lake in the middle of a rocky circle with a nice meadow on the outlet side. Spiff and I promptly jumped into it upon arriving. That is, after all, the only thing to do when encountering a lake. It was 7 PM and we made it in before the sun went behind the ridge, but it was all in shade when we got out. We're sleeping above the lake tonight and we can hear the frogs chorusing down below.

Another thing I like about the Sierras: the snags are golden. Not weathered white, but weathered golden. Their wood's all twisted and spiraled too. I think they used to be fox-tail pines, but I'm not certain.


June 19, 2008
Upper Crabtree Meadow, Ranger Station
Mile 767.3

We climbed Mt. Whitney today.
I passed lots and lots of day hikers on the way up, and felt like a rockstar. I wasn't even trying. Perhaps my body is changing a bit.
Jumped into a little unnamed lake above Guitar Lake on the way down. I'm happy to be lake jumping again.
Sierras look like waves from above. Beautiful.
I'm tired and I'm going to sleep. We climb Forester Pass tomorrow.


June 20, 2008

Climbed Forester Pass today. Lost the trail multiple times because of snow. Had to route find, which is always fun and a lot of work. We dropped down into a valley full of water. We're probably at 8,500 feet. Crazy after nearly a week above 10,000 feet.

Kinds of Pine Trees we've seen:

Coulter Pine
Jeffery Pine
Ponderosa Pine
Sugar Pine
Western White Pine
Pinyon Pine
Foxtail Pine
Lodgepole Pine

Songs I've been singing in my head throughout the trip:

"I want you / I want you so bad it's driving me mad it's driving me mad"
--The Beatles

"Ain't no one in the whole world knows my name"
--Gillian Welch

"I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more / just to be the man who walked 1,000 miles and fell down at your door."
-- ?

"This is what it sounds like when doves cry"
--Prince (but the live Ani cover, sorry Lucy)


Sye writes:

6/22/08

Took a day in Independence and went to a movie theater with a bunch of hikers! What a luxury to sit back and be over-stimulated and entertained by an overdone action film. We're a few days behind schedule, but don't want to rush out of the beautiful mountains yet. Should be leaving Tuolumne Meadows a few days behind schedule. We can't wait for our visitors!! -Spiff

Alex & Sye in Independence

Sye and Alex called from Independence, where they arrived yesterday to resupply and wait for mail delivery. They sounded great - still full of energy! Independence is a small town located east of the PCT route through Kings Canyon National Park. Tomorrow they will hitch a ride and hike back to the PCT and continue north to Tuolumne meadow in Yosemite, hoping to arrive there July 1. The longest days of summer to enjoy the high Sierras - cheers!

photographias!

on the infamous aquaduct! all that water, open to the hot air, roaring through the desert. strange.

my old hat, desentigrated by the wind, and my new hat from hiker town. it didn't stay on my head in the wind though...

kennedy meadows

i love this town! just a small town off the trail, with a general store that is the center of everything. well, the store is the town. hikers and locals all hanging out. potlucks. maybe an outdoor movie tonight. outdoor showers and a river not far away.

we survived the last of southern cal! well, i'm sure it will still be hot and dry from here (91 in the shade here now!), but at least we'll only need a few liters of water at one time, and usually only one. doesn't make all the food weight so bad. with food for almost 7 days, our packs will be heavy once again.

i am sooo excited to head into the mountains. we're leaving 2 days behind schedule (i'm planning on heading out the morning of the am), but will add another day before independence to climb mt. whitney. (the tallest in the lower 48! but it's really just a walk.) so...may be as much as 4 days behind schedule by the time we leave independence, but everyone we've talked to says not to rush the sierras because it's the best part of the whole trail. we'll see, as all of you north cascade snobs might be thinking, if the sierras really are better than washington.

the care and gear packages from our parents have been great! and got a letter from shoe, but now we want more letters from friends! where are you? i know we said not to send too much, and didn't provide many addresses, but we can handle a bit don't you think? treats and notes and homemade things (and i do like some sweet things...especially if they're not cliff bars!). but you know what would be even better? meeting us out here!! or in a town!!

so if you're ever trying to find us on the trail, here's the deal. call and let us know where you're planning on being. we'll let you know more about our timing when we get closer. and if you're waiting at a trail, ask other hikers if they've seen us (spiff and six toes). sometimes there's trail registers on either side of the road, and you can see who's been through. i know this probably won't matter until washington where most of you are, but it's kinda like a people scavenger hunt. fun, eh?

also, if anyone knows folks in ashland who would like to have us for a night or two, let us know. and thanks for the notes on the blog! i love reading comments from you all. and michael, i will certainly think of that song now as i hike thousands of feet into dramatic end-of-the-world mountains.

been slow on sending blog letters out, but will try to soon so you can have more detailed stories. it's just so tiring at the end of the day, that writing seems a bit daunting!

thinking about you all lots. i do, afterall, have all day to think about something other than putting one foot in front of the other.

Windy Tehachapi II

Yes, it's windy, and everything that Sye said, but I just want to note that it is only Sye who is getting tired of sweet food. Not me. I like sweets, and at this point, if you were to send us, say, some cookies, I would get to eat my share AND Sye's share. Yum.

But some other mile markers of the trip include passing mile 500, which was written in the middle fo the road in small pebbles. The trail is full of stuff like that. Messages hikers in front leave for hikers following, whether they be specific or general. One group of hikers is having a ton of fun leaving penises everywhere. Trail humer is not that different then, well, dumb humor.

There's also has been an amazing amount of trail angel presense in the SoCal section, though we here this dwindles as we head north. But the photo of Sye and Tecate is a classic example of little oasises stocked not only with the all-important water, but also with soda and beer and sometimes even fruit. The folks who truck that stuff in there are unbelievable. I love them all. And have I mentioned I'm developing a taste for cheap beer? Used to turn my nose up at it. I'm loving it now, especially in the middle of a long, hot day.

windy tehachapi!!!

here we are, just walked into techachapi, and we have a few hours to eat, shop for food, and get to the post office before 5:30. so we decided to split up, and try to get more done in less time. and while i was walking the mile to the store, i found a library! this town is very spread out, and i'm just realizing that i should run to catch alex because we were going to repackage at the post office...but here i am distracted by the internet. so i'll keep it brief!

the past few days have been hot and windy. we successfully crossed the infamous aquaduct section of the trail, which transports a rushing river of water from the sierras to LA, but through a scorching desert. it's bizarre. hearing a rushing river below the desert sand, and just wanting a tall glass of water. but we were lucky- it was definitely cooler than usual. and windier. in fact, so windy that last night as we were trying to put a few more miles in, we practically got blown off the mountain. this was different than in the san jacintos because, well, i think the wind was stronger. i had to run to keep myself from falling over. and this was on a very narrow trail on a very steep hill made entirely of moving sand. and yes, the sand blasted us. luckily, we only had three miles to go between one canyon to the next, and were able to hunker down out of the wind by the time it got dark. windy again today, but it's different in the morning, when it's sunny, and it can be especially fun when it's a tailwind. (carlyn, i thought about us biking, and sure was glad i was walking instead of biking).

we'll skip out of town tomorrow. probably change plans a bit up the road. Instead of resupplying in Vermillion Valley Resort, we'll probably push through to Mammoth Lakes. Still a day behind right now.

and if anyone wants to send us care packages....we sure love them! i'm craving your favorite salty snack (energy bars are sweet...and i'm so tired of it!). also i changed the settings here so that anyone can post comments, so comment away! it's nice to hear from you when we get the surprise chance of internet.

trail angels...did we say they're amazing

we've been basking in the glory of trail angels the past week. first two amazing homes in wrightwood, now two amazing houses on this section of the trail. a few nights ago, we stayed at the saufley's- horses, dogs, tents, cots, kitchen and all. now we're at the anderson's briefly before the mohave. more dogs, good people, food... it's hard to hike the trail with all these comfortable places to sleep! on to tehachapi tomorrow. still about a day behind. we'll try to pull some long days, but doesn't look like there's much of a rush. still snow at kennedy meadows, and now a closure due to fire! bye for now.

a few pictures from this week

all those balloons...can you guess the day?














the hiker's oasis, c/o the anderson's. can't get better than a lounge chair, shade, tecate, avocado and fritos!

mail from the trail....

5/17 Mission Creek

We’ve been hiking along Mission Creek all day and it’s the most water we’ve been around yet. We cross the creek at least every mile it seems and have gotten in the water 3 times today. (Its not big enough to swim in, just lye down in and slip over to get both sides) Around 6:30 this morning, we saw 2 black bears up ahead! I don’t know how they survive out here, since it’s HOT and really still desert. We are heading into mountains today, but they’re not full of lush vegetation or water. The bears lumbered off when we started hollering and we haven’t seen them since. – sye

5/23

Desert hiking is a completely new animal for me, but most of the time I like it. It’s different to plan my day around where the next drinking water is rather than where the next lake to jump in is. Of course, we’d love to plan our days around lakes, they just don’t exist out here. Mostly it’s one well to the next, or piped spring, or tiny creek. Or recently, rivers even. And of course, there’s sometimes the surprise cache full of good water. Or a cooler (full of oranges) tucked under a tree. Sometimes soda or beer. Once tequila even. Mostly we’re looking for water. And most days have been real hot. Like last week, we came down from the jon jacinto range, 9,000 ft. to a hot valley, ~1000! The desert took all afternoon, 10 miles of long switchbacks, and we could feel the desert heat rising from the valley as we got closer. At the base of the mountains was a drinking fountain, and we didn’t get there till after dark, around 8:30. A bunch of folks were already camped and we joined them, set our sleeping bags on a rock road, and cooked a quick meal before our warmest night yet.

We got up at ~5, and began trekking across the already hot sandy valley. By 10, we’d made it through the worst, and stopped at mesa wind farms because they’d left a sign to come by, get water, say hello. We sat outside in the shade for a bit, gulped down energy bars and finally knocked on the door, the person inside told us to come in to the air conditioning, drink cold bottled water, use the bathroom, sign their PCT book. Even shower. Oh, and have a donut if you like it was already 93 degrees, in the shade.

We headed back into the scorcher, knowing we had a climb but eventually a river (white water creek and canyon) ahead in 5 or 10 miles. Most days we stop by 1pm to wait out the heat until 4ish, but today we were looking for the water so we hiked until 2:30. completely exhausted and hot, I first sat in the creek, practically bath temperature, lay down on my back then my stomach, washed off, and relaxed. It was really only ~6 inches deep and warm, but that’s enough. We had plans of hiking further but this creek was such a novelty, our friends convinced us to relax all day and stay the night.

Only a few days earlier we’d run into a completely different kind of adventure. We came off another high desert onto the pines to palms highway. The next 30 miles of trail was closed due to a fire. We walked the mile to Paradise Café. Waited an hour till they opened, and then had a delicious meal with 10 other hikers. (Alex and I both had veggie burgers with bacon and avocado) after at least an hour of debating (hitch vs. road walk vs. hike the fire stretch) plus a local’s insider information, we had a plan. 5 of us hopped into the back of the local’s truck and headed up a back road to the trail since the regular PCT entrance was blocked alternately by a fire truck and a sheriff. We went up all sorts of back roads, bushwhacked, then found the PCT just a mile or two from the highway entrance. Our local friend left us and we hiked into some of the most beautiful mountains we’d seen yet. Pines and rock and cliffs, more like home than any of the desert. As three of us climbed the rides higher, the wind picked up, and I began doubting all the corralling I’d done earlier to get a crew to hike this piece (we knew all the danger from the fire was pass and trail work was being done) We stuck together as evening came on, but were being blown sideways, we think 60 mile/hour winds w/even stranger gusts. Each time we crossed a valley-bound trail, I asked my friends if they wanted to hike down, practically wishing they did but knowing we’d all be too stubborn to. So instead, we hiked higher, into more winds and darkness. With all the mist billowing through, our headlamps barely worked as we hiked down to a saddle w/ more shelter. We camped there, along with a pile of gear for trail workers, and hoped for a clear morning.

The next day was clearer and we had a long hike out to idyllwild, a short section through the burn, but mostly beautiful mountains all around us. We all agreed the most beautiful yet.

Tonight we’re camped in yet more unusual weather. Not a windstorm this time, but a rainstorm. We hike all morning, and by the time we caught up to a friend of ours, we had to hole up and dry out. In the desert?!? And its 40 degrees?! It does allow us a day to write, play cards, sit in a pit bathroom out of the rain, and really give out tent a good test for the first time.

- sye