Chris Laster on the PCT 2014

I’ll attempt to hike 2600+ miles from Mexico to Canada along the Pacific Crest Trail. The hiking season is limited by snow conditions in both the Spring and the Fall, so one has to keep a pace of about 20 miles per day average, including rest days. The trail crosses sizzling deserts of Southern California, up above tree line into the granite mountains of the Sierra Nevada, past old-growth redwoods and volcanoes of Northern California and Oregon, and into the dripping, coastal rainforests of Washington.

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18 Miles in the hillsides of Napa Valley! From left to right: Nancy, myself, Darlene, Laura, Luke, Jo, Scott, Max.

Oh, and Cody the dog as well.

This weekend's route also happened to be part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail which has about 340 miles open. The ultimate goal is a 550+ mile loop around the San Francisco Bay. The route goes right through the middle of SF, so maybe I'll have to get over to the city and try that out.

This was my second time out with my new backpack (ZPacks Arc Blast 52L) and so far so good! I was carrying 5 liters of water, so I got to test some it with some weight. Loving the hip belt pockets, which came with a simple velcro closure instead of the advertised clips. I'm not complaining -- the velcro works great and is adjustable. It must be a very recent change to their design, because Stick's review from November had the clips. His video helped me make the final decision to pull the trigger and buy one of these.

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Studying Yogi’s PCT Handbook in Louisville at my sister and her fiancé’s place.

There are only a few short months (2.5!) until the start of the hiking season, so it’s time to get serious about food packages. Reading Yogi’s guide has taken off the pressure and latent anxiety about certain unknowns of the trail, specifically in regard to food planning. I knew that you can purchase all your food out there if you want to, but what I didn’t know is that people purchase from certain towns AND mail it ahead straight from the trail. So it doesn’t neccessarily have to be arranged before you leave. That’s great, and I don’t feel like I have to purchase and package 5+ months of food when I’m not sure what specific items or how much of it I will want later on.

There’s a lot of talk on the “PCT Class of 2014” facebook page about people leaving extra early this year. The snow levels are at such an historic low that it looks possible to move the typical schedule forward. It may even be wise to get through the desert early if water is going to be scarce this summer. I can’t help myself, I would really like to be towards the front of the pack, so I’m going to keep an eye on these conversations.

The facebook group is about to hit 1000 members, which I find just a little bit unsettling. Not out of a personal desire to keep this thing a secret, but because I’m worried about the existing infrastructure, traditions, and resources along the trail which may not be set up to handle that many folks. I don’t know the hard numbers, but I believe just 2 years ago there were something like 300-400 thru-hikers. Now we’re looking at triple the people, and that’s just the ones that have joined on Facebook! Maybe the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA), which is in charge of issuing permits, will put out some info about the number of applications this year.

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24 miles and about 4200 vertical feet today! It was the farthest I’ve ever gone in a single day, though I got close to this kind of mileage on the JMT last August. I think I stopped around 22 miles then.

We started in Briones Regional Park, crossed over to Mount Diablo Regional Park, then cruised up to the top. On the way back, we went over several of the large bumps in the lowlands surrounding Diablo, with nice breezes and narrow ridgelines. I think the steepest grades we climbed were in the last three miles, even though there were obvious routes available to go around the hills.

Afterwards, Jay provided pizza and beer at his family’s house just outside Briones, which was very welcome at that point.

And now after my longest day hike ever, I’m getting on a redeye flight to Kentucky — HOORAY ASPIRIN.

[chrislaster]

Gear check. Gotta look good on the trail with #patagonia & #sunskis.

[chrislaster]

Training with Shroomer & Co.

This hike was around 16 miles and 4200 feet of elevation in Marin County. We went from Mill Valley up the Dipsea Trail (famous as the oldest cross country trail running route/event)  over the shoulder of Mt. Tamalpais and down to Stinson Beach. The route back took us through the redwood groves of Muir Woods.

It rained nearly the entire time, though in some areas it’s hard to tell because the trees naturally condense the moisture from the Pacific and drip at a steady rate. It was wonderful, and the rain kept out some of the tourist traffic in Muir Woods. I carried a waterproof jacket but never used it, preferring to embrace the wet and just hike.

Hot clam chowder from the Parkside Cafe at Stinson Beach made for a real treat in the gray weather. This was one of those hikes that reminds and thrills me about the unique places and opportunities in the Bay Area.