The snow has subsided!!

Hello all! With the continuation of long days and lack of computer access, blogging was nearly impossible. A lot of hikers have smart phones and will write their journals at night on them, then once they reach town will turn them on and download their entries. I am not so lucky.

I am officially at mile 1293, in Quincy, CA. The snow has almost ended, so the miles will start melting away. The last time I wrote I was half way through the Sierras. I left Bishop, CA with 6 other hikers, then 3 of us split off to go on our own. It becomes a little difficult to make decisions with that large of a group when navigating. We had purchased extra detailed maps for this section since the guidebook only provides a quick reference.

Snow stories:

1. We camped above 10,000 feet on a cold night and woke up with frozen shoes! They would not bend in any direction and I could not put them on. So I had to pour a pint of water on each shoe to loosen them up! Who needs coffee when putting on frozen shoes in the snow.

2. Every day I acquired a memory of the trail, through scrapes and cuts. Everyday I would have some accident to cause some small wound. I once post-holed in the snow and racked my knee on a rock. It gave me a wound like a baseball raspberry from sliding in to a base.

3. One night we came upon a river that we were supposed to ford (cross) by wading. If we had crossed where the trail went, we would have been chest high. Once the water gets over your stomach (center of gravity) it becomes very difficult to stay on your feet. We decided to wait until morning when the river would be lower. So, we hiked up the shoreline to find a better place to cross, tried two or three places without luck, and came to a tributary creek. This side creek was as deep and wide as the main river! We were stuck! We either turn back a and look for another way, or we swim across. One of the hikers I was with had an inflatable sleeping pad called a Neoair. He blew it up and one by one we swam across fully submerged, but our packs stayed above the water. Did I mention this was at 6am, the water was in the 30's F with the air in the 40's F. All made it safely and we warmed up after 2 hours of hiking!

Toilette Humor

If you do not want to hear stories of human waste, please skip this section.

1. One of the hikers ended up with fecal matter on their shorts. But they could not figure out whether they did it with their shorts on or while performing the evacuating deed.

2. One day I had horrible, horrible flatulence. I farted so hard that I pissed myself a little.

3. I was using an outhouse at a public campground. I tend to visually inspect the receptacle prior to sitting, this time was no different. As I peeked in I saw the bottom about 8 feet a way, great! As I proceeded to sit and evacuate, the first drop produced a back splash so high that I became wet where I was once dry! First thing in the morning I had a wet ass!! My co-hikers only heard profanities coming from the tiny building and then me kicking open the door in disgust (after I cleaned up). I was scarred after that one.

4. At another out house I was having a movement and sneezed at the same time. The discovery I made was the back pressure created sped up the evacuation process.

Over the last week I was pushing hard on my own to get to Quincy to catch my flight. I left my buddies behind in South Lake Tahoe to do long miles. My first day out was 10, but I had started at 4pm. Then the next 3 days were 30 milers. I hiked 5 miles into town and took the rest of the day off in Sierra City. Then repeated three 30 milers into Quincy. I was whooped!! There was still snow for 40-50% of the trail, and I was hiking from 5 am til 8 pm. Along the way though I saw a yellow bellied marmot and her 2 pups, a barred owl and her two fledgelings, and a mama bear and her two cubs (one was climbing down a tree). It was a good challenge but I look forward to getting back and doing 20 to 25's at a relaxed pace. I'll be at the official half way point my second day back on the trail. I am in Florida now. Just went to my sister's wedding, hanging out with a few friends, will work Monday, and fly out Tuesday, July 13.

One last story that I keep forgetting to write, is about food. A hiker had bought a soup mix for dinner out on the trail. She made it and couldn't finish so offered me the rest. I should have been suspect since she has never offered before. It tasted like a bullion cube! She didn't reed the large print on the front of the package that said makes 5 quarts. She had only used 16 ounces of water, 1/2 quart! She had a pulse of 140 before going to sleep, had some chest pain, but it all subsided the next day.

Peace out!!