letting my over-confidence and excitement lead to near disaster on the PCT....

It happens a lot when you are hiking, especially a trail that is thousands of miles in length. You are on top of a ridge or saddle, and you are about to descend to the next road crossing. You can SEE where the trail and road meet right below you. It feels as if it is only a few hundred yards away, yet the trail still winds along for a mile or two, or maybe even a handful miles until you will reach the destination. You find yourself wondering (and sometimes cursing) what the hell the trail makers were thinking here. There MUST be a shorter, more wise route to take nowadays (as opposed to when the trail was initially trodden.) And I'll be damned, but I am gonna cut off the perfectly worn trail that may take an hour, and I'll
make my own trail down in probably half the time.....

Well, I'll be damned is about right. When I was on the PCT in 2012, I'd already heard the stories of the past, like the couple on Mt San Jacinto, who wandered off on a day hike, further and further down a box canyon, to a point where they could no longer go back the way they came, or go any further down. That couple was sort of lucky.  Well, luckier than the hiker they came across, who had been stuck in that same spot for over a year, and when they found him, he had perished a long time before their arrival. They used his gear to start a fire in order to prompt fire crews to come to the area, and therefore find them and rescue them. (in which they did get in trouble for starting the fire, but also didn't die there on the mountainside)
I had also heard the story of a trail-legend, BillyGoat, being in the same sort of scenario in the high sierras, being trapped in a box canyon and luckily having cell reception enough to get a 911 call out, and to be rescued by helicopter, sans all hiking gear. Now I am not sure on the merit or truth of that story, but nonetheless, I knew the risks of going down a canyon or mountainside, and there being a point where it is impossible to go any further in either direction, up or down.

So there I am, over 1000 miles into my hike on the PCT, feeling really good about myself. I am gonna meet up with one of my best friends in the world today!! My buddy Matt, and his brother Joe and father Jerry are gonna be on a fishing trip at the northern Kennedy Meadows for the weekend and I am going to meet them to join in the fishing, while fueling up on meat and beer during our little reunion. At this point of my adventure, I haven't seen a single person from my 'real life' at home since I had started the trail a couple months before. I had lost 45 pounds, and was routinely hiking over 25 miles in a day now.  All I had to do was get to Sonora Pass and hitch down the 10 miles to the camp ground to meet them! This should be no problem, and I just can't wait. I am pretty pumped up. That is until I am about 2 miles from the Hw 108 crossing at Sonora Pass. I am looking down at the parking lot. It is right below me, but according to the maps and halfmile way-points, I know I have 2 more miles of hiking on the silly PCT trail, but I can SWEAR there is a faster route, and if I can just cut down this little hillside, across that little snow field, blah blah blah (I rationalized it many ways) I would be even closer to my weekend plans!  Eventually, I went for it. Immediately I knew that the hardest part would be right here at the top. It was loose shale, crumbling beneath my feet as slid down the slope that was much steeper than the 15 degree incline that i was used to and the PCT maxes out at. I was only about 100 yards maybe off the PCT now, but I was looking over a cliff edge, and I knew that I could not go much further without being in a sticky situation. I knew my group was shortly behind me, Quest,  Rapunzel, LB and ZzZ were all gonna be passing where i went off of the PCT within the hour, but where I was, no one could hear me if I had to call for help to them, even then, what could they do?? They couldn't come down after me, and PCT hikers don't carry rope or any tools that may be able to assist me. I was at a point where I knew, if I went even 5 more meters, there may be no chance at getting out of here without some serious assistance and rescue efforts. I sat there for about five minutes, panicked, wondering if I had already went too far, and doubting that I could even make it back up to the trail. The least I could do was try.
Luckily, this story ends with me getting back up to the trail safely and on my own, successfully scrambling up the shale and loose granite. It took some effort, I was completely winded, and wasn't sure I could make it up until the point I pulled myself back up onto the PCT. It was a humbling lesson. Just stay on the trail man. There is a reason the trail winds way around this cliff face.Why do I think I am smarter than the trail builders who have poured over the topography of the area, and made a route that is safest and most likely to not leave you stranded.
That one ended alright, but it was one of my scariest moments on the PCT.

Sonora Pass Area (picture taken from Google Images)

El Hermosa Mundo...

Well I will be hitting the Appalachian trail in about 2 weeks, but first I am gonna enjoy those two weeks in Puerto Vallarta relaxin' it up with my parents. We got here yesterday and it is more beautiful than I expected. A little tennis, followed by ping pong and swimming before lunch. A post lunch round of golf and now off to a fajita dinner... 

Lucky Guy.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail this summer!!!

Well it's almost time! I am three days away from departing for Mexico, where I will spend a couple weeks relaxing in Puerto Vallarta, in preparation for my upcoming thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. That's right, another summer full of hiking. This time, my feet will get me up and over the 2200 mile Appalachian Trail that extends from Springer Mountain in Northern Georgia, along the spine of the Appalachian mountains through 14 different east coast states, ending atop Mt. Kathadin in Baxter State Park, Northern Maine.
Having lived on the West Coast my entire life, the AT will be something completley out of my element and I am looking forward to the challenges and experiences coming my way, whether it be the elements and weather, the crazy east-coasters, government shutdowns, I'll be out there hiking along with a motley crew of hikers. I will be joining a few buddies with whom I hiked with on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2012, and some other hikes since.
So keep on checking in, my plan is to hopefully keep an even better online account of my whereabouts and what my experience has been like throughout. I look forward to you all following along and if you have any questions, concerns, comments, please post them here or you can always reach me by email at kristoHIKES@gmail.com.

Well, I completed the SDTCT a few weeks ago....

the crew at the end....

It was so awesome, once again being surrounded by a group of avid hikers. It was another grand adventure no doubt.  Eight days of hiking, sweating, bonding, and stinking up the amazing geography that separates the Sultan Sea from the Pacific Ocean. The beginning and ending point of this 'trail' are something around 150-160 miles apart and some of the most amazing lands that Southern California has to offer. This trail is not completed in anyway and any route info you may find here, is a 'use at your own risk' type of scenario. We more or less linked up different trail systems with road walks, bushwhacks, and setting lots gps way points on Google Earth before starting. All the intel and route finding credit goes to my buddy Scrubrat, a native to the San Diego area who's great grandparents were early settlers in the SD region.

sunrise morning day 2

trashing up the desert

We started late on a Saturday, around 5:30pm at the Sultan Sea and beginning our skirt around the Ocotillo Badlands towards Borrego Springs, and hiking nearly 15 miles into the night before calling it for day 1. After day 2 of skirting the badlands and we made it into the town of Borrego Springs and proceeded to fuel up on greasy foods and a few cold beers. We stealth camped in the empty lot adjacent to the grocery store and had a 4500 ft elevation climb to start day 3. I awoke feeling pretty nauseous, and after a breakfast of biscuits and gravy, wasn't feeling much better. That climb nearly kicked my ass, i was hurting for a good portion of it, trying to drink more water than I needed just to stay hydrated in the unforgiving sun, even though the temps were in the mid 80's. The first 14 miles or so of the day were rough to say the least. Trying to make it up a huge mountain, with a group of 8, trying not to be the weak link, and slow the tribe down, i battled on. after dinner, and once it cooled, we hiked again well into the night, and i finished strong with my buddy Outlaw, hiking at a clip of around 4+ miles an hour to get to the water cache we had set for ourselves before we started. (We cached ourselves 10 gallons of water at 4 different locations before we started the trek.)

ocotillo, thorny as hell

 
Day 4 was a beautiful day, and we were pretty much in the vicninty of the the Pacific Crest Trail all day. In fact, we were so close, Hippie Long Stockings and myself did a little detour off the trail to swing into Stagecoach RV and campground to get some snacks and goodies, then do a road walk to meet back up with the group. I stayed at the Stagecoach during my hike of the PCT in 2012, so it was pretty neat to go back to that place. We rendezvoused back at our 3rd water cache and started our climb up the 3000 foot climb that would put us at a great campsite, the intersection of the SDTCT and the PCT!! I haven't stood in that spot, since day 3 of my PCT adventure, and since then, I have hiked around 3000 miles. So awaking at that spot, with views of amazing mountains like San Jacinto, it was a moving experience, and one of the highlights of my whole trip.

ocotillo bloom

Day 5 began with us making our way to Lake Cuyamaca, and then hitch hiking down into the town of Julian. Julian is regarded as one of the best little towns you can visit while hiking the PCT. In fact it is the first town you have access to and it will not disappoint. It is an amazing and rustic little town that will fill your bellies with good beer, amazing apple pie, and nice town folk. Just another gem in the PCT community. After a half day in town, we got a hitch back to Lake Cuyamaca, and then hiked into the night, down Engineer Rd for a 6 mile, downhill, paved road walk. I think everyone of us were hurting after that walk. Walking on pavement is pretty much the worst. Posting up as a group under a huge oak that is several hundred years old was a great place to stop for the night, it was situated on the Cal-Fire station land at the bottom of the canyon, we had a great spot to camp.

almost to the ocean

sunset in the Anza-Borrego Desert

Leaving early the next day we made it to Cedar Creek Falls, aka Devil's Punchbowl, which is a huge waterfall that ended up being dry and not running. This led us down the trail to the mouth of the San Diego River, which comes from an aquifer and was dry as well. This led us further down  the valley into some Federal Native American Reservation of the Barona Tribe. Sovereign land. We certainly are not welcome to just pass freely. We found ourselves a few miles into their Reservation, and looking for water, we decided to take a dirt road as quickly as we could out of the reservation, up into a housing development where we could just ask some nice people for water. Which is exactly what happend. The first house we came across were understanding and let the entire crew fill up their bottles off their well water. We were able to get a ride that night from one of the guys who was hiking with us, his amazing girlfriend picked us up and escorted us around the next little section to save us from some unwelcoming bushwhack and canyon road walking that very easily could have led to death.

We started the 7th morning near Poway, finally making it into the outskirts of the northern San Diego area. after an early 10 miles, we made it to the Costco in Poway, to stink out the shoppers and feast on their budget menu of huge portion food. It was awesome. A huge slice of pizza and a hotdog, throw in a few cups of pop, and we were back on the trail meandering through San Diego, with all the onlookers wondering what 8 hikers in full packs were doing wandering through SD. We capped the night by hitting a bar that was 1/4 mile off the trail, then Mexican food, then stealth camping in Penasquitos Canyon to make our final push to the ocean on Saturday morning.

this is what its all about. (Doe Eyes and Scrubrat)

 
When we woke up on Saturday morning we were less than 10 miles from the finish. Once again, that sinking feeling that the trip is over consumes my mind. So excited to reach my goal, but equally bummed that now there is no more hiking to be had on this adventure.
Ending a hike at he ocean, however, is about the best way to do. Literally, you cant go any further, without a major fording of the ocean.....

sleepy heads (Cactus & Bloodbank)

agave in the desert

We finished by all jumping in the ocean, even though it was late january, it was 85 degrees and beautfiul as could be at Torrey Pines Beach. A professional golf tournement was going on up the hill, so the Met Life blimp was flying around and the area was packed. It was such a great day.

All said and done, it was another amazing thru-hike experience, that left me wanting more.... I got sick. I threw up. I was cut over and over again by Cholla Cactus, and Agave, and a plethora of plants looking to keep you the hell away from them. I learned a ton about the land, the plants and wildlife. I am so thankful to be part of this community that keeps getting deeper and more loving.

Lucky Me!!

about to hike the San Diego Trans-County Trail !!!

This coming Saturday, January 18th, with a small part of my PCT hiker family and I will attempt to Thru-Hike the newer San Diego Trans-County Trail,  (TCT) beginning at the Sultan Sea, and hiking West for 150+ miles to the Pacific Ocean at Torrey Pines in San Diego.

This is a post on our facebook group where the hike-coordinator, ScrubRat (Brett Ritchey) quickly describes the route:
     
     "The San Diego Trans-County Trail is roughly 140 miles from the Salton Sea to Torrey Pines beach. A friend and I hiked last year and it was awesome. The route goes from the Salton Sea, following washes west to Borrego Springs. From there, it is the CRHT all the way to Cuyamaca. From there, a road/dirt road walk to cedar creek falls, followed by a bushwhack over El Cajon mt. The next stretch is either a road walk or a bushwhack around San Vicente reservoir. After that, soothe sailing down Peñasquitos Canyon into Torrey Pines marsh and out to the beach."

the boys in San Diego establishing a route on some HUGE maps.

I am extremely excited to start this!! I am gonna be hiking with a rockstar cast of hikers !! I'll be joining my amazing and inspiring friend, BloodBank (sara fry) whom I finished the PCT with and traveled to Alaska for a summer's worth of hiking and volunteer trail work. Also, rounding out the cast is ScrubRat and his better-half, DoeEyes, who live in San Diego and are responsible for making this trip happen, determining the route, and all logistics. Another amazing hiker joining us is John CACTUS mckinney, and kyle NOTSOBAD dahl. All of us are alumni of the 2012 Pacific Crest Trail. We all hiked with each other or at least crossed paths several times during that epic summer, and I truly can not wait to hit the trail with them again!!!

Another awesome aspect of this hike, is that the trail is not complete. It is still in its infancy, and only about 60-70% complete. And that just means 'protected' that doesn't necessarily mean 70% of it is an actual trail, I am sure much less of it is actual trail than that.....

So, from the 18th of January until around Feb 1st, this is the adventure I will be on. Stay tuned for updates and pictures as I go, as well as seeing what my next adventures just may be....

Have a great week folks.
K