PCT plan sounds fun, and for the most part kids can do anything adults can do.
My only caution would be that young kids can't cool themselves down like adults nor keep themselves hydrated adequately. Their bodies just aren't capable yet. It's different than keeping them warm in extreme temps ... heat is much much more deadly (and more quickly) than cold weather. I'd have a plan, learn all you can about the warning signs, and decide beforehand (not when you're hot and tired) what the boundaries will be as far as temps/conditions and stick to them.
Good luck!
the animal's journal
Re: the animal's journal
Thanks, everyone.
@Ego-Glad they got to you ok. Mrs. Animal is not much of a mushroom person, but she was very excited when picking because she knew that we would be sending some your way. We were pleased to finally find something in which we can finally reciprocate some of your extensive generosity.
@7wb- That was part of our reasoning for doing it now. It'd be much easier (and far faster) than if we were walking with a three year old or multiple children. That being said, there was one couple we found on the trail that did the trail with three toddlers (2, 3 and 4). The kids walked up to 15 miles a day! I also saw that there is a family of 8 on the trail right now, finishing up the PCT as part of the triple crown.* Their youngest is now 6. So it can be done, but it at least seems to me that it'd be more difficult once they start walking.
*Hiking the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Pacific Crest Trail
@JP- Thanks! That's good to know. Theoretically we should be ok given the direction we're going. We'll be in the desert in the early winter and in the forests of Oregon during the hottest part of the summer. Northern California in early September may be where we find some real heat. The pack we have has a sun shade that completely covers her so that will help. Otherwise, we shouldn't be short water in those areas so it should be ok. A good thing to keep in mind.
@Ego-Glad they got to you ok. Mrs. Animal is not much of a mushroom person, but she was very excited when picking because she knew that we would be sending some your way. We were pleased to finally find something in which we can finally reciprocate some of your extensive generosity.
@7wb- That was part of our reasoning for doing it now. It'd be much easier (and far faster) than if we were walking with a three year old or multiple children. That being said, there was one couple we found on the trail that did the trail with three toddlers (2, 3 and 4). The kids walked up to 15 miles a day! I also saw that there is a family of 8 on the trail right now, finishing up the PCT as part of the triple crown.* Their youngest is now 6. So it can be done, but it at least seems to me that it'd be more difficult once they start walking.
*Hiking the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Pacific Crest Trail
@JP- Thanks! That's good to know. Theoretically we should be ok given the direction we're going. We'll be in the desert in the early winter and in the forests of Oregon during the hottest part of the summer. Northern California in early September may be where we find some real heat. The pack we have has a sun shade that completely covers her so that will help. Otherwise, we shouldn't be short water in those areas so it should be ok. A good thing to keep in mind.
-
Western Red Cedar
- Posts: 1237
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:15 pm
Re: the animal's journal
Just wanted to wish you the best on the trip as you head out tomorrow. The Cascades are breathtaking and I'm sure it will be an epic adventure. I was out in the Selkirks this week and the conditions were perfect.
I'd encourage you to brainstorm some big-picture writing projects/topics while out on the trail. What you are taking on is relatively unique, and I think it would provide an interesting avenue to explore notions of fatherhood, family, social expectations and environmental ethos that would appeal to a broad audience.
I'd encourage you to brainstorm some big-picture writing projects/topics while out on the trail. What you are taking on is relatively unique, and I think it would provide an interesting avenue to explore notions of fatherhood, family, social expectations and environmental ethos that would appeal to a broad audience.
Re: the animal's journal
@WRC-Thanks for the well wishes and the suggestion! I have been mulling it over.
--------------
PCT Part 1: Washington
"The word adventure has gotten overused. For me, when everything goes wrong, that's when adventure starts." -Yvon Chouinard
You would think that after preparing for a multi month trip for over 6 months that you would have every little thing accounted for or at the very least, the major ones. There would be no unpleasant surprises early on and everything would flow smoothly from the start. I certainly thought that way but would soon find out how wrong I was.
We were surprised to find ourselves in a 95 degree heat upon landing in Wenatchee, WA. A series of progressively smaller vehicles brought us the 130 miles north to our start at Hart's Pass, where we found relief from the heat with the higher altitude. With what appeared to be a full campground, we elected to get started that evening, setting off on the trail just after 6 pm on July 8th. We travelled 5 mi through the alpine among vibrant Indian paintbrush flowers and blueberry shrubs that were yet to fruit.
After 5 mi, we found ourselves at our tentsite, with another tent already set up 30 yds or so down the hill. I set up the tent, then got started on dinner. While waiting for the water to warm up, I decided to start in on one of our homemade granola style snack mixes. Right away I noticed Something tasted off. I tasted the granola but what was that other taste? Soap? How could that be? These were brand new bags and we had tried everything at home with no ill results. Not long after, we realized that the insect repellent wipes we had brought and placed next to the food, had not only leaked through their plastic bag, but had gone through the plastic food bags and contaminated the contents within. We now had a few pounds worth of citronella coated food. Strike one.
Thankfully, our main meal did not appear to be tainted and following that, we turned to the tent to rest after a couple long days of travel. Given that baby animal weighed 21 lbs 4 oz at the start of our trip, we had to be ruthless with regards to what we brought along so as not to have too heavy packs. One of the things that didn't make the cut was an inner bug net for our tent. We (I) figured nowhere in the lower 48 had as bad as mosquitoes as we did at home and that others' definition of a lot was tolerable. So the net stayed home. As darkness fell and we settled into our sleeping bags, we heard the familiar buzzing of mosquitoes. I'd brush one from my head only to have another land a minute or so later. Outside the tent, a mule deer stomped around the campsite, running off after getting hit with the light from my headlamp. More mosquitoes buzzed inside. After an hour or so, we heard scurrying our heads. Mice! Mosquitoes still buzzing about. Amidst the frenzy, baby animal woke up about every hour screaming, overtired from the long travel and not easily comforted . Mrs. Animal and I argued what to do about all this at some point in the middle of the night and nobody slept. Especially not the poor souls in the tent down the hill. Strike two.
Bleary eyed come morning, we sheepishly greeted the people from the other tent and apologized as we packed up our stuff to leave. Before setting off, Mrs. Animal was going to grab some water from the nearby creek and wash some of baby animal's diapers from the day before. She asked "Can you get me the soap from your bag?"
"No, it's in your bag."
"No, it's not"
"Yes it is, I'll get it."
A check of her pack, then my pack and then both packs again indeed proved that she did not have the soap. And neither did I. One of our largest concerns prior to the trip was what to do about diapers and we managed to forget perhaps the key item that would make our strategy work. Strike three.
Down but not out, we adapted to our new circumstances and carried on. Thankfully, our first section was short so we were able to adjust without much hardship. We ate around (and ate) the insect repellent food, we were more diligent about choosing campsites and changed how we set up our tent. And finally, we had a couple extra disposable diapers from our travel and were able to use those plus the ones we had brought for the section until we reached our first town, Stehekin.
Humans and Wilderness
Mrs. Animal and I realized early on that we had not envisioned or given any thought to what the areas we were hiking through would look like prior to starting. All of our focus during our preparation had been on logistics, gear and training, with little regard for the places themselves. On the trip, we were faced with the environment at the forefront of our focus and were generally pleased with what we found. Hiking nearly 500 mi through Washington brought us up to alpine meadows and forests, through old clear cuts and fresh burns with wildflowers lining the trail, along riparian and old growth forest and across mountain ridges of loose shale.
Accustomed to off trail travel, I would look around at the areas adjacent to the trail and try to envision travelling through without the aid of a trail. I was generally surprised to find the areas extremely rugged. The ground was firm and dry, unlike Alaska, but there were often heavy blowdowns, steep slopes and thick vegetation. It made me appreciate being able to travel quickly and with ease on a cleared path.
Despite the ruggedness, neither Mrs. Animal or I thought that any of the areas we traveled through felt like wilderness. This being the case even with walking through a few officially designated, capital "W" Wildernesses. This feeling is primarily attributed to human impact, in terms of both infrastructure and presence. We figured in advance that we would see many more people than we would hiking at home in Alaska, but the reality was more than double our expectations. Each day we generally saw about 60 people, or roughly one person every 10 minutes we were on the trail. On the most crowded days, we would see people every 5 minutes. That daily total far exceeds the number of people we'd see in a whole summer in Alaska and more than I'd see in a week tromping around the forest preserve near my childhood home in suburban Chicago. At times it led us to wonder if we were better off leaving and doing something else.
Increased human presence results in impacted sites, decreases the habitat of and displaces other animals. As such, we saw very little of large wildlife, let alone their sign, despite the distance we covered. The Alaskan author Lois Crisler once wrote, "Wilderness without wildlife is just scenery." It is very likely that this has changed just in the past decade as the book/movie "Wild" as well as the pandemic brought many more people to the trail. I wonder if others know what they are missing. If you live in a city and haven't experienced an intact ecosystem or true wilderness, do you know what's been lost?
Baby animal
Baby animal has been enjoying herself, spending her days in the pack babbling away, napping and looking at the sights. She enjoys chewing on and playing with anything she can get her hands on, including rocks, pinecones, dirt, plants and sticks. Halfway through Washington she learned how to wave and has been enjoying practicing every chance she gets on trail and in town.
Our greatest difficulty with having her on the trail is napping. Not because she isn't willing or capable of doing it on the move in the pack, but because of all the people we pass along the way. We very frequently spend 20-30 minutes trying to calm her down and sing songs, only to have someone pass by 10 minutes after she falls asleep and exclaim something like "Oh my god!" "Aw there's a baby in there!" "Hey look at the little guy!" Early on, we transitioned to just waving (instead of verbally greeting others) and having the person in advance advise oncoming hikers we had a sleeping baby but that didn't end up working either. Mrs. Animal eventually started using hand signals to indicate that she was sleeping which worked pretty well.
Sadly, babies and young children seem to be a novelty in the outdoors in modern western society. People seem to forget our origins and how humans have lived for the bulk of history. With this in mind, we have a decent number of people who assume we are out for just a short trip. "So you're just out for the weekend then?" "You guys are just doing a section?" "Just out for an overnight?"
That being said, our interactions with others on the trail have been overwhelmingly positive. People have been very kind and we hear daily how what we are doing is incredible and how we are amazing. Normally, I think this would go to my head but both the trail and care for baby animal tires us out so much that we end each day feeling humbled and wondering if we will succeed in our efforts. There are also some people who remark how they should've brought their kids out or ask us questions about doing so. It has been heartening to see that we seem to serve as inspiration for others.
Our only other real challenge is towards the end of the day when baby animal is in the purgatory hour and ready to leave the pack. More than a few times we have found ourselves 2-3 miles from where we'd like to camp, on a steep uphill with baby animal fussing on our backs. So in between breaths, we sing "The wheels on the bus go round and round..." for the umpteenth time that day while exerting forward and trying to maintain our sanity. Other than that, the challenges of dealing with a 9-10 mo old baby are not much different living outside than indoors.
Our only real goal is to be past Forester Pass (the highest point of the PCT) in the Sierras by October 15th. In a normal year, this would allow us to be out of the mountains before new snow falls and sticks for the upcoming winter. We started out our trip scheduled to reach that point about a week after that date. So far we have been able to travel quicker than we planned, walking 20 mi/day versus a planned 18.5 mi/day, putting us a few days ahead of schedule. Oregon's relatively flatter terrain provides for a good opportunity to continue to improve on our time and be more in line with our goal.
Miscellaneous
--------------
PCT Part 1: Washington
"The word adventure has gotten overused. For me, when everything goes wrong, that's when adventure starts." -Yvon Chouinard
You would think that after preparing for a multi month trip for over 6 months that you would have every little thing accounted for or at the very least, the major ones. There would be no unpleasant surprises early on and everything would flow smoothly from the start. I certainly thought that way but would soon find out how wrong I was.
We were surprised to find ourselves in a 95 degree heat upon landing in Wenatchee, WA. A series of progressively smaller vehicles brought us the 130 miles north to our start at Hart's Pass, where we found relief from the heat with the higher altitude. With what appeared to be a full campground, we elected to get started that evening, setting off on the trail just after 6 pm on July 8th. We travelled 5 mi through the alpine among vibrant Indian paintbrush flowers and blueberry shrubs that were yet to fruit.
After 5 mi, we found ourselves at our tentsite, with another tent already set up 30 yds or so down the hill. I set up the tent, then got started on dinner. While waiting for the water to warm up, I decided to start in on one of our homemade granola style snack mixes. Right away I noticed Something tasted off. I tasted the granola but what was that other taste? Soap? How could that be? These were brand new bags and we had tried everything at home with no ill results. Not long after, we realized that the insect repellent wipes we had brought and placed next to the food, had not only leaked through their plastic bag, but had gone through the plastic food bags and contaminated the contents within. We now had a few pounds worth of citronella coated food. Strike one.
Thankfully, our main meal did not appear to be tainted and following that, we turned to the tent to rest after a couple long days of travel. Given that baby animal weighed 21 lbs 4 oz at the start of our trip, we had to be ruthless with regards to what we brought along so as not to have too heavy packs. One of the things that didn't make the cut was an inner bug net for our tent. We (I) figured nowhere in the lower 48 had as bad as mosquitoes as we did at home and that others' definition of a lot was tolerable. So the net stayed home. As darkness fell and we settled into our sleeping bags, we heard the familiar buzzing of mosquitoes. I'd brush one from my head only to have another land a minute or so later. Outside the tent, a mule deer stomped around the campsite, running off after getting hit with the light from my headlamp. More mosquitoes buzzed inside. After an hour or so, we heard scurrying our heads. Mice! Mosquitoes still buzzing about. Amidst the frenzy, baby animal woke up about every hour screaming, overtired from the long travel and not easily comforted . Mrs. Animal and I argued what to do about all this at some point in the middle of the night and nobody slept. Especially not the poor souls in the tent down the hill. Strike two.
Bleary eyed come morning, we sheepishly greeted the people from the other tent and apologized as we packed up our stuff to leave. Before setting off, Mrs. Animal was going to grab some water from the nearby creek and wash some of baby animal's diapers from the day before. She asked "Can you get me the soap from your bag?"
"No, it's in your bag."
"No, it's not"
"Yes it is, I'll get it."
A check of her pack, then my pack and then both packs again indeed proved that she did not have the soap. And neither did I. One of our largest concerns prior to the trip was what to do about diapers and we managed to forget perhaps the key item that would make our strategy work. Strike three.
Down but not out, we adapted to our new circumstances and carried on. Thankfully, our first section was short so we were able to adjust without much hardship. We ate around (and ate) the insect repellent food, we were more diligent about choosing campsites and changed how we set up our tent. And finally, we had a couple extra disposable diapers from our travel and were able to use those plus the ones we had brought for the section until we reached our first town, Stehekin.
Humans and Wilderness
Mrs. Animal and I realized early on that we had not envisioned or given any thought to what the areas we were hiking through would look like prior to starting. All of our focus during our preparation had been on logistics, gear and training, with little regard for the places themselves. On the trip, we were faced with the environment at the forefront of our focus and were generally pleased with what we found. Hiking nearly 500 mi through Washington brought us up to alpine meadows and forests, through old clear cuts and fresh burns with wildflowers lining the trail, along riparian and old growth forest and across mountain ridges of loose shale.
Accustomed to off trail travel, I would look around at the areas adjacent to the trail and try to envision travelling through without the aid of a trail. I was generally surprised to find the areas extremely rugged. The ground was firm and dry, unlike Alaska, but there were often heavy blowdowns, steep slopes and thick vegetation. It made me appreciate being able to travel quickly and with ease on a cleared path.
Despite the ruggedness, neither Mrs. Animal or I thought that any of the areas we traveled through felt like wilderness. This being the case even with walking through a few officially designated, capital "W" Wildernesses. This feeling is primarily attributed to human impact, in terms of both infrastructure and presence. We figured in advance that we would see many more people than we would hiking at home in Alaska, but the reality was more than double our expectations. Each day we generally saw about 60 people, or roughly one person every 10 minutes we were on the trail. On the most crowded days, we would see people every 5 minutes. That daily total far exceeds the number of people we'd see in a whole summer in Alaska and more than I'd see in a week tromping around the forest preserve near my childhood home in suburban Chicago. At times it led us to wonder if we were better off leaving and doing something else.
Increased human presence results in impacted sites, decreases the habitat of and displaces other animals. As such, we saw very little of large wildlife, let alone their sign, despite the distance we covered. The Alaskan author Lois Crisler once wrote, "Wilderness without wildlife is just scenery." It is very likely that this has changed just in the past decade as the book/movie "Wild" as well as the pandemic brought many more people to the trail. I wonder if others know what they are missing. If you live in a city and haven't experienced an intact ecosystem or true wilderness, do you know what's been lost?
Baby animal
Baby animal has been enjoying herself, spending her days in the pack babbling away, napping and looking at the sights. She enjoys chewing on and playing with anything she can get her hands on, including rocks, pinecones, dirt, plants and sticks. Halfway through Washington she learned how to wave and has been enjoying practicing every chance she gets on trail and in town.
Our greatest difficulty with having her on the trail is napping. Not because she isn't willing or capable of doing it on the move in the pack, but because of all the people we pass along the way. We very frequently spend 20-30 minutes trying to calm her down and sing songs, only to have someone pass by 10 minutes after she falls asleep and exclaim something like "Oh my god!" "Aw there's a baby in there!" "Hey look at the little guy!" Early on, we transitioned to just waving (instead of verbally greeting others) and having the person in advance advise oncoming hikers we had a sleeping baby but that didn't end up working either. Mrs. Animal eventually started using hand signals to indicate that she was sleeping which worked pretty well.
Sadly, babies and young children seem to be a novelty in the outdoors in modern western society. People seem to forget our origins and how humans have lived for the bulk of history. With this in mind, we have a decent number of people who assume we are out for just a short trip. "So you're just out for the weekend then?" "You guys are just doing a section?" "Just out for an overnight?"
That being said, our interactions with others on the trail have been overwhelmingly positive. People have been very kind and we hear daily how what we are doing is incredible and how we are amazing. Normally, I think this would go to my head but both the trail and care for baby animal tires us out so much that we end each day feeling humbled and wondering if we will succeed in our efforts. There are also some people who remark how they should've brought their kids out or ask us questions about doing so. It has been heartening to see that we seem to serve as inspiration for others.
Our only other real challenge is towards the end of the day when baby animal is in the purgatory hour and ready to leave the pack. More than a few times we have found ourselves 2-3 miles from where we'd like to camp, on a steep uphill with baby animal fussing on our backs. So in between breaths, we sing "The wheels on the bus go round and round..." for the umpteenth time that day while exerting forward and trying to maintain our sanity. Other than that, the challenges of dealing with a 9-10 mo old baby are not much different living outside than indoors.
Our only real goal is to be past Forester Pass (the highest point of the PCT) in the Sierras by October 15th. In a normal year, this would allow us to be out of the mountains before new snow falls and sticks for the upcoming winter. We started out our trip scheduled to reach that point about a week after that date. So far we have been able to travel quicker than we planned, walking 20 mi/day versus a planned 18.5 mi/day, putting us a few days ahead of schedule. Oregon's relatively flatter terrain provides for a good opportunity to continue to improve on our time and be more in line with our goal.
Miscellaneous
- As planned, we did not hike the northernmost 30 miles of trail which would've involved hiking the same stretch of trail twice (for 60 mi total). We felt stretched enough going with baby animal and didn't see the extra mileage and time being worth our effort. Ironically (?) and not planned, we did not hike the southernmost 30 miles of trail in Washington. Before starting the southernmost section we had read of lots of bee activity. Sure enough, we saw lots of bees, wasps and hornets along the way and halfway through the section Mrs. Animal got stung. She is deathly allergic, so we made the decision to not risk any more encounters and we hiked out to the nearest road.
- We have only suffered minor injuries to date. Mrs. Animal and I both got sun poisoning on our hands, leading one of mine to swell up like a balloon. Mrs. Animal had tendonitis for a few days and I had issues with one of my IT bands. Both went away after a few days of aggressive stretching.
- The vast majority of thru hikers we pass wear headphones, listening to podcasts and music. We have noticed that this leads to a sort of "trail vision" where these hikers miss things along the trail like other people or bears. I'm convinced that if sasquatch was 30 ft off of the trail that most thru hikers wouldn't see him.
- Nearly half the thru-hikers are foreigners. The vast majority are Australian followed by Germans, British, French and Japanese
- Biggest tree:Western Red Cedar. >20 ft diameter at breast height
- Animals seen: Black bears, mule deer, mountain goats, elk (only tracks and scat), hoary marmots, black squirrels, chipmunks, mice, pika, badgers, frogs, toads, garter snakes, lizard
- Birds seen/heard: American Robin, Gray Jay, blue Jay,Pileated woodpecker, great horned owl, unknown owl, Swainson's thrush, raven, hummingbird, various unknown songbirds
- Strangest animal encounter: A deer approached us as we were breaking down camp then proceeded to follow us for 3/4 of a mile.
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mountainFrugal
- Posts: 1144
- Joined: Fri May 07, 2021 2:26 pm
Re: the animal's journal
What a great update! I look forward to checking out more on your website! A few strikes here and there to shake the dust off. 
.
.Re: the animal's journal
Wow, incredible update. The pictures on your site of baby animal doing her thing out there on the trail... just... wow. Thanks.
Re: the animal's journal
Thanks, you three! We are happy to be able to laugh at our early foibles.
In other news, hitchhiking with a baby has proved to be ridiculously easy. We stepped off the trail yesterday and there was a set of grandparents with their grandkids that pulled off the road at the same moment, getting ready to go for a hike. We got to talking and the woman insisted on driving us into town, unsolicited. She dropped us off at the grocery store and Mrs. Animal went to get her caffeine fix with baby animal. I sat in the shade on the side of the building with the packs and after a few minutes an older woman came around and asked if we were going to go inside to eat. Thinking she was affiliated with the store and trying to shoo me away, I said yes I was just waiting for my wife and daughter to return. She lingered and after a few moments mentioned something about getting us sandwiches. I told her it wasn't necessary and started telling her about what we were doing. She listened but didn't seem to understand. She continued to ask about sandwiches and said the local church could help us out. Mrs. Animal was taking her time and the woman decided to just go into the store. Mrs. Animal came back and a few minutes later the woman did as well. With $94 worth of groceries for us!! She then proceed to try to give us $50 in cash before leaving. We were laughing at the situation after she left and started looking at how we were going to get where we needed to go in town 7 mi away. Not a minute later, some guy pulls up next to us and asks if we need to go somewhere. We piled in and he dropped us off exactly where we needed to go. He also didn't seem to understand what we were doing and kept telling me he's been where I am and trying to offer me a job lol. It really does pay to be dirty and to appear homeless sometimes I suppose
In other news, hitchhiking with a baby has proved to be ridiculously easy. We stepped off the trail yesterday and there was a set of grandparents with their grandkids that pulled off the road at the same moment, getting ready to go for a hike. We got to talking and the woman insisted on driving us into town, unsolicited. She dropped us off at the grocery store and Mrs. Animal went to get her caffeine fix with baby animal. I sat in the shade on the side of the building with the packs and after a few minutes an older woman came around and asked if we were going to go inside to eat. Thinking she was affiliated with the store and trying to shoo me away, I said yes I was just waiting for my wife and daughter to return. She lingered and after a few moments mentioned something about getting us sandwiches. I told her it wasn't necessary and started telling her about what we were doing. She listened but didn't seem to understand. She continued to ask about sandwiches and said the local church could help us out. Mrs. Animal was taking her time and the woman decided to just go into the store. Mrs. Animal came back and a few minutes later the woman did as well. With $94 worth of groceries for us!! She then proceed to try to give us $50 in cash before leaving. We were laughing at the situation after she left and started looking at how we were going to get where we needed to go in town 7 mi away. Not a minute later, some guy pulls up next to us and asks if we need to go somewhere. We piled in and he dropped us off exactly where we needed to go. He also didn't seem to understand what we were doing and kept telling me he's been where I am and trying to offer me a job lol. It really does pay to be dirty and to appear homeless sometimes I suppose
Re: the animal's journal
Good stuff! Way to go animal fam!
I was just in Oregon connecting last year’s footpath (there was a fire closure near Mt Jefferson). You’ll have beautiful trail from Timberline Lodge to Santiam Pass, with the exception of a short stretch of blowdowns just north of Three Fingered Jack. Though at your pace maybe you’re through there already! If not, you can look forward to lots of huckleberries and few bugs!
I was just in Oregon connecting last year’s footpath (there was a fire closure near Mt Jefferson). You’ll have beautiful trail from Timberline Lodge to Santiam Pass, with the exception of a short stretch of blowdowns just north of Three Fingered Jack. Though at your pace maybe you’re through there already! If not, you can look forward to lots of huckleberries and few bugs!
Re: the animal's journal
PCT Pt. 2: Oregon
Among the regions of the PCT, Oregon is somewhat of an anomaly. The trail travels over terrain that is relatively flat and more often than not, enclosed in forest, leading some to call it the "green tunnel." We took advantage of the gentler grades, upping our mileage to 22 miles per day and often finishing earlier in the evening. While much of the trail was in forest, the landscapes were incredibly varied. As we traveled south, we moved from the heart of the Cascades to near it's end. From rivers, ferns and glaciers to sparse water sources, grasslands, and lava rocks. The scenery coupled with some unexpected events made for a few weeks that we are unlikely to forget anytime soon.
SOS
We almost always hike within sight of each other, but there are times, such as if one of us is getting water, going to the bathroom or washing diapers, that we will hike separately for short durations. So it wasn't unusual when Mrs. Animal told me she was going to stop and go to the bathroom and that baby animal and I could carry on.
It was mid afternoon and we had already done 20 miles in an effort to do 25 on the day, our furthest of the trip. Without any real sense of urgency, we ambled on up a hill. I'd stop at the numerous huckleberry bushes along the way, picking some for myself and handing some back to baby animal. We continued this way for a couple miles or so and at the top I debated sitting down to stop and wait for Mrs. Animal. We had been going slow and stopping often, so I figured she was likely very close behind and decided to continue on down.
A few minutes after dropping down the other side, I thought I heard someone yelling. I heard it again so I stopped to figure out what direction it was coming from. Nothing for a moment, then the sound of a whistle behind me. Immediately, I turned and ran back up the trail. A minute later I found Mrs. Animal coming my way in tears. A yellow jacket had gotten caught in between the tongue of her shoe and her foot and had stung her. She had already broken out into hives around her neck and waist and was starting to panic.
"It's ok. It's ok. I'm here now. We have medicine. Breathe."
I had Mrs. Animal sit down while I took off the pack to grab the Zyrtec as well as the EpiPen just in case. Baby animal was crying, wanting to be close to mom and due for a feeding and diaper change. Mrs. Animal took 7.5 mg of Zyrtec and I grabbed baby animal. We started talking over the situation and what we can do. There was a resort 5 miles away on the trail that would seem like the best option for the night. In the meantime, 2 hikers approached from opposite directions. I explained what was going on and asked if they have any Benadryl. One does and I give it to Mrs. Animal while the other watches on.
Mrs. Animal says she's feeling better and thinks she can hike to the resort when all of a sudden she says, “I'm going to need the epi.”. "Ok do you want me to do it or do you-- oh shit" I watch as her eyes roll to the back of her head and she falls back to the slope behind her. " Stay with me." With baby animal crying in one arm , I take off the cover from the needle and jab it into her thigh.
I put baby animal down on the trail and grab the inreach off of my pack. Cover off and I hit the SOS button. " Hey, can you hear me? Stay with me." We are in an open forest but the device doesn't seem to connect to any satellites and I watch as the message status spins in circles, indicating an unsent message. One of the hikers, Joe, offers to go to a nearby high point and is able to get the message through from there. I dictate messages to him trying to get emergency response as clear a message as possible as quickly as possible.
Mrs. Animal keeps going in and out of consciousness. She indicates she can hear me and that she can't see anything. The shock progresses further and soon she starts shivering. I grab one of our sleeping pads and our sleeping bag and fix them around her. In between trying to tend to Mrs. Animal and communicate with emergency response, I have my hands full with baby animal, who seems to want nothing but mom. I'm able to distract her for short periods of time by giving her jerky and cheese, but otherwise she won't accept being put down. Mrs. Animal says she feels like she needs to throw up. Later we learn this is one of the body's last efforts to get rid of the toxins before giving in.
We finally receive word that emergency response is on the way but have no answer regarding their timing or method of arrival. The hives don't get any worse and after about 20 minutes, she says she can see again. She remains conscious and shortly thereafter more hikers arrive, including a nurse practitioner, Martina, with her son, who had more epipens and medicine.
With Mrs. Animal trending better, help on the way and more experienced hands around to help, I am able to put some of my efforts elsewhere. I focus a little more on baby animal who has become somewhat consolable as well. We find out emergency response is coming via ground and Mrs. Animal feels up for hiking out to meet them. I grab our packs and Mrs. Animal leads the way as Martina and her son accompany us the 3 miles to the road. The paramedics clear Mrs. Animal and she refuses further care, but they are kind enough to offer a ride to the nearest town with a pharmacy (1.5 hrs away) so we can get more epipens.
The break from the trail was welcomed by both of us. In addition to the circumstances, we had been running ourselves ragged by hiking every day and not taking a full day off since we had started 30 days prior. I was definitely operating in the red zone and had caught myself counting down the miles between waypoints and dreading walking further each day. Two nights in the luxurious splendor of 2 star hotels did a lot to revive our morale and beaten up muscles. We returned to the trail with renewed vigor as well as 4 epipens and what seems like a multi year's supply worth of antihistamine pills.
The Here and Now
There are often moments on the trail where I am reminded of a story from the book, "Kabloona". The book details the stories of a French adventurer, Gontran de Poncins, who went to live with the Inuit in the Canadian Arctic for a year. The author quickly discovered that there were many cultural differences and describes one event that captures the distinction well. After traveling with a group on a hunting trip for multiple days out of town, de Poncins was looking forward to getting back to the village before a storm arrived. Yet the group he was traveling with had different ideas. A few miles away, they decided to stop their dog teams, start making tea and set up camp for a night or two. The author stomped and howled, town was right there! They could basically see it! They could beat the storm! Why don't they just continue on? But for the Inuit, they were content to just be where they were, not enamored or obsessed with some destination or goal.
The West is explicitly results, destination and goal focused and the trail for many is no different. How many miles to the next water source? Camp? Resupply? It can create a sense of rush, where one is just focused on some future idea instead of where they are.
Babies have the gift of not being indoctrinated by the dominant culture.So with that, Baby animal serves as an antidote to our often destination oriented and frantic ways. For instance, one day we had a long water carry, having to travel 19.5 miles between sources. The day was hot and much of it was spent in a recent burn so we wanted to be quick and efficient with travel so as not to get too dehydrated. But baby animal had other ideas, fussing in the pack for a couple miles and not consoled by the usual piece of jerky, rock or array of songs. So after a couple of miles we decided to stop in a rare spot of shade to see if she wanted to sleep. She didn’t, so instead we played for an hour, mimicking each other's sounds and playing with some broken pine branches. Under similar circumstances on a different day, we hiked off trail to a nearby lake and splashed away in the shallows. Baby animal as happy as she could be. Refreshed we carried on, 30 minutes later. Only a slight delay in our plans. Neither moment required us to forge on. By stopping and focusing on the present, we had found joy. At least for the moment, we found enough.
Smoke
Starting in central Oregon, we hiked through smoke on almost a daily basis. Early on, we debated whether or not we should continue or skip further to an area without it, not wanting to harm Baby animal's development or our own health. However, the smoke stayed at reasonable amounts and the air quality remained below hazardous levels.
Weather remained dry for nearly all of Oregon and that was amplified further during a multi day heatwave as we continued into the southern portion of the state. Temps in the mountains at 6000-7000 ft went into the 80s while Portland was 108F. The heatwave ended after a few days with a storm that had bouts of rain and plenty of thunder and lightning. While it quelled the heat, that storm also ended up sparking a number of new fires in Northern California. Our luck had run out, a couple dozen fires in the Klamath Mountains resulted in the trail being closed from the CA/OR border south to Etna.
With the trail closure, we had to reevaluate our plans and decide what where we'd go next. We opted to head down to Mount Shasta and continue south from there, just beyond the fire closure. Our crossing into California was far less ceremonious than our last state crossing, when we had walked across The Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River into Oregon. Instead we found ourselves flying down I-5, not by foot but as passengers in a car with solely the large Welcome to California billboard to greet us.
There is a silver lining to the closure. Jumping forward bumps the rest of our schedule forward, resulting in us now being well ahead of our goal of being past the highest pass on the PCT by October 15th. This means we have a very good probability of making it through the mountains before snowfall.
We remain humbled by the trail and it's many miles and challenges. We remain strong willed and confident in our plan but are wary of possible deadfalls that lie ahead that could derail our plans like bees, fires and unknown events(Sasquatch encounters?). For the time being, the show will go on. California here we come!
Miscellaneous
Among the regions of the PCT, Oregon is somewhat of an anomaly. The trail travels over terrain that is relatively flat and more often than not, enclosed in forest, leading some to call it the "green tunnel." We took advantage of the gentler grades, upping our mileage to 22 miles per day and often finishing earlier in the evening. While much of the trail was in forest, the landscapes were incredibly varied. As we traveled south, we moved from the heart of the Cascades to near it's end. From rivers, ferns and glaciers to sparse water sources, grasslands, and lava rocks. The scenery coupled with some unexpected events made for a few weeks that we are unlikely to forget anytime soon.
SOS
We almost always hike within sight of each other, but there are times, such as if one of us is getting water, going to the bathroom or washing diapers, that we will hike separately for short durations. So it wasn't unusual when Mrs. Animal told me she was going to stop and go to the bathroom and that baby animal and I could carry on.
It was mid afternoon and we had already done 20 miles in an effort to do 25 on the day, our furthest of the trip. Without any real sense of urgency, we ambled on up a hill. I'd stop at the numerous huckleberry bushes along the way, picking some for myself and handing some back to baby animal. We continued this way for a couple miles or so and at the top I debated sitting down to stop and wait for Mrs. Animal. We had been going slow and stopping often, so I figured she was likely very close behind and decided to continue on down.
A few minutes after dropping down the other side, I thought I heard someone yelling. I heard it again so I stopped to figure out what direction it was coming from. Nothing for a moment, then the sound of a whistle behind me. Immediately, I turned and ran back up the trail. A minute later I found Mrs. Animal coming my way in tears. A yellow jacket had gotten caught in between the tongue of her shoe and her foot and had stung her. She had already broken out into hives around her neck and waist and was starting to panic.
"It's ok. It's ok. I'm here now. We have medicine. Breathe."
I had Mrs. Animal sit down while I took off the pack to grab the Zyrtec as well as the EpiPen just in case. Baby animal was crying, wanting to be close to mom and due for a feeding and diaper change. Mrs. Animal took 7.5 mg of Zyrtec and I grabbed baby animal. We started talking over the situation and what we can do. There was a resort 5 miles away on the trail that would seem like the best option for the night. In the meantime, 2 hikers approached from opposite directions. I explained what was going on and asked if they have any Benadryl. One does and I give it to Mrs. Animal while the other watches on.
Mrs. Animal says she's feeling better and thinks she can hike to the resort when all of a sudden she says, “I'm going to need the epi.”. "Ok do you want me to do it or do you-- oh shit" I watch as her eyes roll to the back of her head and she falls back to the slope behind her. " Stay with me." With baby animal crying in one arm , I take off the cover from the needle and jab it into her thigh.
I put baby animal down on the trail and grab the inreach off of my pack. Cover off and I hit the SOS button. " Hey, can you hear me? Stay with me." We are in an open forest but the device doesn't seem to connect to any satellites and I watch as the message status spins in circles, indicating an unsent message. One of the hikers, Joe, offers to go to a nearby high point and is able to get the message through from there. I dictate messages to him trying to get emergency response as clear a message as possible as quickly as possible.
Mrs. Animal keeps going in and out of consciousness. She indicates she can hear me and that she can't see anything. The shock progresses further and soon she starts shivering. I grab one of our sleeping pads and our sleeping bag and fix them around her. In between trying to tend to Mrs. Animal and communicate with emergency response, I have my hands full with baby animal, who seems to want nothing but mom. I'm able to distract her for short periods of time by giving her jerky and cheese, but otherwise she won't accept being put down. Mrs. Animal says she feels like she needs to throw up. Later we learn this is one of the body's last efforts to get rid of the toxins before giving in.
We finally receive word that emergency response is on the way but have no answer regarding their timing or method of arrival. The hives don't get any worse and after about 20 minutes, she says she can see again. She remains conscious and shortly thereafter more hikers arrive, including a nurse practitioner, Martina, with her son, who had more epipens and medicine.
With Mrs. Animal trending better, help on the way and more experienced hands around to help, I am able to put some of my efforts elsewhere. I focus a little more on baby animal who has become somewhat consolable as well. We find out emergency response is coming via ground and Mrs. Animal feels up for hiking out to meet them. I grab our packs and Mrs. Animal leads the way as Martina and her son accompany us the 3 miles to the road. The paramedics clear Mrs. Animal and she refuses further care, but they are kind enough to offer a ride to the nearest town with a pharmacy (1.5 hrs away) so we can get more epipens.
The break from the trail was welcomed by both of us. In addition to the circumstances, we had been running ourselves ragged by hiking every day and not taking a full day off since we had started 30 days prior. I was definitely operating in the red zone and had caught myself counting down the miles between waypoints and dreading walking further each day. Two nights in the luxurious splendor of 2 star hotels did a lot to revive our morale and beaten up muscles. We returned to the trail with renewed vigor as well as 4 epipens and what seems like a multi year's supply worth of antihistamine pills.
The Here and Now
There are often moments on the trail where I am reminded of a story from the book, "Kabloona". The book details the stories of a French adventurer, Gontran de Poncins, who went to live with the Inuit in the Canadian Arctic for a year. The author quickly discovered that there were many cultural differences and describes one event that captures the distinction well. After traveling with a group on a hunting trip for multiple days out of town, de Poncins was looking forward to getting back to the village before a storm arrived. Yet the group he was traveling with had different ideas. A few miles away, they decided to stop their dog teams, start making tea and set up camp for a night or two. The author stomped and howled, town was right there! They could basically see it! They could beat the storm! Why don't they just continue on? But for the Inuit, they were content to just be where they were, not enamored or obsessed with some destination or goal.
The West is explicitly results, destination and goal focused and the trail for many is no different. How many miles to the next water source? Camp? Resupply? It can create a sense of rush, where one is just focused on some future idea instead of where they are.
Babies have the gift of not being indoctrinated by the dominant culture.So with that, Baby animal serves as an antidote to our often destination oriented and frantic ways. For instance, one day we had a long water carry, having to travel 19.5 miles between sources. The day was hot and much of it was spent in a recent burn so we wanted to be quick and efficient with travel so as not to get too dehydrated. But baby animal had other ideas, fussing in the pack for a couple miles and not consoled by the usual piece of jerky, rock or array of songs. So after a couple of miles we decided to stop in a rare spot of shade to see if she wanted to sleep. She didn’t, so instead we played for an hour, mimicking each other's sounds and playing with some broken pine branches. Under similar circumstances on a different day, we hiked off trail to a nearby lake and splashed away in the shallows. Baby animal as happy as she could be. Refreshed we carried on, 30 minutes later. Only a slight delay in our plans. Neither moment required us to forge on. By stopping and focusing on the present, we had found joy. At least for the moment, we found enough.
Smoke
Starting in central Oregon, we hiked through smoke on almost a daily basis. Early on, we debated whether or not we should continue or skip further to an area without it, not wanting to harm Baby animal's development or our own health. However, the smoke stayed at reasonable amounts and the air quality remained below hazardous levels.
Weather remained dry for nearly all of Oregon and that was amplified further during a multi day heatwave as we continued into the southern portion of the state. Temps in the mountains at 6000-7000 ft went into the 80s while Portland was 108F. The heatwave ended after a few days with a storm that had bouts of rain and plenty of thunder and lightning. While it quelled the heat, that storm also ended up sparking a number of new fires in Northern California. Our luck had run out, a couple dozen fires in the Klamath Mountains resulted in the trail being closed from the CA/OR border south to Etna.
With the trail closure, we had to reevaluate our plans and decide what where we'd go next. We opted to head down to Mount Shasta and continue south from there, just beyond the fire closure. Our crossing into California was far less ceremonious than our last state crossing, when we had walked across The Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River into Oregon. Instead we found ourselves flying down I-5, not by foot but as passengers in a car with solely the large Welcome to California billboard to greet us.
There is a silver lining to the closure. Jumping forward bumps the rest of our schedule forward, resulting in us now being well ahead of our goal of being past the highest pass on the PCT by October 15th. This means we have a very good probability of making it through the mountains before snowfall.
We remain humbled by the trail and it's many miles and challenges. We remain strong willed and confident in our plan but are wary of possible deadfalls that lie ahead that could derail our plans like bees, fires and unknown events(Sasquatch encounters?). For the time being, the show will go on. California here we come!
Miscellaneous
- We have come across an easy way to distinguish between thru-hikers and day hikers/those out for shorter trips. On breaks, thru-hikers sit in the shade, while everyone else sits in the sun. This seems to apply off the trail as well. Those who spend the most time in the sun try their best to avoid it when possible. Whereas those who spend most of their time indoors, often prefer to spend their time directly in it's rays.
- We heard plenty of horror stories about the mosquitoes in Oregon but found hardly any ourselves thanks to the dry weather. So far we have yet to use headnets or bug spray. The mosquitoes were worse in Washington, but neither place we found comparable to Alaska. The mosquitoes here are annoying and will pester you, but they will not kill you. Unlike back home.
- With the dry terrain, there weren't an abundant amount of water sources , leading us to have a few long water carries between sources . Our longest to date is 19.5 miles.
- Number of broken/old beehives seen on the trail since starting: 55
- Things lost to the trail: infant sized Xtra tuff, pacifier, one of baby animal’s shirts, and baby animal’s jacket
- Number of times stung: Mrs. Animal 3, Animal 1 and Baby animal 0
- Lullaby of Oregon:"I've been working on the railroad"
- I have generally not felt overly hungry. Nonetheless, I have already lost 20 lbs, which I think largely consists of upper body muscle mass.
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jacob
- Site Admin
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Re: the animal's journal
Well, god damn! Thanks modern medicine?
Re: the animal's journal
That was a harrowing read. I'm glad you were prepared and everyone got out alright. I bet that put some grey hairs on your head. Have either of you done, or considered a WFR or W-EMT program? I had the opportunity to do one a few years ago and I'd recommend it if you haven't already.
I knew a guy who would go on wildland fire deployments with an extreme beesting allergy. He'd get stung, intubated and airlifted pretty much every season.
Wonderful pictures! It's always inspiring to see other people going out with their kids on outdoor adventures.
I knew a guy who would go on wildland fire deployments with an extreme beesting allergy. He'd get stung, intubated and airlifted pretty much every season.
Wonderful pictures! It's always inspiring to see other people going out with their kids on outdoor adventures.
Re: the animal's journal
Wow! Glad everyone is okay.
Re: the animal's journal
I remember reading these types of stories in those Boy Scouts magazines. It's why I never joined.
Re: the animal's journal
What an awesome adventure you 3 have been on! And you do such a good job of documenting it, I'm really enjoy following along.
Scary stuff with Mrs. Animal there, but no surprise you handled it well. Absolutely not minimizing the intensity of it, but in my experience there are some positives of having close calls that turn out OK as a reminder of the frailty of everything - keeps one sharp and ready, which is important when engaging in these sorts of activities. I'm very glad everything turned out well!
Scary stuff with Mrs. Animal there, but no surprise you handled it well. Absolutely not minimizing the intensity of it, but in my experience there are some positives of having close calls that turn out OK as a reminder of the frailty of everything - keeps one sharp and ready, which is important when engaging in these sorts of activities. I'm very glad everything turned out well!
Re: the animal's journal
@Jacob- Exactly, I said the same thing. If she wasn't living in the 21st century, Mrs. Animal would have likely died 5 times by now (4 of those due to stinging insects).
@Jim- Yes, we have both taken multiple WFR and WFA classes as well as an EMT. I really enjoy those types of classes. The situation never really felt overwhelming, I imagine in part due to that training. Although, none of those classes had scenarios where you had to treat a patient AND take care of your infant daughter.
@Jim- Yes, we have both taken multiple WFR and WFA classes as well as an EMT. I really enjoy those types of classes. The situation never really felt overwhelming, I imagine in part due to that training. Although, none of those classes had scenarios where you had to treat a patient AND take care of your infant daughter.
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Western Red Cedar
- Posts: 1237
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:15 pm
Re: the animal's journal
Thanks for continuing to post the detailed write-ups! The photos look amazing.
I'm really glad the animal clan emerged relatively unscathed from the backcountry emergency. I suspect that the training you and DW had made a significant difference in how that situation played out. I had a similar experience while working with a field crew after college and woke up from an epinephrine-blackout in the hospital. I'm just wrapping up five years of allergy shots so I'm hoping I won't have to deal with it anymore.
I can definitely relate to your experience with the here and now. My brief time on the PCT actually reframed how I approached a lot of future hikes and backpacking experiences. My friend and I were trying to hit certain mileage targets and had different hiking styles. We were bickering a lot, which was very uncharacteristic of us. Four or five days into the trip, we scrapped the plan to try to thru-hike Oregon, or hit specific mileage targets, and decided to just enjoy the trip. Our new goal was to swim in as many alpine lakes as possible. It was so much nicer stopping regularly to soak in the scenery, and taking an extra rest day to just chill out in the mountains.
Fortunately, there are lots of opportunities for backcountry excursions in the PNW that provide exposure to wildlife, solitude, and wilderness. I think of the PCT and the AT as the autobahn, which is only open for a couple months of the year.
I try to keep in mind that the more people who are exposed to these beautiful places the more allies there are for strong policies to protect and preserve them. Edward Abbey might disagree though
I'm really glad the animal clan emerged relatively unscathed from the backcountry emergency. I suspect that the training you and DW had made a significant difference in how that situation played out. I had a similar experience while working with a field crew after college and woke up from an epinephrine-blackout in the hospital. I'm just wrapping up five years of allergy shots so I'm hoping I won't have to deal with it anymore.
I can definitely relate to your experience with the here and now. My brief time on the PCT actually reframed how I approached a lot of future hikes and backpacking experiences. My friend and I were trying to hit certain mileage targets and had different hiking styles. We were bickering a lot, which was very uncharacteristic of us. Four or five days into the trip, we scrapped the plan to try to thru-hike Oregon, or hit specific mileage targets, and decided to just enjoy the trip. Our new goal was to swim in as many alpine lakes as possible. It was so much nicer stopping regularly to soak in the scenery, and taking an extra rest day to just chill out in the mountains.
I talk to colleagues working in natural resource management about the this notion quite a bit. If you look at the demographics of places like Oregon and Washington (not to mention California), it makes it really challenging to maintain and manage ecosystems and wildlife habitat on public land without limiting access. The cumulative impacts from repeated human exposure can quickly degrade relatively intact ecosystems. This is less of an issue in places like Alaska and parts of Canada where the population density is quite low.
Fortunately, there are lots of opportunities for backcountry excursions in the PNW that provide exposure to wildlife, solitude, and wilderness. I think of the PCT and the AT as the autobahn, which is only open for a couple months of the year.
I try to keep in mind that the more people who are exposed to these beautiful places the more allies there are for strong policies to protect and preserve them. Edward Abbey might disagree though
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bostonimproper
- Posts: 581
- Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:45 am
Re: the animal's journal
Dear god, that sounds so scary. I’m glad Mrs. Animal is okay!
Re: the animal's journal
Thanks for the sentiments all. She got stung again a few weeks ago but it turned out to be a non issue. So far, the density of stinging things is far, far lower in Northern California.
@WRC- Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think the proximity of Portland and Seattle definitely plays a large role like you mention. There simply isn't enough land available to spread out the use if everyone is allowed to go whenever they want. I guess I lean more to Abbey's viewpoint to limit access. In my view, extensive access leads to a loss of the places being sacred. We've witnessed this in nearly every national park we've travelled through, where people can just drive up and walk 10 ft to a viewpoint to see the main attraction. I often see kids staying back in the car playing on their ipad. There's no sense of wonder and I don't think that leads to people being strong passionate advocates for wild places. I would be far more supportive of a system where you are not allowed to drive in national parks and instead a bus can take you around to various points. It works extremely well in Alaska at Denali NP. I think it's much harder elsewhere where you find roads never much more than 10 miles away. That's one of the main differences that I see in AK/Canada besides population, minimal infrastructure.
California has been a welcome change so far. We are only seeing 5 people/day on trail (versus 30/day in OR and 60/day in WA) and lots of wildlife.
As for your other comment, we are planning for our next trip to be far less rigid and full of spontaneity. We've met a few people on the trail who have similar stories to your experience. It's not that fun living your life as a spreadsheet or set of deadlines for very long.
-----
It became quickly apparent within a week of hiking that continuing my job in its current state after the trail would be very unpleasant and a mistake. @mF has been telling me for a while that I haven't been valuing my time enough and I finally got it. I initially thought that I could propose going back to work for only 1 day/week, but that didn't sit well either as some of the things I want to do take weeks or months of time unconnected. I've recently been thinking I propose to stay on as a contractor, taking projects as needed. That was how I originally started with the company, so i think it could be an amenable proposal. The smarter thing may just be to stop being a coward and quit.
I discovered a few months ago that we are conditionally FI. Conditionally due to being FI not due solely to savings/ investments but that plus tax credits and Alaska's PFD. I don't plan on not ever working again and have some micro business ideas I'd like to try out.So we don't really need the money. Mrs. Animal is on board and has told me multiple times that it's my turn to have fun, whether income producing or not. I don't have to make any decisions or communicate this for another 3 months so I still have some time to think it over.
@WRC- Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think the proximity of Portland and Seattle definitely plays a large role like you mention. There simply isn't enough land available to spread out the use if everyone is allowed to go whenever they want. I guess I lean more to Abbey's viewpoint to limit access. In my view, extensive access leads to a loss of the places being sacred. We've witnessed this in nearly every national park we've travelled through, where people can just drive up and walk 10 ft to a viewpoint to see the main attraction. I often see kids staying back in the car playing on their ipad. There's no sense of wonder and I don't think that leads to people being strong passionate advocates for wild places. I would be far more supportive of a system where you are not allowed to drive in national parks and instead a bus can take you around to various points. It works extremely well in Alaska at Denali NP. I think it's much harder elsewhere where you find roads never much more than 10 miles away. That's one of the main differences that I see in AK/Canada besides population, minimal infrastructure.
California has been a welcome change so far. We are only seeing 5 people/day on trail (versus 30/day in OR and 60/day in WA) and lots of wildlife.
As for your other comment, we are planning for our next trip to be far less rigid and full of spontaneity. We've met a few people on the trail who have similar stories to your experience. It's not that fun living your life as a spreadsheet or set of deadlines for very long.
-----
It became quickly apparent within a week of hiking that continuing my job in its current state after the trail would be very unpleasant and a mistake. @mF has been telling me for a while that I haven't been valuing my time enough and I finally got it. I initially thought that I could propose going back to work for only 1 day/week, but that didn't sit well either as some of the things I want to do take weeks or months of time unconnected. I've recently been thinking I propose to stay on as a contractor, taking projects as needed. That was how I originally started with the company, so i think it could be an amenable proposal. The smarter thing may just be to stop being a coward and quit.
I discovered a few months ago that we are conditionally FI. Conditionally due to being FI not due solely to savings/ investments but that plus tax credits and Alaska's PFD. I don't plan on not ever working again and have some micro business ideas I'd like to try out.So we don't really need the money. Mrs. Animal is on board and has told me multiple times that it's my turn to have fun, whether income producing or not. I don't have to make any decisions or communicate this for another 3 months so I still have some time to think it over.
Re: the animal's journal
Jumping ahead on the trail due to the wildfires gave us a good opportunity to see the stark differences between the southern end of the Cascades with that of the range further north. The chipmunks that we had become accustomed to seeing scurrying around the trail were gone, in their stead we found lizards. A thick layer of deciduous leaves, littered the forest floor, indicating more diversity in the canopy than the conifers we were used to. And we saw less people each day (about 5) and generally far more wildlife, from bears to rattlesnakes to salt crazed deer.
Exposed
Since we skipped the Klamath and Marble Mountains, the crux of this region for us was hiking through the area burned by the Dixie fire. As California's largest fire on record, at acres, it covered an area that was multiple days worth of travel on the trail. In such an exposed area with minimal shade, we were nervous that Baby animal would be at risk of overheating. We debated different strategies, whether we should skip ahead or if we could just get by with spraying her shirt occasionally and drinking ample water.
After resupplying at Burney Falls State Park, we checked the weather and noticed that there were clouds and storms forecasted a few days ahead, right in line with when we'd be traveling through the burn scars. The trail from there to Old Station was the flattest we'd seen yet on the trail, so we tried to take advantage and set ourselves up well. While the terrain was flat, we'd come across other difficulties that would make that first day out of Burney Falls one of our hardest yet.
The Hat Creek Fire passed through the area in 2009 and the forest was still undergoing the early stages of succession, meaning some trees had come up, but they were not yet tall enough to provide much shade. Lava rocks made up much of the trail and we found water to be scarce, present only every ~10 miles. As the day wore on and the sun rose higher, we baked in the 87 degree heat. We shaded Baby animal's legs with diaper liners pinned to the pack and made sure we had enough water. There were a couple times I turned to check on Mrs. Animal, finding her face fully flushed and holding a look that was devoid of all energy. I would take her hat off, grab my water bottle and dump it's meager, precious contents on her head. Meanwhile our cooling strategy for Baby animal seemed to work as she babbled and bounced about as normal, oblivious to the heat. Towards the end of the day, we came upon a water cache and spent a good time rehydrating. Carrying on into the twilight, we ended up hiking 27.5 miles, our longest yet, camping near an overlook with a view of Shasta to the north.
That day would turn out to be far worse than anything we would encounter later on. The next day cooled off and then the clouds arrived. We ended up hiking through the burn, worrying more about staying dry and warm than overheating. The contrasts in the forests among the burnt standing trees and the understory was aesthetically pleasing and ended up making this part one of our favorites of the region.
End of day
Baby animal became more comfortable in the pack later in the day and there were a few days we found ourselves racing sunset with her still mostly content. However, there were some days she was fussing and we still had to continue on, either out of desire to set ourselves up or there not being any water and/or campsites nearby. In these situations, I end up carrying her in my arms instead of trying to calm her down in the pack. She stops crying and fussing immediately and becomes very excited. We walk down the trail mimicking each others noises, waving at random things and I try to make her laugh. The frustration I had moments ago when she was in the pack disappears, replaced with pure joy. They're possibly my favorite moments on trail and sometimes I wish we could hike the whole trail this way. So far, the farthest I've managed is 5.5 miles. Maybe by the desert my arms will be strong enough.
Into the High Country
Ahead of us lies the Sierras, the hardest part of the trail due to the large elevation changes, tougher climate, swollen rivers and snow field traverses, among other things. Everything that we have done so far has been to put us in a good position for this point, in terms of physical stamina and strength as well as timing with regards to seasons. With a fall that has already had a large rainfall event from the tropical storm and snowfall nearing double digits from another, we figure anything is possible weather wise. We remain well positioned and will be picking up our cold weather gear in Kennedy Meadows North. We will be prepared for cold weather and will be crossing our fingers that it is not an early winter.
After 2.5 months, with inadequate rest the norm, we are weary of the trail and uncertain about how far we'll go. For now, our spirits are buoyed by the inspiration that others are drawing from our experience and the grandeur waiting for us in the next section. Into the mountains we go.
Miscellaneous
-There have been multiple Germans who have been very befuddled after hearing that we decided not to go to the northern terminus, hiking the same 30 miles twice. The reactions have been nearly identical and they do not seem to comprehend such a strategy. We are still happy with our choice and would do the same again if we weren't able to enter from Canada like before. The post at the terminus is arbitrary, the journey in between is what gives it meaning. For the same reason, we also do not assign any higher meaning to the southern terminus at the Mexican border.
-We have become somewhat of local celebrities on the trail. People ask to take a picture of us daily and we are often approached by people who've heard of us that we've never met.
-Since discovering I've lost 20 lbs (now up to 25), I've taken to eating as much as possible. As a result, I've taken on the hobby of sampling milkshakes in town. So far, Burney Falls State Park has the best milkshakes (surprisingly), with Bert's Diner in South Lake Tahoe a close runner up. I had the blackberry.
-Bert's Diner was by far the best food we've had on trail.
-There are significantly less stinging insects flying around, which has been a big relief.
-Bodies of water swam-5
-Nights with more than 3 hours of continuous sleep: 0
Exposed
Since we skipped the Klamath and Marble Mountains, the crux of this region for us was hiking through the area burned by the Dixie fire. As California's largest fire on record, at acres, it covered an area that was multiple days worth of travel on the trail. In such an exposed area with minimal shade, we were nervous that Baby animal would be at risk of overheating. We debated different strategies, whether we should skip ahead or if we could just get by with spraying her shirt occasionally and drinking ample water.
After resupplying at Burney Falls State Park, we checked the weather and noticed that there were clouds and storms forecasted a few days ahead, right in line with when we'd be traveling through the burn scars. The trail from there to Old Station was the flattest we'd seen yet on the trail, so we tried to take advantage and set ourselves up well. While the terrain was flat, we'd come across other difficulties that would make that first day out of Burney Falls one of our hardest yet.
The Hat Creek Fire passed through the area in 2009 and the forest was still undergoing the early stages of succession, meaning some trees had come up, but they were not yet tall enough to provide much shade. Lava rocks made up much of the trail and we found water to be scarce, present only every ~10 miles. As the day wore on and the sun rose higher, we baked in the 87 degree heat. We shaded Baby animal's legs with diaper liners pinned to the pack and made sure we had enough water. There were a couple times I turned to check on Mrs. Animal, finding her face fully flushed and holding a look that was devoid of all energy. I would take her hat off, grab my water bottle and dump it's meager, precious contents on her head. Meanwhile our cooling strategy for Baby animal seemed to work as she babbled and bounced about as normal, oblivious to the heat. Towards the end of the day, we came upon a water cache and spent a good time rehydrating. Carrying on into the twilight, we ended up hiking 27.5 miles, our longest yet, camping near an overlook with a view of Shasta to the north.
That day would turn out to be far worse than anything we would encounter later on. The next day cooled off and then the clouds arrived. We ended up hiking through the burn, worrying more about staying dry and warm than overheating. The contrasts in the forests among the burnt standing trees and the understory was aesthetically pleasing and ended up making this part one of our favorites of the region.
End of day
Baby animal became more comfortable in the pack later in the day and there were a few days we found ourselves racing sunset with her still mostly content. However, there were some days she was fussing and we still had to continue on, either out of desire to set ourselves up or there not being any water and/or campsites nearby. In these situations, I end up carrying her in my arms instead of trying to calm her down in the pack. She stops crying and fussing immediately and becomes very excited. We walk down the trail mimicking each others noises, waving at random things and I try to make her laugh. The frustration I had moments ago when she was in the pack disappears, replaced with pure joy. They're possibly my favorite moments on trail and sometimes I wish we could hike the whole trail this way. So far, the farthest I've managed is 5.5 miles. Maybe by the desert my arms will be strong enough.
Into the High Country
Ahead of us lies the Sierras, the hardest part of the trail due to the large elevation changes, tougher climate, swollen rivers and snow field traverses, among other things. Everything that we have done so far has been to put us in a good position for this point, in terms of physical stamina and strength as well as timing with regards to seasons. With a fall that has already had a large rainfall event from the tropical storm and snowfall nearing double digits from another, we figure anything is possible weather wise. We remain well positioned and will be picking up our cold weather gear in Kennedy Meadows North. We will be prepared for cold weather and will be crossing our fingers that it is not an early winter.
After 2.5 months, with inadequate rest the norm, we are weary of the trail and uncertain about how far we'll go. For now, our spirits are buoyed by the inspiration that others are drawing from our experience and the grandeur waiting for us in the next section. Into the mountains we go.
Miscellaneous
-There have been multiple Germans who have been very befuddled after hearing that we decided not to go to the northern terminus, hiking the same 30 miles twice. The reactions have been nearly identical and they do not seem to comprehend such a strategy. We are still happy with our choice and would do the same again if we weren't able to enter from Canada like before. The post at the terminus is arbitrary, the journey in between is what gives it meaning. For the same reason, we also do not assign any higher meaning to the southern terminus at the Mexican border.
-We have become somewhat of local celebrities on the trail. People ask to take a picture of us daily and we are often approached by people who've heard of us that we've never met.
-Since discovering I've lost 20 lbs (now up to 25), I've taken to eating as much as possible. As a result, I've taken on the hobby of sampling milkshakes in town. So far, Burney Falls State Park has the best milkshakes (surprisingly), with Bert's Diner in South Lake Tahoe a close runner up. I had the blackberry.
-Bert's Diner was by far the best food we've had on trail.
-There are significantly less stinging insects flying around, which has been a big relief.
-Bodies of water swam-5
-Nights with more than 3 hours of continuous sleep: 0