Hiking the PCT in Consecutive Pieces With Two Daughters

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limpingcrab

Trad climber

the middle of CA

Aug 17, 2016 - 06:37pm PT

What the what!?!? I've never opened this thread before and now I have some catching up to do!

This is so cool, thank you for sharing. I've got two toddlers at home and stuff like this gets me excited and inspired.

johntp

Trad climber

socal

Aug 17, 2016 - 06:43pm PT

limpingcrab-

this is a great TR and well worth reviewing.

edit: and it has dawg pics!

looks easy from here

climber

Ben Lomond, CA

Aug 17, 2016 - 08:53pm PT

What the what!?!? I've never opened this thread before and now I have some catching up to do!

Gotta say, I'm a little jealous. Binging this thread for the first time is fantastic fun. And it definitely stokes the daddy-excitement.

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2016 - 10:08pm PT

A shout out to your awesome wife Vicki for being the team member that handles the shuttle/support service this adventure needs to succeed!

Cheers to her,

Tad,

My first reaction to what you wrote was to answer: "you have no idea how true your comment about Vicki really is."

Then I reflected on the recently reawakened thread about your wife and your 34 year marriage (I re-read the thread yesterday).

My second reaction was to then realize that, yes, you probably have a very exact idea how true your comment about Vicki really is.

So I'll just add to what you wrote: amen, agreed and thank goodness.

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2016 - 10:32pm PT

Gotta say, I'm a little jealous. Binging this thread for the first time is fantastic fun. And it definitely stokes the daddy-excitement.

And I'll say that I'm not the only one over at Mudn'Crud that wishes you'd post up some more of your adventures with Calvin ;)

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2016 - 10:33pm PT

Alright, I've finally got it wrapped up:

Friday and Saturday, August 12 and 13:

We finally just had to take a rest day on Friday. We were "ahead" of "schedule" for what we'd hoped to get done this trip. Tricia and Sharon had hoped to take kayaks out on the lake but we hadn't had enough time during any afternoon yet, and I was just tired and sore.

So we rested:

Sharon couldn't join us on Saturday (she'd had to head homeward). The dogs took a second rest day; they'd been hiking barefoot for well over 100 miles and weren't allowed in the back country of a National Park anyway. So our last day, 18.4 miles of hiking, was just me and "T-Bird:"

More log-jams today slowed us almost right up to the Crater Lake border:

The hill/rock formation Lone Wolf was visible to us because of a previous fire (one wonders if the area was less forested - and more visible - a hundred or so years ago when geographic features were first named?):

We viewed Union Peak from a distance. This old volcanic plug is two miles west of today's end-point, and was an encouraging waypoint all day:

Mount Thielsen again (can't wait to get up close to this one next June):

And then we made it to the border of the National Park; Crater Lake (shown here without the lake - yet):

More miles through the forest were flat and easy:

After not-so-long, the forest cleared out, we saw the highway, and we'd made it.

Highway 62 had been a kind of "maybe" since spring. I hate to have hard and fast goals on trips like this. Better to go for it with energy, get what can be done done when it's fun and see where it ends. But on this trip, plans coincided perfectly with what we got done. This was pretty pleasing:

And that's it. The summer's statistics are fun, and deserve to be recounted: during the summer of 2016 we hiked 350.0 miles actually on the PCT and over 50 more on side hikes or in getting to the trail itself. We're now at trail mile 1,818.4 out of 2,650.1 total miles. So, over the ten years we've been doing the trail we've averaged just over 181 miles each year.

We've made it to Oregon. We're in another state now. We've hiked over one quarter of the PCT in that other state.

What a fantastic summer!

Which brings me to my own "other state." We've been home several days now and I'm still so damn pleased with what we got done and with how much fun we had. Yet I'm also in withdrawal. It's "up and down time."

There isn't likely to be any more PCT for us again for ten long months. I was completely jazzed on our last two days when Tricia started talking about "next summer," and how we'll likely pass the 2,000 mile mark. Ten months seems like forever right now.

We need to get back into a school routine (she starts high school in less than 10 days). I need to get caught up at work. This huge summer, with its days and days of outdoor family time, its fun, and energy and spontaneity is done. We will, however do all the other outdoor things we do, we'll remember this summer fondly, and we'll no doubt be ready next year to get after it again.

Hey! Maybe I should think about becoming a rock climber again ;)

looks easy from here

climber

Ben Lomond, CA

Aug 17, 2016 - 10:40pm PT

We migrated north to the redwoods once it got hot, but when fall rolls around we'll be back. Not sure how much longer he'll go for the pack, though; my hikes might be getting a lot shorter and slower for a bit.

Edit: He (and I!) still need to meet you and some more of the crew in real life at some point. Especially since the one time I made something I wasn't able to climb.

Ken M

Mountain climber

Los Angeles, Ca

Aug 17, 2016 - 10:52pm PT

Just wanted you to know that I sent a copy of your note, and a link to this thread, to Mike Dawson, the trail manager of the PCTA. He is most likely to be able to get the information about all the downed trees to the right people to get in there and clear them out.

This sort of report is VERY useful to us trail maintainers, who often don't know what's out there, without actually walking it, and we can waste a lot of time walking where there is no problem, and missing the problem areas. Some of it is historically predictable, but some of it is not.

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 18, 2016 - 06:46am PT

Ken,

Thanks, that's a great idea.

We're members of PCTA but we don't know anyone in the organization. And like people who assume that "someone else" has called 911, I assumed that PCTA, Forest Service and all involved agencies "would know" already. Maybe not though, so good move.

Gary

Social climber

Desolation Basin, Calif.

Aug 18, 2016 - 06:57am PT

Nice! Now I wish we'd done McLoughlin when we were there a couple of years ago.

It looks like you did the alternate route by the lakes in that stretch between Fish Lake and Crater Lake? We did the "official" PCT and it was dry, dry, dry.

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 18, 2016 - 07:29am PT

Gary,

Nope, I'm a purist through and through. We've stayed on the official PCT the whole way, including that very, very dry 18 miles stretch south of Crater Lake/Highway 62. We'll do the same on our next leg (every source recommends the alternative that goes closer to the lake, but it's not for us).

P.S. Mount McLoughlin isn't going anywhere - climb it next time you're up that way?

Gary

Social climber

Desolation Basin, Calif.

Aug 18, 2016 - 07:58am PT

Good on ya! But if I did that stretch again, I'd take the lake route! :-)

Good luck ahead. You are getting so close. Do you plan on going into Manning Park? We spent one night there after doing the section from Stehekin to the border. It wasn't expensive and the food was mighty tasty.

The permit to cross the border was easy and quick to get. We felt bad for the "DUI bros" who had to hike back to Hart's Pass.

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 18, 2016 - 08:54am PT

Gary,

To be honest I don't know anything about Manning Park yet (well, except that Mighty Hiker has volunteered to meet us there!).

I normally look at maps and the guidebook for trail sections 100 or so miles out. Beyond that it starts to fuzz out into (present-day) irrelevance.

We'll certainly at least touch Canadian soil though (although, to use a Vickism: "God willing and the creek don't rise").

Ken M

Mountain climber

Los Angeles, Ca

Aug 18, 2016 - 10:06am PT

do tend to the border crossing paperwork. I've heard tell of a number of problems that people have gotten into, lacking the right stuff. As you might know, there is heightened awareness over who crosses our borders these days!

Gary

Social climber

Desolation Basin, Calif.

Aug 18, 2016 - 12:22pm PT

IMHO, its better to go into Manning than turn around and hike back to Hart's Pass. There's really nice camping just across the border, and Manning Park is nice.

Getting a permit from the Canadians to enter via the PCT is painless. Took just a couple of weeks for us to get the paperwork back. Unless you have a DUI or other legal issues, then you're going back to Hart's Pass.

It is illegal to cross from Canada into the US via the PCT.

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 24, 2016 - 07:51am PT

And, the natural end of a great summer (we knew it was coming). Tricia's first day of high school (doesn't she clean up well):

neebee

Social climber

calif/texas

Dec 27, 2016 - 10:16am PT

hey there say, someone recently... at facebook, shared about this PCT... pacific crest trail, and i been far to busy to check up on it...

finally--though i have to go clean HOUSE now ( a whole OTHER trail of its own, with only view of metal reindeers that light up at night--from a gracious friend) and view of covered up ponds, and a WONDERFUL TACO-SAVED SHED... well, i had to peek into this...

if i did see it, it was too long ago, or, i couldn't stay and see it all, but wow:

THIS share is fantastic!!!

thank you so much for sharing this!!!!!

and, many more happy daughter climbs... i only had far too few, of these, with my beloved daddy... :(

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Topic Author's Reply - Apr 18, 2017 - 06:03pm PT

We're still working on PCT plans for this coming summer (I really mean we're working on details - specifics beyond the obvious general idea that we go back and hike more).

Meanwhile I had to share this, the best photo to come out of my recent southern California trip. Katie asked me to do a slide show for her U.C.S.B. Excursion Club. When that was done we backpacked in the San Rafael Wilderness (the trailhead is an hour and a half drive from campus).

Katie's Excursion friend Emma took this shot of the two of us just after the sun went down where we spent our first night (this was up high - for the views - although we had to carry water up with us the last four miles of the day).

For those who've never been there, the San Rafael Wilderness contains some gorgeous and very remote country. It's a fantastic "off season" backpacking destination.

And by the way, both hats are made by my wife Vicki (she buys small sections of fleece every once in a while and makes 15 hats at a time for handouts - most of our climbing friends have at least one).