More Adventures with Wayfair

Mon Jul 30

• Hiked from burn-out campsite to Hwy 62
• To Mazama and back 
• Hwy 62 to Dutton Creek/Rim Village Trail  16.1 miles
• Theme for Southern Oregon:  
• Hot Days - so, I am not eating much
• Minimal Water - so, I must carry lots of water
• Smoke
  
   
• Not much scenic value
• My pack is always heavy
• Tomorrow 2.4 miles to Rim Village
• The next 26 miles--there is NO water
• Way too many mosquitoes to cowboy camp
• The plan for Rim Village--quick breakfast, camel up & load up with water, get on the trail
• A girl from Australia or New Zealand traveling Southbound I met on the trail about a mile from camp.  Went on and on about the smoke, lack of water, and hot days.  "There's no joy in this," she said.  "It's hard making 20 miles in the smoke and heat.  Take plenty of water. Be careful"
• Girl named Dragon camped next to me

Tues 7/31

• Left camp by 5:00 am  The trail to Rim Village was mostly uphill
• At Rim Village
• Cameled up on water
• Had my hot meal--shredded Mexican beef, refried beans, Spanish rice
• Filled up every water bottle, brushed my teeth.  Took only 45 minutes to get back on the trail
• South portion of Rim Trail is very steep.  Because of thick smoke, views of Crater Lake were almost non-existent 
• Frustrated by the trail and lack of views, the 2nd or 3rd time the trail came down to the road, I got on the highway for a road-walk instead of staying on the Rim Trail.  
• Turned out the north portion of the Rim Trail is flatter but I had no idea.  I was not the only road walker
• I caught the trail again at the intersection of Rim Road and highway
• Natalie, a girl from Switzerland.  We've been leap-frogging.  I took her photo, she took mine
  
• Everyone is tired of smoke, hot days, and big water carries
• I had a shower yesterday but you couldn't tell it now.  The trail is dust.  My lower legs and feet are filthy dirty 

Wed 8/1

• Not as smoky.  Still hot but not as hot
• 8-9 miles to Thielson Creek.  The sound of a creek-- has to be one of the greatest sounds in the universe 
• 52 year old hiker Yo-Se-Ki (stands for Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon National Parks)  He had a hip replacement last year.  Not the fastest hiker, but he hikes long hours, and puts in more miles than the faster, young bucks
• Made it to Maiden Lake Trail Junction.  Dropped pack, walked 3/4 to the lake.  Cleaned up, filled two bottles with water and walked back. 
  
  
  
  
• Taking a break at the trail junction when Lily and Kiki walked up.  They ditched Wander a day or so ago. 
• Hiked on to mile 1866--found a place to bivvy for the evening.  Not the best site as it was on a slope, but it was the best available site and I made it work 
• Today 21 miles with pack and 1.5 miles without pack
• Revelation--at mile 1860 outlined in the trail out of fir cones 3000k.  All along I thought I was walking miles, then I find out I've been walking kilometers from the start.  Holy Kamoley, when did this happen?!?!?!?!?!?!?

• I'm a little dehydrated.  Nothing you can do about this when you're in one water carry after another--20 miles, 26 miles, 13 miles, 16 miles, 18 miles. I hope these are the last big water carries. 

Thurs 8/2

• As I travel north, the smoke lessens
• Left camp at 5:10 am. Great water cache at Windigo Pass on a gravel Forest Service road.  Even had Gatorade and a charging station with a solar charger
• At mile 1881 campsite at Summit Lake.  Cooked my hot meal.  Left there at 3:30 pm, hoping to crank another three miles. 
• Between mile 21 & 22 for the day, I caught a tree stub and landed on my nose.  The way I landed I was certain it was broken--but it wasn't.  Now is the time to tell you the real concern from the fall, was my back.  On day 1 (July 25), carrying a beast of a pack with three days of food and more than five liters of water.  I strained my back (muscle on right side in mid-back.  I'd been nursing it along pretty well.  After getting to camp and setting up tent, I lay down for a bit.  Very hard to get up.  Bending over, twisting, turning all very painful. 
• Tomorrow I have sixteen miles to Shelter Cove for my next resupply box
• I believe in the power of overnight rest.  My back won't be anywhere 100% but I think I can hike to Shelter Cove. There's also 1500 vertical feet of climb for the first four miles. 

Fri 8/3

• Hiked from mile 1890 to mile 1909 and three miles to and from Shelter Cove--22 miles
• I love Diamond Peak!  Reminded me of places in Washington State and the High Sierras.  Even more important I had cell coverage.  For the first time in days I was able to talk with Becky.  Also got to speak with Garrett.  He is having to work for every mile.
• I made it to Shelter Cove by 1:00 pm and left around 3:00 pm. I hiked back to the PCT and on another 4 miles to Rosary Lake (campsite between middle and upper Rosary Lake)

Joy Has Returned

• After days of smoke-filled skies, very hot temperatures, zero visibility, big water carries, and heavy pack--Joy Returned!!
• I saw stars last night!
• Diamond Peak Wilderness is a real gem
• Back My back did well during the day.  At the end of the day, the back stiffened up on me, really sore doing a lot of simple moves at camp.  
• Kiki and Lily beat me to Shelter Cove.  Those two gals can move
• Will (real name) from Ashland, OR, and I have hit it off.  We've met at Mazama, Summit Lake, and Shelter Cove.  Because of my back toward the end of the day, I cannot lift my pack and get it on.  I have to sit on a stump with the pack behind me, put on the shoulder straps and snap hip belt.  It is cheating or the lazy man's way but is where I am now.  
• Just so you know, Fish Lake Resort and Shelter Cove Resort do not have outgoing mail so a lot of the posts for this trip may come at once
• I am at mile 1909.5, I believe Cascade Locks is 2147.  Decision made: I'm not going beyond Cascade Locks.  I am pushing as hard as I can to get home on or before August 15
• Re-supply box was in Shelter Cove.  So far, all three of my resupply boxes were there when I arrived.  Thanks Becky!!
• A lot of today's blog was done by headlamp at 3:45 am.  After hiking all day, I am too pooped to do much more than set up camp, eat, and crash. 
• Including miles to and from Resorts, 200 miles in 10 days

Sat 8/4

 

• Hiked from 1909.5 to Storm Lake 1932.8 = 23.3 miles
• Trail Magic:  The Leeson's (Harold, Karen, and Jeff) from Eugene, OR, provided hot dogs, beer, coke (the drink, not the drug), grapes, cookies, and chips
• Their son, Jeff, also called "Ducky" (trail name) hiked the PCT in 2016 and the Appalachian Trail this year.  Ducky does not remember meeting Garrett/Pathfinder
• Cleaned up my legs and feet. Unbeknownst to me, big toe on the right foot has had a huge blister.  I cut away all dangling skin and added two layers of New Skin

Kevin's Progress

Kevin called from Big Lake Youth Camp, and while it wasn't a through hike, he has completed all the steps on the PCT.  Without further ado, here are the annals of Kevin's hike.

The last couple of weeks were a blur

• 5 trips to take Garrett his resupply
• Friday, 7/13 with Becky to White Pass 
• Monday, 7/16 Becky went to Snoqualmie Pass 
• Tuesday, 7/17 to Stevens Pass--did not get back home until 10:00 pm
• Friday 7/20 rode the Lady of the Lake to Stehekin.  Had to put Garrett's resupply box in a "Hiker Box." It was well-labeled for Garrett Guinn "Pathfinder.  
• Monday 7/23 to Hart's Pass to pick up Garrett at the northern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail. 
• Tuesday 7/24 getting packed up, wrapping up tasks at work, chores
• Challenging Tasks
• Garrett just completed PCT in spite of numerous situations
• post-holing in soft snow in the Sierras, grueling work
• had to replace shoes.  The shoes he bought in South Lake Tahoe were great in the store--horrible for hiking.  Feet took a beating
• hit a "blue period"
• Food poisoning from bad pizza at Hyatt Lake Resort in S Oregon.  This cost him at least five days
• Resupply box I left in Stehekin, very well marked, was stolen by Southbound Hikers--there is a lot more I could say about this.  Garrett had to hike another 111 miles on shoes that were shot.  The new shoes were in the well-marked box.  Feet suffered again. 
• Leanna--on July 16 she started a very intense, one-year nursing program that will give her a four-year nursing degree. She is an excellent student works hard, and is very intentional about getting on top of assignments the day they are assigned.  This will test her will to stay on track  with the fast pace, like a sprinting for a full marathon
• Becky--sending resupply boxes for not one, but two long distance hikers.  Now she has to keep up with watering the lawn during the heat wave AND getting a lawn service to mow grass once a week. 
• Kevin--buttoned up my work project on ecological sites, trips to deliver resupply packages to Garrett and catch bus to Ashland to begin my own hike. Weather for Ashland for the next ten days--hot (97-101).  Likely my hike through Oregon will be with lots of company--mosquitoes.  We're not friends as the little beggars consider me fresh meat. 
• Decisions to Make
• I have a chain of unbroken steps from Mexico to Ashland
• In previous  years, I hiked all of the PCT in Washington and the northern third of Oregon
• To keep continuous steps, I need to start at Callahan's Resort near Ashland. 
• Two problems 
• First 16 miles of PCT north of Callahan's are closed due to a fire that is still burning.  A road walk is in my near future.
• I have talked with a man from Mountain Adventure.  He knows the area and the situation quite well.  The area at Callahans is filled with smoke.
• My choices--we'll see what I decide tomorrow
• Secure continuous steps, but suffer from heat and smoke for 17 mile road walk via old highway 99 and highway 66.
• Walk east from Ashland on highway 66 to Green Spring Summit for 17 miles.  Heat for sure, smoke is problematic. 

Tuesday 7/25

Hitching a ride in Ashland

• Took 20 minutes to get a ride
• I kept telling myself, "It only takes one.  Smile, look nonthreatening."
• Ollie, a Forest Service employee gave me a ride from Ashland to Callahans, south of Ashland.  Ollie has spent work time on the PCT but never on the PCT for recreation. 

Road Walk

• The smoke was not that bad today
• Near Callahans there was a few hundred feet of road construction
• The six miles on Old 99 was downhill, pretty shady and not all that hot
• 34 miles on hwy 66 and 2 miles on Buckhorn Road were not that bad
• The 4 miles on Tyler Creek Road were hard--it was very hot 96*+, quite steep, and minimal shade. 
• The last mile back on hwy 66 was better than Tyler Creek Road
• At Green Springs Summit, I connected back to the PCT

Italian Group of 5

• Top of Green Springs Summit--one Italian who is in a group of 5 forgot his wallet at Callahans.  Before I left Green Springs Summit, a man brought the Italian's wallet
• There are some good people willing to help

Thurs 7/26 Day 2

• Yesterday 18.3 in mid-90s heat, road walk in the sun--was brutally hot
• I did it but I paid the price.  I kept pushing to complete the roadwalk because water was unknown.  I really rationed water because I had no idea when I'd hit water 
• So I was right on the edge of major dehydration and lack of electrolytes.  Like a tightly drawn string.  The string unraveled a bit, but didn't break.  I got lucky.  Three hikers died from heat exhaustion last year on the PCT
• I started this morning from mile 1735 at 5:30 Just after noon I made it to Grizzly Creek (mile 1748.7). 
• Now that I am on the PCT, I intend to manage water stops and hiking mostly when it is cooler.  I cannot hike like a thru-hiker until I have 250-300 under my belt.  Yes I did 1800 miles last year, but that doesn't count in 2018
• Hikers I've met today: Matthew at 2 different bridges and spring, faith-healer, Daryl and Dawson--Father-son team trying to hike Oregon
• Hiked from 1375.2-1752.7 Not as hot as yesterday, low 90s
• Pine cones 12" long--Digger Pine?
• Folks camping with me at Piped Spring
• Jason from Virginia
• Group of 3:  Kiki, Lilly from New Zealand (section hikers), Wander--a thru-hiker
• Little do they know I'll be the alarm clock

Friday 7/27

• camped junction of PCT and Fish Lake Trail--2 miles one way
• Hiking back up from Fish Lake saved me 45 minutes to an hour

Saturday 7/28

• The section to Crater Lake National Park has minimal water.  
• Here's where water is: 
• 1771--creek-right at start where I don't need it
• 1782.4--Christi's Spring
• 1798.5 Creek
• 1818.4  Mazama at Crater Lake
• Two choices
• Hike water to water
• Day 1 11 miles to Christi's Spring
• Day 2  16 miles to Creek
• Day 3 26 miles to Mazama
• Hike to water--camel up, cook hot meal, hike on to campsite (my choice)
• Today: left camp 1770.7 at 5:00 am--mostly doable without headlamp
• Christi's Spring 1782.4 before 10:00 am.  Cooked hot meal
• Left Spring at 11:00 am.  Hiked on to 1790.2 (195 miles) 2:20
• Lots of blow down, especially late when I was tired.  The last two miles were hard for this old cowboy.  Actually there is plenty of daylight to hike another 5-10 miles. My get up and go done gone and went
• Mosquitoes from 7:00 to Christi's Spring at 10:00 am I had to hike with head net and I put bug dope on my legs
• Matthew and I play leap frog.  He camps a little further up the trail than I do.  I start earlier and pass by his camp.  As I get tired and slow down, he passes me. 
• Met Shepherd, a female thru-hiker.  She had to come off trail for two weeks to take care of someone.  Was not able to do anything physical and is struggling to regain where she was before. 

Perspective

• Perspective depends on where you are standing
• Day hikers typically do 5-10 miles a day
• Backpackers may do 8-12 miles a day but they are carrying gear, food, water, so it is harder. 
• Thru-hikers start between 15-20 miles a day and build up to mid 20 anyway.  (I can assure you 20 miles is a BIG day)
• Garrett and other hardcore types do 30-40+ miles a day.  Garrett says, "What would I do with the with the extra time if I only did 20 miles?"
• I get what he's saying.  I completed 19.5 today before 2:30.  I have a lot of time to kill
• I am trying not to compare myself with this year's thru-hikers.  They have 1400-1700 miles under their belt.  I only have 77 miles, so I cannot expect to hike as many miles as they do, nor as fast.
• I am competitive, believe me.  If I had 1700 miles under my belt and this year's group of thru-hikers would be saying, "How can we ditch the Old Guy? No matter what we do he catches us or gets ahead." 
• I have been working on memorizing The Apostles Creed.  About have it nailed.

Sun 7/29  Left camp 5:42 mile 1790.2    Elevation 6600 ft which is pretty high for Oregon

• The trail took me to 7200 feet
• Last water this section -- creek at 1798.5 got there about 9:30 am
• At the 1798.5 creek, met a young man from the Netherlands named Sassafras
• Met a man in his 50s with his father who is 76 They carry no weight as Jack, the donkey, carries everything. Jack is quite friendly, he did not balk when I rubbed his forehead.
• Camped at 1806.4 campsite, pre-selected yesterday.  16 mile day.  The campsite is in the middle of a burn area.  Some trees survived so there is some shade. 

Mon 7/30

• I am at Mazama Village on my sixth day
• I have crossed the 100 mile barrier for this trip and am over 1800 mile mark for last year and this year. 
• Fish Lake would not take outgoing mail, so this is my first post
• My journey started with a brutal roadwalk because the PCT was closed for 16 miles starting at Callahan's Resort.  The 17 miles was tough because I didn't know where, or if, I would find water.  And it was hot, 98* on roads with minimal shade
• Turns out the PCT reopened just before I started the roadwalk.  That would have been lovely, but I had no idea.
• Smoke from the variable -- heavy in the morning.  Most afternoons, smoke dissipates and it is not too bad
• Just after 2:00 pm the smoke starts getting thicker

Thankful, Grateful, and Blessed

• God has blessed me -- wonderful wife, great son and daughter, 40-year career with USDA, friend, church family, and I could go on and on
• Serious leg injury 4 years ago and here I am 1800 miles from Mexico  via hiking. Not supposed to happen with my injury
• I am honored to hike for those who can't -- kids at Camp Korey, etc
• and I get to walk with God each day.  

Signing off to make some footprints. 

He's Back on the Trail

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks for me.  Last week, we went to White Pass, Snoqualmie Pass, Stevens Pass, and Kevin took a trip to Stehekin all to drop off resupply packages for Garrett/Pathfinder.  Then Monday, Kevin went to Harts Pass to pick up Pathfinder at the end of the PCT.  Tuesday, Kevin took a bus to Ashland, OR, to pick up where he left off last year.  Tuesday night, Pathfinder took the train to Whitefish, MT, to start the CDT portion of his trek. 

Kevin just called from Fish Lake and he's on track and doing well.  The only concern he's had is that the water sources are few and far between.

Tonight I have to put together resupply boxes for both of my hikers. So I'll close this post down.  We can't thank you enough for your thoughts and prayers.  Kevin is continuing to raise money for Camp Korey  Go to the donate page here: https://campkorey.org/donate/, then scroll down to Gift Preferences, click the drop down box and find Kevin's PCT Journey.  Every dollar goes toward allowing a child to come to camp and be a kid instead of a patient. 

Even though it is gauche to give yourself a trail name, I've gone ahead and done it.  So I'll sign off as

Resupply Guru.

The DownLow on Camp Korey

Kevin and I made a date on Friday to go see Camp Korey and meet the people who make it go.  Wendy and Beth are incredible hosts who took a good amount of their afternoon to make us feel welcome.  Starting with this:

Camp Korey has so many pictures on their website that I couldn't add anymore here.  What they do for the children they serve is to allow them to let their hair down and be kids instead of miniature adults keeping up with a schedule for their medications. This is not to say that they get to skip their medications, but instead, the medical staff keeps up with the schedule and brings the medications to the child.  

Kevin is getting ready to finish up the PCT this summer, and this visit was just the inspiration to get back on his fundraising bandwagon.  This is a summary of what we saw at Camp Korey:  The cabins are spotless and the bunks boast real mattresses, each cabin has its own bathroom--this is not your ordinary camp accommodations, and all of them are wheelchair accessible.  The camp has two hundred acres of fully usable land, with its own orchard, vegetable garden; a small amphitheater which will be enlarged, a soccer field, a big dining hall, and a separate gathering place for celebrating whatever needs to be celebrated. Underneath the dining hall is the arts and crafts room.  Each camper makes wish flags. They hang from the ceiling in the dining hall.  One of the wishes that gave me a chuckle was from the child who wanted to be batman.  The most touching wish was the flag that said, "I hope everyone's wishes come true."  And that is our wish for every child who comes to Camp Korey--that their every wish comes true.   

If you wish to donate to this cause: click this link

Power Nap

Power Nap

I have taken a lot of training hikes on Beazley Hill above town over the years.  Beazley Hill offers a variety of hikes, flat to steep, and from short 3-milers to 11 miles or longer.  On most hikes any breaks are kept to 5 minutes or less.  Work hard, get the hike done.   That’s been the case on every training hike until Saturday.

I left the South Kiosk at 5:30 am Saturday morning and hiked up the steep face of the Middle Towers.  Then I made my way on the north side heading east just above the draw.  Several years ago at the barbed wire fence someone installed a wooden ramp so that mountain bikers and hikers can cross the fence easily.  The west approach has wood cleats for traction, but the east side is just steeply sloping boards.  The temperature Saturday morning was 29-31 degrees.  I was totally unaware that there was heavy frost/ice on the ramp. 

My first step down the east side was a doozy – my left shoe slipped, and I was knocked unconscious when I landed hard on the wooden ramp.  The left side took the full impact – head, ribcage and shoulder.  When I woke up I was totally disoriented – I had no idea where I was nor where the car was parked.  After minutes with no activity my Garmin had stopped – it read 1 hour 10 minutes and 2.25 miles.  I stood up and resumed my hike trying to determine my orientation (location) and remember where the car was parked – at home or at one of the kiosks. 

Trying to reconstruct the timeline, the best I can figure is that I had a 25-40 minute “power nap” on Beazley Hill.  Yes, I made it home.  Yes, I went to the walk-in clinic at Moses Lake and Becky drove.  What was supposed to be a 2-hour wait at the clinic was only 10 minutes.  The CT scan of my head showed nothing unusual and the x-ray of my ribs showed no cracks, but the possibility of one hairline fracture.  I am sore as the dickens and moving quite slowly, but none the worse for wear.  Coughing, sneezing, laughing are no fun.  The thing I like about pain is that it tells you where you hurt.  I hurt in multiple places, but this a temporary situation.

In the meantime, I am doing some planning for the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).  The Pacific Crest is straight forward – single track, guidebook and maps easy to follow.  The CDT guidebook says to “Embrace the Brutality”, and it is certainly an entirely different animal, a beast.  My head is spinning from looking at maps for the first 45 miles – multiple route options, considerable cross-country hiking or road walking.  Nothing makes sense.  In addition to route finding issues, water in a huge concern.  Maybe there are water caches, maybe not.  Stock water may not be turned on.  And notes on the maps say to beware that prickly pear cactus is abundant on cross country travel anywhere. 

I can only say I’m unsure when my body will allow me to resume training.  And I am uncertain where and when I will be back on one of the long-distance trails.  As with many natural resource management questions, the answer to my hiking future begins with, “it all depends”.

Kevin Guinn

3 March 2018

Donations Method Changed

To support Camp Korey is a simpler, easier thing to do. Go to the Donate page, located here. Click on the drop down menu to find Kevin's name and then decide how much you want to donate. It's that simple.

I'm Hijacking This Blog

As Kevin is preparing for the Continental Divide Trail hike this summer, I am doing what I can to help him support Camp Korey.  Year before last, they bought a new facility and moved.  Last year they did a fair amount of construction jobs to bring the camp into a more usable format.  One of the things they need is new quilts for the bunks.  The requirements for these quilts are not many but what requirements there are, are specific to their needs.

My sewing machine and I have been estranged from each other for a while.  I haven't been sewing much lately, but now that I have a purpose to sew, I can't get enough.

The first quilt I made is a Disappearing Nine Patch--but the arrangement is not the traditional reconstruction.

It was a lot of fun to make and is with the quilter right now.  

The second quilt was the "Wish Quilt."  Every camper gets a flag to put a wish on.  I asked my Camp representative for a list of the wishes and wrote them on the plain blocks on the quilt. 

They asked for quilts with lots of color, and this is the brightest fabric I had in my stash.  It was a lot of fun to work with and put together. 

The third quilt I call Midnight Blues.  It may not be what the designer called it, but it works for me. 

It is easily pieced with just strips and the moon was small strips cut with a Dresden Plate Wedge, and then pieced together. 

The fourth quilt I just finished is an "Apache Tomahawk" My sister-in-law gave me a stack of fat quarters of a southwestern theme and they fit the needs of this quilt exactly.  Kevin was a bit upset, because he likes the fabrics and wants a quilt made from them.  I found enough similar fabrics that I can make him one.

If I am working with blocks that finish out at 12.5", then I need 35 of them for the correct size quilt.  Once I finished the blocks, I put them in my WinCo randomizer so that I could pull them out and put them in the rows and columns for the finished quilt.  

I am working on my fifth quilt--a monochromatic, with four more quilts planned out, two with a camping theme, one with a baseball theme, a snowball/ninepatch quilt, and a blue and yellow quilt with a pinwheel theme.  

I will be posting more pictures as I finish  more quilts, and as Kevin begins to get ready for his trip, he will be posting as well. 

For anyone interested in making quilts for Camp Korey, here are the requirements:

Quilts for the beds (ages 7-17)

• The size of the quilt should be 60 inches wide by 80 inches long.
• Please feel free to be creative! We need patchwork quilts to decorate every twin-sized bed in our cabins.
• Please make sure these quilts are machine washable and are not too heavy or warm.

Ciao

Becky