Mile 513.4 – Celebrating 500 Miles with Snow in the Desert?

500 Miles have flown by! We are definitely getting into a rhythm and 20 miles seems to be a normal day of hiking now. I can’t believe after 450 miles I have my first two blisters and a crack on my left foot, but they are healing quickly with lots of lotion and encouraging conversations (yes I talk to my feet) in the eveming.. I’ve also gone from a size 9 women’s shoe size at the beginning of the trip to size 9 men’s!

We are in what is known as the “hottest stretch of the PCT.” Ha! What a year 2010 has been thus far for the PCT… as I write this in a trailer at Hiker Town along Hwy 138, my hands are cramping up because of the cold. I type a sentence and then put them back in my down jacket to warm up. We are thankful to be here, hiding from the harsh weather outside and being fed delicious strawberry and banana pancakes by Richard and Bob, caretakers of this hiker haven. It is snowing this morning and the wind is howling. As I look at the Tehachapi range North of me, the snow line is all the way at the base of the mountains and they are covered with a thick blanket of snow. Yesterday, there was not even a trace of snow on these mountains, and we just got word that there is 2 inches in Tehachapi this morning. All of us thru-hikers this year keep wondering about our Sierra strategy – snow snow snow seems to be all we hear about that beautiful range which is pretty disheartening. I keep hoping for the best. Dag nabbit, if I’m hiking in snow shoes, so be it.

You will notice we are going to be slowing down in miles hiked per day and taking many zero days in the week or more to come – we must wait for the Sierra to melt a bit before entering. Mammoth is forecasted to have snow 5 out of the next 6 days!! Quick random fact: They are correctly called the “Sierra” but are commonly incorrectly referred to as the “Sierras.” Either way – they are covered in snow. First time in my life where I am chanting “heat wave!” ~Melissa

Bel0w are some entries from the past few COLD days in the desert – stay tumed we are going to be playing Guess that Plant soon!

Friday May 21, 2010 “Before the Storm”
“I love looking through our photos and recalling so many fond memories made thus far. For 12 nights now, Justin and I have slept under the stars and it feels quite natural to hike all day and drop our packs at dusk, lay out our sleeping bags and fall quickly and peacefully to sleep before putting our bodies through the same workload the next day. People ask us ‘What do you guys talk about?! Don’t you ever get bored??’ and the simple answers are ‘everything’ and ‘absolutely not.’ We even brought little nano ipods in case we need to zone out and listen to music, but have had no need for that as we are always entertained by the next turn in the trail and the wildlife around.”

“Yesterday (Thursday May 20 2010), we joked that it felt like we sat more than hiked, eventhough we did walk 18 miles. We spent our early morning snack in the shade of an oak tree watching two busy parents feed their hungry young squeaking in a nest. We left a note for our friends Tiff and Aaron to check out the same nest. Aaron is an excellent Ornithologist (someone who studies birds) and identified the family as Gray Tit Mouse. ”

” Later, we enjoyed watching an indecisive Lady Bug climb up and down a blade of grass for a good solid 10 minutes. It just made us roll around laughing to see this little guy go to the top of the blade, look around, and then head back down to the bottom, look around, and on and on. We have enjoyed taking it slow to watch the smaller creatures of the desert. Even our dance with a rattlesnake was quite fun and energizing (check out the video). Mr. Rattle ended up turning around and heading back into a bush after about 3 minutes and then we walked quickly by.” ~ Melissa
May 22, 2010 ICE ICE ICE!

“We awoke in a sea of gray dense thick clouds surrounding us at 5400 feet. We managed to get a decent nights sleep despite the freezing winds, blowing sands, and roars of loud lifted trucks cruising the dirt roads on a friday night. My thermometer read 32 degrees but the winds were forecasted up to 38mph gusts, which I am sure they reached, which means the temps dipped into the teens, according to a wind chill index. I am quite impressed by our Marmot down sleeping bags. As we hiked today, we could see natures beauty that was created. Ice blanketed the branches and leaves of the trees and shrubs that call Liebre Mountain home. Atop this ridge we could see the Mojave, the Tehachapi Range, Mt Baldy, and on a clear day, the Pacific Ocean.”

“We found a cell signal and gave Melissa’s mom a jingle, speaking of the beauty around. Shortly thereafter, we began the descent but not before a well deserved lunch and short nap on Melissa’s part. The trail provided views of Lake Castaic and I5 near Gorman. We passed several Buckeye trees on the way down and made our way to Hikertown by 600 pm where we gratefully ate the leftovers from the chicken dinner. A tub of cookies and cream ice-cream left by previous hikers topped off the belly before we turned in at 8:10 on a saturday night to our sweet motor home hiding away from the cold wind and rain.” ~Justin

Sunday May 23, 2010

“Off again we go, into the cold desert. Next stop Mojave where we will be picked up by Uncle Carl and Aunt Donna! Can’t wait to visit and enjoy zero days with them! Pictures and Videos are up to date after playing around on the computer this morning – thank you Bob!”