Hannibal's Pacific Crest Trail Chronicle

Well, first things first. I have to confess to wimping out on the Seiad Valley Pancake Challenge. Just the thought of eating 5 pounds of fried pancake batter, butter and syrup was enough to make me want a 4 egg "everything" omelet, home fries, bacon, juice, coffee and one pancake on the side. I have shamed the name thru-hiker (not to mention my family name and our reputation for having "good forks"), but at least I was able to make the 4500 foot ascent out of the valley without ejecting my stomach contents, as another unfortunate hiker did.

As you can tell from the title of this post, I have left California -- finally -- after 1700 miles. I am now in, as one local called it, Oregonation...whatever that means. One-third complete in state terms...but more importantly, two-thirds finished in mileage. A word about Northern California: Amazing! I knew the Sierra would be beautiful, and the Tahoe area, but was not expecting the rugged gorgeousness of No. Cal. Unpeopled and unspoiled. It kept getting better and better. Even the smoke from the several wildfires burning nearby could not detract from the scenery. And wildlife...much more to be seen and heard here than elsewhere, so far, on the Trail. I will be back.

And speaking of wildlife...let me relate a very exciting sighting. A couple of days ago, just outside Seiad Valley in the Marble Mountain Wilderness (called that because the mountains are made of marble, as you might have guessed) I found myself hiking after dark. I do this occasionally when the moonlight is good. And on that night, while the moon was still early in its cycle it provided enough light to hike by, particularly when reflecting off the marble. There were lots of owls flying around (think of R2-D2 from Star Wars with wings) and plenty of toads hopping out of my way as I went along the Trail. I found a meadow in which to camp at 10:30, shouted a hello to a couple of campers whose headlamps I saw a little way off, and started to lay my sleeping bag out on the ground...when I heard a soft "thump". The kind of noise a cat makes jumping from the dining room table onto the floor...which is exactly what it was. My light was in my teeth as I turned around at the noise. Even before its beam hit the animal I knew it was a mountain lion. Too short to be a deer, too quiet to be a bear, too big to be a bobcat or coyote. And then my light hit it...15 feet away, 5 feet long not including the tail and 2.5 feet high at the shoulder, with piercing cat's-eyes reflected in my light. It was big. We stared at each other for about 10 seconds, although it felt longer, before I made the first move (incidentally, my heart rate at this moment was about 5000 beats per minute). I took a step away, at an angle so I could keep the cat in my peripheral vision and then another slow step. The cougar, deciding I did not look, walk or smell like a deer scampered off in the opposite direction. Whew! and Wow! were my simultaneous reactions. It had apparently stalked me as I came into the meadow and crept along an enormous fallen tree before jumping off the trunk to get a closer look.

I decided to drag my gear closer to the other campers. While making my introduction to the others the lion made a circle around the three of us, apparently concluding we were not the prey it was looking for. Very exciting. And since I am able to write this, an amazing experience.

By the way, Happy Birthday Mom!

As some of you might have guessed, the "waffles" were a metaphor. To post that recipe is outside the scope and good taste of this family-oriented blog. However, on my pay-per-view site...

I heard from a couple of people I have not spoken to in awhile:
Jim, glad to know you are following the blog. You mentioned my weight loss in the email you sent...something our community here may find interesting...to date I have lost 42 pounds. A rather incredible number, but not unexpected. I may not have mentioned this in previous postings, but my training regimen pre-hike (Julie will snicker at this) included much ice cream, extra large portions of food, lots of snacking and minimal exercise...in short, being an average American. In 5 months I gained 20 lbs, from 180 to 200. So, the net loss is only 20 lbs or so. I am very lean, as Julie would attest, and muscle mass has shifted as you might expect from upper body to lower. Most importantly, I feel great and hike 30 or more miles per day without excessive fatigue or hunger. At 158 lbs, I weigh about what I did in high school, and am fantastically fit.
I don't mean to say I am never hungry, however, as I usually have a low-grade hunger going on all the time on-trail. A consequence of my calorie deficit. Simply put, I cannot carry enough food to satisfy my hunger completely. So, I make up for it in town.
For instance, here in Etna I indulged in the Marble Mountain Marvel; 5 scoops of ice cream, 3 toppings and whippedcreamnutscherries. Without guilt! Eric often recounts with amusement the sheer volume of food I consumed when he met me for dinner near the Appalachian Trail.
To finish this talk about food, my rate of weight loss has decelerated since I started hiking, as my body has adapted to the routine. It would be concerning if it didn't. For those of you who are interested in a diet-exercise combination that achieves maximum fitness and weight loss goals without sacrificing favorite foods in the process, long-distance hiking is it. Hopefully it will not be the latest craze...the trail is crowded enough. The only consequence being: Your spouse may not immediately recognize you when you surprise her for your anniversary!
Trail Czar, great to hear from you...sorry for your losses. I can't make up for both, but I am happy to send you my pictures since, after all, we walked the same trail. You bring up a reality of long-distance hiking...the difficulties with coming home and readjusting to life off the Trail. I do not have the time now, but will address this at my next stop...Ashland, Oregon. Finally, Oregon!
In the mean time, I have more training to do...for the Seiad Valley Pancake Challenge. I'll tell you about that as well.

I traveled a mere 42 miles in the past week, averaging only 6 miles per day. However, this only represents my trail miles. Frequent flier miles show a different story. I made a long-planned, surprise return to Seattle to celebrate my first anniversary...and pay homage to the woman who has enthusiastically let me out of the house for five months.

Now, being new at this marriage thing, I don't know any better. But, I understand from guys out hiking for a week or so...and they are not usually out longer than that if wedded... that my situation is rather unique, special, that I am very lucky indeed. I agree. Not only has Julie given her blessing for a five month hike every two years (just kidding), but she has been a superb at-home support person, mailing my resupply packages on schedule. Thank you very much.

Now, after a taste of home and Julie's waffles, I am well-motivated to hike the next 1300 miles. And make up some of this time-very-well-spent at home. Sara, thank you for helping make this a surprise. Your sister will never trust you again.

I promise more about the trail next time.

I apologize for the delay in making this post, though it has not been entirely my fault. As I have moved out of the High Sierra and Lake Tahoe tourist zones and into more rural Northeastern-ish California, it has been rather difficult to find functioning, available internet service. For example, in the otherwise exemplary trail town of Sierra City (whose best days were during the mid-nineteenth century Gold Rush) I struck out twice. I first went to the public library, my usual first stop, only to find that its' hours were restricted to two days a week. I was there on neither of those days. Even if I was I would have had to have been fortunate enough to arrive between 12 and 2. Hopefully, the kiddies are doing summer reading elsewhere. My next stop was the General Store, proudly displaying a big red sign: Internet Here. I went in and the following exchange ensued:

Hannibal: You have internet available?
Storekeeper: The internet is down.
Hannibal: (slightly exasperated) Wow, and it was designed to survive nuclear (or nu-ku-lur depending on your political stripes) holocaust. Did something happen?
Storekeeper: It broke. The repairman has to come out from Sacramento. I don't know when...

Sacramento, incidentally, is really not that close to Sierra City. Anyway, the other establishment lacking in these smaller towns are internet coffee shops. Short of knocking on the door of a private residence, which for your sakes I considered doing, I was out of luck. By the way, for those of you who keep up with precious metal commodity prices (no doubt a huge portion of this blog's readership) you won't be too surprised to hear that a lot of the old mines here are reopening. Such was the talk at the breakfast counter at the Red Moose Cafe.

I am now in Chester, the town closest to the midpoint of the trail. I am more than halfway (in miles) finished. As I reassured Julie on the phone this evening, "Halfway in miles, much more than halfway in time." After all, I have to be to avoid the big freeze...both at home when I eventually do return and in the Northern Cascades in the Fall.

Tomorrow, as I head North I go into Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen will be the first in a long series of big mountain-volcanoes I walk around or on, on my way to the Canadian border. This is also the end of the Sierra geologically and the beginning of the Cascade Range. All of which explains why I have had the Johnny Cash ditty "Ring of Fire" in my head the past few days.

Until next time...