Catra's PCT Adventure

Here I Go Again!

2007-09-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

I'm here in Tahoe City with Crazy Chris. We are about to set out on the Tahoe Rim Trail. This will be my 4th trip on the TRT. It will be Crazy's first time. The weather looks good. I'm carrying a pretty light load since my doctor made me promise it would be light. 17 pounds with food & gear. I'm hoping the water situation is ok. There was only one section I remember running out of water last year. I talked to the clinic in Sisters. It's been confirmed I have giardia and two other parasites...GROSS.....I knew I had aliens living inside me. LOL... They said finish up the antibiotics and I should be fine. Hey at least I won't get Giardia on the TRT, because I already have it. We hope to finish in under 5 days. We will see how it goes. My legs are sore from yesterday. It was my first day back to crossfit. Well stay tuned.

XOXO, Catra

My PCT 2007 - Final Post

2007-09-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

Be grateful for a new lease of life. Long-standing situations, stalemates or deadends now come to an end. The universe has taken note of your situation and is prepared to repair or correct it. You for your part must be prepared to let go and to co-operate with the universal energy. The past is now beginning to fade and regeneration is beginning. Accept all that is going to be offered, you will be delighted with how it will change your life.

This is my last post to my PCT 2007 blog. Thanks to Mer for sending this cool judgment card which is so fitting for my situation. I am deeply touched by all the kind words and thoughts from everyone. I never imagined what an impact my hike would have on so many wonderful people who followed me in this world.

You can follow my daily rants and raves on my blog www.trailgirl.blogspot.com

Dirt Diva

Day 99 - August 29: The End of My Hike!

2007-08-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

So close but yet so far....2,000 miles!! (Dirt Diva's Report)

I made it all the way to Sisters having Giardia since Ashland. I woke up last Thursday with a pain in my knee. It hurt really, really bad. I've never felt anything like this before. I decided to ignore it and took 9 Advil that day. I didn't notice my knee the next day, maybe because I was too busy being sick from Giardia.

So I ended up at the clinic in Sisters on Monday. The doctor looked at my knee and said "stay off it for a week". She gave me an antibiotic to treat my Giardia and some other parasite she thinks I have. The antibiotic seemed to be making things worse but she told me that it could make me feel sick.

My knee was worse on Tuesday. I had to go back in to drop off my stool samples (sorry, I know that sounds gross). I showed her my knee again and it was a lot more swollen. She told me the best thing for me to do is to go home and get a MRI from my doctor. She said the worst thing to do at this point would to hike another 500 miles.
I decided to sleep on it and ask my Mom to show me a sign of what to do. I woke up in pain. I believed this was the sign.

I asked myself over and over what to do. My answer kept coming back saying "do you want to finish and risk never running or hiking again?" I would be devastated if I messed myself up, caused permanent damage, and was never able to run again.
It's clear to me the trail will always be there.
I started thinking, if anything, I could come back next year and finish where I left off. I am sad about having to stop. I called some of my friends to get advise and they all said I should not risk damaging my knee further.

So I made my final decision to stop. I will write a list of all the wonderful things I learned while hiking 2,000 miles. I will write about all the positive experiences so when I'm sad about leaving the trail I can look back and know it's not really a bad thing. I will stay positive. It's going to be a big shock to go back home and be around all the "normal" things - cars, TVs, radios, people and just general city life.

I already miss the trail!

In making it this far I have learned so much about me - who I am and what I want.
Will I be back next year???? I will - and I will start from the beginning, not just from where I left off. I will make it work so I can do the whole thing. Next time I will be wiser and will know what works and how to move faster while still having fun.

Thanks to all of you who followed and encouraged me on my journey. Without all of you I think I would not have made it this far. To tell the truth, I didn't think I could make it through the desert so I am so happy with how far I made it.

Thanks again for all the positive vibes and thoughts along the way.

Let's hope the knee thing isn't super serious and let's hope this damn Giardia goes away soon.

Love to all of you.

Catra AKA Dirt Diva
Mex-Oregon PCT 2007

Day 98 - Tuesday, August 28

2007-08-30T15:28:00.001-07:00

Taking a down day in Sisters to recover. Here are a collection of pictures from Chris' & my cameras taken between Crater Lake and Sisters.

Crater Lake

Bull, Me & Chris @ Crater Lake

Crater Lakes Library

Elk Lake Health Food Store

Chris, me, Glacier, Frodo, Scout

Scout & Frodo are from San Diego and are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary by hiking the PCT. At other times they are trail angels in San Diego that pick up many hikers from the airport, share their home and transport them to the Campo starting point. Check out their Trail Journal for an incredible story.

Day 97 - Monday, August 27

2007-08-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

Here is Terry's Report of his meeting with Catra:

Here are the two pictures I got. One is of Chris, who we ran into while he waited for his MIA brother. He was suspected of hiking to meet them on the trail and missed them somehow. The other pic is of Catra and me out in front of her motel in Sisters. Sisters, is a quaint little mountain resort town that funnels all mid-Oregon traffic down main street and prides itself on having no stop lights. Sisters has a highly rated health food store that has the world class fruit smoothies. Kay and I ate dinner there while we awaited word of Catra's whereabouts.

Again, for future reference, the USPS does not deliver into Elk Lake and management does not pick up in Bend everyday. Additionally they seemingly attempt to extort from hikers exorbitant fees for making the Bend pick-up. We were told the FedEx and UPS do make deliveries there. Elk Lake did have a pretty nice restaurant with both inside and out-door seating. It seems worth the short diversion off the PCT to get some "non-trail" food.

Catra looked good and was hiking strong in spite of her illness. She should start feeling better soon after treatment starts. What a major drag, giardia.

Thanks Jerry, for all your help and effort. Kay and I were a day or less behind her as we chased her through the Cascades for those four days. We were happy to have finally caught up to her. Keep me on the list for any future Mid-Oregon PCT adventures. Also, if Catra gets up here to run any ultras, we can provide her with a car and/or support out of Eugene.

Days 92-95 - Thurs-Sun, August 23-26

2007-08-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

This past week has been up and down for me. One day I feel good, the next day my stomach explodes, if you know what I mean. I feel like I have an alien living inside trying to get out.
Crazy Chris jumped on board at Crater lake. Bull, Chris and I spent a couple days together and then Erik showed up. We hiked together for a couple days before Erik & Bull decided to hike the Eugene trail into that town. Me & Crazy had lots of fun. He did awesome and hung with me for 6 days. He hit the trail right off his couch and said he was looking to be inspired. I think it worked. ;-)
Saturday morning I woke up with a terrible pain in my right knee. I took advil and ignored it all while hiking 30 miles. We went into Elk Lake and I was suprised to find out my resupply wasn't there but was in Bend. The Elk Lake Resort owner said we are supposed to send boxes by UPS but the Data Book doesn't state that. Oh well, I decided just to move on. My stomach problems have gotten worse and I'm hardly eating anything.
Sunday, me and Crazy were going to meet his brother at HWY 242. He wasn't there but his van was. I decided not to wait for him and got a ride into Sisters from some trail angels.
In town I ran into Terry, a fellow ultrarunner from the Oregon Track Club Masters and his wife, Kay. I didn't know it but they had been driving and running all over the mountains between Elk Lake and Hwy 242 / Sisters for four days trying to find me. He and Jerry had exchanged many e-mails, text msgs, and phone calls trying to get him connected with me. I didn't know any of this because I didn't have cell service. Terry and Kay were camping with their family at Lava Lake and making all these side trips looking for me. Finally, on Sunday they met Chris in Sisters and found out I was in town. They had driven into Bend to pick up my resupply from the Post Office. They delivered it to me plus brought me tons of goodies including several raw food dishes. Their spread was way better than any aid station I've ever seen in a 100 mile race! I ate some stuff but didn't want much because of my stomach. They were truly amazing for coming all the way out to meet me. I take back any things I said earlier on my blog about Oregon people not being friendly. Terry & Kay, you guys ROCK.
Chris's bro finally made his way out of the woods at 7 pm. We were worried when he wasn't near his van when we had been there earlier in the day. Turns out he had hiked out to us but took a different trail than we did.
Woke up in the middle of Sunday night with my right knee swollen. I can hardly walk. I have an appointment at the clinic to see what's up. :-(

Sorry, no pictures since I haven't been able to send any.

Days 90-91 - Tues-Weds, August 21-22

2007-08-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

As we got into Crater Lakes we saw this highway sign. Well, I've got to tell you we didn't need a sign to tell us that we were ready to stop! LOL!

We checked into a hotel. Bull immediately got on the phone to his wife. You think he's happy to be talking to her? ;-)

I walked out on the balcony and looked at the view of Crater Lake. OMG, what an incredible sight!

The National Parks brochure says it better than I can:

Few places on earth command overwhelming awe from observers, but Crater Lake, in south central Oregon, certainly does. Even in a region of volcanic wonders, Crater Lake can only be described in superlatives. Stories of the deep blue lake can never prepare visitors for their first breathtaking look from the brink of this 6 mile wide caldera which was created by the eruption and collapse of Mt. Mazama almost 7,700 years ago. Even seasoned travelers gasp at the twenty-mile circle of cliffs, tinted in subtle shades and fringed with hemlock, fir, and pine: all this in a lake of indescribable blue.

And this picture was taken with my camera phone.

Before getting cleaned up I decided I would do a crossfit workout so I did some handstand pushups in the hotel room. ;-)

Chris from Santa Cruz showed up and we planned out the hike for the next 4 days while he is with us. We expect to be in Shelter Cove near Willamette Pass (mile 1912) by mid-morning on Friday. We will have breakfast there before continuing on. Chris' brother is going to pick us up at McKenzie Pass/ Highway 242 (mile 1989) and drive us to the town of Sisters about 15 miles off trail.

On Wednesday, we ran into Eric D who is on the return trip of an attempt to yoyo the PCT. He was in good spirits and moving along well.

We passed the highest point (7560') in both Oregon and Washington near Wizard Island Overlook at mile 1838. Doesn't seem like much after all the 13ers in California.

Days 86-89 - Fri-Mon, August 17-20

2007-08-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

After we left Ashland, Erik the Black got sick and we had to leave him behind. We hoped that he would recover fast so he could catch up to us. On Thursday night, I got sick too and have not been eating much since then. I only ate 200 calories on Friday. I just have no appetite. We are hearing a bunch of hikers are sick with stomach issues. Probably related to the low water in the creeks and increased bacteria levels. Hopefully it passes quickly.

On Friday, me & Bull made it to Brown Mountain Shelter (mile 1771) It's getting cold at night and is looking like it's going to rain. Bull chopped some wood so we could have a fire. It didn't rain but we were glad to be inside. I am going to have to get my rain pants and warm jacket sent out soon.Bull's wife, City Girl did the first 900+ miles of the PCT to Mammoth Lakes but decided to go home since she was holding up Bull and needed to go back to work. They just got married last September. She may have a chance to get on America's top model show.

On Saturday, my friend, Mike Palmer held his annual Psychedelic Climacteric run in the Berkeley hills. Since I wasn't there to run it, me & Bull did our Oregon version - 33 miles in 11:30. I called Mike to let him know so he could post our time in his results. ;-)

We passed these rocks someone left to show that we reached 1800 miles. The trail may not be the yellow brick road to OZ but it is still this really pretty pink volcanic rock leading us through this section of OR. Nice to have a color-coordinated trail to hike on! LOL!

On Sunday we got caught in a huge rainstorm. We were soaked and got so cold we could hardly function. :-(

We reached Crater Lake (mile 1830) on Monday afternoon. I am still having intestinal problems. I have my last food resupply box at Elk Lake in Bend. I am not going to have any more food sent out after that. I have tons of food in my bounce box and can just buy food I need from here through Washington.

A guy named Chris from Santa Cruz, CA who hiked the PCT in 1979 is coming out to meet us here in Crater Lake to hike 4 days north.

Day 85 - Thursday, August 16

2007-08-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

I am on my way to Crater Lake in Oregon. You can see that Oregon doesn't have the big climbs or the high elevations of California. I do have a big descent to near sea level at Cascade Locks on the Hood River just East of Portland near the Washington border.
Here's a rock arrow I saw along the trail.

I saw a post on my blog from a So Cal woman, Sandee Sanger . She and Steve Edwards of Birthdaychallenge.com left a sign for me near Islip Saddle by Wrightwood in So Cal. I didn't see it when I passed through that area so Sandee sent Jerry pictures of their sign. Looks like they were out about sunrise. Thanks for the sign, Sandee & Steve :-) - sorry I missed it.

I have a site meter on my blog so I can tell which cities, states and countries are following my adventure. I see that a viewer from San Quentin has been following me. I hope I am able to inspire this person who is not able to enjoy the outdoors and that one day they too will have the freedom to enjoy the wilderness.

Days 80-84 - Sat-Weds, August 11-15

2007-08-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally made it to Oregon 3 days ago. I thought I would never make it.
On Sunday, I was in Seiad Valley and Erik the Black magically appeared with Bull. I was happy to see he was doing great. They partied in Etna and then with Erik's special powers they appeared out of nowhere after they had been over a day behind me ; )

Along the way I came upon a large patch of wild blackberries. I stopped to pick and eat several hand fulls - they were yummy!

When I was hiking into Seiad Valley I had to do a long 6 mile road walk. You might think that would be easy being on flat road -- but the asphalt surface was hard and hot since I'm used to forest trails. I was not happy and my shoes were falling apart. The soles were coming unglued - I've never had Hardrock shoes do that. Good thing I have new shoes waiting in Seiad Valley for me.

The PCT doesn't actually go through many towns but does go through Seiad Valley (mile 1662). There is only one building with the post office, small store, and small restaurant all inside. The restaurant is famous for its "Pancake Challenge". You get 2 hours to eat five 1-pound pancakes and make it out the door without losing them. If you do, you get a tee-shirt plus you don't have to pay the $9.95 for the pancakes. Two hikers, Fester and Breeze were going for it when I was there. Fester ate two and felt sick. Breeze got down 3¼ and that was enough for him. There has been only 10 people who have completed it in 22 years - all PCT hikers except for 1 pig farmer.
We all stayed in the RV park where they had a gated-off area with hay for the hikers to camp on. I felt like we were animals at the petting zoo.

I met a little friend, a kitty named Roscoe. He was so very cute I wish I could of taken him with me.

Erik the Black & I took off out of Seiad Valley together. It was hot but we were on a mission to make it to the Oregon border sign that night. Which we did.

I came up with a goofy idea that we would write on each other. ETB was ORE and I was GON. It was super cold and we stood there forever at ten'oclock at night writing on each other. We got a few good shots.
We camped just a little ways past the border. We saw a light and it was Bull who had caught up with us. We all decided to head into Ashland the next day.

We all decided to do this road-walk option. We were doing great hiking along and dreaming of the yummy food that we would eat in Ashland. Well somehow we ended up on Road 22 when we were supposed to be on Road 20. We had somehow gotten off course - way, way off course.
We realized it too late to turn back and could only go forward. I just told myself it's all about the adventure. And yes, this was an adventure. It was hot and we saw two cars at a trail head. We figured we could get a ride out when they came along.
We saw a Ranger and told him our story. He said it was 7 miles to the road so we walked and walked and walked... Finally along came one of the cars with this girl driving who just shook her head no as she drove past us. Boy, were we pissed! It was obvious we weren't crazies - well, maybe to her we were. That was our ride out. We did see three cars pass going the opposite way. Let me remind you that we were in the middle of nowhere on a logging road. Just when we were bitching about the people in Oregon and how they were supposed to be nice which we thought they weren't - thanks to the girl in the red car that shook her head no at us - a van turns around. It was a Mom with her son. Mom was teaching the son to drive. They pulled over and said they would be honored to give us a ride into Ashland. We were very, very thankful that they were so nice. We got lucky!
Ashland (mile 1726) is a nice little city with a great little food coop. I went into the local running store, Rogue Valley Runners and who do I see...Montrail team-mate, Ian Torrence. It was great seeing him. A minute later who walks up but another team-mate, Hal Koerner who owns the store. He is the Angeles Crest 100 mile 2006 winner and record holder plus he won Western States this year. It's a great store so if you're ever in town, stop by - it's on Main Street in Ashland.

I am still having fun and thanks to all of you for your posts.

Well, we're out of Ashland on Thursday morning and I will put the pedal to the metal and get through Oregon.

Oh, I want to give a shout out. My friend, Tattoo Joe got the speed record on the PCT following the official route. He did not take the current reroute. His time was 79 days and a couple hours.
We are already making plans for my 2009 return to take a shot at the woman's speed record. He is my inspiration and hero of the PCT. Tattoo Joe, U ROCK...
Picture courtesy of Terri Steele-Friends, Heroes & Legends of PCT Gallery

Love to all,
Catra AKA Dirt Diva

Days 77-79 - Weds-Fri, August 8-10

2007-08-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

(Dirt Diva's Report)

I've been hiking alone for the past three days. I left Erik on Tuesday. He wasn't planning on doing high mileage and I was. I saw 5 Bears in the last section. That brings my bear sighting total to 7. I have also seen 2 Bob cats, 1 Grey fox, 4 coyotes, at least 20 deers and 100's of lizards.
It has been really hot and very dry without much water. The Data Book really sucks and all of us thru-hikers agree. It lists water sources that are dry and doesn't list ones that are there. If there is water in these sections now I can guarantee it is there every year since this is a dry year with very little snow and rain.

Here I am dehydrated and not happy with the writers of the Data Book! Ahh, trail magic - a really nice trail angel left this cooler with drinks and food near a road at mile 1531.

I have seen many group hikers in the past few days. I have been going through a bad patch the last couple days since I've been by myself. My spirits were lifted when I got to Trinity parks trail head and found a note my friend Jo Lynn had left for me. She and her husband were visiting a friend in Weed and she made a point to find a PCT trail head (mile 1566) on her trip. It made my day. She ran a couple of miles on the PCT to leave her presence for me. Thanks Jo Lynn, you're the best.

I did 33 miles the past 2 days, moving fast since I just want to get to Oregon.

I'm at the Hikers Hut in Etna (mile 1606). Right when I got into Etna, I got some Raspberry sorbet . I got a ride from a really old guy in his 80's. He smoked like a chimney and I thought I was going to puke. It's an awesome small town. People are so nice and friendly. I'm the only hiker here but I just missed 6 hikers who left today. So how cute is my "town dress" in Etna!

I will head out tomorrow at 8:45 am. I will reach the Seiad Valley post office in a couple days and will camp out at the RV park there.
From there it's 66 miles to Ashland, OR. WOOHOO! I plan to hitch into Ashland to resupply at a health food store.
I can't believe how far I have come. I must be honest with all of you, this is mentally and physically the most challenging thing I have ever done. I must stay focused and positive and just live day to day.
Thanks to all of you who comment on my blog. I read your comments and they lift my spirits.
Thanks to all of you for being a big part of why I continue going forward each day.
And thanks to my personal trail angel "Fast Jerry". Without you Jerry, I wouldn't have even made it this far. I am lucky to have you as a friend and I appreciate everything you have done for me.

I got my camera cable here in my resupply box so here are a few pictures from my camera. My 19 mile slack pack trail run on the 104 degree Hat Creek rim (the hottest section along the PCT - I ran 22 miles just to get extra miles in), the incredible Burney Falls, Hikers Neptune and Ricola in Castella, and the best salad in Mt Shasta City (now you see it > now you don't... yummy!).

Well that's all for now.
Much love,
Dirt Diva

Day 76 - Tuesday, August 7

2007-08-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

Here is Erik the Black after a hard night partying. Told him we have to get back on the trail this morning.

My new Suunto watch compass hasn't been working since Jerry calibrated it in Sierra City. The last several days it just says S or SE no matter which direction we are facing. I looked for a compass in town but they all seemed too bulky. ETB tried to calibrate it but it wouldn't work from the instructions I had. I don't want to call Moosejaw to try to get another one after this one chased me for hundreds of miles along several PCT stops. I finally called Jerry and he told me how to calibrate it and it's working. Woohoo!

So I hitched a ride back to the trail head.

Wild Things Max was smiling to finally be back on the trail! LOL...

We have a 5500' climb in the next 34 miles from 2130' to over 7600'.

Castle Crags State Park is BEAUTIFUL. Only problem, it is HOT, HOT, HOT - my watch says 95º. Plus there are lots of flies - they like slurping up our sweat. At least the trail is well marked and easy to follow, not like some of the overgrown trails in the previous section.

We expect to make at least 25 miles today.

Days 73-75 - Sat-Mon, August 4-6

2007-08-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

(Dirt Diva's Report)

Ok, so Erik the Black and I made it to Mt Shasta City Saturday. We hitched in and by pure luck we got a ride from a trail head from a guy that we saw pouching the trail on his mountain bike a few hours earlier. We really had a better chance being struck by lightning.
We have had really good luck hitching together. Not sure since we look like we belong in a punk rock band. That's what the ranger in Burney told us.
Mt Shasta City was a nice little town. We headed out today with good intentions of hitting the trail. We got a ride to the trail head but decided to do the road walk into Castella to the store. We arrived there to find Abacus, Nadine and her dog Pancha, and Burning man. They were all hitching to Dunsmuir. We headed to the store and met up with Ricola and 2 other hikers but can't remember their names. We hung out for a while and thought let's do a trifecta and hit all the towns today. We immediately got a ride from a young guy from LA. Whenever me and ETB hike together we manifest rides, that's why we get them right away. LOL... Well, that's what I tell him it's all about manifesting what you want.
We are in Dunsmuir along with Bull, Jugz , Big Cat, and 6 others.
I'm at the Library so have to make this short. I WILL BE ON THE TRAIL TOMORROW.
It's all about the smiles not miles. Well, that's what all the hikers say. And they're right it's all about the fun times.
Love to all of you.
DIRT DIVA

Days 70-72 - Weds-Fri, Aug 1-3

2007-08-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here's the Northern California Section I'm hiking now. I don't have to go higher than 7500' but you can see there are some big climbs and descents ahead. I'll be at nearly the lowest point when I reach Hwy 5 near Dunsmuir.

Me And Erik the Black reached Burney Falls State Park and went to see the 8th wonder of the world, Burney Falls. I only got pictures with my camera. Jerry brought my camera cord to Sierra City and I downloaded some pictures. I told him to send it with my next resupply at Etna so I can send him good pictures for my blog.

I camped with Breeze from San Fran, Gaby from England, Jugz and Wolf on Thursday night. This section from Old Station has been pretty much waterless. I just had to go 15 miles without water. There are awesome views, especially as I get close to Mt Shasta (14,162') to the north. I've called it "ghost mountain" because it seems to disappear in some of the pictures I've taken. ;)

I'm just trying to get out of California. It feels like I'll never get to Oregon! But I'm having fun! The trail is pretty much non-existent it is so overgrown. I can't see the trail so each step is just a guess where I'm going. It's just a sea of green , sometimes taller than me. There are shrubs with stickers covering the trail that are cutting my legs. Erik the Black passed up the camp I used Thursday night but I caught up with him Friday morning. I am doing 30 miles today. We will reach Hwy 5 near Castle Crags Park on Saturday night (mile 1506). On Sunday, we will hitch to Dunsmuir and then take a bus to Mt Shasta City to get resupplied at a health food store there.

Day 69 - Tuesday, July 31

2007-07-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

(Dirt Diva's Report)
I slack packed today with 10 other hikers. I ran it in 4:45 and inspired 3 others to run. They did it in 5:30. Kurt rolled in today. He hiked up Mt Lassen. I think I'm going to hike with Juggs, Erik the Black (in picture) & Bear Cat. They want to hike with me for a bit. Looks like there will be 12 of us rolling out tomorrow. Off to bed to get a good night's sleep so I'm ready for tomorrow.
There is not much cell reception up here so I can't send many pictures for my blog. :(

Days 67-68 - Sun-Mon, July 29-30

2007-07-30T23:49:00.000-07:00

(Dirt Diva's Report)
Here is the view of Mt Lassen (10,457') in the distance as I left Hwy 36. I left The Corrupter on Sunday. His ankle was sore and he wanted to do less mileage. I got lost on Monday and ended up on the highway doing an extra 6 miles. Oh well , it's all about the journey, right? ; )
Here I am passing along the foot of Mt Lassen I didn't have to climb higher than 6700'.

I'm in Old Station (mile 1380) at the Heitman's on Monday evening. They are awesome trail Angels with a really cool house. Dennis & Georgie Heitman provide food and drinks for the hikers and put on breakfast and dinner. They even have a tree house that I'm going to hopefully sleep in tonight. There are about 13 PCTers hanging out here.

I'm going to head out for a short run. A bunch of hikers slack-packed to Burney yesterday and got a ride back here today. I might run that section backwards and get a ride back to the trailhead. Not sure though - might as well since I'm not doing a speed record. I really do miss running. I will decide tomorrow.

That's all for now.
Namaste,
Dirt Diva

Days 65-66 - Fri-Sat, July 27-28

2007-07-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

Days 65-66 (Dirt Diva's report)
The Corrupter & I headed into Chester. It took us less than 5 minutes to hitch a ride from a really nice older couple. To tell you the truth, they were very conservative and me holding a sign - tattooed and dirty, I would of never thought they would pick us up. It's mostly 30-40 something's that pick me up not people over 70. Anyway they were very nice.

We didn't think we would get a room because I called from Belden and all the Motels were booked. It seems Chuck Norris' daughter was getting married. I thought why here? But later found out her mother is from here. We stayed at the Best Western it was very nice. It had a bath tub. I love soaking in the bathtub. It felt great.
Kurt(Corrupter) ate a whole large pizza last night. I had some French fries and rice dream(vanilla) - yummy.
We are heading to Old Station, should arrive Monday.

Jerry my trail Angel sent me a new sleeping pad since mine got a hole :(

I texted my friend Randy yesterday and it was good to hear back from him. My brother called me yesterday so I need to call him back. Talked to Jo Lynn who left me a surprise note near Mt. Shasta and talked to Antonia who is running the San Francisco marathon today.

I hope all of you are healthy and well. Make sure you take time out today to tell someone you love them.

I want you all to know I read my blog every chance I get and even though I don't respond to all of you I appreciate all the comments. They really lift my spirits on dark days which are very few out here. So keep them coming.
I love all of you. Back on the trail see ya.
Dirt Diva

Days 62-65 - Tues-Fri, July 24-27

2007-07-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

Leaving Sierra City, I had a 2800' climb to about 7000'. I pushed my pace and mileage on Monday and Tuesday to catch the group of thru-hikers who had left the day before me. I caught a group of three including Kurt the Corrupter. We decided to hook up again.

We made it to Belden (mile 1289). The Deacon had called me on Monday to say it looked like a haven for drug addicts and drug dealers. Wow, I had to agree with him. It is a pretty scary place! There are no activities going on. I had booked cabin 13 for the night but when we got there, it was dilapidated and covered in cobwebs. We went into the town store and most of the food was expired. We decided to not stay there and went on down to stay at the trail angels place, the Braatens.
My health is good and I haven't had any problems with my feet. Jerry sent new Hardrock shoes to Belden. Got to say Hardrocks and Dirty Girl gaiters are the best!

Darn, my thermarest sleeping pad has a leak so it goes flat during the night. I called Jerry on Thursday to get me a new one and send it to Old Station so I can pick it up on Monday.

As we leave Belden, we have a 5000' climb. Woo Hoo, on Friday we reached the halfway point near Hwy 36.

We are going off trail about 10 miles to Chester to get internet access.

Day 61 - Monday, July 23

2007-07-25T14:11:00.001-07:00

Sierra City is mile 1197 on the PCT. I am heading out to Belden (mile 1289) and the final 92 miles of the Central Calif section. Four days is the longest I've been off trail since I started but it was great to see so many friends. I have to say my legs are sore from using different muscles in the 50 mile race. Several groups of thru-hikers have passed through in the last four days. A group of them went out at Tahoe to visit Reno.

Jerry drove me to the trailhead. He and Rocky went up the trail with me for about a half mile before the rocks on the trail got to be too much for Rocky. I kissed and hugged Rocky goodbye for a long time. As I started up the trail I was crying and yelling back to my weenie boy how much I'm going to miss him. I feel like just going home with Rocky. It's going to be a long day hiking alone, thinking about him. :°-(
"Love is when your dog licks your face even when you've left him alone all day" (or in my case for 2 months!)

Days 55-60 - Tues-Sun, July 17-22

2007-07-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

Life is good! (Dirt Diva's report)
I have just been cruising along the PCT alone for the past two days. I met up near Donner summit with my
ultrarunning friends, Jack Driver
and his girlfriend, Rebekka and Kathy D'Onofrio. Jack and Kathy were talking about their upcoming hundred mile race, Tahoe Rim 100m.

On Monday I had hiked 34 miles and was thinking about my friend Julia who was going to be running the hundred miler. I really miss her. I thought all day "wouldn't it be crazy if I showed up and surprised her, and at the same time I could run the 50 mile race". Jack told me the race was sold out but he texted me Dave the RD's number. I called on Tuesday and he said I could get in.
I was excited…but a little nervous since these legs haven't really run more than 4 miles at a time and that's been downhill and a shuffle, not really a run. Hmmm, can my body do it?? Figured I would find out!
I called Fast Jerry since he was already coming up to pace Julia. I asked him if he could bring my dog, Rocky when he came and he said yes. So it was all set.
My friend, Alikona from Sacramento would meet me in Sierra City on Thursday and drive me to Kathy's in Truckee and Friday I would sign up in Carson City for the race at the race check-in and surprise Julia.
One problem - on Wednesday I thought it was Thursday and ended up a day early to Sierra City. That was ok since the weather was cloudy and rainy. There were about 10 thru-hikers here and it was fun meeting new people. They thought I was crazy for even wanting to run 50 miles after hiking 1200 miles. We figured I would become the first PCT thru-hiker to run an ultra in the middle of the hike. ;-)

On Thursday, Alikona came out and we had a fun day shopping and hanging out. We got to play with some baby goats - aren't they cute! I stayed at Kathy's and went to Carson City to surprise Julia on Friday.

Here I am with my friends Joe, Mylinh, & Julia

(all 3 ran & finished TRT 100m)

I ran the race Saturday and Fast Jerry was at the finish with Rocky who I was SO HAPPY to see. I was hoping just to finish the race in under the cut off time of 16½ hours. But to my surprise I did great - 13 hours. I proved even on no training, my mind can carry me through.
I was able to catch Julia - the hundred mile runners started an hour ahead of the 50m/50k runners. So we got to run together for nearly 20 miles and catch up on our lives. Near the end I decided to leave her and haul butt to pass a few girls in front of me and get Julia's crew ready for her.

On Sunday afternoon, I am in Sierra City with Jerry & Rocky and will hit the trail tomorrow. I'm sad that I won't see my friends for at least 1½ months. I'm happy I took a little break to reconnect with the ultrarunning community that I love so much. I feel recharged and ready to keep moving forward to Canada.
BTW - In case anyone is wondering. I am no longer going for a speed record. I think some people didn't realize that I decided that - for now I am all about the experience and loving this beautiful trail.

"Life's a journey, not a destination" Steven Tyler

Day 54 - Monday, July 16

2007-07-25T10:48:00.001-07:00

I wanted to get an earlier start today. Jerry was going to run the 24 miles back to his car on the PCT but couldn't run downhill on his ankle. He decided to hike directly down the mountain to Sugar Pine and then try to hitch a ride on Hwy 89.

I left after Abacus for my trek to Donner Pass. I passed through Granite Chief Wilderness near Squaw Valley with some more incredible views and flowers. These pictures need no descriptions!

I saw this little spruce branch arrow laying on the ground, pointing the way north. This was natural, just the way it fell off a tree.

Today, I saw Ashley Idema, who won Angeles Crest last year in 2nd fastest time ever with her husband Josh (PCT'02) and their dog Mattie. They are here from Corvallis, OR hiking the TRT for a few days.

After hiking along Hwy 89 for 5 miles, Jerry got a ride to his car from Griffin, a spell caster/ Worlock/ magician with full dreadlocks and a wolf named North. He was willig to take any ride since it saved hiking 8 miles on his ankle.

Day 53 - Sunday, July 15

2007-07-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

I told Jerry that we could take a taxi to the Echo Lake trailhead but found out it cost $3 per mile and it's about 40 miles - $120, no way! So Jerry decided to drive me to Echo Lake, return up Hwy 89 about 15 miles and run in from Talloc trailhead. He would run 6.4 files and intersect with me after about 10 miles along the PCT. I finally got on the trail at 9:30 AM.
It all went well except he had overlooked that his route took him on a 3000' climb from lake level over 9735' MT Talloc peak. After 2 miles of running, he saw this granite peak and decided there must be a better way. The alternative was a route down to Fallen Leaf Lake where the big Tahoe fire had been but it added 2.5 miles and came in about a mile before our meeting point. He was concerned that we might miss meeting so he took off on the climb. Running down the west side toward Gilmore Lake, he landed on a loose rock, rolled his right ankle and went down. He was sitting along the PCT about a half mile before our meeting point when I arrived with his shoe and sock off. He didn't want to desert me so I convinced him to go on for a while and see how his ankle fared.

In the morning I ran into Rena Schuman and her husband out for a 4 day backpack on the TRT.

Later, we met my friend, Flora. She is doing the same triple I did last year but in reverse so she was heading back to Echo Lake and then would be starting the Tahoe-to-Yosemite section. She decided to do it now since she is starting grad school at UC Berkeley in the Fall.
We hiked up Dick's Pass (9380'). A t the top, we stopped for some lunch and to let Jerry put a snow pack on his swollen ankle.

This is a beautiful section of trail with seven small lakes visible in addition to Lake Tahoe.

We hiked 18 miles from our meeting point and stopped for the night at Richardson Lake. There were about half dozen tents set up along the lake. As we set up camp, a thru-hiker, Abacus showed up and we invited him to share our area. He was from Minnesota and got laid off from his job so decided do the PCT. He has the two-person Tarptent. Jerry went down to the lake to soak his ankle and had a garter snake swim across his foot in the lake trying to make dinner of the many small frogs swimming around the shoreline. I bought Aqua Mira in Tahoe City to treat water and we definitely needed it for the lake water. We swapped stories while we ate dinner. I shared my brown rice tortillas with Jerry for his hummus. He complained that they tasted like paper. In the near-darkness he didn't notice that the tortilla I had given him had a paper separator attached which he was eating with the tortilla. Abacus and I had a good laugh at him when he realized it. After taking off the paper, he said it tasted pretty good! ;-)

Jerry and I talked for awhile in our sleeping bags laying under the stars. I look extra cute with my mosquito hood and it works pretty well to keep off the bugs since I'm not using my tent. He said he was changing my trail name - DD now stood for "Ditch Diva" since I have ditched so many guys along the trail. LOL!

I did 28 miles today and am at mile 1124.

Day 52 - Saturday, July 14

2007-07-20T00:33:00.000-07:00

Had the whole day to wander around town and check out stores. Looked at clothes in the Thrift Shop and bought a Von Dutch shirt for $1 and a Abercrombie & Fitch demin skirt for $2. I've lost enough weight that I can fit in a size 2 skirt. I will wear these while I do my laundry.

Had time to catch up on my online accounts and some time to lay by the pool to get some sun.

I read my horoscope for today that is mailed to me each day.

Dear catra, Here is your horoscope for Saturday, July 14:

Delays only strengthen your resolve to get this accomplished. The stars applaud your determination, but they point out that a pause might actually benefit your efforts in the long run. Slowing down has a purpose now.

Now is that too weird? Sounds like I am supposed to take this break. LOL!

When Jerry arrived about 5 PM, I scheduled a massage and then used his laptop to look at e-mail & MySpace. We had dinner at my favorite restaurant, the Blue Agave. We planned out my next resupply points. I definitely need more than I originally planned.

Sleeping in a bed two nights in a row seems strange to me. I'm ready to get back to my home on the trail and sleep under the stars.

Days 48-51 Tues - July 10- Fri, July 13

2007-07-19T08:48:00.001-07:00

Me and Kurt left Tuolumne midday and did 13 miles on Monday. On Tuesday I met these three guys fly fishing. They offered to show me how but being a vegan, I said I couldn't harm fish. They said they catch and release so the fish don't get hurt. On Wednesday, we hiked by a lot of lakes in this section. We climbed through Sierra Crest Ridge and the highest point after Donohue pass at 10,880'. I was hiking ahead and having to wait 30-60 mins for Kurt to catch up. He seemed moody and didn't seem to want to talk about it. On Wednesday, I ran into a large female bear who stood up on her hind legs and growled at me. Kurt was just catching up so he got to see her. Let's see now - try to look large and non-threatening and don't run away. Whew, fortunately she left and we figured that she was just letting us know this is her home and we are just visitors. I didn't get my camera or phone out, so no pictures of the bear. :-(

On Thursday, I wanted to push my pace so rather than wait for Kurt, I left a note to him that I wasn't going to wait any more. I did 34 miles and and went about 5 miles past Sonora pass to a campground I knew about from my triple last year. On Friday I got to Ebbets Pass and Highway 4. The only problem was I was out of food and down to only two bars. There was no way I could do the 44 miles to Echo Lake in Tahoe without food. I met a day hiker coming into Ebbets Pass and he gave me a ride to Tahoe. I left the trail at mile 1049.9.

I decided to go to Tahoe City to stay the night. I figured I could go back to Ebbets Pass and continue to Echo Lake but found out that because of the Death Ride starting in South lake Tahoe that Hwy 89 and Ebbets Pass would be closed to traffic on Saturday so I couldn't get back to the trail. If I waited to restart on Sunday I would not get to Echo Lake in time to meet Jerry as planned. I decided to just call Jerry to come up early on Saturday and start from Echo Lake on Sunday morning. I'll finish the PCT and then come back to do the 44 miles later.

I spent Friday afternoon getting supplies, getting cleaned up and just relaxing. I bought this water purifier, AquaMira that has chlorine and phosphoric acid drops so I can use it on the lake water in this section.
I thought about this being Friday the 13th and guessed it was bad luck for me. Oh well!

Day 47 - Monday, July 9

2007-07-13T23:09:00.000-07:00

We are sleeping without a tent most nights. I love my western mountaineering sleeping bag. It is the best bag I've ever had. I got my new Atalanta Inspiration skirt. It is so cute - black with a pink stripe down the side! Jerry brought me some different Dirty Girl gaiters to wear with my new skirt. He also brought me a swim suit so I can hike in it when it gets really hot ;-)

Trying to pack enough food to get me through the next 7 days to Tahoe. There won't be any place to get supplies. My food bag just keeps getting heavier and I have to carry this sucker. Well, at least it will get lighter as I eat the food.

Here we are having some breakfast and reading the Rolling Stone and Ultrarunner magazines that Jerry brought along while we wait for the Tuolumne store and Post office to open.

Kurt and Lucid Moose finally went to the store to get supplies. We decided to wait until Noon to start on the trail. Jerry and Antonia couldn't wait because they had to drive home today so they took off for a 18 mile run along the trail. We should see them on their way back. They plan to go see the beautiful waterfalls at Glen Aulin.

Isn't my little hiking pal, Wild Things Max, cute? He sneaked into my Muir Trail Ranch resupply and will be keeping me company on the trail.

Day 46 - Sunday, July 8

2007-07-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

Aaron, the Corrupter, and I left Reds Meadow on Saturday morning. I'm already feeling better since I've started taking my meds. Aaron went about 8 miles with us then turned around to run back to Reds Meadow to get his car and drive around to Tuolumne. He will run out tomorrow to meet us. We made it to Clark Lakes trail to set up camp for the night at mile 920. Check out this crazy cloud pattern over Donohue Peak!

On Sunday we passed over Donohue Pass (11,056'), the last pass over 11,000' between here and the end.

We met Jerry coming down the north side of Donohue. He had run up from Tuolumne. He brought my friend Antonia up to see me but she was a couple of miles back. She had run Wendell and Sarah's Angel Island 50K yesterday so was taking it easy. We got to the bottom of the pass and started our 8-mile hike through Lyell Canyon along the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River. It's beautiful meadow land which the Corrupter doesn't really like since it makes his feet ache hiking the long flat sections.We are meeting or passing several day-hiker groups. One group is doing a summit of nearby Mt Lyell. We finally met Antonia and Aaron after a few miles. She has had some health problems since the 24-hour race last October that we were at together. Good to see her back to running!
We met Sean and his sister Stephanie who were out doing a butterfly survey in the canyon.

Finally arrived at Tuolumne and went to the grill to get some fries - yeah, did they taste good. Jerry had met a thru-hiker couple, Medicine Man & his wife, Stamp Lady from the Seattle area. We talked with them about their trip. They were pretty much just "hiking home".

Jerry had rented us camp site 33 (remember, my number ;-) for the night so we headed over to set up camp. Jerry and Antonia had brought lots of fruit for us (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango, cherries, grapes) and Antonia had prepared several raw food dishes for me. She has been a raw foodist for several months which has helped her improve her health. She made some arugula pesto and sprouted lentil hummus plus lots more which were yummy. Thanks Antonia, you're awesome!

Lucid Moose showed up and is sharing our dinner and campsite for the night. After dinner we went to a talk at the campfire on bats in Yosemite. Later, Kurt and I crawled into our sleeping bag and talked with Antonia to catch up with her life since going raw and some about the Whole Foods crew.

As we snuggled in to sleep, I thought - it was a good day. My bladder problem is gone. My stomach is full of good food and had a nice visit with good friends. We are at mile 941.

Day 44 - Friday, July 6

2007-07-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, here I am sitting in the Loon bean in Mammoth. Hanging with Kurt the corrupter. There is a whole bunch of us PCTers here - Lucid Moose, Cole, Gesh, Junk food, Tea Tree, Squash, Tourist, Loon, Swan and Bear.
There are more but I can't remember who.

We went for Mexican food at Rubios last night - it was awesome.

I have been peeing blood for 5 days on the trail. Yep, you guessed it a bladder infection. Silly me forgot to take my Cipro in my first aid kit. Made it to Mammoth and went to the clinic. The doctor couldn't believe I went 5 days with it. To be honest I had no choice. It really is the worst one I have ever had. I'm taking Cipro so it should be gone in three days.
We weren't going to take a zero day but since the other guys are, The Corrupter and I thought it would be best for me to drink tons of water and hang one day.

Aaron is supposed to meet up with us today at Reds Meadow. He is hiking into Tuolumne with us. He will be going for the unsupported speed record on the JMT later this month. I left a message for him so we will hook up at the trail head. Also, Jerry is meeting us Sunday and we were going to have to stall on the trail and do just 10 miles today. We are 35 miles from Tuolumne. I have to wait to get a package from the Post office Monday. So here we are.

I am having a blast with Kurt. I'm learning so much about hiking. This trail is way to hard to run with the amount of food and water you have to carry.
I thought it would be like doing the JMT fastpacking. WRONG...I'm learning through-hiking a long trail is tough. The only way you can really run it is by having a crew.
I have been running down the passes which is fun. I have great respect for long distance hiking and the people that do it. I am proud to say I'm a through-hiker and I am now one of them just moving forward each day. We are all just trying to get to Canada. Yes, some of us like moving faster but we are all doing the same thing.
We are all one big family out on the trail. I am happy to be only going 22-28 mile days through the beautiful Sierras. I am seeing things I have never seen before when I have run through the area.

I want to thank all of you who are following my journey. I read the blog when I can and it makes me smile. I really love all of you.
That's all for now. I hope I get to see some of you on the trail. Hey, if you want to come out and hike with me, that would be great.
XOXO,
Dirt Diva
Team Dirt

Days 35-41 - Weds, June 27-Tues, July 3

2007-07-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Whew! Made it through many of the high passes in the Sierras:
Cottonwood(11,160'),Forester(13,180'), Glen(11,978'), Pinchot(12,130'), Mather(12,100'), & Muir(11,955') - all in a 135 mile stretch. We decided not to do Mt Whitney. I've been to the top the last 3 years and it is about 16 miles off the PCT.

We stopped at Muir Trail Ranch on Monday to get our resupply. I opened my bucket and found a stowaway, Wild Things Max doll. He had a note saying he wanted to do the rest of the PCT with me. I love my new Max. ;-) I was really ready for my new Hardrocks and my food supplies. One downer - my new Suunto watch didn't come here either. :-(

On Tuesday, we made it through Selden Pass(10,900') and camped near Mono Creek at mile 875.
Me and Kurt (The Corrupter) are having so much fun on the PCT!

I will be at Mammoth on July 5 and will staying there with 4 thru-hikers. I was able to get a short text message and these pictures sent for my blog. I will have more details when I reach Mammoth.

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” John Muir

Day 34 - Tuesday, June 26

2007-06-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

I've decided to join up with Wisconsin Kurt for the Sierra section coming up. I want to start doing higher mileage and think that Kurt can do 25-30 mile days. Litsl decided to head out last night about 5 PM with Dude, Tracy, and Champ since they would be going at a pace that he would be more comfortable with.

I waited to see if my watch would come today but it didn't so I asked the guy at the store to forward it to Muir Trail Ranch. Kurt has a good watch with an altimeter that we can use. I was going to do a bounce box but decided to just send my box back home and let Jerry send gear I need back in my resupply boxes. I've gotten my pack weight down to 18-20 lbs by offloading items. I will need to carry a lot less water and I am sending home my steripen since I drink the water from here through Yosemite without treating it. I will have Jerry bring it to me in Tuolumne.

I forgot to congratulate all the finishers at Western States on Sunday, especially my friends, Andy Kumera and Xy Weiss. I think both are doing the grand slam this year. Good luck at Vermont. Jerry paced a runner who finished his 15th WS under 24 hours.

From here to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite is 241 miles which is about 9% of the total PCT mileage but has over 20% of the total elevation gain and loss - and that doesn't even include going up and down Mt Whitney which is not on the PCT. This section doesn't look as extreme as the Southern CA elevation map but it is because of the scale. We go over 6 peaks that are 11,000 feet or higher. We plan to summit Whitney (14,494') which will add about 15 miles (roundtrip) to our hike. Kurt also has a resupply at Independence over on Hwy 395. It is about 24 miles (one way) off trail over Kearsage Pass and down through Onion Valley. We haven't decided if we will take that time off trail or not. If we do and are lucky, we could catch a ride from Onion Valley to Independence and back. That would cut the distance in half both ways. I won't have any cell reception until probably Reds Meadow near Mammoth Lakes unless we go into Independence so I am listing my expected itinerary in case anyone wants to try to come out and join me. Although, it will probably be difficult to connect with me between here and Reds Meadow if you can't catch me in Independence. This will likely be my last blog post for several days.

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir

Days 31-33 - Sat-Mon, June 23-25

2007-06-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

WooHoo! Made it to Kennedy Meadows on Monday. The end of the desert & water challenges. I've completed the Southern Calif section: 702.8 miles down - less than 2000 miles to go!

The two days getting here were uneventful. I could tell we were finally in the Sierras since we were passing streams with water - Joshua Tree spring, Spanish Needle Creek, and Fox Mill Spring. I started the descent down Rockhouse Basin and spent a few miles hiking along the south fork of the Kern River. Not much water in it because of the low snow year.

We set up camp near the store. The store is only 0.7 miles off the trail. There are about 20 hikers here - Swan, Loon, Junk Food, Muir, Bastian, Dude, Tracy, Champ and Wisconsin Curt are some I met. I actually remembered meeting Wisconsin Curt last year when I was on the JMT and he was doing the PCT. The hikers are all enjoying this place, some have been here for a few days recovering from the desert and some are jumping back in for the trek north. Everybody has a much-welcomed resupply box here. My resupply box, foot tape, and new Atalanta skirt were all here but not my new Suunto watch. I haven't had cell phone reception since Walkers Pass and still don't. I have a phone card that Jerry put in my resupply box so I can make a couple of calls from the local public phone but really can't contact many people or send any pictures for my blog. :-(

I was able to get cleaned up, do some e-mail, read all the comments and good wishes on my blog, and just enjoy a lazy day with people around to talk with about our trail experiences. Some campers really run up big bills at the KM store. A really popular item is ice cream - some hikers eat several pints. Since I don't eat ice cream, I got off cheap.

I'm really happy to get new clothes to wear. I'm wearing my new Atalanta Inspiration skirt that was designed after I tried Heather's (the owner/designer) other skirt and gave her some suggestions. Jerry sent me a bouquet of lavender blossoms with a new haiku in my box. I got my new Tarptent Contrail that Jerry bought to replace my old tent. It is really cool and has a floor! It is only listed as a 1 ½ person tent which means one person plus gear. Wisconsin Curt has been stuck here for 4 days waiting for his resupply box to arrive so I shared my tent with him. We both fit fine so we figured that we only add up to 1 ½ persons. I guess the fact the he is 5' 6" and 140 lbs and I am down to 107 lbs helps! LOL!

Day 30 - Friday, June 22

2007-06-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

My friend, Chris Rios from Ridgecrest (ultrarunner, Race Director and Pres. of Over The Hill Track Club) came to Walkers Pass to meet us and bring us food and supplies. He also invited Linda Dewees (completed her 1st 100 Miler at AC last year) and Corky Furnish (another bad ass old school ultrarunner). I got to Walkers pass earlier than planned since I did 18 miles in under 7 hours. Litsl was about 3 hours behind me. I also meet a hiker, Angie and her dog, Momma who hitched in because the heat was getting to Momma so they were camped waiting for her boyfriend to pick up Momma.

Well, Chris took many great pictures so here is his report with his pictures.

Catra had phone service around 2 pm or so on Thursday. She said she would most likely be at Walkers Pass around 2:30 or 3 pm on Friday. I asked again what I might bring her. Made a list to go shopping on Friday. I called her again on Friday while at the market for any last minute request. I ended up getting her fruit, lemonade, potato chips, corn chips, salsa, water and clif bars/gels. She also asked if I had a pad for sleeping for her companion Carl. His was shot. Turns out he had slept a couple of nights on the bare ground. I happen to have one so I brought that along also. Oh and Carl wanted Coke. I brought two bottles for him.
Well, I left my house about 1 pm, drove to get my car gassed up and bought some ice for my cooler and for a 5 gal. Gatorade container. Arrived at the Walkers Pass campground about 10 minutes to 2 and as I parked and let my two dogs out of the car I heard Catra's voice yelling at me. She had arrived way ahead of the time she thought she would be getting there by. She said she was really moving fast. She was on the trail by herself as she had left alone that morning. When she had all her stuff down I asked her for a big hug.

Catra looked so good, you wouldn't thought that she had been going for so many days and miles. She looked pretty damn fresh.

Well, my friend Linda Dewees had gotten there before me and had gone up the trail and told me she met Catra about a mile from the camp site. Not much of a workout for her as she is running the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 and later the Wasatch 100. I parked at a spot that had a table and some shade. Catra was up the hill a ways and brought all of her stuff down to where I parked.
A little after unloading all the food stuff and drinks a girl comes by and asked, "well who's Catra". She met Catra and ended up hanging with us all the while that I stayed. I think her name was Angie from Truckee. She had been hiking the PCT with her 4 year old dog but had left the trail. I forget at what point because it was just to hot and she couldn't carry enough water for her and her dog. She hitched a ride to Walkers Pass and was waiting for her boy friend to pick up her dog. She would continue hiking the PCT to the end. Way later, I forget what time it was, Carl shows up. He is a Brit and is a fun guy. Turns out he knew me as he had ran our Ridgecrest 50k last year. His is an Ultrarunner and has done a number of Ultra's. We all had a fun time hanging. Between Catra, Carl and Angie I heard lots of fun stories of their adventure up to Walkers Pass.

I left a little after 6 PM.... Chris

Wow, it was so fun to see all of you.The food and drinks were great. Chris, you are the best!

We are camped at Mile 651 and will start our 2-day push tomorrow to Kennedy Meadows.

Days 28 & 29 - Weds & Thurs, June 20-21

2007-06-23T01:13:00.001-07:00

When we were in Hikertown, I ordered a new watch that will be delivered to Kennedy Meadows. I bought a Suunto Vector in violet to match my hair. ;-)
It will be nice to have a watch on my wrist again instead of in my pack. I also ordered a tyvek sheet for litsl to use under his thermorest pad. He counted 8 holes in his pad from the rocks. It doesn't hold air so he hasn't been comfortable sleeping for several nights. My friend, Chris is bringing him a foam pad to use when we get to Walkers Pass.
We had a little section of forest this morning as a tease but then we were back in the exposed terrain of the past several days. We have been steadily climbing and are now consistently at 6000'. We have finished four waterless legs, each 13 to 18 miles long. Every hiker looks forward to the water caches at Golden Oak Spring, Robin Bird Spring, Kelso Valley Road Cache, and Bird Spring Pass Cache between miles 583 and 631. But we didn't have the problem with lack of water like we did further south.

We will be at Kennedy Meadows all day on Monday, June 25 if anyone wants to come out to see us. It will give us a chance to get our resupply and wash our clothes.
I want to send my best wishes to all my friends running and pacing at Western States on Saturday/ Sunday. In my original plan I had hoped to be on trail there for the race. I hope the race conditions are better than last year for the runners.

I have to say how disappointed I am in the PCT hikers who are leaving their trash on the trail. There are empty bottles, food wrappers, broken gear, etc everywhere. Litsl has been taking pictures of all the trash. One hiker left a cardboard box with some excess food for other hikers to take but now the empty box is just laying on the trail.

We will camp at mile 634 Thursday night near the highest point just under 7000' before we reach Walkers Pass. I think we will catch several hikers soon - Hustle & Flow, Springing Jenny & Loon. Litsl is hanging tough. He has done 189 miles since joining me. He is suffering with blisters on his feet but is dealing with them. When he has reception on his cell is posting to his blog from his phone. A link to his blog is under my links.

Day 27 - Tuesday, June 19

2007-06-22T19:53:00.001-07:00

We left Mojave at 8 am to get back to the trail. We have been seeing so many Joshua trees, I began to feel like this was a ride at Disneyland called "Hiking the Mojave" and the joshua trees were moving and we were sitting on a ride watching them pass. After getting back on trail in the heat, I knew this wasn't Disneyland!
We were walking along Hwy 58 and getting the passing truckers to honk their horns by giving them the universal up-and-down arm signal. It helps pass the time.
Today we are still passing more windmills. We met a hiker from Walnut Creek named Joe who rides 400 mile bike races. He is a world traveler and has hiked Europe.
By the end of the day we were at mile 580 and technically in the southern Sierras. We are looking forward to moderate temperatures and cooler nights that lie ahead. Plus we will make the 600 mile mark tomorrow and the end of the Southern Calif section. I called Jerry to contact my friend, Chris Rios who is going to meet us at Walkers Pass. Still having spotty phone reception.

Days 25 & 26 - Sunday & Monday, June 17-18

2007-06-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today we started crossing the Mojave. We walked along a dirt road adjacent to the LA aqueduct. We are looking to do 20 miles today. The aqueduct was flat and hot and seemed like it would go on forever. We were glad to find some water at Cottonwood Creek Bridge. We made camp after 16 miles for the night and had a hot winds all night.

On Monday, we started out to the same landscape, heat and lack of water. We ended walking along the windmills of the Tehachapi Wind Farm for a couple of hours.

We had passed about 7-10 hikers as we got near Hwy 58 and decided to head into the town of Mojave to get a shower, food and get out of the heat. We were able to catch a ride the 12 miles to town. After hiking 24 miles today, we were at mile 558. My phone reception is really spotty so I go for several hours without service.

Day 24 - Saturday, June 16

2007-06-17T22:24:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture that my friend, Andy took when I was coming down Mt Baden Powell to meet him. I was happy to see Andy! He took one of us together but it didn't turn out for some unknown reason. :-(

Today was a long dry day. There are 3 hikers named Hustle, Flow and Colin that we expect to catch soon. We did see this bush with these pretty blossoms. I don't know what it was, maybe lilacs, but took a picture since the color matched my braids. LOL!

I had to hike this ugly section of about 7 miles that is a lot longer that it needs to be with an overgrown path and bad trail bed because some rancher won't let the PCT cross his land so we have to go around. Litsl is about 2 hours behind.

My Highgear watch band broke - the plastic part where the pin fits into cracked! This is the third watch this has happened to. Jerry repaired the first one about 2 years ago but it only held for a short time. I got the watch free since they're one of my sponsors so I'm not losing anything but it's a nightmare having to keep it in my pack and take it out to check elevation when I am climbing. I'm going to buy a different kind of watch.
As I am leaving this section, I'm sad because my friend, Kevin that I met last year on the JMT won't be able to come out and see me. He normally has Fridays off but had to work a 12 hour shift at LAPD. We have gone way past the area where he could come out.

Here I am in the afternoon totally dehydrated and looking pretty cooked in this hot section heading toward Hwy 138. We had to go all day without any water refills.

Litsl was about 3 hours behind by 6pm when I arrived at Hikertown. No one was there except me and this kitty who was visiting with me. I set up camp on a lawn and waited for litsl to show up about 9pm. We did 28 miles and are at mile 518.

I talked to Tattoo Joe and we both know we won't be able to get the speed records that we were trying for. We decided that we will team up in 2009 and give the record another try. I am still going to try for the women's record of 91 days but it doesn't matter how long it takes me, I am going to finish. Some hikers were saying that people who try for records usually quit if they can't get the record. NOT ME, I am out here until the end!

Day 23 - Friday, June 15

2007-06-17T09:14:00.001-07:00

Me and Carl hiked on Thursday night under nice temperatures. We came on this skunk on the trail that decided to hike in front of us for about a half mile. It didn't seem to mind us so we weren't too afraid of it spraying us. We slept for a couple of hours next to the trail in a ditch and got an early start to avoid the heat. In the morning we came to this Leona Divide 50 mile sign that lists all the winners since 1992. I was surprised that the markings are still up from the race in April and there was still fresh flour arrows in places.

Carl complained about his trail name so he's going to use his climbing name from Tahoe, litsl ( life in the slow lane!) because he is such a slow climber.

We hiked for about 3 hours on this lame trail but finally came upon a water cache with pink flamingoes, skeletons, and a hanging dummy. This cache is maintained by the Andersons.

We took a break from the trail for two hours to head down to Joe and Terry Anderson's place. It is really wacky, pretty much like what the Hippie communes in the 60's probably were like. There is a wall with all the names and drawing on it. Normally, Terry surprises every hiker by mooning them but their daughter was having a baby so she was gone. So Joe said he would take her place while she was gone.

You can probably guess now why their place is called Casa De Luna! LOL! Like Green Day sings in American Idiot, this place is a "subliminal mind f--k"!

I met this hiker, Rambo who has been waiting to meet me. He has a friend who runs ultras who has wanted to meet me for a couple of years. Rambo has giardiasis and is taking a few days off to recover. He may get to Kennedy Meadows and then go north to Washington and do the upper section so he doesn't get caught in snow later.

Joe said each hiker has to put on a costume so he can take their picture. I looked around and found a hula skirt and decided that I would be a Tahitian hula dancer. Joe said he didn't have one of those pictures so he snapped this one of me and Rambo with his eyes bugging out. He said his friend is going to be SO jealous!. LOL!

We got back on trail and reached mile 490 before setting up camp. About 9 pm a hiker we had passed earlier, the French Guy (not Julien!) showed up and is camping by us. So I'm talking on the phone and litsl gets up and moves away... then I realize why... he left me smelling his "scent" - must have got that from our friendly little skunk last night - ppeewww! ;-)

Days 21 & 22 - Weds & Thurs, June 13-14

2007-06-15T23:38:00.001-07:00

Got an early start today. By 6:45AM it was already 80° on the trail.I met a couple that had passed Lon on the trail. I texted him and he is at mile 413. I am at mile 446. Maybe I'll see him at Agua Dulce.

I arrive at Agua Dulce at 10AM. I went to the Sauffly's Hiker Heaven to meet Jeff (J-Rod) and Donna (L-Rod for lightning rod). We have been waiting two years to meet. It was worth the wait, I love them. Their place is really cool. They have just about everything for the PCT hikers - two vehicles for us to drive, 6 bikes, a trailer for hikers to sleep, showers, computers for internet access, loaner clothes while you're here, & spare trail shoes and gear from other hikers. They pick up people from the airport in Santa Clarita. Wow, what amazing people! Carl is here waiting for me.

Trailer, Loaner Closet, Extra Hiker Supplies

Here I am with Big Red which I drove into Santa Clarita to get some supplies.

Me on one of their bikes

There are 9 other PCT hikers here. I met a plastic surgeon and his wife. He is going to leave the PCT because he got a great offer from Stanford Hospital that he can't let pass. He was 1 of 3 Drs chosen out of 100. He'll just have to come back later and finish.

Health check: After getting cleaned up, I weighed myself. I have lost 9 lbs total which is good since I had the biggest weight loss by Day 13. I am at least maintaining my weight for this week. I am feeling good. My shoulders have gotten used to my pack. No leg or feet problems. (Crossfit Rocks!) No blisters at all. I am not taping right now because I am out of elastikon tape. My friend, Mike Palmer is sending a roll for me to Kennedy Meadows. I have new Hardrock shoes in my resupply that are 1/2 size larger so my feet should be fine crossing the Mojave.

Here I am leaving my old hardrocks in the spare trail equipment bins, 454 miles is enough for me but maybe someone else will need them.

Me and Carl discussed our plan and decided to hang here overnight and through the heat of the day tomorrow. We will leave at 5 PM on Thursday, travel 7 to 12 hours at night and then rest on Friday during the heat.

Here are some of the hikers I met, posing outside the trailer as we are getting ready to leave. Becca (who is having some issues so her boy friend went on and she is going to jump back in at Kennedy Meadows); me; Bison; Lon (he arrived on Thursday and will lay over a couple of days); and Carl.

I gave Carl his trail name: High Maintenance. LOL! He doesn't like it but, dude, his pack weighs 40 lbs. He is carrying way too much, he'll see!

As we leave Agua Dulce on Thursday evening, we see this woman riding a camel. Only in AD! Makes me think of Marathon de Sable and the desert ahead. Well I finished MdS so, Mojave, I'm ready for you! ;-)

Day 20 - Tuesday, June 12

2007-06-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

Moving along Mt Gleason's north ridge I can see the MoJave desert below to the northeast and know what's ahead for me after Agua Dulce. But today I'm just focused on moving quickly so I can reach AD tomorrow morning early. About 8am I'm sort of daydreaming and HOLY S--T! I come within 2 feet of stepping on a rattlesnake laying in the middle of the trail. :-O
I jumped back just in time and then went around it. Better keep my eyes open!
By Noon I am at mile 431 and having fun! I know that I will make 30 miles today.
I stopped at this campground where there were all of these derelicts camping out. I wasn't sure that I wanted to hang around there but this older Korean woman came over to talk to me. She has a fruit stand nearby and gave me a peach and a Korean melon. She told me that she sees most of the PCT thru-hikers that come through so she knows which ones will finish. She looks at me and says, "you girlie, you are going to finish, I know". She told me to set up my camp in the middle of this lot and no one will bother me because she will watch out for me.

I just remembered that my niece, Tiffany got married in Hawaii today. Congrats Tiff and Sam!
Wish I could have been there. They are coming to California before Sam gets deployed to Iraq. I hope to see them when I pass through Tahoe.

Here is what I did the last two days on the elevation map. I am at mile 443.

Positive Brain Food: It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult…. (Seneca)

Day 19 - Monday, June 11

2007-06-15T13:21:00.001-07:00

Having camped at 7500', I start the morning on rolling terrain dropping to 6000’ through wooded hills over the next 10 miles.

The Angeles Crest Highway is closed from Islip Saddle to Cedar Springs due to a landslide last year. The PCT is closed from just east of the Cedar Springs gate and is rerouted along the Angeles Crest Highway for about 2 miles due to the protection of the Mountain Yellow Frog. I had heard that some hikers were getting lost here but I just walked down this deserted highway to get back to the trail.

It's pretty lonely in this section as I haven't seen anyone for most of the day. I finally stopped at mile 413 and set up camp. I've started just adding water to my powdered hummus and eating out of my bowl. With the heat, the corn tortillas were just disintegrating in my pack and I'm out of Wasa crackers.

I'm feeling good and I'm not really sunburned. My phone camera makes my face look red in the pictures. Jerry told me to switch to a higher resolution for better quality pictures.

Day 18 - Sunday, June 10

2007-06-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

I started this morning at 6500' and have been climbing up to Mt Baden Powell at 9399'. There is a plaque at the top for Baden Powell who was the founder of the Boy Scouts and had a great love for hiking and camping. I counted 93 hikers coming down from Mt Baden Powell. I am familiar with this section since I have run Angeles Crest 100 mile race. It does look different since I'm hiking and not running and have time to look around.

Near Vincent Gap I passed this sign -
373 miles behind, only 2277 ahead! :-)

I am traveling along Angeles Crest and Hwy 2. My friend, Andy Kumeda, who I know from running several 100 milers down here, met me near Islip Saddle on Hwy 2. He had worked a 50K race in the morning and then drove 4 hours to meet me. He brought me a cool card that was signed by lots of the ultrarunners and brought me cold lemonade, water and apples. Yum! Andy, you rock!

I passed a man & woman thru-hikers from Salt Lake City. I set up camp for the night near Angeles Crest Hwy at mile 383. The SLC hikers came through planning to hike another 2-3 miles before setting up camp. I'll probably see them tomorrow or at Agua Dulce.

Day 17 - Saturday, June 9

2007-06-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for the trail today. I've started eating my oatmeal right out of the packet. I just pour in water, stir and eat. Saves having to clean my bowl afterwards. ;-) Now to throw my home on my back and I'm out of here!

I headed down into a highway services area near Cajon/ Hwy 15 to a McDonalds that is only .4 miles off trail to get a cold drink and charge my phone where I met a 2006 PCT hiker, Girl Scout. He told me that he was just coming back from a trip to the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas. He highly recommended it. He said he's been following my blog. I was telling him about the sketchy section of trail I was on yesterday. He said that is the section where No Way Ray, a well known PCT Hiker and writer, fell to his death last year. He also told me that where I saw the weird guy was where Charles Manson and his "family" used to hang out. Maybe that guy was the last of the Manson family! LOL! Whew, glad I'm through there!

Picture courtesy of Terri Steele-

Friends, Heroes & Legends of PCT Gallery

Got a message from Lon that he went to Wrightwood. I am skipping my resupply at Wrightwood so it looks like I will get ahead of him. Tattoo Joe left a message that he just left Agua Dulce 2 days ago.

Had an uneventful, relatively easy day. I'm having to carry 6-8 liters of water so my pack is heavy. As I was setting up camp, I could hear and see lots of jeeps and 4-wheelers driving up this dirt road. I'm wondering what they are doing way out here - going camping, I guess.

I am camping at mile 357 at this perfect site on top of this little ridge at 6500'. I'm just east of Gobber's Knob - funny name, huh.

Here I am in camp at sunset. You can see the valley I will be hiking above tomorrow in the south end of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Days 15 & 16 - Thursday & Friday, June 7-8

2007-06-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

Got back on trail to find it's still windy but not bad. I caught up to a section hiker named Lorax who is just going to Agua Dulce and stopping for this year and then will do another section next year. He does 10 miles per day. He lives in Auburn and hikes on the Western States trail sometimes. He likes taking pictures of the trail for his relatives back East.

The first eight miles are at 7500' then I start descending into some canyons. I'm weaving in and out of these super hot, long canyons for what seems like forever. Sometimes the trail is hard to find but I am following Lon's footprints since he is wearing Montrail hardrocks. So I just search around until I find his prints. Jerry did the same thing on the first day when he was running backwards from Lake Morena since two of the boys are wearing hardrocks. I knew I loved hardrocks! LOL!

I caught up to this guy with his ass hanging out of his pants and acting pretty strange. He was carrying a rolling suitcase on his back like a pack with an indian blanket and a gallon jug of water strapped on top. I just passed what looked like a homeless encampment with a smoldering fire. I'm really nervous about this weirdo so I take off running for a couple of miles through the canyon to get away from him.

As I neared mile 313, I started looking for a place to camp. It is really windy and there aren't any good places to camp. I finally decided to camp right next to the trail.

On Friday morning I awoke to find my sleeping bag wet on the outside. I had put my waterproof tarp over me because of the wind and the condensation from my body heat and the hot ground couldn't escape. At least the inside wasn't wet. I had to hike a few miles across these sand trails on the side of the canyons that were really narrow. The footing was bad and I had to use my trekking poles just to keep my balance. It was really sketchy! One mis-step and I could fall off the edge and no one would find me.

After about 8 miles, I came to an overlook of this huge lake. The trail started down towards it and then followed the shoreline for several miles. It is Lake Silverwood. The largest lake I've seen down here since I've done Angeles Crest, San Diego and other ultra races. Of course, it isn't as big as Lake Tahoe which is 165 miles around on the TRT. As I passed several little beach and camping areas, I could see lots of boats on the lake pulling water skiers, people BBQing, and just having fun. And no, guys, I didn't go skinny dipping! Probably should have though ;-) I came to a campground but decided to skip it for my night camp.

Here I am eating a peach and apple that I got from a cooler the trail angels put out. Was I glad to find it. The fruit tasted so yummy! I know where they get their name, they are definitely angels in my book.

Lon had called and said he was 10 miles from Cajon/ Hwy 15. I figure that I am 20 miles away. Hey Lon, I'm still carrying your sunscreen. I'm getting on trail by 5:50 these mornings so I could catch him by Agua Dulce.

Tattoo Joe called and still wants to hike with me. He told me he isn't doing the yoyo but some eastern loop after he reaches Canada that no one has done before. I still think I am too far behind him.

I reached mile 332 before setting up camp for the night at 3800'. Here is the elevation profile of my trip for my last 2 days.

Day 14 - Wednesday, June 6

2007-06-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning and got ready to hit the trail. Ed, the owner of Nature's Inn who was giving me a ride, said there was 35-50 mph winds on the mountain I was going to cross. The winds had been fairly bad yesterday when I came down and I was thinking about Lon having to camp in high winds. Ed convinced me that heading out in these winds would be a bad idea. I hate losing another day but don't want to do anything stupid either.
He drove me into town to get some things. Turns out his wife is in alcohol recovery so I ended up telling him my experiences and gave him advice about how to be supportive of her. They just bought the hotel 9 months ago and are still trying to get settled in. He has had 400 PCT hikers through this season. I got a room at Nature's Inn for the night and spent some time on e-mail and My Space.

Day 13 - Tuesday, June 5

2007-06-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

Here I am checking my maps in the morning for my trip to Big Bear City. I only have about 10 miles to go so I should get there by Noon. It should be an easier hike since I stay between 8000' and 6700'. I found a couple of water caches stocked by Nature's Inn people so I have plenty of water. I'm feeling good today after getting dehydrated the last two days.

Talked to Carl from Tahoe. He is getting his gear and supplies together to meet me at Agua Dulce in a few days. He is here on a work visa and has to leave the US to go back to England on August 24. He's wondering if he can make Canada by then and just goes into Canada, does that count as leaving the US and then he can come back? I met Grizzly Adams on the trail (JK). This old guy looked just like him. He was hiking with a couple of huskies. He found a nickel and I found a quarter on the trail. I believe that finding money on the trail means that my Mom is watching over me. I also saw two bears - but they were in a cage in this backyard I passed.

As I got close to the place I would leave the trail I caught up to Lon Cooper. He had stayed two days at the hotel in Big Bear City and was heading out. As we talked, he noticed he had lost his sun screen. I told I would pick up some and would likely catch him in the day or two and would give it to him. We decided that when I catch him we will hike together to Cajon / Hwy 15 if he can do 25 miles a day.

I caught a ride into Big Bear City from the owner of Nature's Inn, a really nice guy. He said he would drive me back to the trail head tomorrow morning. That will save me the 3 mile walk from and to the trail head. I got a room at the Mission Creek Hostel. They had a single room for $40 but I decided to go into the shared room with this guy hiker for $20. It was nice to get all the dirt off my body (you should have seen the tub!) and wash my salty clothes! I have lost 8 lbs since starting. I left the trail at Mile 274.

Days 11 & 12 - Sunday & Monday, June 3-4

2007-06-06T23:44:00.000-07:00

This section is a killer! The temperature during the day has reached about 110º according to my watch. There was a stretch of about 25 miles of these long, hot canyons with climbs straight up and steep downhills. Not the switchbacks I was used to in the mountains. It was brutal and tested every fiber of my body. I was getting dehydrated and my shoulder was giving me a problem. A couple of times I just wanted to lay down and quit but I remembered that the closest hikers to me are the boys and they are likely 2-3 days behind me. There are no permanent PCT markers because these canyons are flooded with 15' raging rivers during the winter which wipe out the trail. Each year the trail angels have to rebuild the trail. They do a really nice job. I could see where they had laid rock borders, removed debris, etc. I finally discovered these tall 12'-13' markers for the trail and that helped me stay on track. I also fell and bruised my hip. As I finished up the first day, I noticed my clothes were encrusted with salt which is really unusual for me. I don't usually sweat out a lot of salt.

I finally got out of the canyons and started climbing again, mainly on fire roads and long switchbacks. Definitely cooler and so glad to be back in my element. I'm feeling a lot better and have found two water caches left by Nature's Inn people. I was able to run about 6 miles of the trail today.

I can tell I've gotten dehydrated the last two days and have lost weight. I really like my new sleeping bag and like sleeping under the stars without a tent. It feels good to be back at 8000' for my night camp. You probably can't tell from this picture from my cell phone camera but my legs are caked with dirt.

Day Ten - Saturday, June 2

2007-06-06T23:08:00.000-07:00

I decided that I wouldn't run the 5K race and would get back on the trail. As I was leaving Idyllwild, a truck with two hot climber guys drove up and this guy yells out my name. I'm trying to figure out how he knows it. He says his name is Armand and he's a friend of my ex, Ammon and I realize he is one of my friends on My Space. He is a real kick-ass climber. He and his friend are going climbing in the area. They gave me a ride to the trailhead which saved me a long uphill hike. About a mile up the trail, I meet the boys just heading into Idyllwild and guess what they have, my lost Montrail shirt! Yeah for the boys! They are all looking a bit cooked. One of the Virginia Mountain Boys is looking really worn. He only weighed 120 lbs when he started and has lost weight. They were complaining about the climb but I told them I loved it. That's my element! CA Chris' parents are driving up to meet them to bring resupplies. They think they will take two days off in Idyllwild. They said that the Russian woman, Dina is 3 days behind as she has gotten lost a couple of times and is acting weird at times.

I head off down the trail, not looking forward to the next section which heads down into Palm Desert. I passed 35 day-hikers on the trail(I counted 'em!) who are hiking up to Mt. San Jacinto. It's nice to see people for a while.
I've pretty much given up on catching Tattoo Joe. He is coming back on trail at Cajon Pass/ Hwy 15 on Monday and said he could wait at Agua Dulce for me but I know it will be too many days off his schedule. He needs to push to Canada since he is doing the yoyo. I called his cell phone and left him a message to push ahead. Oh well!
I dropped down to where the water was supposed to be at 1750' but there was no place to camp so I climbed a half mile back up to 2100' to camp for the night at mile 209. I covered 30 miles today. I counted up and have only eaten 600 calories today. With the increased heat today, I haven't been hungry.

Day Nine - Friday, June 1

2007-06-04T23:12:00.000-07:00

So it's a bit strange to wake up in a hotel room. I went out and got a new Western Mountaineering sleeping bag and a tarp. The bag is a +20º ultralite, only 1 lb 6 oz for woman's size and stuffs down much smaller than my other bag. The guy at the outdoor store gave me a discount because I'm on the PCT. Everybody here is so nice and most places in town offer some discount on food, supplies, etc to the PCT hikers. I had to buy another PCT-Southern California book since I had sent the pages for this next section to Anza and I skipped it. I really like this town. I am going come back here and bring Rocky after I finish the PCT.

Jerry got a call from this guy Carl from Tahoe who wants to do the rest of the PCT with me. He called me and I told him he can come out but I am going to try to catch Tattoo Joe and do 35 -40 mile days. He needs to be prepared be on his own since I plan to go hard every day and can't wait for him. He thinks he will try to meet me at Wrightwood. I ran into Dale Sutton, a fast race walker who is here to do a 10K race tomorrow. We talked about me doing the 5K race at 7:15 before I take off on the trail again. I've never run a 5K and it only costs $10, could be fun.

I'm sending my old bag back to Jerry and will return it to REI when I get back. It is too big for fast packing. I asked Jerry to buy me a tarptent Contrail to use after the desert. It is lighter and smaller than my tent and it has a floor! Oh, but it is only for one person.

I went to the library and caught up on my e-mail and read everybody's comments on my blog. Thanks again, I love all your support. Jerry is maintaining my blog while I am on the trail. You can contact him at runninjer@comcast.net. If you come out to see me and take any pictures, you can e-mail them to Jerry so he can post on my blog. I gave Fast Jerry a card telling him how much I appreciate what a great friend he is and how much his help means to me. I know that my dream of the PCT would have been a lot harder to achieve. With his help I know that my goal of doing it fast will happen. Thank you so much, Fast Jerry!

I looked around town for somewhere to get a massage but couldn't find anyone. The manager of my hotel said I could go in the hot tub but I told him I didn't have a suit. He said I could go in naked and only half the town would be around to check me out. LOL!! So I did since the hot tub is under a redwood cover. So here I am relaxing and staying hydrated. ;-)

Day Eight - Thursday, May 31

2007-06-01T02:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, the last day of May! Seems like it was just April and I was waiting for Julien to arrive.
Awoke this morning to find the top of my sleeping bag around my face all wet. I was wondering if I slobbered last night, eeww that's disgusting! Then I checked and the whole top of my bag was wet. At least I wasn't that gross but don't know why its so wet. I can't put it in my stuff bag all wet or I won't be able to use it tonight.
I had to climb to 9000' feet today. It felt like going up Mission Peak 15 times! I skipped two water stops that took me a mile or so off trail and was lucky to find a water cache from the trail angels when I needed water after a 9 mile dry section. There was a note from Tattoo Joe complaining about no water a few days before and another note that said these are maintained by volunteers and not guaranteed. I'm so glad some angel was nice enough to restock the water before I arrived. I was able to run about 5-6 miles today on the downhills to pick up my pace. My legs and feet are feeling good so my obsidian bracelet is working!

As I neared the PCT trail junction to Idyllwild, I noticed I had lost my short-sleeved, blue Montrail shirt that I had hung on the back of my pack to dry. Plus, my watch has been blinking off and on for a few miles. The battery must be dying. Darn - wet sleeping bag, failing watch, lost my shirt! I decided to go the 4.5 miles to Idyllwild and spend the night in a hotel and take a down day on Friday. I can get my watch fixed, charge my phone, a tarp to cover my bag at night , dry my bag - and take a bath! I left the trail at mile 180.
So I'm sitting in a restaurant sipping a lemonade! I will go to the library tomorrow and check e-mail. Jerry got an e-mail from Lon Cooper that the Russian woman, Dina was missing this morning. I had met Lon on Sunday at Scissors crossing before I met Dina. Jerry got an afternoon e-mail that she was found - whew. Tattoo Joe left a message on my phone that he is leaving the trail for a couple of days to attend a wedding and will return on Monday. I'm going to try to reach his restart point by then.
I plan to start again at 8 am on Saturday if anyone wants to come out with me. I can start earlier if you want. Call my cell phone.

Day Seven - Wednesday, May 30

2007-06-01T02:04:00.000-07:00

Quiet day by myself on the trail today. Started the day just under 5000', had a small climb of about 600', dropped into Coyote Canyon to 3500' and then climbed back to 5040' by the end of the day. Here is what I did today on the elevation map. I camped on a hill near Penrod Canyon Creek at mile 155.

I decided to skip my first resupply since it was a 6 mile hike off trail to Anza. I had picked up enough food to last to the next town and decided I didn't want to do the extra 12 miles at this point.

If anyone wants to come out for a couple of days with me, I would enjoy the company. I expect to be at mile 180 near Idyllwild on Thursday night. You can call my cell phone, 510-585-6559 as I am getting reception in most areas here.

Day Six - Tuesday, May 29

2007-05-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

Me, Julien and Jerry stopped at a place called Casa De Fruita on the drive down and I bought two new bracelets to wear on the PCT. I'm wearing them on my right wrist in my pictures. One is my December stone, obsidian which is for safe travel and gives me increased energy and helps my legs and feet. The other is jade which brings good luck and confidence and helps my kidneys and bladder. I think they're working but I had to tape the balls of my feet since they are really sore for the weight of my pack. No real blister problems yet though.

Ed, an outdoor columnist, from the San Diego Union Tribune interviewed me at my motel in Pine Valley on last Wednesday. I was able to buy a copy of the Sunday paper with this article (click here for story). He said after talking with me I inspired him to get in better shape.

This morning, the boys had a group meeting and decided that I should go ahead without them since I wanted to go at a faster pace than them. Luckily, we had met up with the Russian woman, Dina and me and her decided to hike together. Her American host, Lon who she was staying with in Minnesota, is a day or so ahead of us and she wanted to try to catch him. We hiked together until early afternoon but she was too slow so I took off by myself. I have now passed 9 hikers that left before me. I made it to mile 127 to camp alone for the night.

Day Five - Monday, May 28

2007-05-29T23:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Memorial Day but we don't get a Holiday today. Got to keep moving since I'm behind. I don't really know anyone who died in a war but today makes me think of my Mom and Dad and how much I miss them but I know they are watching over me out here.

Hey, don't you think that Greg should give me an automatic entry into Western States next year since I'm doing such a good job of advertising his race wearing my WS pack in front. The only problem is the buckle in back is underneath my pack and is digging into my back and making a sore spot. I'll be glad to get rid of it after the desert.
Sorry Greg ;-)

We reached Warner Springs (109 miles) for the night. My pack is extra heavy with all the extra frickin' water I'm carrying. The boys gave me some pieces of foam to put on my shoulders under the straps. I've got to get rid of some things - I am sending back my tent and then I'll get it back in Kennedy meadows. I called Jerry and told him to buy a lighter sleeping bag to send me. My Phantom is nearly 2 lbs and with my tent takes up most of my pack. I need a bag like the Marmot Hydrogen that is 1 lb 5 oz and really compressible.

With my pack on I feel like I should be in a commercial for "I've fallen and can't get up!" LOL!!

When I call Jerry, he tells me some of your comments posted on my blog. Thanks everyone for your good wishes and encouraging thoughts. Jerry is going to send me copies at a town every week so I can read through them at night.

Day Four - Sunday, May 27

2007-05-29T23:19:00.000-07:00

After hiking for about 10 miles we reached Hwy 78 and decided to hitchhike into Julian, about 12 miles away. Since I am doing less mileage per day than I planned, I am 2-3 days behind my 78 day schedule I made and am about out of food. I expected to be at my first resupply drop in Anza on the fifth day. We were able to catch a ride with a marine from Camp Pendleton in a RV to Julian. There was a street fair going on and we met a woman at one of the booths who let us charge our phones.

Here I am chillin' with my feet up after we bought our food.
Or maybe it's really a product placement ad for my friend, XY's dirty girl gaiters. LOL! They sure were a lot brighter a few days ago!

To get back I made a little sign that said "PCT Hiker needs ride 12 miles to trail". The boys stood back so we didn't scare off people that might give us a ride. A woman passed us, then turned around and came back to give us a ride. She said she had never picked up hitchhikers before but just had a feeling about me.
We got back on trail and reached mile 87 before setting up camp. Our packs are really hurting our shoulders. The boys packs are about 35 lbs, mine is 25 lbs. I had planned on sharing time carrying the tent with SB. I need to lighten my pack load. Jerry has to repack all of resupply boxes after SB took his stuff out so I'm going to send back some clothes like my one coat and a long sleeve shirt and have him send it back after Kennedy Meadows.

Day Three - Saturday, May 26

2007-05-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today will be mostly downhill, dropping from 6000' to 3000'. Both me and SB slept better and are ready to push it. About 8 miles from camp, SB slipped off a rock and hurt his ankle. He tried hiking on it but said he couldn't. Me and SB had caught up with 4 of the hikers we met yesterday. All of us walked him out to the nearby highway so he could go get it looked at. I told him I wasn't going to stop and he should try to rejoin us in a couple of days or after the desert. I'm continuing on with CA Chris, CO Ryan and the Virginia Mountain boys. I will have to go slower than I planned but will have their company through the desert if SB doesn't return.

Suicide Boy has left the building!!
Notes on Julien: A Mt Laguna fireman picked up Julien and drove him the 50+ miles to a San Diego hospital. The doctor said he could have a torn achilles tendon and should not hike on it for 2 months. He decided to return to France and will get it x-rayed there. The fireman drove Julien to the SD airport and he arrived in SF an hour later. He changed his return flight to France to Monday at 3 PM. He took BART to Fremont where Jerry picked him. He checked back into the hotel he had been staying at since he arrived. He and Jerry opened all of the resupply boxes and removed all of his supplies. He won't send back a lot of the food since it costs more to ship that it's worth. Anyone want any of the many bags of couscous, mixed nuts, trail mix, crackers, etc sitting in Jerry's living room??

The day went well and we made it to Rodriguez Spur Truck Trail (Mile 68) before stopping for the day. All of my "boys" were good company today. I am old enough to be their mother so I'm calling them my "sons".

The gnats are bad! I'm using lots of bug spray.

I guess the Fates were on my side when Jerry met my "sons" on the trail and then introduced me to them in Mt Laguna. They are all really great guys and will be good company through the desert. There also is a Russian woman out here who started 3 days before me but got lost for 2 days in the first 20 miles so I'm hoping to see her somewhere along the trail.

Farewell Julien. I'm sorry you won't finish the PCT Journey with me.

Day Two - Friday, May 25

2007-05-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

We awoke to a beautiful morning with high hopes for the day ahead. Unfortunately, we only got about 4 hours of good sleep since the group of marines camped next to us were drinking whiskey, doing coke, and partying loud most of the night.

Here's me and SB in our "camp shoes" that we made out of running shoe insoles and rubber bands.

We climb from 3000' to 6000' today in two major climbs and will do at least a 22 mile section. We are definite carrying more water! We met Jerry in a valley at mile 12 where there was supposed to be water but it was a 3/4 mile hike off trail. Jerry had brought a hand-held bottle for me and there was a small creek at mile 17 so we continued on. This trail has sections that are a combination of the Grand Canyon, Mt Diablo, and Sierra trails. I love it!

Indigenous wildlife we met on the trail.

We were glad to reach Long Canyon Creek since we were all out of water. We took a break to fill our bottles and cool off. Even though the creek was running we decided to use our steripens for the first time. They worked cool and fortunately the water didn't have many floaties. The last 4 miles of trail was under trees with a lot of welcome shade.

Since jerry had run backwards for two days, he had met and talked with 5 PCT hikers along the way. Jerry had reserved a campsite at Burnt Rancheria in case me and SB wanted to stay. I decided that we wanted go farther and not camp in campgrounds after last night's experience. Jerry left us with 2 miles to go to run on, get the money back for the campsite and go to the Mt Laguna Store which closed at 5 PM for cold drinks, frozen fruitbars and vaseline for SB's babboon butt. He drove back to meet us as we came off the trail at the campgrounds and convinced us to drive over to meet the 5 hikers who were chillin' in front of the store.

left to right: Calif Chris, Suicide Boy, Colorado Ryan, Wisconsin Gary, Virginia Mountain Boys - Cachet and Da Animal, and of course, Dirt Diva. VMBs found the umbrella in the trash at Lake Morena and are going to carry it through the desert!

Three of them just graduated from college last week and decided the PCT hike would be their graduation present. My kind of guys!

We went back to the trailhead where we left with the plan to do another 4-5 miles before setting up camp. Jerry took off to shower and drive my Nitro back to Fremont. We stopped at Penny Pines (mile 48.9) because there was supposed to be water. It was getting dark and we scouted around for the water but couldn't find it. I called Jerry to bring us water (JK!) but he was already up to Oceanside and said NOT! LOL!

np, we got filled up before Jerry left so we can find it in the morning. Woohoo, a fun 2nd day!

First Day - Thursday, May 24

2007-05-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

We got off at 7:30 to start the trail amid a shower of rose petals and a Haiku from Jerry. My friend Reinhold Metzger came out to do the first 21 miles with us.

Jerry was driving to Lake Morena to run backwards at us. The day turned out hotter and harder than we expected and the three of us were low on water by mile 12 where we met Jerry. Suicide Boy was having major issues with the heat and started going very slow. Jerry shared his water with SB who also struggled mentally when he got a phone call his Grandmother just died. The last 5 miles were tough and we were all out of water with 3 miles to go. Once we reached the last summit, Jerry ran back to the car to refill water bottles and then ran back up to us with water. I was ahead and reached the car first. SB had blacked out and fallen so Reinhold was kind enough to carry his pack the last 2 miles downhill. Thanks Reiny! The day ended with SB saying he was quiting and me panicing about going the desert alone.

Jerry drove Reinhard back to his car and had to go 4 wheeling in my car (the first time) to chase down a border patrol to get jumper cables to start Reinhold's car since he had left his lights on. After a couple of hours of cooling down and hydrating, I convinced SB to go another day of 21 miles before deciding to quit. We set up camp at Lake Morena. Jerry is staying over to drive to Burnt Rancheria, run back at us again and crew us until the end of day 2.

Not the way I thought our first day would go but I'm staying positive that tomorrow will be better!

2007-05-22T01:18:00.000-07:00

Moving the last of the supply drops......
We mailed out three of our thirteen supply drops Saturday. My good friend FJ(Fast Jerry) will send our supplies out to the post offices along the trail.

Ok, so here is my gear list,
and no, Rocky isn't part of the gear although I wish he was coming along (my vet friend said he needs to lose five lbs & I can't afford the extra weight ;-)

REI trekking poles peak UL ..... 12.5 oz
Mountain Hardware Phantom 15 bag ..... 1lb 14oz
SteriPEN water purifier ..... 2 oz
Therma rest prolite 3 sleeping pad (short) ..... 13oz
Black diamond mega-Mid lite tent ..... 1lb 14oz
Gregory advent pro adventure race pack (XSmall) ..... 1lb 12oz
Western States 2-bottle water waist pack
Ground cloth - Tyvek
Two large stuff sacks - one with 4lbs of food; the other with clothes.
Two small stuff sacks - one with emergency stuff and the other has tooth brush, sponge, & soap
Notice my flip flops I made? Montrail insoles with two rubber bands to keep them on -- for hanging out at camp ..... they weigh nothing

Sorry I didn't have time to write a better list but this will have to do for those of you who asked.

Everything back in the pack. it's all ready to go! Oh, my aching shoulders - LOL!!

PCT Map

2007-05-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

So here's the home (2666 miles) of Dirt Diva (me) and Suicide Boy (Julien) for the next 78+ days starting on May 24. We are waiting for SB's last supply box with 600 energy bars to arrive so we can finish putting together our first three resupply boxes to mail out. My friend, Jerry is driving us to Campo on the CA border so we don't have to take a bus. We will spend our last night in a real bed in a motel on the 23rd before heading to the start early on the 24th. You can see from the elevation profile, we've got some major climbs in this section plus the desert heat and lack of water to deal with. WooHoo!

First Post

2007-05-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

Me and Julien are Ready To Go!! Count Down to the 24th... I have to skip my Ohlone Wilderness 100 miler this weekend to be sure we have everything ready. :(