My PCT Backpacking Trip this week.

[Backwoods]

I headed out my front door and started walking with 3 day's 4 nights food in my backpack this monday afternoon at 3pm I live by the 243 and saunders medow in Idyllwild. I camped up on southridge the first night. The next morning I did some bushwacking down to lower southridge then may valley on MTB trails that I know to hurkey creek for water then up apple cyn Rd to Spitler peak trail then I hiked up almost to the top and camped nothing realy exciting yet Spitler is longish at 5 miles and more like high desert but with oak trees and very few flat spots to camp nice trail and diffrent from most of the trails on this side of the San Jacinto's.The next day I hit the PCT heading North I hit Apache Peak and it had snow on it and was exciting but no big deal. After that there were section's of trail that made Apache look like a sidewalk. Snow so deep that there was no trail and thousand's of ft dropoff's and clifs above. By then I was so far into my hike that I just kept hiking/crawling or whatever it took to keep moving forward. I must have crossed 10 of them before I camped rite of the trail by south peak so beat I just sat there for a long time before setting up camp. The next morning was great hiking as I was getting used to the crazyness and it wasent quite as exiting as the day before the snow did mellow a bit untill I got around Red Taquits were the snow just kept getting deeper and deeper untill I was post holling up to my waist no PCT just GPS it took me somthing like 4 or 5 hours to go a couple of miles finely I just gave up on trying to follow the trail and went straight down to little Taquits valley thinking I was going to hit a well traveled trail (NOT) from Rite after Apache peak to saddle Jct the only footprints were and proubly still are mine I was hoping to make up some time on a traveld trail but it wasent happening and all I had left to eat was a pop tart if I had more food I would have gladly camped and finished the next day Going through all that snow is quite a workout. It was 4:30pm when I hit Devil"s slide and it was a mess I wanted to get as far down as I could before dark so I diden"t put my micro spikes on at first but I was moving fast and it's icey so finily I stopped and put them on. A young trail runner in shorts and tee shirt past me on the his way up and on his way down HOW DO THEY DO THAT ?? I was impressed. I did have a headlight but at one point a tree had gone down over the trail and the footprints went down so I followed it wasent the trail but I did miss a switchback by going straight down in the dark that could have turned out real bad. So I made it down to Humber park sat down at by the outhouse and took off my mocro spikes stood up took about 5 steps and fell right on my back I had to laugh after all the fun I have been having for day's I eat it for the first time rite when I'm down. That's what I get for letting my gaurd down. The walk down Fern valley RD to were I could get my phone to work had to be the hardest part of the trip. Only 37 miles but felt like 100. I have a bunch of picks but need to figure out how to post them.

[Sally]

Wow! What an incredible journey! Ellen and I did part of that trip in non-snow conditions, and we made the observation that doing it in snow would be dicey. Great trip report - I can just visualize what you went through! I hope you figure out how to post your pictures soon. Can't wait to see 'em.

[Lermo]

Sounds like quite an odyssey BW. Thanks for the slideshow/ video too!

Note to self: bring crampons, micro spikes, snowshoes, Sherpa, & ice ax on this PCT hike in winter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EKBjZMN ... L9935_Ivka

Happy Trails!