May 18, 2013
27 miles

The shuttle back to our PCT departing point left at 7:30 a.m. Always back to where we left the PCT. If you’re going to walk the PCT, why skip parts? Before we left, Slack made pancakes mixed with sugar cereal to a startling effect. The shuttle was a ’92 Oldsmobile station wagon with a roof rack. Eighteen legs and nine backpacks crammed in. We made asphalt divots as we left the driveway.

A quick pace carried others and me up the mountain and away from the drop off point. The goal was the first water stop some ten miles away. There, lunch was had on a small wooden bridge spanning a shallow stream. Recent from town, the food was fresh – a vegetable platter and cherries.

The bridge at Deep Creek

From there, the trail descended through a cooked landscape full of tree skeletons. The fire must have been intense as boiled sap was everywhere. Eventually the path landed in a canyon with a flowing large stream. There, I encountered a roofless outhouse replete with a Maxim magazine. Excessive luxury that softens one’s resolve. Also there, I caught up with Doc and his brother John, who had flown in from the wilds of Ohio to hike a section with his big brother.

The stream began to widen due to the industriousness of beavers. Around a corner, we stumbled upon Stupid and Dumbass. Trail names, not descriptions. S&D were hunting and foraging up the PCT. Making their way to Canada while living off the land. Based on their thinness, I’m guessing the pickings had been slim. Their dog, however, looked fairly well for having decided to widen his owner’s narrow definition of foraging to include bumming handouts from other thru hikers. I hope Plan B for S&D included a credit card.

People like S&D bring novelty to the trail and should be applauded. A trail needs human color, like Ron Ulrich, who was sponsored last year by a wedding gown company. He went through twenty-six dresses with trains by the time he reached Canada.

Ron Ulrich hiked the PCT last year in wedding dresses.

Camp was the best spot to date. Many years before someone had built a dam. Of course, it had silted up like all dams in the West clicca per info. Ironically, a swimming hole had been created on its downstream side. So we swam, had a campfire, roasted marshmallows and strategized on how to replace toilet paper with Assblasters on the PCT next year. An elaborate scheme was hatched to reunite at next years PCT kickoff and distribute Assblasters for free. Vamos a ver, or we will see.

Dreaming of the future is a great and cheap liberty.

Steve Halteman
On the Pacific Crest Trail
Hiking the PCT for the Kids of Escuela Verde

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