Day Two...

After a lot of running around San Diego getting last minute things organised such as food, new shoes and uv filter for the camera, we set off to Lake Morena for the ADZPCTKO (Annual Day Zero PCT Kick Off)

The kick off was great. With lots of informative talks including a water report, bear safety, how to avoid injury and my favorite: a 'shake down'. A shake down is where a previous thru-hiker (someone who has completed the trail) empties your backpack and goes through it with you. I found this really useful and have made some adjustments to my kit. I will also be able to fine tune my gear as I go along. 

I was awoken early on the Saturday morning by Valdis (my Brother-in-law) who had come over from Canberra to join me for the first week of the trip. For the last night of ADZPCTKO (tonight) they had a raffle and a video of the previous year's group. The video was well produced and a joy to watch and I won some stuff in the raffle (great, more to carry... At least I didn't win the bear vault!) We had a challenging night that night in the tarps as we hunkered down to brace high winds and rain. 

The class of 2015 thru hikers at ADZPCTKO. Valdis and I are fourth in from the right.

The next morning we woke up dry and happy to be greeted by the sun. After packing we grabbed a coffee and a bagel and headed over to find Nohawk, our ride to the border. While waiting for Nohawk to get ready I had the good fortune to meet Teddi Boston, the first woman to complete a southbound PCT trek in 1976!

Nohawk (Jack as Teddi calls him) and Teddi Boston. 

By the time we reached to monument the nerves were kicking in. So much so we forgot to sign the register! Anyway we didn't hang around. We took the obligatory photos, said goodbye to Nohawk and headed off. 

The obligatory photo at the southern terminus monument.

As the landscape unfolded in front of us I kept commenting how the scenery reminded me so much of the Monaro area and Michalego just south of Canberra in particular. Then at mile two we heard semi-automatic gunfire...! Yep. Definitely in the USA!!!

Then came the game of leap frog as we passed and were passed by other hikers. Valdis and I set a pretty steady pace at about 2mph. And while this wasn't as fast as some others, we tended to maintain our pace uphill and for longer periods and would catch up to them. As it turns out a lovely guy from London, Jim has a similar pace and we have met up with him a few times for lunch or dinner. 

The trail is really well marked and to be honest you just have to follow the path between the trekking pole divots! We ended up doing 16 miles on our first day which we were pretty chuffed about. We camped at a place called Hauser Creek (dry) which is four miles from Lake Morena. 

This is what a lot of the trail looks like. Footsteps and trekking pole holes!

Ok. I'm cowboy camped at about mile 56 tonight. The journal is a couple of days behind (sorry). We had a great day and did 14 miles. But I'll tell you all about that in the next post... 

Now here are some pictures for you. 

Rxx

Patch and Sophie. They hiked the AT (Appalatian Trail in 2013) and are thru hiking the PCT this year.

Our tarp set up for some shade at lunch. 

The hill we had to hump over to get to Lake Morena. We camped in the valley below this (Hauser Creek). 

Beautiful agave? Plants with huge flowers you could see dotted all over the landscape. 

There are amazing geological features...

And beautiful wildlife to see along the trail. 

This was my first burger from the store at Lake Morena and boy it was good!

Valdis taking in the view. 

Valdis cowboy camping. 

And finally, me after washing my hair in a stream... No soap of course! 

Night xx

Lost, stranded, injured and sick on the PCT - Pacific Crest Trail Association

Lost, stranded, injured and sick on the PCT - Pacific Crest Trail Association

Claude's Poem

Last Tuesday the Hyams Beach Cafe crew put on a fabulous farewell for me. The whole event was filled with great food, company and poetry!  

Thank you so very much to the Alison family, my wonderful workmates, everyone who came and expressed their well wishes and of course thank you to the charming and captivating Claudine for the following:

To Richie, friend, barista extraordinaire

Shirts, ties and a smile you wear with flare and let's not forget that ambitious hair!  You showed us your inner child, your inner clown, your inner Basil! but now you leave us for the need to travel. 

Richie while you trek in other lands, advice from Claudie "wash your hands!"

And when the sun goes down over your little pup tent, remember the flat you used to rent under the Hyams Beach Cafe where you'd conjur espresso day after day. 

They'd watch the waves, they'd walk the sands striding along, doggie poo bags in hand. Jock, Albert, Terry and Rich and lately Roxie, their token bitch. 

They'd come home excited with stories to tell there was a lizard! A stick! And a curious smell! Into the cafe Albert would step and like day into night Phoebe yelled 'Albert get!'

Yes the memories will fade but some things will remain... 

Richie's laughter, his jokes and that stubborn stain. 

So Richie Rich I'm here to say when the sun sets on the coffee machine at Hyams Beach Cafe, know that we love you every step of the way! Xx

Here are some pictures from the evening:

One helluva big table!

Claudine and I xx

Harry (oh Harry...), myself and Amy (Emma Peel). 

Myself nestled comfortably in with the Alisons! Gonna miss you all :-'(

Phoebe and Sue with the wonderful cakes they baked. 

Mum and Dad, sorry I sent you to the wrong venue half an hour the wrong way! 😳😳😳😘

Emma Peel. 

The Hanwell Brothers, Jack and Harry doing what they do with great mediocrity... Washing the dishes...

As a parting gift I handed down my pink shirt, tie and apron to the aspiring barista Jack... Albert didn't think I should hand the title over so easily...!

PCT 2015, The Gear...

Well, as promised, here is my gear list as it stands a fortnight before I set foot on the trail. 

I will give information about individual items as best I can. There will at least be enough that you can google a piece of gear and dive into the vast pool of information that is the internet!

As I have mentioned in previous posts I have tried to buy Australian products in Australia as much as possible. While I could have found cheaper gear over in the States, I am a proud Australian and as futile as it sometimes seems, want to support our country. I am sure there will be some adjustments to my gear as I go along and the USA will be getting their fair share of my hard earned penny...

I will also try to explain my reasoning behind certain choices as I go. 

Ok. First up an overview: 

Everything is laid out on my tyvek groundsheet (Sea to Summit 165gms). 

At the very top are my trekking poles (Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork 490gms). These are an adjustable pole that will also double as the supports for my tarp. 

Far left, the Platatac Trakpak by Tatonka (2.3kgs). There are much lighter packs out there but unfortunately out there means they were either overseas or outside my budget. Having said that I am very happy with the pack and it is half the weight of my last pack! Oh and I like the embroided Australian flag and platypus on it. :-)

Right next to the pack are my water

Bottles. The ones shown are for illustrative purposes. I will be carrying the three litre Camelbak but will get some additional water bottles over there (probably just Gatorade bottles). 

The green bag above the water bottles is my 'catch all' bag. I will go through that in detail later. Next to that is my sleeping bag, A Western Mounaineering Alpinlite (880gms), which is rated down to -7degC. I have it in a Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Compression Dry Sack (medium 90gms)

Below the sleeping bag is my sleeping mat (Sea to Summit Comfort Light insulated 580gms) and next to that it's pump (Jet Stream Pump Sack 46gms). While it isn't the lightest mat available, I chose that particular sleeping mat because it is incredibly comfortable!

Next row down is my shelter, from left to right: peg bag (see below), tarp (Sea to Summit Escapist medium 300gms) and a bug net (Sea to Summit Escapist Bug Net 140gms). 

The peg bag which includes: some spare cord, 1 snow stake, 6 skewer style stakes and 4 macpac pegs. The bags can also be filled with rocks or sand and used as a weight for securing tie out points. 

At the bottom in the middle is my clothing sack (Sea to Summit Evac Dry Sack 13 litre 69gms) and it contains:

Spare socks, merino wool thermal top, thermal pants, fleece hoody and down vest (Macpac Uberlight 180gms). 

Stored seperately in the top of my pack and not shown above is my cold weather kit:

From left to right, snow baskets for my trekking poles, Platatac cold weather gloves, merino wool beanie and merino wool neck buff. 

Back up the top next to my sleeping bag is my cookset a Snowpeak 900 pot with lid (165gms) and it contains:

Nalgene bottle for olive oil, cut down scourer/sponge, MSR Micro Rocket with its piezo igniter (75gms) and a titanium long handled spoon. 

Next to the cookset is my journal. 

Under the cookset and journal is my wet weather gear. Macpac Traverse jacket (365gms) and Alpine Lowe Meron rain pants (175gms). I will probably have the pants posted on for the colder sections. The little blue thing there is my mosquito head net. 

Then in the bottom right is my hygiene kit:

    

Toilet paper, soap, small pack towel and trowel. 

Ok. Back to my 'catch all' bag:

On top of the bag are: mosquito head net, baby wipe things (I know I hate them but I won't be leaving them on the table for some poor waitress to pick up!), Petzl Tikka head lamp (85gms) and spare batteries for headlamp. 

Under the bag left to right are blister kit which includes moleskins, alcohol swabs a couple of bandaids and a first aid quick reference guide. Toothbrush and paste. Ear plugs. Then Tenacious Tape and a sewing kit in a 120 film canister (see below). On the bottom row are compression bandage, crepe bandage, leuko tape and cordage. 

Here is a view of what's inside the tape and sewing kit:

Tenacious Tape is good for repairing sleeping bags, tarps, down jackets and whatever else. Inside it I have super glue (good for severe wound closure!) and safety pins. The sewing kit has Leukosilk wrapped around it and contains a spare button, spare barrel lock thingy, spare mosquito netting and needles and thread wrapped around a cork. 

Then finally the clothes I'll be wearing. My training shoes (New Balance 710) and Outdoor Research gaiters can be seen on the bottom left. I will get new shoes in the states as the range and price is much better than here. My pants are Mont Adventure Light nylon pants. My shirt is a Mont Lifestyle nylon shirt. My hat is of course an Akubra Stockman (I think). It holds a lot of sentimental value to me. I will also have a cotton scarf/bandana thingy. 

In my chest pockets (secured by a leather strap behind my neck) are my Victorinox Spartan knife and Marbles compass. 

Ok. That is pretty much it. One glaring omission is water filtration. I will probably get a Sawyer Squeeze, they are much cheaper over there. Also, the first aid needs bulking out with Ibuprofen, antihistamines, vagisil (for chaffing) and other medications I personally need. My maps and compass (balanced for northern hemisphere) I will get over there. 

Soon I will weigh the things I missed and edit the post to reflect that. And anything I realise I forgot!!!

Thanks for looking!

Richard

Jock.

Today I found out that one of our pack has osteosarcoma. Yeah I had to look that up, it's bone cancer...

Jock, far from being 'just a dog', has been an integral part of my daily life for my entire time at Hyams Beach. His head just the right height to appear at the serving window of the cafe seeking treats, he'd always greet me with great enthusiasm. He is the only one capable of getting Albert excited from his normally  indolent recline. People used to seeing Albert lazing about the sunny spots of the cafe don't recognise him in his exuberence around Jock. They'll often say 'is that Albert!?' The disbelief evident on their shocked dials. 

Terry and I used to jock, I mean joke (actual typo) that Jock needed one of those harnesses that visually identify a dog's temperament - green for a well socialised dog, orange for a dog that needed adult supervision and red for a sociopath. Well we would say he needed a black and yellow one that just said 'c*nt'! Because while Jock sought out a pat from any unsuspecting customer he didn't like labradors and would turn on them in a flash. There seemed no reasoning to his behaviour and just to keep us on our toes he'd sometimes be a c*nt to other dogs (including Albert). None the less this never swayed Albert's affection for his best mate. Dare I say the love of his life!?

It is so difficult to see such a magnificent creature in pain and distress and I type this through a veil of tears that blur my words. VB is helping... The suddenness of it all is scary. Only a few days ago we were concerned about him limping slightly, to today him being unable to lie down easily without obvious pain. Terry said he thought it was the 'rust' but I just presumed he was being melodramatic. Well after some X-rays today the drama is real and it is here to stay. 

It hurts to think that I am leaving for America so soon. I had no idea this could happen so suddenly and that when I return Jock might not be around to greet me. I love the way he would charge up to me to say hello. I quickly learned that it was wise to meet him side-on for fear of my manhood being compromised. And since I moved in under the cafe he made a point to come down and make sure we weren't there before checking the up at the cafe. The way he would 'goose' me from behind trying to get the sand off his face. 

I have so many fond memories of Jock and I hate that I am grieving like he has already passed but I know that when I return the Jock I remember so fondly won't be there to 'goose' me in an unsuspecting moment. Memories like the time a sailor on his morning run spent a moment to tie his laces and how Jock, seeing an opportunity, bolted down the beach in a flash to mount said sailor and do the 'Marvin Gaye'! Terry told me how Jock would delicately 'assume the position' behind him and breath heavily into his ear whenever he tried to load a DVD into the player. Many of us fell victim to Jock's 'affections'. We always maintained that one should never bend down in his presence!

I remember the time they were filming an ad on Hyams Beach and Jock took a keen interest interest in their hyper expensive drone helicopter with a Canon 5D mkII slung to it's underbelly.  And then, laid down in Hyams Beach folk lore... The time Jock crashed the wedding on the beach. He always seeks the lime light. 

So while I suck back a VB or two listening to Johnny Cash I reminisce on a member of my pack who has suddenly and irrevocably fallen ill. 

Jock. I know you are a fighter and will fight this most insurmountable of fights. I am truly sorry I won't be here for you. To stroke your magnificent mane and help you through this ordeal. To that task I charge Albert, Terry and Roxy.  

Who can deny the bonds formed between man and beast. You are a magnificent beast Jock and your spirit will live long in legend. 

While most of you out there won't really care or understand, it is with a teary eye and a heavy heart I leave you this - Jock. 

Rxx

An email from Wild magazine

I have this terrible feeling like I am at the edge of the high diving tower at the olympic swimming pool. That the only way down is to jump. To back out now and climb down the stairs in front of all the ogling onlookers would amount in so much social pain and embarrassment that the idea of belly flopping ten metres into the pool below whatever the consequences is totally viable. This feeling is fueled by the PR engine that is my Father. He has sent out a media release to every man and his publication in Australia. 

Just so we are clear on this, I am attempting this through hike of the Pacific Crest Trail purely for selfish reasons. There is no grand plan, no altruistic motivation. Just little ol me meeting the trail on its terms. To become an insignificant speck in the great American wilderness, a tourist who's only goal is to walk and to keep walking. Whatever else happens for better or worse will be up to fate and the only thing I will have to see me through is my resolve...

Below is an email and my response from the editor of 'Wild' magazine. 

Oh and a picture! Now off to practice some walking...

Hello Richard,

Some questions for a possible news update in Wild:

Are you going to be following the Pacific Crest Trail the whole way?

Yes, I will be starting my hike at Campo on the Mexican border just after the Annual Day Zero PCT Kick Off (ADZPCTKO). The trail will take me through Southern California, the Sierras, Oregon State and Washington State before ending just inside Canada at Manning Park. 

Do you believe your training regime has been adequate? How many hours per day do you expect to walk and in what timeframe are you hoping to complete?

No, my training regime is a poor facsimile of walking a through hike of this magnitude. My main goal with training is to condition my body somewhat to carrying a load for an extended period. In reality, the only thing that can truly prepare you for a through hike is a through hike! So while I am trying to get some kilometres under my feet before I depart I plan to ease into the hiking routine on trail. I also believe that one of my the biggest hurdles will be the mental and psychological endurance needed to complete a hike of this length. 

I plan to walk 8-10 hours a day with some days off at various towns along the way. I have given myself 150-180 days to complete the trek finishing up late September/early October. 

Does the walk have an added purpose, ie: charitable fundraising? Is coffee somehow relevant?

No. The walk is self motivated. After an extended bout of chronic eczema I wanted to give myself some time to do something I have always wanted to do. That is a long distance trek with minimal gear. I have had some previous experience having walked from Canberra to Tathra via Batemans Bay and then going back to Canberra to walk to Kosciusko.  As well as this I was a part time Outdoor Education Instructor and have completed a couple of Outward Bound courses including their Summit to Sea course in 2011. 

While coffee is a passion, I do not expect to have much in the way of espresso on my journey. 

If not, why are you attempting this walk and what's your aim?

I am attempting the walk for it's own sake. I do not want to labour my experience with fanciful ideas or goals. Instead I wish to meet the wilderness on its terms. Like I said, after a bout of long term chronic eczema I realised that meeting my basic needs and walking everyday for five or six months was something I could do. My aim is purely to walk and keep walking. If I try to see myself walking from the Mexican border to the Canadian border over 4,200kms then I see an impossible task! Instead I have mentally divided the trip into smaller sections. First I have to get to the trail head. Then I have to get to Warner Springs etc etc. Ultimately I aim to get up everyday, pack my gear up and walk. Then set up camp, sleep and repeat. 

If you could send through a photo of yourself, it would be greatly appreciated.

I will have to send a photo through on a separate email.

Kind regards,

Campbell Phillips 

PCT 2105 Pack Surgery

While I am finalising my gear for the fast approaching hike I have been scrutinising every gram I will be carrying. I know the gear I carry will change to some degree while hiking, I may send some things home or pick others up and that's fine but I am fairly confident that my previous experience has given me a good lead in knowing what is and isn't vital or at least useful for me. Having said that, I am in no way an expert nor am I in the ultralight camp. The gear I have chosen has been subject to my budget and a compromise between weight and durability. 

As for my pack, I have gone with the Platatac Trakpak, which is made for an Australian company by Tatonka. The pack was designed and made for Australians wishing to follow in the Digger's footsteps (in 1942) along the Kakoda trail in PNG. It is by no means an ultralight pack coming in at 2.4kgs but was half the weight of my previous pack - a Macpac Torre. While I still love the old Torre and have done many kilometres with it I wanted to try and at least halve the weight of my aging gear. 

I have been using the Trakpak for a couple of months now on my training walks and while I love the pack I realised I could shave some weight off by doing a bit of surgery...

The Trakpak on the operating table just before surgery.

From using the pack I noticed two ways I could save a bit of weight. One was to trim the length of the straps. They were obviously made with a 'one size fits all' philosophy and me being average build meant that there was a lot of strap just flapping around all over the pack. The second way was to remove the internal wall that made the pack into a two compartment pack. This wall could be zippered open anyway and I am used to using a one compartment pack so it went too. 

Here are the parts removed from the pack:

I included my good ol Spyderco Military which did the surgery. Knife people will appreciate that! :-)

After putting the removed parts on the scales they totalled 135gms. This might not seem much but to give some perspective it is almost twice the weight if my stove (an MSR microrocket 73gms) and almost half the weight of my silnylon tarp which is 250gms. So while I didn't put my pack on today for my training hike and think 'ahh light' I have shaved some weight off and it all adds up. 

In hindsight I might have been better off buying a lighter single compartment pack  in the first place. However, my desire to support both an Australian company and their efforts to kit people out who want to walk the Kakoda trail won out and I am proud of that!