Idyllwild to Big Bear

Miles 180-266

These have been the most beautiful miles yet. It was so relaxing to be in Idlyllwild, mainly due to the abundance of trees and cool air, but also just to be in the care of a fellow thru-hikers grandparents. I got to sleep in a bed for two nights, treated to a meal out, and got a delicious to-go bag of cheese and fresh veggies. That was some amazing trail magic. The support from non-hikers in some passing areas/towns has been tremendous. If you have ever run a race, it's similar to the strangers cheering you on the side lines. Here they are just more spread out, but they give you the same energy.

Yesterday me and Magic Mullet climbed San Jacinto Peak, the second tallest in Southern California. The views from the top were truly incredible. To the North is the San Gorgonio Wilderness and Big Bear, my destination. To the East is Palm Springs, Indio, and their suburbs 9,000ft below. To the West there was a haze of smoke from the San Diego wildfires.

On top of San Jacinto Peak.

The decent off this peak took about a full 24 hours, and the vegetation and weather changed dramatically with the drastic change in elevation.

The sunrise above the clouds.

At the bottom of the massive decent the wind was howling, turning the sand into little needles as they hit my skin. So I pushed on even faster, because there was refuge nearby thanks to some amazing trail angels named Ziggy and the Bear.  These people have opened up their home to any thru hiker passing by.  There whole backyard has been converted into a hiker paradise.  The ground is completely carpeted to protect hikers often tender feet, there are foot baths, coffee, fresh fruit,  ice cream, apple pie, and even half a dozen porta-pottys for hikers.  All they want in return is a small donation, and a photo of each hiker which they number and catalog. I am number 1012 for this year. This makes me think that there are probably 1100 thru hikers this year.  Without the generosity of people like this, such a hike wouldn't be possible for most.


I left the hiker haven that afternoon and headed to Whitewater Wildlife Refuge. The views kept coming.

The sunset over whitewater wash.

Unfortunatley, despite the flush toilets and picnic benches, the campsite turned terrible really quick. This was actually the first time I set up my tarp, but it didn't help. I woke up to a torrential down pour, which was somehow getting under my tarp despite its very low pitch. I even used my umbrella to cover up one main entrance, but my down bag, jacket and pants all got soaked. Then all of a sudden most of the rain stopped, and I heard a voice with a German accent say, "my foot is on the sprinkler!" A slew of curses streamed out of my mouth. I gave the savior my water bladder to cover one sprinkler, then I ran out of the tarp to cover two other sprinkler heads with my upside down shoes. I moved my wet sleeping bag to under the stone patio, were I attempted to sleep the rest of the night. No more front-country camping for me!

My campsite from hell. You can see the water marks and where I covered the sprinklers.

(~Mile 230)

Right now I'm taking a short break in the shade, during my hike up Mission Creek. This is another one of the many moments when this feels impossible. Just as implausible as learning to fly, it seems like I can't do this. I miss Michelle so much, that spending the next four months doing this, alone, without her, sounds terrible.

But then again I'm not alone, well at least not always, and there is so much to look forward to. This is day ten, and I've seen several thru hikers a day since day four. The camaraderie is great, but it's not quite filling the gap.

However, I can't quit. No matter how tempting. I've presented myself with this amazing opportunity, that will never happen again. There is no coming back if I leave, why would I? There are so many things I want to do in my life, so I generally don't like to repeat experiences. I have until October. This isn't much time in the grand sceme of things, so why should I not take advantage of this trail?

This makes me feel better. I find that I'm walking myself through the same rational somewhat regularly out here, like a CD on repeat whenever I'm feeling low.

Less than 40 miles to Big Bear. Time to take a break from this damned desert.

In Big Bear:

The past two days Have been neros ( near zero mile days) in my opinion, at 14 miles each day. This is my second and last night in the Big Bear Hostel. It has been rejuvenating despite not getting great sleep. I think I'm getting too used to camping now so beds aren't as comfortable. So strange as it's only been12 days.

Getting snowed on by Onyx Summit, near mile 251.

Yesterday me and Magic Mullet hitched off of the top of a mountain pass because it was snowing and lightning was getting too close for comfort. Its amazing that the day before I was hot, sweating through the desert. Today we got a ride back up to the same pass and hiked back into town without all of our backpacking gear. With barely anything in our packs we made 14 miles in only four hours. The lack of weight felt really freeing.

We also passed these Grizzly Bears that were caged in the woods. Apparently these animals were used in movies, and now they're in what looks like prison. It sucks to see such a big animal in such a small cage, especially when they are native to California, yet don't exist here anymore.

A caged Grizzly Bear.

Time to hit the trail again. 40 more miles until I get to soak in Deep Creek Hot Springs!

Warner Springs to Idyllwild

Miles: 110-180

I've been hiking the past few days with some pretty great characters; Magic Mullet, Fire Squirrel, Mishap, and Jake the Snipe Hunter.  I met Magic Mullet under a tarp on a hot afternoon, and we've been hiking a lot together since then. It's been good company having someone who is on the same page as me as far as hiking schedule, pace, personality, and beliefs. I'm actually fortunate enough to be taking my first rest day (aka "zero") at Mullet's grandparents house in Idyllwild right now. Such nice people and such amazing hospitality to me, a perfect stranger.

A lot of laughs hiking with this group. Some of which were from the unfortunate events that seemed to plague Mishap. She is a young woman from Washington who hasn't caught much of a break. She has blisters everywhere, sunburned and peeling skin, and the heaviest pack I've seen yet. In one day her water filter stopped working, her bottle and iPod fell down the mountain on separate occasions, and her water bladder stopped working. But with all those and more, she's been a trooper, still getting the miles covered.

It's also been good to hike with Appalachian Trail thru-hike veteran Fire Squirrel. I learned that I need to air out my feet several times a day or else I could get trench foot, which makes every step painful.

It seems like we're catching up with more people everyday, but I'm still happy to not being hiking with the masses were you can see 40-50 people a day.

I'm getting more and more comfortable with the daily routine. Each day we hike feels like three normal days, so really this week has felt like almost a month. I'm still trying to not look at the big picture, because even though I'm currently on trail, the feat of finishing seems impossible. But that's part of what I'm doing here, proving to myself (and hopefully others) that anything is possible.

This is feeling more and more like a pilgrimage every day, but it's not like Manning Park, Canada is equivalent to Mecca. It seems like the journey is just as long internally as externally. Thru-hiking is a mental game, that is both very  taxing and rewarding. I feel like I've already grown as a person, and I'm only 6.7% done. I can only imagine what lies ahead. All the more reason to keep moving forward!

My goal is to make it to Big Bear Thursday evening and Deep Creek Hot Springs next Saturday evening. Then I'll take  next Sunday off, and take a nice long soak in the hot springs!

110 miles in 4.5 days

This has already been the biggest challenge of my life. I'm almost completely fine physically, aside from some minor blisters, but mentally it's a different story.

I've thought about quitting 100 times a day already. I think it's really because I've been hiking alone for about 87 of the first 90 miles so far. I had only seen 4 people in four days, until now. 

I've never been completely alone for so long, and I've found it to be incredibly taxing. This combined with the heat, and an incessant wind hasn't helped. I have also never felt homesickness like this before, and I've found myself thinking of excuses to come home. Luckily, I discovered two thru-hikers  taking a siesta under a tarp today and happily joined them. This has completely changed my mindset.

I think the only way I will make it through the desert is by hiking in the morning/evening, then resting in the shade during the hottest hours. I was told it hit 104℉ at a spot I traveled through yesterday. I'm glad I passed it at 6:30 am and not noon.

I am finally not concerning myself about whether or not I can make it to Canada. It's WAY too overwhelming to think about it like that. I am taking this journey one day at a time, mile by mile.

The desert doesn't seem to want people in it. Actually, it's a miracle that anything lives here. I have only passed one flowing creek, all other water I've either gotten from spigots or horse troughs. There are also numerous water caches which help make huge "water-less" stretches less scary. The longest was 33 miles. Thank you trail angels!

It's amazing the variation of vegetation and landscape I've walked through already. I've seen tons of lizards and snakes, some birds of prey, squirrels that are actually scared of humans, hummingbirds, butterflies, huge stink bugs, and a jackrabbit.

There have been very few trees, but at one point we passed some Coulter Pines which have the largest (and heaviest) pine cones in the world. A lot of things are in bloom right now, which really lifts my mood, like lupine, larkspur, yarrow, prickly pear, choya, yucca, agave, and tons of others I'm not familiar with.

Thanks so much to my family who sent me a bunch of cards!!!! It really lifts my spirit! Next stop Big Bear!

Tracking with my spot unit/ the first 110 miles

This is pretty awesome! Click on the link to see where I've walked so far!

Me and my buddy Paul at the start of the trail.
Thanks for coming man!

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=08N2pg8ug6SjT7m63IjXQq6rEpHmpysXz




I'm trying to post what I've written all week on my phone, but its unfortunately not uploading under roaming network :(




So I'll give you a snip-it until I can figure out how to post it.


110 miles
4.5 days
~90 solo hiking miles, which were a struggle mentally.
I've met about 10 other thru hikers, 9 of which in the past 24 hours.

Me in the extreme wind. 40-50 mph gusts

In a nut shell, this has been incredibly hard, more mentally then physically.  I'm realizing this is going to be my lifestyle for a while, so I need to settle in, saddle up, and figure out how to make it through.  I think what is going to get me through the desert (which is brutal) is early morning/ evening hiking with a siesta during the extreme 100+ degree heat.





Much love to everyone, especially to my family who sent me a bunch of awesome letters, and the love of my life, Michelle.

The adventure begins...

I'm in the airport, waiting to board my flight to San Diego, with a thousand emotions pulsing through my body. A feeling that is exacerbated by my lack of sleep and coffee consumption.

This trip has been a long time coming, and I'm ecstatic to have it finally start!

Thank you! To all my family and friends who have supported me, and continue to do so!

I'll do my best to keep this updated with my journey.

An adventure of 2650 miles begins with a single step...

Canyonlands "Training" : The White Rim Trail

Why I said, "training" is because while it was training it was much more so an adventure. However, it did involve some strenuous activity, so I can call it training!

My partner Michelle and I have wanted to mountain bike the 100 mile White Rim Trail for years. This rugged four wheel drive road makes a loop aroung the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park (CNP), which is situated outside of Moab, Utah. Many people bike the trail with the help of a support vehicle to carry food , water, and other supplies. This is especially helpful because there is no water available on the route.

A basic map of the White Rim Trail and the
Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands.

Michelle and I decided to give the trail a try unsupported, in just over two days. Niether of us had ever been bike-packing (that is backpacking on bikes),  or mountain biked over 25 miles in a day, but were excited to check off this bucket list experience.

We both situated our bikes with panniers to carry our gear, food, and water. When we started they were heavy, mainly due to the five gallons of water, but that lightened up through out our trip.

Me at the top of the canyon, before our first descent.

When we drove over snowy passes in the Rockies towards Utah, it was hard to believe we'd be mountain biking that same night. We luckily arrived at the visitors center right before it's 5 o'clock close, just in time to check in and print our backcountry permits. 

Vail Pass on the way to Utah.

Then we set off down the switch backs of Schafer Road, hoping to make it to our first campsite before dark. The views from the top of Schafer Road were truly incredible, and those stunning panoramas didn't stop until after we climbed back out of the canyon, some 80 miles later. We made it to our campsite with just enough daylight to set up camp, eat dinner, and watch the sun give way to the stars.  Then within ten minutes of darkness, a full moon emerged, shining so bright that our headlamps were obsolete. The next day our adventure was to be kicked up to a higher gear, although I didn't know it yet.

The faint white line at the bottom of the canyon is where
Shafer Road meets the White Rim Trail; our destination.

Only part of the huge Shafer Road downhill.

We didn't set alarms, why would we when we had all day to bike 50 miles? "Because a 50 mile mountain bike ride is hard Dan, that's why!", was advice I wish I heard.

We stopped at every overlook and short hiking trails for the first 20 miles of the day, and each were spectacular. Well worth getting a little behind schedule, which we realized we were and would unlikely make it to our designated campsite. The second half of the day had barely any stops, and we still couldn't make it to camp before dark. Fortunately we reached an unoccupied campsite called Murphy's Hogback as the sun was setting. We had biked about 43 miles, leaving over 50 miles for our final day. We decided to set an alarm.

Luckily the trail passed over easier terrain for much of our last day, aside from our gigantic climb out of the canyon, of course. We rode very close to the Green River for most of the day. The turbid, silty water is why people say, "there is no water on the trail." Any water collected would need to sit overnight to allow for the silt to settle, then would need to be removed without disturbing the sediment. We brought a water filter just in case it came to that.

The climb out of the canyon was intimidating and beautiful. I grew used to facing mountains on my road bike during my cross country trip in 2009; it's about learning to take some slow abuse for sometimes hours. That climb marked the start of Mineral Road, which travels about 13 miles, connecting to a paved road (route 312) which our car was parked on. Most of these roads are not in the national park, although the beauty of the area continued until we were out of the canyon. Then things got bad.

The top of our climb out of the canyon.

not one to complain, but 22 miles of non-scenic road riding, with 50 mile per hour gusts , just isn't much fun. The blowing sand wiped out all distant views, and the dust made it difficult to open our eyes. There were many points when I almost got blown off my bike, which was made about 100x scarier once we were on Route 312 with traffic.

This is when things got bad.

Exhausted, seven hours into the longest mountain bike ride of our lives, we just hoped we wouldn't get blown into a car. I gritted my teeth, cursed at the wind, and rode like hell to the car.

Despite those terrible few hours, the trip was still overwhelmingly worth it! We treated ourselves to a motel in Moab that night, and hoped for the wind to die down enough for us to enjoy our next two days of backpacking the Needles District of the park.

The wind settled, and our backpacking days rivaled those on the White Rim in terms of beauty. These are places that everyone should experience in their life. At times they seem like they could be another planet.

Go. Explore. Live!

Training for the Past Months

My training philosophy mid-March:

When it comes to being completely prepared for hiking 22 miles per day, 6 days a week, for 4.5 months, I don't know if it's truly possible. It is just not possible for the average 'thru-hiker in training' to walk for over 20 miles per day, multiple days a week.

The view of Green Mountain from the top of Bear Mountain, with Boulder, CO below.
I summited both peaks this day along with South Boulder Peak. It was a fantastic training hike.

That being said, my goal for training is to build my endurance as much as possible. I decided the best way for me to do this with my limited free time would be to run. Now I can cram in a 6 mile run after work and before I catch my bus. That combined with a 5 mile (round trip) walk to the bus stop allows me to move about 11 miles a day. This combination usually totals to between 6-11 miles of motion, 5 days a week.

My running schedule started on October 1st and continues to gradually build every week. This past weekend I made it through a half marathon (13.1) for my long Sunday run. I survived, and actually really enjoyed myself! This was my third half marathon of my life,  with my slowest time of 2:20 minutes, but it was by far the most difficult terrain yet. It was over tons of slanted rock on the Devils Backbone trail in Loveland,CO, which I do not recommend if you are prone to twisting an ankle!

The Devil's Backbone, Loveland, CO.

I am hoping to continually build my weekly running mileage, to see if it will be possible to run a marathon the weekend before I start hiking.  Since I've never run over a half marathon, I'm not sure I will have enough training time to build up to 26.2 miles by May 1st.

My training Philosophy since mid-March:

The week after I wrote the above post, I increased my total weekly mileage to about 45 miles, with the intention of running a 15 miler that weekend.  I found that this was too much too fast. 

 I started to get shin-splints, then my knee started to ache.  This was really nerve racking; the thought of injuring myself before I even start the trail! So I backed off on running, and started focusing on more hiking specific training: walking! More specifically, walking with a heavy backpack.  

I think that my backpack weight will be heaviest with a weeks worth of food on a stretch with no water for thirty miles, because I'll be carrying about 2-2.5 pounds of food a day and 8 liters of water, totaling about 50 lbs.  To make this weight less difficult on the trail, I've been hiking with this 'worst case scenario' 50 lbs on every training hike.

Me backpacking through the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.

At first the weight felt extreme, but after a few hikes my body seems to have gotten used to it. On my most recent hike, we walked 16 miles in 6 hours and I felt like I could have easily gone much further.  The best part of that is I had no pain in my shins or knees, and I wasn't the least bit sore afterwards!  This is incredibly reassuring, as my only real fear about this summer is an injury holding me back.  

I also train by doing other activities like mountain biking, slack-lining, and going to the gym. My amazing girlfriend Michelle, and I recently went on an amazing 100 mile mountain bike-packing trip through Canyonlands National Park's White Rim Trail. In that same trip we also went backpacking through the Needles District of the Park. I'll try to post on that adventure soon!

Me and Michelle hiking through a slot
 canyon in the Needles District.