347 Miles and 1 Corny Toe

After leaving Idyllwild, I hiked out of the San Jacinto Mountains and descended over 7000 ft. back to the desert floor. After completing a 28 mile day, I arrived at trail angels Ziggy and the Bear where at least 60 other hikers were gathered. First they give you a bucket with warm water and let you soak and clean your dirty feet. I had missed the salad dinner but was definitely in time for the ice cream sundaes.

In the Whitewater Creek Basin looking back just one day ago to Fuller Ridge.

And yes, what goes down must certainly go back up. It was a big climb into the San Bernadino Mountains to get to the next resupply town, Big Bear. After staying one night at the hostel in Big Bear Lake, it was back to the mountains. As I traversed around the North side of the lake, my allergies really started to set it. The post nasal drip ran my throat raw resulting in a mostly lost voice and painful swallowing. Further complicating the issue was that I could not breathe through my nose and constantly had my mouth hanging open, further drying the throat. Ouch.

G Dub hiking through a burned zone after Big Bear. It was an extremely windy day and we could hear trees going down all around us.

I spent a couple days at the Cajon Pass Best Western recuperating. I headed back to the trail, prepared to climb the next mountain range, the San Garbriels. After hiking 5 miles, I had to stop due to the extreme pain in my foot. A semi swollen toe had taken a turn for the worse. After making it back to the trail head I was rescued by my Uncle Phil and Aunt Donna who live a couple hours drive from Cajon Pass. A podiatrist appointment yesterday confirmed that I had an infection raging and was put on antibiotics. I am lucky and will hopefully be back on trail in a weeks time. So for now, I am enjoying this time visiting with family even though hiking is not far from my thoughts.

The big boot to protect my infected toe.

Make sure to check out my journal on postholer (the class of 2013 link above) for all the daily, oozing details.

180 Miles Complete

Sitting in the wing at Eagle Rock.

Clouds rip through this pass as the winds howl.

9 hiking days. 180 miles complete! I’m here in Idyllwild taking a zero day. That means that I am hiking no miles today other than to go get breakfast, go food shopping and visit the library. The hike is going well. The usual blisters, pain and sore muscles but good people, glowing scenery and epic trail magic. There certainly have been some low days but the hiker trash moving up the trail with me, perhaps without even knowing it, have given me just the boost needed to push on. It’s a low water year and the desert flora are just starting to bloom. The sweet smelling plants meld with the sun and dusty trail to create a diverse scene. It’s all about water out here and distances traveled are dictated by its availability. 23 mile waterless stretch? Ok, then I will hike 23 miles in one day. Climbing out of the desert found us traversing the San Jacinto mountains. As I climbed over 8,500 feet in between the rocky peaks, the clouds ripped through as the wind howled. For the daily summary of my trek visit the Class of 2013 link to the right.

Departure!

Day Zero! Departure tomorrow morning where I’ll catch a flight from San Francisco to San Diego. Stay tuned to my main journal on postholer (Class of 2013 link on the sidebar of the home page) where I’ll be keeping the daily ins and outs of my new Pacific Crest Trail life. Occasionally, I’ll post general updates here. Thanks for all the support!

HikeFor

In addition to being able to make a donation to ThyCa here on my website, I’ve also linked up with HikeFor. On HikeFor’s website you can pledge any amount per mile and then pay for the miles that I actually end up hiking after I finish my little Pacific Crest Trail walk from Mexico to Canada.

What is HikeFor?
HikeFor is currently just a website. There’s no team or organization behind it. By summer 2013 it will be registered as a non-profit in the US and Canada.

The inspiration for HikeFor comes from Paul Mitchell “Potential 178″. He built HikeFor in 2010 with the idea that if a bunch of hikers dedicated their hikes collectively to a single worthwhile cause, it could raise funds for something good, give the hikers some added sense of community and some encouragement to finish their hikes. Potential 178 launched the site just a few weeks before hitting the Pacific Crest Trail in 2010 and it’s been upgraded this year to allow hikers to pick whatever cause they want.

How Many Miles Can You Sponsor?

My 2013 Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike is dedicated to building awareness about thyroid cancer and helping to provide resources for past, present and future thyroid cancer patients.

In 2006, as a newly diagnosed thyroid cancer patient, the Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association (ThyCa) was an incredibly valuable resource to me. Whether I was learning about this cancer on their website, attending a conference, or downloading their low-iodine cookbook, ALL of it was FREE.

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,650-mile national scenic trail that runs from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington. In 2009 I hiked, in part, to recover from my thyroid cancer. It was physically and mentally challenging but the toil and fatigue were well worth the joy experienced, friends made and vistas seen.

Thyroid cancer is one of the few cancers whose incident rate has increased over recent years. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 60,220 new cases of thyroid cancer in the U.S. in 2013

Starting at the end of April 2013, I will average hiking 20 miles a day for 4-5 months. I will be blogging the entire experience here and at my main journal site www.postholer.com/lionheart.

My goal is to get every 2,650 miles of the PCT sponsored. At $10/mile, or any amount you can afford/mile, how many miles can you sponsor? Or how about a penny for every mile of the PCT? That’s a donation of $26.50! 100% of donations go directly to ThyCa.