Fishing Again

Fishing at Echo Lake.

Feeling good, feeling strong

After quiet a few days out in the bush, Aaron and I are feeling strong but tired.  Personally, I am actually starting to really find comfort in our tent, finally.  Funny how things change, priorities and all, out on the trail, you really begin enjoying the small simple things, society is so easy...  Days are relentlessly long and dry, really looking forward to some wet weather.  We both enjoyed a swim in an alpine lake that was freezing but the sun was out and we were lost in the middle of no where, no one in site.  Thank god for these lakes, Aaron and I smell very ripe...  Every one was right, it's really hard keeping up with calories, I know I have lost a bit, going to have to get Aaron a pizza every day for month after this thing. 

Desolation

Back log due to lack of service:Forced to skip this last section due to no water, we just made it through the Desolation Wilderness where we spent a couple days of R&R in the high lakes, fishing.  There's another section that this time the USFS is advising is very difficult due to lack of sustainable water sources.  Desolation was awesome.  Aaron and I are going on a surf trip up the coast very soon, where there is lots of water.  We are also planning a kayaking/fishing trip for 3 days or so...

Forest Service

Since we were relatively close to town we decided to head into town for the USFS office to ask why all the water sources on the trail (about 20 miles was dry, I'm talking some serious river and lakes).  Turns out this last winter was the driest on record, which was bad enough to dry out some of the smaller rivers and lakes... I was like really... all the research I did and talking on forums I didn't know this and in my opinion, the USFS was negligent.  I let that lady know the reality of the situation and this little fact could have landed us  on "I Shouldn't Be Alive", melodramatic??  I don't think so it was freaking hot and dry, no water source for two days and it would have been another 16 miles till we found one.  Any ways, this has derailed our trek a bit but we will adapt.  Planning on skipping this 30 mile section thats completely dry and moving to Desolation, we got our permits... then finishing and maybe a couple days kayaking on the big lake, both of use are excited. Below are some pics of us navigating down to town, beautiful but it was so agonizing seeing so much water after two days without any water and the hot temps.  hahah pretty funny.  we are both in great spirits and really enjoying all the adventure and beauty.  We both agree, civilization has its positives... hahaha.  Playing lots of chess every night.

About the Force

We were forced to go down the and find water because this place is bone dry.  I actually got to use the compass and map as it was intended to be used and it worked (or better yet I used it right and it worked) haha.  Aaron and I got a motel room from a really cool guy for only $30, probably because we looked burned and poor, hahah. Obviously there is no camping in town so we were forced, which was really nice. Both of us were pretty dehydrated, we got a good meal (roma pizza), some beer and plenty if H2O. 

Force

Been hiking long and hard, ran out of water almost two days ago, it's hot and we need some water.  Both of us decided to hike off trail down dried river in search of twin lake, or houses, or town for H2O.  Dont worry, I got a compass and I know how to use it, only 12 miles off course.

Day 5

We hiked about 10 miles today, and headed into Heavenly to resupply.  Funny thing that happened- we ran out of water about a day before and we had miles to do still before we got into town or close to a reliable water source.  We ran into this lady on the trail and started talking with her exchanging info, names and where from's and she gave us some local info.  We pressed on and checked a few houses that had no occupancies for water but sure enough the water was turned off.  A few miles later there was an older man working on his car and we asked him a few questions from which he was.kind enough to answer and we asked for some water from his hose, which he was happy give... thankfully.  We were happy to press on knowing we had plenty of water, finally after 5 miles or so we found the elusive trail head, hiked about a mile in before changing our minds, seemed much quicker to take the highway down to the little village so we turned around and headed down the highway.  We were hiking two hours and we still had about 5 hours to go when a 4 Runner pulls off to the side of the road and the lady from the trail pops out and says "You boys want a rids down into town", kindly wd accept.  To make a story short, turns out we talked to her husband (the one that gave us water, the two were from Rancho Bernardo, and there kids too had gone to Humboldt state, they had just moved up there and she was concerned with the directions her hjsband had given us so she said she was going to go down the highway to see if she.could find us and she did.  Pretty funny, what a small world.  Needless to say, she and her husband really helped us out... people up here are pretty kind.  We resupplied this time with some higher calorie foods, got a pizza and made camp outside of town, today we are going to relax a bit we have been averaging 11 miles a day so we are feeling beat but both of us can tell we feel stronger.  Entering the desolation wilderness soon, pretty excited about that.  Aaron and I have been having some fun, last nivht we played chess all night, Nana well done teaching Aaron chess, he got my queen early on but I rallied back (would have felt really humbled to have lost to my little bro, glad I didn't on the first game), we decided to play at least once a night...

Day 3 Spooner Peak

Both if us got killed today, climbed non-stop all day (14 miles).  We took a nap at the summit, well, Aaron did and I wrote this blog, actually I am re-writing it now because I feel I went a bit to deep.  I realized why I went on this trek, not for glory, not ti br bad-asd,, not to get back in shape.  I went on this trip to find myself again (and to hang with my bro).  We about half way up the mountain I went through what I can only describe as emotional states, four to be exact, when I reached the top I realized every thing.  To re-find ones self is an amazing thing!  To find that purpose...

Day 3

Woke up at 7, felt pretty good, so did Aaron although he slept till 9:30 or so.  We had some breakfast and today have a long hike ahead of us, about 14 miles or so.  This morning I was out enjoying the morning eating some walnuts and this Blue Jay came to hang out.  It kept flying down about 2 feet from me, I would give it a walnut and it would keep coming back, pretty cool experience.  Thus cintinued for about an hour.  That was the extent of entertainment for a while probably, things are so simple out here...

Star Sky

Looming up at the night sky, stars are so bright and the moon just went doen,, now we can see the Milky Way, so amazimg!  Aaron and I are using Google Sky Map to star gaze and it is really cool.

Day 2

Both Aaron and I slept well last night.  It was a bit windy but less so than before.  we just lit a fire in the solo stove and are brewing up some joe, btw, solo stove is awesome, though a bit tough to get going under extreme winds, we haf to search out a spot with no wind...  Stive also acts as an excellent little morning fire to stave off the morning freeze.  We have not decided where to go from here, one things fir sure, we will head down to Marlete lake and get a good swim in, then probably hrad to Spooner lake.  I dont think either of us are un a rush so we might simply put in 10 miles today.  Yoday is supposed to be the coldest day of the hike... right! 

Spooner Lake

We just set camp at Spooner about two hours ago, all is well, spent a couple hours at Marlette Lake and I took a dip despite the high winds.  We are sitting by the camp fire that we built and really enjoying the solitude.  Not many people at all on the trail.

Day 1- DONE

Today was long and brutal.  We killed it though hiking 14 miles.  The wind has been relentless gusting at 20-30 mph all day.  We made camp about two hours ago, set up our tent, made a camp fire and got some chow on board.  This place is beautiful though.  We met a bunch of local day hikers early on the trail, they are such nice people.  We are just hanging out, resting our bones and waiting for darkness.

TRT D-Day

Last night was harsh, with winds gusting at 40 mph, scattered showers and 30*, all that mixed together made for a cold night.  I optedfor the 40* bag so I was a bit chilly.  I dont expect to be hanging at 30* temps and wind yo much on the rrst of the trek, we stayed at Mount Rose summit, doh!  Any how, Aarons still sleeping, I suppose he didn't sleep well either.  Brewing up some cowboy coffee as we speak, then we will repack, ditch what gear we can so we weigh less, and take off on the trek.  Did I mention our pack weight yet?  Aaron's is weighing in at 50lbs, mine is at 70lbs.  Hope we can trim se off today and leave it at the car, if not no big deal we will just come ouy that much more shredded.  BTW, if you go to my Facebook pagee you can see our location and altitude that is set to reposition us ever hour via gps, I may turn that off though.

TRT Day -1

     Well we made it to our camp site, Lake Tahoe is simply amazing, the lake is so awesome.  We made camp about two hours ago, set up the tent dressed up a bit, its freezing here about 50* and windy.  We are expecting a 20* night, hell of way to test out the new sleeping bags.  I told Aaron that I dont normally spoon on the first night but there always a first.  We just enjoyed a 300 calorie dinner, and are in front of a nice small fire now warming up and enjoying some laughs.  Both of us are looking forward to the morning and D-day for our TRT trek.

Really people, really, hahaha thought this was a funny government posted at the rest stop. So beautiful up herr..

almost there!

having an awesome time. just passed bishop,ca.

TRT Day -2

     Here's a quick recap of the last couple of days:  Aaron and I have been real busy getting every thing together.  I picked him up Wends., scratch that, Thursday early morning at LAX (have I ever said I hate LA?) and got home at 3 A.M.  Thursday we woke up and went hiking for about ten miles to see how his pack felt and boots under a full load (he told me every thing was perfect).  We started packing the rest of the gear and found out we needed a few extra things so Friday we went out and got every thing and tonight we are finishing packing and chillin' out, tomorrow morning at 4 A.M. we are taking off and should get to the trail head by 1 P.M. or so.  By the way, we are going to try to keep up with the blog, updating as soon as we can so if we don't post for a few days or longer, we will post as soon as possible.
     Today, in addition to getting last minute things, we gave ourselves hair cuts.  Aaron opted for the #2 guard buzz cut, I opted for #2 on the sides making it even with my beard leaving a bit on top, about  2-3 inches wide using a #6 to form a mohawk.  Check out the pics:

Keep It Warm

     I last blogged about our sleeping bags and pads.  I typically get hot in a sleeping bag which leads to a not-so-good night's sleep.  However, I was looking at the weather we will encounter in the TRT and PCT and although it seems that most of the time there will be nice, warm weather (they have no clue what they are saying most of the time, weather folks as it were) it seems there will be some cold freezing nights, especially if we sleep at altitude.  I can only get weather and temps from lake level areas such as from Tahoe City so temps may very a bit.  Since my bag is only rated at 40* I thought I would look into alternate ways to stay warm.  I was thinking about how I feel when I am hungry and tired and how that effects my body temp, maybe I am over thinking this but what the hell, why not, I've over thought every thing else.  Guess if we get cold enough we could employ these tactics if need be but I really doubt it.  Only one time have I really been very cold at night and I did not have a sleeping bag, dumb.

So here it is and most of it is simple:

• They say to have a snack before bed or in the middle of the night, something like a Snickers
• Cover your dome
• Wear Layers
• Insulating sleeping bag
• Dry socks
• Filling up a water bottle with hot water or using hot rocks and tucking them in your bag
• Of course, have a sleeping bag that you fit into well
• Consider a line: silk, cotton, or fleece- I thought about this but I think it will just add unnecessary weight that I could achieve by sleeping in a few layers if need be.
• Bivy

Sleeping Arrangements

     Did I post yet on the amazing gear I found to aid in the relentless pursuit of a decent night's sleep out on the trek?  Well at least for me, probably because I am as big as Baloo, I always have a hard time sleeping when I camp.  I discovered though, with technology and all the super light materials that are available both Aaron and I can sleep very soundly.  You would really be surprised at how technical and how much of a science is engineered into sleeping bags theses days, we could talk all day about synthetic or down, hollow or solid point fibers and so on and so on.
     We got a LaFuma Yellow Stone bag rated at 30*, snug fit for me but Aaron will fit perfect in it, and it weighs in at 3lb 5oz.  The bag stuff's down really small and is synthetic fill but I have tested the bag and it is awesome!  I think this bag will be awesome for Aaron.

     The other bag I just got today is the Marmot Minimalist bag.  What I like about this bag is it's super light weight and compact design.  Seriously, this bag only weights 2lbs and cinches down to the mear size of a bowling ball.  It's rated at only 40* but I typically am frying when I sleep while every one else is freezing (must be my Baloo insulation).  I have been checking the weather and it appears that we may be having some cool weather around freezing point but I think I can put a fleece on and be warm enough.  If not, welllll, it looks like both Aaron and I will both be in for an uncomfortable spooning night. This bag also uses synthetic hollow fibers as it's fill which is awesome.  Here is the greatest part of this bag, it fits me.  Believe it or not I have a really hard time finding a bag that fits me both in length and width since I have massive girth in the shoulder area.

    Of course, we will both also have sleeping pads to insulate us from the grounds bitter fingers.  Aaron and I will both have Thermolites, Aaron's is 1.5" and mine is 2.5" thick so I think we will both be pretty comfy for hiking standards.  Plus, both pads weigh only 10oz each and pack super small.  

Bladders

So here is the water situation, we will each be carrying one of these bad boys plus

 Camelbak 100oz/ 3L MG Omega Water Beast Reservoir

two, 2 liter bottles each and a 1 liter Gatorade bottle:

Permits and Travel

ETA: 6/23/12
     First, I spoke with USGS and they told me that only day hikers are subject to quota permits which means, we can get a permit at any time since we are hiking the entire TRT and can pick them up at any time.  I was a bit worried about this at first, really feels good to not have that thought in the back of my head.  So, we will head up, stop by the visitor station, pick up our permits, and head to Incline Village, NV where we will spend the night before starting on the trip.
     I've been thinking a lot and talking a lot about how much I hate planning hikes.  Now I know I said I love planning hikes and I do but I hate, hate planning every thing so that you take the excitement out of a trip.  For example, I really disliked the idea of mailing food to post office's along the way, and I disliked the idea of caching water, so naturally, we eliminated this by simply saying, screw it!  Many people plan food and water caches but we are to bad-ass to be practically taking a "guided tour" like trip planning every detail, Aaron and I both can appreciate the unpredictability of this trip which is part of the reason for going on the hike in the first place.  That said, I have researched, read, and thought a bit about the "what if" situations that could occur should we find ourselves in a food or water shortage situation.
     Don't forget, we will be doing a big section of the PCT in addition to the entire TRT!
 

Rain Jacket- Cold Storage

     The Upside:

     We bought these Cold Storage Rain Jackets ourselves in case of a down pour, I tested them out and they worked amazing.  What we liked the most was the teflon tape used to seal all the seam inside the jacket, the mesh inner lining, and it comes in sizes for tall men which is a really tough size to find.  For the price you just can't beat it.  Got Aaron the Olive color and black for myself (per his request).  So, this jacket is a little heavy but I will gladly take a little extra weight for more durability and for the price you just cannot beat this jacket.  I wanted to buy a Mountain Hardware Jacket for the two of us but didn't have a spare $400-600 laying around to afford it so we went on the cheap for this trip and paid only $24 for each jacket.  Zippers work awesome, and the hood is large enough to cover our XL heads.

The Downside: 

     There are only two things I don't like about these jackets: 1) They don't ventilate as well as I would like.  2)  It does not cover your mouth and up to your nose when it is zipped up which I like but these two things are a small trade-off for the price.  The jacket also has a bit of a chemical smell from the waterproofing agent used.  SierraTradingPost.com also has a 100% satisfaction return policy so if we have any issues, we will return them.  

Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus Battery Pack + New Batteries

     I posted on the Ground Zero Nomad 7 a couple of days ago and spoke about how awesome a piece of gear this is but how it takes a long time to charge my phone directly from the solar panel.  The solution to this problem that I found through some research was the battery pack that is made by Goal Zero.  Now, the whole intent of the battery pack is precisely this, to take a charge at a different voltage into a NiMH battery (4), then to take the battery pack that is much more easily charged and plug it into your phone (mine is a lithium ion) for a quicker charge.  Now I am not an electrician but whatever the voltage differences are, this batter pack works better.  I can charge it from my solar panel in 3 hours and  get my phone fully charged in just over an hour.  Best of all, I still have a half a charge left in the batteries after my phone is fully charged.  The Goal Zero batteries that come with the battery pack are AA 1700 mAH.  Through research and my own experience these batteries are not really sufficient and should be replaced.  Why, you might ask?  Here is the answer:  I bought 4 Powerex AA 2700mAH NiMH rechargeable batteries (found of Amazon) obviously for the extra 1000mAH.  I bought them because it only take an extra 30 min to charge them off the solar panel and you can charge your phone nearly three times on one charge rather than only once.  The efficiency is much greater and they will recycle themselves over 100 times before you even begin to see a reduction in charge, if you stick with the Goal Zero, you will only get 50 recycles before a down draw in battery performance.  Again, I found this all out through others experiences and my own.  One could also charge the Ground Zero batteries and take the Powerex and use both, never running out of power for a very minimum weight.  I also like the new batteries because they are the same weight as the generic one's that come with the device.  

     Over-all Impression:

      I love this battery pack, much more efficient and light weight, get one but replace the batteries with high end, high charge AA.  The battery pack also has a pretty bright LED flash light on it which could be nice.  *Note* If you need AAA, you need to get the AAA sleeve that fits in the charger, it does not come with the original Power Pack package.  I can't wait till they come out with Lithium-Ion adapter for this charger which will have a much higher and efficient charge.

Media

     Not a main focus but, I thought it would be nice to have a few options in case we need to just relax on the trek.  Usually I not a proponent for technology on the trail but, I have never had technology and the money to have it in the past.  Since we all have it now I thought, what the hell.  I am adding more and more music to our playlist for the trip every day and I already have a few books on my Kindle app as well as a few hard copies, but, I am now adding full blown movies to the new micro sd card.  It really is amazing how awesome technology is, here is an updated playlist, book titles, and movie list.

Music: Vaseline, Flagpole Sitta, My Own Worst Enemy, Lump, Island in the Sun, Dare You to Run, Peaches, Plush, Trippin' on a Hole, 311, Dave Mathews, Mumford & Sons.

Books: Battle Cry, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, A Farewell to Arms, Operation Dard Heart, Full Black, The PathFinder System: Survivability for the Common Man

Movies: The Dark Knight, Man on a Ledge, Second Hand Lions, Fight Club, Youth in Revolt, Into the Wild, Hook, Sahara, The Fighter, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Break Up, Transformers 3, Wedding Crashers

     As you can see, a pretty varied list of movies, books, and music (look at previous posts for full music list).  If you know any movies or music that is a must for the trip add your two cents, we appreciate it!

Ground Zero- Nomad 7

The Official Review:

Specs
Uses: Camping and backpacking
Size: 17x9x0.1"- pretty small
weight: 12.9oz

Here is what we like
This is the coolest thing since sliced bread, why?  Because it allows one to bring all the marvelous technology with you where ever you go.  Also, this solar panel dubs as a emergency energy device or in case of a brown/black out (which we have been getting more and more frequently in CA).  We picked the Nomad 7 because of it's lighter weight and small size.  All you have to do is plug in your device via USB or cigarette lighter port and pull it out strap it to the back of your pack and let it charge your devices.  Simple right?  I used the panel as soon as I got it on my phone.  Now, the weather was very cloudy so I will have to test it out in the sun but, it did take my 5% charged phone and bring it up to 40% in 2.2 hours in thick overcast weather.  Not bad for completely off the grid.  Another feature I like is its light weight, we could pack batteries in but we do not need to do that any more.  I need to go get the battary pack for it which is light weight, charges off the solar panel, I will post on that as soon as I get it.  One other thing I really like is how it straps on to your backpack while you hike, charging while you go, hassle free.

     *Update*  Tested out the solar panel on my cell phone and I am not as impressed as I had hoped.  The problem is my phone has a large battery capacity, larger than the amps put out of the Nomad 7.  However, the fix to this is the Nomad 10 Power Pack so all-in-all, I love this thing and would suggest it to any one going on an extended trip where you need to keep linked into any electronic equipment.  It takes a few hours (I have not tried to power my phone from 0% on a bright sunny day.  I have tried charging it in cloudy weather (charged 5% in 20 min) and in sunny weather (charged from 20% in 1 hour) so this solar panel would charge my phone it would just take like 4 hours.  As of now, I am not patient enough to test my phone with the Nomad 7 because it seems like the charge is constantly being interrupted by phone calls and other data information...  On the trail, the only thing that will be running is the GPS and the rest of the phone will be on airplane mode to save energy and keep the phone from continually searching for a cell signal.  I will update when I purchase and test the power pack, tomorrow, stay tuned.

Look Below- GPS App Review!!!

     If you didn't already notice, at the very bottom of the page I added our GPS data which allows you to seriously investigate the trail we will be on thanks to the GPS app that I finally choose: Trimble Outdoor GPS Navigator for $4.99, pretty good deal huh.  Beats the hell out of dropping a few dimes on a GPS and a few more on topo's.  This app will allow us to create our own trip with our own waypoints, pictures, videos, and voice recordings.  It also allows us to upload pics/movies directly to Youtube/Facebook.  We get free access to all topo's, hybrid, google... maps that will save and archive to our 32 gb micro sd class 10 card which is dedicated solely to this trek.  Make sure to look for the post that will be coming soon linking you to my Youtube.com channel and Facebook for extra insider posts and information.
     Back to the map at the very bottom, you can check out topo, hybrid... views plus you can zoom in and check out some of the major waypoints.  Hope you enjoy this.

*Update*  This app is amazing, one new thing I really like is how I can plan out my trip, add waypoint (will use pre-trip waypoints to mark scarce water sources and special information in specific areas).  What is really cool is the ability to download map packs for free that are customized to my liking with things such as types of maps (topo,hybrid), you could down load the entire USA from a satellite zoom view to a very zoomed in view (so close that if you were in that area when the satellite took the shot, you would see your head very close up, crazy).  I tried this and it came back telling me that it would take 300+ gb of memory or hard drive.  I feel a bit over whelmed because there is so much that this app does, I don't really have enough time to learn it all.