Saturday June 27, 23.0mi/37.0km

Poker Flat campground (76.1/5040ft) to Tarn at OR/CA border (99.1/5160ft) (CA)

It was a perfect morning for hiking, it was cooler and there was even a breeze, so much better than previous days. I followed a dirt road for a couple hours, it was nice to stretch the legs.I turned off onto an old logging road for a mile, which had some great views to the valley below.And then, the bushwhack started. I followed old flagging tape, and the first 0.1 miles took me 20 minutes. It was thick.Finally, I came to a rocky outcrop and was able to see what I had just come thru.It got better, as I followed the flagging tape thru a mature forest. But being described as a “rough trail” in the guide felt dishonest. After an hour beating thru the forest, I emerged on a paved road, the Bigfoot highway. It was getting hot, so I was glad to turn off onto a shaded dirt road quickly. I looked down and saw writing, yup I was now in Oregon!It was a nice three hours on the road, with only a couple cars and some amazing views.I forgot to get water at the Bigfoot highway, and when I got to the next creek it appeared dry. Oops. But, I could hear water, so I wandered downhill to this amazing little artesian well.Then the road ended, and I picked up a nice trail. I took a long break at Tannen Lake.This trail continued on, and merged with the Boundary Trail. I was loving the views as it wove around the ridgetops.I came to a junction, and got a little sad. Caves! Had I known, I could’ve planned for a detour. Oh well.The forest turned to fields, and they were full of beargrass.Bears love to eat it, which I remembered as I setup my tent at the edge of the field, next to a tarn.Hopefully no bears come down for a midnight snack, ha!

Friday June 26, 20.3mi/32.7km

West Fork Clear Creek (55.8/2800ft) to Poker Flat campground (76.1/5040ft) (CA)

I slept so well I didn’t even get up until sunlight hit me at 7am. I was hiking by 7:30, and after a mile the trail got much better.

I left the west fork of clear Creek, and turned off onto a trail that followed clear Creek upstream to its headwaters. I had to cross it twice, the water was warm but moving fast!

I met a family hiking on a weekend trip, I was as surprised to see other people as they were!

I chatted with Spider, Rocky, and Slow Lores for awhile, and they mentioned yesterday they met another hiker doing the Bigfoot trail! Crazy, I think there’s probably only a dozen people who do this every year, and I’m only a day behind one of them.

I stopped for lunch an hour later, at the final crossing of Clear Creek.

I went thru Young’s meadow, it was so green! Living in Colorado I forgot about the lush greenery of lowlands.

I hiked up to a saddle, which had a great view north into the Illinois river valley.

I was up on a cool ridge for awhile, which had these trees with huge cones. I bet they hurt when falling.

I dropped down off the ridge, into another valley. The mountains above it were called the Lieutenants.

I climbed another ridge, and then dropped steeply into some meadows around Twin Valley Creek.

The classic cairn photo. It’s more fun to navigate with stones than iphones.

The last climb if the day I saw some very old trees, I don’t know their species.

The Bigfoot trail maps/guide has a list of the 32 species of conifers, but no set of photos. For us non-arborists, photos would be very helpful. So far I’ve just been guessing!

I got to camp at 6:30pm, much earlier than yesterday. Probably because today was “only” 5400ft of elevation gain. My feet feel swollen, hopefully sleeping and ibuprofen help.

Thursday June 25, 18.9mi/30.4km

Eightmile Creek (36.9/1200ft) to West Fork Clear Creek (55.8/2800ft) (CA)

I’ve been hiking blind on this trail, since they don’t give an elevation profile, or even elevations at all. I’m kinda glad I didn’t know how brutal today would be, with 7400ft of climbing. Ouch.

I left my campsite at 7:30, and immediately had to get my feet wet crossing Eightmile Creek.

The next hour was easy hiking, just a few PUDs and dodging the occasional poison oak.

There was a random trail sign on the ground near a small stream crossing… weird.

I searched for 10 minutes for the trail that would take me up the ridge, departing Smith Creek. I finally found it, overgrown and marked with some very faded flagging tape. After a half mile, the trail actually got much better, and was great all the way to the top. I climbed from 1400ft up to the summit of Mt Baldy, 5650ft. As I got higher, cool wildflowers started appearing.

And the trees disappeared, and good views everywhere!

I got to the summit at 1pm, and it was HOT.

My watch read 30C, way too hot to be hiking. So I drank a liter of water, ditched the pants, and got out my chrome dome (solar umbrella). Onward!
A mile past the summit, the trail was less defined. So, I followed the purple flowers.

I dropped into a burn area, and as expected, the trail was very difficult to find/follow.

Eventually, I left that charred forest and climbed up to a small tarn at the base of Harrington Mountain.

I was surprised to see a moose standing in the water, and he was surprised to see me, and he ran away quickly.
I climbed up to Harrington Mountain, surprising a bear along the way. The views from the top were grand.
The view back to Mt Baldy, where I was 3 hours ago.

I left the summit after only a few minutes, I had 5 more miles to go and it was already 4:30.

Another burned forest came soon after, and it looked so cool with all the bent trees.

I flew down the mountain, dropping 2000ft in an hour, and then I had a quick M&Ms break. The last part of the day dragged on, as the trail kept crossing the West Fork Clear Creek. I tried to keep my feet dry but after the 5th crossing I gave up, mostly to save time. I got to a flat spot at 7:30 and called it good enough to camp. I set up, then walked 200m away to cook dinner, since I saw several bears today. Gonna sleep great tonight!

Wednesday June 24, 20.7mi/33.3kmCampsite at National Park boundary (16.2/1900ft) to Eightmile Creek (36.9/1200ft) (CA)

I started late this morning, hiding in my tent from the mosquitos until the last possible moment. It was a nice walk up on the ridge, and I could see the clouds down in the valley below.
The trail was really nice too, very well maintained.
I could see down to the South fork Smith river, like 1000ft/300m below!
And an hour later, I had descended to the river, and started a roadwalk.
I followed the paved road for two hours, along the way I saw cool carnivorous plants!
There was an alternate to avoid most of the roadwalk, but I opted for the road when I saw it was overgrown with this itchy plant.
I stopped for lunch at a bridge, and a local landowner showed up to remove some trespassers. One guy fishing, and another group swimming. There were clearly posted signs, and this is a regular occurrence, so I understand his frustration. It was interesting to see the different reactions of people…
I had my meal and entertainment, so I left and went up the next paved road, “GO road”. It was clearly seldom used, as tree branches littered an entire lane. I saw no vehicles as I climbed the 1500ft and 3 miles.
I descended a nice gravel road, back to the South fork Smith River.
The trail was mostly nice, though a couple short sections involved some acrobatics to avoid poison oak. The views were superb.
I don’t know the name of this interesting flower.
The trail dropped down to the river so I went for a swim! It was refreshing, 15C/59F.
I rinsed off the sweat/salt, and laid in the sun for awhile. When I got up to start packing, a saw a snake had crawled up to my rock too. We think alike! I packed up and passed the Buck Creek shelter, and the Buck Creek falls.
Soon after, I entered my first wilderness!
This is a damp area of the trail, so I saw many reminders of that.
I arrived to Eightmile creek, and found an amazing campsite. It was almost 6:30pm, so I didn’t push further.
It has a little river beach like 50m away, and I soaked my feet for awhile, before I went to bed.

Tuesday June 23, 19.2mi/30.9km

Battery Point Lighthouse (0.0/10ft) to Redwood NP boundary (16.2/1900ft) (CA) + 3.0mi approach from airport

I finished the drive and got into town at 8am. After a quick stop at the Safeway, I dropped off the rental car at the local airport. Its a tiny airport, I think they just paved the road to it last year! I walked off the airport and along the beach for three miles.

The roadwalk was nice, there were only a couple passing cars, and wide shoulders to walk on.

As I got closer to town, the beach got rockier, and I could see the lighthouse in the distance.

The battery Point Lighthouse was one of the first built on the west coast, and there is still a light keeper living in it today. Since the tide was low, I figured I would go visit it (not passible at high tide).

There were some enormous whale bones too. Wow.

I lingered for awhile reading all the displays, and then walked thru town. Crescent City started off nice, then quickly became a little uncomfortable after I turned down a side road to the forest.

There was some interesting local artwork too.

After I entered the forest,things got much nicer. And I was in Redwood state & national parks!

The trees were fuccillo-sized (huuuuge). I tried to get photos with people for size reference.

I walked among the giants for a couple hours, and saw a few dozen people along the way. Eventually, the trail dropped me out at the confluence of the Mill River and Smith River.

I left the redwoods and started on the Little Bald Hills trail, which climbed 1800ft but was very well maintained, and even had bridges, venches, and switchbacks!

At the top of the climb, I entered a Jeffrey Pine forest, with good views all around.

The grassy Meadows were full of flowers, and these orange ones were very flashy.

I hiked another mile, and setup camp as soon as I passed the boundary for the National park. (No camping in the park). It’s a beautiful warm night, though the mosquitos seem to be enjoying it too.

Happy birthday, mom!

Sunday, June 21 & Monday June 22

I left home before 7am to get a full day of driving in. I made it out of Colorado less than two hours later.

I cruised across Wyoming, reminiscing about the CDT as I drove thru Rawlins and the Great Divide Basin. The scenery slowly changed from high prairie to desert, and I descended with many curves into Salt Lake City. By this time, it was time for 2nd lunch and a 2nd gas stop. So, my favorite burger:

I kept moving west, and made a quick stop at this weird dome-y temple thing by the lake.

And then an hour later, I made another quick stop at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats, home to the land speed record!

I drove across Nevada, and stopped to camp at a backcountry spot just before Reno.

The next day, I was moving west by 7am, and I was in California shortly after.

I drove all morning, and finally left the freeway at 11am. It was exciting to be heading into the mountains!

I entered the national forest, and despite the warnings it was a nice dirt road.

After driving on dirt roads for 1.5 hours and 30 miles, I parked at the trailhead. I waited another 30 minutes for my ride, since he had gotten lost in the maze of FS roads. Sorry James! (Never trust Google maps on FS roads). He had brought his dad along for company, and the 3 of us chatted for the 2.5 hour car ride to Redding. I picked up my rental car just before closing at 5pm, whew! I grabbed some Thai food takeout for dinner, then started the 4.5 hour drive over to the starting Trailhead in Crescent city CA. I saw some cool views along the way.

I drove to within an hour of Crescent City, then stopped to camp in a national forest. What a long 2 days and 1200 miles! Tomorrow, time to stretch the legs on the trail!

Saturday June 20th, 0mi

My original hiking plans for this year were interrupted by a global pandemic, so I made an assessment of what’s safely possible. I’m staying local to the west and hiking some extremely remote routes, and I’ve added some masks to my standard pack items.

I was excited to discover a relatively short trail that traverses Northern California, the Bigfoot trail! It overlaps with the PCT and the SPT (Siskiyou Peaks Trail) for a short distance. See my main BFT page for more details.

I joined the BFT association, downloaded some maps, and planned the logistics. A viewing of Squatch’s film “Asquatchalypse Now” completed my preparations. Oh, and buying a ton of backpacking food at Costco, thanks roommate!

I haven’t done any long distance hiking since last fall, so I spread out all my gear to inspect and inventory it all. I have a couple of new items I’m pretty excited about, a Katabatic Gear Alsek quilt (22F/-6C), and a Montbell Superior down parka. I’ll have some feedback on these items soon, after I put them to the test!

Tomorrow I will start the drive to Ides Cove Trailhead, the southern terminus of the BFT, and where I will finish the trail.

Wheeeeeee!

Wednesday May 13, 22.0mi/35.4km

Ridge above Bear Creek (9.8/6611ft) to Morrison Creek (31.8/7730ft) (CO)

I was awake at 6:30am, and the sun was already above the treetops. I ate breakfast in my tent to stay warmer, then packed up and hiked out at 7am. I saw my first trail marker, and it was almost devoured by the tree!

I started with thin gloves and a hat, but by 9am it had warmed enough that I packed them away. I re-packed my pack and ate 2nd breakfast at this very nice campsite.

The views heading down to the South Platte River were spectacular.

After a gradual 3 mile descent, I crossed a large dirt road, and parking with heaps of cars.

There was a nice metal bridge to cross the river, which was a nice surprise since I was expecting to ford it.

The climb up the other side was hot and exposed.

Actually, the next 10 miles were hot and exposed. A wildfire had decimated the forest, and although it was starting to grow back, the young trees didn’t provide any shade. But, there were interesting things to see along the way!

This was a shocking sign, though it didn’t prove true.

A trio of equestrians.

Chair Rocks in the distance.

I don’t know the name of this juvenile cactus, but I like it!

Lumber….we need lumber.

A 1996 wildfire eliminated 12,000 acres of ponderosa pine forest, and it’s still growing back.

I turned off the trail to get water at the North Fork fire hall, from a spigot behind the building.

I drank a liter too quick, and got a cold headache, but it was still worth it. I filled another liter, left them a donation, then returned to the trail.

The next section was nice and shaded, but also with tons of mountain bikers, passing by every 5 minutes. Towards the end of the day, I saw all these cool lumpy rock formations.

An official overlook? What is this, the Appalachian Trail?

And a little while later, a peaceful aspen grove, just starting to bloom for spring.

And finally, I saw a cave!

The last mile of the day was to Morrison Creek, where I stopped to make dinner. I hiked another 5 minutes, and setup camp at 6:30pm, It’s early, but today was an easy flat day.

Tomorrow will be much more climbing!

Tuesday May 12, 5.9mi/9.5km

Waterton Canyon/Indian Creek Trail (6.7/5869ft) to Ridge above Bear Creek (9.8/6611ft) (CO) + 2.8mi Roxborough approach Trail

With the 2020 pandemic, I chose to hike a trail close to home, and hike in sections. By traveling in this manner, I could avoid public transport, town lodging, and hitchhiking. So, the Colorado Trail will be a fun local project! For details about the trail itself, see the main CT page.

I left home around 10:30am, and drove to Kenosha Pass, which will be my ending trailhead for this section. I arrived to the pass at 11:30am, and spent some time eating, drinking, and getting my bike ready. Then, I biked the 49 miles (mostly downhill) down Highway 285, back to the starting trailhead at Waterton Canyon.

With a few breaks along the way, I arrived at 3:15pm. However, the Waterton trailhead was temporarily closed, so I asked my “just my roommate” to drive me to an alternate trailhead 10 minutes away.

We arrived at Roxborough State Park, but the gate attendant wasn’t allowing cars to enter. So I had to start hiking from the entrance gate! The first mile was somewhat of a bushwhack and slab-walk.

I emerged out on a nice gravel path, and it was easier walking from here.

Then the path became overgrown and unused, I had to keep my eyes on the ground, but the scenery was amazing!

Finally, after 30 minutes, I had arrived at my intended alternate trailhead, and it was already 4:45pm. Sheesh.

The sign had warned of many stairs, and it wasn’t wrong. I took a break at the top, and enjoyed the amazing view of the red sandstone formations behind me.

The trail entered the forest, and I occassionally saw trail junctions with other trails leading back to Roxborough State Park.

The lowland forest was generally very open, and I had expansive views to the west for much of this 3-mile trail.

After almost 3 miles, my alternate trail re-joined the official Colorado Trail, at the top of Waterton Canyon. I was quite surprised to see a herd of wild animals roaming about!

Hi, bighorn sheep! I’ve learned their horns weigh an average of 10kg/22lbs. Ouch!

I snuck by the herd of sheep, and then I was on the official Colorado Trail. The Waterton trailhead closure meant that I’d missed the first 6.7mi/11km of the CT, but I can always return to that section as a local dayhike.

I’m not sure why they numbered the trail #1776. I think 1876 would have been more appropriate, since that is the year Colorado became a state.

After a couple miles of switchbacked climbing, I paused at a nice rest spot at the top. It was a memorial bench for a local 18-year old Eagle Scout, and they named it Lenny’s Rest.

By now, it was 7pm, and I wanted to go another couple miles to a spot I identified on my map as potentially having a flat area to camp.

Also, any camping in the immediate area wasn’t attractive…there were frequent reminders of bear activity!

I made dinner near Bear Creek, then filled up my water bottle and hiked on another mile, to put some distance between me and the bears. At the top of the ridge, I found an ideal camping spot – under trees, not near a river, and on a durable surface of gravel and pine needles.

I’m using a new tent, a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1. It feels a little smaller than my old 2014 Fly Creek, and much smaller than my Tarptent Rainbow. I’m also testing out a new quilt, a Katabatic Alsek (22F/-6C), to replace my heavier (but much loved) WM Ultralite 20F. Tomorrow, I’ll have new gear results!

Monday October 7, 22.0mi/35.4km

Whitney Portal Campground (121.0/8020ft) to Mt Whitney Summit (132.0/14,505ft) (CA) (+11.0 return to trailhead)

I expected this to be a slower day, so I started moving uphill at 7:15am. Immediately I had a fun obstacle, a tunnel!

I arrived to Whitney Portal 15 minutes later, and saw a few other dayhikers packing up at their cars. The general store/restaurant was still closed.

After a few minutes wandering the maze of parking lots, I found the trail.

And up I went! About 10 minutes up the hill I entered a wilderness.

The views were good right from the start.

And the aspen trees were already showing their fall colors.

This part of trail actually had surface water! Such a change from the first 100 miles of the route.

More views…

The deer are not shy at all here.

As I climbed higher, there were more of last season’s snow patches scattered around.

I passed a tarn (alpine lake) at 12,000ft elevation.

There were about a dozen tents setup there, and quite a few marmots too!

Then a second marmot came out to say hi.

After the lake, the trail weaved up the mountain with 98 switchbacks (I counted). One particularly exposed section even had a railing!

I finally came to the top of the switchbacks at 13,500ft and also the crest of the ridge.

Looking west into Crabtree Meadows and the PCT.

The trail joined the JMT (John Muir Trail) for the final 2mi/3km to the summit.

I made it to the summit at 12:30pm, five hours after leaving Whitney Portal. Ouch. The summit is the western terminus of the L2H route (also the southern terminus of the JMT). The summit register was entertaining.

The usual summit shelter building was still there.

Summit plaque.

The requisite benchmark photo.

And lots of summit views!

Panoramic photos never fit well on a webpage.

My watch says it’s high!

I left the summit at 1:15pm, and didn’t take many photos on the way down, I was pretty tired. This was a neat perspective though :

And then walking thru the only snow on the entire trail…

One last look west, at Guitar Lake (right) and Hitchcock Lakes (left).

I dropped off the ridge top, and back down the 98 switchbacks to the lake, where I took a break.

I made it back to the parking lot at 5:15pm, four hours after leaving the summit. The restaurant was open, but I avoided temptation and started hitching right away. There was only an hour of daylight to try and gat a ride back down to Lone Pine. I got a ride ten minutes later, from the first car I saw. I was at the hostel in Lone Pine 20 minutes later, and then promptly went to the Whitney diner for food and cold beverages. I was mildly dehydrated from altitude and exertion, but the food, four iced teas, and ice cream sundae really helped!

The Lowest-to-highest route was terrific, and much more diverse than I had imagined. Highly recommended!