The Pacific Crest Trail

The pacific Crest Trail is a long-distance mountain hiking trail that runs in Washington, Oregon, and California between Mexico and Canada. The trail follows the highest portion of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range, which parallels the Pacific Ocean by 100 to 150 miles. The trail is 2,650 miles long and ranges in elevation from just above sea level at the Oregon/Washington border to 13,153 feet at Forester Pass in the Sierra Nevada. The route passes through 25 national forests and 7 national parks. The Pacific Crest Trail is a place where space and time have become an illusion. With civilization we can take a train, drive an automobile, and fly a plane. With nauseating speed we fly by monuments, wilderness, man made obstructions, natural fields, rows of trees, buildings, and people. We are never really aware of the actual space in which we exist because we are annihilating time and space by traveling beyond our means. It is not until we attempt to move about on our own two feet that we realize the immense size of the world that we live in. Nobody is forced to walk anywhere; I will walk 2700 miles across the United States. For the first time in my life, the less that I have the better off I will be. I will have escaped clocks and calendars, where the only time is defined by the rising and setting of the sun.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

A new plan

I was stranded at 6000 feet on Hopkins pass yesterday. I decided to bail out after no sign of the trail in 48 hours and deteriorating conditions. The 6 feet of snow I could deal with, it was the lack of visibility that eventually caused my psyche to crack. Less than 40 yards of visibility in white out conditions, with only a map and compass to go by, and I wasn't even sure I was on the right mountain.  I am currently in Olympia WA, rethinking my plan. Its raining here, but the city is beautiful. Aside from a bruised ego, I am fine. I have pictures and videos of all the insanity, but no way to upload them, unfortunately. I'll check in again as soon as I can.  
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJune 20, 2011 at 9:12 PM

    Did you need any help getting away from Hopkins Pass in those conditions? Are you thinking of doing the trail from the South?

    ReplyDelete

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