A Day in the Life

I just made it into South Lake Tahoe and am very excited to spend a few days off my feet visiting with my mom who came out to California for a little West Coast vacation of her own. I am even more excited because in this last section I passed the 1,000 mile mark! Even though this past section was not the high Sierras, the rest of the Sierras between Yosemite and Tahoe were still gorgeous. Its kinda funny how I think my least favorite part of the PCT in the Sierras was actually Yosemite. Not that it wasn't awesome, we were just up in the higher country not down in the Yosemite valley which is arguably the most beautiful part of that park (and I took the bus down to go see the falls, Half Dome and El Capitan). Instead, we went up through the north part of the park where you just hop from one canyon/valley to the next with so many ups and downs that were almost more tiring than the high Sierras plus the fact that the mosquitoes were terrible. We were all laughing though because we were complaining about this section of the Sierras when most years people must love this section because they are finally done postholing through the big snowpacks. Now that I have made it past the 1,000 mile mark and am getting closer to the halfway point I thought I'd do a blog post to go through my average routine on the trail that has gotten me where I am today.

Early Rising

My day tends to start more or less with the sunrise which has been coming up around 5 to 5:30 each morning. I will usually lie there in my hammock for a bit curled up in my sleeping bag but have been surprised how there have yet to be any mornings where I dread getting up and having to hike. Most mornings I just like staying nice and warm in my sleeping bag and will "sleep in" until 6:30 or 7. Each morning I try to pack up within a half an hour and grab a breakfast of cold oatmeal which has yet to get old for me. Then I lace up my shoes, throw on my pack, and hit the trail.

Pop Tart Break

I have found the early morning miles tend to fly by and like to take advantage of that. I think it is because everything always looks so bright in the morning and you just want to see more of what's ahead. Plus its usually cooler so good to get the blood flowing and moving. In the morning I tend to hike for about 2 hours before my first break which is my favorite break of the day; my pop tart break. During this first break I will sit down and go through my maps for the day, planning out where I want to grab lunch and try to camp out for the night. Most of the time you have an idea of how many miles you want to do each day in a certain section but you don't really need to get bogged down in the details of where you want to stop and what the elevation profile looks like until that day. At my pop tart break I finally figure out all of these detail while I enjoy my favorite treat of the day. Of the pop tart varities my favorite is brown sugar cinnamon by far, but I also like cookies and cream, chocolate fudge, cookie dough and smores.

Lunch Time

After my pop tart break I will usually take at least one more shorter break where I grab some sort of Nature Valley bar or other type of granola bar before lunch. When it is possible I like to grab lunch near a water source. This way I can refill my camelbak, water bottle and have water to cook with. I also may take a quick dip in the lake or wash my always dirty feet off in the creek. Only problem with having lunch near water is that the mosquitoes can be pretty bad sometime but I have finally given in to using DEET to keep them off. Also when its really sunny out it is key to get some nice shade and stay hidden from the sun as much as possible. I typically will have my one cooked meal for lunch which will be some sort of pasta, rice, potatoes or other just add hot water meals. I like to take a long break for lunch, at least an hour or longer, depending on how many miles I'm trying to get in. The best days are when I lay out in the sun and take a nap basking this the sunshine like a marmot lying out on the rocks. It is always toughest to get back into hiking mode after these awesome naps though.

Afternoon Hiking

I like to take my lunch break when I'm at least more than halfway done for the day because I find I tend to move better in the morning. In the afternoon its great to take more shorter breaks here and there to appreciate the views and I usually start to get a bit more tired. Each break I will grab some sort of a snack as well and usually like to have some sort of power bar before I do a big climb to help get me over. I'm never sure if it actually gives me extra energy or if its just a placebo, either way it tends to work.

Settling Down for the Night

I am always excited to get into camp and finally take off my shoes, rest and grabs some dinner. When I first get into camp I'll always grab water and get my gravity filter started then set up my sleeping bag and start to chow down. When the mosquitoes aren't bad or I'm not being lazy I'll also do some stretching. I know I should make this a priority but its amazing how many of my fellow hikers never stretch. Many nights I will tuck myself into my sleeping bag before the sun has even set. In bed I will pull out the maps for the next day and give them a quick glance over and then write in my journal for the night. Then I will stare off at the sunset or the stars until I fall asleep

30 Mile Days

When I do choose to hike the bigger 30 mile days, its amazing how my routine does not need to change that much. I've found the key to hiking the bigger days isn't hiking faster, its just about taking shorter breaks and staying on the trail longer. I'll usually have to hit the trail by 7 and stay on the trail til 7. I'll still take a longer lunch break but the other breaks will be quicker and I'll tend to hike for 2 hour stretches between each break. I find I have a pretty consistent pace of around 3 miles an hour but that will slow down with big climbs or when I'm up at higher elevation. Its amazing though how well I can depend on my pace and I can actually figure out how far I've hiked just based on the time. While a 30 mile day sounds intimidating when the elevation isn't too bad, you have good tread and you get out on the trail for the full day it is surprising how far you can go in a day.