Thru Their Eyes

October 29, 2023: Home in Portland

Hi Jon,

Wow, what a journey. I’m excited to share it with you and watch you write a begin date of the PCT on your calendar!

We finished the trail last Monday or Tuesday, hitched a ride into Chester, stayed the night, took a bus to Susanville, hitched another ride to Reno, and a bus to Lone Pine to pick up our car. Then drove to Bend to visit Samantha at OSU Cascade, a family meeting on Thursday and Friday and now recovering! Jack flew to Indiana Friday evening and not sure when he’ll be back. Cindy is waiting for me to shave my beard in order to not look like an old man. I probably will do that the end of this week after I sport around my trophy for a little while longer.

Last I think I wrote you was about 200 miles into the 550 mile section of the Sierra that we flipped back to. Such awesome memories and experiences. It was wonderful.

When we were at Vermillion Valley Resort we were in the thick of weather and didn’t know if the snow would come, stay, and get deeper and put and end to the hike before we could finish. Going North, Jack and I stopped at the Muir Trail Ranch, a “resort” a few miles off the trail, to see if we could pick up some spare food out of the hiker boxes. We had stuffed about nine days worth of food in the required bear canister and were planning on making it further, except I was running low on food and struggled with lack of fuel. The day after reaching MTR they shut down for the season. We were the last group through. Then we hiked to VVR and shut that place down as well. We stayed there for an extra day to see if the weather would change but it kept raining and snowing at higher elevations. It was cold. One couple moved into the outside laundry room to get out of the cold. The operator at VVR said they were under 30’ of snow this past winter! He taxied us to the other side of Lake Edison and we were on our way with a JMTer named Coney.

October 14, 2023: 185 miles to go!

Jack and I continue to make miles towards the finish line of Chester, California where we flipped to in June and is only 185 miles away. Wow, the Sierra was tough for me with the high altitude and passes. Although it was beautiful, I was dragging over the passes with low motivation, or maybe simply exhausted.

After leaving the Yosimite area I thought there wouldn’t be much to see, however I was surprised how the beauty continued north of Hwy 120 (Tioga Pass). Not only did it continue, but the abundance of lakes and rivers made it special.

A few days ago we realized we needed to step up the mileage if we wanted to get our resupply packages at the Post Office before it closed for the weekend, otherwise we would have to waste two days in a small town taking two zeros and pick up my new shoes and food on Monday. Along with the personal motivation to set our mileage record for the trip, we began hiking at 6am, kept hiking though the next morning arriving at the post office before closing and with a personal best of 62 miles under our belts. We won’t need to do that again.

We took today off, hung out at a ski resort restaurant/bar and got to watch the Ducks play a hard fought game against the Huskies and the Beavers manhandle UCLA! Go Beavs!

We are off to the finish line!

October 8, 2023: Kennedy Meadows, CA

Hey Jon,

Today Jack and I arrived at Kennedy Meadows North. We have about 315 miles to go to complete the entire trail! Not going to lie, we are both tired and ready to be finished even though the beauty remains stunning and the adventures continue. It’s been wonderful to spend quality and quantity time

with my son and the adventure of a lifetime with days and days of reflection over my past 60 years.

September 30, 2023: Flipping back to California to the unfinished sections

Hi Jon,

Wow, things change quickly. Currently Jack and I are at Vermillion Valley Ranch about 200 miles into the Sierra and waiting out a small storm. We have 450 or so miles to complete the trail and are hoping for clear weather over the passes and the high elevation. They will be closing for the winter tomorrow. Muir Trail Ranch closed yesterday. The Sierra is shutting down.

The cool thing about VVR was we watched our first football game of the season, my Beavs beat up 10th ranked Utah!

Once we reached Canada we hitched a ride to Portland, picked up a car and drove to Lone Pine to start where we left off in June when the snow and ice was too dangerous for us.

It’s been nothing but spectacular. This place is amazing and physically challenging. My body is lean and doesn’t have much energy to spare so packing nine days in a relatively small bear canister hasn’t provided enough fuel. Thank goodness for the resupply. I polished off a 26-ounce jar of Nutella in less than 24 hours and have loaded up on calories.

Below is a photo taken during the past few weeks. The second photo was taken in June. Its amazing what a few months will do… now we are trying to avoid the coming winter weather.

September 18, 2023: The Northern Terminus!!!

Hi Jon,

We did it! We made it to the Northern Terminus and are now driving south on I-5 to the Southern Sierra to finish the last part of the trail that we skipped in June due to the snow.

It’s difficult to put into words how I felt when arriving to Canada. So many mixed feelings. It was emotional for me. Elation. Sadness, the beginning of the end. Hikers that we bonded with going separate ways. Some went into Canada with their passport, some are going home, many turned back 30 miles to the nearest road to hitch a ride out, as we did. It was and has been an awesome adventure and now we go to California to complete the rest of the journey.

I don’t recall if I mentioned, but we had a wet period in Washington with with large elevation gains that was difficult and Level III fun. It made getting to the border all that more special.

September 11, 2023: Almost to Canada!

Hi Jon,

Canada, here we come! Tonight we are 30 miles away from the boarder and staying at The Hiker Hut in Mazama, Washington with about 30 other PCTer’s. There is a sad and celebratory mood about the place because many will be returning to their regular life around the world after touching the Northern Terminus, and others are excited to hit the milestone of reaching Canada. Some like Jack and I will be heading south and starting the Sierra at the north or south end, to finish 300-600ish miles of the trail that were skipped due to the record snow year in the mountains of California.

Here are few festive photos from the Mazama Hiker Hut.

Washington has had its ups and downs for us. Leaving Oregon was exciting, except we entered Washington in a fair amount of smoke due to four wildfires. When we arrived at Goat Rocks, a place I had been looking forward to hiking, the smoke and clouds magically cleared and we were able to view the majestic Knife’s Edge and Mt Rainer.

Past Goats Rock Wilderness we ran into typical Pacific Northwest, late October weather, and tried to stay warm in our tents after removing our wet cloths. Five or so days and we were more than ready for the sun to come out, and it finally did. Hiking all day in wet shoes, day after day without drying out lead to the stinkiest feet I’ve ever had…. gads they were bad.

August 29, 2023:

A "Relive" animation of Troy and Jack's journey through Oregon.

August 23, 2023:

Completion of the Oregon section! (photos in the slideshow)

Hi Jon,

We made it through Oregon and came back for PCT Trail Days. We met Slim Jim from Michigan and he was telling me about a guy he stayed with in Vancouver. Ends up “the guy” is Bob, who you are following. We hiked with Slim Jim a few days and enjoyed mixing it up.

Oregon was a bit disappointing to me I think mainly because I’m so familiar with it and was looking forward to seeing Northern Washington, which I’ve heard wonderful things about. No mistaking, Oregon is wonderful and beautiful with areas that I plan to go back to for solitude when the time arises.

We went home for my other son’s birthday a few weeks ago and I hopped on the scale at a whopping 28 pounds lighter that when I began. Two months before we left for the trail my strategy was to eat a lot so U could burn off some extra fat on the trail…. But not 28 pounds worth! Since then I’ve tried to eat things I’ve usually stayed away from, like a Costco size jar of Nutella. After polishing off a 33oz jar in six days I asked Jack if he had any he could spare. Jack’s reply was I have three less days worth than if you hadn’t asked me for some earlier in the week.

Once we reach Canada, we most likely will go to Portland, resupply, pick up a car and drive to Lone Pine to enter the Sierra once again

Below are some photos that you might enjoy.

August 9, 2023:

Adventures in southern Oregon (photos in the slideshow)

Hi Jon,

Crater Lake is a special place. We met True Grit, a 61-year-old from Pennsylvania, just after we left the Crater Lake National Forest. We overheard him tell a young woman PCTer going the opposite direction that she will soon be viewing “one of the top ten most beautiful places she will ever see in her life.” That is quite a statement, but how true. Crater Lake is that special. It made me proud of Oregon and thankful that we experienced such beauty. The night before we hiked on the rim at dusk, then hiked up to Watchman’s Tower to view the spectacular sight of the sun rising above the crater.

As I was trying to catch up with Jack on the trail a black cub startled me as it shot up the bank and jumped up a tree to safety. That little guy was more scared of me than I was of him, but I got out of there in a hurry because I wasn’t sure where momma bear was.

The sun set when crashed for the night by Mt Thielsen, only to see the sky change as the sun rose the next morning.

It was fun to bump into Island Time as she was traveling southbound. A few months ago we were hiking in the same bubble until she flipped up to Canada due to the snow. We’ll see her again in the Sierra when we flip down to Lone Pine and head north once again.

One of my favorite spots so far was a small peninsula on the edge of Summit Lake where it resembled Paradise with fir trees and dirt rather than palm trees and sand. The water was crystal clear and Jack and I couldn’t pass the opportunity to take a swim.

Out of nowhere two Trail Angels appeared and served us and a few others some magic with cold beverages, hot dogs, fresh fruit, and chips. What a fun treat, especially when it was so unexpected.

Below is one of the best sunsets we have seen, about ten miles from McKenzie Pass before hitching a ride to Sisters from an old friend. What a darling town Sisters has become.

Today my body aches, especially my swollen and tired feet. During the past three days we put in a fair amount of miles and a long bath in epson salt and a wonderful diner and breakfast prepared by friends was welcomed! Oh, True Grit whom I mentioned before got a lift into town with us, where he rented a car and is flipping back down to Chester, CA, where we flipped up to, six or so weeks ago.

The adventures continue and the excitement has not diminished. We are truly blessed to live in this beautiful country.

Troy

July 30, 2023:

Update from Odell Lake, Oregon

Hi Jon,

Jack and I will be hitting Sisters in 3-4 days and then Timberline. We are planning on attending PCT Trail Days in Cascade Locks on Aug 18th and 19th.

Currently we are at Shelter Cove, on Lake Odell, in Oregon. Internet connectivity and communicating is much more difficult than I imagined. If you are fortunate to get connectivity, sometimes all you are able to do is text.

It’s been a wonderful experience and we are only about half way through the miles, but over halfway time-wise. Yesterday I realized after leaving the Sierra I lost some of my mojo. We had made friends and developed a trail family and because of the dangers in the Sierra, people went their own way and the band was broken up. Some went home, some went north to flip at Canada, some flipped to Oregon, others flipped to Northern Cal. We also hit several burn-out areas that were not as exciting to hike through.

Jack has a trail name! Mahna Mahna, or Mahna for short. Botox from Germany suggested he resembles the Muppet character in the “band” Mahna Mahna seen below, and I can’t disagree, hahaha.

Once we arrived in Northern Cal, we had a four-mile section that was an asphalt road. After 20-something miles and less than a mile to go I had to take a break and couldn’t figure out why I was a little out of it and dizzy. After getting into town I asked the clerk at the small local store how hot it was, and to my surprise she told me it was 110 degrees (most likely 115-120 on the road). Wow, no wonder I was struggling!

We hit Crater Lake a few days ago. I’ll post more about it next update. After hiking through Crater Lake National Forest, 61 year old True Grit from Pennsylvania, was explaining how beautiful Crater Lake was to a 20-something year old South Bounder. He said “you will experience one of your top ten most beautiful places in your life in the next 20 miles.” Truly spectacular. It’s that beautiful. And with that and getting used to a new trail family, my mojo is back :-)

July 13, 2023:

Update from Lone Pine, CA

Hi Jon,

After exiting the Sierra Range, Jack and I needed a place to sleep so we got a bed at a hostel in Lone Pine, CA. It’s a beautiful small town off Hwy 395 with the mountains as a backdrop.

We decided to bypass the snow and rivers and return after we arrive in Canada, to finish the remaining 550ish miles. The adventure on the road was almost as exciting as the trail, haha, with a hitch to Bishop and entering a second hostel with a cool vibe which made us want to hang around. I got the last bed and the owner said Jack could pick out a couch for $20.

The next morning we caught public transportation for about a four hour ride to Reno, then an hour Uber ride to the Susanville Post Office to send our micros, crampons, ice axe, and cold weather cloths home. From there we again hopped on a packed bus of PCTeds who were also skipping the Sierra.

Since the bus was packed I ended up sitting in the aisle of the bus along with others, and six miles before the trailhead, I asked the bus driver to pull over and continue on, where I got sick in full view of my new Trail Family. For the next few weeks I’d meet people on the trail and they knew who I was. I hadn’t a clue who they were, until I realized they all knew me as Jack’s Dad, the guy who thew up at the side of the bus. I thought maybe I’d get a new trail name such as “Chuck” or “Hurl”, but thank goodness I’m still “Jack’s Dad”.

Somehow I ended up with another hikers shoes since that hiker took my Hokas! I’m giving that hiker the benefit of the doubt that I placed my shoes to close to the Hiker Box, or another person moved my shoes into the Hiker Box where hikers are free to take and leave food, gear and other items. Gads, those shoes weighted a ton and were not good shoes to hike in. The next town was Mt Shasta, where we zeroed and picked up a new pair of Topos from the Foot Jesus, a guy that knows his footwear!

The Shasta area is incredible. The beauty is amazing and because it’s not close to a metropolitan area the trials are quiet and peaceful! The town of Mt Shasta was quaint and fun. I’ve driven down I-5 to the Bay Area or So Cal 10-20 times over the years and have never stopped in Mt Shasta. Next time I make the trip I’ll be sure to do so as it was a great town to rest and relax. I think I found my next “go to outdoors” area and town!

After Mt Shasta we ended up in Etna, CA,

a town if about 750 people. Etna welcomes PCTers due to the location, size, economy,

and townspeople, many who have hiked the PCT as early as the ‘70s I’m told.

I’ll send a few photos of Etna in another email because I’ve reached my limit.

Overall, it continues to be an adventure. My body isn’t accustomed to the miles and I’m on the tired side. I’m told now is the “mental” part of PCT. Next major stop is in Ashland, Oregon!

June 27, 2023:

Pressing on toward the Sierra

Hi Jon,

I texted you a few minutes ago and wanted to send you another update. This update will most likely come in two emails due to the size of the photos. If you post this update, please double check for obvious spelling and grammatical errors. It’s been wild since the last update. Hope you get to experience this when your boys are older.

Wow, it’s been an adventure, more than I anticipated. My wife asked me if the trip is all I expected, my reply was “it’s difficult to comprehend, kind of like when we were expecting our first child. We thought we were prepared or knew what to expect, but in reality, we had zero idea of what a new child would bring us.”

We left the fun and safety of Kennedy Meadows, mile 702 a week or two ago. This year, most hikers chose either to flip at Walker Pass, 50ish miles south of KM, or at KM. We chose to continue and enter into the Sierra knowing the challenges and dangers the 300%+ of average snowfall would bring us.

Like having your first born, we thought we knew what we were getting into but didn’t until we experience it first hand. We quickly came to realize that the snow turned into slush around noon and if we wanted to get any miles in we needed to get up early. Also, depending on the situation, it was important to hit certain parts of the trail at the right snow composition for safety. Fording the rivers was exciting and fortunately we found crossings that were “reasonably safe”.

We quickly figured out setting the alarm around 2am was necessary to get any miles in, although with the sun cups, water crossings, traversing, we were averaging still only about one mile per hour. It was slow, tedious hiking, even frightening at times. I do not remember a period of time where I was physically and mentally so challenged.

The beauty and serenity were incredible. There simply were not many PCTers on this section of the trial. It was magical.

It was magical, until it wasn’t, when a Ranger informed us that Forester Pass, the highest point on the PCT at around 13,500, was the best and worst conditions. There is about a 40’ section on Forester Pass where if you slipped it would result in certain death. This section had boot tracks until the two previous days melted the snow, then froze the snow, filling in the boot tracks and leaving ice for a trail, and so hard that you could only get your ice axe in about 1”. At this point we decided to turn around and hike back two days to exit to the small town of Lone Pine and flip ahead 300ish miles to dirt. We’ll come back after we reach Canada, to complete this 300ish mile section of the PCT when the snow has melted and the high rivers are less swift from the melting run off. We are extremely disappointed that we are not able to do the trail continuously from south to north, but it is what it is.

Below are a few photos of our hike backtracking 25ish miles before our change of plans, and ascent of Mt Whitney.

June 16, 2023:

Troy & Jack make it to Kennedy Meadows, CA

Kennedy Meadows is the place to be if you are in the area and want to hang out. It is a milestone for PCTers because it signifies leaving the desert and entering the Sierra Nevada Range, in addition to completing over 1/4 the trail.

The last time we spoke was just before we left HikerTown. It was entertaining and fun, but we were glad we only were there for an evening because it was crowded and some made it unpleasant with drugs and drinking. We left the following day at about 6pm to hit the LA Aqueduct, which is a long section of desert trail that can get scorching hot. I loved watching the sun setting and a few hours later watching the moon rise to light up the desert, it was peaceful and beautiful. We pitched out tents around 2am and the hot sun woke us up early for another day on the trail.

Kennedy Meadows is and will be a place of memories. It’s a significant milestone. As hikers come off the trail and approach the General Store, hikers on the back deck who have been eating, drinking, relaxing, and swapping stories stand up, cheer, and clap to congratulate their fellow hikers arrival.

Relive 'Kennedy Meadows!! Mile 455-702'View my hike: Kennedy Meadows!! Mile 455-702

June 4, 2023:

Troy emails from Hikertown, CA

Hi Jon,

Hope all is well. I hear the weather in Portland has turned to summer!

Jack and I it the milestone of 500 miles yesterday. Today we are at “HikerTown” just outside of Lancaster, CA.

The last 50-75 miles have been in a burnout area and in-inspiring. We have been upping the miles to get to the south end of the Sierra Nevada Range at Kennedy Meadows. Once we arrive we will determine if we continue north through possibly dangerous passes and rushing rivers or “flip” north somewhere. If we were there today I’m pretty sure we would be flipping.

My friend, Steve, that grew up in Portland, and went to OSU with me, and who has lived in SoCal since graduating, meet Jack and I at HikerTown and cooked us steaks and vegetables. It was fun to hang out with him for the night and be together.

Jack and I are waiting another 90 minutes before we head out to desert section at 6pm to avoid the desert heat. There are a bunch of PCTers that will be taking off about the same time.

I underestimated the difficulty of the trail from a mental perspective. It’s grueling to go mile after mile and to know you have to do the same thing tomorrow, then the next day, and the next. It has been rewarding to be with Jack. We have done well together and needed to talk things out a few times. He is much faster than me.

My unofficial trail name is “Jack’s Dad”. As I’m resting on a rock, young people will pass me and say, “oh, you must be Jack’s Dad.”

It’s been a trip. It’s been fun. You have to be committed. There have been a ton of people that are planning to, or have left the trail. It everyday is fun….. but I love it.

May 8, 2023:

Another email! from mile 266

Hi Jon,

Wow, it’s a little more difficult to check in with you than anticipated because of the lack of cell coverage timing. When I’m in cell coverage I find myself trying to catch up with my assistant at work and the wife.

Jack and I are in a hotel room in Big Bear Lake, CA at mile 266. We hiked ten miles to the highway, then hitched a ride directly to a laundromat to wash up. Gads, you get dirty on the trail. Think of cleaning up your kids with a bath before bed, but just before bed, letting them go out and build a fort in a dirt field.

It has been an adventure at every turn. The best way I can describe is to compare going off to college after graduating from high school. You are on your own, finding your way on campus, where to eat, meeting new friends, seeing a young woman that you might have an affinity for, going to that first party, figuring out how to do your laundry and balance your education with proper nutrition and rest. Everything is new.

Thank goodness we left the bubble of hikers and began to enjoy the trail without the rest of the dormitory. I would say 70-80% of the PCTers are foreigners, and about 80-90% are between the ages of 20-35 years old. Jack and I don’t quite fit in with the young clicks (not that we would want to) and the older people seem to be much slower that we are. Jack’s stride is long and fast. He has a pack that is way overweight but it doesn’t seem to phase him.

I believe the last check in was before a big wind storm where we got caught on a ridge in out tents, about two days before ascending Sam Jacinto. We heard that wind gust were 80mph that night and our tents could attest to that as they were basically blown flat, on top of us. Our neighbors didn’t fair as well as us and were left with torn tents (thank you Gert, Tim, and Joe Boyle, owners of Mountain Hardware). On our way up we bumped into a local legend, San Jacinto John, who has been educating hikers like us, for maybe eight years or so. John decided to take things in his own hands and educate people of the conditions of the mountain before they need rescued or get hurt. His YouTube videos have begun to take off and he is getting recognized for this and his record 762 time of ascending San Jacinto! You can see a photo in the g-drive with him in orange…. And is at the shelter and on top.

There were incredible views and changes around every corner for miles and miles. Then to hike about 20 miles down to the Coachella Valley floor where the heat was a dry 95ish shows how different the micro-climates are. The mountain was challenging workout a doubt. You can see a photo of Jack cowboy camping about 10 miles from I-10 where we caught a ride into Cabazon for a real meal at In and Out! Jack scarfed down two double-doubles, two Animal Style fries and another single before meeting up with Stanley for a ride to another town with a Walmart to buy the coveted tuna packages with 18g of protein for $1.49, rather than $4 a pack in the small towns where they seem to know the supply vs demand model. We then went to Panera for a place to charge our phones and batteries for awhile and back to In and Out for another dinner at 9pm. While Jack was on his 4th burger, a guy came up to us and you would have thought he had seen Elvis. He was so excited to meet real PCTers. He asked if he could buy us dinner, asked if we needed money, was genuinely thrilled to meet this “rare breed”. It was humorous. We did ask if he would take us to the trail about 16 miles east towards Palm Springs where he and his partner just came from on their way to LA and without hesitation they drove us to the underpass and dropped us off about 10:30pm. Jack and I went north, away from the freeway about a mile and pitched out tents in the middle of nowhere.

A few days later and here we are in big Bear Lake where a 1981 Sunset High School classmate will be driving in to buy us lunch today. Phil and I have not seen each other since the last week of high school 42 years ago. I remember him walking proudly down the hall in his newly pressed army (?) uniform after enlisting, something I recall he said he was always going to do. We connected a few years ago on FB and four weeks ago he saw that we were on the trail. He’s had a long career serving and we get the honor of him chasing us down and going to lunch with him today!

It’s been mentally and physically challenging, but we are getting into a rhythm and doing well. So far the feet are holding up.

That’s all for now.

May 8, 2023:

Email from Troy

Hi Jon,

Hope all is well with you in Portland.

I continue to upload some photos in the shards gdrive for you when and if you want to see them. I have to say, I kind of feel guilty sending photos that might tell the “end of the movie” if you are going to hit the PCT sometime.

We got a room last night in the small, quaint mountain town of Idlewild and enjoyed our first shower (gross). We’ll hitch a ride back to Hwy 74 where we left off yesterday and do a “Nero” (near zero miles day) , then the next few days are big for us as it’s the first of two sections of the trail that are of concern for me.

It’s been more of an adventure than I imagined. You don’t know when it will rain,

don’t know if the next water source will be dry, or what’s around the corner. The most pleasant surprise was hitting “Mike’s Place”. It was an eclectic junk yard/backpackers paradise of sort, almost a celebration simply to be there with other PCTers.

May 3, 2023:

Hard to hear Troy over the wind! But you get the idea!!!

April 25, 2023:

And they're off! Troy and Jack hit the trail on the morning of Troy's 60th birthday!

Original artwork created by Jack

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