Mass Transit

Last night I saw Reruns, my friend from the Appalachian Trail ('98) and his wife Sara at their place.  I was glad that I got the chance to see them.  Reruns is one of those guys that makes me laugh even when he's not trying.  We went out for a great meal and then back to their place for the night.  It was great to hang out with them and share stories.  There's a chance that I'll run into them again on the trail as I make it up to Yosemite.

We were up til 11:00 pm and up at 4:45 a.m. so that Reruns could get me to the bus.  Getting up at that hour was rough but Reruns didn't flinch.  I rode a train for 6 hours and a bus for another 2 which has landed me in L.A.  The train is definitely the way to go and beats Grey Hound (The Dirty Dog) by a long shot.  

Just one more day of travel by vehicle and then it'll be just me and my feet.

Leaving Yuba City

I've been in Yuba City, CA for about a week now, staying with Toby and her husband, Allen. They have been super about letting me crash here. I didn't plan on staying in one spot for so long - thinking that I'd be out seeing other people, but it didnt' work out that way. I've enjoyed the time I've had here though, and in the end it was a good thing that I had this time to tie up some things. It seems that I still had some details here and there to take care of before I begin hiking. Now it's down to sink or swim. I'm leaving my bus here and taking public transportation down to the southern end of the state. I'm bringing only my backpack from this point on.

Toby and Allen have been wonderful hosts. They made me feel right at home and I gave me open access to the internet which has proved invaluable on many occasions. We've went on a hike, ate great food (Toby is a wonderful cook and has done her level best to fatten me up for the trail), and watched movies. Allen donated a MP3 player so I'll have music on the trail. It's been a good time, and I've been able to get things done without feeling pressured by time restraints.

There's one fly in the ointment which is that I have another electrical problem in the bus. This one isn't as easy to fix as the last. The drivers side tail light is out. I tried all that I knew how to fix it. I hoped it was a simple dirty or loose connection that would take 60 seconds to fix, but I was wrong. I spent the best part of the day eliminating some possiblities, and in the end it's still not working. I no longer have time to work on it so it will have to wait til August or later.

This afternoon Toby and Allen are dropping me off in Sacramento where I'll have dinner with a Trail friend from my original trek 10 years ago, Reruns and his wife, Sara. Tomorrow I'll be taking a train further south and will be actually on the trail Thursday.

Yuba City

When I woke on the mountain pass I noticed a ski lift across the highway from me. It wasn't visible at night when I'd parked. I don't know the elevation where I stayed but I seemed to go down in elevation rather steeply for many many miles. Crossing Utah and Nevada it had warmed up considerably, but those are dry desert states without much vegetation. When I dropped in elevation out of the California mountains I seemed to drop suddenly into Spring time. The trees were full of vibrant green leaves, and the roadsides were alive with large patches of wild flowers.

I made my way to my friend's house in Yuba City just north of Sacramento. Toby and her husband, Allen, have been kind enough to put me up while my start date approaches. Since I got here the day before yesterday I've been taking care of still more details involving this trip - checking e-mail, checking finances, buying last minute equipment, and trying to figure out transportation down to the start of the PCT.

Crossing Nevada

I still had a long way to go to get to California. I had a hundred plus miles of Utah and 400 miles of Nevada just to get to California. I was in no hurry though and with warmer temps the drive was fairly pleasant.

I left the radio on "scan" hoping to find a good radio station. Last year the dust of Burning Man killed my CD player so I've been at the mercy of the air waves. Unfortunately in the unpopulated area of Nevada there's mostly religious and country stations if there's any reception at all. I left the radio on scan for hours listening to just three seconds of each radio station. It became background noise. I'd climb to the top of a mountain pass, going from just 2 stations to maybe 5 or 10! only to drop on the other side and lose them all.

I'm used to crossing Nevada since I've done it annually for the past seven years on my way to Burning Man. It was strange to get to the turn-off I'd normally take but continue on I-80 towards Reno instead. The turn-off is in a tiny town called Fernley. Fernley actually made it to the national news last year because of a flood which swamped the town.

I crossed over into California and made it past Truckee before I stopped for the night at a rest stop at the top of a mountain pass.

Traveling West

I finally made it out of Colorado. I fought a head wind for hundreds of miles which slowed the van and killed the gas mileage. At times the head wind slowed me to 40-45 mph when combined with long inclines. When it blew from the side it threatened to lift the camper top. Had that happened it would have torn it from the bus. Fortunately, I noticed it lifting and took measures to better secure it.

After heading up Rt 25 from Denver to Cheyenne I turned west again to face the vast open space of Wyoming. It was still winter up there and though it wasn't snowing per se the wind was still driving snow across the road. There was nothing but open rolling empty plains for hundreds of miles. The only notable features were the snow fences which prevented the drifts from migrating onto the highway.

Wyoming came and went and I found myself in Utah. Eventually I dropped in elevation out of the snow and wind and down into Salt Lake City. With the warmer temperature and calmer air my mileage increased significantly. The warmer temps also made the VW more comfortable inside. It was 2:00 a.m. before I stopped at a truck stop for the night somewhere between Salt Lake City and the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Didn't Make It Out

I'm still in Colorado.  The weather closed I-80 yesterday so I couldn't get on the road.  I'll leave today after I get some sleep since it's 1:00 a.m. 

Got Milk? and I went for a short hike today to get some exercise.  I was happy to find that I'm not the sorry load I feared I might be.  We saw several large herds of mule deer.  

I have been planning on taking a Greyhound bus from Yuba City where I'll be leaving my VW down to San Diego.  From there a friend will get me from SD to the start of the trail.  I just now took a look at the bus schedule for the first time.  I'm sad to find that it will be a 24 hour ride on the dirty dog.  I've done it before.  I don't like it.  I was hoping it wasn't quite that long of a ride.  That's the way it's gotta be though.  I'll have to make the most of it.  

Golden Colorado

I got to Colorado after just two days of driving - arriving here Wednesday evening.  It's been great to see my friend from the AT, Got Milk?.  It's been a long time since I saw him last, and it's nice to catch up.

I love Colorado.  There's something compelling about this state.  It could be that herds of elk and deer can be seen just outside.  Or it could be the grandeur of the mountains with so many of them topping 14,000 feet.  I'm not sure what it is exactly, but in another life I could see me settling down here.

I'll probably be on my way Friday.  I'll be cutting up to I-80 and run straight for Sacramento.  I'll most likely be there by Monday.  I will take some more photos along the way.  The Bonneville Salt Flats are beautiful in the mornings.

Leaving Louisville

I'm moments away from leaving Louisville. It's been a good visit, but it's time to continue down the road. My next destination is Denver where I'll find an old friend from my very first hike ten years ago. Tonight I'll find myself in a different time zone.

Louisville

My visit here in Louisville has been a blast. Sarah and I made the most of the weekend - going for walks, watching movies, and eating out. Yesterday was the first nice day in this area in quite a while and we took advantage of it. We went for a walk down by the river which is flooding. I brought along the camera and got some photos of partially submerged park benches. Afterward we went to a nationally known skateboard park. There were kids of all ages and skill levels. I got some great action shot of skateboarders high in the air.

I took apart the signal switch on the VW and feel that I have a good understanding of what the trouble was. I made a phone call to my uncle, Kevin who's understanding of things great and small never ceases to surprise me. He's like having my own hotline to Click And Clack. With his advice I hope that the electrical problem will be fixed and that I'm good to go. I spent the morning tuning the bus and hopefully the mileage will improve.

From Louisville

I'm in Louisville visiting with Sarah. I wasn't sure if I'd be stopping here or not for reasons I won't go into, but as it turned out I'm here for the weekend and expect to be back on the road on Monday. Louisville isn't as warm as I though it would be but that's supposed to improve tomorrow. It's been consistently rainy here for a while apparently because local water ways have been flooding. I went for walk today around a park and saw signs of the water way being 6 feet higher - which represents exponentially more water than what's now flowing.

A possible hitch with the bus which has me worried is an electrical problem with the turn switch. If I turn left the wire starts to smoke. I will look into the problem tomorrow during the day. The last time something like that happened the main wires that connect the starter fried and I was dead in the water. Fortunately that happened while I was still at home. I'm hoping it's just a simple ground and easily fixed.

Leaving Akron (April 3)

It was great spending time with Summers, Allen, and newborn Ellie. Summers and I went for a couple walks for a few miles each and got me to realize I need a little more exercise so I can hit the trail running. I'm a loaf at the moment. Summers fed me well and sent me on my way with more food for the road.

From The Road

I made it 650 miles on my first day out. That may not sound like much, but imagine doing that at 50 mph (or less average). It took a while. I drove til just past midnight. For those of you that know VW's you know that the bus has no heat and it was down to about 48 after dark. I slept in the bus at a truck stop. It was upper 30's when I woke. I slept toasty warm though.

I haven't made time to store things throughout the bus, so all that food I mentioned in a previous post is piled in the way. I'll take care of that soon by tucking it in all the storage places built in the bus.

I'm visiting a friend, Summers, her husband Alan, and her newborn Ellie in Akron, OH. I met Summers on the AT in '98 my second night on the trail. Alan teaches photography at an academy and it's been great talking with him. He's been encouraging and has given me some great advice about how to find more info on photography. I learned that there's places on-line that put together professional looking hard cover books of photos. I'm looking forward to making one of these once I get done hiking.

I'll be back on the road heading west again tomorrow. I'll either swing down to Louisville, or head more toward Colorado from here.

It's Finally Time

I've been looking forward to this date for half a year. It's finally here. The VW is packed and all there's left to do is warm it up and leave. My next post will be from the road or trail.