Off The PCT

I'm officially off the PCT. I had originally planned on going all the way to Canada. Back in '04 when I did this trail last I was able to get far enough north that I could make it to Burning Man, return to the trail, and complete the remaining amount before the weather closed in on me. This year however, I was traveling with a group that wasn't putting in the miles necessary to make it possible this year. I was faced with going on without them to complete the trail, or staying with them, enjoying their company and giving up completing the trail. I opted to stay with them. I left the trail at Castella, CA, at mile 1505. I actually hiked 1400 miles of trail because there was 100 miles of trail that was closed because of the wildfires out here this year. It's been a fun and eventful 1400 miles and I got to meet some great people.

I put out my thumb to catch a ride down to Yuba City were my VW bus has been with a friend. By wild coincidence the driver that stopped was someone I'd met 10 years earlier while hiking the Appalachian Trail. He drove me quite a ways and dropped me off. My next ride was with a young guy fresh out of the Army who was interesting to talk with. Now I'm at a friend's house in Yuba City and reunited with my beloved VW bus. I've been trying to wade through an over-stuffed e-mail inbox, eating junk food, and staying up WAY too late watching pulp TV.

In the next day or so I'll head out to the empty dusty location of Black Rock Desert, NV where I'll spend the next six weeks helping to build the city, protect it from would-be gate crashers, and then tear it all down again and restore the location to it's former emptiness. So while one adventure is at an end another is about to begin. I've taken thousands of photos of the PCT and look forward to sharing them once I get home and can process them. I'm also looking forward to taking many more photos at Burning Man.