Pacific Crest Trail

mozey said:
Burney to I-5: This 90-mile section of trail took me through the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. When I left Burney it was socked in with smoke from the Park fire. Consequently, some well-intentioned folks on Facebook were recommending that PCT hikers skip up to Dunsmuir, and it appears that the majority of the PCT hikers around me did exactly that. I tend to be much more stubborn about maintaining my continuous footpath though (and admittedly this sometimes gets me into trouble), and because the PCT runs about seven miles north of Burney, I hitched a ride up to the trail to see conditions for myself. What I found when I got there was the smoke was mostly lifted.

So I decided to go for it. The trail through this section was a little overgrown in spots, which did some damage to my shins (should have zipped the legs back on my convertible pants), but otherwise conditions were beautiful. I saw only two other hikers (one NOBO and one SOBO) over this four days.

After hiking the last 100 miles through burn scars, it was really nice to be hiking in green again. I also saw a lot more wildlife than I have any previous sections of this trail (not including fish).

I did have one near disaster. On the second night I was hiking the last couple miles in the dark, and was just about finished when I reached for my phone and it wasn't in the pack pocket where it was supposed to be. I use my phone for navigation, info on water sources, camping spots, etc, so that was an alarming development. The brush was very overgrown through much of that area, and I could see how it could have knocked my phone out of my pocket that is attached to one of my pack straps. I knew the last time I looked at it, it said 1.7 miles to the next water source. So I backtracked what I thought was two miles with my headlamp, hoping I would see it on the trail. No luck.

My next idea was to wait until 4:45 in the morning when the alarm would be going off, and hopefully I would hear it as I walked the two-mile section of trail. No luck with that idea either.

For my third try, I very slowly walked back over that two miles, and carefully checked under every bush that looked like it was tall enough to knock the phone out of my pocket. No luck with that either.

After that failed, I essentially gave up, and started thinking of ways I could navigate the last 40 miles back to civilization. At this point I had not seen any other hikers for the previous two days, so it felt like I was there by myself. I had pretty much gone back through that entire two-mile section for the fourth time, and I had no intention of going through it again.

Then something black in the middle of a bush caught my eye. There it was! Talk about going from the lowest of lows to highest of highs instantly! I was back in the game.

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Moze I lost my phone packing a Deer out last year. A guy showed up, he had service and I kept moving towards the kill site, finally heard it ring and found it.
Sunday we were headed to camp. On an extremely rough road I stopped for the wife to make a pit stop- I thing the phone had fallen on the floor mat and then to the ground. I had to buy a new one tonight.
 
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DeerMadness said:
Moze I lost my phone packing a Deer out last year. A guy showed up, he had service and I kept moving towards the kill site, finally heard it ring and found it.
Sunday we were headed to camp. On an extremely rough road I stopped for the wife to make a pit stop- I thing the phone had fallen on the floor mat and then to the ground. I had to buy a new one tonight.
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Glad the first one worked out for you. Bummer about the second. I actually found a phone when I was hiking the CDT. After charging it, there was a text message on it that said something like: "This phone belongs to my grandpa. If anyone finds please contact me at..."

Those were some happy people to get that phone back. They were planning to take grandpa out that very night to get him a new phone. He had no idea where he had lost it, but based on where I found it, it was a location where he pulled off the road to relieve himself...
 
mozey said:
Glad the first one worked out for you. Bummer about the second. I actually found a phone when I was hiking the CDT. After charging it, there was a text message on it that said something like: "This phone belongs to my grandpa. If anyone finds please contact me at..."

Those were some happy people to get that phone back. They were planning to take grandpa out that very night to get him a new phone. He had no idea where he had lost it, but based on where I found it, it was a location where he pulled off the road to relieve himself...
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It wasn't that long ago that we didn't even have those things. Now it's hard to imagine how we'd survive without them...
 
Mosey, I do envy you spending all that time alone out on the trail or up in Alaska fishing and now up in Alaska hunting, but in my case, it would be cheaper and a lot easier to just get a divorce. :unsure: Just kidding.:ROFLMAO:
 
Dall sheep hunt in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: I was on a guided hunt in the Brooks Range about 70 miles from the Canada border and Arctic Ocean. My guide Brian was amazing. We saw 53 dall sheep, including 26 rams, but never saw a legal ram.

Nonetheless, I feel so fortunate that I was able to do this and see some beautiful wilderness that so few get to actually see. We even explored an area, that from what we know, only one other person has visited in the last 20 years.

In addition to the sheep, we also saw a wolverine, two grizzly bears, a caribou, and a couple ermin.

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glad to see you are positive about your experience as well enjoyed yourself I hope you donā€™t give up on your dream to get your slam. I was really rooting for you this year that you would kill your dall.
 
BradA said:
glad to see you are positive about your experience as well enjoyed yourself I hope you donā€™t give up on your dream to get your slam. I was really rooting for you this year that you would kill your dall.
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BradA said:
glad to see you are positive about your experience as well enjoyed yourself I hope you donā€™t give up on your dream to get your slam. I was really rooting for you this year that you would kill your dall.
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Thank you. It's not lost on me that any sheep hunt opportunity these days is an absolute privilege. Don't know that I'll be able to afford another one, but the fact that I've been able to go at all is more than most will ever get, so can't be ungrateful for that. We'll see what the future brings. Good luck to you too.
 
Youā€™re a better man than me Mozā€¦. but, I have sent the bar very high. Proud of you. Karmaā€™s gonna dump one on ya!
 
BC rocky mountain goat hunt. Rained out the first day, ATV/hiked all of the second day, shot what I believe was the alpha wolf in a pack of five as they were bearing down on us the third day, weathered out days four through six, and bush whacked our way back out on days seven and eight without seeing a decent billy.

Saw 14 goats, two grizzlies, and five to seven wolves.

The reason I'm not certain about the number of wolves is we think the alpha female in the pack continued to follow us the next few days after I whacked the male. So we think we saw her three separate days even though we continued to hike several miles. It was one of the craziest hunts I've ever done.

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Great looking scenery!!!
Very nice wolf.
Was hoping to see a nice Billy. Hopefully next try.
You planning on going back to try again in the next few years to get a Billy?
Donā€™t think I have ever read about anyone going on so many great adventures in one year!!!
Whatā€™s next?
 
Another great adventure!

Mozey, you're so accustomed to living out of a tent you'll probably have to put up a tent in your back yard so you can get some sleep. J/K šŸ˜
 
mozey said:
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Thank you. It's not lost on me that any sheep hunt opportunity these days is an absolute privilege. Don't know that I'll be able to afford another one, but the fact that I've been able to go at all is more than most will ever get, so can't be ungrateful for that. We'll see what the future brings. Good luck to you too.
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Thank you sir, I will take all the good luck I can get. I love the positivity but bummed to hear your goal of going for your grand slam wonā€™t happen.
 
LIK2HNT said:
Great looking scenery!!!
Very nice wolf.
Was hoping to see a nice Billy. Hopefully next try.
You planning on going back to try again in the next few years to get a Billy?
Donā€™t think I have ever read about anyone going on so many great adventures in one year!!!
Whatā€™s next?
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I have left it open about possibly trying for a billy again, because it's much more affordable than a sheep hunt. Still have a NM elk hunt, KS whitetail, and now a possible KY whitetail to go this year, and still trying to figure out how and when to complete the PCT. Trying to get all my adventures in while I'm still physically able. In my 60s now so that window is closing fast. At some point after I get them all in I may have to unretire, but that's a risk I'm willing to take now... šŸ˜Ž
 
eelgrass said:
Another great adventure!

Mozey, you're so accustomed to living out of a tent you'll probably have to put up a tent in your back yard so you can get some sleep. J/K šŸ˜
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More true than you as the lovely and gracious wifey has grown accustomed to not having to listen to my snoring...
 
I'd hoped to finish the PCT this year by going southbound from the Canada border back to Sisters, OR. That meant I first had to hike 30 miles north from Harts Pass just to get to the starting point, where I made sure to stick my foot into Canada.

Unfortunately, on the return, my left heel started to become more and more tender with each foot fall, and this time it didn't feel like something I was just going to be able to walk off. So after 2,033 miles, I made the decision to get off the trail permanently, at least for this year. That means I left 621 miles unfinished, and admittedly I'm still wrestling with that decision a little. But even after getting off, the pain in my heel has subsided only a little, so it still feels like I'm making the right decision.

In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have tried to cram so much into one summer. But nonetheless, I truly had a great time and I'm very grateful for all of it.

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Look at it this way, now you can go hike the remainder in prime time flower season!
Great right up and thank you for taking us along.
Take it easy until then and rest up for that New Mexico hunt!
 
Moz you are making the right call, based on your physical condition. No one can predict when issue with the ole body parts start to wear out. I would never doubt your commitment nor your toughness, never.

Youā€™ve done a great job taking us along on your quests and read your narrative and seeing photos has been inspiring. If you decide, someday, to travel those last 621 miles I wish you all the best.

Hope your heal heals quickly and you have a great year from here on.
 
It's been a great ride so far and we thank you.

I've actually only hiked about 2 miles on the PCT in the Marble Mountains Siskiyou County so you're way ahead of me.

Have a pediatrist take a look. You might have something minor going on with your heel.
 

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