Splinter's Cabin to Calhoun Pass

    After a good night of rest, in a pristine campsite.  We hiked the 7 miles to the hot springs...it was wonderful.  For those of you who have not been there, it was a small oasis in the desert, naturally occurring hot springs just waiting for the wary hiker to soak their feet and more.  It proved to make for a wonderful afternoon.  Our only regret was that we couldn't stay.

    Over the next 3 miles we encountered 2 rattle snakes which was quite an excitement.  That unnerved Zero to the end.  Fire Marshall came to the rescue and skillfully moved one of the snakes off the trail and the other we had to skirt around.

    We came to the Mojave Damn and had a waist high stream crossing.  There we met a new friend, Seamus, who decided to hike with us in the hopes of getting a ride from trail Angel Jane.  The original plan was to hike most of the night, pull another 17 miles and get to Silverwood Lake to meet up with Jane and Dave.  This was not to happen Zero's feet were shredded by the desert sand, so we found a wonderful spot as did many other hikers shortly after Deep Creek.

    In the morning we blazed on trying to make up time and catch up with Jane and Dave with our new hiking partner.  Low and behold who did we find exercising on the trail but it was Jane.  Jane skillfully lead us back to the campsite, all downhill and only 2 miles according to her, but she was being very optimistic.

    At the lake campground Zero's feet wouldn't take it anymore for that day and Fire Marshall was feeling weary as well.  Friday wanting to prove to herself that she could do a marathon plus, did an additional 14 miles to Calhoun Pass with Seamus, accomplishing her goal.  The rest of the team was very proud of Fridays accomplishment and we all headed back to Pasadena for a much needed day off.

Ashes and new friends.

    We left out this morning and the trek soon became very eerie.  We went through a nice wooded section and soon found ourselves in the remnants of a fire from previous years.  Nature is slowly reclaiming the land but the remains of the Forrest are still present and weighed heavily on our minds.  Zero especially felt the carnage left behind by the fire.
 
    Fire Marshal and Zero met two new friends from Israel, who at a beautiful water source invited us to have tea.  Graciously we accepted and were fast friends.  We trekked on further with them and came to a tricky water crossing.  We had hoped that all would come across dry but that was not the case.  Fire Marshall made it across with no effort but the last 6 feet for Zero was a leap of faith...he made it across unscathed and was totally elated as was the rest of the group.  Next was the Israelis, Roy was the first in line to make the leap.  I am sure that the only thought going through his mind was I have to make this because the blind guy did. He took a valiant attempt, but the river gods were not on his side, one slick footing and he was down, all the way up to his waist, camera included.  Zero felt very triumphant.  Both the Israelis very very complimentary with Zero's prowess.

    After hiking more than 20 miles the team met Girl Friday at one of the more beautiful spots on the PCT, Splinter's Cabin. Girl Friday had needed a day to rest and was practicing her hand at being a trail angel for the day.  We all camped along the river in a spot deemed off limits to most, it was a wonderful night.

Team Farsight 2010 - more wind

Team Farsight 2010 - Eagle Rock

Team Farsight 2010 - River Crossing

Forward Progress

Upon leaving Cabazon, the team could not have been more excited to be back in the desert without snow. The heat was oppressive, but we saw some amazing things. First, we saw a windmill farm. Zero had seen them before in Northern California, but Friday and Fire Marshall were in utter amazement. And the sound the windmills make were equally amazing. Although Friday thought they were eerie, Fire Marshall thought they were peaceful.

From the windmill, we trekked to the White Water Preserve. While the team did not have time to fully enjoy it the Preserve was a great oasis in the desert. They had a wading pool, and the river runs in streams throughout. It was the most unfrozen water they had seen in the desert.

The next morning we headed up the trail, following Mission Creek. The canyon we walked through was very narrow – and we were still able to see all the fire damage from a few years ago. We ended up following the stream and canyon, as the trail was washed out in sections. Friday had a bad spill, banging her knee against a rock – ending the hike for the night. So we camped along the stream.

The next day was a long up-hill to the Mission Springs campground. That night was a cold night – with the temperature plummeting into the 20’s - and the wind howling. It was a night and day difference from the desert to the mountains.

The next morning we got up and hiked twelve miles to the Animal Cages, where the team was meeting some Trail Angels. When they approached they heard a noise, that they thought was a bear. They were a bit concerned because they did not realize that the Animal Cages were there and thought they might be facing an animal in the wild. Turned out – it was a lion in a cage.
Fire Marshall and Zero banged out a 30 mile day to make up for lost time, while Friday nursed her injured knee and took care of much needed business for the team.

Zero made the mistake of opening his mouth and commenting on how uneventful the hike was – less than three miles from the end. And not more than 100 yards after saying that, he tripped over a tree root, fell, smashed his knee and took out Fire Marshall with him. Needless to say, we took a break and the last few miles got cold and were very painful for Zero. We attribute our success for the day to a sandwich some Fritos and the best candy in the world – Super Sour Gummy Life Savers! Without the day could have ended in peril. Now we are well rested, well fed and heading back out.

But before we do, we have to make sure to thank many of our sponsors. Everyone on the team is also thankful to the folks at Ahnu. They went above and beyond the call of duty to ship all of us new footwear at the drop of a hat. Thanks also to Katadyne for the water filters. They have performed wonderfully even given the sketchy quality of some of the sources we have had to pull water from. Special thanks to Granite Gear for coming through with our new dry sacks and for keeping our photography gear safe with great cases. Without everyone’s sponsorship and ongoing assistance, this trek would not happen.

More to come soon. Team Farsight.

And be sure to check out the Team Farsight 2010 page on Facebook.

Trials and Tribulations of Fire and Ice.

Upon leaving Idyllwild and armed with Fire Marshall’s newly found snow skills, the Team headed back out to Apache Peak. After six miles, Zero developed a terrible migraine, which forced them to find another campsite below Apache Peak. It turned out to be a beautiful spot - overlooking Palm Springs, with Mt. San Jacinto towards the left.

In the morning, after Zero recovered, we bushwhacked over the saddle of Apache Peak and continued on towards Mt. San Jacinto. The entire journey to our campsite at Skunk Cabbage Meadows was filled with numerous snow traverses and a lot of land navigation to even find the trail. Many hikers – even those with their GPS’s – were forced to seek Fire Marshall’s guidance. He dutifully told them where they were, showed them where they needed to go on the map, and for those who still did not get it, we led them to where they needed to go.

The next morning, we had thought we had seen the worst and the last of the snow. Little did we know, that would not be the case. Things on the mountain went from bad to worse to potentially deadly. On the ascent to Fuller Ridge, there was tons of snow and ice, and it was extremely steep. The team pressed on all day and only made it six miles. Part of those six miles included many close calls. Zero demonstrated that he can self-arrest using only a trekking pole. Crossing one of the bowls, he lost his footing and went sledding on his butt about forty feet before slowing down and smashing into a rock.

The trail was so hard to find at this point, even with GPS and consulting with other teams, we found ourselves hundreds of feet below or above the trail. We made it to Fuller Ridge and were forced to camp because the trail was totally impassable.

We gave it a valiant effort the next morning, and tried bushwhacking around the south face, to avoid the ice-covered cliffs. We did this to no avail, and were forced once again to turn back. It was an option we did not want to do. But we could not go forward, and it was our only alternative. Tired, exhausted, and nearly out of food, we made the long journey back the way we came. Friday took a spill, slid down a slope, and managed to arrest herself using a pine tree. Trying to go to her assistance, Fire Marshall ended up sinking up to his waist in the soft snow.

It took a long time and a great deal of effort, but we made it back down to a safe point on the mountain. While there, we ran into many hikers getting ready to do exactly what we just came back from. After hearing about our adventure on the mountain, many decided – very wisely – to go down with us.

We took what we thought would be a fairly easy and safe bail out trail – Seven Pines Trail – and found that our adventure was only half done. This trail too was snow covered and very treacherous. The trail was hard to find even with GPS and the collective minds of all of the hikers. We were forced to rock climb, snow traverse, stream cross, and boulder hop just to get down the mountain. When we finally set up camp for the night, we could not have been happier. We are not sure if it was legal or not, but we camped at a Girl Scout camp that was closed for the season. It could not have been a better spot.

In the morning, thinking everything was wonderful, and happy to be safe, we ran into a Park Ranger, who informed us that there was a forest fire standing in our way and that the trail was closed for the day below Fuller Ridge. Once again, we were forced to go back to what we would call our temporary base of operations – Idyllwild to regroup again. Not able to spend any more time waiting out the weather on the mountain or waiting for the trail to reopen, our friend Jane came to our rescue again. She took us to McDonald’s so we could fuel up and got us to the trail at Cabazon so we could continue north.

Though we did not make it over Fuller Ridge, most hikers – including us – were not able to go over Fuller Ridge, due to the inclimate weather. It was a minor defeat for us, but we came closer together as a team, made sound decisions, and walked away with no injuries. In all, we considered it a success and have no regrets.

Catching Up

Greetings to all, sorry for the delay. As you might expect, computer access is tough to find out in the woods. We wanted to let you know about life on the trail after Julian.

We went from the snow storm into some of the most beautiful desert we have seen thus far. On our second night out, we found probably the most beautiful campsite yet on the trail. We actually were able to camp at the base of Eagle Rock. Eagle Rock is a beautiful rock formation, naturally shaped like an entire eagle in the middle of vast rolling fields. We saw an amazing sunset, listened to coyotes, and the sunrise was pristine. In addition we had morning visitors. An entire herd of milk cows came to greet us for breakfast.

Following that, we had a little bit more excitement after Warner Springs. Chad, Fire Marshall, went to the kick-off party for PCT-ers and was supposed to meet back up with Zero and Friday at a camp six miles outside of town. The Trail Angel who took him to the trail head was kind enough to give him a four-pound pie. Not the easiest thing to carry while hiking. Hiking in the dark without the assistance of a GPS or maps, he had to go into survival mode. Forced to set up camp by himself, he did the only thing that a true thru hiker would do. He got out his spork and ate the whole pie. Meanwhile, Friday, who had all the maps and the GPS, practiced her newly found navigational skills in the dark. Friday and Zero found the camp with only one small mishap. Friday stopped in the middle of a stream while rock hopping, forcing Zero to fall into the stream. In the morning, Zero and Friday were greatly relieved to see him, but of course, upset that he had no pie for them. All in all, we came out fairly unscathed.

Life in the desert was fairly uneventful, all the way up to the town of Idyllwild, where we hooked up once again with our newly found friends Dave and Jane. The next day, we made an assault on Apache Peak. On the assent to Apache, the team was greeted by extreme winds, which we later we found out that they were clocked at 109 miles per hour. Our video will be up shortly of us playing in the wind. It was also our first real taste of bitter cold and snow along the journey.
We have to thank Eddie Bauer and Marmot for keeping us warm, safe and dry even in such harsh conditions. The gear is exceptional, and we could not be happier.

We camped at Cedar Springs on the way to Apache Peak, and had a long, miserable night in our tents, buffeted by winds and snow. The next day, we had all intentions of going up and around Apache Peak. But once we hit the North Face of Apache Peak, we were greeted with an extremely steep slope covered in about six feet of snow. Without the aide of crampons and ice axes, it proved to be too dangerous. We were forced to go back down and regroup.

Once back in Idyllwild, the Team made an executive decision and once again sent fire Marshall on a mission. We decided to send him to snow camp. So we packed him up and sent him off to the snow in the mountains to learn how to survive, snowshoe, and build his own igloo. He came back tired and cold, but had refined his skills in the mountains.