It was supposed to rain .1” between midnight and 6:00.

It was still raining at 7:00 but it kind of broke around 8:00 and we started off between the pine trees and up the trail.

Day one video.

End of day one, start of day two video

You can tell the difference between sunshine and rain for day one and two portions of the video.

We walked to the gas Station restaurant and had lunch the on to the hostel for showers and laundry.

I had a friend who on the CDT used a rain jacket and shorts. I decided to try that since the forecast we had was just a light drizzle and a lot of dry walking.

Instead it rained all the way to town. The good part was the guy who sent his dogs out to greet us got his dogs back soaked. Couldn’t happen to a better guy.

Most of the dogs were cute and harmless. But not a good look for the trail.

The POC (Pinhoti Outdoor Center) is a nice hostel. We are the only people staying the night.

The owner looked terribly familiar. Turns out she sat next to me at the Ruck. So I wasn’t hallucinating, she was familiar.

Great day two.

We started at the Old Mountain Campground (short video), turned our car in at the airport, caught the Max to downtown and then to the Greyhound station.

Next was a shuttle and we hoped to get in ten miles with a hostel on the next day.

Weather is warming and is a lot better than the 19 degrees we hit at the ruck.

The shuttle got us to the historic fire tower at the top of a local mountain and forest service signs led us to the trail.

The trail is well marked with aqua blue blazes about every fifty feet. The surface is good, though covered with leaves and pine needles it does not invite turned ankles from roots and rocks.

The Appalachian Trail has a lot of erosion on it. Places where the trail is all large rocks and gaps. People sometimes complain about how if they could just move the trail a few feet it would be dirt instead of rocks.

Of course that would last until trail use eroded the new location. But this trail doesn’t have enough use to erode down which makes it softer and better as a trail.

About six miles in there is about a four mile road walk with a general store about a third of the way.

Road walks are hard on my feet compared to trail. I tend to try and walk on the shoulder. Luckily much of this one is on dirt roads.

Not much at the general store, but it has snacks and soft drinks and good hearted people who make water available to hikers. At about mile ten the trail leaves the dirt road and heads back into the forest.

The trail no longer crosses the meadow talked about in FarOut as a perfect camping spot but we found a good place as the sun was setting.

We had started after lunch and covered over eleven miles before sunset at five o’clock pm. Our stop was a campsite at between 12.1 and 12.2 miles down the trail and we woke to gentle sporadic rainfall the next morning. We waited the rain out until 8:00 when the sun began to come out.

Then we started hiking again.

Day one of the Ruck

Then it snowed. We had the group hike.

Day two, hiking in the snow

After some thought and checking weather we left Laughing Heart where the temp dropped to 19 degrees and headed South.

Our plan is to do the Pinhoti Trail and avoid the snow.

Video of our morning

We did a quick trail walk. Win helped with bread and brownies for the Ruck.

Great to be back on the Appalachian Trail.

You descend from the ridge towards the town of Hot Springs. Then suddenly, the hostel is there. I was glad to see it in 2019.

Glad to see it again last night as we drove through heavy rain before the wintery mix hit. Got a soak in the hot springs before lunch.

Southern Ruck

Had breakfast before everyone got in.

I think ruck is a great way to describe a meeting or almost convention.

ruck

1 of 2

ˈrək 

1

a

: the usual run of persons or things : GENERALITYtrying to rise above the ruck—Richard Holt

b

: an indistinguishable gathering : JUMBLE

2

: the persons or things following the vanguard

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruck

“Trail” video

So. I got four hours of sleep.

The travel problems with NOTAM and flights meant we were delayed almost 90 minutes out of SLC and arrived at DFW to have our flight out leave as our plane taxied in, leaving us stranded.

With hundreds of others. Hotels all full for miles at every price point.

Airport cleaning crews renewing the flooring in the “quiet” area we were sent to in order to sleep.

No cots or blankets or pillows for us. Yoga center now open only to AA employees. Sleep location access blocked by cleaning crews.

We “camped” at the McDonalds playground. I should have blown up my air mattress but instead I decided to sleep on a bench. Someone was smarter than I was.

I had a guy lay down on the bench next to mine and then flop his feet on my bench and start kicking me in his sleep.

The bench tops could be moved. Mine had already flipped with me on it so I moved it to the floor. Eventually fell asleep until morning travelers came by celebrating life and I bought Win breakfast.

Definitely not how I expected my first night on the trail to go.

The percentages reflect the percentage of this year’s class who indicated that they would “definitely send a resupply box” to each location. Remember, this year’s class agreed upon sending just over nine resupply boxes; I’ve included 10 to give you options (because, you know, hike your own hike, etc).

1. Stehekin* (Washington) 71%
2. White Pass (Washington) 35.6%
3. Stevens Pass/Skykomish (Washington) 32%
4. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon) 31.4%
5. Snoqualmie Pass (Washington) 30.8%
6. Acton KOA/LA RV Resort (Desert) 29.3%
7. Shelter Cove Resort (Oregon) 27.8%
8. Kennedy Meadows (South)^ (Sierra) 26.7%
9. Sierra City (Northern California) 26.1%
10. Warner Springs (Desert) 17.1%

*This is the fourth year in a row Stehekin has been (overwhelmingly) at the top of the list.

Stehekin until the border opens up is a place you need a substantial resupply.

The store there is too small and taking the ferry out and back is time consuming and expensive.

White Pass takes boxes for free and is a ski resort with no resupply.

Shelter Cove seemed to have everyone getting a box.

Kennedy Meadows has a lot of resupply available but if you are mailing your bear canister there it might as well have food in it.

KMN to KMS was perfect for renting a Bear canister since you did not need to mail the rental back and renting was cheaper than shipping your own out.

Now. ?‍♂️ You really need a canister from KMS to Truckee.

(KM=Kennedy Meadows. N= North. S=South).

I’ve written a lot on resupply thoughts (some of which was lost in the site crash). This post just contains the wisdom of crowds and a few comments.

Halfway Anywhere PCT survey results on resupply

Note. KMS is a great place to buy your bear canister and to pick it up if you don’t have one.

ALDHA (American Long Distance Hiking Association) holds their Ruck this week.

https://aldha.org/event-5017779

Then some hiking (where depends on the weather).

Socializing and training for our PCT April start.

And on PCT news, the high Sierras are expecting thirty-six more inches of snow today.

Looks like an incredibly high snow year this year.

https://thetrek.co/pacific-crest-trail/total-cost-of-my-2022-pct-hike-broken-down/?mibextid=Zxz2cZ#comment-292810

Food: $3,672.03 

Meals bought in town: $2,750.76 (Breakfast: $718.09, Dinner: $700.48, Lunch: $661.81)

Alcohol: $362.83

Snacks during town stays: $307.55

Food bought for trail resupplies: $921.27

I found breakfasts just were not worth buying most of the time. 3/4 of their food budget was “town food and beer.”

Travel: $2,199.00 

Flights: $1,873.76 

Public transport while on trail: $159.24 

Trail Angel lift donations: $166

Not bad actually considering where they were flying from (Scotland).

Gear: $4,289.66 

Gear bought before starting trail: $3,264.51

Gear bought while on trail: $1,025.15 (Garmin subscription, shoes x 4, bear canister rental, cold weather additions, etc.)

Not bad either.

Some of her other costs were really low. Her hotels averaged $33.45 a night. She spent only $28.75 on laundry.

But it is great food for thought.

We’ve had snow and a little rain. We’ve been walking the neighborhood. Met some fascinating people.

Blog entry about the desert by a thru hiker working on his second PCT book

The El Niño prediction was a low snow year. To quote an expert:

Hjördis Eykens The state government monitors the snow levels in the Sierra Nevada Mountains because so much of the water for the state comes from that snow pack.

The snow usually starts falling around November 1 and significant snowfall usually ends around April 1. The melt comes later.

There are two numbers that most people keep track of:

1. The percent of snow for the current date compared to the average for that date.
2. The percent of current snow levels in comparison to the typical year on April 1.

In the southern Sierras, for today, we are at 223% of what is considered the average for this date — January 6.

We have already received 90% of what is considered an average amount for an entire season ( the amount usually measured on April 1.)

In an average year, late January, all of February and March are the times of greatest snowfall.

To have so much snow already, on January 6, is crazy.

Last year, there was one massive storm in December that gave us a huge amount of snow .. and then there was not much else later.

This year, because more snow is already in the forecast, I think we are going to have a record-breaking amount of snow. But, I could be wrong

With a low snow year June 1 would be a great time to start the Sierras. With a high year it is a great time to flip up to Truckee and to try to get to the Northern Terminus before the fires hit.

Then flip back to Truckee and head south after mosquito season but before the snow hits.

So yes. Snow is on my mind locally and for the future.

Those are the parts. Below is the kit nested together. Room for a pocket rocket or similar stove in the jar.

Under two dollars. Only about four ounces. The cup holds just over three cups and the cold soak jar (after you eat the ice cream) just over a pint.

Not big enough for two. But fine for one.