My almost 4 year old Panasonic DMC-TZ5 has served me very well. It went with me to the John Muir Trail, the West Coast Trail and a few other shorter trips. It is OK for hiking since I don’t have to keep it in my pants pocket, otherwise its size would make it uncomfortable. For city travel, I would need something smaller. The DMC-TZ5 is also a fully automatic camera, and I’m at a point where I would like to dig a little deeper into photography with more manual controls.

After doing a good amount of research, the new Canon S100 was considered by many the best pocketable “semi-manual” camera out there. It had a few new features over it’s older brother, the S95. The ones that interested me the most was the 1080p vs 720p video, and 5x zoom vs 3.8x zoom. My intention was to wait until the S100 went on sale sometime this year, and buy it then. It’s retail price is $430, not cheap at all for a non-DSLR camera.

One of the things that concern me the most about bringing electronics to a long trip is that I have to be mentally prepared for the possibility that everything can get lost or stolen. I once had a backpack with almost $2,000 worth of stuff in it stolen at the Peru/Bolivia border, and while I don’t intend to have it happen again, the chances are not small in a multi-year trip. The more expensive the stuff, the more it hurts when you lose them. So when the Canon S95 went on sale on Amazon for $229 at the end of last year, I thought about it for like 30 minutes, and came to the conclusion that the extra features of the S100 was not worth an extra $200.

I’m very happy with the S95. There is a Aperture Priority Mode (where shutter speed is adjusted for you), a Shutter Priority Mode (where aperture is adjusted for you), and a Manual Mode you can can freely adjust both. I had read in photography books about shutter speed and aperture size, but having not had prior chance to manually control them, I could never really fully understand them. After playing the S95 for about 15 minutes, I totally understood the relationship between the two. I like the ability to save pictures in RAW format, which allows for more post-processing options (something I know nothing about, but want to learn). I also like how simple, clean, and elegant it looks. I added an $8 GGS Glass Screen Protector which fit perfectly.

Canon S95

Canon S95 with GGS Glass Screen Protector

Things I wish were a bit better is the video recording. Even in 720p mode, it doesn’t look very crisp compared to my old Panasonic, which also recorded in 720p. The 3.8x zoom could also be a bit limiting in some situations but I guess I can always crop the picture later.

Here are 2 pictures I took using Aperture Priority Mode. You can see the different in the blurring of the bottle in the background.

Canon S95 - Aperture Priority Mode Set To f2.0

Canon S95 - Aperture Priority Mode Set To f8.0

I was always a little ashamed to say that in my 15 years of living in the United States, I had never visited New York City. This all changed in late March when a friend of mine was going for 4 days and invited me to tag along. The main excuse for the trip was to watch the soccer friendly match between Argentina and USA.

I was able to able to get round trip tickets from Los Angeles on short notice using 25k airline miles. Not bad at all even though the first flight had a stopover in Chicago.

I arrived at the airport at 9am and after my flight was delayed twice, the airline was able to switch me to a direct flight departing in 10 minutes. I’m glad I didn’t have any checked baggage. At almost 6 hours, the flight was long and uncomfortable. When we arrived at the New York City, the plane circled over the JFK airport for a while waiting for authorization to land before running low on fuel and heading to Boston to refuel. With all the endless delays on that day, I didn’t get out of the airport until past midnight.

It was 30ºF and I realized that I hadn’t packed enough clothes. After a long cab ride, I arrived and met my friend (who had arrived earlier in the day) at a Brooklyn hotel.

I spent the next 4 days trying to sight see as much as I could since my time was limited. Not my favorite way to travel, as I like to do things in a more leisurely pace.

The next day (Thursday) was spent crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, walking around Manhattan and meeting my friend Cindy for dinner and drinks. Check out her blog on travel and NYC food.

Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge

Manhattan

One of the new World Trade Center towers

Statue of Liberty from Battery Park

Wall Street

The scene of so many movies: Grand Central Station.

Grand Central Station

Super crowded Time Square.

Time Square

Time Square

On Friday, we visited what according to many is the best pizza place in NY: Di Fara in Broolyn. The place is family owned and very small with only about 3 tables. Every pizza is hand tossed by the owner and the wait was over 2 hours during lunch hour. It was worth it though.

Later on, I visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Since there was only 2 hours to go until closing, I had to rush through everything, but I was able to see all the most significant paintings. I saw a lot of the paintings you see in most art history books. Very impressive. I also found a curious set of photographs by Chinese photographer Ai WeiWei. At the time I didn’t know anything about him. Apparently, he is quite controversial and was arrested by the Chinese government a few days later.

Ai WeiWei photographs

Ai WeiWei photographs

Saturday afternoon was spent at Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met). This place can rival the best museums in Europe. I spent 4 hours there and barely scratched the surface. I’ve never seen so many Van Gogh paintings under one roof except at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Van Gogh paintings at The Met

Saturday night was the main event: the soccer match between Argentina and USA. I had to root for Argentina since I grew up and lived 15 years there. It was my first chance to see Lionel Messi, the best player in the world. The match took place at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey. The traffic to the stadium was horrible and we were 10 minutes late. It ended in a 1-1 tie.

Lionel Messi

Argentina vs USA. 1-1 at the New Meadowlands Stadium

The return trip to New York was a terrible experience. We stood in a very long line in the parking lot in 25°F temperature with strong winds waiting to ride the bus.

I was so impressed with The Met that I had to return to the museum on Sunday. I then took a quick stroll through Central Park before heading to the airport.

All in all, I really enjoyed NYC. It’s a place where I’d love to live if it wasn’t for the very cold weather. I liked the fact what you can walk and take public transport to go anywhere. The museums really impressed me. I know that there so many places that I haven’t seen which means that I’ll have to return eventually for a longer trip.

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 5 – Camper Bay to Thrasher Cove

Journal entry for August 17, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 5 miles, 8 km.

West Coast Trail - Day 6

Woke up a little bit after 8am. Monika & Marie were already up, and most campers had already packed up and left. We said good bye to Kirk, who left before us. There is an impressive set of ladders right behind the beach.

Thrasher Cove ladders

The ladders are followed by a steep set of switchbacks. It’s mostly uphill until around km 73. The trail then flattens out, with a few hills mixed in. It is mostly forest with large tree roots. Muddy in some areas but mostly dry. The last 2 km seemed to take forever. Marie was a little grouchy, I think she had gotten tired of the weight of her backpack.

Last few kilometers

We arrived at km 75, the end of the trail, at 1:10pm.

Km 75. The end.

Km 75. Nice bed hair.

Km 75. The end.

We laid down for a few minutes, waiting for the ferry to pick us up. The road back to civilization is on the other side of Gordon River, which can only be crossed by ferry. By the way, the fee for the two ferries on the trail were already included in the price of the WCT permit.

Gordon River ferry

Since I had finished the hike 1 day early, I could have stayed until 4:30pm to see if the West Coast Trail Express bus had a free spot for me, but since girls had a car and were driving to Vancouver that day, they were nice enough to offer to drop me off at Victoria.

Once back in Victoria, I checked back into the the same hostel I had stayed prior to the hike. I really didn’t want to spend any more time in that town though. I had already spent 2 days there before the hike, and I still had two more days to go until my flight. I had a couple of friends from Argentina who were visiting the United States at the time. They were going to stay with me in California once I got flew back from Canada, but they were in Las Vegas at that moment. I decided to change my plane ticket and fly there the next morning. It was a huge contrast to go from camping at Thrasher Cove one day, to the totally artificial world that is Las Vegas the next day.

In conclusion, I had a lot of fun hiking the West Coast Trail. The first 2 days were a little underwhelming, but the last 4 days were very enjoyable. I certainly spoiled it a little bit by doing the Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike the previous week. Even though the Shi Shi Beach hike doesn’t have the amazing WCT ladders and bridges, the landscapes are very similar to each other.

I also found the hike much easier than I anticipated it to be, especially after having watched this documentary during my planning stages. I’m sure that having 6 sunny days helped a lot on the difficulty level, to the point that I almost feel I didn’t get the full WCT experience since I didn’t get any rain. Monika & Marie’s struggles with their heavy backpacks despite being excellent athletes makes me believe that my light backpack was also a big factor. After spending over a month of total decadence in Argentina prior to the hike, I started it in pretty bad physical shape, but the only day in which I felt really tired was Day 3 after a 21 km day. I wished the trail was longer, maybe twice as long. When it ended, I wasn’t even missing civilization that much, like it did towards the end of the John Muir Trail.

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 4 – Carmanah Creek to Camper Bay

Journal entry for August 16, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 5 miles, 8 km.

West Coast Trail - Day 5

I had set up the alarm for 7:30am, but woke up a half hour earlier instead to the noise everybody else was making in camp. I packed up quickly and hiked together with Monika and Marie. I switched my 15 lb (6-7 kg) with Marie’s 50-60 lb (23-27 kg) backpack for the first mile or so. What a difference it made. I had to focus on every step I took just to keep my balance.

Hiking through forest

In order to get to the last campsite at Thrasher Cove, one can go inland or take the beach instead. The beach route goes through Owen Point, which can’t be passed during high tide. We had timed it so that we would get there during low tide. There are two spots where one can access the beach from the trail. We took Beach Access “B” at km 66. Apparently there is a very dangerous slope between Beach Access “A” and “B”, so it’s safer to take the later one.

Beach around km 66

The beach section was a lot of fun. The hiking is mostly over rocks instead of sand. There was one surge channel about 1 meter wide that we had to jump over. We soon run into another hiking group in front of us.

Jumping over surge channel

We run into another hiking group

We then arrived at another much wider surge channel. This one looked like it would require an Olympic long jumper to handle it, but luckily there was a way around it.

Wide surge channel

West Coast Trail

West Coast Trail

West Coast Trail

We arrived at Owen Point around 11:30am during low tide. The views were great and there was a little island about 100 meters into the ocean with lots of sea lions on it. We stayed there for a while and ate lunch.

Owen Point

Owen Point

Owen Point

The last section before Thrasher Cove involves a lot of hopping over large boulders and walking over logs. I had a lot of fun despite the hot relentless sun. My gloves were very useful in helping me handle the boulders.

Marie, boulder hopping

We got stuck behind a very slow group with no easy way to go around them. We almost didn’t beat the rising tide in one section.

Walking behind a very slow group

Thrasher Cove is a very nice beach, but it doesn’t really have enough spots for tents for the large amount of people that camp there. We arrived early around 2pm and had the whole afternoon and evening to sit around and enjoy.

Both Monika and Marie lived in Alberta at the time, but Marie is originally from Quebec. According to her, French Canadians are generally loud and like to joke around a lot. So she was indeed giving me an introduction to French Canadians, since she was the first one I’ve ever met.

Once the sun stopped hitting the beach directly around 4pm, it started to get a little bit foggy and chilly. We run into Kirk again and ended up sharing a campfire. It was very foggy during sunset, so I wasn’t able to take any decent pictures.

Camping at Thrasher Cove

Marie, Kurk, Monika and me at Thrasher Cove

Next entry: Day 6 – Thrasher Cove to Gordon River
West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 3 – Tsusiat Falls to Carmanah Creek

Journal entry for August 15, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 10 miles, 16 km.

West Cost Trail - Day 4

I woke up around 8am to the scorching sun hitting my tent.

Carmanah Creek campsite

Just for fun, I decided to take the cable car that goes over the Carmanah Creek campsite. I could have easily crossed the creek by jumping over it on the beach. This particular cable car required a lot more pulling than the previous one I rode.

Carmanah Creek cable car

I didn’t enjoy much the next 7 km on the beach. My pace on the sand was slow, and the sun was killing me. I run into Kristin and her two friends, who I had met on the bus out of Victoria. They were all having a great time. After a brief chat, we went our separate ways.

Crab on the beach

Mussels

Lots of whale watching boats

According to both my guidebook and map, the beach section after Walbran Creek is very dangerous. It is highly recommended to take the inland trail instead, so I did. Once again, lots of boardwalk sections on the trail, with some minor root climbing mixed in.

Root climbing

Hiking over logs

There is a huge set of ladders going down to the amazing Logan Creek Bridge. On the other side there’s another huge set of ladders going up.

Logan Creek Bridge

Logan Creek Bridge

Logan Creek Bridge

The trail after Logan Creek became very muddy and full of huge tree roots. I loved this section because it was fun to figure out how to deal with the terrain without getting mud into my shoes. I crossed Cullite Creek by cable car. I think this was the shortest cable car on the whole trail.

The next 4 km to Camper Bay was even more muddy, which I enjoyed even more. I much preferred this type of terrain to beach hiking. There was also one section that was different from anywhere else on the trail. It was wide open with no trees.

Wide open section

I arrived at Camper Bay around 6pm. The campsite is strange in that it is about 100 meters from the ocean, but you can’t really see it because the view is blocked. There were already a huge number of tents set up. While looking for a spot to set up mine, a gentleman asked me “Are you Kevin?”. It turned out that he had read this blog while planning for the WCT. He had googled “West Coast Trail” and “Ultralight” and had found my WTC Packing List post. Our dates coincided and we were going in opposite directions, so he knew he would probably run into an Asian hiker with a light backpack. Him and his wife were the only ultralight hikers I run into on the trail.

I shared a campfire with Kurk, a guy from the area. Later on, Monika and Marie arrived at the campsite and joined us.

Before this day, I had enjoyed the trail but was not overly impressed by it. I had a lot of fun this day, and it changed my opinion completely.

The plan for the next day was to get up early at 7:30am (early for me, normal for most people) so that I could arrive at Owen Point during low tide. A lot of people coming from the opposite direction told me that it was a must see.

Next entry: Day 5 – Camper Bay to Thrasher Cove
West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 2 – Darling River to Tsusiat Falls

Journal entry for August 14, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 13 miles, 21 km.

West Coast Trail - Day 3

While looking at the map the previous night, I decided I was going to finish the trail in 6 days instead of the originally planned 7 days. The weather was good and I had so far found the trail relatively easy. The plan for the day was to hike 21 km to Carmanah Creek.

Seagulls by Tsusiat Falls

I left Tsusiat Falls and started hiking around 10:20am. I chose to hike on the beach instead of the trail. My pace was slowed by the loose dry sand and the wind blowing into me. I joined the trail around km 29. The next 2 km has a little bit of elevation change, and in some sections, the boardwalk was in pretty bad shape.

I arrived at Nitinat Narrows which is only passable by ferry. After a 5 minute wait, the ferry came and picked me up.

Waiting for the Nitinat Narrows ferry

On the other side, I found Nick and Lorna, along with Steve and his group of 6 hikers. There’s a little stall where they sell soft drinks and serve cooked fresh crab. I didn’t feel like eating crab so I only grab a can of Coke. I wanted to save my appetite for later in the day at Chez Monique, a burger place by the beach.

I stayed at Nininat Narrows for a while before saying goodbye to Nick and Lorna, who were ending their hike there, and were waiting for a ferry that would take them back to civilization later in the day.

The next section of the trail has a lot of boardwalk, which means fast hiking. Some sections were completely destroyed and new boardwalk had been installed.

New boardwalk going around old destroyed sections

Boardwalk in pretty bad shape

Tree root climbing

I saw some bear and cougar warning signs which got me a little paranoid, but fortunately I didn’t run into any.

Bear and cougar warning

I decided to take the beach access at km 36. After 1 km, I rejoined the inland trail.

Makeshift chair by the beach

A bit after km 41, I arrived at Cribs Creek campsite. A good number people were camping here but I moved on.

Looking back at Cribs Creek campsite

More beach walking until a little after km 43, where I rejoin the trail. Shortly after, I arrive at Carmanah Lighthouse.

Restroom sign

Carmanah Lighthouse

Access back to the beach is through a steep set of ladders. While climbing down these ladders, I could see the cooking smoke coming out of Chez Monique from a distance. I started to fantasize about the cheeseburger I was about to eat.

Steep ladders to the beach

Chez Monique

Chez Monique is the only restaurant on the trail. They are famous for their cheeseburgers. They have a little farm on the back of the restaurant where they grow their own vegetables. They also had about 5-6 WWOOFers who were helping out on the farm and restaurant.  A buffet dinner was available for $30, but I ordered the $20 burger instead. I didn’t want to stay long since it was already almost 6pm and I still had another 2 km to hike. The burger was very very good. It was huge but I must have finished it in less than 2 minutes.

Strange rock on the beach

I arrived at Carmanah Creek campsite a little bit before Monika and Marie got there. I had briefly run into them at Carmanah Lighthouse early in the day. Both of them run marathons and triathlons, so they were in pretty good physical shape. But both them said that they had packed too much stuff and were struggling with their heavy backpacks. They invited me to join their campfire later in the night. I would end up hiking the last 2 days with them.

Carmanah Creek cable car

Deer by Carmanah Creek campsite

Carmanah Lighthouse from a distance

Next entry: Day 4 – Carmanah Creek to Camper Bay
West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 1 – Pachena Bay to Darling River

Journal entry for August 13, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 6.8 miles, 11 km.

West Coast Trail - Day 2 Map

After sleeping very well, I woke up a little bit after 9am. The fog had cleared and the weather was great. I was able to see a couple of whales deep in the sea. They were hard to spot from a distance though. Looking south, I could see the Olympic Peninsula.

Darling River campsite

Darling River campsite

The tide was low so I tried to walk a little bit closer to the sea to get a better look of the whales. While going there, I found a bunch of tide pools with lots of starfish in them.

Starfish

The first 2 1/2 km out of Darling River campsite is all beach hiking. At the end of this section there was what looked like a ranger station,  and right by it, part of a shipwreck.

Shipwreck

I joined the trail inland and crossed Tsocowis Creek by bridge.

Tsocowis Creek

The terrain became more rugged than the previous day.

Where's the trail?

I stayed for a  while at the Valencia Bluffs lookout, looking for the remains of a shipwreck, but I found nothing. Maybe it was due to the high tide at the moment. Moving on, I found a “grader” next to the trail.

Grader by the trail

I rejoined the beach around km 20. The temperature was high and the sun was punishing with the absence of shade. The following 3 km to Klanawa River is all beach hiking, with one section that is only passable at tides below 2.7m. Since the tide was quickly rising, I wondered for a moment if I was going to get caught by it, but ended up managing just fine.

Klanawa River could have been easily forded through the beach, but this one my first chance to use one of the cable cars.

Klanawa River cable car

Klanawa River cable car

The cable car was a lot of fun. It stops halfway, and you have to pull the cable the rest of the way to reach the other side. I would recommend using gloves for this.

The next 2 km or so are to Tsusiat Falls are inland and mostly on boardwalks. In some sections, the boardwalks were either slippery, and/or in pretty bad shape. There is a nice lookout point with a bench to sit on. I was told to look for whales there, but couldn’t find any during my 20 minute break.

Bench with nice views

There is a nice set of ladders right before Tsusiat Falls.

Ladders going down to Tsusiat Falls

Tsusiat Falls

Tsusiat Falls campsite

There were already a good number of people at the campsite when I got there around 5pm. It is a huge campsite though, with plenty of space for lots of tents. I pick a spot right next to Nick and Lorna, who I had met the previous day. Since it was late in the summer, the water stream coming down the falls was somewhat weak. It was still perfect for the nice shower I took underneath it.

I met Stephan from Germany, who was also doing the hike solo, although going the opposite direction. He was one of the very few solo hikers I met on the WCT. I’d later run into him again at the hostel in Victoria.

The weather was beautiful. I ate dinner with Nick and Lorna. I learned that Nick is a writer and Lorna is an actress. They were visiting the area and decided in the last minute to do the WCT, although they only had enough time to do half of it. Their hike was ending the next day at Nitinah Lake. We shared a campfire and stayed outside well after it got dark.

Sunset by Tsusiat Falls

Sunset by Tsusiat Falls

Next Entry: Day 3 – Tsusiat Falls to Carmanah Creek
West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Victoria, Canada

Journal entry for August 12, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 8.7 miles, 14 km.

With great anticipation, I woke up at 5:20am to catch the 6:15am bus that would take me from Victoria to the West Coast Trail Pachena Bay trail head. I tried to make as little noise as possible to not wake up my other hostel roommates. I took one last shower, knowing that I was not going to be taking another one for a long while. While checking out of the hostel at the front of desk, I see two sisters getting ready to leave too. As expected, they were also doing the WCT, but unlike me, they were going northbound, from Gordon River to Pachena Bay.

Weather forecasts predicted a whole week of sunny days with almost zero chance of rain. It looked like I had gotten very lucky.

For a moment I thought I was going to be late to the bus stop, but I ended up making it there 10 minutes early. There were already about 20 people there. They all looked happy and excited.

West Coast Trail Express

Once on the bus, I sat next to Kristin, who along with two friends, was doing the northbound hike. The drive to Gordon River takes about 2 hours and it’s pretty smooth. About 70% of the people got off the bus there. I said goodbye to the 3 girls and we estimated to run into each other on day 3 or 4 of our hikes. From there to the northern trail head is another 2 hours, but the terrain becomes much rougher. Many sections are not paved and it’s only wide enough for one vehicle at the time. When huge logging trucks came from the opposite direction, our bus had to move over to allow them to pass. We arrived at Pachena Bay at 12:35pm.

During the 40 minute orientation, they told us which restrooms on the trail were out of commission, how to identify animal tracks, which areas had no water, etc. They gave me a waterproof map and and tide table, and taught me how to use it. On my way out of the Information Center, I met an older lady who had just finished the hike, she was very happy but a little delirious because of how exhausted she was.

Backpack, hiking pokes and hat

West Coast Trail - Day 1 Map

At exactly 2:12pm, I started my West Coast Trail adventure. Right away, I saw signs warning about tsunamis.

Pachena Bay trail head

Tsunami warning

Being only about 30 miles away from the location where I did the Shi Shi Beach Hike, the landscape is almost identical: green moist forest and sharp cliffs. The first section was very easy on excellent boardwalks. Shortly after the start, I see the first set of the famous WCT ladders. I was very excited to try my hands on them.

Wooden boardwalks

West Coast Trail

Two kilometers down, 73 to go

Slugs

Despite the dry weather, some sections were still very muddy from previous rainfall. Since I was wearing non-waterproof trail runners, I tried to go around the mud.

West Coast Trail

After hiking inland for a while with no views of the ocean, I finally got a first peek of it in an area with lots of sea lions.

West Coast Trail

Sea lions

Sea lions

At km 10 I reach the Pachena Lighthouse. The fog was heavy so visibility was very low.

Pachena Lighthouse

Pachena Lighthouse

Pachena Lighthouse

Pachena Lighthouse

The first campsite is at Michigan Creek at km 12, I got there a bit before 6pm. There were already about 7 tents set up there.

Michigan Creek campsite

I decided to go to the next campsite which was 2 km further down. On the way there, I run into at least 20 hikers going the opposite way, they were all finishing the hike the following day and were going to camp at Michigan Creek that night. I run into two young American guys and we chatted for a bit. They turned out to be the only Americans I met on the trail.

I arrived at Darling River campsite around 6:15pm. There was no one around. It is very close to a creek (i.e. fresh water) and there was plenty of firewood around. Nick and Lorna, two young Canadians who rode the same bus that morning, got there a little bit later. They were followed by a group of 6 hikers who were also on the bus.

There is a bear locker by the campsite and an ultra deluxe compost toilet.

Bear locker

Amazing compost toilet

Because of my repeated failures in starting fires in the past (latest incident was on the Shi Shi Beach Hike), I spent a little time on google a few days before trying to learn how to do it property. I was able to start one right away. I stayed by the fire until around 10pm before retiring to my tent.

Day 1 was in the books. It had been a easy and pleasant start.

Darling River campsite

Next Entry: Day 2 – Darling River to Tsusiat Falls
West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail

Planning
Packing List
Day 1 – Pachena Bay to Darling River
Day 2 – Darling River to Tsusiat Falls
Day 3 – Tsusiat Falls to Carmanah Creek
Day 4 – Carmanah Point to Camper Bay
Day 5 – Camper Bay to Thrasher Cove
Day 6 – Thrasher Cove to Gordon River

Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail

Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Day 3 – Shi Shi Beach and Hitchhiking to Port Angeles

Journal entry for August 8-11, 2010.

After finishing the Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach hike and hitchhiking back to Port Angeles, I spent the rest of the day there waiting for next day’s ferry to Victoria, Canada.

Victoria Express ferry

Victoria Express ferry

Victoria Express ferry

I took the Victoria Express ferry, which was cheaper than the Black Ball ferry. Apparently, the Victoria Express was later acquired by Black Ball, and it is not in service anymore.

The ferry ride was enjoyable. The weather was cold and windy in Port Angeles in the morning, but when I arrived at Victoria, it was sunny and very warm. Going through customs was quick and easy. I then walked the 15 blocks from the ferry terminal to the Ocean Island Hostel.

I checked into my room and found out that it was way too small to fit 3 bunk beds and a large refrigerator. They were fitting 6 people into a small bedroom. Three of the people in there were staying long term, which meant that they had a lot of stuff scattered around the room. All in all, I wasn’t impressed, especially since I was paying $22/night. I was glad to be relocated to a different room the following night, with mostly tourists backpackers instead of long term residents.

Over the next few days, I met a lot of interesting people in the hostel. One 19-year old girl had hitchhiked across Canada by herself. There was an English girl who had been backpacking around the world for 2 years, and was soon going home. An German guy was traveling across Canada and made money by picking fruit in farms from time to time.

Some of the sites I visited included the Parliament building, the Royal BC Museum (very impressive), and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour

Parliament

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf

I had a good time in Victoria, even though I found everything to be very expensive. I do think I spent too many days here. Maybe 2 days instead of 4 would have been perfect.

Next entry: West Coast Trail Day 1 – Pachena Bay to Darling River
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 2 – Ozette River Crossing to Shi Shi Beach

Journal entry for August 7, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 3 miles, 4.8 km.

It started raining in the middle of the night. Not a strong rain, but a constant one. I packed up quickly and walked the 0.5 mile to the northern end of Shi Shi Beach, where the trail head is. On the way there, I spotted lots of starfish stuck on the rocks.

Starfish on Shi Shi Beach

Starfish on Shi Shi Beach

Starfish on Shi Shi Beach

Shi Shi Beach

One last look at Shi Shi Beach

There is a recently constructed 2.5 mile trail to a parking lot by Hatchery Rd, which is the only road that goes to Shi Shi beach. The trail starts with a very steep climb, before flattening out. In many parts it was extremely muddy, but I still enjoyed hiking it. I made sure to look around and enjoy the green forest scenery. I didn’t take pictures though because I didn’t want my camera to get wet.

Unlike from Port Angeles to the start of my hike, I wasn’t able to organize a shuttle to pick me up and return to Port Angeles. No buses came to this area. The closest they go to is to Neah Bay, which is about 12 miles north, so I was hoping to hitch a ride there. When I reached the small parking lot, I only saw 3 cars. I was expecting a lot of activity with people arriving and leaving, but that was not the case. Time was very tight, since the only Saturday morning bus leaves Neah Bay at 9:50am, and it was already 9:15am. 10 minutes later I see 3 people finishing the hike and arriving at the parking lot, but they told me that they had no space in their car. I stand there in the rain for about 30 minutes, there was no traffic whatsoever, so I decided to started walking the road.

Hatchery Road

I had never hitchhiked before, except for when I finished the John Muir Trail one year before. I wouldn’t really call that one instance real hitchhiking, since it was under different circumstances (everybody at Whitney Portal were hikers leaving for Lone Pine) and I was able to get a ride within 1 minute. This day was very different. It was still raining, but the rain gear kept me dry, except for my feet. I was having fun walking through the countryside, I could see the ocean from time to time, and there were a few small houses and farms on the side of the road. I felt a real sense of adventure, walking into the unknown. I walked about 3 miles, with about 10 cars passing and ignoring me. I started to wonder if I was going to be able to get a ride at all. Finally, a gentleman named Justin picked me up in his pickup truck. He was on his way to Neah Bay. He was very nice, and told me he had lived the area his entire life. I got to Neah Bay around 10am, way too late to catch the bus.

Port Angeles was still 80 miles away. Neah Bay is a very small town, but the road that goes through it had a fair amount of traffic. I walked to the edge of the town and stuck my thumb out again. Within a minute Paul picked me up on his new-looking Range Rover. I felt bad getting his leather seats wet, but he told me he didn’t mind. Paul is originally from England, but is now living in Neah Bay working as the captain of a cruise ship that goes all the way to Alaska. He was driving to Clallam Bay, 20 miles away, to rent a couple of DVDs. There was no other closer place for him to do this, and he had no cable or TV signal where he lived. He also had hiked the previous week the same hike I had just finished.

Paul left me at Clallam Bay, where I resumed my hitchhiking adventures. I got picked up again within a minute, this time by Robert in an old pickup truck. I was starting to see the pattern: if you a single guy, only single male drivers will pick you up. Families and single female drivers will look at you with distrust, understandably. Paul is a fisherman who had just spent the previous 4 days on a fishing boat. He was nice enough to do a little detour to show me a small waterfall, the Elwha Dam, and spectacular Lake Crescent with its crystal clear water.

Waterfall

Lake Crescent

Lake Crescent

Robert dropped me off at the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles, where I returned my bear canister. I thanked him for the huge favor he had done for me, and said good bye. I then walked the 20 blocks or so back to The Downtown Hotel, and spent the night watching TV.

I really enjoyed the Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach hike. It was completely different from anything I had done before, and it was more challenging and fun than I had expected. The hitchhiking was a lot of fun too, and I was lucky to meet three very nice and interesting people. I enjoyed learning about their way of life that is very different than the one I see everyday in Los Angeles.

The whole area of the Olympic Peninsula is just gorgeous. I feel that I barely scratched its surface, so I hope I’ll get another chance to return in the future.

Next entry: Victoria, Canada
Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal.

Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 1 – Lake Ozette to Ozette River Crossing

Journal entry for August 6, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 8.1 miles, 13.0 km.

I woke up a bit before 9am, after almost 11 hours of sleep. The outside of the tent was very wet. The fog was very thick and because of this, there was a very light but constant drizzle. I did the usual morning camp chores and went to get some water from Ozette River. The ocean tide was high and it looked like it was pushing the river water inland. It was impossible to scoop water without me actually getting into the water. I felt lazy and gave up, deciding to get some more water down the road. This proved to be a mistake.

I broke camp at 10:30am. The first section was mostly sand beaches and what seemed to be a thick layer of dried seaweed.

Dried ocean seaweed

Dried ocean seaweed

I soon reached tree huge fallen trees.

Fallen trees

The terrain then got much rougher. Way more than I expected. Lots of boulder hopping required.

Boulder hopping

Boulder hopping

I met a father and his three kids in this section. They were a little bit ahead of me when I got careless and made a long jump and landed on a big slippery and uneven rock. I slipped and my right shin drove right into the sharp edge of another rock. The pain was excruciating and at first, I thought I had broken bones. After I was able to sit down and examine the wound, I realized that it was just a very deep scrape (I still got a large visible scar four months later). After a few minutes, the father of the kids came back to check on me. That was a very nice gesture. Luckily I was fine, and after cleaning and patching up the wound, I was good to go.

I reached, a bit too early, a point where a tide of 4 feet or lower was required to pass. The high tide had been at 10:30am and it was still going down. I could either walk through 2 feet of water for a very short section, or climb up a huge rock and make a long jump that, just minutes after my slip, seemed like a dangerously horrible idea. As I was trying to decide what to do, I looked around me and realized that I was surrounded by tide pools full of starfish. I had seen pictures of starfish on Shi Shi Beach, but this was the first time I saw them on the hike. I stayed there for over an hour checking them out and snapping pictures.

The elusive purple starfish. I only saw one of them.

Starfish

Starfish

Starfish

Starfish

Olympic coast

Some more rough terrain followed before hitting one of two impassable headlands. For each of them, there are trails inland that can only be reached by climbing very steep hills. Luckily, they are have ropes installed.

Olympic coast

Impassable headland

The two trails are short and go through some very wet forest. At same points, the trail is hard to follow, but there are red fluorescent markers on the trees to guide you to the right direction. There are a few lookouts with spectacular views.

Trail markers

Olympic coast

After I descended by rope from the second trail I was, without knowing at first, already at Shi Shi Beach.

Point of the Arches

Point of the Arches

Shi Shi Beach

Shi Shi Beach

At 2.3 miles, it is a very long beach. There were already a good number of tents set up. I finally found a stream of water from which to get water from. I hadn’t found any water source since Ozette River in the morning. I’ve only had about 10 oz (300 cc) of water all day, which was what I had leftover from the previous night. I walked down the beach to get closer to the trail head so that I wouldn’t have to walk as much the following morning. I set up camp about 100 yards from a large group of campers and ate dinner. For about 1 1/2 hour, I tried to start a fire but failed miserably. I’m sure the constant light drizzle was a factor, but I never really learned how to property start a fire. I vowed to do some internet research before the West Coat Trail the following week. This could one day be a life or death situation during an emergency.

It got dark, and with no fire, I decided to get into my tent. I soon as I get into my sleeping bag, I hear a female voice outside: “Hello? Hello?”. It was a girl from the group about 100 yards away. She asked me if I needed help starting a fire. I thanked her, but it was already 9pm and I think I was ready for bed. She told me that if I needed anything I could go to them. You meet the nicest people on the trail.

Next entry: Day 3 – Shi Shi Beach and Hitchhiking to Port Angeles
Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Port Angeles, Washington

Journal entry for August 5, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 5.4 miles, 8.7 km.

Willie from All Points Charters and Tours came to pick me up at 8am at my Port Angeles hotel. We went to the Wilderness Information Center to pick up my permit and rent a bear canister, which is required for the hike. They also gave me a tide table and explained to me how to use it. It was a very foggy day but the 2-hour drive was beautiful. What caught my attention was how green everything was. Willie had lived in this area for a long time and told me a lot about about the history and wildlife of the region. When I talked to him on the phone a week before asking for a shuttle to the Lake Ozette trail head, he mentioned that another group of 3 was making the same trip on the same day. We had agreed on a fee which was cheap for me because I was sharing a ride. The group never showed up and Willie never mentioned about charging more. I felt bad and decided to pay him a bit more than what we had agreed on. I definitely didn’t want him to wake up early, drive back and forth for 4 hours and actually lose money.

We got to Lake Ozette a little bit before 11am and I was very excited to finally start hiking.

Trailhead

The 3.1 mile hike to the coast was flat and easy on very well constructed boardwalks.

The beginning

Tall thin trees

As I got close to the Pacific Ocean, it got more and more damp and humid. The sounds of waves and the ocean smell were getting stronger and stronger until I finally saw the beach. The views were spectacular.

First view of the Pacific Ocean

Ozette Island in the background

Cape Alava

I sat down to eat some Peanut M&Ms and a raccoon was circling me from a distance, looking for a chance to steal them from me. All this beach hiking was new to me. There is no trail most of the time, so you just walk by the water, looking for wet packed sand to sink as little as possible. I saw a little interesting island called Tskawahyah Island which was accessible in the low tide. I got close until I saw a sign asking people to not climb it since it is a sacred place for the Native Americans. I turned around and continued north.

Tskawahyah Island

Colorful rocks on the beach

Olympic Coast

Some sections of the beach were impassable, so there were short trails inland to go around. To reach these trails, I had to climb up steep hills using the installed ropes.

Ropes to reach inland trails

I soon realized that I was hiking faster than I expected. Despite slowing down and trying to enjoy my surroundings as much as possible, I got to my intended campsite at Ozette River way too early, at around 2pm. There were already 2 groups of campers, one on each side of the river. Fording the river was easy, the water only reached halfway up my shins.

Ozette River

Seagulls by the beach

Seagull

I decided to relax and stop for the day. Filtered some water and walked around the campsite. There are some camping spots on solid ground away from the beach, but you can’t see the ocean from there. Looking for better views, I decided to camp on the sand instead, hoping that the high tide (which according to the tide table was arriving in the middle of the night) wouldn’t reach my spot. One thing I noticed on the coast is how much trash is washed up from the ocean. There is a pit toilet a short walk away from the beach. Fortunately I didn’t have to use it.

Trash washup up from the ocean

Directions to the toilet

It had been chilly all throughout the day, the fog was so thick that I never saw the sun. I collected some firewood and started a fire to provide some warmth.

Camping by Ozette River

View from inside the tent

I stayed out reading maps and catching up on my journal until it got dark, and retired to my tent around 8pm. I thought the sound of the ocean waves would bother me at night, but it proved to be very soothing as I fell asleep.

It felt good to be camping again, it had been almost a year since the John Muir Trail.

Next entry: Day 2 – Ozette River Crossing to Shi Shi Beach
Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

Olympic Coast

Planning
Packing List
Day 1 – Lake Ozette to Ozette River Crossing
Day 2 – Ozette River Crossing to Shi Shi Beach
Day 3 – Shi Shi Beach and Hitchhiking to Port Angeles

Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Seattle, Washington

Journal entry for August 4, 2010.

Ferry out of Seattle

Ferry out of Seattle

The bus hopped on the MV Walla Walla ferry on the way out of Seattle. The almost 4-hour bus ride was smooth and scenic.

Once in Port Angeles,  I checked into my room at The Downtown Hotel and went out for a walk. Port Angeles is a pretty small town, and there’s really not much to do. Most of the stores were closed by 6pm. I walked around the port for a while before heading to a grocery store to buy some water, Gatorate, and food for the night.

Port Angeles

Port Angeles

Port Angeles

Port Angeles

I spent the night watching TV and making the last preparations for the Shi Shi Beach hike, which I was starting the following day. I called the shuttle service that was going to take me to the trail head, they were picking me up at 8am. I put the stuff that I wasn’t taking to the hike into the small backpack that I had brought. The hotel had agreed to hold it for me until I returned from the hike.

Next entry: Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Day 1 – Lake Ozette to Ozette River Crossing
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Amtrak Coast Starlight (Los Angeles to Seattle)

Journal entry for August 2-4, 2010.

After getting out of the train station, I decided to walk the 12 blocks or so to the hostel instead of taking the bus. It was a pleasant night and I figured that walking would be a good way to get an introduction to the city.

City Hostel Seattle is located in an area of the city with lots of nightlife. The street is full of restaurants and bars. It is the nicest hostel I have ever visited. Everything looks very new and clean. There’s free internet, a movie room and a lounge room downstairs, another room with lots of books, DVDs and board games. Each dorm room is painted by a different local artist. There are about 3-4 shared restrooms on each floor.

I got into my room and found 2 girls from Korea who barely said ‘Hello’ back to me.

City Hostel Seattle

City Hostel Seattle

I dropped my bags and headed downstairs. In the movie room there were a group of Norwegian guys who were about to start watching American Psycho. I decided to stick around and more people joined us later on. This all brought back memories of my European trip in 2002. I hadn’t stayed in a hostel since then.

The next day, I woke up around 9am and contemplated getting up to go get the free breakfast (served until 10am), but decided to get some more sleep. I ended up waking up around 10:30, the Korean girls had already packed up and left. I made my way to Pike Place Market.

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market

The market was a little too crowded, making it hard to walk around. I got a ridiculously expensive Turkish kebab for lunch. Most of the food I found in the area was pretty pricey.

The original Starbucks store is also around the market. I didn’t go inside because there were way too many people.

Original Starbucks store

Original Starbucks store

I headed back to the hostel to grab something and met one of my new roommates for the night. Ann was from North Carolina and had gone to Seattle to see a Joanna Newsom concert. That’s being a dedicated fan.

I needed to get to REI to get a topographic map of the Olympic peninsula for the Shi Shi Beach hike. On the way there, I stopped by the Space Needle but didn’t feel like paying $18 to get to the top. I’m backpacking after all, and should be on a backpacking budget.

Space Needle

Science Fiction Museum

It was a long walk to REI. Good warm up for the upcoming hikes. This particular REI was the biggest and most impressive I have ever seen. It even had a outdoor mountain bike test trail. Despite the thousands of items inside the store, they didn’t have the map I was looking for in stock, but they did tell me that a map store by Pike Place Market had it in stock.

Back at the hostel, I run into Ann again and we had a long pleasant chat until midnight or so. She was trying to stay up late to fight jet lag. My two other roommates turned out to be brothers from Alamaba. Probably two of the nicest and most courteous guys I’ve ever met.

I didn’t sleep well that night. Tossed and turned a lot. I got up in time to have breakfast with my roommates. I went to the map store and got the map I need before heading to the Greyhound Terminal to catch the Dungeness Line bus to Port Angeles. I was very lucky because I had not made a reservation and there was only two seats left on the bus.

Next entry: Port Angeles, Washington
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

Journal entry for August 1-2, 2010.

Amtrak's Coast Starlight

The night before the trip, I had to wrap up a few tasks for work. It wasn’t until 8am that I was able to go to bed. After only one hour of sleep, I headed to the train station. It was OK though, I had a long 34-hour train ride to catch up on sleep. I was dead tired but very excited about what I expected to be an amazing trip.

I arrived at Los Angeles Union Station at 9:45am, 30 minutes before departure time. I thought 30 minutes would give me enough time to pick a nice window seat on the “nice” side of the train (the one with views of the ocean). I printed out my ticket, which I had purchased online, at the vending machine. There was a counter with the sign that said “Coast Starlight” but nobody was behind it, so I walked straight to the train. At the train car, the lady at the door asked me if I had checked in to get an assigned seat. Since I obviously had not, she assigned a seat for me right there. I headed for the upper deck and realized that I got an aisle sit on the side of the train not facing the coast. Great.

Coast Starlight

Coast Starlight

Spacious seats

The seats were spacious and comfortable. I sat next to a girl who lived in Vancouver but was headed to Portland. She had all sorts of electronic gadgets to keep herself entertained: laptop, Nintendo DS, Ipod.

The train left 10 minutes late. I stayed awake for the first hour, enjoying the scenery. Ever since my trip to Europe 8 years ago, I have always enjoyed train travel. I really like to see the transition from place to place and people going about their everyday lives. After the first hour, I dozed off from time to time. Around noon they started calling in people to the dining car. Apparently someone had walked by to take appointments while I was sleeping. Every 15 minutes they would call in a new group of passengers. I went to the store to get a muffin and some apple juice for lunch.

View from my seat

At around 1pm, the train passed by the Santa Barbara area, which is very beautiful. Lots of surfers in the ocean. It was a cloudy day, which is rare for this time of the year. Despite being called the “Coast” Starlight, you don’t really get to see a lot of coast, with this stretch being the highlight and one of the exceptions.

Santa Barbara area

At around 4:30pm, a lady came by to take reservations for dinner. Since I was in the last car of the train, by the time she came by all the prime time slots (6pm-8pm) were already taken. She told me I could either take the 5pm slot, or wait until 8:30pm when no reservations would be needed. I decided for the latter.

The train arrived at San Jose 20 minutes early at 8:10pm. It was going to be a 30-minute stop. I got off the train to walk around the station for a bit.

San Jose Station

Back on the train, I wondered when they would make the last call for the dining car. At 8:50pm I went to ask and was told that it was already closed. They must have announced the last call while I was off the train. I had no choice but to go to the store again and get a pretty uneventful ham & cheese sandwich.

I felt asleep around 10:30pm. I wished the seats would recline a little more, which they could easily do since there is so much space in between rows. My foot/leg rest was also also broken (it wouldn’t stay in position), which made it a little uncomfortable.

Aside from waking up a few times to switch positions, I slept relatively OK, probably due to me being very tired. I woke up around 7am. The train made a lengthy stop at Klamath Falls, Oregon. I took the chance to go out and enjoy the fresh morning air.

Klamath Falls, Oregon

Back on the train, and just like the previous day, I got a blueberry muffin for breakfast. I enjoyed it while seating in the lounge car, which has taller windows for a more panoramic view. For the next few hours, I enjoyed my book while meeting and talking to a couple of passengers. One guy was traveling around the country by train, while another lady was going back to Vancouver after visiting family members in LA. The scenery was amazing in this part of Oregon. Big lakes surrounded by huge mountain ranges. In one section the train went through some mountains and passed through about 20 tunnels.

I realized once again that I missed my chance to make an appointment for the dining car. There was no way I was going to eat that ham & cheese sandwich from the store again. I took a seat in the lounge car right by the dining car entrance and waited patiently for last call at 2:15pm. I shared my dining car table with an older gentleman who had decided on a whim to buy a train ticket and go to Montana. Also at my table were to ladies who were going to Portland to visit relatives. The burger I ordered was pretty good. I also got ice tea and some Häagen-Dazs ice cream for dessert. The bill was $9.75, not bad.

The train arrived to Portland 45 minutes early.

Portland Station

Portland Station

A lot of people got off at Portland, which meant that I could pick any seat I wanted. I enjoyed the last stretch, with Mount Rainier to the east, and expensive beach neighborhoods to the west.

Mount Rainier

Tacoma area

Prior to the trip, I had read many horror stories of the Coast Starlight being always late, sometimes for as much as 15 hours. I guess I was lucky since the train arrived at Seattle 15 minutes early. All in all, it was a very enjoyable and relaxing experience. The food was decent and I had fun meeting and chatting with different people.

Seattle Amtrak Station

More information about Amtrak’s Coast Starlight:
Official Amtrak Website – Including maps, brochures, and online ticket purchase.
Trainweb.com – Has many travelogues and pictures from passengers.

Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Next entry: Seattle, Washington

Here are some pictures from the city of Buenos Aires to round up my trip to Argentina. I was there for one month but spend most of my time indoors watching the 2010 World Cup. In contrast to my last trip there 4 years ago, I didn’t go crazy with food and “only” put on 2 kilos (about 4.5 lbs). What surprised me was how cold it was almost every single day. I didn’t remember the city to be that cold while growing up there.

Casa Rosada

Plaza de Mayo

Corner of Roque Saenz Peña and San Martin

It was my first time ever visiting Caminito in the neighborhood of La Boca. Despite being a very cold afternoon in Buenos Aires, there were a lot of tourists visiting the place.

Caminito, La Boca

Maradona on the balcony

Wall art

Caminito, La Boca

Caminito, La Boca

Caminito, La Boca

Maradona, Evita and Gardel

Caminito, La Boca

Old tram rails

Maradona stencil art

Evita and Che Guevara

Celebrities on the balconies

Street art

Caminito, La Boca

Caminito, La Boca

Caminito, La Boca

Caminito, La Boca

Caminito, La Boca

Caminito, La Boca

Old cafe

Caminito, La Boca

Cementerio de Recoleta is a must for people visiting Buenos Aires. The place is so jam packed with mausoleums statues and architectural details that one could spend a whole day to see it all.

Cementerio de Recoleta

Cementerio de Recoleta

Cementerio de Recoleta

Cementerio de Recoleta

Cementerio de Recoleta

Cementerio de Recoleta

Cementerio de Recoleta

Tomb of Liliana Crociati de Szaszak

Cementerio de Recoleta

Cementerio de Recoleta

Cementerio de Recoleta

Cementerio de Recoleta

Cementerio de Recoleta

Mausoleum interior

There are lots of important Argentine people buried here, from former presidents to artists to sports figures.

Luis Firpo

Evita’s burial place is easy to spot because you can always find a group of people standing around it at any time. She is in her family’s mausoleum.

Evita Duarte (de Peron) resting place

Evita Duarte (de Peron) resting place

Some tombs were unkept and in pretty bad shape. Some have even been vandalized.

Unkept Tomb

Vandalized tomb

There were however workers doing restoration work at the main entrance.

Restoration work at front entrance

During my almost 5-week stay to the city where I grew up and lived for 15 years, I had a chance to visit San Telmo. I never visited this place while living there. The first time was my last visit to Buenos Aires 4 years ago. I was happy to be back again during a Sunday, when they have their antique fair in Plaza Dorrego.

Mates

Botellas de soda

Botellas de soda

Feria de San Telmo

Old license plates and signs

Signs

Feria de San Telmo

Antique food packaging

Artist with his work

I got there a little too late. At around 4:30pm, the antique stalls were already starting to pack up and close. I walked around the neighborhood  for a little bit.

San Telmo

Young musicians performing tango

Parroquia San Pedro Telmo

I found 2 interesting mimes on the street. I really liked the girl’s expressions.

Mimes

Mimes

One block away from Plaza Dorrego is Pasaje de la Defensa, an big house constructed in 1880 and is now a commercial gallery.

Pasaje de la Defensa

Pasaje de la Defensa

Old fountain

Pasaje de la Defensa

El Patio del Tiempo

Mercado San Telmo

Mercado San Telmo

Mercado San Telmo

Old car emblems

Mercado San Telmo

Mercado San Telmo

A short visit to my parents. I found Cordoba to be cleaner and less hectic that Buenos Aires. There is a huge number of churches in the city center, sometimes only a few yards from one another.

Catedral de Cordoba

Interior of Catedral de Cordoba

Manzana Jesuitica

Cats at Manzana Jesuitica

Iglesia de los Capuchinos

Iglesia de los Capuchinos

Iglesia de los Capuchinos

Iglesia de los Capuchinos

Iglesia de los Capuchinos

Catedral de Cordoba at Night

Catedral de Cordoba at Night

Catedral de Cordoba at Night

San Martin Statue, Plaza San Martin

This was a 2-week business trip in May 2010, and I barely had any time to sightsee and take photographs. Here are some of the few I took.

St Lawrence Market

St Lawrence Market

St Lawrence Market

St Lawrence Market

St Lawrence Market

St Lawrence Market

The Beach

The Beach

Free bikes

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

During this trip I returned to two places I visited in 2009: Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park. My dad was visiting and he had liked the pictures I took in 2009. Along with my sister, we decided to make this 3-day road trip. Without knowing, we visited during National Parks Week (April 17-25, 2010) so we didn’t have to pay entrance fees to either park.

Sequoia National Park was very different from last year once we got close to General Sherman Tree and Lodgepole: it was mostly covered in snow. The short trail from the parking lot to General Sherman was full of ice and snow. Our plan was hike the Congress Trail but decided not to since the trail was barely visible (only footprints in the snow) and most sign posts were buried in snow.

Melting ice on trees

Trail to General Sherman

Trail to General Sherman

Sequoia National Park

General Sherman

Snow covered trails

Road to parking lot north of General Sherman

Sequioa National Park

No dogs allowed

Giant Sequoias

Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park

Yosemite Valley was also different. I took a bus to get into the valley to start the JMT last year. The bus entered the park from the east but this time we entered from the southern entrance. When we came out of a long tunnel through a mountain, we were treated to a spectacular view. From the vantage point, we could see El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalveil Falls, and the valley.

Yosemite National Park entrace

El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Falls

Bridalveil Falls

El Capitan

The valley floor was full of people. We did the first couple of miles of the John Muir Trail, stopping short of Nevada Fall before turning back. There were a couple of spots on the trail that were covered in snow. The waterfalls were in full force, unlike when I saw them late summer last year.

Start of John Muir Trail

Vernal Fall

Vernal Fall

Parts of the trail were covered in snow

Nevada Fall

Half Dome cables

1Starting in 2010, hiking Half Dome will require a permit. You can reserve a permit up to 4 months in advance on the National Park Service website.

2 If you are not used to hiking long distances or if you are not in good shape, I’d try not do the whole hike up and down from Yosemite Valley (16 miles)  in one day. Going up 5000 feet in 8 miles is pretty rough. By the time you get to the cables you might already be very tired, and after the summit you’ll still have to go down 5000 feet. Instead, I’d hike up to Little Yosemite Valley or around the Half Dome trail junction the first day, camp there, and then summit Half Dome early the next morning, before the crowds get there. This would require a wilderness permit and some advanced planning, but it’d be a more enjoyable trip.

3 There was a big pile of used gloves on the base of the cables, but I’d get some cheap gloves that fits you before the trip. I bought a pair of $3 gloves at the Home Depot. They had rubber on the inside and provided great grip on the cables.

4 Make sure you bring a lot of water, or a way to purify it on the trail. I think for a 16-mile hike you’d need about a gallon. Also, keep in mind that I didn’t find any water after Little Yosemite Valley, so if you need to purify, make sure you get plenty there.

5 Wear shoes with soles that have very good grip. The granite has been polished by the hundreds of people who step on it every day and can be a bit slippery.

6 Bring a headlamp or flashlight just in case you take longer than expected and need to hike in the dark.

7 Don’t climb the cables when there’s any possibility of a storm. Not worth risking your life and you can always do it at a later date. There have been many accidents (some deadly) in the past during storms.

8 Bring warm clothes if there’s a possibility you’ll be hiking during sunrise or sunset. Temperatures can go down quickly during sunsets.

9 Wear plenty of sunscreen and wear a hat. The sun can be pretty punishing at the summit.

10 Once on the cables, take your time, don’t rush. Don’t try to pass the people ahead of you. Be cordial to the people going in the opposite direction. If you are struggling, let the people behind pass you, but don’t feel pressure to have to go faster than you are comfortable. Always go at your own pace. On the same token, don’t rush the people ahead of you. Offer them encouragement if they are struggling.

Crowded cables

John Muir Trail Journal Index

Journal entry for September 8, 2009.
Approximate distance hiked: 16.8 miles, 27.0 km.

The last day of an amazing journey. I was expecting a cold night camping at this high altitude but it wasn’t that bad. It got really windy around 1-2am and I thought a storm was coming. I had the the alarm to 5am but woke up a bit before that.

It was still dark outside. I looked around and the views were stunning. I was surrounded by huge peaks with hundreds of stars as backdrop. I packed everything up, filtered 2 liters of water, took out the last of my Snickers and Cliff bars to put them in the backpack’s side pocket and started the hike up to Whitney. It was imperative that I didn’t waste time and make sure I finished the 17 miles for the day around 3-4pm to allow me enough time to find a ride to Lone Pine.

Mount Whitney before dawn

Looking up the trail, I saw a single flashlight followed by two other ones. I later found out they were Peter, Ross and Marty. I caught up to them shortly before Trail Junction. As the sun came up, it revealed dramatic sights everywhere, especially the reflections on Hitchcock Lakes.

Hitchcock Lakes

Hitchcock Lakes and Guitar Lake

At Trail Junction, most people decide to leave their backpacks here instead of taking them up to Mount Whitney. I decided to carry mine since I didn’t have a daypack and had no convenient way to carry water, camera, snacks and the SPOT Satellite Messenger. Also by this point, having consumed almost all of my 10-day food supply, the backpack was feeling pretty light. We saw a good number of people coming up the opposite way, from Whitney Portal. They must have started pretty early to be at Trail Junction by this time.

Trail Junction

Warning sign

After the short break, I started the final ascent to Mount Whitney. The way they carved out the trail on the steep rocky walls on the mountain is really a piece of engineering.

Final stretch up Mount Whitney

Peter in the green jacket

Peter in the green jacket

Dramatic views

I was feeling great physically and the 2 miles to the top felt pretty easy. After weeks being above 10,000 feet, my body was well acclimatized. I made sure to savor the last few hundred feet before the summit.

Last few hundred feet before summit

Only a few more steps to go...

After 23 days and about 220 miles, I had finally reached Mount Whitney (14,505 ft, 4,421 m), which is where the JMT officially ends. There is a registry for hikers to sign and I got the pleasure to start a new page in it. I signed: “9/8/09 – Kevin Yang – Diamond Bar, CA – Just finished the JMT. A trip of a lifetime”. A very emotional moment.

Mount Whitney Hut

Mount Whitney registry

My entry in the registry

Plaque marking the summit

Plaque marking the summit

There were about 15 people already on the summit. There’s a lot to see in all 360 degrees. Lone Pine and the road to it can be seen to the east. Guitar Lake to the west.

Views from Mount Whitney summit

Views from Mount Whitney Summit

Me, Peter, Marty and Ross

After spending a good hour and a half on top, I started making my way down around 10:30am. There was still 12.5 miles to go with a 6,000 foot descent. By now, hordes of people were coming up, most of them doing a brutal 1-day up and down hike from Whitney Portal. It seems torturous to me and I don’t know if I’d want to, or be able to do it. One gentleman going up asked me to relay a message to his girlfriend who was behind, telling her that he was going up to the summit and couldn’t wait for her any longer or else none of them were going to make it to the top. He wanted her to wait for him at Trail Junction. I later found her coming up the “99 Switchbacks”.

Pinnacles south of Mount Whitney

My JMT wouldn’t be complete without seeing the Czechs one last time. We run into each other right before I got down to Trail Junction, as they were going up. Having fallen behind earlier in their hike, they were now more than on schedule to catch their flight back to Europe. We exchanged emails and said goodbye one last time.

Just when I thought there were no more uphill climbs, there was one last short one right after Trail Junction up to Trail Crest (13,650 ft, 4,461 m). It was short but exhausting.

Trail Crest

Unknown Peak

I made my way down the famous (and dreaded) 99 Switchbacks. Going down was easy, but climbing up must be brutal. It was already around 1pm and there were still lots of people going up. Unfortunately, I think most of them were not going to be able to make it to the summit and back to Whitney Portal before dark.

99 Switchbacks

99 Switchbacks

With about 4 miles to go I got really hungry. People kept telling me about the wonderful cheeseburgers at Whitney Portal and I was trying to hurry and make it there as quickly as possible. I decided to stop an eat the last of my food because I wasn’t enjoying the hike anymore, and I really wanted to enjoy the last few miles of this amazing journey.

Mirror Lake. Hiking down to Whitney Portal.

I run into Marty and Ross and hiked the last mile with them. I was experiencing the same mixed feeling I got the previous night. I was happy and satisfied to be finishing the JMT, but at the same time I was sad it was coming to an end.

With Marty and Ross

I arrived at Whitney Portal around 4pm with a big smile on my face. I weighted my backpack at the scale. With 9 days of trash, my backpack weighted 17 lbs (7.7 kg).

Weighting my backpack at Whitney Portal

Once at the store, I got a cheeseburger, fries, and 2 beers and shared a table with Peter, Marty, Ross, Carla and Gavin. Having eaten only 2 hours before, I wasn’t really that hungry. After stuffing myself, it was time to look for a ride to Lone Pine. I went to the parking lot exit and on my first try, a very nice family of four stopped and picked me up. The father had just hiked up to Mt. Whitney and down all in one day. He was impressed by what I did but I really think going up and down 20+ miles, 6000 feet in elevation in one day and all by 4pm is a more impressive feat. They were very pleasant and we had a nice chat on the way to Lone Pine. I feel really bad for not remembering their names.

Once in Lone Pine, I got a room at Trails Motel for $85 the night. I took a shower right away and must have washed off 1 pound of dirt from my body. Looking in the mirror, I realized that I had lost a lot of upper body muscle. I weighted myself at home the following day and found out I had lost 10 lbs.

Peter, Marty, Ross, Carla and Gavin and I met up at the Pizza Factory for one more meal. Again, I wasn’t that hungry but ate anyways. Afterward, I went to the drugstore and got me a bunch of sweets, which is what I was really craving for. Back at the motel, I washed my clothes so that I can at least look (and smell) civilized the following day on my trip home. I stayed up until 1am watching crap on TV.

One would think that I would sleep soundly in a comfortable bed after being in the backcountry for 23 days, but I kept waking up all night. I think my body had gotten used to and was missing the sleeping bag and mat.

John Muir Trail Journal Index

John Muir Trail Journal Index

Journal entry for September 7, 2009.
Approximate distance hiked: 9.5 miles, 15.3 km.

The sun started hitting the tent hard at around 7am. Before this, it had been a very cold night, with temperature dropping below freezing in the middle of the night. I wanted to keep sleeping but condensation was dripping all over my face. I got up but really didn’t do anything for a while. I was in no hurry. I removed the tent’s rain fly and laid down on the sleeping pad again, enjoying the views of the Great Western Divide to the west while the sun gently hit my back.

After lounging for a good while, I washed my t-shirt so that hopefully I wouldn’t be stinking too much while hitching a ride from Whitney Portal to Lone Pine the following day. I also washed my hair, which took a little work because I wanted to wash with soap and well away from the pond to avoid contaminating the water. I finally left Bighorn Plateau at around 11am.

Great Western Divide

Bighorn Plateau

Feeling clean and fresh after washing hair

I kept looking west to see if I could see Mount Whitney. I really couldn’t tell because there are many mountains similar in elevation around Whitney. The trail was very dusty and full of small rocks that kept getting into my shoes. I stopped many times to empty them. After the High Sierra Trial Junction I run into the Czechs one more time. I found it funny that despite having passed them 4 times, they always ended up ahead of me.

Sandy Meadow

Getting closer and closer to Mount Whitney

I was feeling sluggish and tired even though the trail was not demanding. I was hoping that a good night’s rest would leave me OK for the 17-mile final day. At Crabtree Ranger Station I found a bucket with the famous “Wag Bags” in them. The rule states that one must pack out human waste between this point and all the down to Whitney Portal. I think it is necessary considering the sheer number of people that visit the area every day. Wag Bags are reusable and supposedly deodorizes the “stuff” put in it. I took one and hoped to not have to use it. I stopped eating fiber (dried fruit) 2 days before for this very purpose.

I left Muir Trail Ranch with 10 days of food and now that I was going to finish the last stretch in 9 days, I was able to eat a little more. Consequently, I had a big lunch. Even after 21 days, I still haven’t learned the lesson of taking a little break after eating, before getting back on the trail. I was feeling terrible. Every step was excruciating and I felt like throwing up. I stopped, sat down for 15 minutes, and felt OK again.

I arrived at Timberline Lake and was finally told by a hiker which one was Mount Whitney. It was good to finally know.

Mount Whitney from Timberline Lake

Now that I knew which one Mount Whitney was, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I was getting so close that I felt I could almost touch it with my hands. I arrived at Guitar Lake around 4:30. Right away I saw Marty and Ross, who I had met on the ferry coming out of Vermilion Valley Resort. Also there was Peter from New Zealand, who is 70 years old but looks like he is 50.  He hikes the JMT every year. Very inspirational. Check out his website here. I sat down, had a relaxing conversation with them, and we were later joined by Carla and Gavin, whom they had met earlier. Ever since I left Muir Trail Ranch with Misty, Mark, Mike and Andy and fell behind them, I had been looking for them. Marty told me that they were one day ahead of us. I was good to know they all finished without problems.

I settled down in a nice spot by the lake and snapped a few pictures before it got dark. There were almost no clouds in the sky and it looked like weather was going to be great the next day.

Guitar Lake

Camping by Guitar Lake, with Mount Whitney in the background

Mount Whitney, reflected on Guitar Lake

Mount Whitney during sunset

Mount Whitney at night, 60 second exposure

I had conflicting feelings upon realizing that this was going to be my last night of camping on the JMT. On one hand I was looking forward to a shower and and a real bed after the following day. On the other hand, I didn’t want this experience to end and wanted to enjoy these last few hours as much as possible.

The plan for the next day was to start hiking at 6am, hit the summit before 9am, spend one hour on top, and arrive at Whitney Portal before 5pm.

John Muir Trail Journal Index

John Muir Trail Journal Index

Journal entry for September 6, 2009.
Approximate distance hiked: 13.2 miles, 21.2 km.

For the first time in the entire hike I woke up feeling fatigued. With Forester Pass coming up, I thought I was in for a long and tough day. I made sure I drank a good amount water since I had not been drinking enough in the previous days. I was having only about 3-4 liters per day, not enough while hiking so much.

Deer around Vidette Meadow

The first hour back on the trail, my pace was slow so I could warm up properly. After this, my energy level went up and I was feeling great. I caught up with 4 hikers with huge packs in front of me, and it wasn’t until I was right behind them that I realize that they were the Czechs I had met after Reds Meadow and at Vermilion Valley Resort. Since they were struggling back then, I really wasn’t expecting them to pass me and be in front of me. Last time I talked to them they were behind schedule and didn’t believe they were going to complete the JMT in time to catch a flight out of Los Angeles. Not only were they now right on schedule, but were also not struggling physically anymore. They even went off the JMT and over Kearsarge Pass to resupply at Onion Valley.

Bubbs Creek

I was now about to tackle Forester Pass. For a long while, I kept thinking that the pass was about one mile earlier than where it actually is. While approaching it, the pass is blocked from view by a large ridge until the last mile or so. The trail goes south, then makes a sudden turn heading north before turning south again for the final approach. All these changes of direction are there to make the ascent as smooth as possible. I found Forester Pass (13,200 ft, 4,023 m) to be the most enjoyable of all the passes on the JMT, as it is long but never too strenuous. The views are great, as expected.

Forester Pass on the left

Final approach to Forester Pass

Forester Pass

Forester Pass

As the days went by, I got better and better at predicting how long it would take me to get to a certain location taking into account elevation changes. Before getting back on the trail in the morning, I predicted I would get to the pass between 2:00 and 2:30pm and I got there at 2:10pm. I chatted briefly with 2 guys from Modesto, CA on the top of the pass. They were nice enough to take a picture for me. I decided to stop and eat lunch. It’s not everyday that I get to eat a meal at 13,000 feet. I then saw a hiker named Jim come up from the south side of the pass. He was doing the Pacific Crest Trail in small sections at a time and hoped to complete the entire hike in his lifetime. I learned from him that Forester Pass is the highest pass of not only the JMT, but the PCT as well. He was carrying an 80+ pound backpack but the most amazing thing of all was that he was hiking in flip-flops. Even without carrying a backpack, going up Forester Pass in flip-flops must be quite a feat.

I mentioned, while talking about the types of food in my canister, that I wished I had packed more sweet stuff. I was craving them non-stop. After taking a few pictures for him, he pulled out a Tiger’s Milk bar from his pocket and said to me “This is your reward”. What a great gesture. So many nice people on the trail. We said good bye and continued in opposite directions.

Brutal switchbacks going down Forester Pass

Going down Forester Pass

On most of the passes on the JMT, I got the feeling that going up in my opposite direction (Northbound instead of Southbound) was much steeper and demanding. Forester Pass was no different. The switchbacks on the other side were relentless. The trail then makes a smooth and gradual descent. I hiked 4.7 miles to Shepherd Pass Junction.

Shepherd Pass Junction

I planned to end the day here but after looking around and seeing another familiar looking campsite surrounded by lodgepole forest, I decided to push for another 2 miles to Bighorn Plateau, hoping for better views. After a long day, this last stretch going up 500 ft in elevation felt demanding.

Fire ravished tree

Ultimately, I was glad I kept going. Bighorn Plateau is like no other place on the JMT. As Ross (who I met on the trail) told me later, it looks like something out of a Salvador Dali painting. It felt like a desert with an oasis in the middle, with almost no vegetation at all. Hundreds of ravens were flying around. I ate dinner (with Jim’s Tiger’s Milk bar as dessert) and got all my chores done quickly because I wanted make sure I had time to take pictures of the amazing sunset.

Camping at Bighorn Plateau

Camping at Bighorn Plateau

Sunset at Bighorn Plateau

The Great Western Divide from Bighorn Plateau

The sun went down and suddenly everything became completely quiet and still. There was nobody else around. No running water. No wind at all. What a great and strange feeling.

Looking back, this was my favorite day of the entire hike, mainly due to Forester Pass and Bighorn Plateau. I had spent 3 weeks on the trail and now had 2 more days to complete the last 27 miles. The next day was going to be an easy 9.5 mile hike to Guitar Lake.

John Muir Trail Journal Index

John Muir Trail Journal Index

Journal entry for September 5, 2009.
Approximate distance hiked: 14.0 miles, 22.5 km.

For the second night in a row, I woke up a lot during sleep. This was mainly due to feeling a bit cold, strange dreams, condensation dropping on my face from the tent ceiling,  and uncomfortable sleeping positions. When I got out of the tent around 7am, it was still very cold outside, around 35° F (about 2° C). Everything was wet and took a while to dry. From all the campsites I’d used on the JMT, Woods Creek was one of the lowest in elevation and, as a result, surrounded by mountains. It took a while for the sun to rise above them and hit me directly.

I crossed the suspension bridge two more times just for fun before getting back on the trail.

Woods Creek suspension bridge

I wasn’t feeling as energized as I was the day before. I’d been wanting to take a dip in one of the lakes for the last few days but the weather had not been appropriate. This day was perfect though, with not one single cloud in the sky.

A sunny day, finally

The long hike up torwards Glen Pass

I run into the guided tour group with the horse pack right before Dollar Lake. I stopped to chat with them and found out that they were doing a 14-day hike from Florence Lake to Mount Whitney. Nice people, and they all looked like they were enjoying themselves. Once at Dollar Lake, I stopped for the long awaited dip. The last shower I had taken was 8 days ago at Vermillion Valley Resort. The water was a bit cold but didn’t bother me much. While waiting for the sun to dry me, I ate lunch by the lake. Beautiful views.

Dollar Lake with Fin Dome in the background

As I was getting ready to get back on the trail, I met 3 guys from the Los Angeles area doing a weekend hike coming from Baxter Pass, which according to them was a miserable experience. They told me about the huge fire in the Angeles National Forest, which was the worst they’ve ever seen. I also found out from them that it was Labor Day weekend which I wasn’t aware of at all.

Back on the trail and after a couple of miles, I arrived at Rae Lakes. There were a good number of people here since this is a very popular area.

Rae Lakes

Rae Lakes

The final ascent to Glen Pass (11,798 ft, 3,596 m) came right after the lakes. The climb is in two parts. The first one to a plateau before a final one up a series of very steep switchbacks. I struggled a lot and my legs were getting very fatigued. I had to stop many times to catch my breath. I was starting to get a bit frustrated until I convinced myself to enjoy the moment and the views. This was not something one gets to experience everyday. It was the toughest pass I did on the JMT.

Views from Glen Pass

Views from Glen Pass

I saw a lot of hikers coming up from the other side of the pass and I sympathized with them. The descent (ascent for them) was very steep and brutal, much worse than the one I had just finished on the opposite side. My heels and ankles got sore from the pounding. Thinking about Forester Pass the following day, I was hoping that a good night’s rest would fix everything. It was already 3:30pm and I still had about 5.5 miles to go, so I picked up the pace. I run into a friendly park ranger who asked me if I was carrying a bear canister.

Burnt tree

I arrived at Vidette Meadow a little bit before 6pm. I passed by two fairly covered campsites until I found one that was more open. I camped about 50 yards away from 3 other hikers, which ended up being a mistake since they were up chatting and laughing pretty loud well after dark. It was starting to get cold pretty fast, and while my last few attempts had failed, I decided to give it one more go at starting a fire. Surprisingly, I was successful. What difference the fire made. Camp chores were much more fun and less rushed with the fire there to keep me warm.

Camping at Vidette Meadow

John Muir Trail Journal Index

John Muir Trail Journal Index

Journal entry for September 4, 2009.
Approximate distance hiked: 14.0 miles, 22.5 km.

It took me 2 and 1/2 hours since the moment I got up to when I hit the trail after 10am. I was on vacation, so I wanted to sleep well and not feel always rushed.

As soon as I started hiking, I heard a horse pack coming up behind me. It was a group of hikers on a guided tour doing the second half of the JMT. I picked up my pace right away, not because I was trying to avoid the hikers, but because I didn’t want to walk on a trail full of fresh horse crap.

Physically, I was feeling great. The blister wasn’t bothering me anymore, the switchbacks felt pretty easy to climb, and I almost didn’t notice the weight of my backpack. The weather wasn’t looking too good however, with lots of dark clouds in the sky. I went to visit the Bench Lake Ranger Station but couldn’t find the ranger for some weather info.

Bench Lake Ranger Station

I saw the friendly ranger 5 minutes after getting back on the trail. He told me that a storm was expected for the afternoon and through the weekend. I started to hike faster, trying to go over Pinchot Pass before the rain.

Nasty clouds on top of Pinchot Pass

About 1/2 a mile before the pass, it started to rain. As I stopped to put on my rain jacket, I heard lightning and saw a thunder hit the top of the pass. I made a U-turn right away. I run into the guided tour group as they were marching on despite the storm. The guy who cared for the horses in the group asked me if I was turning around, I said yes and he told me that that was the smart thing to do. I asked him if he wasn’t afraid and his reply was “No choice”.

Suddenly rain turned into hail. I run around looking for a spot to set up my tent. I couldn’t afford to get my clothes wet. I found a semi adequate spot and waited the storm out in the tent, which lasted only about 30 minutes, while eating lunch. I started to realize that I didn’t plan enough sweet food in my diet. I was constantly craving for it.

Coming out of the tent after the hail storm

I initiated my second attempt for Pinchot Pass (12,050 ft, 3673 m). As soon as I start hiking, it started to rain again, although lightly. I also heard thunder again, but it was from far away. I decided to suck it up and keep going. The climb was easy. Once on top, I took a quick video and got the hell out of there.

Looking back north, right before Pinchot Pass

Looking south from Pinchot Pass

The 3.7 miles from Pinchot Pass to Sawmill Pass Junction was very enjoyable. It never stopped raining but it was never hard enough to damp my pants. I really liked hiking without the usual punishing sun. I did this section in no time and caught up to the horse pack.

John Muir Trail sign

The terrain got tougher after the junction so I had to slow down a bit. The trail runs right next to Woods Creek for 3.5 miles before arriving at Woods Creek Junction, where I was going to end the day.

Woods Creek

Woods Creek

There was an note by one of the sings right before the junction, saying that there was a toilet available close by and urging hikers to use it instead of burying their waste.

Note about availability of toilets

There’s a very cool suspension bridge to cross the actual creek. I had seen a video of the bridge before the trip and was really looking forward to cross it. It was a lot of fun.

Woods Creek suspension bridge

Woods Creek suspension bridge

It waited 15 minutes to take the video of the bridge since there was someone cleaning up on the other end of it and I didn’t want him to be in the video. There were a few campsites right by the bridge. I picked one right before the horse pack arrived. The same guy who cared for the horses I had talk to earlier told me that they were gonna set up nearby, and that if I wanted a little more piece and quiet, I could camp on the a few spots about 30 yards away. I followed his advice. One by one, the ten or so hikers in that group arrived at the site. It was quickly getting dark so I ate dinner and did my chores in a hurry.

John Muir Trail Journal Index