Not dead!

[Pekka]

Hey,

Dropping by to say I am still alive, just quit my job (because I did not like it anymore) and will start in a new one in a 3 weeks. Did my first 1000 miles (well 910 to be exact) of the PCT, will return later to finish it. So doing well, what about all of you people? Going to have another MRI very soon and should it go well, I am good to continue. Should it not go well... oh well. Kids are growing up fast, still in therapy, been dating few ladies in between but it seems need to see more ladies to find the right one. Would like to date an actual hiker. Lots of wannabe hikers out there. They like "long walks", but start to complain about returning only few hours in. So they like hiking on paper and as an idea. Like most people, I like this and that, yada yada. Real talk!

Thinking about mountaineering. Just dropping thoughts and saying that I am here, breathing and fighting to breathe more.

[Pekka]

Few pictures from the High Sierra part.

[Lorizael]

Pekka!

[SlowwHand]

[Proteus_MST]

Snow ... this looks like cool temperatures .. I envy you

[Pekka]

Nope! IT was hot! And usually it's cold here in Finland, but it's been a solid +30C every day with no breeze, that is high 80s. We do not have an AC, so a steady sweat has been going on for weeks now. Sucks, aagh. edit: Basically the last time under 30C was had was... back in april before departing to the US. Since then it's been from high 80s to high 100s every day. I'm beat!

[pchang]

Congratulation on still being alive!

[-Jrabbit]

Great to see you, Pekka.

[Kidlicious]

I did a lot of hiking there when I was yoinger. I'm jealous but happy for you.

[Pekka]

Haven't actually read these forums in a while so I should see what you guys are up to. But nothing better (?) than a good old Hey look at me thread.

About the snow, it was pretty hot there, high 80s and stuff. The snow was melting fast, so the mountain passes were a bit dangerous. As in never do it mid day, only early morning when it was cold (so the snow is a bit more compact and solid, and you won't drop inside it postholing).

Close to the High Sierra, just before it was the hottest inferno hell ever. Death Valley was definitely named accordingly, and we hit Walker Pass (Ridgecrest) about a week before Sierra. It was 109. Kid you not, just standing was harsh. No shade, no wind, no nothing. It was hellish and fun.

I am doing a blog about the trip so I'll post a link later, if you want to see more pics and videos. Got a bear in it and plenty of snakes

[Berzerker]

dude, you gotta stop doing that to us... No hear from you for months and I'm thinking the worst

[Proteus_MST]

Nope! IT was hot! And usually it's cold here in Finland, but it's been a solid +30C every day with no breeze, that is high 80s. We do not have an AC, so a steady sweat has been going on for weeks now. Sucks, aagh. edit: Basically the last time under 30C was had was... back in april before departing to the US. Since then it's been from high 80s to high 100s every day. I'm beat!

Sounds like you are not better off than we in germany then.
Since spring we had so little rain that I yearn for a week full of rain (despite the fact that I usually hate rain).
Combine that with daily temperatures of usually far above 30 °C since at least 2 months
(I just put it into a normal posting as the comment seems to be a little buggy, doesn't accept my text)

[ZEE]

SUPERCITIZEN.

[Dinner]

I did 210 miles of the John Muir Trail in 1995. It is part of the PCT.

[Pekka]

Ohh I remember John Muir trail! It was so beautiful. Might be my favourite part of the trail that far. The way to there is also very beautiful. That is a solid 2 week hike, maybe even 3. We carried food from Lone Pine and Bishop, fit food worth of 10 days to those bear canisters. It's doable . The lakes right after the pass are quite magnificent, too. And yeah the bears pretty much followed us and came to hang out at night. We were at a "camp site" there next to a lake with tons of bear activity and one of our group's hikers could not fit all the food to her canister so she used a "odor free bag" to stash the rest. Well, wasn't so odor proof, woke up to an adolescent bear tossing it around and eating everything inside, drooling on out canisters but not being able to open them. We had an hour long stand off with the bear. It was not scared at all. We were 8 strong, with headlamps and we made so much noise. It made one bluff charge even, so we figured out we'll just pack our stuff and leave, no one is actually able to sleep and the bear is not wild, it'll come for our tents later. THe bear was _on_ trail, so we had to move toward it in or go back where we came from (not an option). It was something I'll never forget. Not that scary but still kind of messed up. Muir trail is superb

[Dinner]

Haven't actually read these forums in a while so I should see what you guys are up to. But nothing better (?) than a good old Hey look at me thread.

About the snow, it was pretty hot there, high 80s and stuff. The snow was melting fast, so the mountain passes were a bit dangerous. As in never do it mid day, only early morning when it was cold (so the snow is a bit more compact and solid, and you won't drop inside it postholing).

Close to the High Sierra, just before it was the hottest inferno hell ever. Death Valley was definitely named accordingly, and we hit Walker Pass (Ridgecrest) about a week before Sierra. It was 109. Kid you not, just standing was harsh. No shade, no wind, no nothing. It was hellish and fun.

I am doing a blog about the trip so I'll post a link later, if you want to see more pics and videos. Got a bear in it and plenty of snakes

The bears were a real nuisance for my friend and I when we did the JMT. They practically followed hikers around vecause they had learned hikers carry lots of goodies.

[rah]

Always good to hear from you SC, and that you're still well. Congrats