Flop's 2008 PCT Adventure - Preparation in April

A sign in Santa Anita Canyon about a mile from the trailhead. This picture
was taken on April 5, the first day of my hike to 3 Points.

While I was disappointed not to start my PCT trek on March 29, it's good to have an extra 3 weeks to prepare for my journey. Since I am no longer working I can devote my full efforts to prepare for the trip.

I have decided that since I can't keep up with the scouts anyway, I might as well carry extra weight in my daypack for the shorter conditioning hikes. The problem is that my day pack doesn't handle this much weight very well and is very uncomfortable. I guess I should use my backpack, a P-2 from ULA, but I'd like to wait for over-nighters. My P-2 is an excellent pack and very comfortable.

Here is a summary of my training hikes for the month:

04/01/2008 - Conditioning Hike with Troop 126 on the Mt. Wilson Trail. I've given up on trying to keep up with the scouts and I've started to carry a 25 lbs. sack of rice in my daypack. The distance was about 5 miles in 2 hours with 1000 feet of elevation gain.
04/03/2008 - Hiked to Orchard Camp at 6:30 in the morning on the Mt. Wilson Trail. I carried the extra weight in my daypack. There were a surprising number of people on the lower portion of the trail as they are preparing for the Mt. Wilson Trail Race that takes place in the end of May.
04/05/2008 - I hiked from my home in Arcadia to 3 Points on the Pacific Crest Trail. The hike averaged about 3400 feet of elevation gain and 15 miles per day. These 2 days were to be the 1st 2 days of my PCT until I changed my plans because of the snow levels.

The hike was tough as it is mostly uphill to 3 Points. It was a mistake to hike up the road to Chantry Flats as it is narrow and there was quite a bit of traffic. The hike from Chantry Flats to 3 Points is actually the first half of the Silver Mocassin Trail which I hiked with Boy Scout Troop 266 in 2003 or 2004. I was hoping to complete the 2nd half of the hike this year, but I'll have to wait until I reach this section on my PCT hike. The only downside of this hike was that I picked up a tick on Saturday - it will probably be the first of many.

The trail was generally in good shape and marked well with only a few exceptions. I enjoyed my camp at the West Fork Trail Camp as I was the only person there. I only saw one other group of backpackers, a group of about 12 scouts who were heading down the West Fork to Devore Camp. I only saw day-hikers and 2 cyclists on the rest of the trip.
04/08/2008 - Conditioning hike with Boy Scout Troop 126 on the Mt. Wilson Trail. I carried the extra weight and covered 4 miles in 2 hours with about 900 feet elevation gain.
04/12/2008 - I hiked from Windsor Ave. in Altadena up the Arroyo Seco River to Switzer Falls, up Bear Canyon to Tom Sloan Sadddle, down the Mt. Lowe Road to Inspiration Point, accross the Idlehour Trail to the Mt. Wilson Toll Road, up the Toll Road to the Mt. Wilson Trail, and down the MWT to Sierra Madre. I averaged 15 miles with over 3600 feet of elevation gain for the 2 days. The temperature was 94 on Saturday and 97 degrees on Sunday. This was a tough 2 days of hiking.

The hike was excellent! I saw a bear hiking out of Bear Canyon and a deer on the Mt. Lowe Road on Saturday. There were lots of quail, and I saw a rattlesnake on Sunday just about a half mile from the Mt. Wilson Trail trailhead.

This was a good final trek before I start hiking the PCT next Sunday. One of the best things about my planned PCT trek is all of the conditioning hikes I've been taking for the last 3.5 months. I am really getting excited - I'm sure that the PCT will even be richer than these hikes and that is saying a lot!