The agony of de-feet, knee … and back (PCT)

Bottom line: Aging pains can be a bee-otch ... particularly when in the wilderness.

6.23.24, Day 0, “Pre-positioning” -

Prim8 and I met Mark R. in Mojave to gas up the car before we drove to Kennedy Meadows, some twenty-five miles into the wilderness west of Hwy 395. Desert temperatures ranged in the 90’s and low 100’s, and we speculated about hiking conditions in the mountains.

Before this trip, Mark had explained he’d changed his trail moniker during his last PCT section hike from the Mexican border northward as a result from his consumption of pemmican. “I’m going by Tallow now,” he’d told me.

No more changes, Prim8 had demanded, not liking the idea.

“Okay,” I’d told Mark, somewhat skeptical. How many more changes will he adopt, Prim8?

Thus, Mark R., formerly known as Cabo, with the previous alias of Wrong Way, will now be referred to as Tallow.

We pre-positioned my car at Kennedy Meadows for our sectional hike southbound. A north to south hike on this section would eliminate the elevation gain of roughly 4,385 feet. If you’re going to do the distance, why not go downhill rather than uphill?

A traffic accident on Hwy 395 south of Olancha delayed our progress to Lone Pine. Dark clouds hung over the mountains to our west and a few large and sporadic rain drops splattered on Mark’s RAV4 windshield as we waited to continue.

By the time of our arrival, the ranger station in Lone Pine had closed, so we proceeded to Lone Pine’s Dow Villa for the night, where I’d reserved a historic room, sans private bathroom. No problem on that front, however the room felt stuffy and the air conditioning blew tepid air, not cool enough for my liking.

The room’s air still and stuffy, Prim8 complained, Hot!

Then, we’ll lay on the bed in the buff without covers or sheet. Not until the wee hours did I feel comfortable.

6.24.24, Day 1, “Our Most Northern Position on the PCT” -

After getting takeout at McDonald’s at 5 a.m.—Prim8 wanted coffee and a chicken sandwich—we drove to Horseshoe Meadow at 10,000 feet.

A posted sign near the trailhead parking lot warned of ACTIVE BEARS.

“As opposed to retired bears,” I told Tallow.

Mt. Whitney (the sharp point) from Near Lone Pine

Under clear sky, Tallow and I hiked to Cottonwood Pass, 11,132 feet, mile-marker 751.4 (according to the FarOut app, which Tallow used, and the PCT posted sign, differing slightly from Half-mile Notes of 750.8).

From the trail junction, we turned south to Trail Pass Trail—I kid you not—at 10,493 feet, mile-marker 744.5. (FarOut indicates the distance is 4.9 miles along the PCT, while Half-Mile Notes says 5.7 miles. Go figure!)

Regardless, we followed Trail Pass Trail back to Horseshoe Meadow.

Looking East from PCT Near Cottonwood Pass Towards Horseshoe Meadow and Surrounding Terrain

With clear sky, temperatures for the day ranged from 55 degrees when we left Tallow’s car at 7 a.m. and 80 degrees when we finished the 10.9 mile loop at 12:50 p.m.

Looking at Mt. Langely from Trail Pass Trail in Horseshoe Meadow

Back at Hwy 395, we stopped at the ranger station for a wilderness permit, then headed the Dow Villa in Lone Pine for the night, I appreciated the slightly cooler temperature in my room compared to the previous evening.

6.25.24, Day 2, “Southbound” -

We presented at the Alabama Hills Cafe and Bakery at 5 a.m. for breakfast.

“Breakfast isn’t available until six,” the gal said, “but you can get coffee and pastry.”

Tallow and I debated, and decided on take-out.

Hungry, Prim8 demanded, Ham and Cheese pastry.

Though I detest processed yellow cheese, I relented, and ordered one along with a cup of coffee.

Breakfast to go, Tallow drove us to the Horseshoe Meadow trailhead parking lot.

I downed a tab of Ibuprofen in hopes of forestalling an increase in knee pain—coming on of late—before we started our hike at 6:25 a.m. The 55-degree temperature felt surprisingly good once we were under way.

Two hours later, we’d hiked 2.2 miles to Trail Pass Trail/PCT junction at mile-maker 744.5. From there, we continued south bound on the PCT.

What? No blister, Prim8 insisted, as if he could order that, when heel pain suggested something amiss.

It’s probably, a blister, fella, but there’s little we can do about that. “I think my foot is trying to grow blisters,” I told Tallow. “I thought I’d solved that problem.” Apparently not, Prim8.

As the morning dragged on, the cool temperature rose to the 80s under clear sky by noon. Though tree cover diminished for stretches, short rest breaks and breezes staved off my total meltdown. Flies and mosquitoes periodically buzzed us. An application of DEET, and our movement along the trail, combined with gusting breezes, prevented their overwhelming us.

Owens Lake from the PCT

We arrived at Death Canyon campground aside a running creek, 8,946 feet elevation, mile-marker 730.8 after a ten-hour hike over 13.7 miles.

After a dinner snack, Tallow bear-bagged our food stash in a tree.

Though no bugs hassled Prim8 and me, once Tallow had set up his tent, I retreated indoors to prevent bugs from getting any ideas otherwise.

A blister! No, Prim8 complained, when I checked my feet and discovered one aside my heel.

Nothing can be done about that. We’ll have to tough it out, Prim8. I’d neglected to bring mole skin or band aids, only carried a small stripe of Duct tape for emergencies. We’ll take another Ibuprofen. I hoped to reduce any and all pain during the night to get better sleep, which had eluded me the past several nights, and maybe avoid muscle stiffness the following morning.

6.26.24, Day 3, “Continuing South” -

6:40 a.m., the temperature near the low 50s, again, felt quite comfortable. Knee, blister and back pains were negligible, but I downed another Ibuprofen as a pain preventative before we continued southbound.

The temperature rose into the 80s. Short breaks to catch my breath under the shade of a tree now and then, helped compensate for the exposure to the sun’s relentless heat.

Tired, Prim8 frequently complained. Stop! 

Okay. We’ll rest a moment, but we need to keep going.

Hurting, Prim8 griped about my on-going heel blister pain, though that felt tolerable, my knee ache, which seemed consistent, and an increasing lower back pain.

Getting old is for the birds, fella. 

I literally limped across the South Fork Kern River bridge (steel bridge) at 7,832 feet elevation and mile-marker 716.5. We’d totaled 14.3 miles distance and a 1,114-foot elevation drop for the day.

Nesting swallows swarmed under the bridge, collecting bugs to feed their young, while Tallow and I filtered cool water to replenish our bottles after he’d set up his tent.

"Steel Bridge" Across Crag Creek (PCT mile-marker 716.5)

Exhausted, I reclined on my sleeping pad to eat a light meal and took another Ibuprofen in order to maximize my R&R, rest and recuperation.

Tallow and I decided not to bear-bag our food, as the campground occupation of perhaps a dozen hikers would likely deter most larger critters. As well, we were well out of active bear territory.

6.27.24, Day 4, “Limping to the Finish” -

5:35 a.m. The trail continued away from the stream.

Looking North at Crag Creek and Across Clover Meadow

We continued over a ridge, then down toward the river again. Remnants of burned and fallen trees, left us with negligible cover from the sun. Hot, miserable and fatigued, Prim8 encouraged frequent breaks, which I took to catch my breath.

I encountered one non-poisonous snake aside the trail before reaching the stream crossing. There, however, an even larger snake—same species, I think—slithered over one of the logs used to aid hikers.

Non-poisonous Snake at PCT Stream Crossing Near Kennedy Meadows

(Courtesy Tallow)

The broad expanse of the Kennedy Meadows, covered with sage brush, made hiking to Sherman Pass Road a continued hot ordeal under unobstructed sun, while the temperature ranged in the 80s. I plodded onward, hiking slowly and taking frequent, though short, breaks, back pain dominating my concern. Thankfully, my knee pain had not increased, while my heel blister had stabilized.

Tallow pointed out a coyote that trotted away, some fifty yards off the trail. “Searching for a wabbit,” he said.

1:50 p.m., we arrived at PCT mile-marker 702.2, elevation 6,009 feet after a 14.3 mile, 9 ½ hour hike.

After retrieving Tallow’s vehicle at Horseshoe Meadows, we spent the night at the Mount Whitney Hotel in Lone Pine—with great air conditioning—before driving home Sunday, 6/28/24.

Note: I’ve decided to stick with the Half-Mile Note mile-marker designations, except for the Cottonwood Pass mile-marker sign, which read 751.4 miles. The remainder mile-marker designations are referenced according to Half-Mile Notes.

A Few “Lesser Known and Obscure” Facts I Learned While Visiting Spain, Morocco and the Rock of Gibraltar

Bottom line: Travel is the salt and pepper of life.

Janet, my wife, and I enjoyed our most recent trip, an ocean cruise, to parts of these three countries. Perhaps, the following facts will encourage you to consider a visit to parts of our marvelous planet ... the only one we've got.

Janet and I pose during a two-seater

camel ride on Lanzarote Island.

We first flew to Las Palmas De La Gran Canaria, the largest city on the island Gran Canaria, where we boarded the Seabourn Quest.

A view of the Seabourn Quest (foreground).

1) The Canary archipelago lies about 93 miles off the northwestern coast of Africa and 840 miles from continental Europe (Spain proper). They're governed by Spain, having been"adopted"in 1493. If any blame is to be laid regarding that latter development, I'd point my finger at Columbus, if for no other reason than timing and his encouragement to "sail the seas." (He stopped there for ship repairs in 1492 on his voyage to North America.)

2) The name Canary Islands isn't derived from birds of any sort. Instead, the name comes from Berber shepherd dogs used to control sheep and/or goats. Think Spanish variation of "canine."

3) Volcanic in origin, like the Hawaiian and Galapagos Island archipelagoes, the Canary Islands offer a pristine beauty (except perhaps crowded Santa Cruz de Tenerife). However, the islands are dry like the Galapagos, which, by the way, makes them unsuitable to raise cattle per the lack of sufficient quantities of naturally growing grass.

A small view of the beautiful

volcanic terrain of Lanzarote.

4) The first European desalination plant was built on Lanzarote in 1964 to supplement the meager rain water. The desal water helps wet the whistles of residents and some two million visitors each year.

5) Camels were introduced to Lanzarote in the mid-1800's since they handle the dry conditions better than horses. But since mechanization arrived, I suspect they're only used now to grab a tourist buck or two.

Our herky-jerky two-seater

camel ride on Lanzarote.

6) With a little help, grape vines produce fruit on Lanzarote. The vines there were untouched by Phylloxera—the disease which whipped out continental European vines in the mid-late 1800's—and so weren't replaced by American vines from California.

Grape vines are protected from strong

north wind with local lava rock walls.

(They appear to have been dusted for pests.)

7) Lanzarote boasts the longest lava tube in the world at almost five miles (three-and-three-quarters above sea level and one-and-one-quarter below).

A portion of the exposed lava tube has

been turned into at tourist attraction.

And another portion is used for music

concerts due to the acoustic qualities!

8) The movie "Casablanca" WAS NOT filmed in Casablanca, but instead in Tangiers. That's Hollywood for you!

9) The term "tangerine" originally referred to oranges from Tangiers and its surrounds.

10) The Rock of Gibraltar, the southern most tip of continental Europe, is part of the United Kingdom, ceded three times to Britain by Spain. We were informed that Spain currently lusts over Gibraltar, however vestiges of Spanish colonialism persist in Morocco, an irony difficult to miss. (More on that below.)

A view of Gibraltar Rock, one "Pillar of

Hercules," from an observation deck near the tram.

We were lucky enough to see the

second pillar of Hercules in Morocco,

across the Gibraltar Strait.

11) As part of the defense of Gibraltar in 1787, Lt. General Shrapnel of the British Army, utilized exploding shells. And his name stuck!

12) Gibraltar boasts the shortest land border in the world at approx. one mile.

13) Melilla is one of two Spanish enclaves in Morocco. (The other is Ceuta.) As such it has a highly guarded border to dissuade uncontrolled immigration into the European Union.

A sunset on the Mediterranean from

our cruise ship Seabourn Quest.

Walk in beauty, fellow earthlings.

A Few “Lesser Known and Obscure” Facts I Learned While Visiting Singapore, Indonesia & Australia

Bottom line: Nothing ventured ... nothing gained.

Janet, my wife, and I enjoyed our recent trip to these three countries and wished we could’ve continued on. Perhaps, these facts will encourage you to consider a visit to one or more of them.

1) Located at the southern tip on Malaysia, and only 85 miles north of the equator, Singapore, clean and modern, is a forested city and island nation (hot and humid while we were there).

A limited view of Singapore's waterfront from Gardens by the Bay.

2) Singapore is one of two cities, the other Rio de Janeiro, to have a rain forest within it’s city limits, though it is modern and clean.

Noah’s Ark found in Singapore?

3) The second largest exporter of used cars, behind Japan, Singapore heavily taxes vehicles after ten years, which encourages purchase of new cars. That’s one way to cut down on gas consumption and pollution!

4) Singapore hosts several great tourist attractions. We visited Gardens by the Bay and Botanical Gardens.

An elevated view of the Supertree

Grove at Singapore's Gardens

by the Bay.

We toured the Cloud Forest, also part of Gardens by the Bay, where we enjoyed the Avatar Experience.

Here’s the Pandoran Mountain Banshee

that greets visitors to the Cloud Forest.

5) Singapore wants to strengthening it’s position as the hub of shipping (commerce) between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

6) The current largest super cargo ships can carry more than 24,000 TEUs (standard 20-foot shipping containers). Even larger ships are in planning or construction, and they’ll be able to load and unload in Singapore docks.

7) Street vendors of the past have been relocated to one of a number of Hawker Centers around the city, AKA food courts. We stayed in the heart of the financial district, where we discovered the nearby Hawker Center.

Hawker Center in the historic Lau Pa Sat

(wet market), reportedly housing 200

vendors! (I didn’t count them, however.)

8) With Asian food-selection galore, we enjoyed satay (BBQ skewers of shrimp, beef and chicken with peanut sauce) … and beer.

Janet takes a break from enjoying our

meal at the Lau Pa Sat Hawker Center.

9) Having grown up in Kentucky, I confess my skepticism of some food choices, however.

Dessert made from green beans?

Yeah ... no!

From Signapore, we flew to Bali, one of many of Indonesia’s islands.

10) Indonesia claims to have over 18,000 islands. Some may say more. Some may say less. But what’s a few thousand among friends?

11) Though other Indonesian islands are primarily Muslim, Bali is primarily Hindu.

12) The Balinese perform and enjoy magical and colorful reenactments of religious stories.

The gist? Two male gods fight over a female god!

13) The Indonesian currency exchange rate is approximately 15,000 Rupiahs to US$1. Though I felt rich, I couldn’t keep track of exact prices in dollars. What’s a few Rupiahs here or there?

14) Balinese roads were generally clogged with traffic as the island, about the size of Delaware, has about 4.2 million inhabitants.

15) While there we visited their Monkey Forest, a great source of curiosity … for humans.

I suspected this resident was brushing

up on his/her tool making skills.

A Shakespeare play coming soon?

We boarded a cruise ship in Bali and from there sailed east and south, destined for Sydney via Australia’s Sunshine Coast. However, still in Indonesian waters, we stopped at Lombok Island where we took a short bus ride to a beach, consumed a cocktail, then sailed onward to Rinca Island.

16) Komodo dragons currently occupy five islands, though only Komodo Island is inhabited by humans. Now and then, someone gets bitten. From 1972-2012 twenty-four attacks have been reported, five fatal.

17) Though Komodos can climb trees while young, they loose that ability as they grow in size and weight.

Two smaller Komodos fled up a tree to avoid a larger one.

We sailed past East Timor before stopping in Darwin.

18) The name East Timor can be considered redundant, as Timor can be translated as “east.”

19) Aussies refer to Darwin, in Australia’s Northern Territory, as the “top end.”

20) Darwin was a frequent bombing target by the Japanese during World War II. As result, fuel storage tunnels were built underground, though not used a result of leakage.

This is one such storage tunnel accessible to tourists.

21) BTW, in case you’ve ever wondered, QANTAS (airlines) is an acronym of Queensland And Northern Territories Aerial Services.

22) Did you know that there are more camels in Australia than in Egypt? So many that Australia exports camels to Saudi Arabia. You might ask, how did camles get to Australia? Before the arrival of motorized vehicles, camels were used to haul cargo across Australia’s outback. When motorized vehicles replaced them, some camels were set free to roam. Since then, they've multiplied in the desert like rabbits, I take it.

We stopped at Thursday Island, an area of significant past pearl harvesting, before continuing eastward through the Torres Straits.

A WWII gun emplacement at Green Hill

Fort on Thursday Island. Never used, I believe.

23) Torres Strait is thought to have been a land bridge to Australia during previous ice ages when sea levels were lower. Hence, allowing the settlement of Australia by the Aboriginals. Now a shallow sea, its home to numerous corral reefs, which comprise the northern portion of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

A map of Torres Strait. Australia claims

the islands northward to the coast of PNG (Papua New Guinea).

24) The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living thing on earth, can be seen from space, and is comprised of some 3,000 individual reefs stretching 1,400 miles along Australia’s northeastern corner/coast.

We sailed on to Cairns,

24) pronounced without the R, as in cans!

Cairns serves as one of many jump-off point for reef snorkeling. However, since Janet and I snorkeled the reef a few years ago, we strolled around and sampled local beer within a few minutes walk from our docked ship.

Sampling "Mr. Wong," a traditionally

styled Hefeweizen at Hemingway’s Brewery.

Sunset as we leave Cairns. Yes, the

tug boat is traveling backwards!

Next came Townsville with its distinctive hill, which I wanted to ascend, though didn’t.

Leaving Townsville at sunset.

25) We anchored near Airlie Beach, located on one of the WhitSundays, a group of islands misnamed by Cook in 1770. The International Date Line not having been established yet, he unknowingly had arrived a day later! We cruised among a few of the white-sand-beach islands and pristine waters on a motorized catamaran.

Twas difficult to get a good selfie with

background on a fast moving boat!

One of the Whitsunday Islands.

Try looking at this island from the side.

Remind you of any relatives?

After our catamaran ride, we headed into Airlie Beach for some local fresh shrimp and assorted meats (you know, kangaroo, crocodile, wild boar and emu).

Next, when our ship stopped at Mooloolaba (Moo-loola-ba, pronounced /mululɑbə/ or moo-loo-lah-bah), we visited the Australian Zoo of Steve Irwin fame. Crikey!

26) We enjoyed the Australian Zoo’s “croc” show. I marvelled at crocodiles’ ability to hold their breath up to two hours, generally ... though as much as seven hours if inactive in cold water.

A demonstration of what a croc will do for food.

27) We walked among kangaroos at the zoo. They can travel at 44 miles-an-hour for short distances, though cannot walk backwards. Those we encountered preferred to move very little, however. I suspect that they were well fed by visitors … and it was the hot part of the day when we visited.

This one’s posture suggested,

Don’t dare touch my food!

From Airlie Beach we sailed to Newcastle, where we visited the Backbutt (pronounce black-but) Nature Preserve, which houses a number of indigenous animals.

A snoozing wombat.

The following morning, our cruise ship glided into Sydney Harbor before sunrise. Once docked, Janet and I disembarked, and headed home on a fourteen-hour flight.

A panoramic view of Sydney.

Walk in beauty, fellow earthling.