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My 220 Mile Hike Begins!

  • Samuel Emigrant
  • Aug 11, 2018
  • 2 min read

Day 0-1! Pulling off this hike was a lesson in logistical planning. Trish and I drove a trailer of stored household items from Oakland, CA to Anacortes, WA in preparation for our stint house sitting for our friends the Stoners who are off to Italy for 10 months. We are eventually planning on moving back to Washington.

As part of this hike we decided to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of Josh Hopwood. Josh's dad and my long time hiking buddy, Mark Hopwood kicked off the hike, joining me on the trail for the first 40 miles and 4 days. As part of the trip, Mark and Denise Hopwood planned to explore Oregon after our cabin stay at Odell Lake. I flew down from Seattle to Oakland and met Mark in Walnut Creek. Mark had a rental car (Pic 1 - Klamath Lake) that we drove back up to Oregon on Day 0 to visit Crater Lake (Pic 2-3) and then on to our first night's stay at Diamond Lake (Pic 5). We got our one and only Marmot picture at Crater Lake (Pic 4). On day one, July 13th, we drove the car to the PCT trail head (Pic 6-7). After our hike we would drive back and pick the car up. Trish drove down from Seattle on the 15th and spent the night in Portland before picking up Denise at the Portland Airport and then driving up to Crescent Lake to pick us up off the trail for the drive to our cabin at Odell Lake, just 10 miles away.

Mark and I began our hike (Pic 8-12) with a steady ascent to the base of Mt. Thielsen. This stretch of the PCT has very few options for water but our destination was Thielsen Creek which originates as a spring at the base of a glacier on Mt. Thielsen (Pic 13-14). Mosquitoes!! We quickly learned that our hike would require our head nets and a generous quantity of mosquito repellent. The first day hiking at mile high elevations always taxes your lungs but we survived the eight mile opening climb. Check out my paunch in a couple of these pics. After 21 days, that will magically disappear along with a lot of other excess body weight. Day one complete at a beautiful campsite!

 
 
 

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About Me.

I'm a double hip recipient approaching 60 but I'm not ready to stop exploring the wilderness.  I'm documenting my goal to be the first of my kind to hike the state of Oregon on the PCT, July 2018.  Subscribe below to follow my progress.  Thanks! 

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Keith means "Lover of Nature and the Outdoors"

I was introduced to Backpacking in 8th grade by Mr. Landfear, who taught Horticulture-Ecology.  He would take a group of kids a couple times a year backpacking in Yosemite or Desolation Wilderness. He knew Yosemite like the back of his hand.

 

His first lesson was always leave your campsite in better condition than you found it.  That man could spy an aspirin size piece of foil in the dirt from 25 yds. I never forgot the lesson. I've packed a sizable amount of garbage out over the years that wasn't mine to begin with.  

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I have been backpacking with the same group of guys in one combination or another now for 43 years. We all experienced the same 7th and 8th grade Science department at Mendenhall Junior High School in Livermore, CA. (Mr. Carlson also lead trips to Yosemite.) Quite remarkable when you think about it. There were a couple years when injuries or ailments shut someone down and we picked another adventure together (Salmon Fishing at Deception Pass followed by Car Camping in the Northern Cascades or there was the year we fished King Salmon on the Kenai and Halibut on the Cook Inslet in Alaska.  

 

There was a period of backpacking with friends I met while attending CAL, including a few trips combined with guys from both groups.  For the last 30 years it's been just the original Moles from Mendenhall.  We have been all over the Central Sierras, including Yosemite, Emigrant Wilderness, Desolation Wilderness and the Stanislaus National Forest. During the years living in WA State there were Cascade trips into Alpine Wilderness and North Cascades National Park. Recently, while living in CT I have explored a bit of the Appalachian Trail packing the MA and CT sections.

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A great new pair of Vasque boots has given me a new lease on my packing life. I plan to keep going. Next year at age 58 (after my second Hip resurfacing) I have a few trips in mind for CA, WA and NH on both the PCT and AT.  And then the biggee at age 59, 380 miles of the Oregon PCT.  The guys are skeptical but, of one thing there is no doubt, I know they will have a hard time not showing up for at least part of the ride.

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Remember, be nice to Mother Nature!

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