A zero is a guilty pleasure. A real bathroom is always close. I wear clothes that do not belong to me and that I will leave here when I am done with them. A store stocked with junk food delicacies is at hand. A restaurant that serves calorie-rich entrees is open all day. My friends […]
Author: David Somers
Day 34 – Mosquito Hell
As I lay in bed last night watching the last light disappear above the trees, the mosquitoes suddenly intensified. Normally the bug spray I rub on my face will keep them at bay. A few will land, but they quickly fly away. Last night was different. It was as if they were being hurled against […]
Day 33 – Cowhorn Mountain
I wake up at midnight drenched in sweat again. This is getting old. I have always been a warm sleeper, throwing off a lot of heat at night, but this is getting ridiculous. Luckily the bugs are low so I expose my torso to the night and do a lot of quilt puffing. I am […]
Day 32 – Mount Thielsen
As the day ended yesterday with everyone in their beds, Spacemaker watching a movie on his phone and me writing, a buck stumbled into our normally deserted campsite and objected to the whole arrangement. He started snorting and stomping and charged off into the brush. The odd thing about the incident is that nobody raised […]
To send me stuff…
Some of you have said you would like to send me stuff on the trail. Examples are: snacks or dehydrated real food). There is a way to send it, but first let me make a few points: I am pretty self-sufficient out here. My needs are also pretty focused, so please message me before you […]
Day 31 – Crater Lake
I had a great time last night talking with everyone. It does get me to bed late. After writing the blog post, it is 10:30! Way past hiker midnight (9:00). Bumpy start I do not hear my alarm, but I wake at 4:20 anyway. My quilt has quite a bit of dew on it. If […]
What’s going on
I have been in town recently and have completed a bunch of posts. I have scheduled them to go up over the next week. That means my posts will appear about a week after they actually happen. This is good for me and it provides more continuity for you. Occasionally I will make a mistake, […]
Day 30 – Snowballing into Crater Lake
Last night I woke up drenched in perspiration. Enclosing my entire body except my nose in a down quilt has consequences besides keeping mosquitoes at bay. Now I am gross with sweat. I puff the quilt up and down to bring cool air inside. The mosquitoes sense an advantage. My face, neck and hands ate […]
Day 29 – Devil’s Peak
My alarm idea worked today. I randomly woke at 3:50, took my earplugs out and then heard the alarm go off by my head 25 minutes later. Before even turning off the alarm, I open the valve of my air mattress and all the air escapes. As several PCT hikers have pointed out, the sound […]
Day 28 – Mount McGloughlin
The day started per usual: I don’t hear my alarm and wake up 9 minutes late. To prevent this, I have started sleeping with my watch next to my head. Unfortunately, the alarm frequency is blocked by my earplugs. Argh. If only I could train myself to wake up at 4am, remove my earplugs and […]