Emilie Bikes and Hikes

Day 5: May 13th; Fort Ebey State Park – Silverdale WA; 52 miles

Happy Mother’s Day! Especially to my mother. She is the prime example of selflessness, unwavering support, and demonstrates without fault dedication to family. Should I ever bless this earth with my own offspring, I hope to be 1/2 the mother she is… then I know I did well. Love you mom and miss you!

Despite all the trash I talked about last night’s campsite, I had the best nights sleep in the belly of the forest. Which is perfect, cause we woke up at 4:45am to catch a ferry into Port Townsend. The morning ride wasn’t bad and got to the ferry just in time. On the ferry, we got coffee and saw they had Marionberry yogurt, so we just had to have it. Sheena and I both heard of this berry, apparently it only grows in the PNW, from different avenues. If you ever seen Portlandia (again demonstrating my glorious taste in Tv) then you understand why I needed to try it. Decent stuff, nothing special. We spent some time in Port Ludlow for lunch and debated whether or not to have a “shorter day” or a longer one. Due to where we decided we’re going tomorrow, we planned on going the shorter route and stay in Silverdale.

Silverdale doesn’t have any campgrounds, nor does the town up the road Bremerton. Due to this, we decided to resort to warm showers to see if we could stay with anyone on that app. If you’re not familiar with warm showers, it’s an app where people (usually cyclists) advertise that they’re willing to host fellow cyclists at their home free of charge. They usually provide a bed, shower, and especially generous folks will cook you dinner. While practicing good caution, it can be very a useful and cheap alternative in a pinch. We were so lucky and got a few people willing to host us!

The ride into Silverdale just wasn’t fun. It was hot, the sun was super intense, and there were hill after hills. We rode on a lot of no shoulder roads, yet motorists weren’t the worst. Except one guy. I was taking a breather a top a hill (I admit, it wasn’t the smartest place to stop) but I was pretty far off the road. I heard a truck coming full Speed up the hill and saw him before he saw me. He was literally swerving onto the shoulder so I stepped back to avoid getting hit, not realizing I was stepping into a ditch. I fell backwards and Ol’ Bessie fell right on top of me. Super embarrassed (and mad at the truck driving idiot who nearly killed me), I found superhuman strength and lifted the bike off me and jumped out of the ditch. Which I realized after I got up was full of thorns that cut up my entire right leg. I had blood pouring down making for a grisly scene. I’ll spare you the picture cause it even makes me queasy. It’s all cleaned up now, so it just looks like I got into a nasty fight with a cat. And the cat won.

We did ride on what is called an engineering masterpiece, a floating bridge. Apparently it’s made of floating concrete and was a huge development in engineering cause it rises and sinks with the tide. Or something like that. I’m not really sure, cause I fell asleep after the short explanation…. it’s just a bridge.

We eventually rolled into Silverdale around 4:30pm and hauled up a huge hill to our host’s Janice and Gary house. It is a beautiful home with a gorgeous view of the water and is directly west of Seattle. On a clear night you can see the city. They were just wrapping up a huge Mother’s Day party and had lots of leftover food they offered us. We. Ate. Like. Kings. It was unbelievable – salmon, lobster tail, beet salad, asparagus, chips and dip, and the crown jewel – German chocolate cake with ice cream. It was spectacular. They offered us their shower, laundry, and Gary even helped properly fit Sheena’s bike seat. He is a fellow physical therapist who took a CEU course on biking and is a super smart guy. Janice owns a Pilate studio and is retiring this week. Lucky! The MacFarlands are super nice and an extremely interesting couple. As a family, they took a year off in 2003 to cycle the entire globe. At the time, their daughter was 18 and son was 14. Kudos to them for dealing with teenagers on a trip like that… I know at that age I would’ve been a total brat! Since then they have done a lot of other tours, including the Eerie Canal, but nothing to the globe magnitude. They even offered us advice for tomorrow’s ride and the best way to avoid traffic, hills, and heat. Western WA is experiencing a heat wave right now and we’re not loving it. No matter how much sunscreen we apply, we’re getting burnt. The sun is just super intense over here.

In order to avoid the heat, we’re waking up early again tomorrow to get most of the miles in before the heat really hits and fries us to even more of a crisp. We both have our own rooms, so we’re looking forward to what we hope is a good night’s sleep.

Little Addie even got me a Mother’s Day card… gosh I miss her.

Day 4: May 12th; San Juan State Park – Fort Ebey State Park; 40 miles

Ah, I had finally fallen into a deep sleep when I was abruptly awoken by a terrifyingly loud noise and bright lights. In a sleepy stupor, I thought it was a farmer’s tractor headed right for my tent! Ready to bolt out, my ears and brain harmonized and I recognized almost immediately the all too familiar unmistakable low gurgling sound of a Volkswagen Vanagon engine running right next to where I was laying. I am very accustomed to this noise, as that is the vehicle of choice my family used for road trips growing up. I looked at my watch and realized it was midnight and that a good night’s sleep was likely impossible at this point. After attempting to park for 15 minutes (I was about to go out there and park it myself), they killed the engine and my guess that it was a Vanagon was solidified. I recognized the sliding door slam immediately (I’m pretty sure I heard it slam more last night than I ever did in the almost 30 years I’ve known our Keane Mobile) and the sing song notes of the driver’s door opening with the keys still in the ignition. The owners were talking loudly (I guess they missed that quiet hours had started 2 hours prior to their arrival…..) so I decided to make my presence known by popping my head out of my tent in an aggressive manner, which looking back on it, was probably more comical than aggressive. Sure enough there was the van not 10 feet from my head! All my suspicions were true! Not really sure if they noted my presence, as they continued to talk loudly AND BUILD A FIRE. Ugh. But what I did notice were all the stars in the sky. It was overwhelming almost. I decided to stare at them for a while and caught 2 shooting stars and a satellite. Reason #48284 why I’m happy I got LASIK.

Well, enough about me complaining about the Vanagon people. I did eventually fall asleep and woke up a few hours later. As we were breaking down camp, we got an “ahem!” from the van folks – can you believe it?! It was almost 7am, when quiet hours ended. Apparently us talking between ourselves was more offensive than their obnoxious engine running right next to our heads. But I digress, for real this time.

We rode the 10 miles of more Appalachian type hills back to the ferry terminal. We made good time and had a delicious breakfast in town and walked around, making a stop at the farmers market. While waiting for the ferry we talked with a young man from Germany who moved here with his wife 6 months ago “just cause”. He was really sweet and really interesting to talk to. He has worked as a paramedic and a zookeeper and currently works on one of the islands as an internet technician.

During the ferry we did some planning for the next couple of days. We’re kinda itching to get out of Washington, so longer days are in our near future.

After the ferry we decided to bypass our original plan of just 10 miles to Deception Pass to add on 18 additional miles to Fort Ebey State Park. Before the ferry, we were fiddling with this plan and asked The German for his opinion. He said, “us Germans are very efficient. It’s a nice day out so you should take advantage go to the farther park.” Ah, perfect advice so we took it.

We passed through Deception Point quickly. It was insanely packed and traffic was a nightmare. It was seriously as busy as Yellowstone in mid July. We snapped some pictures and got out as quickly as possible.

The rest of the ride was not so great. We decided to follow google maps and not the ACA maps. We now know why ACA chose the roads they did. We were stuck on a pretty busy road without a shoulder for entirely too long. We rode on the sidewalk and eventually detoured to get ourselves off it.

The roads into Fort Ebey were nothing but hill after hill. The ranger who checked us in was super sweet and took us up a massive hill to the hiker biker campsite. Thanks Corey! We got to camp around 6pm, giving us plenty of time to shower and cook dinner. The sun doesn’t set around here till close to 9, so there’s lots of sunlight till pretty late.

Now let me tell you about this campsite. I don’t like it. It freaks me out. They stuck us in the middle of a Black Forrest type of unnerving setting with mossy trees all around us. Gives me the creeps. Especially when 100 meters up a trail is a beautiful open vista view area similar to where we stayed last night. And the bathrooms are 1/4 miles up the road after a huge hill. Guess I’ll be practicing getting ready for the JMT around here! But it’s only one night, right? Here’s to hoping Bigfoot doesn’t come trudging through our campsite in the middle of the night!

Day 3, May 11; Bay View State Park – San Juan County Park; 40 miles

Today we woke up early and broke down camp quickly knowing we had to catch a 9:30 am ferry to San Juan Islands. We rode the 17 miles to the ferry in good time, making it with 30 min to spare. I think our legs might be getting used to this whole ride for 12 hours type deal. We’re happy about that.

The ride to the ferry was pretty. Mornings in the PNW tend to be gray and dreary, but like I said, it adds a magical undertone to the whole experience.

When we got to the ferry, we thought we had plenty of time to relax before boarding. Guess again. As I was grabbing some warm clothes from my pannier while Sheena was waiting for a breakfast sandwich, I had who I thought was a stranger ask if I wanted a water. I turned around ready to decline the offer and realized it was Tom from yesterday! As an aside, yesterday when he talked with us he gave us seltzer water in exchange for conversation, so he gave us more today. He explained that he was picking up his aunt from Bellingham and saw us this morning riding and followed us to the ferry. We talked briefly about the San Juan Islands and I met his Aunt Biddy, a super sweet woman, but the conversation took a lot of time and we had to get our bikes on the ferry. I said goodbye and he reassured me he wouldn’t be following us again, and ran to meet up with Sheena, who was still waiting for her breakfast sandwich. We rushed the kitchen staff and got the sandwich and ran to get our bikes on board. We almost missed it, but we got our bikes on right in the Knick of time. We tied our bikes on rather precariously and got to sit down and relax for the hour ride. The ferry was a gorgeous trip, although a bit cold. Didn’t get to see any whales just yet! However, on the ferry was a woman on a show I consider to be a guilty pleasure. Dr Pepper (yes that is her real name) from Married at First Sight (like I said – it’s a guilty pleasure show, I have trash taste in TV) was on there with her husband. I spoke with her briefly. I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who recognized her, but cool sighting none the less!

After the ferry we deboarded and spent some time in town. We had to grocery shop, where I finally got a hold of the pack supply folks for the JMT (phew, one less thing to worry about), and started our ride to Lime Kiln. Along the way, we were told by multiple people to beware – the roads are narrow and there are lots of hills. Reassuring! As we were headed down one such hill, Sheena lost a riding glove. We were debating in a driveway whether or not to dump our gear and go back up the hill to retrieve it when the owner of the driveway talked to us – again, warning about the hills. We explained that Sheena lost her glove and that we were just gonna forget it and move on. We did just that and after almost forgetting about it, that same guy stopped next to us and gave her her glove! Really made our day!

San Juan is a pretty big island off route, but a very gorgeous place to explore. Nicknamed the Orca watching capital of the world, we came in hopes of seeing a whale. No such luck, as the ranger told us it was too early in the season for whale watching. Darn.

But regardless, it was a gorgeous ride. We pulled off at one particularly breathtaking view labeled private property. Before stopping, we were planning on trespassing and take a few quick pictures before going on our way. We didn’t realize there were people standing looking at the empty lot, and I quickly assumed they were going to buy it to build on it. “Geeze,” I thought, “these people sure are loaded. Wonder what they do.” After looking them over for a little, I realized it was Dr Pepper from the boat! We got on our bikes ASAP cause I didn’t want her to think we were mega creep stalkers and file a restraining order. Thus, dashing all my hopes of being on the show and any hope I have of finding my future husband! (Sarcasm).

We were told that the road we took around the island was the most beautiful road in the world. Though amazingly scenic, the jury is still out on this rather obtuse statement.

We arrived at Lime Kiln at 2:45, giving us plenty of time to relax and look for whales. Guess again! This particular state park does not allow camping. So, we had to move on. Luckily, there is a county park 2 miles down (or should I say up…) the road. Because google maps said those 2 miles would take 20 minutes, we knew we were in for a rough ride. And we weren’t wrong. We haven’t seen hills like that since the Appalachian days of the Transam. We weren’t thrilled, but we made it to San Juan County Park in one piece with still plenty of time to relax.

The campground we’re staying in is seriously amazingly beautiful. We’re close to the water and even have our own private beach. Definitely worth the 2 extra miles to get here.

Although we didn’t see whales, I did see an otter! He was adorable and I wish I could’ve snatched him up so Addie could have a brother. Unfortunately, my shrieking at how cute he was scared him off (as it would any normal creature with working ears) and he sprinted as fast as he could back to the safety of the water. Darn, sorry Addie!

Tomorrow we’re riding around the other half of the island and taking the ferry back to Anacortes where we’ll meet back up with the official route. After tomorrow (and all these San Juan hills) we’re hoping our biking legs will be ready to go so we can start tacking on more miles!

Day 2,May 10; Birch Bay State Park – Bay View State Park WA; 45 miles

Hello soreness and no sleep! Needless to say, after all the events that happened prior to bed, we did not have a restful night’s sleep. It rained on and off throughout the night, but we woke up to a rain free morning with birds singing. Cannibalistic birds. We attempted to hard boil eggs last night, but in the midst of all the confusion, the eggs were left behind. However, they were still edible. I ate 2 and am still living to tell the tale. We left 4 out as we got ready in the bathroom, and came back to a crow devouring them, leaving a mess. Oh well for that idea. We packed up our wet gear and got going for the day.

The morning was rainy and a little chilly. Our legs are sore from yesterday as they are still in the process of getting used to long rides. Again, I underate and practically destroyed a bag of gummy bears I bought yesterday. We stopped in Bellingham for some super fancy coffee and grocery shopping.

Washington is very similar to Western Oregon we experienced the last few days of the Transam. Dreary and wet, but still extremely beautiful. The clouds rolling into town are pretty magical and definitely add a nice ambiance to the environment. I knew I fell in love with the pacific north west 2 years ago during the Transam, today reminded me why.

Roadkill is again back in our lives as are saddle sores. Just gotta hold our breath and apply more Chamois Butt’r.

The people out here are extremely nice and friendly for the most part. They are truly interested in what we’re doing and wish us a ton of luck. I mean, even saying “we’re riding to Mexico” sounds like quite the undertaking to me. Although all these people are nice, it does take up quite a lot of time talking with them. For example, today we had a conversation with a really nice guy named Tom who talked to us for an hour about his trip down the pacific coast years ago and spots to see along the way. Although super friendly – it again took an hour. We gotta cut back on encounters like that if we want to tack on additional mileage down the road to complete this trek on time!

Today was one of the most beautiful rides I’ve been on. Yet with beauty comes danger. We were riding on a windy road without a shoulder with an abundance of cars. The cars were extremely respectful and gave us plenty of clearance, but still a little nerve wracking.

The views along the road, Chuckanut, were breathtaking. From pacific scenes straight out of a fairytale to views of the bay, it was hard to pay attention to the road. But we did and survived! In the picture below, you can see the mountains we biked through. Even from the outside it’s beautiful.

We arrived at camp much earlier today and were able to afford a much needed shower (still require quarters). We ate, set up camp, and planned for upcoming days all with plenty of sunlight AND without getting kicked out of the campsite! It’s quiet and peaceful here without the threat of rain. Hopefully we sleep better than last night.

Mosquitoes are horrible around here, for only this week apparently, adding an annoying beginning and end to our day. But, another day in the books and another beautiful sunset to end the day with!

Also, here is Addie the navigator helping with directions. Where was her wise guidance yesterday when we could’ve used it?!

Day 1, May 9; Vancouver BC – Birch Bay WA; 50 miles

Okay, maybe we should’ve trained. Today felt a lot longer than 50 miles (technically it was… keep reading) and was deceptively more hilly than the “no need for elevation maps” the ACA would lead you to believe.

We started early, 6:30 am to beat rush hour traffic. We had to ride 2 miles to the official start in the rain, which wasn’t nearly as cold as I was anticipating. The rain subsided and we had a smooth and easy ride through a really ritzy neighborhood with beautiful houses. Definitely some major wealth in that part of the city. Unfortunately, that’s where the smooth ended. Trying to find the pedestrian path to cross the Alex Fraser Bridge was a complete nightmare. The signs in Canada are less than helpful, especially when they point you in the wrong direction and leave you to wander a highly trafficked industry area for over an hour, tacking on useless mileage. Needless to say, I am not a fan of this Alex Fraser character.

Regardless, we made our way across and were greeted with Hill after hill. But, on a gloomy day, we found a Ray of sunshine. We set up to eat lunch in front of a strangers house, when that stranger pulled in not 2 minutes later. He came out to greet us and we had a little chat. He offered us to use his “washroom”, Canadians are too proper for bathrooms apparently, and wished us luck on our journey. Ray certainly showed why Canadians are considered such friendly people. He wasn’t the only person to offer a helping hand in a time of need. In search of a bathroom after many rejections, we stumbled into a supplement store with a really super friendly dog. We chatted a little with the owner who offered us a pre-workout drink to fuel our journey. Having to tackle a seemingly never ending hill, the drink is what got us over the hump.

As we approached the USA border, we stopped at a bistro cause I grossly underestimated how much food I need and I was ready to devour whatever I could find. To celebrate leaving Canada, we ordered the country’s signature dish – poutine. I can’t attest for how it tasted, cause I wolfed it down so fast, but I know it hit the spot!

Crossing the border was quite the experience. Wanting to celebrate our entry to the Motherlnd, we attempted to take pictures. Not realizing it was frowned upon, we were descended upon by a border patrol agent (live action picture below) and herded into the border patrol office. The guy who checked our passports was very friendly and wrote the offending officers a snarky note and took pictures of us in front of the border plaque.

The adrenaline of knowing we only had 10 miles left paired with the food we got at the border fueled a quick ride to the campground. So quickly, in fact, that we were literally going faster than a freight train. And eventually had to wait 15 minutes for it to pass so we could cross the street.

A few of the roads we rode on were relatively scary… no shoulder, heavily trafficked. However, the motorists were all relatively respectful and passed with plenty of room.

We’re staying at a state park in Birch Bay, and it’s extremely gorgeous. Due to the threat of rain and being the only ones in the campground, we decided to camp under a pavilion. It was perfect! We had dinner and set everything up. But wait, Not so fast! Here comes ranger Rick saying we couldn’t camp there and told us to move. Here it is, 9 at night, pitch dark, all of our stuff set up, and we had to move it. Not only up a huge steep hill, but now in the rain. Rules are rules and we did it without complaining, but man would it be nice to not have to break down a wet camp in the morning. Oh well.

But alas, the saga doesn’t end there! After moving everything, we went to get showers. We realized in despair that it was quarter showers, and we were quarter less. Sink showers it is!

All in all, surely not the greatest of days. But it can only go up from here on out!

The final countdown! May 8, 2018

Tomorrow we begin our journey from border to border and I am beyond excited. But also, I can’t lie, I’m a little nervous. I honestly haven’t ridden more than 20 miles since that fateful day 2 years ago when we ended our Transam journey. But, riding a bike is like… riding a bike. If you did it once, it’s a skill you never forget, right? Eh I guess we’ll find out soon enough!

So far everything has been going extremely smoothly. I wrapped up work and had all last week free to prepare for what I have in store for this summer as well as spend some quality time with Addie. Since I already have all the gear I need for biking, I focused mainly on preparing the the JMT. But alas Sunday came very quickly and I soon found myself on a flight to Denver. After landing, I met up with my cousin Julie and her boyfriend Adam. They showed me around the city and we visited a few cool spots, including the most massive REI I have ever seen (granted, I’ve only ever seen one other one). It was awesome catching up with them and exploring the city. I’m kicking myself now that I didn’t get a picture with them, I’ll blame it on the altitude sickness. Sheena made her joyful appearance later at night and it was great to see her after over a year of being apart.

We flew into Seattle extremely early in the morning which was fine cause both of us were miraculously able to sleep on the plane. After picking up our bags, we decided to use the Light Rail system to get to the bike shop since an Uber was ridiculously expensive at rush hour. But what we saved in money we spent in effort. Sheena was smart and packed all her gear in a roller luggage bag. Me, being the genius I am, packed a huge duffel bag. Coming in at a whopping 42.5 lbs, carrying it the 1/2 mile to the train station was a struggle. And apparently it was an obvious one because a kind soul driving an airport taxi stopped and let us hop aboard for a lift to the station. After the train ride we had another 1/2 mile walk to the bike shop. That, too, was a bear. Even more so. Seattle is a pretty hilly city, so walking with an awkward duffel bag with pot and pan handles poking you with every step of the way was pretty brutal. And here I was last blog post saying that hiking the JMT with a 40 lb bag wouldn’t be a huge deal…. maybe I should reconsider that brazen statement. But regardless, with frequent rest breaks we managed the harrowing journey and were reunited with our bikes at Velo Bike Shop.

Should you ever find yourself in Seattle with any bike needs, get your butt over to Velo Bike Shop. Even prior to arriving, they were very good at communicating with us when our bikes arrived and when they were assembled. But once we got there the manager Lloyd let us literally dump every piece of gear we had (including clothing) in the middle of the shop and organize our panniers. They offered us helpful advice for sights to see and ways to travel around the city, and even let us keep our bikes and gear in the shop while we explored the city on foot. Talk about amazing customer service! Cannot speak highly enough about everyone who works there.

Luckily for us the bike shop is in the middle of all the action in Seattle. We were able to visit the space needle, Pikes Place Market (we missed the fish throwing unfortunately), and the ever popular (and highly disgusting) gum wall. Along the way we strolled along the water and saw beautiful snow capped mountains. Both Denver and Seattle didn’t feel like major cities, at least so far as what I’m used to. There were no police sirens screaming, no ambulances wailing, and no car horns honking! Maybe it has to do with west coast mentality or the legalization of a certain something that was definitely wafting through the air, but it was so much more quiet and “chill” than what I’m used to.

After returning to Velo to pick up our bikes, we geared them up and did our first fully loaded ride of the trip! After a somewhat rocky start (with much laughing and ‘oh my god we should’ve actually trained for this’ moments) we made our way 1.3 miles of pure downhill bliss to the Amtrak station to catch the train into Vancouver. Seattle is an extremely bike friendly city and we had no fear of getting hit by a car or pedestrian.

The train was the first hiccup of the trip, and a very minor one it was. It broke down 45 min into the ride, but with some help of the engineer, it was up and running in no time. Plus where we got stuck, we had a gorgeous view of the sunset over the water.

But alas, that was not the end of our Amtrak woes. With only 15 min left in our trip, we came to a complete stop. The conductor came on the PA and announced that a freight train was stuck going up a hill and needed an additional engine to give it that extra push. This discouraged me not only because it was already midnight and we were stuck for an undetermined amount of time, but also because there was a hill so big even a train couldn’t make it, and we were headed the same direction only a couple of days later (great!) But after about an hour (I think, I fell asleep) we pulled into the station. We grabbed our bikes, went through customs and it was official, we made it to Canada and the start of the PCHT!

Being as late as it was, we were unsure whether to take the train or ride to the hostel that was only 1 mile away. Since it was warmer outside than in the train (it was freezing in the car) we decided to ride on over. Plus at 1:30am, do we really have to worry about traffic?? After a beautiful ride in the city, we arrived and checked into the Cambie Hostel in Vancouver, BC. We have to haul all our stuff up 2 floors (past a very noisy cat), but we have our own private room in which to store our bikes and gear. After all, on the ride over to the hostel, a motorist told us that Vancouver is the “bike stealing capital of the world”, so we better be careful.

Vancouver is much more like the cities I’m used to. Honking is abundant and everyone is in a hurry, pushing and shoving their way to wherever is so important that they’re going. Today we mainly did shopping for food and checked out a little of the city. We’re both super tired from having a 21 hour travel day yesterday, so we’re taking it pretty easy.

Public transportation in the pacific north west is extremely easy to use and navigate. We’ve taken light rails and trains just about everywhere so as to avoid biking in the city.

Right now we’re sitting at the Mexican restaurant under the hostel anxiously waiting to devour some tacos to celebrate taco Tuesday. We’re planning on going to bed early for a super early departure before rush hour hits. It’s looking like rain on our first day, very similar to the start of the Transam. So I’m taking that as a good sign! Can’t wait to get back on the bike and let the adventure begin!

Sheena’s Corner:

Common theme when I travel to other countries: “What part of Mexico are you from?”

There’s a cat at the hostel named Ding Dong, so now I have two Ding Dongs! *editor’s note: Sheena’s nickname for her boyfriend is Ding Dong*

2.5 Month Countdown Till the JMT!

In July 2013, my two brothers, my father, and I hiked the last 23 miles of the John Muir Trail. We spent three days two nights hiking through the wilderness of Yosemite National Park and even got to climb up the world famous Half Dome! Being my first overnight backpacking trip, I was nervous yet excited to experience what I would consider my first true grand adventure. Granted it was tough and I did have one mental breakdown (I blame trail mix raisins for that), this trip planted the seed for what has now come to fruition – hiking the entire John Muir Trail!

When I told people I was planning on hiking the John Muir Trail, I was received with blank stares and “Oh… okay, cool” responses. I briefly described the trail, but the lack of enthusiasm persisted and “Why would you want to do that?” was a quick retort. Well let me explain just why I would want to do it, and no, it’s not because I’m crazy! Named after the naturalist John Muir, the JMT is a 210 mile long distance trail in the Sierra mountain range in California, passing through King’s Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park. Having already hiked some of the Yosemite portion of the trail, I can attest to the awe inspiring stunning beauty of 10% of the trail, I can only imagine what the rest looks like!

John Muir Trial Map

Now that I have certainly sold you on the wonders of the trail, I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “wow, that sounds absolutely wonderful! How do I sign up for it!?” Well, I’m here to walk you through that, and boy, prepare yourself for one heck of a stressful planning process.

I was always aware that in order to hike the JMT, you would need a permit. Having gone through the permit process two years in a row to hike rim to rim in Grand Canyon, I know of the serious and permanent heart break/trauma that comes with being denied. I was very well aware that getting a denial for the JMT was a very real likelihood (I believe 65% get denied) and that all my dreams could potentially be shattered. A few days before the permit lottery process was going to start (February 1st), I decided to do a little more research on obtaining a permit. After rummaging around the internet for a little, I stumbled upon a blog that suggested starting at a different trailhead than the wildly popular Whitney Portal (the southern terminus). Not reliant on a corrupt lottery system (only my opinion that it’s corrupt… stupid Grand Canyon….), you can get a guaranteed permit online months ahead of time. I must’ve looked at the website to book the exact moment it opened reservations, because I could reserve any day for up to 24 people! I had the pick of the litter! After 2 days, the majority of the permits were already reserved, including 4 heading out from Horseshoe Meadows July 17th. Those were mine! After reserving the permits, the reality that I will soon be hiking my first thru-hike really hit.

If you’re anything like my mother, the fact that I reserved 4 permits likely allowed you to breathe out a sigh of relief. I am not crazy enough to hike through bear country alone! In a long convoluted story, one of my childhood friend’s sister caught wind that I was interested in hiking the JMT. She contacted me and said she wanted to join. Just the year prior she herself was denied permits for the trail, those pesky permits!! So far it is just me and Mary Beth hiking, but she has two friends who might meet up with us further along the trail. We’re still working on logistics for that to work.

Speaking of logistics, there are a ton that go into planning a hike like this. Starting south of Mt Whitney, we are adding around 20 miles to the entire trip. Worth it to be guaranteed a permit for hiking AND a permit for climbing Half Dome! In fact, Half Dome was a huge inspiration for starting at the Southern terminus of the trail. Most people go SOBO, however, ever the rebel, I wanted to go NOBO just to end the trail climbing Half Dome. With a 45 degree slope up/down a slick granite rock face, your only hope for not sliding to oblivion is clutching for dear life onto a cable. Climbing Half Dome in 2013 was easily top 5 scariest moments of my life, and I can’t wait to do it again!

But, back to logistics. We obviously will be carrying everything we need on our backs. Being in bear country, it is necessary that we carry a bear canister to prevent those nosey bears from knocking on our tents late at night and stealing our food – ultimately putting them in danger. In fact, that’s why canisters are required. Not for your safety, but so bears don’t become accustomed to getting food from humans easily, making them more brazen than they already are and increasing their chances of having to be euthanized. If you are caught without a canister, you will be escorted off the trail and served with a $5,000 fine – yeah, no thanks. Being confined to a bulky canister with limited capacity poses a pretty huge problem. Planning on taking 23 days to complete the trail (July 17-August 8th), we cannot possibly fit all our food in the canister. Not that we would even want to… hello back pain! Only able to carry 7 days of food at a time, we are forced to resupply along the trail. For the Northern end of the trail, that’s easy! There are a surprising amount of resorts who perform resupply in the backcountry wilderness. Essentially you mail them a bucket of your food, pay a fee for them to hold it, and pick it up right along the trail. Being so remote, they have to mule pack train it in, accounting for the relatively high fee for holding the bucket. Perfect! Simple solution to a huge problem.

Ah, not so fast. The Southern end of the trail does not practice typical southern hospitality. There is a huge span without any on trail resupply options. A lot of people hike 7 miles off the trail and hitchhike into a town to resupply, which adds a day to the trip. Being on a time constraint, we are not able to consider this as an option. Instead, we are likely going to use a pack train of mules to haul our food in, where we will meet them on the trail. Able to carry 250 lbs of food, we will not be at a risk for going hungry! However, there is an extremely high cost that comes along with this. We are looking for other hikers to share the cost and resupply with us. Here’s to hoping someone bites at our offer!

itinerary

Okay, so food and timeline is all figured out (itinerary is above… a lot of time and frustration was put into that schedule, but look at how beautiful it is!), what about camping?? Where do you camp in the middle of the wilderness?? Well the beauty of backpacking in the middle of the wilderness is that you can camp basically anywhere. Just as long as you’re so many feet from the trail, pretty much anywhere is fair game. I used Elizabeth Wenke’s guidebook at my number one resource for mapping out the itinerary. Within the pages of the book are suggested areas to camp as well as trail notes for every section of the trail.

Food

Because I’ll be shipping out my food weeks before I arrive, I have to prepare it weeks in advance. Obviously, I have to pack food with a long shelf life. Can you tell I have a super sweet tooth? In addition to candy (gummy bears not pictured) I’ll basically be living off of freeze dried food, peanut butter, and tuna. Can’t wait! Without a doubt I’ll be craving a nice juicy cheeseburger the entire time. But suffering builds character, right?

So how does one prepare for a trail that remains above 8,000′ elevation with a total of 47,000′ elevation change? Well, my friend Sheena and I will be biking down the pacific coast just weeks before embarking the JMT. That will hopefully help with cardio! Once I get back from that, my father and I will be hiking the White Mountains in New Hampshire to make sure all the gear works and if I have to make any last minute cuts/additions, I’ll have a good 3 weeks to make the necessary adjustments. New Jersey isn’t ideal for training for a high elevation adventure. I’ll be heading out to California 5 days before the start date in an attempt to acclimate. Also, I’m forced to go out early because transportation doesn’t run during the weekends. Really. What bus company doesn’t run on the weekends?! As inconvenient as it may be, at least it gives me time to acclimate, right? Cause with conquering Mt Whitney (elev 14.5k’) day 3, I’m gonna need all the time I can get so as to not get altitude sickness.

JMT gear

Above is a picture of my gear. It is by no means a full representation of all that I’ll have to pack (literally just ordered more junk online), but all the important stuff is there! Except the bear canister. Of course, I forgot the canister. But I’m too lazy to set it all back up just for that. So it gets a solo shot. All in all, I’m expecting the pack total weight to come in at just under 40 pounds. That was actually my goal. Now to some super experienced ultra light backpackers, 40 lbs is blasphemy and they potentially risked an aneurysm just reading that last sentence. In fact, I am totally expecting people who I run into on the trail to pick apart my pack and actually judge me for all the weight I’ll be carrying. People can be such snobs. But you know what? I simply don’t care. I have a few items some might call “a luxury” and poo poo on my decision to pack it. Psh, I would rather be comfortable with all my “luxurious” items (I would hardly call a pillow a “luxury”… please that’s necessary!) than miserable with a lighter pack. I’ll so tell them to go pound sand. Hmph.

bear canister

July 17th is right around the corner and the anticipation is already mounting. I can’t wait to get out there and see all the sights and be amongst some of the greatest scenery few have ever experienced.

2 Weeks!

I cannot believe it! Wow, how time flies when you’re genuinely and truly excited to embark on a new journey. In just over 2 weeks, Sheena and I will be starting our tour down the Pacific Coast. As the previous blog post highlighted, we will be starting the trip in Vancouver, BC and will be hugging the coast all the way down to San Diego, CA. Starting on the whole other side of the country — scratch that — in a whole entirely different country has definitely presented some issues with planning the logistics of getting the bikes and ourselves to the starting line in one piece.

Well actually, the bikes will not arrive in one piece… GASP! Ol’ Bessie (my beloved and loyal Surly Long Haul Disk Trucker) is presently being disassembled to be boxed so she can easily be shipped to a bike shop in Seattle, WA. Seattle? I can hear the doubt rising in your brains now, but, yes. Seattle. Apparently, if you ship your bike to another country, you are liable to be charged with brokerage, duties, and other completely asinine custom fees weeks later. These can cost up to $200 and are entirely dependent on the customs agent who receives and processes the bike. If that particular agent has a thing against bikes with purple handlebars (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?), I will be on the receiving end of a hefty bill that I’ll be forced to pay. Not privy to gambling OR bills from government agencies, I was not willing to take that chance. So it was either shipping the bikes to Seattle, or checking the bikes on the plane. After much debate and running the numbers, shipping the bikes to Seattle ended up being the economically best choice. Also, schlepping an awkward and heavy bike box around a crowded airport was not my idea of a fun old time.

tires

Here is the manual labor I put in myself to get the bike ready: changing the tires. After going over 5,000 miles on the same pair of tires with ONLY ONE FLAT TIRE (Guinness World record, anyone?), I decided it might not be wise to test my luck any further. I bought the same brand of tire and after what felt like an eternity (okay it was only an hour) of wrestling and sharing some unkind words with Bessie, I managed to successfully get those puppies on. Mind you, I have had practically zero practice changing tires “in a field setting”, so I’m gonna go ahead and give myself a pat on the back for not breaking anything on the bike OR myself. The engineering gene skipped me and I do not have a mechanically inclined brain… just ask my father.

So anyways, here’s the break down of our plans:

April 16th: After getting a thorough and pricey tune up at REI (she literally needed every moving piece replaced… I apparently have an abusive relationship with my bike) I dropped off ol’ Bessie at what I hope to be the capable hands of Danzeisen & Quigley. These folks are going to break her down and box it. On April 23rd, Bike Flights will pick up the bike and ship it to Seattle by April 27th, giving the shop there plentyyyy of quality time with Lil Bess to fix her up like new.

May 6th: I leave Philadelphia and arrive at Denver, where I will meet Sheena later that night. Any Denver friends want to show me around the city for a few hours?? Sheena and I will be staying in a hotel right next to the airport because….

May 7th: EXTREMELY early flight from Denver to Seattle. From there, we will be reunited with our fully assembled and fitted bikes at Velo Bike Shop. Depending on time, maybe we’ll stop for a second to see the world famous Space Needle. After getting a taste of the Seattle culture, we are catching a 7pm train (bikes will be checked in with cargo) to Vancouver BC, arriving at 11pm.

May 8-9th: We both wanted to spend some time in Vancouver to explore. Sheena found a really cool hostel for us to stay while we journey abroad. A few of my patients have spent time in the city and gave me recommendations of places to see. Will definitely have to check out a few of those sights (Buchart Gardens is at the top of the list).

May 10th: Ah, the date that will soon live in infamy! Alas, the day we will start our journey down the Pacific coast. We will be back in America this very day, so much for an exotic experience.

map

After starting, we’re going to wing a lot of the planning. Sheena got a great book highlighting the beautiful parts of the trail and places of interest to stop and see. We will likely plan 2-3 days in advance to keep us on a relatively strict 5 week schedule because we both have to be back by mid June. We plan on camping the majority of the time out there. However, there are lots of hostels (or so I’m told) we can stay at to get a little more of the culture of the area. There is also an app called Warm Showers in which people along the route offer a room or couch for you to stay in their house. Sheena and I used it once in Portland in 2016 and it ended up being a really positive experience. Along the way we’ll keep our eyes on the lookout for ones that don’t look toooo shady.

Another piece of the puzzle I had to figure out was how I was going to break news to work that I will be needing the entire summer off to pursue both this trip and the John Muir Trail. I had a very eloquent letter of resignation ready to go, signed and everything. It would be crazy for me to expect my boss and company to grant me the time off I required, so I was fully prepared to quit. I met with my boss and explained to him the situation… boy did I catch him off guard! Apparently threatening to whip out my letter of resignation letter (in the least threatening of ways) was a great bartering strategy. After speaking with the HR department, I was granted a leave of absence until the fall when I am ready to come back. My last day is April 27th, giving me just over a week to tie any loose ends I may encounter. Talk about lucky! I couldn’t be more grateful to have such a considerate boss as well as work for such an understanding company 🙂 I also have extremely supportive patients and patient families that are cheering me on back home!

Gear

Finally, here’s a picture of the gear I’m planning to take! Really, nothing fancy. I don’t know what weather to expect in the PNW (okay, yes I do. Cold and rainy. But I’m ignoring that for now… ignorance is bliss right?) so I’m packing a lot of warm clothes. Cold is my worst enemy. Anything I don’t need I’ll ship back home. We’re going to be doing a lot of our own cooking (always mindful of the all mighty dollar), so Sheena is getting a camp stove, most likely the same one we used on the TransAm. We can restock on fuel at any Walmart in the area, sure to be tons. So mostly camp stuff, clothes, bike gear that I don’t know how to use so hopefully I’ll never have to use it, and food that we’ll pick up in Vancouver. Although Addie is stealing the spotlight in the picture, she sadly will be staying behind back home. My heart breaks when I think about it, but it’ll make the return home all the more perfect. And where is the star of the show, Old Bessie? Well as I mentioned, she is in a million little pieces in a dark box somewhere. Poor girl.

So there it is! Fingers crossed the next two weeks goes smoothly and we all (bikes included) arrive safely in Vancouver in one piece!

We’re Back!

bike

Since riding across the United States the first time didn’t traumatize us enough, we’ve decided we’re gonna do it again! Only this time we’re going vertically down the pacific coast. I had been itching to get back on the bike and do another trip (even contemplated a solo trip – much to the dismay of my parents, I’m sure), so when Sheena texted me about maybe doing the pacific coast highway bike route this summer, I jumped on the opportunity! Sure I would love to! I’ll just throw responsibility to the wind for one last hurrah!

Sheena and I are in the midst of planning this 2,500 mile bike journey from Vancouver, BC to San Diego CA. We are following the Adventure Cycling Association maps for this route. Much shorter and flatter than the TransAm, we are planning the entire trip to take a mere 5 weeks from May through June. Offering beautiful coastal scenes of the pacific ocean and even riding amongst the giant redwoods in Oregon, I cannot wait to get on ol’ Bessie and explore! Considering I’m also hiking the John Muir Trail in July, this will certainly be a great way to train for that!

Check back soon for getting ready, including logistics and gear list!

(Don’t worry, we’re ending the trip in San Diego, NOT Tijuana. Although… I could be convinced to keep going…)

Day 74 (August 10th 2016) Eugene – Florence OR; 80 miles

WE DID IT! It is the day we all have been waiting for. We have officially ridden from coast to coast on bicycles. It was a day some of us had minor doubts about seeing , but we all made it in one piece.

The ride to the coast was a long one, but with it being the last day no one seemed to mind. The mindset was let’s get to the beach! It was a beautiful ride full of greenery and hills. We hit a lot of headwind the last 20 miles from seabreeze, but powered through in an adrenaline fueled rush.

It took some time to actually find the beach, but eventually we did. It was windy and freezing complete with an ominous fog that didn’t let us see too far. But we could see the waves so that’s all that mattered.

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We met my parents at the beach, it was great to see them there supporting us on our final ride. They even got us a banner to commemorate the occasion. Unfortunately little Addie couldn’t be there to join in with the festivities but I’ll see her soon enough.

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We all celebrated with a delicious dinner (steak and salmon a plenty). It was nice to have a final meal with everyone to reminiscence about the last 2 weeks. We were able to laugh at memories that in the moment were horrible and painful. Alec also gave a beautiful toast to our accomplishment.

Sheena and I originally had grand plans of riding up to Astoria, however, due to a number of issues, we decided to take the shuttle back to Eugene. There we’ll relax until my friends meet us in Portland in a few days.

It is definitely a weird feeling having completed the trip. We made new friends, shared lifetime memories, and experienced some of the most difficult physical and mental challenges we have yet to face. It is a bittersweet feeling because it was such a great experience. Adjusting to normal life will be complicated, but at the same time, being off the bike will feel amazing. We have seen the country in a way many people are not lucky enough to see it, and I think we have all gained a new appreciation for this great nation.

Special thanks to everyone who supported us on every step of the way. The motivational messages helped me get through this trip with a smile on my face 🙂