Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - Day 7 April 14th
Day 7: Sunday 14th April San Felipe Mountains – Barrel Spring
It was still 68ºF at dawn and another hot day beckoned. I had only 2 litres of water left
to get me to Barrel Spring, 6 hours walk away, so I made an early start and was going to
have to ration the water. Chaparral gradually replaced the desert plants and the walk was
a long hot grind. I kept going with a minimum of breaks.
Richard and George were already camped at the spring and they welcomed me with a
quart of 8% alcohol beer, which they had cached before starting their walk. I’m not sure
that strong beer is the best treatment for dehydration, but it was certainly appreciated. I
was also given mint vodka to go with my evening meal. The water at Barrel Spring was
only just dripping out of a pipe into a horse trough and looked as if it would soon be dried
up. I filtered water from the trough, and then boiled it to ensure it was safe to drink. Oak
trees around the spring provided welcome shade, but care had to be taken to avoid the
Poison Oak, which also liked the conditions. George was able to confirm my tentative
identification of the plant.
In the evening thru-hikers, Monica and Nancy, turned up at The Spring. They had
started from Campo a day ahead of me, but Monica had strained her Achilles tendon and
they had left the trail at Scissors Crossing and managed to get a lift to the Warner Spring
resort for a couple of days rest and ice-treatment. They had been looked after by “Trail
Angels” from Julian and brought to Barrel Spring. They had intended to walk back to
Scissors Crossing, but the next day they walked with Richard and George to Warner
Springs and were then given a lift back to Scissor Crossing.
Monica was an experienced thru-hiker having hiked the 1800-mile Appalachian Trail (AT)
in 1998.15 years ago the number of successful attempts on the PCT was very small,
probably about 5% of those attempting it. But now over half the thru-hikers have
previously hiked the AT and the success rate could be as high as 30%. Although the AT is
shorter and less challenging than the PCT those who have successfully thru-hiked it will
have the necessary mental strength to complete the PCT. PCT hikers tend to be much
better prepared than AT hikers and there isn’t the same high drop-out rate in the first
few hundred miles of the AT. One tradition, which has been imported from the AT, is the
use of trail names, many of which are not very complementary, rather than their actual
names. Monica was going under the name “Flutterby”. Nancy had not yet acquired a
name but later became known as “Fancy Pants” which was then shortened to “Fancy”.
Some of the hikers make up their own names before they are lumbered with ones they
don’t want and early on I decided on “Ancient Brit”. Some of the boys I used to teach
claimed I was ancient years ago.
“Flutterby” and “Fancy” had both had to give up well-paid jobs to attempt this walk.
They were vegetarians and had spent the winter dehydrating their own food. Many
Americans owned their own dehydrator. Like the majority of the thru-hikers they were
depending using the Postal Service to organise their supply drops.
Day 7: 14.3 miles 6:16 hours Camp: Barrel Spring
It was still 68ºF at dawn and another hot day beckoned. I had only 2 litres of water left
to get me to Barrel Spring, 6 hours walk away, so I made an early start and was going to
have to ration the water. Chaparral gradually replaced the desert plants and the walk was
a long hot grind. I kept going with a minimum of breaks.
Richard and George were already camped at the spring and they welcomed me with a
quart of 8% alcohol beer, which they had cached before starting their walk. I’m not sure
that strong beer is the best treatment for dehydration, but it was certainly appreciated. I
was also given mint vodka to go with my evening meal. The water at Barrel Spring was
only just dripping out of a pipe into a horse trough and looked as if it would soon be dried
up. I filtered water from the trough, and then boiled it to ensure it was safe to drink. Oak
trees around the spring provided welcome shade, but care had to be taken to avoid the
Poison Oak, which also liked the conditions. George was able to confirm my tentative
identification of the plant.
In the evening thru-hikers, Monica and Nancy, turned up at The Spring. They had
started from Campo a day ahead of me, but Monica had strained her Achilles tendon and
they had left the trail at Scissors Crossing and managed to get a lift to the Warner Spring
resort for a couple of days rest and ice-treatment. They had been looked after by “Trail
Angels” from Julian and brought to Barrel Spring. They had intended to walk back to
Scissors Crossing, but the next day they walked with Richard and George to Warner
Springs and were then given a lift back to Scissor Crossing.
Monica was an experienced thru-hiker having hiked the 1800-mile Appalachian Trail (AT)
in 1998.15 years ago the number of successful attempts on the PCT was very small,
probably about 5% of those attempting it. But now over half the thru-hikers have
previously hiked the AT and the success rate could be as high as 30%. Although the AT is
shorter and less challenging than the PCT those who have successfully thru-hiked it will
have the necessary mental strength to complete the PCT. PCT hikers tend to be much
better prepared than AT hikers and there isn’t the same high drop-out rate in the first
few hundred miles of the AT. One tradition, which has been imported from the AT, is the
use of trail names, many of which are not very complementary, rather than their actual
names. Monica was going under the name “Flutterby”. Nancy had not yet acquired a
name but later became known as “Fancy Pants” which was then shortened to “Fancy”.
Some of the hikers make up their own names before they are lumbered with ones they
don’t want and early on I decided on “Ancient Brit”. Some of the boys I used to teach
claimed I was ancient years ago.
“Flutterby” and “Fancy” had both had to give up well-paid jobs to attempt this walk.
They were vegetarians and had spent the winter dehydrating their own food. Many
Americans owned their own dehydrator. Like the majority of the thru-hikers they were
depending using the Postal Service to organise their supply drops.
Day 7: 14.3 miles 6:16 hours Camp: Barrel Spring
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Beavertail Cactus
San Felipe Hills
Fancy and Flutterby