Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - June 30th
Day 75: Sunday 30th June Barker Creek – above Painted Rock Trail
I made another early start this morning for the gentle climb up to Barker Pass and
then up to the ridge above the Pass for the start of a long high-level traverse in the
Granite Chief Wilderness. While I was having my second breakfast Scott, Rachel, Lee
and Anne caught up with me and I walked with them for most of the morning. They had
made the mistake of dropping down to Barker Creek last night where there were
campsites. Unfortunately these campsites are accessible by road and just after they
settled in a large motor home (Recreational Vehicle, RV) pulled up and had its generator
on all night. The more expensive American motor homes tend to be massive vehicles with
several rooms and the owners don’t seem to be able to cope without all their home
comforts. I wonder why they don’t stay at home!
Scott was a semi-retired Geophysicist and Rachel had taken a redundancy offer from
her job as a “Correctional Officer” with the Canadian Prison Service to enable them to
do this trip. They had left their RV with Scott’s parents in San Francisco and intended to
cycle back from British Columbia to San Francisco at the end of their hike, before going
on a tour of the Western States in their RV. Lee and Anne were from N.W. Washington
and so were virtually walking home. Anne had trained as a teacher and was doing this
hike before she took on too many commitments to take a long break for an expedition
like this. I learnt from them that Andrew and dog were being joined at Lone Pine by his
sister for the walk over the High Sierras. This was to be her first backpacking trip! I
imagine it could also be her last because it is certainly foolhardy for a beginner to do such
a tough trip at altitude over passes still covered in snow, while trying to keep up with a
thru-hiker who was already fit from having walked 700 miles. They also told me of
Christine, who had walked from Campo to Big Bear City in a week (it had taken me 3
weeks) and then given up suffering badly from blisters! This is certainly done as a
challenge because it can’t really be enjoyable going this fast.
The trail dropped steeply off the ridge to Five Lakes Creek, where I stopped for a
late lunch with Scott and Rachel. They only stopped for a short break and when they had
gone on I stripped off for a bath in a pool in the creek. I was surprised by Lee and Anne,
who had stopped earlier for their lunch, coming down the trail. Fortunately they were not
shocked by the sight of a naked man.
In the afternoon I was on my own again as the trail then regained the ridge. I met a
couple of Rangers, who were carrying stakes up the trail to put in some signposts. This
did not seem very good use of the manpower. I’m not sure why they weren’t using horses
for the job. When I stopped for dinner I was joined by Todd and Randy, from Portland,
Oregon. They had set out on May 6th, travelling very fast and lightweight, as Randy
needed to finish in time to get back to college at the beginning of September. They weren’
t carrying any waterproofs, only an umbrella each, to protect them from both sun and
rain! I carried on for a couple more hours and camped with Scott, Rachel, Lee and Anne
by a small creek below Tinker Knob. For a change we lit a campfire. Most of the time
thru-hikers camp too late to bother with fires and in this year of drought, fires had been
banned in much of the wilderness.
Day 75: 21.2 miles 8.45 hours Camp: above Painted Rock Trail
I made another early start this morning for the gentle climb up to Barker Pass and
then up to the ridge above the Pass for the start of a long high-level traverse in the
Granite Chief Wilderness. While I was having my second breakfast Scott, Rachel, Lee
and Anne caught up with me and I walked with them for most of the morning. They had
made the mistake of dropping down to Barker Creek last night where there were
campsites. Unfortunately these campsites are accessible by road and just after they
settled in a large motor home (Recreational Vehicle, RV) pulled up and had its generator
on all night. The more expensive American motor homes tend to be massive vehicles with
several rooms and the owners don’t seem to be able to cope without all their home
comforts. I wonder why they don’t stay at home!
Scott was a semi-retired Geophysicist and Rachel had taken a redundancy offer from
her job as a “Correctional Officer” with the Canadian Prison Service to enable them to
do this trip. They had left their RV with Scott’s parents in San Francisco and intended to
cycle back from British Columbia to San Francisco at the end of their hike, before going
on a tour of the Western States in their RV. Lee and Anne were from N.W. Washington
and so were virtually walking home. Anne had trained as a teacher and was doing this
hike before she took on too many commitments to take a long break for an expedition
like this. I learnt from them that Andrew and dog were being joined at Lone Pine by his
sister for the walk over the High Sierras. This was to be her first backpacking trip! I
imagine it could also be her last because it is certainly foolhardy for a beginner to do such
a tough trip at altitude over passes still covered in snow, while trying to keep up with a
thru-hiker who was already fit from having walked 700 miles. They also told me of
Christine, who had walked from Campo to Big Bear City in a week (it had taken me 3
weeks) and then given up suffering badly from blisters! This is certainly done as a
challenge because it can’t really be enjoyable going this fast.
The trail dropped steeply off the ridge to Five Lakes Creek, where I stopped for a
late lunch with Scott and Rachel. They only stopped for a short break and when they had
gone on I stripped off for a bath in a pool in the creek. I was surprised by Lee and Anne,
who had stopped earlier for their lunch, coming down the trail. Fortunately they were not
shocked by the sight of a naked man.
In the afternoon I was on my own again as the trail then regained the ridge. I met a
couple of Rangers, who were carrying stakes up the trail to put in some signposts. This
did not seem very good use of the manpower. I’m not sure why they weren’t using horses
for the job. When I stopped for dinner I was joined by Todd and Randy, from Portland,
Oregon. They had set out on May 6th, travelling very fast and lightweight, as Randy
needed to finish in time to get back to college at the beginning of September. They weren’
t carrying any waterproofs, only an umbrella each, to protect them from both sun and
rain! I carried on for a couple more hours and camped with Scott, Rachel, Lee and Anne
by a small creek below Tinker Knob. For a change we lit a campfire. Most of the time
thru-hikers camp too late to bother with fires and in this year of drought, fires had been
banned in much of the wilderness.
Day 75: 21.2 miles 8.45 hours Camp: above Painted Rock Trail
Ancient Brit on S
ridge of Ward Peak
ridge of Ward Peak
Scott and Rachel on S
ridge of Ward Peak
ridge of Ward Peak
Lee and Anne on S
ridge of Ward Peak
ridge of Ward Peak
Anne and Lee
Nuttall's Linathastrum
Todd
Randy
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