On Monday afternoon, Brownwood resident Christopher Gaston provided the latest progress report on his attempts to hike the 2,653-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Canada to Mexico.
The Facebook update is as follows:
10-29 today marks 4 months on trail. we left Mike and Ginger’s at 10. We rolled into big bear at 10:40. A hiker’s box was lost by the post office. It created a bit of a mess. After resupplying, we skipped forward to San Jacinto mountain. Yoda’s brother drove us down there. We did this as one of our family has to leave for a wedding on the 8th. We will all finish together and then maybe make up these few skipped miles. We took the tram up to the top of the mountain. This put us at just over 180 miles to go. We hiked between 5 & 6 miles from the tram to where we could get back on the pct. we left the tram area around 4:30 and did not get to camp until after 6:30. We did hike in the night for about a mile or so. The region is very pretty with lots of granite and big firs. It reminded me of some parts of the Sierra. The tram ride up was remarkable with its views and 360 rotating views.
10-30 left camp a few minutes before 7. Early morning was spent hiking through fir and pinion pine with the typical speckled and mottled granite of various shades of grey. First water was likely recent snow melt. We came out to the edge where we came to a vast burn area. The rocks were striped and sparkly like diamonds. They were every color of bronze, brown, golden, silver, black, and crimson. They were very brittle. From the edge, we could see to the car valleys and the farther mountains. We could almost see forever. Much of the trail wound around up and down the edge of these ranges. By later evening, we were back to grey granite. Sunset was blazing. It was a 10. Wind really picked up after sunset. It was still howling when we went to bed. We ended up hiking 20.3 miles and climbed about 4000 feet on some rough and rocky terrain. It was a slower day with the terrain. We hiked about an hour in the dark.
10-31 Halloween!! We all wore luchador masks all day during our hike. We left camp a few minutes before 7. The early morning was a windy curvy trail that went in and around granite outcroppings and boulders. It had gentle ups and downs and was generally a super easy hike. The vegetation changed as there were no spiky prickly underbrush. There was a new tree/shrub which might be a type of juniper. It had bright green-yellow leaves and was evergreen with a paper bark that peeled off to reveal a smooth branch and trunk. Around 11, we got to highway 74 where we met my friend push who was the first hiker I met on trail. She brought us tons of trail magic and drove us down to the paradise valley cafe where we got lunch. It was probably one of the best burgers I have ever had. We got back on trail around 2. This section had cactus of various types and was also an easy cruisy hike. In all, we hiked 20 miles. About an hour of that was in the dark. We climbed about 1500 feet. 140 miles to go.
11-1 left camp a little before 7. The sunrise was amazing. It fave a really nice golden light for taking really great photos. There was a lot of cactus of assorted types in the early morning. We climbed and wound up and around a ridge where the cactus was gone. It was a pretty steady climb all morning. We broke for lunch and then climbed again for another couple of miles. The high ridge views were breathtaking of the valleys below and of the distant mountains. There were a good assorted mix of different rocks on trail. Many places had what looked like broken glass or mirror lying all about. I think this was all mica. The later evening had a lot of live oak trees. This desert is the greenest I’ve seen of any desert I’ve been to. Sunset was another 10. The sky was on fire. We have made a point to catch sunset these last several days. We watch it set for a good half hour or more. This contributes to the night hikes. We hiked about an hour in the dark. We hiked 22.8 miles and climbed about 4000 feet.
11-2 got a bit later start as we camped by water. Water was about .2 miles off trail. Early morning consisted of majestic rolling mountain and foothill views. Everything was lush and green. We descended down to a low valley with a nice river. It was park like with big old trees of live oak and oak in many colors. We received trail magic from “coffee break” a hike/trail angel who gave us a ride to Warner springs where he gave us taquitos and chips with salsa and guacamole. Later my friend “Push” met us there and brought more trail magic. After leaving, we went through a large flat plain that was a cattle pasture with 10-12 head of cattle. It was very dry. This section looked the most deserty so far. This continued for several miles with a few small rolling hills and some granite outcroppings. One in particular is called eagle rock and looks like a giant eagle. In the evening we climbed a distant hillside which had some patches of lush green grass under a few of the trees. I think it may have been winter rye. We hiked about 19 miles. We climbed about 2000 feet.
11-3 early morning was spent climbing a good long incline for several miles. It started green until we got to the ridge. Then, we came into the most deserty section so far. It was dry and very cactusy with prickly pear with no thorns, prickly pear with 3” thorns, cucumber cactus, barrel cactus, and long spiny cactus trees. There were a few sparse green shrubs. But it was more bare than any place. The views were vast and expansive. The sun was bright and intense all day. The temps were only in the mid to upper 70’s but there was no shade and we baked most of the day. It was a huge day. We hiked 23.8 miles and climbed about 3000 feet. We saw mesquite and agave on trail for the first time. We got under the 100 mile mark. After our hike, Tisha came and picked us up and brought us into Julian where we ate pizza. We then went to a county park where Tisha had reserved a cabin. It was nice to stay indoors and to get a hot shower.
11-4 we got our free pie from mom’s in Julian. I did laundry when the others resupplied. We got back to the trail around 2 where Yoda’s dad brought us chicken, beans, rice, tortillas, and pies. We resumed our hike at 5. The day prior, we had come down to the base of a mountain range. When we began today, we crossed a low flat plain between ranges and then began ascending the distant range. This ascent was on a rough rocky terrain and was mostly in the dark. We hiked 5.7 miles and climbed about 1500 feet. We tried to make pizzas but did not have much success.
11-5 left camp a few minutes after 7. This range of mountains is lush and green with a variety of densely packed evergreen shrubs. The morning was hot with direct intense sunlight. It was somewhat harsh with no shade and almost no wind. Later, the sun was partially over a ridge and the shrubs were taller which provided some shade and a nice relief from the sun. The terrain was mostly rough irregular stone and hard on the feet. It is a lot of metamorphic rock. The trail was also a place of erosion from runoff that flows down the mountains. One section of the range had large grey boulders scattered about. The views of the last several days have been so breathtaking. They are so immense they are hard to describe. I could stare for days down at the thousands of feet of valleys below and of the massive expanse of ranges, peaks, and valleys that could be seen for miles and miles. We hiked 19 miles and climbed about 4000 feet. Most of the day was uphill.
11-6 we left camp around 7. We hiked up to foster point. The views were amazing again today. From foster, there was a marker showing distances and locations of all the visible peaks from this spot. We then hike into mount laguna where the others got some resupplies. We then ate at the pine house which is a French inspired cafe with French waitstaff. I’m the afternoon, we entered a heavily wooded pine area. It had been many days since we had seen so many trees especially evergreen trees. We got water from a creek surrounded by thousands of wild roses. It was so prickly getting in and out to get water. We hiked through an area with leftover explosives from some kind of military thing. We camped at Fred canyon. We hiked 20 miles and crossed the 40 mile mark. We climbed about 2300 feet.
11-7 The morning was quite chilly a, a good bit colder than the last couple of weeks. we left around 7. As we climbed out of the canyon, we came up on a ridge with some impressive views. There were some nice granite rock spires sticking up. The clouds and skies were so amazing. We walked through a large flat plain and then hiked to lake morena where we got malts and shakes. We passed under the 20 mile mark. In the afternoon, we made our final large descent and ascent. We went down the valley into houser creek and then climbed out. It was the last big climb of about 1000 feet. I’m all, we hiked 20.7 miles and climbed about 2800 feet. Tomorrow we come to the end.
11-8 The last day. The last sunrise. The last time to break camp. The last morning coffee and hot chocolate. The last stretch. So many lasts today. we headed out around 7. The terrain and vegetation was similar to what we have seen for several days now. There were many nice granite boulders dotting the area. We crossed several dirt roads and a railway track. The tracked marked 3 miles to Mexico. We hiked another mile to the outskirts of Campo. We arrived at the border at 11:38. Afterwards, Push and Yoda’s family brought all manner of goodies, and we all celebrated the victory. Yoda, Bearhug, Bee +, and I reconnected at Kennedy meadows south and made our way together since October 4th. Today marks 133 days on trail. There may come a day when I can return to get the miles stolen by the fires, but for now, the journey is complete.