sophierunsfrombears

[sophierunsfrombears]

And just like that, I’m through Oregon!! The last few days have been such a slog but it’s so satisfying to be through another state. I am sitting down at a cafe now jotting down all my notes for the upcoming fire closures and any plans I can make to get around them before actually getting there. This stretch feels very similar to mile 19 of the marathon, the end still seems so far you can’t quite picture it and you feel like the suffering might just last forever. And I know that’s not really a very positive picture to paint, but this trail is not easy!! And I’ve been out here for so goddamn long hahaha! Every day is still beautiful and has so many lovely moments but man oh man would it be nice to not wake up so early, covered in dirt, body still aching from the 27 miles yesterday, knowing the day ahead will just leave you with more dirt, more exhaustion, more aches. Lately when I’m hiking by myself I’ve had two images in my head on repeat for hours and hours. The first is getting to the terminus, how it’ll feel, what it will look like. What will the weather be like? Will other people be there? The second is laying on my mom’s couch when I get home. And to be honest I’ve always complained about that couch. I used to hate that couch. It’s quite old and the back cushions are so deformed, but for hours a day I imagine being freshly showered in a big shirt and sweats and laying on that couch without a thought of mileage or where I’m filtering water. Hanging out with my family and watching literally anything on tv. I miss tv too. And obviously my family. Maybe if you guys read this far(lol) you could make sure to appreciate a silly little piece of your day that you wouldn’t usually notice :) today I’m appreciating that I was brave and spent a lot of money to get myself a hotel room!! Because I deserve it!!!

[sophierunsfrombears]

More pictures!!

[sophierunsfrombears]

I’m in Oregon!! I took a few days off trail to go to Paris which was so lovely and I’ve just now gotten my trail legs back. When I flew back from France I went directly to PCT Days, which is a festival that lots of hikers go to as a sort of reunion. That was so fun because I was able to see friends I’d made on my very first day of trail!! I entered a raffle and received a new backpack, sleeping bag, and tent which is CRAZY!! I had strangers coming up and congratulating me the rest of the weekend about it. The first day back on trail my poor backpack strap snapped(I tried to get a repair done at PCT Days and they did a really bad job resewing it) so I had to sew it back together by hand as best I could, slather it in super glue, and pray it held until I could get to the next town. I I garmin messaged my mom to send the new pack straight back to me since I was suddenly in need of a new pack😅 crazy timing!! I am in Bend now and we got to stay in a super cute hostel last night and tonight we are staying with a trail angel before hopping back on trail tomorrow morning :)

[sophierunsfrombears]

[sophierunsfrombears]

In non bear news, I’m in the adorable Mt. Shasta!! Fire skipping logistics are underway, sounds like it’ll be safe to at least get to Etna summit trailhead and skip the closure to Seiad Valley. The NorCal blues have gone into full effect for some friends, a big group of friends have either skipped this section or gotten off trail entirely which is sad to see but hopefully the best decision for them. I am feeling super lucky to have studied forest fires and worked in burn zones last year because I’m absolutely loving the familiarity of all the species we’ve been seeing walking through the burn scars. It does get hot, and there is a lot of overgrown sections with blowdowns blocking the trail, but it was important to me to walk through the entire Dixie area to pay respects to the communities that were lost and the people that were effected here. The tough conditions I’m experiencing are nothing in comparison. I think some people who aren’t from NorCal may not really relate to or understand that, so I think that’s a difference in motivation as well.

[sophierunsfrombears]

My Username Came True

It’s a Monday afternoon. It’s 90something degrees out in Sierra City. Vibes and I decide to wait till 6pm to start a 4,000ft climb, but since we couldn’t get a hitch back to trail for an hour, we hiked the mile and a half up the road, then started the switchbacks. A few switchbacks up, I realize I’d left my Garmin InReach($400 satellite communication/ PLD) in town, so back down I went. At around 8:30 I was finally making my way back to trail, and I was in high spirits from everyone back in town getting a good laugh out of my misfortune. At least I found the inreach! I’ve never night hiked by myself before, and honestly I am afraid of the dark. There, I said it! So getting into the dense forested switchbacks with nothing but a headlamp to see the narrow path ahead did give me the creeps, but barring a few quick look’s behind me to ensure no one had followed me up from town I felt relatively good about the whole ordeal. Hours pass, and I’ve now entered the ridge walk portion of the climb, it’s mostly open with about hip to chest high shrubs scattered about periodically, and lots of loose dirt and shale to trip over. But again, feeling pretty good about how far I’ve come! With about 8 miles in my pocket, I stop to filter water, turning off my headlamp to feel the weight of the stars above me. After some chugging of cold stream water I keep going with the idea that I’d meet Vibes at the dirt road at the top of the climb. About 1.3 miles away from the agreed tent site, zoned in on the path in front of me, (my headlamp has dimmed significantly and was about to die) when the bush I’ve just grazed with my shoulder erupts in commotion. I can see nothing but movement and dark shadows, but the heavy lumbering footsteps tell me that a bear had been mere inches from me with his head in the bush and is now running down the trail ahead of me. I freeze, barely breathing, as about 100ft down trail I see two reflective eyes staring back at me. My headlamp is so dim I can only see the two eyes, no outline of any sort. We stare at each other for a few minutes, and the bear starts walking towards me, holding my stare. I start shouting “Hey Bear!” and clicking my sticks together, but he continues to walk forward a few more steps. Again, he stops and stares at me for a few moments. I’m terrified my noise won’t work, but then the eyes disappear. I have no way of knowing which direction he’s gone off to, so I wait at least 10 minutes before slooowly walking forward, yelling the whole time. Without the reflective eyes I have absolutely no way of knowing where he went, so I’m constantly looking ahead, behind, below, and above me. On one of my twirlings I catch him, maybe 15 feet above me on the ridge, staring down. It looked like if he took one step forward off the ledge he could’ve landed right on top of me. I’m making an obscene amount of noise this entire time, but I do know that I’m not supposed to actually run from black bears, as it supposedly could trigger a predatory chase instinct. So I’m now making all this noise while walking backwards along this slippery trail to keep the bear in my line of sight. When I round the corner though, I take off running. And I don’t stop for 1.3 miles. Every few feet I do a look around to make sure I’m not being followed, but I run the entire rest of the way up the climb to the dirt road. I fear each leaf crunch, twig snap, and shadow is the bear. I’m soaked in sweat as I hit the tent site and the last dregs of adrenaline dissapear. I let out a good exhausted sob then watch Howls Moving Castle to calm myself down before absolutely passing out. Needless to say, unless I’m accompanied by a friend, I will no longer be night hiking through bear country.

I do want to shoutout Tooth and Claw, the animal attack podcast I listen to that taught me things about bears!!! I do feel so much more confident after actually seeing the behaviors I have learned actually do make black bears stay away. It is important to note that if you’re ever in grizzly country there is a different set of rules for those guys.

[sophierunsfrombears]

Sorry for the absence of posts, turns out thru hiking is tiring 😅 but the last few towns- Tahoe, Truckee and Quincy- I was able to see friends and family!! I’m super lucky to have home base not far from the actual PCT so I have the opportunity to stay in my family’s house in Tahoe AND Bill and Carolee’s family house in Quincy(thank you both!!!). I got a cold when I visited Yosemite Valley so I’m recovering from that still. I didn’t really notice a huge difference in my energy levels though(thankfully)!!! I definitely loved Yosemite and it was so amazing to get permits to climb the Half Dome cables, but there was so much to see and so many people that it ended up being a pretty tiring ‘day off’.

[sophierunsfrombears]

Hello from Mammoth Lakes! I’m at 900 miles now which is sooo cool but I’m really tired. The Sierra has a lot more scheduling and logistics involved to make sure all the calories can fit in the bear can but man oh man is it beautiful. The sun has been really kicking my butt as well, the reflection off the snow gave me a gnarly burn on the bottom of my nose and on my lips. The river crossings were pretty nerve wracking at first but are a really satisfying challenge now. Shoes and socks are wet all the time now, but it’s not nearly as annoying as I thought it would be.

[sophierunsfrombears]

KENNEDY MEADOWS!! This was a huge milestone for me, seeing an entire section behind me was such a surreal feeling. It’s a tradition to cheer people on as they get to the deck of the general store and it was so sweet to see friends that were a few days ahead for the first time in a while. I decided to get a new sleeping bag for the sierra since I’d had quite a few cold nights in my old 32 degree bag, and it’s only getting colder from here. I managed to get a 5 degree bag for way cheaper than I thought I would, and it’s a pound less than my old one!! I also got new socks, going to try out waterproof Sealskin socks to keep the toes warm while hiking through the snow. Also got my bear can full of food for a few days and the ice axe and crampons I’d sent forward from Agua Dulce.

We’ll likely leave tomorrow or the next day to head to Kearsarage Pass, which will hopefully include a Whitney summit!

[sophierunsfrombears]

Finally switched my FarOut map to the second section, the Sierras! Yesterday we were able to see Mt. Whitney for the first time which was soooo amazing!! I’m stopping in Ridgecrest overnight to get a little more food before Kennedy Meadows, and we hitched into town a converted school bus driven by the wife of a fellow hiker! It’ll be sad to say goodbye to the Mojave and all the beautiful wildflowers and spooky rattlesnakes. We also celebrated 2 of our friends birthday a few days ago and were able to stay in this little abandoned cabin with a wood burning stove inside.

[sophierunsfrombears]

My last post didn’t upload whoops but we took a few days in beautiful Tehachapi thanks to the lovely trail angel Barbara that opened up her old apple cider processing area to let hikers stay. It had the most incredible communal kitchen and was one of the most relaxing and joyful town stops I’ve had. She even had bikes for us to get into town instead of waiting for hitches in. We even managed to take them through a drive through:)

[sophierunsfrombears]

This week was a puffy one😂 I got hives on my feet one day, still not exactly sure what caused it but I took my shoes and socks off after a long hot day and they got super swollen and itchy which was really bizarre, next day they were way better though. Then 2 days ago I got stung by a bee! My friend Daisy Chainz and I walked up on this beautiful hollowed out log that had massive honey combs hanging from the inside and I got too close :( but my face is also much less swollen now! I’m currently in Hikertown, a strange fake western town in this man’s yard that is the start of a long water carry along the LA aqueduct. A bunch of people are staying here to wait for cooler evening weather to hike that stretch at night with headlamps, glow sticks and glow in the dark face paint! We all split some groceries and had some incredible breakfast burritos and are making some curry this evening.

[sophierunsfrombears]

We made it to Agua Dulce! It took a lot of quads but we got up Baden Powell to spend a super cold night having a sleepover. The KOA in Acton had my second package pickup, which made my life so much easier since I didn’t have to pick through the small snack selection or hitch out to an actual grocery store. And I’ve found that I actually prefer the stuff I was able to package from Costco rather than stuff I could buy at the Safeways along the way.

The PCT in this area was rerouted to be a road walk because it was deemed an endangered frog habitat!

I also got a tear in the Altra Lone Peaks I’ve been hiking in the whole trail. I sewed them with dental floss since it’s stronger than normal thread and it’s held remarkably! But the insoles are really thinning so I bought a pair and shipped them to Tehachapi for me to get in a few days.

[sophierunsfrombears]

Hello from Wrightwood! I wasn’t originally planning on staying here overnight but some friends offered me a shower and to sleep on their floor- how can I say no? We walked through some beautiful scenery in Angeles National Forest today and lost and refound the trail through snow many a times. The finger tan is getting incredibly dark. And I’ve been cowboy camping a bit lately! I am still more hesitant to commit to the no-tent sleep than some of my friends, but there’s a lot of factors to consider! If you’re by water, your sleeping bag will probably get condensation. And if it’s super cold you’ll wish you had your fly to keep the heat in better. And if there’s a super full moon it will actually wake you up by shining in your eyes, which is not something I was expecting! Bought way too much food once again for the stretch to the Acton KOA, so there’s lots of food to go through. Looking forward, I think I’ll get to the Sierras pretty early, so I’m kind of intentionally slowing the pace to see if the snow will melt a bit more.

[sophierunsfrombears]

At mile 342 which is the infamous McDonalds!! Made it in perfect time to get a first meal off the breakfast meal then come back for a second off the lunch menu🤩 Family friend Sarah let Kettle, Daisy Chainz and I stay at her house, do laundry, shower and eat some good homemade food! And we get to hang out with her dogs including Sproket🥹

[sophierunsfrombears]

I reached Big Bear this morning! Walked through more snow but nothing as bad as Fuller Ridge thank goodness. Found the most adorable puppies at Big 5 and at the trail angels house we are staying at! Why was I at Big 5 you ask? New sleeping pad! And I got myself a cheap pair of Bluetooth headphones because the wired ones were actually driving me insane to detangle while holding my poles hehehe. We did a 10 mile walk through a super wide, largely dry river bed full of ankle breaking rocks and that was honestly so difficult but we DID IT! And I’ve developed the most insane tan only on my fingers from the thumb hole in my shirt that covers the back of my hand. Cheeto fingers :)

[sophierunsfrombears]

Good morning from Banning, CA. We spent the past couple days hiking Apache Peak and San Jacinto wilderness area. Boy oh boy was that a lot of snow. We got a beautiful weather window for it but the feet of snow already on the ground made for some extremely slow moving, so we made an unexpected pitstop here for more food and chipotle!! My sleeping pad got a mystery leak which means a few times a night I wake up and choose to either stay on the ground or blow it back up, with the former being the common route. Coming out of the snow finally was amazing though, beautiful flowers and an awesome view of the ridges we’d just been on.