A Pacific Crest Hiker's Journal

I've backpacked somewhere in the neighborhood of 160 miles of the Oregon portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. At one time I had thoughts of hiking a section a year with the goal of covering all 2,650 miles. I doubt that will happen now though as I suffered an accident that resulted in five broken bones and a dislocated ankle. After 6 hours of surgery, 1+ years of rehab and healing I'm confident that I'll be able to hit the trail again this year. 15-20 mile days are probably now out of the question.

However, one of the things that I enjoy is reading about the experiences of others who have hiked. One of the better journals is A long Summers Walk, by Ron "Fallingwater" Moak. I've been enjoying reading about his experience. If you want to know what long disatnce hiking is like you should check it out. Fallingwater does a good job of capturing the subleties of life on the trail.

Favorite trails still deep in snow

July 3, 2008 - Well, I thought I was ready to give my ankle a test with a short hike to Triangulation Peak. Unfortunately in early July everything above 4,000' in elevation still has large amounts of snow. So it could be late July or even August before many of the trails in the Mt. Jefferson area open up.

The Detroit Ranger District is very good about posting current trail conditions on their website. You can find out the latest information here: Trail Conditions

GSI Double Boiler

If are looking to cut weight and space in your pack I would highly recommend the efficient cook set from GSI. This double boiler is so versatile and efficient since it nests, is light and holds both my fuel canister and MSR Pocket Rocket Stove inside it. The kit is made of anodized aluminum which is strong and light. For $29 it is much more cost effective then titanium and practically speaking you are only giving up a few ounces. My kit weighs in at 9 oz for both pieces including the mesh bag that holds it all. The popular Snow Peak Titanium kit is listed as 5.5 ounces and $59. However the Snow Peak kit cup/pot is smaller at 10 oz. and 28 oz. The GSI kit is 17 oz and 34 oz.

The newest version has a couple of small improvements. First they have put some insulating silicon material on the folding handles. The previous kit didn't have this and if you were careless about how you placed the cooker on your stove you could make the handles too hot for comfort. Secondly they have added a lexan lid that can also be used as a bowl.

My favorite meal with this kit is to heat up some instant chicken gravy in the small pot. Once that is ready I boil some water in the large pot while sitting the small pot/cup of gravy on top to keep it warm. The small pot has a lip on the bottom that allows it to fit snugly on top of the large pot without any danger of it slipping off. This also will cause your water to boil faster. Once the water boils in the bottom pot I add my instant potatoes. Potatoes and chicken gravy in a matter of minutes! Yum. If you want a real treat add a small can of chicken chunks to the boiling water for a minute before adding the potatoes. This is probably my all time favorite meal for taste and easy preparation.

The Snow Peak titanium cookset is very popular but for $30 less and 2.4 oz more weight, I would still opt for the GSI set over the Snow Peak. The smaller pot serves well as a drinking cup which means one less thing to pack.

Hiking in Oregon - An Introduction

The purpose of this blog is to share the information I've gathered from hiking and backpacking in Oregon. In the past I have been frustrated by the lack of practical information about specific hiking and backpacking trips.

I started backpacking in the early 70's as a teen and picked it up again in the early 90's as a family activity. While most of my trips are two nighters I have done several trips as long as 6 days. The longest being a 6 day, 100 mile trip along the Pacific Crest Trail in 2004.

So with that introduction I hope you will find the information useful and informative.