Thursday, May 31, 2018

D27-D30 Seriously slacking off 過度休息


Days 27-30:

Just 8 miles down the trail was the Acton KOA Campground, which has a swimming pool and hot tube. This was an opportunity I could not pass up. If I had carried on the day before I would have arrived here very late in the day. By spending a night on the trail beforehand and just taking a nearo walking 8 miles to the campground in the morning, I could now enjoy a full day here! This is what I am calling the "strategic nearo": walking less at the right time to maximize lounging time in the future. I did this at the hot springs already and it worked again well for the campground.

在前面13公里的地方有一座設有游泳池和熱水池的露營區,不進去玩我會後悔。如果昨天沒有提早停下來,我昨天晚上就到了,不過晚上天氣比較涼,不太適合在游泳池玩。因為昨天故意提早休息所以今天早上走完13公里後就可以花半天在游泳池那裡休息,享受南加州的大太陽。上次在野外溫泉也是這樣前一天提早休息,讓隔天可以在溪邊休息的時間更長,今天也按照一樣的計劃。

It was Memorial Day when I arrived, so there were a lot of families here, but as the day went on there were fewer and fewer people by the pool. It was 30 degrees today and sitting by the pool eating ice cream was just perfect.

今天剛好是美國的國定假日所以我到的時侯人很多,但時間越晚要離開的人越多,最後變得很平靜。今天的溫度升到30度,在游泳池旁邊吃冰淇淋偶爾下去泡水好舒服。



A few other hikers decided to stay and camp under the trees near me, but almost everyone pushed on to the next town.

其他走PCT的人休息完繼續往前走,有幾個跟我一樣決定在這裡搭帳篷過夜。


The next day it was just a short half-day walk into the town of Agua Dulce. Along the way I passed the Vasquez Rocks, where many movies and TV shows have been filmed over the last century. I also finally saw someone on horseback on the PCT.

隔天走了半天就到一個小鎮,鎮外是很多電影跟電視劇拍攝的地點,石頭受長期風化作用讓這裡的風景很搶眼。今天也終於看到人在PCT騎馬。





Arriving in town, the most important thing to do is of course... to eat! Mexican food this time:

每次到了城鎮,最重要的行程是大吃!今天吃墨西哥料理:



Then I got a ride to Hiker Heaven. This is the personal residence of the Saufleys. They have opened up their guesthouse and huge yard to hikers and have a team of volunteers helping run the place. It is very well organized and takes care of all hiker's needs.

之後我搭到『登山客天堂』的接駁車。這個地方是一對美國夫妻的私人住宅地,他們歡迎走PCT的人來住他們家旁邊的小屋子或庭園,也請志工來幫忙。登山客需要的需求他們很了解,而且所有的事情都有條不紊。



You can receive and send packages from here. This is the outgoing mail just for one day:

他們會幫我們代收包裹,我們也可以在這裡寄東西出去。這些要寄出的包裹是一天的量而已:


They have tents set up with computers and charging stations, as well as an outdoor shower.

庭園裡有帳篷,裡面有電腦,充電插座,還可以洗澡。


In the garage are all the packages waiting to be picked up, and where the laundry is done. The laundry is free and the volunteers do it for you! There is of course a donation bin here, too.

車庫內唷有等待有人來領的代收包裹,也是洗衣機的位置。我們的髒衣服只要放在網袋就會有志工幫我們洗。這裡也可以投錢給夫妻來抵消這些他們提供的服務的費用。


I picked up some foam from the local hardware store and added it to my waist belt. This is a size S backpack but it is already almost too big in the waist for me. This should help it fit better, especially if I do end up losing weight. The good news is I weighed myself at Hiker Heaven again and still haven't lost any weight!

我在當地的五金行買了一些泡棉綁在背包的腰帶上,背包雖然是S號但腰圍已經快要太大了,有了這些泡棉腰帶就可以扣得緊一點,如果以後自己變瘦也還可以扣得住。我在登山客量體重時發現我到現體重還沒什麼變,代表我吃得狗多。


After a full day of rest, I headed out the next evening into the mountains again.

休息完一整天後,隔天下午我又出發了。


I finally camped alone for the first time on the trail tonight. I chose a tentsite near a road and a water cache. Someone had even left a nice beach chair here, so I started up a campfire and sat down in my chair/throne to eat dinner as king of the campground.

今天晚上終於第一次一個人紮營。在我睡的藏水處有人放了一張椅子,我生火後把椅子放在火旁邊當做營地的寶座,坐上這舒服的位子後自己像國王一樣邊吃晚餐邊觀察我的王國,也就是這個營地。



The next day was foggy again and passed through a few shockingly green areas. I almost felt like I was hiking in Taiwan again.

隔天早上又起霧了,步道有幾處非常綠,似乎走在臺灣低海拔的森林。


The PCT is a very flat trail. Here you can see how it winds its way through the mountains, not taking a straight line on a map, but rather the path of least change in elevation.

PCT是一條很平緩的步道,這張照片顯示步道不會走地圖上的直線,反而會在山腰繞來繞去走高度變化比較小的路線。


After a half-day of hiking, I arrived at another trail angel's house: Casa de Luna, home of the Andersons. The first order of business here is to hug the hostess, Terrie, and put on one of the Hawaiian shirts they have on a rack.

走完半天就到下一個trail angel的家,叫做「月亮之家」。 首先要去抱主人Terrie,再來要穿上一件夏威夷風格的衣服。



They have been hosting people at their house for ten or twenty years already. Again, they have opened up their yard for hikers to lounge in, and there is plenty of room in the manzanita trees behind the house to set up tents. People also paint rocks here and leave them lying around, which makes for some interesting viewing material as you walk through the tent forest:

Terrie和她老公十幾年前就開始歡迎登山客來他們家休息。跟登山客天堂一樣我們可以睡庭園。後庭園有很多沙漠樹,也有很多來過的登山客留下來的石頭藏在樹林中,石頭上畫了漂亮的畫面或好笑的句子,在森林裡邊走邊看石頭很有趣:



There was a great café along the highway nearby where I had both the best milkshake and the best burger on trail so far.

附近有一間餐廳,我跟Mantas去吃,這裡的奶昔跟漢堡都是我在步道上買過品質最好的。



In the evening, the Andersons serve build-it-yourself taco salad every night. Delicious and filling, but make sure you follow the rules for dishing up or Terrie will give you a smack with her wooden stick (see picture)! It's all in good fun, though.

每天晚上在月亮之家主人會提供墨西哥式沙拉,成份分開擺著,要拿多少就拿多少再自己拌,不過在拿的時侯要按照Terrie的規定不然就會被她打嘍(不會痛啦她是個好心人)。


Before leaving, everyone needs to do a little dance to get this year's PCT bandana, sign their name on the big sheet, and have a picture taken with Terrie.

離開前要跳舞給Terrie看才可以拿到當年的PCT頭巾,要在一大塊布上簽名,也要跟Terrie拍照。


I was averaging 20 miles per day earlier in the trip, but in the last four days I've only done 42 miles total. There have been three great places to stop and relax and I don't regret slowing down to fully enjoy each of these spots. Now that I'm past here, though, I'm going to try doing some bigger miles, perhaps even 30 miles, in the coming days.

以前每天平均走32公里,但最近三天加起來才走了67公里。有三個地方很值得停下來看看,我進度變慢但我也沒有後悔在這些地方花多一點時間。不過這一段已經結束了,接下來要開始趕路,甚至會試著一天內走接近50 公里。

Sunday, May 27, 2018

D24-D26 A peak, a campfire, and a horse corral 登頂、營火、入住畜欄


Days 24 to 26:

Last night was the worst night I've had on trail so far. The wind was blowing strong and the stakes on my tent wouldn't stay in the soft ground, so the tent kept folding in on itself. I restaked it several times and put a heavy rock on it, but the wind still managed to pull the line out. I also kept getting dust blowing in from under the sides, so everything in the tent was coated in a layer of dust and I kept sneezing. If every night was like this, I would probably have to quit.

昨天晚上是我在步道上經歷最差的一個晚上,營地太軟了所以營釘釘不住,風又大,帳篷一直塌下去,出去重新釘的時侯還用石頭壓住但最後營釘還是被風拉出來了。風也把外面的沙子跟灰塵從帳篷下面的縫隙吹進帳篷害我一直打噴嚏也讓帳篷裡面的東西都變髒,超級難睡。如果每天都要這樣睡我應該很快就會放棄這個行程。

Trash Bath and I got up to the peak of Mount Baden-Powell 30 minutes before sunrise and waited in the frigid wind behind a tree. After the worst sleep on trail, I was now the coldest I'd ever been on trail. I couldn't wait for the sun to come up and start warming me up. Eventually it did, and we had a fantastic view. The PCT doesn't actually go over any big peaks, so when there's a chance to get to a peak near the trail like this, it's always nice to do that.

我跟Trash Bath在日出三十分鐘前登頂Baden-Powell山,在樹旁邊躲又大又冰的風,剛才是最難睡的一晚,現在是我在步道上最冷的時刻,心情不是很好,很期待太陽出來後天氣可變溫暖一點。日出的景色很美,也是很難得的機會,PCT本身都走山腰不經過任何重要的山頂,所以只要有機會離開PCT走到一個山頂我都會想把握。







If it hadn't been cloudy below, we'd have been able to see the Pacific Ocean and L.A. from here. Instead, we got a nice sea of clouds:

從這個山頂如果天氣好的話看得到洛杉磯和太平洋,今天我們看到的是雲海:


Later I passed one of the nicest water sources yet: a clear spring flowing out of a pipe surrounded by flowers. 

今天經過我這個步道最漂亮的水源之一,冷泉水從鐵管流出來,鐵管周圍都是花。



I caught up with a few other guys at lunch time at a picnic area beside a road. Trail magic in the form of cookies and chips was waiting for us!

午餐時我趕上一群我認識的男生,在馬路旁邊有人放一點trail magic給我們,有餅乾和洋芋片!


We hiked together the rest of the day and stopped at a nice forested campsite pretty early. Christian and I gathered wood and started up our first campfire of the trip. It was a great end to a day that started out miserably.

我們這群人一起走今天剩下的路程,晚上在一個松樹下的營地過夜。我和Christian去收集木材,吃完晚餐後生火,算是這旅途中的第一次營火。今天的開頭不是很好但結尾讓我很開心。



The next day was pretty exciting for me as I finally got 10/10 on my jellybean flavour guessing game! It's not as easy as you might think.

隔天發生一件讓我特別開心的事,我終於連續十次猜對雷根糖的顏色,真的不簡單呢!


In the morning, a group of Korean-American retirees passed us going the other way on the trail. They had brought cucumbers and peeled melons and were handing them out to hikers they passed. The cucumbers were gone when they got to me, but I did enjoy a nice melon half that they offered. Then, halfway through the day, we came upon more trail magic! Someone had left a cooler with ice-cold drinks inside. I grabbed a beer and sat down with Mike. Soon enough several others arrived, grabbed a drink, and sat down to eat. This became the lunch stop for the day.

早上有一群韓國移民出來在步道上散步,方向跟我們相反,他們帶了水果和小黃瓜發給經過的PCT登山客。他們遇到我的時侯小黃瓜已經發完,可但我拿到了水果,好好吃!中午的時侯我們遇到更多trail magic,有人放一箱冰的飲料給我們!我拿一瓶啤酒跟Mike坐在附近休息,更多人很快就到了,拿好飲料後決定在這裡吃午餐。




Once again we could see the flat Mojave desert below us. For now we were blessed with trees and cooler temperatures up high, but we all know that in another week or so we're going to have to cross that hot, dry wasteland.

我們又看到下面的莫哈韋沙漠,還好我們還在山上,溫度比較低而且有樹,不過再過一個禮拜而已我們就得下去走過這個又熱又乾的荒地。


I caught up with Daniel, Matt, Madi and Jazz Hands late in the day at another picnic area. I got there just in time to have pizza with them! Once again, there was a local shop that delivered out to this picnic area. At this rate, I'm going to have a lot of leftover food when I get to the next town.

晚上在野餐區趕上Daniel、Matt、Madi和Jazz Hands,我到的時侯他們剛好訂了披薩,跟上次一樣附近有一個小鎮,披薩店願意出來外送到這個野餐區。這麼常吃到外送的話我到下一個小鎮背包裡會剩很多食物。


The next day was a beautiful walk through some very flowery terrain.

隔天經過很多開滿花的山坡。



I had managed to trade for some fresh cucumber with Mike the day before and added it to my tuna, mayo and cheese wrap for lunch. What a difference that bit of water and crunch made! It's almost like eating "real" food!

前一天我跟Mike交換食物,我拿到了一根韓國移民送的小黃瓜,今天跟美乃滋、鮪魚和起司一起放在捲餅裡。有了小黃瓜的水和脆脆的口感捲餅就很不一樣了,很接近正常食物的模樣了。


Tonight I camped at North Fork Ranger Station. They had ice cream, hot dogs, snacks and drinks for sale at a very reasonable $1.00 each to raise funds to replace the broken well pump. Everyone stopped here for at least a couple hours today and many stayed the night.

今天在森林管理處旁過夜,他們的水井抽水機最近壞掉了,所以有人賣冰淇淋、熱狗、零食、飲料來收集修抽水機的費用。每一個經過的登山客都在這裡逗留,有的跟我一樣在此過夜。




After having a can of pop and three hot dogs, I was still pretty hungry so I had chips, and apple, two ice cream bars and more pop. Once again, my food bag didn't get much lighter today!

喝完第一罐汽水吃完三個熱狗堡肚子還很餓,所以我又吃了洋芋片、一顆蘋果、兩份冰淇淋,又喝了一罐汽水。今天我背包裡的食物再一次沒什麼減少。


The tenting area here was some old horse corrals. If I shut the door, I should be safe from bears, right?

帳篷可以搭在畜欄內,門關上的話熊就進不來攻擊對吧?


Today I only walked 18 miles and could easily have gone further, but for reasons that will be discussed in the next post, I decided to stop here for the night.

今天只走了18英里,本來可以走更遠,下一篇再解釋我提早停下來的原因。