Hiking the PCT

Here's the second installment of Alicia and Alfredo's email updates on hiking the Pacific Coast Trail:

May 12, 2009

Dear friends and family,
we have arrived in Big Bear which is at mile 265 and day 16 on the trail. It has been an interesting section with many trail angels to support us along the way. But I can say the desert is not easy to walk in. There is still no water for most of the trail and dehydration is a big problem. We have met many other hikers along the way and we are all experiencing the same thing so we give each other support. The biggest problem is about half the people have terrible blisters. We are lucky with only minor ones. Our packs become very heavy after 10 hours of walking so we are always trying to lighten the load. I cut the extra straps off my pack while Alfredo wrapped the tent around his walking poles. The scenery has varied from desert scrub and catcus to beautiful tall pines and 9600ft peaks. We have been through the Anza Borrenga Desert Park, the San Juancito National park, San Gorgino park and now the San Bernadino national park. We went from 3500 ft up to 8000ft down to 1000ft up to 9000ft and down again. The cold wasnt the problem but the heat, it reached 107!!!!! I felt like I was roasting in an oven, miserable. We colapsed under the Interstate 10 bridge with cars roaring overhead at high noon. There was no other shade for miles and miles. As for the trail angels, Mike lives a half a mile off the trail and welcomed all hikers to stay at his place, had ribs and chicken on the bque, beer and gatorade in the cooler, etc. Then there was Tarazan at Hwy 74 with food and gatorade. In Idlywild there was Walker who opened his house to us, fed us, shower and laundry and even gave me the car to run to the grocery!!People are amazing! Daddy Dave who made us hamburgers at 9:30 in the morning in the desert heat and filled us with gatorade sport drinks. Magic trail coolers along the way full of candy bars and cold drinks! Then we walked into town yesterday and some lady at the post office offers to take us home and feed us, showers and laundry, etc. Dana and Mike have a beautiful house and they have been wonderful. Dana made us a fantastic pasta dinner and a huge breakfast this morning. I guess we are already losing a few pounds. This all sounds good but there are many long,hot miles between these goodies. Some people have already got off the trail since it is too difficult. But we feel good( at least every morning) and getting stronger everyday. I might also mention that the trail is dusty so that means we are filthy dirty every night and have to get in the sleeping bag with dirty feet and dirty hands. My contacts are a problem.I have to get going so will have to leave it at that but will cont next time about the horse adventure.
Alicia and Alfredo

Alicia and Alfredo

Friends Alicia and Alfredo on the dock at the Singlar Marina in Puerto Escondido

One of the great joys of cruising is meeting truly interesting people who have some amazing sea stories of their own. Well, at this point, Alicia and Alfredo are right at the top of that list! This is a couple who didn't even speak the same language when they met at the remote Chagos Archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean seven years ago. Alicia is an American from New Orleans, and Alfredo is an Italian from Milano.

Their boat, On Verra, was berthed next to me at the Police Dock in San Diego when I stopped on my way south this year. We soon got acquainted, and I found they were also headed for la Paz and some exploring in the Sea of Cortez. In Alicia's case, this was a case of re-visiting, since she had spent some time cruising in this area more than fifteen years earlier. After a couple of evenings over dinner, wine and recollected adventures, I quickly realized this was a truly remarkable couple. Their adventures span the globe, and include famous storms, shipwreck off the coast of South America and an admirable ability to subsist largely from what they are able to take from the sea.

When I met them again in la Paz, and yet again in Escondido, they were finalizing their plan for leaving their boat in Mexico to spend the summer hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada! The plan required that they get the boat to Guaymas, on the mainland side of the Sea of Cortez, before the end of April, so they could start the trek the first of May before the southern, desert sections of the trail got too hot for hiking.

Well, the long walk north is now into it's second month, and I've been getting regular emails detailing yet another remarkable Alicia and Alfredo adventure. With their permission, I'm going to copy those emails here, so the next several entrys will detail a little different variation of "sea story."

Here are the first two emails, shortly before and right after they began this hugely ambitious undertaking:

Monday, 4/20/09

Ciao,

As most of you know, we have been planning to walk the PCT, a trail from Mexico to Canada, for some time now. The last worry was trying to get Alfredo back into the US without a visa but all went well. We took the bus from Guaymas to Tucson and simply got a visa waiver at the border. From Tucson we caught a flight to SD and bought the ticket half an hour before boarding. Good price on Southwest.As for On Verra, we left her on the hard in Singlar marina seca in Guaymas totally stripped in case of a hurricane.We are staying with some friends while doing the last minute preparations here in SD. We will start on Thurs. We decided against sending us mail drops of food for the moment, we will just go with the flow of things and scavenger for food when necessary.We will try to keep you posted when we can.Would also love to here from you.Thinking of all of you.

Best wishes,
Alicia and Alfredo

Saturday, 5/2/09

hello to all you couchpotatoes,

we have just walked our first 110 miles and are presently in Warner Springs, Ca. We started on thurs. of last week, thanks to Caryn of Windflower,who gave us a ride out to the trailhead. The first day was a killer, 20 miles of desert hiking with no water, I arrived dehydrated. Alfredo was feeling the beginnings of a cold. On that first day about 60 people were walking. But the surprise came when we arrived at Lake Morena to the kick off party with organized booths and check ins. About 700 people showed up, some who have walked it in previous years and others who just love to help and support us hikers, we call those trail angels. We also happen to meet hikers that we met on the AT 5 years ago. So about 175 people are hiking this year. The PCTA and ADZOPCTKO organizers feed us all weekend. Unfortunately Afredo came down with a bad bug which led to a throat infection and then a fever. With all the trail angels looking after us he recovered quickly. On monday we walked 17 miles. The problem with this section is the lack of water, it is hot and dry. We camped at Long canyon, Pioneer Mail, Scissors Crossings which was a 25 mile day by accident( we missed the water so we had to continue), and then 4th Gate. Highlights: Had a near encounter with a rattlesnake, not smart, got blown out of the tent, and had people who drove up from San Diego looking for us to make sure we were ok. Then we walk into Warner Springs Post Office and a stranger gives us $100 to stay at the fancy ranch with hot springs, I guess he thought we really needed a shower. We were filthy dirty after 6 days on trail, the dirt was caked on us and I know we smelled. So after a wonderful shower and soak and clean clothes we are ready to hit the trail agian this afternoon. This next section is up to 9000 ft mountains and snow. I hope we dont freeze since we dont have any warm clothes. Lastly I want to let people know that this section would almost be impossible to do without the help of trail angels who actually carry gallons of water up mountains to the trail so us hikers dont die of dehydration. We thank them.So far we are having a great time and will send email at next opportunity!!!!!

Alicia and Alfredotrail names sailor and pasta alfredo

For more information on the Pacific Crest Trail, check: http://www.fs.fed.us/pct/

Jumping Manta Rays

One of the highlights of my Sea of Cortez cruising was an experience with a school of manta rays I encountered in San Evaristo, a well-protected bay adjacent to the coastal village of that name. Tucked into a cozy little cove at the north end of the bay, I was getting ready to toast the sunset when the rays caught my attention. It wasn't just that they were jumping several feet into the air and then slapping back down into the water - you see that often in these waters - it was more attention getting because it was going on so frequently and so continuously. In fact, as I watched what appeared to be a large group of these rays, the group seemed to be slowly proceeding around the cove right toward the boat. As they got closer, it was apparent that the main group of 40 or 50 rays were pretty closely grouped into a tight circle right at the surface of the water. Of course, this isn't all that remarkable, because they are surface feeders who feed on krill they find there. What was remarkable, was the behavior of the jumping rays. As they approached, it was easy to see that the jumps were nearly all performed outside of the closely grouped school, and the jumpers were consistently swimming and jumping in a clockwise circle around the main group! It also appeared that the jumps were concluded with a loud, belly flopping, slap when the rays landed back in the water.
Now, considering that manta rays are closely related to the shark family, some of the most primitive fish in the ocean, this sure looked like the kind of organized group behavior we don't usually attribute to this kind of critter. But a little online research also reveals that krill are stunned and tend to bunch up when they sense an impact nearby. Is it possible that these rays were engaging in some kind of co-operative feeding behavior - the outriding jumpers herding the krill into the circle of their feeding buddies ?! Gotta confess, I'm not enough of a biologist to answer that one, but it sure is an interesting question...



For more interesting information about manta rays, check out the website: http://www.freedive.net/mantas/mantas.htm

Catching Up

Sea Story with her sails off, the sun cover on and well secured to the dock in her summer home at the Singlar Marina in la Paz.

It's been awhile since I posted to the blog, so now is a good time to bring everyone up-to-date.

Sea Story is currently berthed at the Singlar Fidepaz Marina in la Paz. She's going to be there for the summer, because this is relatively secure berth during the hurricane season (August through October) season. Susan and Dennis Ross, with Ross Marine Services, are keeping watch on her, and she has a new sun cover to ward off the excess UV rays that are so hard on boats at this latitude.

La Paz turned out to be a fabulous port and the absolutely best part of Mexico I've experienced so far. I just can't say enough about the friendly people, the wonderful marina facilities and the fascinating sailing experiences this area provides.

I'll be spending the summer in Rocklin, California and the Minneapolis, Minnesota area, and heading back down to la Paz sometime in November or December to get Sea Story back on the water and exploring the Sea of Cortez.

More to come on some of the people I met and the places I visited this past winter season.

Down Baja and Whale Tales

Veteran Mexico crew members Doug Larson and Dennis Flick showed up in San Diego right on schedule, and we set off late in the afternoon of January 14th for what proved to be the easiest trip ever down the coast of Baja California. Unfortunately, because of the scarcity of wind, it turned out to be the trip with the least sailing as well.

Dawn was breaking on the 17th, when we entered Turtle Bay and dropped the hook just off the big pier jutting out from beach front of this dusty little town that lies nearly 130 miles from the nearest paved highway and close to the halfway point down the outside of Baja.

After refueling and a great fish taco dinner - courtesy of some of the other cruisers - we spent a calm night at anchor and headed out the next morning. We spent the next three and a half days mostly motoring and sometimes sailing the remaining 400 miles down Baja to the tip of the peninsula at Cabo San Lucas. It was along this stretch that we made a couple of the more interesting wildlife contacts on all the Sea Story trips to Mexico.

Late in the evening of our first day out of Turtle Bay, it was my watch and we were sailing slowly in the dark a few miles SW of Punta Abreojos. when the breathing sounds of several big sea mammals grew louder from behind and alongside the boat. Initially, this confused me because the blowing exhalations were louder and more frequent than you hear when dolphins are near. Yet they were not as loud, although even more frequent than the breathing sounds of grey or humpback whales.

It wasn't until one of the mystery critters passed casually within eight to ten feet of the starboard quarter and the beam of my flashlight that the realization hit me; we were being overtaken by a pod of pilot whales. Yep, they had come up alongside TO GIVE US THE ONCE OVER...! Even though there was no moonlight, we determined by the blowing and phosphorescence in the water that we had been overtaken by possibly as many as a dozen whales.

Within a few minutes the whole pod had passed by without so much a bump or nudge on the hull, and it wasn't until mid-afternoon of the next day that we sighted the whales again. This time we were motoring faster than we had been sailng in the light winds of the night before, and that let us do the overtaking- although they were not about to let us get nearly as close to them as they chosen to come by us. With the benefit of daylight we could also see that there were several individual pods of what appeared to be four to six individual whales each. They were arrayed roughly on an east-to-west line that was moving slowly to the south as were we. We estimated that there were likely as many as 50 - 60 of them in the whole group, and they seemed to spend most of their time cruising slowly on the surface as though foraging.

The rest of our trip south was less eventful and by early evening of the third day, we were rounding Cabo Falso and heading past Cabo San Lucas to a next-day anchorage at Bahia Muertos, just 8 hours short of la Paz on Baja's eastern coast. The weather had turned much warmer and Muertos gave us all a chance to clean up with a salt water swim and fresh water shower in the boat's cockpit. That evening we dinghied in to beer and dinner at an upscale beach-front cantina - a great respite after four days at sea....

The next day, we motored into Marina de la Paz, a temperature in the 70's and the beginning of another season in Mexico...


Dennis and Doug taking a swim off the stern of Sea Story in Ensenada de los Muertos (Bay of the Dead). After four days at sea, we're cleaning up before the final run into la Paz the next day. The place name doesn't mean there are dead people here, but refers to the anchoring system for the old barge docks located nearby.

Santa Barbara to San Diego

Brandy Kepner from Tradewinds shuttled our new crew to Santa Barbara mid-afternoon on Friday, the 2nd. Faced with the possibility of NE winds at Catalina Island the next day, we decided to forego a stopover at Avalon harbor - which is open to the NE - and sail directly to San Diego the next morning.


Our new crew fell right into the Sea Story routine, and after a good nights sleep, our planned departure at 8:00 AM was proceeding like clockwork - right up to the point where the gear shift linkage failed just as we were backing out of our berth! A quick mobilization to fend off from other boats, and the assistance of the Harbor Patrol got us safely back into the berth to trouble-shoot the problem. Turns out, the linkage had broken at a point that was going to require some time and effort to repair. It was also going to require a replacement part that just wasn't available in Santa Barbara. In addition, while checking the navigation light wiring, we found a short that had to be repaired before we could head out for an overnight sail.


Clearly, the situation called for come creative thinking, and that's where we lucked out. Turns out we just happened to have a crew with extraordinary mechanical skills. Bryan Saulsbury had once been a professional auto mechanic, and Derek Stroening had considerable experience repairing and modifying his own boat, a 24' Newport.


By noon, we had the navigation light rewired, and we had worked out a system of shifting gears by relaying the commands down to Bryan who could effect the shift with the control lever right at the transmission. It was a crude, but effective system, and we carefully maneuvered out of the berth and were on our way to San Diego just a couple of hours behind schedule.


The rest of the trip was much less stressful. We got in some pleasant sailing. We saw some dolphins, and we were briefly followed by a whale off Oceanside. Because of our late departure, we got into San Diego after dark, which is always a bit of an adventure. Good teamwork, GPS, radar, and the range lights on Shelter Island helped get us to the weekend anchorage at LaPlaya Cove where we dropped the hook at 8:00 PM. Somehow the celebration of our arrival managed to take another four hours, and the boat finally went quiet enough for the skipper to drift off at midnight.



The next day we used our command relay shifting system to get tied up at the Harbor Police Public Dock, and got started on one of the most difficult repair jobs I've even had to do on Sea Story. Luckily, the critical part was available (but just!), when Connie and Jennifer walked up to Downwind Marine. By noon the next day, we had the linkage fixed and operating better than it had before. Without this great crew's help, the job would have had to gone to a boatyard, so there was another celebration - this time on the skipper's bill...


After all the fixing and celebrating, the crew all the headed back to northern California with my thanks and appreciation as well as promotions from "scuppers" to "mates." * (see the movie Captain Ron
for clarification!)










Hard work, this "Skipper" job......

Derek Stroening and Jennifer Goodrich at the mast. Is it surprising that their own boat's name is Pyrateer?!

Connie LaBounty taking advantage of the sunshine and getting caught up on her reading.

Bryan "shifterman" Saulsbury taking a turn at the wheel after spotting our whale.

Our welcoming committee at the San Diego Police Dock. We think these guys were from the Navy's mamal warefare training center across the channel. We didn't catch it in the photo, but the seal threw us a salute as they passed by...

San Francisco to Santa Barbara

Click on photos to enlarge

The Good Ship Alcatraz. The famous island has an interesting profile as we depart a fog shrouded San Franciso Bay at dawn. Ian Joseph shot this with his Nikon SLR digital .

Ian and Will at the mast as we head toward the Golden Gate on December 29th. For the next two days, we alternately sailed and motor-sailed down the central California coast in moderate seas with a following wind. Other than some 25 knot breezes off Point Sur, it was an easy, though chilly, trip. We arrived at Santa Barbara in the fog on New Year's eve. A nice dinner at the Enterprise Fish Company and libations back on the boat helped us bring in the new year in grand style.






Ho-Hum. Just another beautiful sunset off the Big Sur coast.... (Ian Joseph phot0)
At this point, the pelicans pretty much own this bait barge in the Santa Barbara harbor. They're a picturesque, but really smelly bunch! (Ian Joseph photo)

Fog moving in at sunset gives the harbor an interesting mood. Looks more like Halloween than New Years Day. (Ian Joseph photo)