Month: August 2018

Its hard to believe, but I’ve been off the trail for almost a month now.  I have not had pain in my shin, but then again, I have not been hiking on it.  Based on what I’ve heard from runners it may take another month of healing before I should put it to the test.  That pretty much means the end for my 2018 PCT hike.

So it is time for a re-plan: a challenging adventure I can do solo, complete in 2 months or less, and is easy on the shins. Years ago I used to do a lot of bicycle touring: I’ve bicycle camped along the Sonoma and Big Sur Coasts in California and completed a 45-day Pacific to Atlantic (southern route) biking journey back in 1991.

Given the summer heat and fires, staying close to the coast seems like a good idea, and so in keeping with the Canada/Mexico theme of the PCT, I’ve decided to SoBo Bicycle Camp from Canada to Mexico along the Pacific Coast.

Here’s my intended route:

I’ll catch a train on Thursday, Aug 9 and head to Seattle where I’ll spend the weekend with long time friend Mike Hobbs.  I’ll catch another train on Monday, Aug 13 to Vancouver, BC.  From there, I’ll start pedaling south.

I’m planning a few zero days.  First, I’ll be visiting family in La Conner, WA on my third day – that will help me ease into biking and allow me to add or ditch items.  The next planned zero is at our Sea Ranch house, and the final one will be in Santa Cruz near our Los Gatos house.  I’ll probably add others…

Here’s my thumbnail schedule:

Day	Date		Ending Location	Distance	Total Dist
0	Sun	8/12/18	Vancouver, BC	0.0	0.0
1	Mon	8/13/18	Birch Bay State Park	42.0	42.0
2	Tue	8/14/18	La Conner	54.2	96.2
3	Wed	8/15/18	La Conner	0.0	96.2
4	Thu	8/16/18	La Conner	0.0	96.2
5	Fri	8/17/18	La Conner	0.0	96.2
6	Sat	8/18/18	Fort Worden State Park	51.5	147.7
7	Sun	8/19/18	Dungeness County Park	42.3	190.0
8	Mon	8/20/18	Fairholme Campground	52.5	242.5
9	Tue	8/21/18	Kalaloch Campground	63.5	306.0
10	Wed	8/22/18	Falls Creek Campground	33.8	339.8
11	Thu	8/23/18	Twin Harbors State Park	64.0	403.8
12	Fri	8/24/18	Bruceport County Park	41.3	445.1
13	Sat	8/25/18	Fort Stevens State Park	66.2	511.3
14	Sun	8/26/18	Nehalem Bay	46.3	557.6
15	Mon	8/27/18	Cape Lookout State Park	39.1	596.7
16	Tue	8/28/18	Beverly Beach State Park	61.4	658.1
17	Wed	8/29/18	Carl G. Washburne Mem. SP	42.5	700.6
18	Thu	8/30/18	Umpqua Lighthouse SP	42.1	742.7
19	Fri	8/31/18	Bullards Beach State Park	47.0	789.7
20	Sat	9/1/18	Humbug Mountain State Park	37.8	827.5
21	Sun	9/2/18	Harris Beach State Park	51.7	879.2
22	Mon	9/3/18	Elk Prairie Campground	66.4	945.6
23	Tue	9/4/18	Redwood Coast Cabins and RV Park	46.3	991.9
24	Wed	9/5/18	Burlington Campground	61.8	1053.7
25	Thu	9/6/18	Standish-Hickey State Rec Area	47.4	1101.1
26	Fri	9/7/18	MacKerricher State Park	41.8	1142.9
27	Sat	9/8/18	Sea Ranch House	68.9	1211.8
28	Sun	9/9/18	Sea Ranch House	0.0	1211.8
29	Mon	9/10/18	Sea Ranch House	0.0	1211.8
30	Tue	9/11/18	Bodega Dunes Campground	42.1	1253.9
31	Wed	9/12/18	Samuel P. Taylor State Park	42.1	1296.0
32	Thu	9/13/18	San Francisco	30.7	1326.7
33	Fri	9/14/18	Half Moon Bay State Beach	28.8	1355.5
34	Sat	9/15/18	New Brighton State Beach	57.3	1412.8
35	Sun	9/16/18	New Brighton State Beach	0.0	1412.8
36	Mon	9/17/18	Monterey Veterans Memorial Park	42.2	1455.0
37	Tue	9/18/18	Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park	44.3	1499.3
38	Wed	9/19/18	Plaskett Creek Campground	33.3	1532.6
39	Thu	9/20/18	San Simeon State Beach	34.8	1567.4
40	Fri	9/21/18	Pismo State Beach North	53.0	1620.4
41	Sat	9/22/18	Gaviota State Park	64.7	1685.1
42	Sun	9/23/18	Carpinteria State Beach	46.1	1731.2
43	Mon	9/24/18	Sycamore Canyon Campground	43.2	1774.4
44	Tue	9/25/18	Santa Monica	32.0	1806.4
45	Wed	9/26/18	Newport Beach	36.4	1842.8
46	Thu	9/27/18	San Elijo State Beach	54.2	1897.0
47	Fri	9/28/18	San Ysidro	48.8	1945.8
48	Sat	9/29/18	San Diego		1945.8

I’ll be camping most nights, but some of the big city areas lack campgrounds and I’ll need to find accommodations at motels or social room-sharing sites like WarmShowers.org.

So, this blog will morph from Pacific Crest Trail oriented to Pacific Coast Ride oriented. Future posts will describe my bike and what I’m bringing, and then I’ll blog about the adventure as it unfolds.

I’m hoping you will follow along with me!