PCT 2007 Day 16 – Dean Creek – MacKerricher SP

PCT 2007 Day 16

Stage 16 / 4-10-07
Dean Creek – MacKerricher SP
70.84 miles; 899.01 total miles; 11.6 mph avg.; 6:04 hours
60’s sunny

Last night’s sleeping spot was lumpy as hell. I slept well but it wasn’t ideal. I woke to overcast/fog. I had faith it would clear and it did. It turned out to be just like yesterday, beautiful.

I didn’t put enough fuel in my stove so my oatmeal water wasn’t that hot. So breakfast was below par for once. The team is looking into a better cook for the rest of the tour.

The stage started around 8 AM. It climbed right away, into Garberville on Redwood Rd. Once there it was onto 101. After Benbow I took a side road, CA 271. It was a nice alternative to 101. Once back on 101 I had to go up Confusion Hill and shortly later I saw the “world famous tree house”. It is a redwood log on its side with a door on one end. After that I saw a store so I pulled in to fuel up for the up coming HC climb. I ran into a younger couple on a short tour. Their names were Phil and Paulie. They had nice Surley bikes. They were training for an across country trip later this summer.

Just after the store 101 joined up with Route 1. The climb started almost right away. I passed Phil & Paulie as Phil took off his pant legs for the climb. I set into a nice tempo and went up it like nothing. As Lance would say, “no chain”.

(NEWS FLASH: I just heard a robin behind me, then heard it chirp. Then I heard it take flight. Just as it did, I heard a rush of air in front of my face. As I looked up I saw a small hawk blast in front of me. Probably 3′ away, it landed in the bushes to my right. I could only see its tail from my position before it took off. The thing scared the crap out me.)

The climb was great. I was felling hot so I asked the race commissioner if I could remove my helmet even though it was not a mountain top finish. He gave the go ahead. So I climbed on enjoying every mile. Once to the top on went the helmet and jacket. I must have descended for at least 8 miles. It was better than the other descent I enjoyed so much. On the way down I saw 2 deer, turkey, and gray squirrels. The numbers on the hill are, ascend 1100′ and descend 1890′

Once off Liggett Hill, as it’s called, you go right up Rockport Hill. A 700′ ascent, then right down to sea level. I had a late lunch on the lower slopes on Rockport Hill. As I had lunch I had a Raven in the trees above me. The weird part was it was making the clucking sound the aliens in the movie “Signs” did. It was freaking me out. At first I couldn’t see the Raven but knew it was one but I watched the trees until I saw him to be sure. You never know. Isolated woods, no one around, sounds like a perfect place to be abducted.
Now that I was back to the coast, it was cooler again. This was my first real experience of the Californian coast since I got to CA. It was worth the wait. The coast here has rolling fields and grassy hill sides inland, while Oregon had mostly wooded hills.

My map showed the park I was staying at one town before it really was. I thought I missed it. Going through Westport, I stopped at a store to get some snacks and ended up with two slices of pizza! So tasty.

Tonight I had Anne’s Mac & Cheese. It was delicious. No fire tonight, my back is super tired and it’s calling for me to hit the hay.

Glove count is 20.

Scatman 2011- Though Liggett Hill was long and quite hot I really enjoyed it.  The descent was even better.  While on the coast in a tight switch back I got one of my three honks from cars on my trip.  I don’t know if it was because I had my head phones on and that bothered the driver, or the fact that I was in his way.

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Scatman

Get out there!

You can check out my Appalachian Trail or Continental Divide Trail journals too!