Tuesday 1 May 2012

Plan B is in operation

Firstly apologies for the lack of updates lately but I have had limited access.

So what had been going on with me.
Well firstly the issues I had been having seem to have been confirmed as being related to altitude, my symptoms cleared up very quickly once I returned down to San Diego but returned just as fast everytime I returned to altitude.
So I have decided to abandon the hike as I had planned it, if I had stayed on the trail I would have been heading into higher altitudes fairly quickly also I did not feel comfortable considering heading into the desert sections if I was not feeling 100% 

So what are my plans now, well I have rented a car for the next two months and I am heading out on an epic road trip instead, at a minimum I plan to visit the four corners of the US (Washington state, Maine, the Florida keys and back to San Diego) with a possible side trip up to Alaska (if I do I will basically go up far enough to be able to say I was there before turning back)  also along the way I want to visit as many different states as possible.
So any friends and ex colleagues on the east coast you may see me in the coming weeks.

So what else have I been up to in the last weeks.
Well I had a few days in San Diego so one thing I did was visit sea world which was a fun day out.
I also rented a car and tried out a little trail angeling, I provided some lifts from paradise valley cafe up to idyllwild, I also collected a few other hikers and provided them a lift back down to the kickoff which I was attending anyway.
Kickoff was interesting, I was good to meet some of the other hikers, but to be honest at the same time was a little sad for me, I'm quite happy with my decision to come off the trail but seeing a few presentations which included videos made me a little disappointed at the same time.
I couldn't actually camp up at the kickoff as I was starting to feel bad from the altitude (I did stay one night but that was enough)

Well after kickoff I dropped the same hikers back to where I had collected them, then back down to San Diego to swap out the rental car with the new one for the two months.

My plan was to get through California as fast as possible (I plan to spend some more time on my way back) that took a day and a half on its own, so I'm now in Oregon, I visited Crater Lake park today, unfortunately a lot of the roads there are still closed due to snow (12 foot plus in places)

Tomorrow I will probably see some.more of Oregon and head into Washington.

3 comments:

  1. On the plus side, you'll now get to take in more sights and places than you otherwise would have!

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  2. Mark, enjoy your time exploring the Pacific Northwest, there are many breathtaking sights. You'll find some of the most amazing national parks in the country.

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  3. You health is your wealth Mark, understandably its disappointing to not be able to proceed on the PCT but I am sure an American/World tour will more than make up for it.
    Stay safe.
    Jonnie.

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