Intro, Route, Gear, Stats

Often I felt like I had fallen into an episode of The Twilight Zone.  There were so many miraculous coincidences, there was so much beauty, and also so much crazy danger.  I met former JMT unsupported FKT holder Reinhold Metzger, ultrarunning and ultrarunning statistics legend Ken Young, a friend of a close ultrarunning friend, and ran into an ultra running friend who had no idea I was doing the trek! I met many souls who seemed to have a similar heart for travel. A man who had spent years sailing the ocean, another who had spent years traveling Asia (I met him on his 72nd birthday), and a two backpackers who were doing the CCT together from north to south, we met at approximately the halfway point! At the beginning of one trail I discovered I had lost my coat, and by the end I had a sweatshirt, a hat, and two granola bars. I saw headlamps from afar that led me to water in the middle of the night. I found a woman's purse complete with driver's license, credit cards, sunglasses, from the 70s. I found my way out of a sandstorm on fifty-foot high dunes (just in time to make my hotel reservation, which would have expired at 4am -- that was a 40+ mile day), scared away a mountain lion by screaming at the top of my lungs, climbed over slippery rocks, raced along the beach to beat the incoming tide, escaped the grasp of a farm worker who grabbed my arm, swam across a river carrying my gear on my head (twice), followed footprints when I couldn't see through the beach mist at night, tripped, fell, and passed out from the pain along the highway. I dealt with poison oak, an infected blister, and glasses scratched by sandy high-speed winds. I slept under trees beside the road, on the beach, and in campgrounds where I shared food with the homeless. By San Francisco I had started to resemble a homeless person and the homeless recognized me as one of their own, asking me for gear tips and warning me that the police were "on the war path."

Many mornings I woke up to breathtaking sunrises on the beach (if I wasn't too tired and sleeping in from a long night trek, taking advantage of the cooler temperatures and reduced traffic). Nearly every night I saw an awe-inspiring sunset over a deserted beach. I followed the trail through ocean caves, to the tops of mountains, through fern-filled forests with towering giant redwood trees. I saw beaches with soft white sand, course black sand, pebbles, and cliffs. I found a giant turban shell (which I mailed to my parents), starfish, sand dollars, and lots of seaweed. I heard reports of a beached whale and a human skull. I took two public ferries on the route, and an Uber through Camp Pendleton, since they wouldn't let me walk through, or traverse the highway on foot. I was stopped by four policemen who asked if I was okay, and countless drivers who offered to give me a ride. I was offered food on an almost daily basis, was under-charged, received free meals at restaurants when the owners heard what I was doing, even had someone pay my bill without asking any questions at all. I think he might have been frustrated I was taking too long to find my money. I was occasionally offered shelter, or told of a place to find good shelter (a heated art gallery in a 24 hour honor system payment organic farm stand!), got a free night at a deluxe suite in a hotel, an upgrade at another hotel, was able to book a room at 3am at a B&B in the middle of nowhere, where they said I arrived like a fairy out of the mist (their hotel was a fairytale for me). Near the end of my trip a couple offered me a free boat ride at 10 o'clock at night, and then a free cabin and food, all of which saved me a ten or more mile detour and allowed me to power through the last two days of the trek without sleeping.

At the end, my parents were there to meet me. I was too tired to be emotional, I had already cried days earlier when I knew they were in Oregon waiting for me, the pressure was on for me to finish my trek. I wanted to see them and be able to take a break. The next morning I awoke with a terrible headache and couldn't stop vomiting, I had to cancel my flight and reschedule for the next day, it appeared my body had been fighting something off. I was grateful I hadn't gotten sick during the journey itself.

I noted that I felt much better on the segments of the CCT that were on the coast, in the mountains, or otherwise in nature, than on the highway segments. I felt myself connected with the ocean and with the planet and contemplated the ways in which humans are a part of the earth -- the circadian rhythm, the way our bodies become part of the earth when we die. And I saw myself as prey for wild animals in a way I hadn't before. I encountered an elk, mountain lions, a wild boar, whales, sea lions, elephant seals, lizards, snakes, skunks, deer, and many varieties of my spirit animal, the squirrel. The wild blackberries and fennel of mid to northern California were always there to sustain me. Nature, the ocean, the wild, all were immensely beautiful but at times terrifying.

I was surprised how many people seemed to be inspired by my journey.  A couple I encountered said a prayer to "Dr God" for me, praying that I would inspire others to take a leap of faith the way I did.

I began the trip knowing that I may have to stop at some point if the injuries I had been dealing with bothered me enough. Only a couple of weeks before I started my trek I had tried running with the running club in my hometown in Iowa, and was unable to do so without severe pain.

However, I had to start immediately and couldn't be too slow. I have been waiting for a security clearance for two years to start a job with the Navy as part of a scholarship I had in graduate school and in August found out that I would need to be available for an interview in October. I knew that if I wanted to complete the California Coastal Trail before mid-October I would need to start right away. So, I grabbed a few things and got an Uber to the Mexican border.

Luckily I was able to complete my trek injury free (with the exception of a few blisters, some shoulder pain on one side, and a rash), and finished in time for my interview.


Looking back at my SPOT and FitBit GPS data, I began the run on August 20th, 2017 at 12:10:58 and ended the run on October 4th, 2017 at 06:51:07. This works out to 44 days, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 9 seconds.

The trail is approximately 1,200 miles. Wikiloc says the route I took was 1,171 miles with 61,273 ft elevation gain and 60,016 ft elevation loss, a minimum elevation of -2 ft and maximum of 2,524 ft.

This works out to 26.1513 miles per day, almost a marathon.

My route data visualized on Wikiloc, the start and stop tags are backward, as I started at the border with Mexico:

Powered by Wikiloc

A Google Maps map I made of the route using my SPOT data:
www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1Y24QKJTSnzyF3fX_Oim8edmGr6Y&ll=37.17948836194591%2C-120.76228000000003&z=6

A link to my SPOT data from August 19th to October 4th, provided to me by SPOT. Note that I restarted the run on August 20th, so am using August 20th as my official start date. The SPOT timestamps seem to be seven hours ahead of Pacific time.
drive.google.com/file/d/0ByHLbwinI0Rcd0U3Zl9jdi1URjBxbnhaTVZvY0RwdDA1UUVF/view?usp=sharing

A link to my Strava page, which shows my FitBit GPS data. My FitBit stopped charging about three quarters of the way into the run and I abandoned using it.
https://www.strava.com/athletes/2326452

Some notes on my particular route:
When I had to cross rivers I usually took the official alternate route so that I wouldn't have to hire a boat. If I encountered a section during high tide I sometimes also took the alternate route. A couple of sections of the trail were closed, so I had to take the highway. I had to get an Uber through Camp Pendleton because they wouldn't let me run through, and I couldn't run on the highway -- I figured this would be an issue every runner would encounter and Uber/Lyft are available to everyone for this section. I swam across one small river near the border with Mexico, waded across another, and took public ferries across two others, I also hired one private boat as the trail recommended. There were small sections that were not well marked where the trail seemed to disappear, I did the best I could to follow it. There was also one section where the trail markers differed from the official trail maps, I followed the markers.

I used the maps on the CCT website: http://californiacoastaltrail.info/hikers/hikers_main.php

And in the two volume book set, Hiking the California Coastal Trail by Bob Lorentzen and Richard Nichols: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0939431246/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1ZJFHN599NNW3, and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/093943119X/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

The day before I left on my trek I found the company 1DollarScan (http://1dollarscan.com/), which turns books into searchable PDFs, and mailed in my guidebooks so that I could have the PDFs on my phone. The PDFs were crucial when internet was unavailable and I couldn't access the CCT's website for maps. It turns out that my ultra running friend, Kawai Tatsuya, owns 1DollarScan! I happened to find this out as I was running through Santa Barbara. Kawai noticed that I had put in an order and reached out to me. We met at the Santa Barbara 100, a very tough race with 24,000 feet of elevation gain. SB100 was the 5th 100 mile race I had done in seven weeks and I was crying in pain around mile 80. I came to Kawai and he was so kind, he lifted my spirits. We talked of the monks in Japan who run. We ran the remainder of the race together, except a small section at the end -- I ran ahead to see if the finish line was indeed around the corner. I will never forget that race or how kind Kawai was. And, having those PDFs proved crucial to my success as more often than not I did not have cell service. I am not sure I would have been able to complete the journey without them.

I did the trek solo, self-supported. I did not meet any family or friends along the route, with the exception of one person I knew who I happened to run into at a Whole Foods in Santa Cruz, she thought I had moved to the area and had no idea I was doing the run. I did not get in any vehicles with the exception of those mentioned above. I had to make detours along the route to buy supplies, shoes, a jacket, etc. and when I did this I tried to leave from and return to the same place on the trail. I accepted gifts from trail angels I encountered, so if offered supplies, free meals from restaurants, or free housing/hotel rooms I sometimes took these offers. Nothing was pre-planned and I had never met any of these people before.

My initial gear:
Nathan backpack
Nathan handheld water bottle
Three pairs Drymax Socks
External battery pack
Solar charger
Visor
Patagonia long sleeve shirt
Two pairs compression shorts
Two quick-dry t-shirts
3/4 length inflatable sleeping pad
Emergency bivy
Two sports bras
SPOT tracking device
Money
Checks
Credit cards
Debit card
Driver's License
Contacts
Glasses
Ponytail holders
Micropore tape
Tissues
Alcohol wipes
Earplugs
Eyemask
Phone and charger
FitBit and charger
Four extra AAA batteries for SPOT
AA phone charger / flashlight and two extra AA batteries
Safety pins (turned out to be useful for drying clothing on pack)
Small brush/comb
Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, retainer
Caffeine pills, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Sudafed, Immodium
Shampoo
Mace
Altra shoes
Luna sandals
Small AA flashlight
Bose headphones
House key
Custom insoles
Disposable razor
Sticky gauze bandage -- did not use

I love my RunGoo but figured it would get gummed up with sand with all of the barefoot beach running. Later on I wished I had brought it as I got a small blister between my pinky and second to last toe that lasted until the end of the trip. I got an extra small jar of Tiger Balm and some Tea Tree Oil chapstick to put on it.



Along the way I picked up melatonin, NyQuil, and Tylenol PM to help me sleep, along with Turmeric and tart cherry packets from Whole Foods, and astaxanthin pills to help with inflammation and my sunburn. I also found a tiny all natural stick of sunscreen that I carried with me. It was crucial in southern CA but I didn't seem to need it by the time I got about halfway up the coast, either my base tan was dark enough, the sun wasn't intense, or the astaxanthin was working, maybe a combination. I also picked up a pair of nail clippers but discarded after using them as they seemed heavy. At one of the hotels I picked up a pair of sewing kits, and later used the sterile needles to lance blisters. Late in the trip I picked up neosporin to treat a blister I worried was infected. I also picked up a waterproof small notebook and Fisher Space Pen, which I used to take notes on upcoming sections.

After the first day (!) I left behind the solar charger and my Luna Sandals, as they were too heavy to carry on my back, using a shoulder pack. If I had been running in the sandals they would have been great and in fact, had I been more accustomed to wearing them they might have been perfect for the CCT, with all of its barefoot sections.

As the trip progressed and I moved north food and water sources began to get more scarce. I decided to order another solar charger online and have it delivered to a mailbox up ahead, in case I encountered a section without a place to charge my phone -- which had all my maps. Along the way I also tripped on a bump in asphalt on Highway 1, hit my elbow, and passed out from the pain. My small flashlight had died and I had reverted to using the one LED light on my AA phone charger, which turned out not to work very well at all for charging my phone in emergencies. So, I also ordered a rechargeable Petzl LED headlamp online and had that delivered to the same post office box, in San Francisco.

The emergency bivy turned out to sweat a lot and make me cold and the inflatable pad didn't seem to offer much more than the soft sand and I grass I was sleeping on already, so I got rid of the pad and stopped in at the nearest REI -- which turned out to be Santa Monica, to look for a replacement for the emergency bivy. I found the SOL "breathable" emergency bivy and grabbed it! --This turned out to be the perfect piece of equipment. I also bought a thicker coat for the upcoming colder northern temperatures, and a pair of tights -- which I later returned, so that I could get a pair of Patagonia mid-weight tight pants instead.

Somewhere along the trail (will have to look back through my notes to pinpoint where) I encountered a camp store and purchased a second emergency foil bivy, emergency blanket, and straw water filter -- which was absolutely necessary for many parts of the north section. I would put the SOL breathable bivy inside the foil bivy and use the emergency blanket for another layer of warmth when I needed it.

I'm not sure how, but I managed to lose my expensive coat... it could have been the high winds, or my sleep deprivation induced forgetfulness, but I went to put it on as the sun was going down one evening, and it was gone! As I got to the end of the trail I met Kim and Andy and told them about my trek. They thought I looked cold and offered to give me a hat and sweatshirt! I took both. They told me about a great restaurant up ahead, where I went, and went on to meet Elliot, who was having his 72nd birthday! We all had food, cake, and wine. Elliot insisted on giving me a fleece jacket. These layers were wonderful and I was so touched by the kindness of these trail angels. However, they were heavy for me to carry. I had to give away the sweatshirt and fleece and was able to mail the hat back to myself. At a glamping site where I stayed (glamorous camping), which charged a relatively high price to use the tent sites and showers, the owner gave me a more technical jacket and rainproof shell. These were great for a short time but again too heavy. I ended up giving them away and invested in a waterproof Kuhl jacket and fluffy coat that were perfectly my size. Later I realized the fluffy coat was also too heavy and mailed it home to myself after I found a kids' sized North Face puffy jacket.

I also bought a rain poncho at a supermarket along the way, which I used during both of the two times it rained on my trip.

I picked up the headlamp and solar battery in San Francisco, and got a new pair of Altra Olympus shoes at a store there, my old shoes were worn way down on the back outer corners. The headlamp proved invaluable, it made an amazing difference and allowed me to get through tough trail terrain at night. I don't know what I would have done without it, I should have had it all along. The solar charger got me through the Lost Coast portion of the trail, and when I got to somewhere near Petrolia I decided to mail it back to myself, it wasn't worth the extra weight anymore, I knew there would be towns close enough up ahead.

My external battery stopped charging partway through and I had to buy a new one at a cell phone store. The new one was actually lighter and lasted longer, so that was a plus.

Late in the trip I bought new socks because I had not been able to sufficiently wash my Drymax socks and was worried about the infection in my blister. I saved one pair of my beloved Drymax and bought two pairs of thicker socks -- all that was available at the store I happened upon. These socks turned out to make my feet sweat -- terrible!!! The only redeeming quality was that they were longer, and I used them to protect my legs from the pampas grass and other elements that cut up my shins terribly on the Lost Coast section. In retrospect I would bring a pair of high-top trail Drymax socks in addition to the low cut versions I brought with me.

After running through a huge amount of poison oak I decided to mail that outfit home, and for nearly half the trip only had one set of clothes.

I will try to enumerate the gear that I ended with -- Final Gear:
Nathan backpack
Nathan handheld water bottle
Drymax socks (one pair, plus two pairs of other socks I had to buy on the way, next time would have Drymax socks mailed ahead and bring a one pair long socks and two pairs short socks)
External battery pack
Visor
Patagonia long sleeve shirt
One pair compression shorts
One quick-dry t-shirts
One sports bra
SOL emergency bivy - breathable cloth-like version
Emergency bivy -- metallic version
Space blanket
SPOT tracking device
Money
Checks
Credit cards
Debit card
Driver's License
Contacts
Glasses
Ponytail holders
Micropore tape
Tissues
Earplugs
Phone and charger
Four extra AAA batteries for SPOT
Safety pins (turned out to be useful for drying clothing on pack)
Small brush/comb
Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, retainer
Caffeine pills, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Sudafed, Immodium
Altra shoes
Petzl headlamp
Small notebook and pen
Extra small Tiger Balm
Small sunscreen
Triple antibiotic
Water filter straw
Dual USB charger and extra cable (two USB slots, one double prong for outlet)
Bose headphones
House key
Custom insoles
Disposable razor
Extra pair of Altra insoles (my arch on one foot bothered me at the beginning of the trip)
Sticky gauze bandage -- did not use
I was not able to get a precise weight on the pack but would guess around 5-8 pounds.

After meeting none other than JMT Reinhold aka Reinhold Metzger -- the former unsupported record holder on the John Muir Trail -- on the first day of my trek, in the middle of the night in downtown San Diego!, I carried nuts as my main source of backup fuel. Since towns were usually less than 30 miles apart I could get by with eating a lot in each town and carrying minimal additional calories. I believe the longest stretch between food resupply was roughly 60 miles, before and during the first segment of the Lost Coast. A 5oz package of macadamia nuts has 1,000 calories, this was my favorite source of fuel. Other times I carried standard dried fruit and nut trail mixes, whatever was available at the small convenience stores I encountered along the way.

I always carried one handheld water bottle of water and sometimes carried an additional repurposed softdrink bottle full of water in my other hand. Most times one bottle was sufficient. In southern CA there were parks with water fountains galore and in northern CA there were plenty of creeks.

Here I am after picking up my gear at the REI in Santa Monica, thanks Zachary Jubie for this photo!!