Annual Day Zero PCT kickoff

Hangin at the kickoff, gonna get back on the trail May 2nd. Bought a new tent (tarp tent moment) and a new pack (ULA) and I love them. I'm probably going to need a new Sleeping bag soon because it's been colder than I was expecting. There are a ton of vendors here. You should check it out ADZPCTKO and come meet all these crazy bastards who are about to hiike the hike of their lives...

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone

Slackpacking to the 8

Slackpacking today and a late start but I'm not worried. The hike was nice with only about 20 lbs. I wish I could do that all the time. I left some stuff in there, unfortunately I forgot to put any food in there so I went 17 miles with no food. It wasn't too bad but I did have to stop for some burgers on my way back to SD. I ran into a bunch of hikers coming north and I stopped to talk to most of them. I had to remind myself that I wasn't going to make it if I didn't shut my mouth and start walking. The Kickoff party starts tonight at Lake Morena but I probably won't be able to go. I met some trail workers just north of Cibbetts that were extracting a rock from the middle of the trail. These guys and girls amaze me, small teams of volunteers who work for 3 months at a time maintaining the trail. They were as dirty as thru-hikers if not dirtier and I watched move a 200 pound boulder before I continued on.

Tomorrow I'l go out to the ADZPCTKO party which stands for "Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off" and I heard there are a record number of people coming. You get to meet a whole bunch of the hikers who will be making the attempt this year. they also have seminars, presentations, vendors and a silent auction so you can really get a lot done in one weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing the Stick Pic guy. He had some cool stuff last year.

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone

Viejas Casino Gig

The gig for KIFM 98.1 San Diego went great. The room was packed and the sound system was great. Of course you could hear the C arpeggio of clot machines in the constant background but it was cool otherwise. Mikan and I had Rockstar juiced, he for the first time, and that got the gig of to a flying start. Mikan, Evona and I played all night and then Collen and Olin drove me up to their house in Mt. Laguna. I crashed on their couch, tomorrow I'll slackpack down to the 8 and then they're going to shuttle my car to me so I can start next Monday from Mt Laguna, right about where the herd ought to be.

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone

Back Home for Supplies

I'm here in my office/bedroom/storage unit, downloading all of Half-Mile's maps on my iPad and Droid. That's probably the way to go. I moved everything I own into my office so that I don't any rent while on the trail. I'm here fixing the last of the logistical problems that popped up. The spot tracker was working it's just that I had the wrong map embedded on my website. I forgot a bowl so I picked one up at REI last night, I have some last minute stuff coming in the mail and I hate this backpack. I got a medium and I need a large. Even with the hip pad on the straps are pulling on my shoulders. I'm going to bring my other pack until I get something better. Maybe someone at the Kickoff will want to trade. It'll weight a lot more but my shoulders are trashed so I'll use my Gregory pack. I'll take off all of the junk that I don't need and try to get my pack under 5 pounds. Warner Springs Monty has an entire base weight that's lighter than my pack is. Jesus! Tomorrow is the first gig on the Pacific Crest Jazz Tour and I'm really excited about it. It's finally here!

DP

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone

I-8

The temperature went way down in the night and I was damn cold; however, I left my feet outside of the bag and I think that kept them from swelling. I met a few other hikers from North Carolina and San Diego and I ate a couple of pop tarts and packed up for this 1000 foot climb out of Hauser Creek.

The 4 miles to Morena lake were longer than regular miles. I'm not sure how this happens but it does. (it turns out it was actually 4.8 miles so maybe that's the thing) anyway I was glad to see something I could actually sit on. I got something to eat and somehow I started to think that this was Tuesday and not Monday so I was freaking out about how I was going to get to Mt Laguna in time to get back to my gig on Wednesday at Viejas. I was going to have to get off at the 8. Bummer.

Along the way I realized my spot tracker is not sending updates the way it should and I also forgot my bowl to eat from. Man! I called in a carlift and My buddy Andy came and picked me up on the 8. He brought all this great stuff like apples and oranges. It was awesome.

Not until later that night when I was getting some dinner and there was no piano player at the restaurant did I realize, it's MONDAY!!! AHHH man I stillhad another extra day! I felt so stupid. That's what I get for not having a watch or a map or any of that stuff. So I changed plans, I'm going to play my gig on Wednesday night then get a ride up to Mt Laguna and hike in to the Kickoff party Thursday. In the meantime I'll be taking care of last minute things before I get back on the trail. I'm really looking forward to going to the kickoff as a Thru-Hiker, not some stooge walking around "researching his hike for next year"

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone

Mile 1

The wind was moderate, although not as bad as I've seen in some videos when Thru-Hikers climb the monument and somehow balance on the top with 40 mph winds rippling their clothing and beards.

It was 2 pm by the time we got to the monument and my hopes for reaching Lake Morena on the first day were slim. I hadn't hiked anything longer than 5 or six miles since I left the Appalachian Trail in August of '08 Even then, 20 milers were rough on the feet; however, this year I was going much lighter. I plan on picking up a map at the Kickoff party this weekend but I don't have one yet. I'm confident I can figure it out. I need to get a wristwatch too. I'm sure I've forgotten a few things. Time will tell...

The clouds were threatening rain and the temperature swung from hot to cool with the wind gusting at times as I moved along. There are several burn areas where the foliage has begin to finally take hold and decorating the black, burnt, skeletons of trees were beautiful purple and sage-colored flowers, like some sort of macabre funeral. It was amazing. I would have taken some pictures but I was rushed for time and I was sure the pictures won't do it justice, you'll have to go see it for yourself, it's only a couple of miles in...

I mistook the first campsite at 14 miles for a makeshift campfire pit. I was planning on stopping there but 2 miles later, when I got to Hauser Creek, I realized I had passed it. One one hand, I had gone further than I expected, on the other hand, it was already getting dark and I hadn't setup this hammock in a couple of years. By the time I finished it was pitch black, I was cursing, dirty, tired and hungry but I decided to go to bed without fixing any of those problems. I was on the PCT!

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone

Getting Started

I was up all night with my packup and I crashed on the couch, luckily my ride was out all night too and didn't mind getting lunch before we headed out. We grabbed a bite in San Diego and then drove out to the trailhead. We had no idea where it was so we asked for directions a couple of times. We had his beautiful, white Mercedes and he really wasn't looking forward to driving on the unimproved dirt roads but I convinced him that it was an adventure for his car, just like it was an adventure for me. The border patrol was all excited to see a blacked-out Mercedes racing for the border on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. We made sure to stop one of them so they would know it was just us, hanging out at the border, you know, just chillin'
Mike dropped me off around 2pm; late start, which is standard for me (or just "Standard" as my brother Michael says). We did the picture/pose thing and I began my trek on the Pacific Crest Trail...

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone

Of Course it's snowing again!

Of Course it's Snowing again!!!

Driving home tonight from the village at around 7000 feet there was snow on the ground and all of the cars, not much maybe a half an inch but it was laying and it looked like there was more to come. Accuweather says there's 4 inches on the way and that's not what I was hoping to hear. Now that my skiing season is over I want the snow to melt FAST for my PCT bid.

I am up all night packing my room up. I'll be loading my car in the morning, writing for a few things to arrive in the mail and then heading out to San Diego to prepare for the hike. I have a gig tomorrow night and I have a few gigs before I officially embark although I might try to section hike a bit up front before the ADZPCTKO begins April 29. I have a gig on the 30th and the 1st of May and I think my buddy JG is going to drive my car ip to Big Bear with my equipment in it. I have a gig on the 20th in Big Bear at Nottingham and I hope I've timed it right to have some thru-hikers there. I have been checking the snow pack and it looks like it's about 300 inches in much of the Sierras right now. I don't think that's a very good sign but I'll cross that snow when I come to it.

If any thru-hiker needs a ride to the ADZPCTKO I'll take you there, just call me

MFGS

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone

Snowpack in the sierras

Snowpack in the sierras is huge right now. It makes me a bit worried I have to say. I'm wishing I could ski through them because I know when I crest those passes and see the slopes down that I'm going to be wishing I had my skis... But who wants to carry skis through the sierras if there is a lot of dry ground? I doubt there will be any, if they even let us in around June 15. I took this picture today at about 10,000 feet at Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe. The snow wall is over 20 feet high. Sure, it's not like that everywhere but it's at least 10 feet in the places where snow generally stays... I wonder what this will mean for the class of 2011?

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone

On the way to PCT

I'm in the office setting up the Pacific Crest Jazz tour. It's coming along slowly. I'm hearing rumors that the snow pack in the Sierra this year is the heaviest in 30 years; maybe record-breaking. Yesterday we had another four inches here at Heavenly but it's a terrifically sunny day today. I'm hoping enough snow melts that we don't have to skip the sierra and then doing it out of order, later in the summer.

Here is the gig schedule (later dates are tentative due to the snowpack)
April 27 Viejas Casino 7-10 5000 Willows Rd. Alpine CA 91901 (San Diego)
April 30 Wesgate Hotel 9-12 3rd and Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
April 29-May 1 ADZPCTKO weekend in Lake Morena (kickoff weekend no performance)
May 20 Nottingham's Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
June 7 Joe's in Burbank. CA
June 11 Private (San Diego)
June 24 Michael Flohr Show (San Diego)
June 25 Private (San Diego)
Jul 16th Rafters in Mammoth Lakes
?Jul ? Mobile Station in Lee Vining
Jul 23rd Plan B in Carson City
July/Aug Barrelhouse in Weed, CA
August 6/7 Jade's Jazz Festival, La Pine Oregon
?Portland (Still in the works)
?Tacoma (Still in the works)
?Seattle (Still in the works)

I'm working on a few other gigs but I definitely want to focus on the trail and not get to hung up on making dates. I know from experience that doesn't work out there on the trail. The Sierra is going to be the deciding factor. I may have to push the gig at Rafters in Mammoth and the gigs in Tahoe around a little bit. I'll probably add a few dates in Lake Tahoe and take a break there since I have been living there this winter. I have a lot of friends there and it will be good to take a little break at the 1100 mile mark.

MFGS

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
Website
http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone

My name is Mr. F. Gentle Spirit and I'm a professional Jazz Musician, writer and a Thru-Hiker. In 2008 I did 1100 miles of the AT but had to get off because I ran out of money and I had a hernia from falling off a cliff at the ledges of St. John in Connecticut. I got surgery and they say I'm better than new!

This year I consolidated everything I own into a 10'x10' room, paid off my car and put everything I have into thru-hiking the PCT but with a little twist: I'm going to be performing in some of the cities and little towns along the way. I'm calling it the Pacific Crest Jazz Tour and I hope you dig it. You can find out more information about it here:
www.davidpatrone.com/PCT

Or here:
Facebook.com/PacificCrestJazzTour

It's going to be a rough one with the record setting snowfall and heavy snow pack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains but Nevada means "Snow Covered" so I guess it's only fitting. I'll do my best to get through and I hope you find this adventure interesting.

I received my denial of admission in to Canada today due to some past issues with driving offenses. Had to do a bunch of paperwork to assure them I'm not a danger to Canadians. Oh Canada, I assure you, I'm not a danger to Canadians, unless of course you don't let me in... I think they're just jealous because Vancouver hasn't won the Stanley Cup since 1915. I wonder how hard it is to sneak across?

I registered for the ADZPCTKO 2011 which stands for "Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off" and it's basically a party for those about to hike the trail, those who have already hiked the trail, those who support and dig those who hike the trail, oh yeah and don't forget the vendors who are selling you trippy ultralight gear for the trail.

registration is full so I may be sleeping in my car for the weekend but it's cool, I don't mind a bit. Had to turn down a gig for Sunday night as well, oh well, I get to party with my fellow thru-hikers and watch the final presentation.

See you on the trail!
Mister F. Gentle Spirit
www.davidpatrone.com/PCT

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”

Website http://www.davidpatrone.com/PCT

Videos: http://www.youtube.com/davidpatrone