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For 10 years now I have been dreaming of walking the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) from Mexico to Canada. And now this moment has come. On 12.May 2023 I start my walk at the Mexican border with 6 months and 4.200km in front of me.
The eagle flies again Read more
  • Michael Spies

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  • Michael SpiesMichael SpiesBald eagle goes a walking

    30km days are eating my bones!

    June 17, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Since yesterday, I have been walking through the land of a million flies, and they all seem to be following me. Tiny ones that specialise on my ears and nostrils, while the bigger ones go for my blood and seem to appear instantaneously as soon as I stop for a break. Killing them by the hundreds is useless, there seem to be hundreds waiting to replace them.
    For days now, I have had to do 30 km days to make it to the next water source, and it is not doing me good. My arthritis night pains are back. No sleep at night combined with 30 km days is even worse!    Read more

  • Michael SpiesMichael SpiesBald eagle goes a walking
    The only water source in 20 miles
    Once again, fire scars!Lunch time resting place without flies for the first time in days

    The only spring in 20 miles

    June 18, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Again a day with only one water source which means carrying large quantities.
    I haven't had enough water to wash for days, so I got undressed on the trail, grabbed my cloth and a one hour washing session began in a 1 l/min. flow rate. Not the best, but by god, did I feel clean! Of course, accompanied by a myriad of horse flies doing their thing.Read more

  • Michael SpiesMichael SpiesBald eagle goes a walking
    1

    Hikertown, my sprit and bones are dead

    June 19, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Camped on a beautiful tent site overlooking the desert valley. But as always, when you are close to the desert, incredible winds begin at sunset. The result is rattling tent and sand everywhere. At sunrise, I gave up, packed my things while they blew away, and began the 800m drop and 20-mile hike to hikertown with aching knees and hips. By the time I got down, I could hardly walk, so I decided to take the longer road route to hiker Town and catch a lift.
    But the few cars that came passed me by and in agony, I walked the 10 kms on tarmac, which increased pain even more.
    I was finished, demoralised, and in agony.
    In my worst moment I heard the beloved screech of an Eagle, my spiritual animal. He flew low over my head, reminding me that I am not alone.
    WOW!
    I arrived at hiker Town, a crazy place in the middle of the desert.
    There many known faces about to leave and hike through the desert in the night to not have to carry so much water. I waved them goodbye, shocked that several hikers had taken magic mushrooms, some LSD and all others smoking grass.
    This is not my world and I felt very lonely again and went to bed depressed.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesMichael SpiesBald eagle goes a walking
    1Barbara, 80years and a volcano of energy and positive energy
    Tents everywhereGroup cooking and Mike's saladBreakfastHeiko the comedian going crazy after many beers (and magic mushrooms)1

    And then Barbara came to the rescue

    June 23, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    When I woke up in the morning after a windy, painful night, I was incapable of moving. Frozen in a deep depression, not able to do anything anymore!
    After lying there for 2 hours, I decided to hitch a ride to the next town, Tehachapie, take some days off and decide whether I am going to give up the trail.
    I was at the end, physically and morally!

    5min. After I put my thumb out, a driver stopped and drove me straight to the center of Tehachapie (50kms out of his way). I got out of the car, and a lady stopped next to me and asked if I needed a place to stay for the night. She knew a trail angel who could take me.
    So we ended up at BARBARA'S HIKER HUT.
    Barbara is 80 years old and has converted the barn of her cider factory into a camp for hikers. A kitchen, bathroom, refrigerator full of food, drinks, and ice cream and her energetic smile and voice brought me back into this world. "The Trail provides" is a mantra of the PCT.
    I stayed for four days and one after the other my friends arrived. We cooked and laughed together, talking and sharing, and I felt carried by the community. The clouds disappeared, and my heart opened again.
    These 4 days were the greatest of the whole trail so far.
    A particular person was Heiko, a born comedian and unfortunately a bit lost in his life. His stories and performance while telling them had us howling with laughter all day!
    Such a wonderful person!    Read more

  • Michael SpiesMichael SpiesBald eagle goes a walking
    The Kennedy meadows General store
    The Old folks enjoying the evening sunWhile hikers arrive welcomed by clapping and cheering1

    And then the next miracle fluttered by!

    June 24, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    The Sierras are under a fast melting thick snow cover causing dangerous walking and raging rivers that are tearing down bridges. Only very few mountaineers are daring the next 700kms.
    The big question has been, "where does one jump forward to, and how?
    Routes are complicated and expensive.
    We sat down as a team and worked out a plan with non-stop travelling by bus for 50 hours with 5 changeovers. And then Elisabeth had the idea to look in Facebook. And there was the next miracle, a hiker lady, Ellen, had rented a car to drive the 1200km from Tehachapie to Chester via Kennedy meadows and was looking for hikers to share.
    Once again, "Trail magic"
    Incredible!
    5 hikers plus rucksacks piled into the cr and off we went, first to the legendary "Kennedy meadows" the portal to the Sierras, where we spent the night.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesMichael SpiesBald eagle goes a walking
    Kannedy meadows, "Trip" as the hunchback of Notre Dame, drying his sleeping bag
    How on earth are we going to close thos boot with 5 big rucksacks inside?Barren desertThe Sierra chain becomes visibleMountains between 3000m and 4400mTrail angel Mike in chesterBear totem

    Arrived in Chester, a new chapter begins

    June 25, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    We drove 8 hours yesterday.
    Ellen "Wayfinder" (driver) is an experienced hiker and has done the PCT , or parts of it several times.
    As we drove through a landscape changing from desert to verdant green forests it became clear that a totally different trail is waiting for us in northern California, Oregon and Washington.
    Lakes forests and rivers await us, but also mosquitos, bears and mountain lions. Throughout the drive talk was about how to protect yourself from mosquitos, and how to behave when you meet a bear. Food now has to be packed in a bear canister or "ursack" made of bulletproof kevlar, that a bear cannot open.
    As the stories of encounters with bears and Cougars (mountain lions) weave between the hikers in the car, a feeling of unease grows. How am I going to handle these new challenges and fears?
    I suppose, the same way I met my fear of rattle snakes, "just do it!"

    We are staying at a trail angel called Michael in the "pfauhaus". 7 hikers in a tiny room .
    This morning at dawn I am woken by a concert of birds. Yes, the birds that eat the mosquitos that are going to eat me
    Yea, a totally new trail is bout to begin!!!!    Read more

  • Michael SpiesMichael SpiesBald eagle goes a walking
    Left: Uffe from Denemark, right "Money bag" USA
    Gigantic trees burntDead quiet, in a dead forest"Money Bag"UffeLook who popped up for a chat with me. We talked for about 2 minutesAnd shortly afterwards, a ground squrrilThe youth comes roaring by. I often wonder if they see the beauty?Tent site amidst millions of mosquitos

    Joy and sadness on the same page

    June 27, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    For the first time today, I met someone older than 45 !
    Two hikers "Uffe" from Danemark and David, "Money bags" USA, both 55 years old.
    We walked together for most of the day, stopping for breaks and conversation. What a nice change.
    But today was a difficult day, I haven't walked for 8 days now and noticed that my fitness had dropped massively. At some stage, I stopped trying to keep up with them and reverted back to my speed, which I know is good for my joints.
    We walked most of the day through burnt forests. In 2020 an electrical cable of the electricity company PG&E had short circuited starting a fire that destroyed
    1 million acres of virgin forest and burnt for three months advancing 10kms each day.. A local with whom I talked said that the tall 50m high and 2 meter wide trees had burnt like torches for weeks.
    This makes my heart cry!
    As I walked through the dead silence, deep sadness took hold of me.
    But I also realised that there is a certain beauty to a burnt forest.
    20 hikers spent the night on the edge of the mount lassen national national park trying to evade the rule of having to carry a rather heavy bear canister in the park to protect tje bears from our food. They intended crossing the whole park the next day.
    The location was great, a breeding site for millions of mosquitos (I am not exaggerating here). I fled into my tent.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesMichael SpiesBald eagle goes a walking
    Breakfast with mosquito accompanyment
    Dead silence in a dead forestVery quickly fungi start to work on the deadline woodThis tree was 3 meters wide, burnt down to the roofsHanging on a treeNofretete shaking her head in sadnessAnother huge tree"Trail magic" on another level. Nature had kindly built a natural bridge across this riverAnother wonderful bridgeSnow fields still covering the pathAgain a deer.!My house on the lake!Snow on the opposite shoreAfternoon paradise

    Burnt forests and pristine lakes

    June 28, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    While everyone left camp already at 6am to be able to cross the 35km of park in one day, I took a different pace and listened to my soul ending up setting camp at 5:00 already next to the most pristine mountain lake at 1900m !
    That is the earliest I have ever done!
    It was a dream. I was all by myself. The afternoon sun shone while I swam and rinced three days of salt from my clothes, Then I sat in the sun on the shore reading my Kindle till I could no more and fell asleep! All I could hear were birds and a pair of ducks.
    Paradise on earth!    Read more

  • Michael SpiesMichael SpiesBald eagle goes a walking
    My world packed in a bad. Ready to leave
    Sunshine on the water of my beloved lmountain lakeA totem to prevent such a terrible fire again3 meter wide stump. Nothing left of the.monstrous tree of the past1Mount lassen volcanoA couple come riding pastNote the guns! She on the left, he on the rightClothes rinced, body clean, now time for a coffee on a log in the riverFiltering.my waterThankyou beautiful river for the resting placeMy camp tonightDinner the roman style (lying down)View from my tent, the night is here!

    A day of self reflection

    June 29, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    As I walked today, I listened to the book " Krankheit als weg" by Thorwald Detlefsen or " The healing power of illness: understanding what your symptoms are telling you."
    I read this book when I was 28 and thought I had understood it. Hearing it now is like an epiphany! The first part of the book is about universal laws, and as I listen, I go from one amazement to the next as things I feel suddenly make sense. In the second half, about sickness and what it wants to tell us, I dont stop being amazed when I look at the health topics that accompany me. I
    n the second book, "Poly Secure" by Jessica Fern, about relationship patterns and how they affect our adulthood, I recognise myself again and again , and when I then see certain topics appearing in both books, it knocks me out.
    This is a day of deep reflection of who I am and how I am.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesMichael SpiesBald eagle goes a walking
    A Ground squiril wondering what smells so bad here!
    1Just getting ready to suck my bloodIn the end I gathered my last energy and set tentSo dirty and sticky that I don't want to touch anything. But only one liter of water left.The sun disappears, maybe tomorrow is a better day!

    Today is one of those days!

    June 30, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    TODAY IS ONE OF THOSE DAYS!
    - Where it is incredibly hot and moist,
    - Where every horse fly in the country has come to the "suck Mike dry" festival and liters of my valuable life blood are being "stolen".
    - Where the next water source is 30km away,
    - Where I sweat so much that you could take scraper to get the salt off.
    - Where I am so dirty and stink so much that I dont want to touch anything and simply want to run away.
    - Where I am so tired that I dont even have the energy to set up my tent and prepare the night.
    - Where I walk 30km and am so exhausted that I dont make it to the next water source, not only for drinking, but to wash off the disgusting salt.
    - Where I am so sticky that I am horrified to get into my liner and sleeping bag, but Where I know that the temperature at night will drop to 4 degrees.

    TODAY IS ONE OF THOSE DAYS!
    And I am so thirsty!    Read more

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