Snow

Dave sent a photo last Tuesday, May 5 and a quick text message the next day, but then I didn't hear anything for a few days.  He was up at a fairly high elevation (notice that I didn't say altitude, @andymention?) in the most remote part of the trail so far, so there wasn't much mobile coverage.

Here's where he was on Tuesday, near Wrightwood, California:

And then it got cold.

He looks a bit miserable, but a little dapper too -- he trimmed his beard somewhere along the way.

He hit some snow, but the lupine didn't seem to mind too much.

And he passed a major milestone -- or stones, as it turns out, as well as pinecones and snow -- 400 miles!

When he sent these photos on Saturday night, he had just finished a 24 mile day and was at mile 436.  He was out of the snow and was planning on hiking half a day to a KOA at Acton, California.

"Los Angeles North?"  Are you kidding me?  

The red line is the trail.

Here's a map of the PCT showing roughly where he is:

If you're interested, it's kind of fun to look at the PCT on Google Earth because you can zoom in and see where Dave is walking.  Once you open Google Earth, you will need to download a spatial file, for which you can find the link here on a webpage from the US Forest Service.  I used the one called Google Earth KML.  

Also mentioned on the Forest Service page is the Pacific Crest Trail Map Brochure which has a great map in it and lots of other cool info if you are becoming a PCT nerd like I am.