While I held “subdued” events in 2020 (remember the PCT thru hiker year that wasn’t due to Covid?) and 2021, I’m doing a more typical Celebrate Anza event in 2022. The date is Saturday, April 30. Thru hikers need not rsvp. … Just show up. For everyone else, if you plan on attending, please rsvp at pct145trailangelmary@gmail.com by April 28 for driving and parking directions. Food service will run 11-2pm.

It’s not quite officially winter, but the Anza area received its first dusting of snow on December 14.

San Jacinto has a light coat of white

and the trail has about 1/2 inch of a snowy ice mixture on north-facing slopes.

Here’s a guest post from Michael Lewis, President of Redshank Riders, the local unit of Backcountry Horsemen of California. Mike served as one of the packers assisting in removal of the rockslide at PCT mile 172.5. This article by Mike appeared in the August issue of “Tails from the Trails,” the monthly newsletter for Redshank Riders.

The boulder that has been blocking the PCT for over two years between Antsell and South Peaks at mile 172.5 has been removed. The area is still considered questionable for equestrians. See https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/closures/southern-california/rock-slide-antsell-peak-south-peak/ for more info.

Here’s preliminary info on the PCT hiker who died just south of my hiker oasis earlier today: https://kesq.com/news/2021/06/16/hiker-dies-after-collapsing-during-triple-digit-heat-on-the-pacific-crest-trail-near-anza/

The northbound thru hiker season is gradually ending for 2021 here at mile 145. There are six to ten thru hikers a day passing by; soon, there will be none, until the southbounders start coming through in late September.

Good luck to the Class of 2021 as your adventure continues. To Canada!

Despite strong winds, I held my annual PCT Trailside barbecue event on the first Saturday in May (May 1). Except for 2020, when the event was cancelled due to covid, this was the eighth annual Celebrate Anza.

One difference from previous years is that this was a hiker-only event, with no invited guests.

As with past years, I set up my mobile indoor/outdoor kitchen and offered several different grilled options. I served meals to a total of 32 hikers.

Also as in previous years, I set my postcard station and invited hikers to fill out a Mother’s Day card for their mother, which I mailed out on Monday. A total of 21 cards were sent, including three cards to international addresses.

I just bought a very green mustang horse (named “Mustang George”) who has never encountered a backpacker before. I would like to ride him on the PCT north of me, but fear how he will react to some of the strange things hikers do around horses. I decided it would be safest to give hikers a heads-up that we are ahead on the trail and provide guidance on how to act around a horse by placing this sign trailside where we enter the trail. Hopefully, this will help ease George into his new life as a trail horse. (I also hope this will provide information to many hikers who have no experience around stock and will likely encounter them at least once on the remainder of their PCT journey.)