PCT: ALMOST THERE

Skykomish, WA

Dear all-

Just a quick note to let you know that Reason and I are indeed alive and well. We have weathered much rain and a little snow now that we are in the Pacific Northwest, but are keeping warm and learning to keep dry. We were really spoiled with the shelters on the AT. A roof located every eight or ten miles makes a big difference in wet weather.

We are currently in Skykomish, WA, less than 200 trail miles south of Canada! We've been moving quickly because 1) it is too cold to stop in the rain to rest, and 2) we've wanted to take advantage of every ounce of sunshine when the weather is good. Despite the sun today, we've been relaxing in Andrea and Jerry Dinsmore's wonderful hiker loft and yard by the river just outside of this tiny historic railroad town.

Oregon and Washington are green and beautiful (read: mossy, wet and cold). After a hot and dry start to Oregon, we completed the last 30 miles into the Columbia River gorge in pouring all-day rain -- an apt welcome to Washington where it has rained on us nearly every day! The days are getting shorter and the nights much colder. We're near the end and trying to savor every last minute. We've rarely had to leave the trail in these last two states to resupply, depending instead on nearby resorts which have camp stores or which accept packages that we've mailed ahead. This contributed to a wonderful pace in Oregon. The easy terrain allowed us to hike our first 30 mile days, and staying in the woods kept us from the clamor of civilization. Due to our good physical condition, our mileage has stayed high through central Washington where the Cascades have become jagged with deep canyons. We budgeted 20 mile days for the entire state, but so far we have kept to about a 25 mile per day pace.

We hear the trail becomes more difficult from Skykomish forward, though. This next 100 mile stretch features a section that is annually flooded and prone to avalanches and therefore in very poor repair. We'll encounter the most difficult ford on the PCT at the wide Suiattle River. Luckily, the weather has been dry for the past few days so the flow should not be swollen. Complicating matters further is the (at last count!) 408 old growth blow-downs that we'll have to pick our way across. A blow-down is a tree that has fallen and, in the context of hiking, is blocking the trail. This section is so repeatedly weather-beaten that the assigned ranger district is allegedly loath to maintain it. Normally, a crew of rangers, volunteers and paid conservation corps will cut away trees and brush that block the trail. However, the area with the 408 blow-downs is a designated wilderness area, meaning that mechanized equipment - including chainsaws- cannot be used. Removal of the trees in this wilderness area would have to be done by ax and manual saw. The old growth trees in question are supposedly enormous, and each tree takes down others when it falls, complicating the removal process.

But Reason and I think this will be a fun challenge. We expect to "hike" about a mile an hour through a particularly tangled seven mile section of blow-downs. We'll be climbing up, over, around, under and through trees that have been described as many feet in diameter and hundreds of feet long. We think it will be good training for the infamously brutal Continental Divide Trail!

Though Reason says he is ready for some R'n'R and possibly a week of yoga, I just want to keep going. I feel great and have to stop myself from drooling when I hear others planning their bicycling routes home from Seattle. I spent much of last night and part of today reading the latest Continental Divide Trail planner.

Trail celebrity Eric D is here at the Dinsmores' helping keep order. He finished the trail in mid-August, having passed us long ago just outside Big Bear City in SoCal. We've been speculating about just what is in his tiny backpack ever since, and I feel a bit shy in the presence of such a hiking legend. This is at least Eric D's sixth PCT hike, some of which were yo-yo's (meaning that he hiked from Mexico to Canada, then turned around and hiked back to Mexico in one season). I think he plows snow (white gold) in New Hampshire in the winter. I think I could do that if it meant I could keep hiking...

So you can see, trail fever is never really satisfied. Thru-hikers learn to do without all the material junk in life and find seasonal work to keep their habit going. I've only learned about more trails on this hike, so I'm not any closer to completing anything, really. There is just so much of the world to see. As Yogi's CDT planner puts it, "one trail or three, but not two." I want that Triple Crown plaque!

And by the way, there are actually eight National Scenic Trails...

Cruiser

PCT: NORTH OF THE BORDER

Ashland, OR

Dear all-

We made it -- out of California! It feels good to finally put all 1,700 miles of Cali behind us, including the smoke. We have under a thousand miles left to go... and we may actually need to slow down a bit. This is quite a contrast to our AT hike when we were slowed by injuries and pressed for time until the very last moment.

Reason and I are in the lovely town of Ashland, Oregon. I said OREGON!!! Woohoo!! We seem to have literally crossed some kind of line and are now surrounded by green. On our descent into town we found ourselves shoulder-deep on the flanks of Mt. Ashland in Queen Anne's Lace, lupine and wild lilies. We've even seen some blue skies.

Since I last emailed we've been moving quickly. We set our pace to a consistent 25 miles or more a day, and we're feeling great! Until reaching Ashland we hadn't taken a day off since Truckee, over 20 days and about 550 miles ago. We did take a bus and several hitches around a 100 mile trail closure, and we road-walked 52 miles around a second, smaller closure.

I hope the last of the fires is behind us now. Since June 22nd, the day after the lightening storm that ignited most of the fires in California, we haven't seen much in the way of blue skies. The air has been full of smoke and haze. Once the sun slips behind the curtain of smoke, the sunsets and sunrises are bloody red. A few mornings the smoke has been so thick that the morning is a little dark until about 9:30. Occasionally we've found specks of ash on our tent. We should have had a view of Mt. Shasta for about 250 miles, but we've seen it only three times, and those were only partial viewings. Still, we are enjoying our hike and wish only the best for those who are truly threatened by the fires.

We had a great experience on our most recent detour around a small fire closure. We decided to road-walk from the town of Etna, CA, to the small community of Seiad Valley, CA. I regretted not walking around the last closure -- we have our feet, hearts and lungs, after all and could have employed more self-sufficiency. But then again, road walking is not always as pleasant as trail walking what with the speeding cars, narrow shoulders, lack of resting and camping spots, and polluted water sources. At any rate, we had walked about 16 miles from Etna past the town of Fort Jones, when at about 7:30 in the evening an adorable boy rode his bike out to the road from his farm to invite us to camp. "Wanna camp in our yard tonight, " he asked. "My mom says it's ok."

Well, we couldn't refuse such a charming invitation! So off we went with nine year old "John" and his twelve year old brother "George", who had also run out to meet us. Their brother "Glenn" is a teenager, they explained, and therefore shy and not available to greet us. We arrived at their farm to meet their mother "Susan" and receive a cursory wave from "Glenn", who disappeared into the house to play the piano for the rest of the evening. "Susan" runs a small scale organic grain farm in the lovely Scott Valley. She mills her own grains and sells shares of the yield to about a hundred individual customers in ten deliveries a year. This summer, "John" and "George" are running their own vegetable CSA program under Jennifer's watchful eye. "John" and "George" harvest the veggies each Wednesday, and divide the yield into bags for their eighteen customers. They make their deliveries the same day en route to their piano lessons. (CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. A CSA allows an individual to subscribe to their share of a farm's produce. Reason and I have subscribed to a CSA for the past several summers, receiving a bag or two of local, organic produce each week for the duration of the growing season.)

"Susan" laughed that it did seem a little unusual to send her nine year old out to the road to talk to strangers, but the family was aware of the trail closure and had been watching hikers walk by for the past few days. The boys were intrigued, so she encouraged them to find out more. "John" and "George" peppered us with questions for the rest of the evening, all the while showing us the goats, chickens, horses, geese, and even the toads on the farm. We all walked out to the boys' vegetable patch and dug fresh carrots, beets, onions and potatoes right out of the ground to cook for dinner! We added a few green beans fresh from the vine and some fresh eggs, too! When Reason and I exclaimed how nice it was to have such fresh food, "Susan" ran into the house and brought us mason jars of fresh, raw goat's milk yogurt that she made. We were in heaven! "Susan" went on to tell us more about her farm and show us the many grains that she grows. Her farm is very unusual for its small scale and for the diversity and number of grains that she grows. People come from all over North America to visit this farm, and in fact two of her customers stopped by the next morning. I was so interested that "Susan" does all of the work on her farm with the help of a small combine and her own mill, and that she can bypass the wholesaler and sell directly to customers eager for local, organic foods. She only needs the help of a mechanic every now and then!

By the time we chopped the veggies and fried them up with the eggs, it was getting quite late. "John" and "George" stayed up to help us eat, and continued to ask us questions despite their sleepy eyelids. They implored us to stay for pancakes, and we of course couldn't resist! We woke early and were greeted by Heidi the friendly border collie. Then "Susan" taught us to milk the goats and let us have a try! We filled up on toothsome pancakes from grain grown and milled just out back before heading on, much to the disappointment of "John" and "George". We'll be sure to send postcards!

The rest of our road walk was not quite as eventful, but we were at such a low elevation that we were slowed by the abundant blackberries all along the Scott and Klamath Rivers. We also walked through some tiny gold rush hamlets. Gold mining is still alive in this part of California as evidenced by placer claims marked on trees and dredging contraptions parked in the rivers. A local in Seiad Valley explained that the high price of gold has brought more dredges this year than they've seen in many, many years.

Our only other excitement stems from several trail celebrity sightings. Not long after leaving Castle Crags, CA, we were briskly passed by Tattoo Joe and Scott Williamson. Tattoo Joe is the current title holder for the fastest un-supported thru-hike of the PCT at 79 days, having taken the crown from Scott Williamson. This year the two are cooperating and hiking together for a new record. They average about 40 miles a day. They must hurry though, for rumor has it that they have a competitor this year. We think it might be Squeaky, who is well equipped to up the ante. After Flyin' Bryan completed the Triple Crown (AT, PCT and CDT) in a single year by flying back and forth across the country to hike sections of each trail in their best season, Squeaky bested him by thru-hiking all three trails in a single year.

The un-supported hike that Tattoo Joe and Scott Williamson, and maybe Squeaky, are attempting means that they must still supply themselves. No one meets them at road crossings with more food, etc., and they carry their own gear. Ultra-marathoner David Horton holds the record for the fastest supported thru-hike. Horton ran the trail in 66 days, but was supported by quite a large crew. Two others ran with him at any given time, and an army of ultra-marathoners ran to meet Horton at trail junctions and road crossings with his gear, food and water. Horton averaged 46 miles a day, and was often met with ice cream packed in dry ice!

Reason and I also had the pleasure of hiking a bit and breaking with Billy Goat, long-time resident of the PCT. The LA Times recently ran a front page article on Billy Goat. (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-billygoat25-2008jun25,0,4753131.story) Billy Goat is non-plussed that his given name has been outed.

We met Billy Goat down south near Big Bear City and again near Mt. Baden Powell. This time, Billy Goat explained that he was spending the month of July in a small section of Northern California. He prefers to be in the woods than town, and so has a 30 day supply of food that necessitates two backpacks. This unusual arrangement means that Billy Goat hikes one pack a few miles south, drops it off, then hikes north to retrieve the second pack and walks it south. He does this all day, meaning that he hikes each section three times! Billy Goat spent about two hours with us, giving loads of insight about the upcoming trail and suggesting that we slow down so we won't have to return to civilization too soon!

So that's all. We're now enjoying the town of Ashland. It is a nice hippie/yuppie town with fantastic fresh food. Ashland also has a population of young homeless folks, many of whom I think choose to live off the grid, etc., who are dirtier, smellier and more stained than we thru-hikers. There is quite a bit of tension in town over this issue, and I feel a bit self-conscious in my own homeless and unemployed state. I worry that I might be told to move along!

Ashland is also home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and we took in a show last night. We acquired standing room only tickets for the Comedy of Errors. The play was set as a Western and the action of the long-lost sets of twins and their cases of mistaken identity revolved around the Shady Pine cafe, complete with sheriff, deputy, and madame.

We'll be back in the woods tonight, and will press on towards Canada. Our next stop is Cascade Locks, OR, near the end of August, where we head in to Portland for a visit with Reason's Mother and Grandmother!

Our best to all,

Cruiser

Appalachian Trail Gear List 2003

Figuring out gear on the Appalachian Trail was trial-by-fire for me. I hit Springer with much of the wrong stuff, and many heavy items. You can do better!

By the end of the trail, I had lightened up considerably and was tough and lean to boot. I'm really a mid-weight hiker, but I try to do better each time.

Below I will outline the gear I finished with. Gear has become lighter and more sophisticated since 2003, so be sure to take a look at my PCT and CDT gear for ideas as well.


Backpack
Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone backpack, 48 oz
I found this pack at Neels Gap. I loved it! I started with a Lowe Alpine that a friend gave me. It weighed seven pounds when empty! I don't like to buy new things when I have something perfectly good at hand, but this doesn't always work on a thru-hike. The Nimbus Ozone is a nifty mid-weight pack that can hold up to 40 pounds, which is great for those just-resupplied hikes out of town. There are no zippers to break, rather there is a tall collar with cinch that folds up as your load gets smaller. My complaint about this pack is that the foam back pad soaks up sweat and rain, which is difficult to dry in the humid East. Granite Gear has excellent customer service and really cares about its reputation on the trail. Neels Gap didn't have quite the right hip belt and shoulder straps for my frame, but the Granite Gear rep at Trail Days fitted me with a complimentary set of small/narrow shoulder straps and a small women's hip belt. Many sizes of strap and hip belt are available, and the pack comes in at least two torso lengths. I recommend ordering directly from Granite Gear so that you can customize your order.

Equinox pack cover, 3.4 oz
I didn't know pack covers existed until I hit Neels Gap. It sure came in handy during the Wet Year of 2003. The silicon-nylon cover is light. It has an elastic cinch so that it can be adjusted to fit a fuller or less-full pack. One problem with this cover is that water tends to pool at the bottom as it lacks drainage grommets. I made a habit of reaching back and pouring the water out before setting my pack down. I used trash bag liners for the entire contents of my pack as well as for my clothes and sleeping bag.

Clothing
Patagonia silk weight shirts
I think Patagonia now calls these Capilene 1. I had a long sleeved-shirt for April and the beginning of May as the trees were bare and sun was an issue for my lily-white self. Eventually I switched to a short-sleeved shirt, which I later discarded in favor of a Hind workout shirt. The shirt had become so nasty, so permeated with sweat, rain and mildew, that it emitted an awful ammonia stench. Some folks look for light-weight poly/synthetic button downs at thrift stores. I think this is a nice way to save money, avoid buying something new, and possibly add some flair to your look.

North Face nylon shorts
I've never been skinny. Fit and lean, yes, but skinny, never. Even when I summited Katahdin my legs were strong and beefy. The shorts I chose were merely the ones I picked after trying on a million pairs. They were just roomy enough in the leg that they didn't cause any chafing, which is a common problem for men and women on the AT. I cut out the mesh liner to reduce weight and also to eliminate yet another piece of cloth that was capable of soaking up and retaining moisture.

Patagonia mid-weight thermals, top and bottom
I think these are comparable to the Capilene 3 these days. Darn Patagonia and their ever changing systems. At any rate, one top and one bottom is enough for 95% of the nights on the AT. In the summer, I dropped down to silkweight/Cap1 pants and probably kept the mid-weight top.

Marmot Precip pants and jacket, 8 and 12 oz
I wore these a lot. In 2003 it rained most days of April, May and June. Do they keep you dry? I'm not sure, but they do keep you warm while hiking. I love the pit-zips in the jacket. I wear it a lot as a windbreaker or warm layer in the cold New England mornings. The pit-zips make for great ventilation as you warm up but before you are ready to remove a layer. The Precip rain gear is relatively durable, but after time the white inner layer will peel away. They still make for good windbreakers. I'm still using my Precip pants six years later.

Sportif fleece jacket
I named mine Sassy Pink and I still wear it all the time. These days it is probably considered heavy, but in 2003 the micro fleece material was pretty cool.

Patagonia Capilene bra
I liked the support of this bra, but the thing was always wet. The Appalachian Trial is very humid and can be very rainy, so I would recommend finding a thin bra that will dry faster than this one. Patagonia says it is quick-drying, but I think they mean it dries quickly overnight in a dry and air-conditioned room. Trust me, this one won't dry overnight in the humid mountain air. Even if it does, it will be covered in dew in the morning. I recommend the Isis Daisy bra.

Undies
I carried multiple pairs of synthetic black undies.

rag wool Polyclava
Can't remember who makes this. Sadly, I shrank mine in the dryer. But it was amazing while it lasted. It was a rag wool beanie that unfolded into a balaclava. This was just something I had in my closet. The balaclava was great for spring and fall.

EMS fleece gloves
I picked these up in Manchester Center, VT. It really began to get cold in Vermont!

Footwear
Asolo TPS 520 GTX boots
Beautiful leather boots. These fit my feet very well. I recommend trying on lots of brands and sizes of leather boots if that's the way you want to go. I loved these heavy clunkers. They kept my feet dry and clean and well protected. The AT is very rocky, and these kept me from stubbing my toes all day long. The AT also has many bare rock surfaces where the Vibram soles served me well, especially in the rain. I now hike in trail runners, but still love boots. My best advice for breaking in leather boots is to wear them around the house for 60 hours while cooking, reading, and watching TV before logging 60 hours of walking in the boots. After those two break-in periods, put on your pack and log another 60 hours. Tedious, but good for training and well worth it.

Socks
I used the heaviest weight Smartwool socks with white Wigwam polypro liners. I had another pair of dry socks for sleeping.

Mountain Hardwear Nut Shell Ventigaiters
I think the zipper is overkill and the mesh allows dirt and debris to get inside the gaiter. However, this is what I had, so I kept using them. I love tall gaiters for their protection against the sun, muddy trail, and poison ivy. I looked pretty cute in them, too. I recommend gaiters no matter what height for good foot care. They prevent debris from working its way into your socks and causing blisters and the general breakdown of the sock. Of course, this isn't the case with trail runners, but it does keep irritating debris away from your ankles.

Shelter
Sierra Designs Clip Light something or other 2 person tent, heavy
This used to be the classic AT tent. It is too heavy, and doesn't have enough ventilation or headroom. On the AT you can probably get away with a small tarp, because most nights you will probably use shelters. You do need an option when the shelter is full-- I know they say the shelter isn't full until everyone is inside, but I have been one of 20 in an eight person shelter and I'm not sure we could have fit anyone else. Also, having a shelter means that you have the option of camping between shelters to suit your mileage. Dew and condensation are two things to consider, especially with single wall tarps and tents.

Tyvek ground sheet
You will want a ground sheet for the very wet AT. You will at some point sleep in a puddle.

Sleeping
old North Face Blue Kazoo 20 degree down sleeping bag
A bit heavy, but awesome. I owned it before I thought of hiking the AT, so I went with it.

REI Travel Down 40 degree down sleeping bag
Compact and very light. Perfect for those hot, sticky AT summer nights. I had mine sent to Pearisburg, VA.

old school Ridge Rest
I've had mine since about 1992, and it still works great. It has a few wounds and may not be the lightest, but it remains comfy and uncompressed.

Cooking
Etowah Outfitters alcohol stove
A nice little alcohol stove with cross-bar pot stand. I do love my MSR Whisperlite, but this alcohol stove weighs so much less. I primarily used Heet in the yellow bottle, but I'm sure these days you can buy denatured alcohol by the ounce at hostels and outfitters.

MSR titanium Teapot. 4oz
Perfect for one Lipton, one package of ramen, or one box of Near East couscous, and cute as can be. It holds about .8 liters.

Lexan spoon, .5 oz
Regular plastic spoons are lighter, but will melt if used while cooking.

Water and Treatment
Platypus bladders and hose
These work great. The Platypus will develop weak spots around the neck due to the crumpling of the bladder as water is sucked out of it, but only over time. I try to be gentle with mine. I keep them at the top of my pack to reduce pressure and stress. You will only need a capacity of two liters for the AT, and rarely will you need to carry this much. Aqua Fina one liter bottles with a wide mouth are strong and cheap. You can put these bottles in the side pocket of your pack and insert the Platy hose if you like to use a hose.

Aqua Mira liquid solution water treatment
This was new and exciting in 2003. I still like this water treatment option. It has a slightly sweet taste that I don't mind at all. I started the AT with a Katahdyn Hiker pump filter, which I like and use for weekends, but it was a bit heavy for the AT. At some point I also used a Visine dropper full of bleach. I used three drops for two liters. It smells like a swimming pool. I'm not sure whether this is better or worse than iodine or Aqua Mira in the long term, but it is the cheapest option. You can buy a bottle of bleach for a few dollars, refill your dropper, and leave the bottle in the hiker box for someone else. Keep the dropper of bleach inside an plastic bag to avoid any leaks which will eat all of your synthetic gear.

Other
Leki ultralight titanium trekking poles from 2002
I'm not sure my knees would have made it through the AT without poles. These were indispensable for going down hill as they allowed me to shift some of my weight to my arms and shoulders and go easier on my knees on steep descents and long steps down big rocks. I preferred Reason's Super Makalus to my lightweight ones, however, because I think the shocks are beefier and kinder to the arms. Poles are great for what I call the Power Boost, which just means pushing yourself forward with the poles on the flats and ascents. After a few hundred miles of using poles, you'll be rolling up your sleeves and showing off your muscles. I've put almost 5,000 miles on my poles and so far have only replaced the tips a few times.

Wingfoot Guidebook
OK, so I started with the data book, state guides and maps, and the ATC town guide. But Reason had the Wingfoot guide, which gets to the point and has most of the info you'll need. You're not going to get lost unless you drink too much beer and forget which way you came in to a shelter, so you don't really need the maps and long state guidebook trail descriptions. The profile maps are nice, but chances are someone else will carry them for you :)

Check out my PCT and CDT gear lists for more ideas.