Joel's Pacific Crest Trail Adventure: July 2009

This update is more than a week overdue. But that's to be expected when your photo-fanatic wife is given the responsibility of posting news on your blog. I took a zillion pictures of the Sierras while I was on the trail with my husband recently and it's taken me awhile to sort through them and select only a few (does 20 qualify as a few?!) to share.

My sister and her husband (Robin & Ernie) and I flew to Reno on July 1st. We met Joel in Reno that evening -- and enjoyed catching up over a late night dinner, sitting on a patio overlooking the Truckee River. After 10 weeks on the trail -- not only are Joel's personal hygiene and facial hair significantly different than when he left MN in April -- but he now has an endless appetite. I have never seen my husband consume so much food in a single evening!

Later that evening and the following day, I helped my husband transform into a "section hiker". Let me explain further. On the PCT, there are "day hikers" (those that hike just for a day and wear matching clothes, have a recognizable hairstyle, and eat fresh food); "section hikers" (those hiking for several days on a section of the trail from point A to point B that smell like a fusion of soap & sunscreen and carry oversized backpacks with a change of clothes and far more dehydrated food than they need for the 10 miles a day that they'll be hiking) and "thru hikers" (those that hike for weeks on end - carrying minimal gear, wearing the same thing every day, and clearly looking & smelling like they haven't showered in at least a week). Since Robin, Ernie, and I were intending to spend 5 days hiking with Joel no more than 43 total miles - we upgraded him from minimalist, 2-star hiking gear to our 4-star hiking accommodations. For Joel, this meant having his clothes washed with Tide detergent, taking 2 showers (with both soap & shampoo), and doubling his pack size due to carrying everything from our 2-man tent to my camping pillow. He willingly adapted his hiker identity to suit us ... and after having hiked more than 1.000 miles at that point, I figured he was tough enough to handle all the extra weight he had to carry.

We began our section hike at Ebbett Pass on July 2nd. Soon after embarking on our trek, the 3 of us that were new to hiking in the Sierras realized that between the altitude, frequent ascending & descending, and the weight of the 4-star accommodations in our backpacks -- we would not be able to hike the entire 43 mile section that we had hoped to. So, we adjusted our plan a bit and hiked a 28 mile section to Carson Pass by the morning of July 6th. (Joel trekked an additional 18 miles to Echo Lake on his own between 5:30 a.m. - 11:20 a.m. on our final morning, just to get in a few extra miles. I guess that's why he's known as a thru hiker...) If you've been following the map, the places where the hiker icons are all squished close together is the section where we hiked and slowed Joel down from his usual trail conquering pace.

Sparing all the details and family antics, here are some of the highlights of our time on the trail:
-- meeting other PCT thru hikers that Joel has been hiking with periodically and camping with several of them our first night on the trail
-- experiencing "trail magic"; (we ran into trail magic TWICE during our 28 mile trek...which was unbelievable because it had been more than 600 miles since Joel had enjoyed an unexpected roadside smorgasbord)
-- seeing the beauty of the Sierras in summertime with blooming wildflowers, lichen-covered rocks, and crystal clear glacial lakes
-- crossing snow fields & meltwater streams
-- camping in the Sierra wilderness during a full moon
-- laughing so hard we cried
-- napping on enormous rocks in the warm summer sun & cool mountain breeze after a long hike

After finishing our hike, a friend from Reno picked us up at Carson Pass and drove us to see Lake Tahoe. (Yep -- it's as beautiful as people say it is!) We spent the afternoon celebrating the completion of our PCT section hike with a yummy, lakeside picnic lunch followed by a swim. After our dip in Lake Tahoe, we returned to Reno to spend some time visiting our friends that are locals there. (Thanks again, Lelan & Julie for shuttling us around and giving us a tour of the Reno area!) It was hard for me to say goodbye to Joel after having such a terrific time together. I'm really glad we had the opportunity to experience a small part of his hiking world, though -- and I'm hoping to join him again on the trail in Oregon in 6 weeks or so. I can't wait!

Greetings cheering-on-wildly blog readers!

I am currently in Old Station, and just two days ago passed the halfway point! It feels good to know that there are now fewer miles between me and Canada than between me and Mexico. Recently the hiking has been fairly easy: the days are long, the weather is good, there is much less climbing than in the Sierras, and I'm in pretty good physical condition. I've been going about 25 to 30 miles per day, which is double the daily mileage that my dad and I did our first week. The first 1329 miles took me almost exactly three months, and I hope to complete the last 1329 miles in about two months. Wish me luck!

Amy, Robin, Ernie, and I had a great time when they came to visit. My friend Lelan from Reno was our personal trail angel and drove us all over the place, and we hiked for about four days. It was a lot of fun to see them and have them experience a bit of the trail with me. We had amazing views, made some great memories, and several times I laughed so hard I couldn't stand up! We'll get some pictures from our time together posted at some point.

Another interesting tidbit to share with you is the long distance hiking phenomenon of trail names. Most hikers don't go by their legal names while they're on the trail, but rather have a trail name that they use. Some choose their name, but usually people are christened by other hikers. Some hikers I have traveled with recently are Donut, Sugar Momma, British Slim, Hamster, Escalator, Wrong Way, Pockets, Muchy, Scholar, and Scruffy. I have become known on the trail as Disco because of my tendency to hike with my shirt unbuttoned down to my waist. I've been introducing myself as Disco now for almost six weeks, and I fully anticipate that when I get back into the business world in the fall I'll accidentally call myself Disco instead of Joel at least a few times before I get back into the habit of calling myself Joel.

Tomorrow morning I'll hit the trail again, and probably won't have internet access for another two and a half weeks until I reach Oregon. Thanks for all your support!

Joel