As mentioned in previous post, thanks to Gary at REI, I decided to delay the full blown PCT hike for a year and to spend a year in training.  There were 4 training walks that were memorable for one reason or another.

1. From Hwy 8 to Mt. Laguna — Mile 30 to Mile 42:  This was  my first hike that was in full blown gear and I was going to go as far as I could and then camp and then return to where I started the next day.   So I drove to where I wanted to start and got there pretty early; about 5 in the morning.  It was 40 degrees with about a 20 mile per hour wind and it was raining.  I sat in the car and had a long talk with myself.   Various conversations about how the weather was not going to be perfect for every day of my walk, probably not even most, and therefore this was something I needed to experience.   Thought of my Dad who had endured 3 years in a Japanese POW camp.  Thought of Dad and how he always finished what he started.  How in California he got the yard of our first house ready to plant lawn by preparing the soil 1 pitchfork at a time, over and over.  How in Atlanta he finished our basement and had to put in a drain and broke through the cement floor by swinging a sledge hammer against that cement over and over.  There were lots of thoughts of my Dad this day.  Finally I got out the car and put on the rain gear (thanks Gary again) and started the hike.  About 30 minutes into the hike, the rain turned to snow and then turned to hail.  Again thoughts of Dad and just putting one foot in front of the other and keep going.  How hard can it be.  I was walking along and suddenly a thru hiker caught up to me.  A young girl (in her 20’s) and she was soaked and in short pants.  We talked a bit and then she bolted on to get to Mt. Laguna so she could get a hotel room for the night.  This would have probably been her 2nd day on the trail.  I never saw her again but she moved much faster than I was moving.  Most people move much faster than I do.  I’m a stroller.  I was passed by probably 6 other hikers that day.  This part of the trail is pretty much up hill all the way.  3000 foot gain in elevation.  By the time I made it to Mt. Laguna I was totally exhausted.  No way I was going to put up a tent.  I went into town, stopped at the first place that looked to offer some place to stay and rented a cabin.  Below is a picture of the scene when getting Mt. Laguna and the cabin I ended up renting for the night.   I recalled the words of Gary at REI: “The PCT will kick your ass”.  At this point it was definitely PCT:1 and Don:0.  The next morning  I got up early and went back (and gratefully down) to my starting point.  I had no issues and felt great getting back to the car.  On the way back I crossed the path of 100’s of people who were starting the trail.  Turns out it was the 2014 Kick off day.  One guy talking to me said “I’ll bet you came out here to get a little isolation.  Not today”.  I thought that the new boots solved the foot issue because me feet were fine.  I thought wrong however and my feet were only fine after this hike because it was cold and swelling was minimized.  
2. From Mt. Laguna to Hwy 78 just west of Julian — Mile 42 to Mile 78:  This was pretty much a full 2 day hike from where I left off at Mt. Laguna to the Hwy 78.   A lot of up’s (3500 feet) and downs (7200 feet) and it was hot.  I met 2 hikers during these two days as our paths keep crossing each other.  We did not hike at the same rate or rest for the same amounts of time but it seemed to turn out that we kept on passing each other.  They would walk faster and rest longer.  I would walk slower and rest for shorter periods of time and so we just keep seeing each other.   One of these guys is from Seattle and is a composer.  He was walking the PCT to get recordings for the sounds on the PCT and was (and has now) composed music to go along with those sounds.  Go check it out at: http://natevansmusic.com.  Being from Seattle, Nat was not really ready for the heat of the desert and the constant need for water.  By the end of the 2nd day both he and I were in pretty bad shape.  He needed electrolytes and my feet had only one sensation ….. PAIN.  Lenora picked us up, we went into Julian for dinner and about 5 gallons of water during the meal and Nat came home with us for some needed rest.  The next morning I took him back to the trail and he continued and FINISHED.  Nat and I helped each other that day.  I think it is the type of thing that happens on the PCT all the time.   A little research and I figured out I needed to have at least 1 extra size in the boot.  Bought new boots of the right size (11.5) and have not had any issue with my feet since.   Even though I was in pretty bad shape because of the feet, I figured it was a draw this time.
3. From Warner Springs to Chihuahua Road — Mile 111 to Mile 127: If you remember from an earlier post, I had walked part of this before but without a full pack.  This time I was actually going to go MUCH further than I ended up going but it turns out I was overly optimistic about the number of miles I could do.  I realized I was not going to reach my destination and so stopped at Chihuahua road where Lenora could pick me up.  So I walked for 1 day, camped out, and then started walking towards civilization along the road where Lenora could get me.  Sounds easy enough doesn’t it.  Turns out however that for some reason the maps have this location all wrong and the roads don’t go where they say they are going and are not named what they say they are named.  At some point walking along the road I was in a valley and looking up way on the ridge I could see my car.  I knew Lenora was trying to figure out where to go.  I was jumping up and down and waving my hands but I was really too far way.  I saw her pull out from the parking space and turn the other way.   So I kept walking and about an hour and 2 miles later, I see Lenora coming back up the road.  The really nice thing about this road, is at the civilization end of this road is a wonderful winery called Hawk Watch.  A must go for anyone who likes wine.  It was at this time however we realized we needed some way of communicating.  There was NO telephone service in this area.  Decision was sort-of kind-of made to get a satellite phone.  Note:  In February of 2015 a young man started walking the PCT Trail at Anza heading south towards the border.  He was just out for a training walk as I had been.   Something happened and he has not to this day been found.  They found all his equipment at Chihuahua road but no other sign.  They think he may have removed equipment and then tried to get elevation to get a phone signal.  There is just nothing there as I mentioned.   Pray for this young man: http://www.cbs8.com/story/28247958/search-terminated-for-missing-hiker
4. From Kennedy Meadows North into High Sierra — Mile 702 to Mile 720:  I had intended to go much further on this training hike. This was going to be a 5 day and 4 night hike from Kennedy Meadows to Lone Pine.  However, I was way too optimistic at how many miles I could do at elevation.  What a difference 7000 feet make.   Going uphill constantly at elevation was something I did not do well at all.  The first day I only made 9 miles and the next day about 11.   There were two points when I called on God for some guidance.  I had heard from Nat and others that Kennedy Meadows is the point where water is no longer an issue.  There is water EVERYWHERE.  I suspect that is true in June when Nat was hiking this area but in August in one of the driest years in California in the middle of a drought, there is NOT water everywhere.  I packed as if there would be.   I passed a stream early on and thought nothing of it and just kept walking to the next water point.  It was dry, so on to the next water point, it was dry.  Ok…. God, if you would like me to continue with this hike today could you please help me with the water situation.  Not 200 yards further along the trail, 2 birds few right in front of my face and went down the valley into some bushes.  I looked down and saw other birds there and realized they were probably after water as well.  So I unloaded and climbed down to the bushes and on the other side of the brush was a pool of water and just above that another pool of water that was dripping into the lower one.  There was no water above the upper pool and no water below the lower pool.  Climbed back up to my pack, go all my water containers, and filled them with water.  Thanks God.   Towards the end of the second day, I am thinking that I am not making good enough progress to reach the goal where Lenora could pick me up.  Ok… God, I’m not sure I can make it where I need to be in time.  Wondering if you can give a sign about turning around.  Not much further there is a giant tree that has fallen across the trail.  I can’t get under it or go around it on either side.  So off with the pack and I’m able to slide it under the tree and I can get over the tree and when I try to put the pack back on I just have a lot of trouble.  Keeps getting caught on something.  I start laughing and say OK, I guess this is sign enough.  Slide the pack back under the tree, climb over, put pack on without issue, and start back towards Kennedy Meadows.  Now we have an issue.  Lenora does not expect to pick me up at Kennedy Meadows and of course there is no service and there is also no service at Kennedy Meadows and that satellite phone I talked about getting has not been gotten yet.   I did and do have a Delorme InReach device which can send text messages but because of various issues those were not getting through either.  Of dozens of messages I sent, Lenora got one which was “I’m turning around”.  Of the multiple dozens of messages Lenora sent I got about five from five different devices and they all said “Are you getting my messages”. It is now hilarious but was maddening at the time.  I got back to Kennedy Meadows the next day very late in the day and Lenora had decided she might as well see if I had meant turning back completely and so drove to Kennedy Meadows.  As I was walking towards town (which isn’t much) on the main road (which isn’t much) and the sun was setting I see the car come over the hill.  We hugged, we laughed, I now have a satellite phone.

My memory being what it is (bad), I can’t say exactly when I decided to do the PCT, but it would have been about this time last year.  I know that I was just sitting at work, minding my own business, and the urge, the thought, the message came to me that I should hike the PCT.  I really do not remember reading anything that would have put the notion into my head in any way, but I suspect I must have.  But it was clear that I had to walk to PCT and I thought I had to do it now, and I was going to do just that.

I decided to see what it was like and my first hike started at Warner Springs.  When doing the complete PCT, Warner Springs is at about the 100 mile mark.  So, I went for a walk one early morning figuring I would walk north on the PCT for half the day and then turn around and come back.  It was a pleasant walk that starts out level, then meanders up and around some small hills and then crosses a gently flowing stream 4 or 5 times before it heads up into the mountains.  Easy enough and after walking half the day, I turned around and started going down the mountain.  It did not take very long before my toes were so sore that I could hardly put any pressure on them.   The size 10.5 shoes that I had worn pretty much my whole life suddenly were very snug and my toes were slamming into the front of the shoe with every step.  About half way down I had to modify as best I could my walk to avoid putting the front part of my foot on the ground.  Should have a video of me trying to descend the mountain trail by walking on my heels.  In that short period of time, perhaps 12 miles, I was already disabled.  That fact did not change the fact that I was doing the PCT right now.  It should have and it would have changed the mind of any rational being, but it did not affect me.  By the time I got back home, three toe nails were already black and so sore that they could not be touched.  Not the greatest beginning but as I was to learn it is not an un-common beginning.  I was lucky (blessed) that my experience was on a test hike and not on the first day of actually walking the PCT, becoming basically disabled after 10 miles and looking at 2650 miles to go!!  This first test was also just with a basic little backpack.

I then decided that my next test would have to be a full blown training hike with complete hiking backpack, tent, pad, etc.  Full blown simulation.  (A description of some of my training hikes in the next post).  Of course, I had NONE of this stuff.  I have never backpacked before.   Time for a visit to REI.   Not my first visit to REI and I have always enjoyed shopping there to get clothes and “stuff” for various birding trips.  However I was exceeding lucky (blessed) on this trip as I hooked up with Gary, a very fit employee about my age who was a backpacker.   I told him I needed some backpacking supplies such as a backpack and tent.  Ok he said, what are you planning to do?  I’m going to hike the PCT.  Ok he said, when?   This year.  Ok he said, have you ever done an backpacking before?  No.  OOOOOOKKKKKKKK he said.   So we went over and he picked out the backpack that he thought would be best for me and for the PCT.  We then went over and he helped pick up a tent and pad that he thought would be best for the PCT.  Then he said, you really think you should hike this year? Yes.  OK, then we went over and helped me pick out some trekking poles and some water proof bags to hold “stuff” in, and talked to me about stoves and food supplies.  Then he said, if you have never done this before, it my personal opinion that it would not be best for you to do the PCT this year.  You need to get some experience first.  The PCT will kick your ass.  I smiled and nodded.  Ok, water bottles, water storage, water purification, emergency equipment, rain gear.  Then he said, I would not feel good about myself if I let you walk out of here without saying again that you should not try to walk the PCT this year.  You need to try it out first on small adventures to get trained up and to make sure you even like it.  Thank you, I said, I will think about it.  Ok he said and on we went, socks, gloves, hats, boots (size 10.5, the same size I have worn my entire life).

I have been back to REI many times in the last year to resupply and to get more “stuff”.  I have never seen Gary again.  I look for him each time because I want and need to thank him and give him a big hug.  Why?  Because Gary spent hours with me that day to get ready and cared about what I was planning to do and cared enough to give me counsel.  Because Gary was right.  I was not physically ready, I was not mentally ready, and I was not spiritually ready at that time to do the PCT.   In the last year a lot has changed for the better and I am now ready.

Thanks Gary!!

P.S.  The 10.5 boots did not help the toe situation at all of course.  It was not the shoe but the size that was the issue.  After reading more about the PCT and the miserable time a lot of people have with feet at the beginning it was clear.  The feet swell when you are walking in heat all day long.  You need to get a boot that is at least 1 size larger.  I now have size 11.5 boots and have had no issues with either blisters or bruised toes.

I mentioned in my last post that I was walking the PCT to “To find out more about myself and my relationship with God” but that there was more to it.  This is not meant as a justification for walking as  I do not feel that any justification is necessary.   This is an explanation for those that are confounded by it or just plain curious.

I think if you asked each person on the PCT why they were hiking the PCT you would get a different answer from each person you asked.  Therefore  each reason is unique and that is cool.  I have a unique story to tell… yay!!!

There is a 3 fold reason why I am walking the PCT.  The overall encompassing reason is to get closer to God.  To speak with God every chance I get.  To see and marvel at the world that God created and gave to us to live on.  I believe at this point in time I am doing God’s will and that He has something out there for me.  But the 3 sub-reasons are:

1. One of the reasons for walking the PCT has the same answer as the question “Why does a dog lick himself?”.  BECAUSE HE CAN.  I am walking the PCT because I can.   I am physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially able to walk the trail this year.   Not all of those factors would have been true last year (when I thought I would walk the trail — more on that in my next post) and may not be true again.  I expect that walking the trail will actually help me in 3 of those areas as well.  At the end I believe I will be stronger physically, stronger mentally, stronger spiritually.
2. My mother died at a very young age and some years after that my dad gave me the following advice.  Do not put your dreams on hold for some future thing to happen.  He said that he and my mom had many plans for what they were going to do in the future and that future date just never happened.  Lenora and I have been pretty good with that advice and generally followed our dreams.  However we always talked about walking the Appalachian Trail while back east and when we came west and found out about the PCT wanted to walk it…. together.  The walking together is not going to happen because of some hip issues but Lenora and I are doing this together.   Lenora has been there for all the planning, all the training, and will be there for most Sundays so that we can go to Church together.  Basically she is putting her life on hold so that we can do the PCT.  The only difference is that I get to walk while she patiently waits for me to reach the next destination.  I have the easy part.
3. When faced with a decision especially a decision that has moral implications but also represents a sacrifice I have always been fond of the statement “If not you, who?  If not now, when?”.   The last part applies to the PCT.  If not now, when?  Similar to reason 2 but biblical.  There are many Bible verses that apply but these two are my favorites.
   Luke 12:16-21 “Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” ’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”  
    Matthew 24:36-44 “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.  For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.  Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
   So like I said, similar to 2 but biblical.  Don’t put off your dreams because you just never know.  If not now, when?

I am 65 years old and perhaps that explains the general conversation that I am sharing below.  If I were 20 years old I am sure the conversation would be much different.  In the beginning this conversation would generally start when people would ask me when I was going to retire and what I was going to do.  But then the word got around that I was planning on walking the PCT and so people would ask about it.

friend:  I hear you are going to go on a hike

me: Yes, I am going to hike the PCT

friend: PCT?

me: The Pacific Crest Trail

friend: So it goes right along the coast then?

It is really quite universal that when Pacific Crest Trail is spoken, people hear Pacific Coast Trail and assume the trail is a nice walk on the beach.

me: No, not Coast trail but Crest Trail.  It goes right along the mountain spine of the West Coast.  It is about 60 miles inland from the coast or so.  Don’t think beaches and lots of people, but rather think Bears, Ski Resorts, and wilderness

friend: Ah, right, so how long of a trail is that

me: 2665 miles or so from Mexican border to Canadian border

very long pause and blank stares for awhile………… the reality sinks in

friend: but…. how long is that going to take

me: probably around 6 months or so

another very long pause and looks of disbelief OR hysterical laughter

friend: No way, are you crazy?

This is followed by the expected series of questions about where do you sleep (on the ground), how about food (carry about 6 days worth and get resupplied along the way).  what about hygiene (I’m expected to stink pretty bad).   And then

friend:  What is Lenora going to do?

me: Follow along in the car and stay in hotels for much of the time and meet me when the trail crosses a main road.

friend: No way, is she crazy?  I mean,  what is the plan.. how will you get together?

At this point I explain how the PCT, although a wilderness trail, does cross roads where you can hitch into towns or even goes right through or next to towns.  (Julian, Big Bear, Yosemite, South Lake Tahoe are some examples).  For most of the PCT this happens every 100 miles or so.  I plan on walking for 6 days and resting on the 7th.  Hey, if it was good enough for God, it is good enough for me.  I have tried to arrange to be at a major road or a town by Saturday night of each week (sometimes earlier and will have 2 days off).  For most of these hopefully Lenora will be there and we will stay in a hotel and I will get to clean up and go to Church with Lenora.

friend: Why are you doing this?

me: To find out more about myself and my relationship with God

That is the short answer but there is more to it and I will explain the more in the next post.  But I figure most people are not interested in hearing the more at this point

friend:  Well…… good luck… how can I follow your progress

me: I’ll let you know as soon as my daughter (Martha) tells me how people can get to these posts.

By the way, the honest answer to the “are you crazy” questions is an unqualified yes.  But I think there are degrees of crazy and I’m sure we could be crazier if we worked at it.