What? PCT?

So yeah, in case you hadn't noticed, Will is back from his PCT hike. Duh. He lost about 20 pounds (probably more, since he gained muscle). And we had to drill a new hole in his belt that was about 1.5" past the hole that was too tight on him before he left. Excuse me? How is THAT fair?

Oh right. He walked 650 miles, carrying 40 pounds on his back. That.

So yes. Things are good, and having him back is wonderful.

He's been slowly updating his trail journal, and will be uploading photos soon, I hear. Slowly but surely, the trip will be documented! I know this is kind of an odd post, but I just realized I had never posted an official "The trip is over, and here's what happened" update.

I'll leave the rest of the actual trip updates to him and his journal, but for those of you not checking it religiously, I'll post a link when it's actually complete.

Ta-dow!

Beer and Oreos

Will just let me know that they found the infamous Cold Beer And Oreos Cache, just north of Big Lake Youth Camp. They had heard about it from a southbound hiker who had just been there, and weren't sure if there would indeed be such a treasure waiting for them on the trail. But oh, at 9:45am on this drizzly-but-not-raining-thank-goodness Wednesday, they have stumbled upon the oasis of all hiker oases. oasises? oasii?

See, there are these people called Trail Angels. Trail Angels are generally people who live near the trail, who provide services for free to hikers. This could be something super important like receiving a resupply box and meeting the hikers at a designated pick-up point (in sections where the town post office is closed, or there is no post office, this is crucial!), or something just awesome like leaving a cooler of cold beer and a package of Oreos by the side of the trail. Some Trail Angels, especially down in the Southern CA section of the PCT, go so far as to open their homes to hikers, feeding them a home-cooked meal, letting them camp out on a grassy lawn, and offering showers and laundry facilities. Who are these brilliantly wonderful people?

Well, here are just a few:

• Bob Reiss (San Diego)
  
• Scout and Frodo (San Diego)
• Bruce and Carol Wagner (Lake Arrowhead)
• Vermilion Valley Resort
• Pooh Corner (Bill and Molly Person) near Donner Summit
• JoAnn 'are we there yet' Michael (Lake Shastina)
• Dinsmore's River Haven (Skykomish)
• Meadow Ed (roving, more info on this guy here)
• And this PCT Wiki has a list of a ton!
• And more here.
• Wild vs. Domestic Trail Angels?
  

I just think it's so interesting (and awesome) that these kind people make themselves available to hikers, just for the love of hiking and helping. They provide their cell numbers and home addresses, so hikers can contact them 24/7 for help. They offer rides to and from the trail and towns, they maintain water caches in dry areas. They are just generally nice people who want to help out. And I think that's just great.

And so do Will, Tom and Chris, who are enjoying their cold beer and oreos!

Hikers: Halfway

I've just received the halfway-update from Will (his mom mailed me pages from his journal), and I posted it on the trail journal (with some more pictures). Check it out at www.postholer.com/will! As always, feel free to leave him a comment in the guest book - he'll be back at his parents' house in two weeks and will be able to read and respond (and post more entries) then.

Not too much to report on; they hiked at least one day in the pouring rain and Tom had some soaked gear, but they seem to be doing ok. I last spoke to Will on Thursday morning, when I believe they were at Shelter Cove. Their next stop is Elk Lake Resort, and they should get there tomorrow (this last part of the trip has resupply stops every 3 days or so)! I should hear from them at some point this weekend, and I'll be sure to post an update when I do.

An update - with photos!

I've just updated Will's trail journal with photos from his visit with his family at Crater Lake, and I've created a photo album with even more pictures here.

Thanks to Sue for sending me the pictures!

Will called around 9am to check in - they had some thunder and lightening last night, but the storms were expected to pass by about noon, and they were doing well and sounding positive. I'll continue to post updates as I hear from him, and I'll be posting a mid-point update on his trail journal when it arrives in the mail.


That's all for now :-)

Quick Hiker Update

I just got off the phone with Will, who says they made it to Crater Lake around noon, and have joined up with his family. They spent the afternoon showering, wandering around, drinking beer, and eating sandwiches and brownies, and will have cheeseburgers for dinner. Sounds pretty nice to me! At this point, they are planning to finish their hike 1 day ahead of schedule, so that Tom (the brother) can get back in time to go back to school. Pretty amazing if you think back to that first week when they were two days behind with an injured hiker!

He is having his mom take pictures to send to me, and he said he'll write up a little blurb of a recap post for me to post to the trail journal, so be on the lookout for that sometime this weekend, if you're following their journey. :-)

Hiker Update

Since Will isn't able to update his trail journal regularly, I thought I'd post a little update to keep people in the loop.

They had a great time in Ashland, and stayed one night at Callahan's Lodge (which I came into contact with through Twitter of all things!). Callahan's actually looks really nice - I'd like to stay at the lodge some day, and they were excited to meet the guys - they had found his trail journal through my Twitter and had been following their progress. Ashland sounds like it was a lot of fun as well, and hearing about it only reinforced my desire to go there for a little vacation someday. Will sent me his program from Henry VIII, as well as a "Kings and Queens of England" coloring book. :)

After leaving Ashland, Chris had another minor knee injury, but was able to make it through their 19-mile day the next day with no trouble. They completed 19 miles with a 12oo foot elevation gain, and finished by 5pm! A very impressive day, if you ask me!

They are now officially back on schedule (having been 2 days behind after Chris' first injury and their added rest days in Etna), which is pretty outstanding. They've made up their time, and didn't even have to skip any of the trail! (Well, Chris missed that one 20-mile day that Will did alone, but he was injured) They arrived at Lake of the Woods on time, and are still going strong.

Last night, they had their first real "bear incident," where they heard bear-like noises coming from the woods around their camp. They made loud noises and the bear went away. It came back, however, 5 more times over the course of the night. Each time, they made loud noise and scared it away; but needless to say, they were pretty freaked out, and didn't get much sleep. Will just called me from the "saddle" where they are taking a lunch break (lunch is at 10:45am if you've been hiking since 7am!), and said they were very tired, but otherwise ok. Hopefully there will be no more bear incidents to follow!

They are due to arrive at Crater Lake on Thursday, where they will unite with Will's parents and brother for a night of camping and a day of hanging out at the lake. His brother will then join them for the rest of the trip.

So there you have it - not very well-written, but that's my little update! I will continue to post updates from the hikers as I get them, at least until Will has computer access and can update on his own.

Please feel free to visit his trail journal and read past entries - and leave him a comment in the Guestbook! http://www.postholer.com/will


PS - You'll notice that his name has changed from "The Boy" to "Will." I figured there was no use in trying to keep him totally anonymous anymore, since the trail journal is labeled with his name anyway. Also, as my mom pointed out, he's not really a boy ("boy" sounds very young) ...even if it is just an affectionate shortening of "The Boyfriend" ;-) So there you go. He has a name.

Ashland!

It's been a while since I've given you a hiker update...so I thought I'd write to say the guys made it to Ashland! They have been making excellent time, despite the little delays in the first week, and now they get a day and a half to hang out in Ashland. He's going to try to see a show at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (jealous!), and they should have fun just relaxing and recouping for a day.

There will be many more updates (including one about their adventure with the County Sheriff at Seiad Valley) on his trail journal, I'm sure, once he hooks up with a computer in a library or something. He's been getting pretty good reception for the last week or so, and we've been able to talk on the phone pretty frequently, but I'm still excited to read about it.

The Hikers Live!

After having no cell reception since leaving Alderbrook Manor Sunday morning, our faitful hiker guys have reached civilization! I just got a call to let me know they're doing well - they will arrive at Etna Summit shortly, where they will hitchhike to Alderbrook Manor (where they will spend the night) later this afternoon. They made it safely through the last 40 miles (making up the section they had to skip), and sounded good. Tomorrow, they'll be off to Seiad Valley, and from there, Ashland!

Read the Trail Journal (should be updated tonight) for more information!

PCT Update

The hiker dudes have been having a rough week which resulted in a few days off, but as of about 7:30am, they're back out on the trail! Read all about it here, and leave a comment in the guestbook if you feel so inclined!

The Trail Journal Has Begun!

Well, The Boy is officially hiking the PCT - they've completed a day and a half already, and he sounded chipper and excited when I talked to him this morning (the miracle of decent cell reception on the trail - and he leaves the phone off when he's not using it to save the battery).

I've posted the first entry in his trail journal, which I received on paper from his friend who drove them to the starting point, and he'll be posting more when they arrive in Etna around Sunday. If you want to read it, go to www.postholer.com/will - I will be posting updates here as well.

The adventure is on!

PCT Head Shave

He shaved his head because hair + sunscreen + superconcentrated bug spray + sweat - showers = gross. Also, why not? Start out the new adventure with a clean slate...erm...head.

Though as he says, "Turns out, shaving your head doesn't make you braver."

Here are some pictures from the great event, plus a shot of him and his hiking partner getting ready to leave, showing off his ~45 pound pack :-) Note: his partner's pack weighs over 60 pounds! This is the most weight they will ever have to carry (the first stretch is the longest), but still. Oof!

PCT Packing

On Thursday July 2, we packed the first four resupply boxes for The Boy's hike. We had to mail them on Friday July 3 before the post office closed at noon, so the pressure was on! On Friday, we also packed the other six boxes, which are waiting at a friend's apartment (he is in charge of mailing the rest of the boxes). There is a complete itinerary that has been shared with everyone involved (thanks, Google Spreadsheets!), and my apartment is feeling quite empty. I've had an REI explosion in my apartment for the last few weeks; it's weird that it's all gone! Good weird, I suppose...it's nice to have my space back, but it's kind of odd. We have spent so much time at REI and Any Mountain in the last few weeks, I may go through withdrawl. If you catch me wandering aimlessly around an outdoor adventure store, remind me there's more to life than buying camping gear and dehydrated food, ok? ;-)

Watch the embedded slideshow for a peek into our night/s of box-packing! Scroll down for a complete list of contents...note that the last 6 boxes carry food for The Boy and The Boy's "little" (6'7" tall) brother.



10 Boxes: Contents

• 140 Pop Tarts
• 9 Tortillas (this is only for the first 4 boxes - more will be shipped later)
• 32 lbs. trail mix
• 97 Clif Bars
• 69 Odwalla Bars
• 67 King-Size Snickers
• 55 Dehydrated meals (from Backpacker's Pantry and Mountain House)
• 10 Easy Mac
• 10 Tuna in foil
• 60 Hot Chocolate packs
• 23 Tea bags
• 12 "logs" of salami (in mold casing, so they stay fresh w/o refrigeration)
• 5 Dehydrated desserts (astronaut ice cream, mocha mousse "pie")
• 2 jars peanut butter
• 15 peanut butter packets (Justin's Nut Butters)

Also: extra sunscreen, soap, and bug spray

Adventure Boy

The Boy just left for his 2-month PCT backpacking trip. I'll post a full update on the packing and dehydrated food and resupply boxes and shaved head later...and for anyone who is interested, I'll be posting a link to his trail journal. I'm going to tag all the PCT-related posts to make them easier to find if you want to read up on his trip.

If you live anywhere along the PCT, maybe you'll see him along the way :-)

For now, I'm going to do dishes and straighten up my empty-feeling apartment. More later.

Trail Mixin'!

Since I am not currently employed, I'm helping The Boy prepare for his backpacking trip. Today, I mixed up 12 bags of trail mix. We planned on 1 gallon sized bag per week - he's going to be gone for almost 7 weeks, and his brother (for whom he is buying food) will be on the trail for 3. Since Bro is 6'7" and eats about twice as much as an average person, we figured approx. 5 weeks of trail mix would cover him for his 3 weeks on the trail. Thus, 12 weeks (12 1-gallon bags) total. Math!

Last night, we went to the new West Berkeley Bowl because their bulk section is much nicer than the one at the "old" Berkeley Bowl.

Our booty:
roasted salted cashews
roasted salted pecans
honey roasted pecans
roasted salted peanuts
dried apple rings
golden raisins
dark raisins
dried cranberries
Guittard mini chocolate chips
roasted salted pistachios
dried apricots
orange cranberry granola

Check out the crazy amount of nuts. That's a LOT of nuts!

Since (according to The Boy's much more complicated math...ok, it was basic math, but lots of it), he will still be low on daily calories, we're going to add some M&Ms and perhaps dried blueberries and more granola as well. Personally, I think this is pretty fun! :-)

12 bags weighing 2.5 lbs each

I actually *almost* perfectly divided them up when I made them. One was 3 lbs, one was 2 lbs, and I just scooped .5 lb out of one and into the other. Oh yes, such complicated work...but I was pretty impressed that 10/12 bags were exactly the same weight!

PS - HOLYCOWGUITTARD. Guittard chocolate is amazing. WAY better than any other chocolate chip I have ever tasted. From now on, I will be buying chocolate chips in bulk. Sorry Trader Joe's and Nestle, but these are just way better.

PPS - this is not *technically* cooking/baking, but I'm categorizing it there anyway.