Summing up…

Overview:

In August, 2020 we pondered what to do with our time. COVID decimated our usual summer musical plans, and we had Freddy’s high school graduation and Matt’s college graduation to celebrate. We ended up hiking most of the Oregon PCT.

From April 29th to Sept. 2nd, 2021 the PCT was once again our fall-back plan (the original plan for a sabbatical in the UK having been high jacked by, yep, COVID) and we hiked most of California (from Campo, at the Mexican border) to the Oregon border, then from the Oregon border to Crater Lake, then from the Washington border to Trout Lake/Forest Road 23.

How it’s usually done:

Hike four to six days, hitchhike into town, get your resupply (food) from boxes you mail to yourself at the post office and/or the local grocery store/convenience store/resort/gas station, shower if you can,maybe stay in a motel overnight and/or take a day off (a zero), hitchhike back to the trail.

How we did it:

Shuttle cars 50 to 140 miles apart. Hike four to eight days, get to car, get to town, resupply food, shower, maybe stay overnight (in Cat’s case, visit a library), shuttle cars forward, get back on trail.  

Ultra-Light:

I subscribe to ultra-light backpacking–my base weight was 7.8 lbs (note–Chris carried the tent and I carried the stove.) Next time I might be a little more careful about my food (never brought enough, really).

Four months, four days, and 1400 miles by the numbers:

Rattlesnakes: 7

Bears: 2 adults, 3 cubs, one mysterious snickers bar eating visitor in the night

Total miles (2021)—about 1400

Miles per day 10 to 23+

Lizards: more than a billion

Other snakes (including an outstanding pink and grey specimen): about 200

Coyotes: 1

Fox: 1

Deer: Many

Pairs of shoes: 2

Libraries visited: 8

Children’s books read: 190

Pizzas ordered on the trail: 2

Injuries: 2

Car breakdowns: 2

Lessons learned:

Everyone has a story.

You only need one shirt.

Eating is fuel.

Rattlesnakes and bears—not scary.

Falling trees/branches, lightening, forest fires—scary.

Hike your own hike.

Drought, fire, climate change—we’re at the cusp of desperate measures.

We’re in this together–gratitude, connection, authenticity are the most important things.