Wow! 200 miles have flown by since Warner Springs, here we are at PCT mile 330 chilling with our dad at Silverwood Lake campground siping on gin and juice, no wait, sorry, sipping on Dr. Pepper. Crazy how on the trail you crave the most terrible things, like a seven month pregnant woman. Who the heck drinks Dr. Pepper in the outside world? Not this girl but on the trail it’s all I think about!! Umm… Sweet, sweet Dr. Pepper! 

Well, after a grueling 24 mile hike off San Jacinto Peak (elevation 10,800′) we met up with our dad! He was waiting for us at Ziggy and the Bears place at mile 210, a couple of older sassy Trail Angels who know how to host ‘hiker trash’. They provide the most sought after hiker needs; pizza, soda, ice cream, hotish showers and laundry!! It was all a sight to see and a great way to reunite with other hikers as dad was having fun being Bears helper and chatting with hikers. It’s been a grand time having dad and the RV to help us along and provide us with our own Ziggy and the Bears mobile services… Dr. Pepper! 

Another milestone was our first resupply in Big Bear. A very, very BIG thanks goes out to our cousin Drew, long time family friend Katie, Alaskan friend Brie and our pals in San Diego Penny and Jeff for the awesome care packages, letters and well wishes! Thank you so much for making us feel so loved! A special thanks to Penny and Jeffs kiddos Rowan and Declan for decorating our packages with sweet stickers! Thanks guys! Please keep the love and support coming as we have a few long desert days coming up where we’ll be carrying six liters of water up 6,000′ of elevation gain. But you know the best part, having our dad waiting for us on the other end of that mountain. 

Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking of lots of blog topics and wanted to vet a few. 

– Trail Names

-What we thinking about during our 18 mile day hikes in the blazing sun

-Trail Food

OR

What would you like me to write about? Suggest a topic! 

Hope everyone is well and if you are feeling in a giving mood please see
my ‘Charity Causes’ page and donate a mile or two. I’ve raised 295 miles and hiked 330 so I’m a little behind. 

Thank you! 

-Lucy

Mt. San Jacinto, just after our zero day.
One day up the Mt. one more to get down.  Totally amazing

We are at mile 210, and our dad was waiting for us at Ziggy and Bears place;  super cool Trail Angels. Today we are driving around the fire closure and will restart the trail this afternoon.
-Phil

100 miles completed and a nice layover in Warner Springs at mile 109. Phil and I have been putting some hefty miles on the past couple days; May 2nd- 18 miles, May 3rd-18.5 miles and our bodies are feeling it. Phil and I agreed not to do over 15 miles a day the first couple of weeks, however because of water sources and food resupply locations you have to make exceptions. All the extra miles and weight of carrying water (sometimes 6 litters a day) has taken a toll on my right ankle. After talking with my friend Rachel who’s a sports therapist, she diagnosed I have a stressed posterior tibial tendon. So, our Nero Day (nearly zero day=half day off, some hiking) was filled with icing, stretching and resting my ankle. We’ll take off here in a few hours to put in a cool day of ten miles on our way to Paradise Cafe on Hwy 74 the Pines to Palms highway (PCT 151). 

The past few days have been of extremes, crossed two mountains in the hottest weather we’ve had thus far and nearly cried when a Trail Angel appeared with a gallon of water for each of us when we were nearly out of water and still a ways from a possible source. Cowboy camped (sleeping outside without a tent) on a beautiful mountain ledge watched the stars at night and a glorious sunrise the next morning. 

It’s amazing how our bodies and mental toughness have been challenged so far, it truly makes me feel alive and puts my life into perspective. Every time I think “this is hard” I’m reminded of my Special Olympics athletes and how hard the work and push themselves to be better skiers. My life is so blessed and I’m so lucky to be here where I am. 

As my brother Mark told me the other day the most important thing I can do on this trail is take care of myself. So, today’s Nero day was every bit worth it. It’s a long journey and I want to see what’s around every corner! 

Thanks again for your love and support! 

-Lucy 

   Toady we are at Warner springs, that’s 109 miles the first week into the hike.
     I got my first shower if you can call it that, it was a 5 gallon bucket and a pitcher to pour water on myself.  It was still the best shower I’ve had in awhile!
     So, Lu I think talked about how the desert  was cold. Well, I can tell you now that we are definitely in the hot part now, it still gets cool at night, but during the day we are drinking more water, and shade is a commodity.
The views have been amazing.

   Two nights ago I cowboy camped up on a mountain, in the middle of the night I woke to the most beautiful display of stars, which gave off enough light to see the contours of the peaks and valleys.  I didn’t want to go back to sleep. But the morning rewarded me just as much.

Day four on the PCT and Phil and I are camped at mile 50 high in the mountains! We pulled a long day yesterday 16 (18 if you count the water refill detour) so we could have a nice long layover stop in Mount Laguna. Woke up early and trucked the six miles into town for food and water, cute little stop. We learned over the past few days that we each must carry our own trowel! Since I’m the one carrying it and usually hike a mile or two slower than Phil it made sense for him to have his own. 

Wow! The desert gets wicked cold at night add the wind and it nearly feels like Alaska here in Southern California. We’ve both been cold from the start, cool overcast days with a light breeze, well yesterday was nice and sunny but still breezy. We hung out at the lodge this morning to get warm, drink some coffee and catch up up reading and writing. A welcomed break. 

Yesterday we hiked a section of trail just north of Kitchen Creek road near mile 30, I loved it. I love how this trail is so beautifully countoured with its surroundings, the way it winds around, up and over passes, just lovely. 

We don’t know what tomorrow brings; easy water sources and camp sites, cool cloudy weather or hot sunny weather, but we’ll take each step in stride and thank God for these amazing landscapes and the opportunity to experience it. 

-Lucy

Today we start the trail. It’s also Lu’s birthday.  We spent the last couple of days doing some last minute gear checks at our host’s house Penny and Jeff along with there two kids Rowan, and Declen.  I think we are as ready as we can be.  Jeff and Penny are, and have been amazing, they will also be doing our resupply boxes for us, which I can’t thank them enough.   Yesterday Lu and I had some free time to go see the beach and then hang out at the Living Room coffee shop to finish some blogging.  The beach was Torrey Pines State Reserve,  La Jolla Cove with sea lions hanging out on the beach.

    So after this post I will try to post when I can but it might be infrequent. 
  -Phil

National Park week, better then shark week!
    We left Boise and took another scenic drive to Salt Lake City, through the salt flats, for some reason we didn’t stop to take pictures.  In SLC Lu’s  friend  Theresa Parker stayed up to meet us, we got in town kinda late, and it was super cool of her to let us crash at her place.
     National Park week for us, got kicked off in Utah.  Since pictures are worth more words then I want to write, I’ll stick to the highlights and let the pictures speak for me.
     The first National Park we made it to was Arches, we got a backcountry pass so we grabbed our gear and hiked out to a great spot and camped out for the night.  The next morrning we saw the arches and balanced rock.  If we had more time or if anyone reading this has the time, I hear the Fiery Furnace is totally worth getting the pass or taking the guided tour.

     Oh by the way, I like flowers so here are some I liked throughout the week.

     Going though Grand Sraircase Escalante National Monument Lu’s car turned over 200,000 miles so we had a roadside party, more roadside parties needed on future road trips.

     Next was Bryce Canyon it was really cool but we just stopped there for lunch and checked it out from the tourist viewpoints.  But I did get a couple of good pictures. 

     ZION!  Zion N.P. I will be going back.  Enough said.  Other then Arches we had to camp on Bureau of Land Management property. ( basically camping on the side of the road) All the parks were full, we knew Zion would be too.  So we just planned to spend the day there, getting to the park early let us do a great hike.  If you can have the experience we had in six hours (not counting the drive in and out, also amazing) imagine what you could experience in a week! Once again I’ll let the pictures speak for me, but so you know they’re from our hike of Angles Landing.  Thanks to my friend Cat in Anchorage, for suggesting we hike it.  Oh I almost forgot Zion is only 2 hours from Las Vegas, really easy to get to.

      Last, but definitely least.  The Grand Canyon.  It’s more of a theme park than a National Park, see it if you’re close but it’s in the middle of nowhere, so good luck. In my opinion there are better parks to interact with, even with that said what’s life without saying when in Rome.

-Phil

April 4th Phil and I left Alaska to drive south to Southern California, tomorrow we will start our hike north on the Pacific Crest Trail and after that return south again along the Pacific Coast Highway via bike with a packraft in tow. A hefty endeavor and one I’ve thought about every moment I’ve fallen asleep and woke for the past year. Here we are, we have arrived and after tomorrow we can at the very least say we’ve attempted hiking the length of the Pacific Crest Trail.

 

The past three weeks have been a blast, however I will be ever so happy to park my trusty Subaru Outback and not see her for the next six to seven months. Instead my mode of transportation will be ever slower and more calculated. On our drive down we had to replace the rear two wheels and that was a sign to me to go slow, take your time on the rough patches of road or you just might have a blow out. These next months are not about going fast but truly about making sure the load doesn’t exceed it’s limit. Hard to say after we just packed our backpacks yesterday and with 20 miles worth of water (first water source on PCT) my bag is topping out at 50 pounds. But as my Subaru rolled over to 200,000 miles in a beautiful canyon along US Route 95 between the Glen Canyon and Capitol Reef National Park in Utah I’m reminded that with the proper care and maintenance this will be a successful trip!

Phil and I have been incredibly blessed to receive such love and support along the way from friends and family. Chad, Christy and their little girl Quinn received us in Seattle and will be storing our bikes and gear until we return after the hike. While in Seattle getting new tires we got to catch up with an old college friend Mikey and his wife Sherri and their little one Dylan as well as Alaskan friend Jessica Matthews. Portland was a blast exploring and what made it even better was staying with Nicole, Sam and their boy Tyler in Scappoose, OR. They’re in the process of starting a farm and it was exciting to visit their property. We took a detour to Boise to visit our brother Pete and his kids Bella and Gavin for a weekend. We had a blast with the kids and a special thanks to Pete for agreeing to store my cargo trailer for the rest of the trip. Another detour through Utah and a quick stop to stay and visit with a good friend from my Denali days Theresa in Salt Lake City. That visit was far too short! After taking the week to tour the amazing parks in southern Utah (Thank You, National Park Week, Free Entry All Week!!) we arrived in San Diego on April 23rd to be received by Alaskan friends Jeff, Penny and their little ones Rowan and Declan. They have been fabulous hosts and I’m not sure who’s more excited about us hiking the the trail us or them. Penny and Jeff will be instrumental during our trip as they will have our maps and gear resupply. A HUGE thank you to them for taking on this big task, thank you so much for the support and love you’ve shown us.

 

A very BIG thanks also goes out to everyone who has supported us with kind words, texts, emails, phone calls and financially. Phil is feeling much more as peace with all the kind donations to his Go Fund Phil account to help him complete this hike. Thank you to all those who have donated to my Charity Cause and as we start our hike tomorrow all of you will be in our thoughts.

 

 

Much love

-Lucy

So.. I got a little distracted from writing, I’m just going to catch up on the last seven days.  Seattle to Boise; we spent a couple of days with Lu’s  friends in Seattle Chad, Christy, and there little girl Quinn, who were amazingly hospitable while Lu and I got more tire repairs done, and explored the city.

     Then on to Portland, we stayed in a town called Scappoose 15 minutes northwest, Nicole, Sam, and their boy Tyler made room for Lu and me. Thank you to all of Lu’s friends for hosting us, and a special thanks to Nicole who backed me a delicious birthday cake.

    Heading out of Portland on our way to Bend, we took US rt. 30 instead of interstate  84 which paralleled each other alongside  the Columbia river.  The reward for getting off the interstate, for only fifteen miles you can see five amazing water falls and the historic Vista house in Crown Point, Oregon.  Dedicated in 1918 as a rest stop for travelers along rt. 30,  I wish rest stops where still built to look like the Vista house.  The views you get of the Colunbia river gourge from this stop make it worth the little detour.

    Our next town was Bend, Oregon.  Lu put her mt. bike together and rented one for me, so we could check out some of there great trails there.  If your into mountain biking Bend is a great place, if your into mountain biking and beer it’s the only place.  There are 16 breweries in Bend, and you can attempt the longest ale trail in the west. If you can make it to 10 you get a free sillpint, all 16 and you get a sillpint and bottle opener. You don’t have to drink at all of them just collect stamps in a pass book, or use the free app and scan the QR codes at the brewery.

    After Bend  we headed  to Boise, our brother Pete lives there with his two kids Gavin and Bella.  We timed it just right to get there on the weekend, we all got to hang out and spend some time together.  The kids and I flew there drowns, and Pete made a reservation at some hotsprings 45 minutes outside of  Boise.  Really nice place more like a resort setting then the wilderness one in Canada, super relaxing.
     Lu and I did a lot of exploring the forementioned cities, all of which are fun places to go to and check for your self.  I wish we had more time at each of them.  So instead of corrupting your curiousity, do a Google search to see what interests you.  Get out of the familiar, explore, let every step and turn guide your adaventure.  It doesn’t have to be faraway, exotic, or expensive, just somewhere you’ve never been before.
-Phil

Hwy. 99 or the Sea to Sky Highway starts just north of a town called Cache Creek, in B.C. and ends before you get into Vancouver.  If for any reason you get the urge to drive, and want to imagine your a rally car driver, while seeing some of the best views of rivers, shear cliff walls of mountains, with grass pastures beneath them.  Wonderful moss covered trees, the third highest waterfall in B.C. and visit the home of the 2010 winter Olympic games in Whistler B.C.  then you need to drive the Sea to Sky Highway.
     I really don’t have the vocabulary to describe how much I enjoyed and how pretty that drive was. Also how much I want to go back already and do it again on a motorcycle, or at least in a car without a trailer behind it.
     As we pulled into Vancouver our last bit of time in Canada we decided to get some Tim Hortons  (what I thought to be a famous donut shop) and hang out in Stanley Park to write post cards and eat our snack, I’d recommend Stanley Park as a  topnotch place to enjoy an afternoon.  But Tim Hortons is just another fast food chain  with stale donuts and ok coffee.

-Phil