HikeStrong 2010 Team PCT
 
Hey y'all sorry it's been so long since I've blogged. For those of you that don't know yet me and Stumbling Norwegian had some differences in our hiking techniques and decided to split up. We still communicate on occasion though so you we will both be blogging on here now, only separately.

There has been alot going on since my last blog and it's been hard to get to a computer. So here it goes.  I got really sick while in Idyllwild and attempted to hike out but didn't get very far when I realized how sick I really was.  So I  made the group aware and hiked back down to the campground. My friend Coyote just happen to be in town a few days later, so I got a ride from her to Big Bear to meet up with the group again. Once they arrived and we did a slack pack 16 miles to Hwy 18, I discovered that my feet had grown a bit and I needed new shoes. I felt this pain after hiking back into Idyllwild as well, but just credited it to not feeling good. I also found the cuplprits with my tent from Warner Springs resupply box! Only problem was that they weren't even using it and sent it back home...ggrrr. Anyways, Coyote said she was going through the Anderson, Casa de Luna, on her way north so I got another ride with her and waited for my tent and shoes. If anyone has to wait somewhere for a long time, this is the place! It's been awesome here with Sweet Jesus, Badger, Grizzly, Coast and his coconuts (not what u think, get ur mind out of the gutter). and Jack Strong (who I have titled Magnum PI) and the Anderson's. We've had some great music the past few nights and it has made the waiting more bareable. I got the tent a few days after arriving and I was the happiest person in the world!  My shoes should be here today or tomorrow...woohoo! I plan on heading north in a few days and I can't wait. I've been walking the entire neighborhood just about everyday to keep my hiker legs going.

Well that's it for now. Hugs to everyone!

Sugar Moma
 
so it's not necessarily on the trail...I'm still in Idllywild at the State Park camping....hey it's only three bucks a night! Six guys from San Diego rolled in last night and after learning that I was hiking the PCT and came back alone sick and that Stumbling was still hiking, they offered me dinner...then this morning they offered me coffee and breakfast...of course I said yes....mmmm. And learning about the trail and about trail angels, they have decided that they are interested..so who knows...we might some new angels lurking on the trail! WOOHOO! So I'll be in Big Bear some time this weekend meeting up with the crew. It's kinda a bummer that I'm skipping this area b/c it's one of my favs but I got a call from Stumbling last night and b/c of the snow they haven't even done 20 miles in two days. So being that I'm sick and not so strong it's a good thing for both of us that he continued without me until I am feeling up to hiking again...hugs to everyone and thanx for all ur comments and luv!
 
well this year has definitely been an adventure for ever to remember. First we had the crazy winds, then our gear food was taken, I fell and busted my knee again and also got a rock in my face...felt like I got punched, then much more snow than last year on San Jacinto...lost the trail for a few hours and spent the night out there...bbrrrrr....got into Idyllwild early Sun afternoon (beautiful and very hiker friendly) the winds kicked up again and we were expecting snow at the pass yesterday, so we decided to stay until today but then i woke up this morning with a mean sore throat and ear ache. Went to the organic vegan restaurant and got the most fantastic Thai coconut soup ever and some licorice mint tea and I'm feeling better after a nap. We're gonna try to get out of here in the morning...keep your fingers crossed for us....it's been a wild ride fo sho! Hope to be in Big Bear by this weekend!
 
well we finally made it passed the 100 miles mark. We're in Warner Springs now. Got in yesterday. When we arrived to pick up our resupply box at the resort, we found that it had been opened and rummaged thru. All of our gear to go up San Jacinto in the snow and ice is missing along with our food. Fortunately, Erik's brother and sister in law met us here and are doing their best to save us how ever they can. I'm really bummed b/c my tent that I love soooo much was in the box. Our spikes to go thru the ice and snow are missing so we're not sure how we're gonna get up the mountain yet but the food is replaceable...kinda. Most of it anyways. Being that I am veggie there are some items, like protein powders, etc that can't be replaced in such a small town it won't be available. But we'll make it I'm sure.

The weather, on the hand, has finally taken a turn for the better. It still gets chilly at night and sometimes a bit windy, but the days are unbelievably beautiful! San Jacinto/Idyllwild got snow a few days ago and some hikers who were up there this past weekend made it thru one section ok without the spikes, but when it melts and gets hard that's another story. I guess well see when we get up there.

I posted pics of  the head shave...have fun laughing lol
 
hey y'all, we're in julian, CA. Yeh i know we should be further. The 60-80 mile an hour winds are just kickin our butts! yeh really that bad....last night the guy line on the tent busted and the winds were blowing so hard it kept unzipping our tent and we had atleast 20 mph winds INSIDE the tent! craziness! We saw a couple of mean funnel clouds while hiking but never a funnel so whew! we are warm now though in a hotel. We hated doing that so soon into the hike, but we were just not having any fun and haven't slept in two days. We got tossed into the bushes and knocked off the trail too many times to count. Plus the rain and it got down to the 30's last night which meant with the wind factor prolly in the teens...brrr!

Erik has serious blisters on his lips and my allergies are off the chain! Typh and Mad Monte got off trail in Mt laguna. Typh was having a blast but her pack was just gnawing away at her shoulders and hips so she couldn't take anymore. She's already picking up the lingo and loves hanging with all the trash! She is gonna thru hike next year! WOOHOO!

the head shaving for Locks of Love was a total BLAST at kickoff! We recruited four others, so total four girls and one guy with shaved heads and many feet of hair for the wigs for kids! WOOHOO! Firefly did the honors with my hair. It took an hour, no lie, to get through this thick mass of hair I once owned..hehe. I now have a mohawk! i am in the library so sorry no pics yet...soon my lovelies soon!

well, hope everyone is doing great and we'll see y'all soon! 
 
We headed out Saturday about noon and made it down to Old Station, CA to help out the Heitman's (trail angels) late Sunday afternoon. Stayed there a day, got alot of work done for them and headed south again on Tues. I would usually say taking the scenic route is the way to go, but we crammed all four of us in the front of a pickup and needless to say it's been an interesting trip down.


Lat night we arrived in El Centro and checked into a hotel. When I pulled the covers back on the beds, there were bed bugs everywhere. We tried just switching rooms but same thing. Yeh we were pretty freaked out. So we decided to just do another place. I still quiver when I think about it...yuk! The place we ended up staying in is really nice...and CLEAN! Got some authentic Mexican from the place down the street...mmmmm!


We will head down to kickoff in Lake Morena later today. The weather is stormy, it will be an interesting start. Last year it was hot and sunny. I fear when winter is finally over. The snakes are gonna be seriously grumpy. Sun we will start heading north and hopefully make it to Warner Springs by Thurs. I know that myself and the Norwegian can easily make it, but my daughter Typhanie, who is not a hiker, will be hiking til there along with us. I'm excited for her to see what it is like, even though only for a short time.
 
From Patti

I have always wondered what it would be like to have someone tell me that I have only one week...one month...one year... to live. I try to live my life now as much as possible in a good way. I enjoy the few things I have and don't cling to those things if material. Living to me means seeing the beauty in everything no matter what one faces during that time of being...seeing things whenever possible and as much as possible...doing the things I have always dreamed and not saying "one day". I understand now that "one day" may never come for whatever reason, which is why that "one day' is always tomorrow for me....but only because the days are too short to do everything today.

This morning Erik and I were greeted with glum news from his brother Torrey who was taken to the hospital this weekend for a stroke. During his stay there, the doctors did some exploring and discovered that his cancer has resumed and spread to his liver. Torrey was told that this time it is incurable. He seems to be taking it well and has decided to spend everyday doing things he likes doing with the people he loves. He told us not to worry about him while we were hiking, but how can we not. We're hiking for this very reason.

We also learned today  that one of the trail angels for the PCT has passed from cancer. He has left his wonderful wife behind to finish the job of angeling. She is in her 70's and she rides a motorbike up dirt roads to bring us water where we would otherwise be carrying several liters of it for about 50 miles. Now she is doing it alone.

The angels, for those of you that don't already know, help the hikers every year in one way or another. They take us into their homes, close by the trail, feed us, let us use their showers, internet, phones...some leave water on the trail for us in places we would otherwise have to carry gallons for 30-50 miles in the heat of summer...some offer rides to town or just suprise us at trail heads with hamburgers, beer and other consumptions totally unimaginable for one who is hiking long distances in the middle of nowhere. Angels on the trail are amazing... 

Cancer sucks...it's not fair and it's not predjudice. My hope is that while we are on this hike, a cure is found so that everyone living with cancer now and in the future can forever live without it.
 
Patti has decided to give all of her hair to "Locks of Love", a charity that makes wigs for children who have cancer. After announcing this, several others, including a new member of the Hikestrong PCT team and two members of or support team have decided to donate their hair to this charity as well. Cancer sux...especially for children.