[pct-l] My ADZ report

[Paul Magnanti]

On April 24th - 28th, I attended the Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail 
Kick-Off (ADZPTCKO) 

The ADZ is for the purpose of ushering off 
current year PCT hikers on the trail with good vibes, good information and off 
on the right foot (or sometimes left?  ) to start their journey. 

At OH-GOD-EARLY in the morning, Love Barge and myself left Colorado to 
fly to San Diego. We were picked up at the airport by our fellow CDT 
06er/Coloradoan Princess of Darkness. She and Disco drove out to San Diego and 
are about to start their PCT journey. This will be Disco's second PCT hike and 
POD's Triple 
Crown completion hike. 

Disco and POD had some last minute items to 
take care of in San Diego. LB also wanted to visit a family member in San Diego. 
Our arrival to the KO was a bit delayed, but the side trips proved to be 
interesting. "Uncle Tommy" is an older New York Italian transplant and reminded 
me of people I know back home. The accent, the mannerisms, and his obvious love 
in getting to see his great-niece. You could also tell LB was happy to see her 
relatives as well.

We finally arrived at the KO. It was awesome to see 
people I have not seen in a while. Saw my fellow PCT 2002er and good friend 
Yogi. We both worked the registration desk. Of all my ways to volunteer at the 
KO, working the registration desk is my favorite. I love to talk and 
mingle..working the desk lets me see a lot of people. 

At 
OH-GOD-EARLY Friday morning, I dropped off POD and Disco for the start of their 
PCT hike. LB also joined them for the day.

I went back to the KO, shot 
the breeze and worked the registration desk for a bit. Saw many people I knew 
for online, previous hiker gatherings and just being on trail. Many people at 
this point..and I was glad to see them all!

Went to bed fairly early 
Friday night (11-ish) and had a nice Saturday just hanging out. 

One of 
the funny things about the KO is how long it takes to walk from one length of 
the campground to the other. What should be a 5 minute walk would often take me 
an hour because of all the people I would bump into!

One of the funniest 
parts of the day was Henry Shire's reaction to LB's "vintage" and 
well..er..loved tarp tent Henry just stared in disbelief! 

The best part of Saturday evening was 
seeing Eric Ryback's presentation of his 1970 thru-hike. The amount 
of people he inspired is countless. Despite the different gear and trail 
experiences one thing showed through Ryback's slideshow: The joy of being out in 
the wilderness for months at a time never changes! Ryback reminded me of Scott 
Williamson: Low key, humble, happy to share his experiences. It was a great show 
from one of the acknowledged pioneers from our little tribe.

I had planned 
on a mellow Saturday, but I wandered over to the cabin campfires. I ended up 
staying up to 4am and er, indulged quite a bit more than I am used to. My body 
also reminded me Sunday morning that I am about to turn 34 and not 24. :O I 
think seeing so many friends, both old and new, made it so I did not want the 
weekend to end. 

If I took anything from this weekend, it does not matter 
what year you hiked, what kind of gear you carried, whether you are a section 
hiker or a thru-hiker ..we are all united in our love for the trail, the journey 
and the experiences. We are all hiker trash.

I love the KO. It has become 
my favorite hiker get-to-gether by far. I thank the organizers for another great 
event, I was glad to see all my friends, and I wish the PCT class of 2008 a 
wonderful journey.

Continued Happy Trails!

Photos at: http://snipurl.com/26cf5

 ************************************************************
The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust 
caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
--Thoreau
http://www.pmags.com