[pct-l] Introduction

[mardav at charter.net (Marion Davison)]

I am known on the trail as llamalady because I hike with a string of
llamas.
I never camped with my parents.  I camped regularly with my girl scout
troop from third grade on up.  My first backpack trip was with a church
group at age 15 in the  basin above Lake Sabrina.  Gail Sheehy, in her
book "Passages" says that all teenagers need to find a place of
independence from their parents;  mine turned out to be the wilderness.
That week at Dingleberry Lake turned out to be my defining moment and
made me obsessed with wilderness.  During my college years I was getting
paid to lead church backpack trips all summer.  I will never eat
Rich-Moor again!
My husband and I were recreational backpackers and scout leaders for
decades, doing typical 50-80 mile/7 to 10 day trips in the High Sierra
and the Southwest.  In 1996 we decided to hike the JMT.  We started from
Camp Whitsett near Johnsondale, hiked to the PCT at Crabtree, summited
Whitney, then hiked on to Yosemite Valley.  We loved everything about
that 35 day/300 mile trip, but our packs were too heavy.
Then Ray got cancer, and I had a bad bout of fibromyalgia (causing back
pain and joint problems).  Our doctors knew we had become longer
distance hikers and warned us not to carry packs.  We are animal lovers,
so we got two llamas and began llama packing.  Eventually we rescued
three more llamas that needed a home,  so now we hike with 5 llamas.
Every summer since 1997 we have hiked at least 300 miles with our
llamas.  We have done most of sections C, D, G and I, part of J, and all
of Section H several times.  We usually hike a large loop that uses the
PCT as one side of the loop.  We have thoroughly explored Yosemite and
Sequoia Kings Canyon and the areas in between.  We would like to finish
the PCT in sections someday.  We live very close to section C13 and
often do dayhikes in section C and D.  We have occasionally done a bit
of trail-angel stuff when people were hiking in section C and asked for
help.
We have done a little trail work and want to do more in the future.
We hate excessive bureaucracy because we love the freedom to hike and
camp where/when we want within the limits of LNT principles.
We carry bear cans because we aren't scofflaws.
We haven't purified water for many years.
We hate designated campsites.
We love solitude and prefer to camp where we can't be seen.
We bring our dogs only where they are allowed.
We clear every log from the trail that we are physically able to clear.
We have to.  Llamas can't climb over logs and they can't jump very high.

We will never be thru-hikers, as our age (47 and 65) and physical
limitations don't permit it.
I make all our food for the trail and I enjoy sharing recipes.
We are glad that the llamas make it possible for us to continue to enjoy
the wilderness and we regret that some hikers are angered by the
presence of livestock in the wilderness.
Marion Davison