[pct-l] 1974 thru hiker

[Mtnned at aol.com (Mtnned@aol.com)]

In 1974, at the age of 17, my husband hiked the entire  PCT,  before there 
were complete maps and all the new light  weight equipment. At this young age he 
aguired his own sponsorships  from The North Face, Kelty Pack (yes, an 
external frame), Vasque Boot  Co., and Richmore Foods to name a few. ( Also, take 
into account this  man had just lost his father to cancer a few years prior).  
He spent  two years planning his schedule and food drops.  He was one of the 
youngest  at the time to complete the trail.  He reads many of hummel's e-mails  
and would be an incredible help to any who would desire his expertise.
 
 Oh, by the way, he bicycled 5,000 miles in Europe in 1979 and  attempted the 
Continental Divide in 1980, which at the time barely existed,  but had to 
quit due to due injury at Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  In  1984 this same man, 
carring a pack weighing 70 pounds, guided me, a woman who  worked in high heels 
and had never seen a backpack through the John Muir Trail.  Needless to say, 
I fell in love with the Sierras and this man due to  his love of its beauty. 
 
 Just so you all know, it was no cake walk for me.  I  cried at the top of 
Donohue Pass because all I saw were rocks and no  trees.   At this moment I was 
wondering what the hell I had  gotten myself into. My 45 pound pack on my 125 
pound body  was screaming along with my hip bones! - Over the next two  weeks 
I survired a white-out on Muir Pass, alltitude sickness, endured  freezing 
tempertures and the dreaded Mather which to me went on and on and  on on....  We 
started our trip on the 17th of September and for  many days didn't see a 
soul. As the miles continued on I fell in love  with not only the mountains and 
their incredibe beauty but with the man  who knew by the way the wind shifted 
that a strom would be brewing  by night fall.  Needless to say, at Evolution 
Lake, after we had  eaten our last mac and cheese, he asked me to to take a walk. 
 As you  have already probably assumed, he proposed to me under the immense 
sky that  only can be seen in the Sierra's after the sun sets. I  fell in love  
with Kings Canyon National Park.  Forester was my favorite and have since  
returned to it in 1996.  Over the years this same man has taken many young  kids 
including our own into the backcountry to show them his love of the  
mountains.  He is well skilled and would not boast of his own  accomplishments but I 
will being the one who has benefited the  most.  
 
Lady J