[pct-l] fwd: Pacific Crest Trail 1999

[Brick Robbins <brick@fastpack.com>]

********
This is a forwarded message please reply to the list
or to mailto:rookie@olypen.com directly
Thank You
PCT-L admin
*********

>From: "Bel&Karen" <rookie@olypen.com>
>To: <brick@fastpack.com>
>Subject: Pacific Crest Trail 1999
>Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 22:22:10 -0800
>X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
>X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet Mail 4.70.1161
>
>Hey there!  I'm planning a PCT hike starting in April 1999 and want to get
>in touch with other people hiking part or all of the trail just to see
>who's out there and to get helpful info or tips!  Maybe even hear from
>people who have already hiked the PCT??  All of my hiking experience has
>taken place in the GLORIOUS Olympic Mountains of W. Washington, so I don't
>know much about hiking in hot, dry weather aside of the helpful info
>provided in the PCT trail guides I've been studying and a trek through the
>Escalante of SE Utah I took when I was 16.  As most likely assumed, I'm
>working hard to get the funds and fitness required for next year's
>adventure, and for lack of results in attempts at recruiting hiking
>partners with honest intentions (can be difficult when you're female and
>lean to the left wing of politics and environmentalism!) have anticipated
>doing the trip solo.  Naturally there is some fear nagging at my conscience
>(who isn't a little scared when dealing with any long hiking trip or
>adventure into unknown lands?) over this and other issues, but I'm a rather
>spiritual person in my own lucid interpretation and have faith in the
>universe, however this is to be defined.  However, I have not entirely
>given up my faith in humanity and am still hoping to find a trail partner
>or maybe just other hikers to keep in touch with along the duration of the
>trail.
>  I've forfeited the first couple hundred miles because of warnings about
>the risk of camps being robbed by illegal immigrants (sometimes ya gotta
>admit that good old mom might be right!), so I'm starting at Cajon Pass in
>the San Gabriels, sometime in the beginning of April (Yes, I'm anticipating
>snow!), planning to be in the Mojave for the full moon. I may hitchhike
>past the John Muir section and go back to hike it in August, depending on
>weather and snow conditions.  The parts of the trail I most look forward to
>are seeing the smog-damaged forests of the San Gabriels (it's the enviro-
>mentalist/rage poet in me), the Mojave (I have good memories of that desert
>once upon a full moon when on a hitchhiking adventure with a friend), and
>all of Oregon (gentle and beautiful Oregon, full of beautiful people and
>mountains).  My gear list, so far, is compiled of:
>					CLOTHING:
>	*"Layers" polar fleece long johns		*Capilene long johns
>		*Homemade indestructible hiking pants that convert to:
>			 	l/wt nylon shorts w/reinforced butt;
>				nylon pants w/ reinforced knee/thigh, sidevents 				lined w/ no-see-um
>netting;
>				Gore-tex rainpants/gaitor-in-one
>	*Heavy polar fleece coat			*Polypro sports bra
>	*Longsleeve silk `shade shirt' 		*Socks still in debate 
>	*"Asolo" midweight boots			"Manzella Z-fleece" gloves
>	*Homemade fleece cowl				*PVC poncho/groundcloth, 								plus a Gore-tex
>coat for 								backup at home base
>
>					Cook gear	
>	"ZZCORP" zip stove plus a "Whisperlite" shaker jet stove at home 		base
>for backup
>	1-qt cookpot plus what we NW'ers call a `goddamit'  (That grip 		thing,
>when you're looking for it as your pot boils over, you 		say, where'd I put
>the...the... goddamit!)
>	yummy, `dank' hommemade organic vegetarian nutrition-packed trail food 
>compliments my fairy goddessmother at home (THANK YOU RENE!)	
>
>					Sleep Gear 
>	"OR" Gore-tex bivy sack (under 3 pounds!)
>	Walrus 10* sleeping bag
>	Homemade Gore-tex treated nylon rain tarp that converts to a 		pack cover 
>(these things are thought into existence at three 		in the morning by
>insomnic women)
>	
>					Other stuff
>	Ice axe	compass	trail guide (in sections)     	lighters		
>	First-aid kit w/ lots of moleskin, Neosporin, and rattlesnake 		antivenom
>(friends in high places)
>	Some crazy soap a friend gave me that's like a crystallized               
>         		version of Dr. Bronner's Castille soap	
>	Bandanna        Toothbrush		O.B. and Advil
>	Leatherman multi-tool
>		upholstry thread, tapesty needle, `tent cement' and some scraps 		of
>Gore-tex and pack nylon, quick-releases
>	Aquasocks for camp
>	Platypus water bladder
>	Katadyn pump/filter (Worth the $$)
>	Nylon cord and extra webbing	
>	Oops!  I forgot my pack!  It's a make-do; self-modified Quest 		internal
>frame..... I'm dreaming of an Arcteryx or Kelty, but 		beggars can't be
>choosers!
> 
>			Not weighed in yet, the final modifications won't happen for a couple of
>months.  Well, that's all I can say for now, so thanks for your time and
>effort!  
>			Shoshanna Coyote-Rains
>			email me at:
>			rookie@olypen.com
>							p.s: if you're wondering where I 							got the Gore-tex and nylon
>to make 							gear, look up Seattle Fabrics on 							the net!  The
>patterns are my 							secret, though!
>
>
>
* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List |  http://www.backcountry.net   *

==============================================================================