Zero, Nero, then Go!

TRAIL DEFINITIONS- The unofficial version. 

Zero, or Zero Day:  Not hiking at all. Resting. Recovering. Preparing.

Nero:  Not hiking much, but getting some mileage in. A single digit mile count for the day is definitely a nero. Hiking only half a day is definitely a nero. Apparently if you've made it to Oregon you may consider a 20 mile day a nero, if they are easy miles. For me now, any 20 mile day is NOT a nero. 

Trail Angel:  Anyone who helps a hiker. They may provide water, food, rides, medical help, encouragement, etc. 

Trail Magic:  Goodies provided by trail angels. 

Cowboy Camping: Not using a tent. Just using an air mattress and sleeping bag to plop for the night in my case. 

10 by 10:  Hiking ten miles by ten in the morning. This is a goal of some hikers and helps to ensure one can get a high mileage day. 

Hiker Trash:  This is not a negative term. All hikers look rough after a while, and this is nearly a term of endearment. 

Slack Packing:  When you don't carry all of your gear for any portion of the trail. The ultimate slack packing is when Staci (Hotshot) carried my full pack for about four miles up, out of Scissors Crossing, and I just strolled. I slack pack often when Theresa (BSCM) can drive the truck to the next road crossing of the trail. It means there are many times my load is reduced because I don't have to carry as much food or water, and times I don't have to carry sleeping gear because the truck, with camper shell and bed, are waiting at the next road crossing. I love it!  I know I'm spoiled by it when it's available. Some purists look down on slack packing, but, HYOH. It works for me. A couple of hikers have secretly admitted their envy of the support I'm given. By the way, Theresa (BSCM) helps other Hiker Trash at those crossings too. 

HYOH:  Hike Your Own Hike. A version of the sixties "do your own thing."  My goal is to step every step from Mexico to Canada. I intend to make deviations from the original route when there are closures, but still hike the entire way. 

Trail Names:  Most PCT hikers have trail names, mine hasn't evolved yet. 

Sunday, April 21st-Zero Day-Easter. I was ready for a break after a tough day Saturday. Theresa and I had Easter lunch in Riverside with my bother Burt, his spouse Charles, and Charles' mother Julie. Then we sat in the hot tub, which felt FANTASTIC!

We left Riverside to meet with family from all over who happened to be converging on San Diego during spring break for Sea World, the beach, and other kid friendly fun. My nephew Steven was down from Alaska, my sister-in-law Terri, my niece Sarah, and her new baby Kenzie were down from Fortuna in Northern California, and my great nieces Kyleigh and Kyndra were over from Mesa, Arizona. Even though it was a short visit, it was great to see them all. 

Monday, April 22nd-Nero. 

After breakfast with the entire clan in San Diego, we headed northeast, back toward the trail. We stopped in Sun City to visit Jerry and Kay Aria. 

On the trail there are Trail Angels, in life there are Life Angels. Jerry and Kay are my Life Angels. They officially took me in when I was 16 years old, but they were really there even long before that, and have always been there (more than fifty years now!). They are the grandparents to my three daughters, who just adore them. The trail could always use more Trail Angels, and life could always use more Life Angels. 

After leaving the Aria's, (I believe I was victorious in the card games), we went to Beaumont, picked up Mike Rainville, and headed for a few miles on the trail. This was an ultimate Nero. We hiked at Banning Pass, and went under railroad tracks, and crossed under Interstate 10. With the windmills, the railroad, and the interstate and the small community of Whitewater, this was not a typical day on the PCT.  My cell phone rang as I was under the freeway, it was my friend Jonathan Klein from Montana. When Jonathan retired he took an 800 mile canoe/kayak trip into the wilds of Canada. It seemed ironic that when Jonathan, of all people, happened to get in touch with me it was at the most industrial part of the trail so far, where I had a literal traffic jam overhead, and a train going by. 

I met two other thru-hikers under I-10. Pathfinder and Tour de Plant, two women from the southeast. Tour de Plant is a retired school administrator from Fulton County, Georgia. This was a site you would expect to meet homeless people.  You meet the most eclectic bunch of folks on the trail. 

This was the ultimate slack packing day, and my feet and muscles were nearly recovered from the nasty Fuller Ridge day on Saturday. 

Tuesday, April 23, and GO

After staying in the comfort of the Rainville's house I headed for the trail early, and started the hike right at 6:00 a.m..  Everything felt fantasic, the breeze was at my back, it was either flat, or gently sloping upward, there was more desert flora, it doesn't get better than this.  I decided to try to get my first 10 by 10. I started walking with thru-hiker Barrel, who is younger, stronger, and faster than I. We met some folks walking out of the Whitewater Reserve and had a great short conversation before heading on. I knew it was going to be close. Right at 10:00 I checked the app on my phone to see if I had made it. I had made it 9.97 miles at 10:00. I was three hundredths of a mile short!  158.4 feet short. So close, but no cigars.

I met a southbound section hiker, Brian, a mechanical engineer from North Carolina, who is doing a two week chunk of the trail this year. He's trying to complete the PCT one section at a time over the years. Next year he is planning on doing his two weeks in the Etna vicinity in Northern California. We exchanged information, and maybe we'll be able to touch bases again in 2015. 

This was a 21 mile day, I camped at mile 232. Pathfinder and Tour de plant were also camped preparing for a lot of elevation gain tomorrow.