Michelle and Gerry PCT hike

Michelle's Final Post

2008-10-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

Jumping for joy

Into the unknown

Sunset through trees

Driving from Manning to Seattle in the back of Spiff’s dad’s Suburban, all I could think of was how I much I wanted to keep hiking. Now that I’ve read some other journals from hiker friends who finished during the week after we did, I sure felt lucky that we got to end our hike when the weather was still perfect. Nights were cold but the days were sunny and right for savoring. The wilderness seems benign, free, supportive, until the weather turns wet and cold or you get sick or injured. Then it can feel scary, dangerous, mean. Civilization smooths the bumps out of the wild. It's magical to be able to spend time out there; it's comforting to be able to come back to shelter and food and family.

Now the inertia of civilization has kicked in again and I’m content to lounge about the house and maybe venture outside for 45 minutes of jogging. Elatedly, the east is still beautiful. The trees are colored with shades of fire, the weather is damp but mild, and the energetic wind picks up leaves to send them whirling. I guess part of me worried that, after being immersed in the majestic pacific crest for so long, subtler eastern landscapes would have lost their beauty. Nope – it’s more beautiful than ever here. Instead of feeling jaded, I’m appreciative of differences in flora and topography.

One PCT night I dreamed of how I would feel when I finished hiking. I traveled through the world by leaping and bounding everywhere, with superhuman strength and energy. I feel the teensiest bit like that when I go running now, but my lungs also start aching. Apparently they were so coddled by western wilderness air that they aren’t too happy about breathing industrial eastern air any more. Hopefully they adapt. My feet too have changed. They’re a bit longer and feel toe squeezed by previously comfy shoes.

Ahem … I LOVE TO WALK!!!! The PCNST is da best!! Long trails ROCK!! YAHOOhaaaheeee!!!!

Oh … ah … sorry for that (um) little outburst.

As we flew back across the country from San Francisco, I watched captivated out the window: the city, the Sierras, Lake Tahoe, farmland, circles of irrigated green set in endless barren brown desert, then the Rockies, treed rivers snaking through dry fields and towns, and into clouds around Cincinnati. I thought about land use, wilderness, regional planning, development, and the remarkable vision, coordination, and work it took to build the PCT and all of the other long and short trails scattered throughout the US and the world. We are awesomely fortunate have the opportunity to walk this land on trails that are, for the most part, superbly built and maintained.

p.s.

I’ve got a couple of foot gear thoughts that I wanted to share in case you are interested.

1. I wore Injinji toe socks the whole hike and loved them. They help keep your toes from mashing against each other and getting blisters. I heard from some people that they got holes in their toe socks really fast, but I wore out only 2 pairs over the entire hike.

2. I put bag balm on my feet every morning, which kept my feet almost callous-free and I think minimized blisters.

3. After bad experiences (blisters, Achilles pain, ill fit) with various pairs of Montrails, I bought a pair of New Balance 607 in Palm Springs, and stuck with the same shoe for the rest of the time, going through 2 additional pairs. I highly recommend New Balance because they are a) cheap ($30-50 for my on-sale basic trail runners), b) durable, lasting at least 700 miles, c) made in America (depending on the model), and d) come in various widths. When I tried on shoes in Palm Springs, the only ones that felt good were the extra wide shoes, because they didn’t rub against my blistered big toe or pinky toe. The extra width also allowed room for thick socks, which I liked to wear over my liner toe socks.

4. Feet are really different. I think the best thing to do is to allow flexibility in your footwear plan for a first-time thruhike. For example, if you've bought a few different models for your hike, but aren't sure which will work best, put a pair or two in your first mail drop so that you can switch if your shoes are causing problems, then mail the others home (if they don't work) or ahead (if they might work later). It's really hard to know in advance what your feet will do in response to day after day of pounding on mixed terrain with varied temperature.

Also, if you're planning a hike and are worried about how your feet will hold up, the book Fixing Your Feet is a good resource for foot care info, especially blister treatment. Reading the book before the hike empowered me to prevent and treat foot problems that otherwise might have been more worrisome and/or painful.

p.p.s.

Thanks Gerry for envisioning this trip years ago. You are the best, most competent, funniest, most wonderful walking partner ever.

p.p.p.s

Thanks again everyone (there are so many of you but especially my mum) who supported and encouraged us on our hike. Such altruism! Such generosity! A bazillion thanks for ever and ever ...

Love,

Michelle

My Final Post (and it's a doozie!)

2008-10-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

My father wanted me to think about, and share, what I learned from this trip (before I forget). So here:

Five things I learned on the Pacific Crest Trail

1. Light: the right way to backpack
I don’t really believe there is a “right” and “wrong” way to do anything recreational. But what I will argue is this: If you can reduce your packweight (minus food and water) to around 10-12 pounds, you will never go back. Most backpackers spend the majority of their time hiking, not camping or enjoying the comforts of expensive gear. Backpackers spend most of their time walking around looking at beautiful things. Hence, the more enjoyable the walking, the more enjoyable the backpacking trip. You will enjoy yourself more if you can: 1) bend over or squat easily to look at a small flower, 2) nimbly scramble up or down a steep slope, 3) have enough balance to playfully walk across logs and stones, 4) walk a long distance without suffering ill effects from stress on your body, and 5) forget you are carrying anything at all. These are just a few examples of things you can only do with a very light pack.

Having a light pack in the summertime is easier then you think. First, sleep in a shelter that is under 2 lbs (tarp or tarptent). Then, sleep in a bag that is under 2 lbs. Next, cook with a system that is under 1 lb. (alcohol stove). Carry a backpack that is under 2 llbs. There. Now you have 3 lbs for extra clothes and personal items. And that’s less than 10 pounds.

The outdoor recreation culture is highly influenced by companies who tell you that you need lots of heavy, expensive gear that you don’t need and will only make you suffer needlessly. If you follow the advice of people in gear shops, you’ll have no money, bad gear, and no idea what you’re missing by carrying so much crap. The best gear we’ve seen is homemade. And the best advice comes from people who most often do the specific activity that you want to do. People in gear stores will try and sell you a climbing pack designed for summiting K2, even if you’re just taking dayhikes in your backyard. Anyways, many, many people have already written diatribes about this frustrating situation, and there are many good books and websites out there. So I leave you to investigate the topic yourself. You might want to start with Ray Jardine.

Although you wouldn’t think so from walking into REI, backpacking is actually about having less and experiencing more.

A Spruce Grouse

A ground squirrel

Pollination

Grouse

2. Natural selection is amazing, obvious, and ubiquitous
On a plant near the trail we saw thousands of black specks. Aphids. Crawling around atop the carpet of aphids were ants. Why?

It’s quite an amazing thing to really think about and we can explain much of whole story with what we know about evolution. DNA is a molecule of digital information that replicates itself. Genes are segments of DNA, and act as digital instructions for the construction and maintenance of extraordinarily complex machines called organisms. Genes that build good machines survive. But most genes die. Of the survivors, genes that replicate faster become more common. Hence, the world becomes populated by survival and replication experts. That is the basic idea of natural selection, first realized by Charles Darwin. Different organisms have evolved different strategies for survival and reproduction. These strategies are quite ingenious. For instance, plants survive and reproduce by literally making themselves out of thin air. They suck carbon right out of the air, and use photons shot across space from a nearby star to construct an elaborate architecture of roots, shoots, and leaves. This whole process evolved from an inconceivably long period of trial-and-error combined with random innovations from mutations. The bad genes went extinct. The good genes with their good designs survived and seeded the next generation. But mutation is not the only source of innovation.

Much innovation comes from organisms combining together into superorganisms. Some bacteria evolved the ability to process sunlight, but it may surprise you to learn that the ancestors of plants did not. Plants never gained the ability themselves. Instead, they joined forces with those bacteria and the bacteria began to live inside the plant cells. The bacteria are now known as chloroplasts. Plants store the energy they make as invisibly tiny rings of carbon, called sugars, for transport. Mitochondria provide cells with energy, and they use to be bacteria too. Some plants are still in the process of joining forces with bacteria. You can see this in plants like peas that house nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Given enough time, the bacteria and plant will become indistinguishable.

Aphids are tiny critters that have evolved to steal plant sugar by breaking past plant architecture. In fact, they have become so good at extracting sugars from the plants that their waste is almost pure sugar. Their genes have over time optimized their mouthparts for piercing plant walls and sucking fluids. Ants, on the other hand, have evolved pincer jaws, rather than sucking mouthparts, because their ancestors ate things they could grab. An ant colony is a large super-organism. Instead of having hands for manipulating the world, ant colonies have thousands of tiny “organs” called ants, which can collectively kill an animal, lift it, and carry it back to the nest for “digestion”. Each ant is specialized and acts as an organ, not as an individual. Each one will easily die for the colony. This is because, like the cells of your hands, an individual ant is sterile. Individual ants are just the leaves of the tree. Ants are good at fighting, but not parasitizing plants, so the ants use the aphids to get sugar, just like humans use cows to convert grass into milk. The ants milk the aphids. The aphids provide the ants with their sugar waste, and the ants protect the aphids and the plant from predators. The ants and aphids co-evolved into a cooperative venture. There are mutual benefits for each. Given enough time, will they become indistinguishable? Standing there looking at this plant and its aphids and ants was like a religious experience for me. There was just so much there. Yet all so easy to miss. It made me feel like there was that much richness in all the living things around me all the time, everywhere I looked. I won’t continue on this anymore, because I suspect it’s getting boring…

I wanted to see the West. That was my main reason for hiking the PCT. By “the West”, I wasn’t referring to cowboys; I wanted to see the different plants, animals, and environments found in the Western United States. I will never think about the ecological term “communities” the same way again. What was once a mere abstract concept, is now permanently blazoned into my mind. I learned so many new species of plants and animals and noticed which ones appeared together and which ones show up in different kinds of environments. We walked two ecological gradients at once, altitude and latitude. For me, the Pacific Crest Trail was a 4 month ecology and natural history field class. Textbook biology concepts that flittered, pulsed, screeched, and glittered in the morning sun.

I often thought about evolution and natural selection on the trail. It has been argued that Darwin’s “dangerous idea” –the idea of natural selection- is the most powerful concept ever conceived by a human. The argument goes like this. Darwinism requires you to assume only one extraordinarily simple idea: Some things copy themselves. Yet it explains the most complex things in the known universe, namely, all of life. Once you understand natural selection, it will change the way you look at everything. On the trail, I saw evolution everywhere. I saw adaptation, selective pressure, competition, and cooperation. In those ants, aphids, and plants, I saw the war of genes in different bodies reaching across space and time, cooperating and conflicting, making a world that is marvelously complex and yet makes so much sense given what we know about how evolution works. At the same time, I was reading some important review papers on animal cooperation and I had the time to let the ideas sink in. I was learning a lot, and more importantly I was getting excited about biology and science as a process of discovering new things.

Caught in snow and rain near Glacier Peak

Blowdown along a "closed" section of trail

Michelle crossing a wet log over a raging creek

Thru-hikers celebrating at Stehekin, the final resupply before the border

Taking the bus back to the trail.

My stuffed bat (Thanks Ingrid!)

3. People enjoy being altruistic to strangers
Biologists know why selfishness exists. It’s similar to the reason that ruthless businessman exist. Natural selection. If you’re not ruthless, you can go extinct. So why does niceness exist in nature? That’s the subject of animal cooperation. That’s what I get to study for 3-4 years using vampire bats!

Anyway, on this trip I was utterly amazed at how nice people could be. We ran into dozens of “trail angels”, people who gave us housing, food, rides, showers, clothing, and even cars to use, not just for the two of us, but often for 50 “guests” at a time! They asked for nothing in return. This was a lot of work for them and a lot of cost. Their days seemed to be devoted to supporting a bunch of hikers, making water caches out on the trail, and providing food and shelter at crucial points. Our early ancestors like bacteria may be selfish, but humans are far from selfish. Why?

I love to be nice. I bet you do too. Most people want to be good. And almost all people want others to be nice and good to them. But people are not only good so that others will be good to them -- we are kind because it feels good. With a few exceptions, like psychopaths, our brains reward cooperative behaviour. We actually get a “high” from being kind, caring, and helping others. Isn’t it great to be human! Humans are biological “angels” in many ways. But, like all animals, we also evolved to not be suckers. We are not blank slates at birth. We are endowed with moral instincts. The mechanisms of these innate moralities are still being worked out. Just as language, which we learn, is built on an innate structure, so are our moral intuitions.
I’ll give you one example. Take generalized reciprocity. An experiment obtained the following result. If a person finds a quarter in a payphone, she is more likely to pick up a dropped newspaper for someone else. In other words, people are more likely to give, if they received something, regardless of who gave it to them! Rats will give food to other rats more when they get food, even if they received food from an anonymous rat. They will give even more food back to the very same rat, i.e. tit for tat. But that’s not always necessary. Sometimes we just give. I suspect that rats feel an urge to be nice just like humans, and an urge to return favours. These subtle drives may be built into a social animal’s brain. Then, throughout our lifetime, we learn the details-- how and when to give.

But anyway, I’m digressing. My main point is that people are amazingly amazingly altruistic, especially given the opportunity and the right context. Many people might say that things like religion make us nice. But I would argue that people join religion because religions say to be nice, not the other way around. People already want to be nice. they have that in them already, and they use religions as a tool to try and be nicer. That’s how nice people are. Yeah, there’s a lot of greed and awfulness in the world. But people are nicer and more cooperative than any animal I can think of. And there’s astounding evidence that people and cultures are becoming nicer over time. This talk gives some examples.

Hike the PCT yourself. If you are not impressed by natural beauty or ecology or human endurance, you will at least be awed at how amazing people can be to each other.

The northern Cascades

Six, Michelle, Kim, Spiff, and Brent

4. A conflict worth pondering: Achieving goals versus caring for people
I took a free outdoor education course on “leadership dynamics”. It was kind of lame, but one thing I took away was the idea of leadership styles. Some leaders are apparently “goal-oriented”. They are mainly focused on achieving a goal, like getting to the summit of a mountain. Other leaders are “people-oriented”; they mainly focus on whether or not people are having a good time. Much to my chagrin, the instructor said I was slightly biased towards being goal-oriented. I would rather be described as the more sensitive, caring, person-oriented type of leader, but “goal-oriented” is what she said. :-(

Anyways, my point is that it’s difficult if not impossible to focus simultaneously on both achieving goals and caring for people; often the more you do one, the less you do the other. On the PCT, Michelle and I were sometimes focused more on getting to our next schedule point on time. Other times, we cared more about just making sure we were both having a good time. Sometimes we did both equally ok, but neither very well. But we had to shift priorities, and we had to be on the same page about what the current priority was. What I learned on the PCT is that you have to intentionally and consciously think about this conflict, because it’s inherent in life.

People who do great public things often have troubled personal lives. Examples include Gandhi, Einstein, Newton, and there are many others. Most other people are more subtle heroes to a small group of family and friends. What do we sacrifice for achieving our big dreams? As Gary Snyder wrote-

What history fails to mention is
most everybody lived their lives
with friends and children,
played it cool,
left truth and beauty to the guys
who tricked for bigshots
and were fools.

At the Canadian border

5. Another conflict worth pondering: Social pressures versus internal motivation
Humans are social animals, and much of our behaviour is molded to be socially beneficial. Fish are good at swimming. Rodents are good at chewing. Birds are good at flying. And primates are good at socializing. We observe, we copy, we assess, and we manipulate. And humans do it better than anyone. Hence, culture.

This has some interesting consequences. Everyone knows that humans can be a lot like sheep. We follow the herd. We do things because we see other people doing it. And we are extremely curious about what other people do. For many, a popular form of entertainment is spying on celebrity personal lives. It’s human nature to be interested in other humans, and to learn whatever we can from them. We end up becoming a lot like the people we are around.
One point of disagreement we had on the trail was “ethics”. Is it ok to skip around a section of trail? What if it’s closed? Should we walk on the road or take the bus? For the reader, it may seem simple: do whatever you want! But it’s quite amazing how culture affects peoples’ decisions. When sections of the PCT were closed for forest fire, everyone looked to everyone else to know what to do. Many people chose to walk on the roads to avoid “cheating”. I wasn’t interested in hiking on a highway, so we opted to take the bus. The amazing thing was this: Michelle felt very guilty. Why? Certainly not because she wanted to walk on a road. It was because it seemed like everybody else was walking on the road and we were cheating by taking a bus. If everyone was taking the bus, no one would consider this “cheating”. And how can you “cheat” on a hiking trip?! Yet, there was an obvious social pressure that had arisen. Purists held a moral high-ground and talked about “cheaters”, meanwhile people felt they had to actually justify hiking on “unofficial” sections of trail!

Before we started the hike, we both talked about how we wouldn’t mind skipping sections, for instance, taking a shortcut or hitching into towns. At the time (but not now), I was even fine with skipping over parts that I thought might be "boring". But later I learned that, for many, being a “thru-hiker” meant following a certain code of conduct. Taking a shortcut, for some, seemed tantamount to saying you were skipping miles in a marathon. Different people started different standards. Some people said “I’m not walking on anything but the official PCT”. Others said “I’m making a continuous series of footsteps from Mexico to Canada”. These personal rules were often adopted by others consciously or unconsciously. They became part of a culture. To some people, the Pacific Crest Trail was like running a huge marathon and either you do the whole thing or you’re a cheater. And this attitude gets passed on to people who originally had no such lofty goals. Some people (like yours truly) just wanted to see the mountains out west. It was like being in a biology class of future medical students, when you just wanted to learn some plant names.

Michelle and I differed in the amounts we were affected by these pressures. For some reason, the social norms usually made me want to do the opposite. "Official PCT?? Blah, whatever. Let's go the way we aren't supposed to. I can do whatever I want..."

I’m not sure if that tendency is good or bad. The important point is that I think it’s crucial to think about why you do things. We can’t help but copy the ideas, perspectives, and culture around us. That’s why it’s even more important to take a moment to think about whether or not social influences are good (as they often are) or bad. I’m glad I copied so much of what people did on the PCT. I don’t think I would have been able to hike the whole trail without copying people’s hiking styles, gear, and even food preferences. But on the other hand, we are all free individuals and we can tailor what we learn from others with what we reason out ourselves. Often we should follow our internal motivations, regardless of what other people have as goals. So I’m also glad that we didn’t hike on 80 miles of roads. Not just because I don’t like roads, but also because it demonstrated to me that hiking really is about making your own adventure.

Bat in the sky

One last thing…
Life is short! I can’t say I learned much about this particular reality on the PCT. Everyone knows this already. But sometimes –like right now- it’s blaringly obvious. The entire trip already seems like it happened last week.

And yet, I still have all those thousands of memories to fill my daydreams and nostalgic moments. These were rich, surreal moments we shared. We found ourselves surrounded by utter beauty and so far from anything to remind us of our worldly egos. But in retrospect it all went by in a flash. I want to have a life that’s rich with experiences like that, streams of pure sensory experiences that will shape us for the years to come.

As I read that last sentence, I realize it doesn’t really mean anything. Streams of pure sensory experience?? Wha? So, obviously, I can’t really tell you everything I learned in words. But you get the idea…

love to all of you,
Gerald

All Photos Online

2008-10-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

Find them here:

http://isc.astro.cornell.edu/~don/pictures/v/friends/gerry/PCT/

if that link doesnt work: http://publish.uwo.ca/%7Egcarter2/transfer.htm

if that doesnt work: batbum.googlepages.com then Photo Gallery, then Pacific Crest Trail

(The reasons the links might not work is that the ~ symbol changes in the browser window.)
The photos are posted in chronological order. Thanks to Don Barry for letting me post all my photos on his gallery site.

All photos and final blogs coming soon

2008-10-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of uploading all the remaining photos from our trip. And we will post our final trip reflections soon, hopefully in the next couple of days...

A few more pics from Oregon and the Goat Rocks Wilderness

2008-10-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hooray!!

2008-09-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

I was going to wait till we had some photos to post (camera battery is dead) before I broke the news, but I became impatient. Yesterday, September 29th we reached Canada at about 8am, and finished the Pacific Crest Trail 8 miles later.

Now, we are staying in Seattle with my dear friend Joe, who I haven't seen in 3 years. Joe has been quite busy here in Seattle saving the world, or at least some parts of it.

More in a bit...

I change my mind...

2008-09-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

After the last 5 days, I need to retract a statement. The PCT is difficult!

We have been fearing the snows in the North Cascades on our final push to Canada. We've also been a bit worried about the infamous "blowdown" section, where segments of the trail have been obliterated by storms, avalanches, and fallen old-growth trees. This section is also supposed to be second only to the High Sierra in difficulty (think: up 3000 feet, down 2000 feet, up 2000 feet, etc).

All these factors came together in the last few days. Cold rain, freezing rain, hail, snow, and windy, foggy alpine conditions plus climbing up and down steep slopes over a tangle of broken branches and giant (8+ feet wide) logs past 11 PM to get to flat (wet) ground for camping.

First, I was thinking it made for some pretty miserable hiking. But then, I just pretended it was some kind of crazy hardcore military-style wilderness survival training trip. From that angle, it didn't seem so bad. Basically, the 100-mile section can be summed up well by a quote from Michelle: "I want to be teleported out of here."

We heard on the radio that one thru-hiker busted her ankle and is being, or has been, helicoptered out. Everyone emerging out of the wilderness into this resupply town looks pretty worn, wet, and knackered.

I'm never using a down sleeping bag again; mine turned into a wet rag. The image of a wet towel is not an exaggeration. I also discovered that the most important piece of survival equipment is a bag of candy bars. I was my own constantly eating, shivering backcountry drier. Calories are units of heat afterall I guess.

Michelle's synthetic bag fared much better, and stayed warm even when damp. One night we both ended up inside of it. The next night, after I was still awake chomping and shivering at 3 AM, we zipped the two bags together and put hers on top like a quilt and mine on bottom over our pads (since there was no loft anyways). We both ended up warmer that way. The best idea we had was to get neoprene socks, overmitts, and pack covers right before this section- hallelujah!

This section was also a good excuse for making fires! Starting a good fire with wet wood is always challenging and fun.

Did I mention mice chewed their way through our tent wall and got into our tent two nights in a row. If only I could catch the little guys.. I bet they would've been delicious....

But all that is behind us now! Today we find ourselves in the "town" of Stehekin. This small community is accessible only by plane, boat, or a long hike. The weather looks good for the next section, and we are only a mere 4 days to Canada. Moreover, we will soon be on the eastern (dry) side of the Northern Cascades crest.

Last night, we ate dinner with 7 other thru-hikers: Six, Spaceman Spiff, Brent, Kim, Detour, Gazelle, and Snow Kittens. Some of these folks we have seen now and then over the last 5 months. Others we have just met. So many people have left the trail since we started. And many of our co-travelers have already made it to the end days ago. But making it to the end is not yet a sure thing, even now. After hiking more than 2700 miles, and never even hitching into towns, Evan (the Fugitive) injured his knee and left the trail only two days from the end.

Hopefully we will post some pictures soon. Now I'm off to get something I've been dreaming about- Bacon!

From Skykomish

2008-09-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Just to show we haven't been THAT lazy, here are some things we've done while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail:
read about 3 books and 12 scientific papers
applied for a scholarship
published a paper
learned several new species of plants and animals
won an award at an academic meeting
climbed several technical routes and a couple mts (including the highest peak in the continental USA)
taken Katy Griffin on her first backpacking trip
conducted tests on the durability on 8 models of trail running footwear (and gear)
solved all sorts of philosophical problems with pseudo-profound BS

The Surprisingly Good Gear We Used
Here's a list of what surprised us in how well it performed-

I expect any electrical equipment to give us problems in the outdoors. But our camera, a Casio Exilim, fit in my chest pocket, took great photos, and the battery lasted virtually forever.

My 15 dollar (yes, 15$) Frogg Toggs jacket was completely waterproof and breathable, and kept me drier than Michelle's expensive gore-tex jacket. I didn't believe it either from how it looks on the website.

Both our packs worked very well. Michelle used a ULA, and I used a Granite Gear vapour trail. I expected mine to get holes, but nope.

While at first uncomfortable, my Brooks Cascadia running shoes have been going strong for almost 800 miles now and look like they will take me to the end.

More later...

Update:

2008-09-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Michelle is the cat's pajamas.

aches and pains

2008-09-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

My body's been hurting lately, but I know it will ease up soon. It always does. Bad weather gets better, pain goes away, wet socks dry.
I don't know what I've learned about myself on this trail but I have had an explosive swelling of appreciation for kindness and altruism, for all the friends and family and strangers who support us. Seems I write about this more than anything else, but it truly overwhelms me and I want to express my gratitude, even though words fall short.
Every day we see such incredible things, tiny and huge. Ants milking aphids on a flower stem, a herd of elk bounding away, water over bright green moss, huckleberries running wild over a decade-old clearcut. Beautiful things, strange things, sometimes ugly things. How lucky we are to see all of this. We are so fortunate.

Michelle

more from Snoqualmie

2008-09-16T02:36:00.000-07:00

Near Old Snowy Mt.
Mount Rainier looms in the background.

A decorative cairn

Enviropyro crosses a log bridge

Equestrian vehicle remains in the Goat Rocks wilderness

oh, oops. I forgot to mention stuff about the trail. Washington has been fabulous so far. I loved the Goat Rocks Wilderness especially. and the weather has been beautiful. yep- everything is peachy. not much to say. im tired... hopefully Michelle will write somthing coherent tomorrow.

At Snoqualmie Pass

2008-09-15T23:53:00.000-07:00

I was planning what I was going to write in my next blog post while hiking. I even wrote a bit of it down on some scrap paper while taking a break. But now, that I'm actually sitting at a computer, Michelle is asleep, I have no idea where that scrap paper is, and I have nothing interesting to say. Hrrmmph...

Someone said we are 90% done with the trail. I'm not really wanting to be finished yet, but I am excited about what comes next. I'd like to see some friends out west, do a bit of climbing. Then, after a week or so, I jump back into my bat stuff. There's a conference in October... some data analysis... *lots* of writing... I'm pretty psyched about starting my Ph.D. next fall and about working at the Biodome in Montreal this winter. I better enjoy the feeling of infinite potential while it lasts... Everything seems blissful at the moment.

I am extraordinarily lucky. It boggles my mind. For most people- indeed, most living things- life is a harsh struggle for survival. Somehow, by some astonishing miracle of blind chance, I happened to be born into a situation where food, water, and shelter are essentially a given. I live in prosperous times, among amazingly altruistic people, in the wealthiest part of the world. I have never really suffered or endured any kind of extreme hardship. I've never experienced war or torture or real hunger. I'm one of the richest people in the world in at least one important way, which is this: if I had a billion dollars, the things I do, my life, would not change in any significant way. I would still study vampire bats. I would still be hiking this trail. I would still be eating rice krispy treats. And to top it off, I'm stupendously lucky to have a mind that allows me to bask in the glory of all this good fortune. I can look around and really appreciate it. "Behold! ... Holy crap, this is sweet!"

Speaking of holy crap, it's hard not to get all "religiousy" when you're on this trail. If I had to describe the Pacific Crest Trail in 3 words they would be "beauty, beauty, beauty". The distance from Mexico to Canada is about 1500 miles by car, but the trail takes nearly 2700 miles to do the same job. This is because it seeks out every bit of lovely mountain scenery along the way. It snakes along crests and crosses (according to one website): 40 designated Wilderness areas, 24 National Forests, 7 National Parks, 3 State Parks, 19 major canyons and 57 mountain passes. This thin ribbon runs through almost every kind of ecosystem in the west, both by gaining and losing altitude and by gaining latitude . Moreover, it attracts some pretty interesting people. And even better, there's cool animals. We saw an owl today. And two people we've talked to now have seen mountain lions. Of course, I always freak out when even one bat flies by.

On a less dramatic note, I need to dispel a myth about the PCT. Hiking the PCT is NOT difficult. School is difficult. Work is hard. Relationships are tough. Being a good person- another tricky one. Trying to figure out game-theoretic models and mathematical rules for evolutionary stable strategies... difficult. Making money, responsibility, supporting kids, etc-- these are the kinds of things that everybody seems to somehow figure out, but which seem really hard to me. I don't know how they do it. But then these same people say to us: "wow, that's really inspiring that you're hiking the PCT. What a challenge!" Well.... It's just walking on a well-graded trail and eating lots of food. I hate to ruin everybody's idea that it's really challenging, but it's the easiest 5 month project I've ever worked on. It's easier than elementary school, or high school, or college, or my masters. It's easier than my Eagle project from Boy Scouts. It's easier than any sort of work where you have to wake up early. It's not really any work at all. What is work? I think what we call "work" is actually *stress*. It's the anxiety of not doing as much as you hoped or the worry of failure or disappointing others. There's very little stress on the PCT. Even if we don't finish, so what? Nothing we are doing here is ending up on our permanent record or our curriculum vitae. Nobody cares about our performance. And yet, at the same time, people support us. It's quiet unbelievable. Life is rarely like that.

I'm not sure where I'm going in all this weird rambling. I guess I just wanted to write *something*. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that this whole thing hasn't been what I expected. I thought it would be a big challenge. In a way, it is. But it's also made me feel like challenges are mental illusions. There's only a challenge when you stop and think about what you have to do. The rest of the time, you're just putting one foot in front of the other. And walking is quite enjoyable actually.

I hope that I enjoy my PhD in the same way. I'm really looking forward to it. Thanks to everybody who has helped make my life so rich and fulfilling. If you scroll down this blog, you'll mainly see a list of friends, relatives, and relative strangers who have helped us so much along the way so far. People who have fed us, clothed us, housed us, and lifted our spirits. I'm not sure how to deal with my overwhelming sense of appreciation.

Lastly, I want to say that hiking with Michelle has been the greatest. First of all, she is one tough cookie. It's also nice to hike with someone who is so patient, tolerant, smart, cheerful, and can somehow make 150 slightly different versions of corn pasta with dried veggies.

Well, I guess I managed to say something, even without my scrap paper.

I hope it made sense and that you enjoyed reading it. Actually, I guess that first part isn't important.

--Gerald

Hello from Washington

2008-09-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Coming down from Mt. Hood with the corresponding change in pressure, my right ear became plugged up, and hasn't completely recovered yet after a couple of days, some serous otitis media apparently. Michelle was feeling a bit sick recently, but now seems to be feeling better. I think it must be a combination of visiting Portland, a city with lots of people (and hence germs), and having trail-conditioned (i.e. weak) immune systems. The very cold rainy days in Oregon couldn't have helped either. Luckily, we have new warm clothes and have some goodies arriving soon in the mail, including neoprene socks and overmitts.

Big thanks to fellow PCT hiker Vanity Fair for taking us to resupply, letting us stay at her home, and generally being a second mom to us. Also a big thanks to the Weinheimers for taking us into their home and stuffing our bellies with pizza. We are glad we ran into Mrs. Weinheimer while she was walking her dog.

Thanks to Ingrid and Mike

2008-08-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ingrid and Mike for sending us snacks and rescuing us along the road. Here's some pics from their all too brief time with us:

wow!! a tree!

More recent photos below...

Pictures from Oregon (featuring Katy and Garrett!!)

2008-08-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

I tried carrying my pack on my head for a few miles. Not bad, but not great.

at Olallie Lake

Katy brought me this HUGE burger

Glaciers over the river with boulders on top

Our fear faces: Gerald, Katy, Michelle

Katy and Michelle looking like rebels without a cause

this was beautiful

Our intimidation faces: Gerry, Michelle, and Garrett

Burned and unburned forest

Michelle scrambles up Pilot Rock

Climbing up to the summit

Mr. Toad

at Crater Lake

Some more pics of Northern California

2008-08-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

We've past the 2000 mile mark and find ourselves at the Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood (apparently the second most climbed mountain in the world behind Mt. Fuji). Here are some more pictures from Northern California:

The entrance to Subway Cave, an underground lava tube.

Michelle at the base of tremendous Burney Falls. Much of the water seeps directly from the cliffside.

Crawling out of another potential bat roost. Notice the sign points towards Carter. I finally discovered a colony of Little Brown Bats in an outhouse.

!!! The largest rice krispy treat ever!!! (at Seiad Valley)

Michelle explores a geyser at Lassen Volcanic Nat'l Park.

Monkeying around on a tire swing at the Heitmann's, the local trail angel

Oregon at last

2008-08-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

So happy to be here! The days before the border were thick with smoke from all the NoCal forest fires. Despite being hard on the lungs and eyes though, it made for surreal views and eerie, vibrant sunsets. We joked that as soon as we reached the Oregon border, the sky would clear and the angels would lift their voices in song. Pretty much what happened. Ashland has been a wonderful place to spend a couple of days while Mr. Bat writes applications. I went to a "power" yoga class tonight. Felt so good, I walked home (did I just call a motel "home?") floating a few inches off the ground. Also fantastic is the feeling of walking blocks and blocks with heavy grocery bags. It's grounding, so practical, and you are forced to walk slow, watch and think, shift the weight from hand to hand, carrying it in your arms instead of on your back. I'm a little jealous of all the women in their light dresses, living summertime. But I do love these clothes I've worn for the past three months. They're perfect for now.

love to everyone,
Michelle

From Etna

2008-08-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

I've really been enjoying the natural history of the Pacific Coast. Here are some really cool plants we've met and gotten to know since getting on the trail:

Manzanita - This red-barked chapparral shrub is seemingly everywhere. I finally know what Gary Snyder was talking about in that poem.

Weeping spruce - We sent days searching for this elusive and beautiful tree in the Klamath Mts, where it is endemic. It's apparently one of the rarest trees in N. America. The tree looks like it's draped and decorated with green scarves.

Mountain hemlock - This tree doesn't look very much like it's Eastern cousin, and doesn't seem to live in same kinds of shady moist spots.

Snow plant - Just look at the picture in the link. So cool.

Ok- running out of time, and realized this is futile: there are way too many awesome plants we've learned. And animals: Belding's ground squirrels, mule deer, marmots, and on and on.... A few days ago, I found my first bat colony. Myotis something or other. Lovely little beauties...

Happy Happy Birthday to Kay!!!!

Gerry

2008-08-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

Oh sweet goodness fruit smoothies are so delicious. We're in Mt. Shasta City now, only 150-ish short miles from the Oregon border. Sure, it's only 50 on the road, but we're taking the scenic route -- the trail kind of curves around to the west, then back up and east, in a C-shape, just to stretch out the California section a little bit longer I guess. I'm really looking forward to Oregon and revisiting those family reunion haunts, Timberline lodge and Crater Lake. And we get to see Garrett and Uncle Ekim as well. The last section was full of logging, poison oak, and hunger, but we also got to see cool waterfalls and Mt Shasta is lovely. Someday maybe I'll come back and climb to the top. Snowy volcanos always call out to me with siren songs. Happy Birthday to my mom (8/6)! I hope everyone is having a wonderful time.
love,
Michelle

Thanks alos to Gossamer Gear for freely loaning us a tarptent while they repair ours. Great customer service!! and a great tent as well. --Gerry

The word...

2008-07-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

...... from Tahoe City, CA (ca. mile 1130??)

It's been about a month since we have updated our blog. With the Sierras just about behind us, we are heading north today after an all too brief stint in Tahoe City with Buddha (an unbelievably kind trail angel who has hiked the so-called Triple Crown: the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide trails). She took us to get Pizza and see the new (extremely dark, twisted, and good) Batman movie on its opening night.

Whatever I was previously expecting the Sierras to be, they were way better. Once again, I find myself completely unable to communicate about the hike in words, now that I'm in front of a computer. I'm simply not a good enough writer. It all seems a bit like a dream. This whole hike has been a dream-come-true really, a sort of stroll through some surrealistic fantasy. Yesterday, we came across a mother quail and her countless baby chicks. She did a hypnotic distracting display for us while her peeping babies fled in all directions. A few days ago, we walked through a volcanic dreamscape with menacing spires juxtaposed against endless fields of wildflowers. And then we hiked along a high prairie crest in the moonlight, rising and falling in and out of creek-carved canyons like the tide. And a couple of weeks ago, we playfully glissaded and tromped down steep plush snowbanks with bright blue glacier lakes below us.

In normal life, you can be lucky to experience days like these every once in awhile. But here, on the trail, every adventurous day is so full and rich. Like a rice krispy treat.

-Gerry
Here are 14 randomly ordered pics (out of 150 which we will post later)-

fields of flowers on the way to Echo Lake

wild iris

Michelle and her new (free) straw hat

Michelle climbing on "the western font", Tuolumne Meadows

Flowers, flowers everywhere

Me demonstrating the lightness of my pack without a bear canister. Volcanic formations loom in the background.

At times, the PCT definitely lives up to its name. Up above everything in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.

Michelle not needing an ice axe on one of many Sierra mountain passes.

The High Sierra north of Mount Whitney near Forrester Pass

Highest point on the PCT. All downhill from here (more or less, right?)

The head of a Rubber Boa we came across

A fox (or coyote?) that watched us from atop a tallus slope.

Michelle at sunset
-----------------------
Wow life is full of overwhelming experiences lately. It's always amazing to look over photos from the last weeks on the trail and realize all that we've seen and been through. Ger and I had been thinking of how we could get to town to see the Batman movie and we find ourselves whisked off to Tahoe City with the delightful Buddha. And for days before that: magical sunsets, one of the most beautiful landscapes, perfect weather, and few mosquitoes. I must also mention the wonderful Carl and Raylee who rescued us from a few days of growling hunger with loads of extra food that they no longer needed. Seems like a lifetime ago though ... that was before Vermillion Valley Resort, a few hundred miles ago now. What can I say? May the future be so bright as the present.
love to everyone,
Michelle

Finally, here is an interesting recent article on a particular hiker and the PCT.

All the photos from Mexican Border to Mt. Whitney

2008-06-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

... are now online!!

http://isc.astro.cornell.edu/~don/pictures/v/friends/gerry/NEW/album_004/
(If link doesn't work, then copy and paste into browser. Sometimes there are problems with the "~" symbol.)

We haven't written captions yet.

and below are 5 of my favorites-

Michelle watches a Yellow-bellied Marmot from the trail

Michelle crosses a snowfield on the way to Mount Whitney

Michelle standing among alpine penitentes

Michelle at Antelope Valley (did I post this one already?) maybe...

Can you find Michelle in this picture?

Hello from South Dakota

2008-06-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Here we are, hundreds of miles from the PCT, in Brookings, SD, attending the annual American Society of Mammalogists Meetings. Gerry will be giving his talk on social calls in white winged vampire bats tomorrow morning, as one of the recipients of an ASM award. South Dakota reminds me of Pennsylvania but flatter and with more cowboy hats. Being here is strange in so many ways. It's not just staying in a dorm room and holding it for the flush toilets and making numerous trips to the fresh fruit platter at the opening day social for pineapple! and strawberries! It's also the incredible feeling of laziness that I've had all day; the slow struggle to walk the .2 miles all the way from the dorm to the Performing Arts Center. What!? How did I just walk 760 miles? The trail is a mile-crunching machine. It eats miles for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 4 snacks a day. It elates and motivates and moves you to just walk, just keep going! Even though your feet and legs are aching and you're just too hungry and tired. The scenery is beautiful and the activity so elemental.

There is so much disposable stuff in the world of airports and college campuses. The waste is overwhelming. The convenience and lack of dirty dishes are sweet of course, but mental images of bags of trash hauled off to mammoth landfills, and of all the resources plugged into the production of these disposable goods, burden more than the convenience helps.
----------------------------
Yes, it's true, we didn't leave the desert entirely after my last post in Tehachapi; the long, hot and thirsty days that followed were a suitable reward for my cockiness. After Kennedy Meadows, though, we truly did enter the high sierra. Mt. Whitney was stunning, and we managed a ride into Lone Pine easily, with two climbing guides from Washington. The next day, we were lucky enough to get scooped up by Chuck Norris and Tigger's (two fellow hikers/angels), who gave us a ride to Bishop. Sadly, they were also driving Warner Springs Monty (amiable PCT veteran) to the hospital, as he had fallen and badly hurt his leg. Hope he's feeling better by now! He seemed to have such a good attitude about the whole thing. We are incredibly lucky to be healthy.

Love to everyone,
Michelle

PS This is old news, but Gerry gave me a wonderful haircut at the Saufley's. He is now my official hairdresser.

A bit premature

2008-06-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

Michelle's last post was a bit early methinks. Here's what the next 100 or so miles looked like:

good riddance stoopid desert!

2008-06-08T11:29:00.002-07:00

Mwahahaha. goodbye suckers. goodbye stinging sand. goodbye stoopid mojave. I never much liked you even though I kinda tried. ok you're beautiful in a barren wasteland with shredded tires and rattlesnakes and dirtbikes kind of way, but you're not really fit for human habitation. you're too frikking hot and windy and stoopid. my body is made of water and near water I'm meant to be. why did all the movie stars used to vacation in palm springs? it's one of the most fearsome gaddawful places I've ever experienced in my life. might as well buy a condo inside of a giant oven, or maybe in hell.

we made it through the section of trail that we have most dreaded since the very beginning, the walk along the LA aqueduct through the mojave. thankfully, we had relatively cool temperatures and wind, although the wind kept us from sweet sleep for most of a very rough night, and felt like walking against a wall for most of the next day. what a relief to be through with that. I was awed by how stoically Gerry pushed through this harsh section despite his aching lungs and cough. he just set his mind and barrelled on ahead. I could barely keep up.

bring on the Sierras! this farewell to the desert is premature, I know, as our next two water sources are still close to 20 miles apart, and we won't feel like we're really in the Sierras until close to Kennedy Meadows, still some 7 days and 130 miles away. but geographically, the Tehachapis are the lower hook of the Sierra Nevada. Everyone says: "but it doesn't feel like the Sierras!" but I'll take it. cool mountain air and lakes made of snowmelt sound like heaven.

We've started to run into the same people again and again. It's neat to have this relationship with other hikers. you get to know their shoeprints, their etchings in the sand, their trail register humor. Many have curious trail names: Yeti, the 101, Jester, Coyote, Bobcat, Monty, Spiff, Fembot, Weak Sauce, Slowride, High Octane, Shake n Bake, and Gallahad, to name a few. The great thing about these names is that they are often way more memorable than real life names, which seem to slip out of my brain as soon as I hear them. Gerry's been given many options for names but none has yet caught on. He could be Batman, batbum, batboy, or the bat. I think trail names come more easily to lone hikers than to couples, unless they resolve to name each other. We tried Batman and Michelle for a few days, but that doesn't sound quite right ...

love,
michelle

3 nights in Tehachapi

2008-06-08T11:29:00.001-07:00

Tonight will be our 3rd night in town. Two rest days in a row! This is craziness. I'm still a bit sick and we decided it was most prudent to get completely rested before heading into the Sierras. I do feel a bit pathetic for holding us up. I just keep thinking about my dad's mantra: "your health comes first". So here we are in the motel resting. For the first time yet, we are officially behind schedule, by one day. No biggie I guess. We just have to get to Independence, CA (or on the road south of it) by June 19th, 2:30pm (and 17 seconds). That's the latest that we can catch a bus or ride to the airport in time to catch our flight to the Mammal Meetings.

Besides, I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow. I may have said that for the last 3 days, but this time, I mean it.

-Gerry

Bats, bats, bats, bats....

2008-06-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, thats right, this entire post has nothing to do with the Pacific Crest Trail. Just wanted to record my thoughts on some other things... This entry is really more of a personal journal thing than a trip report, so feel free to skip this if youre reading about our trip. I didn't carry a journal with me, too heavy.

***

I've been thinking about bats a lot on the hike. Originally, I was going to use this trip to figure out whether or not I wanted to do a PhD. Well, I've decided before I've even started. I can't stop thinking about all the things I want to learn about and the experiments I want to do.

For my M.Sc., I studied the social calls of a vampire bat, the white-winged vampire. I've only managed to publish one paper from that work since I graduated in December: I showed that the social calls form antiphonal duets and allow the bats to vocally discriminate individuals. So after I finish this lovely hike, I've got 2 or 3 more papers to write up and submit in 2008 before I start a PhD.

White-winged vampires. Photo by Dan Riskin

First, I have to do a multivariate analysis of the call structure to ask the question: "What features of my bat's call "encode" information on individual identity?" That will be a good way to get better with multivariate stats.

Second, I have to analyze the data I collected this last fall. I wanted to know if my white-winged vampire bats use their social calls to keep track of each others' locations. I did a simple experiment where I recorded the amount of antiphonal calling during two conditions. In the test condition, I scrambled the locations of the bats in a dark room (There's no light in the room, the walls were lined with anechoic foam, and the bats were in nylon mesh cages.) Then I recorded the amount of vocal exchanges. In the control condition, I pretended to move the bats around, but put them back in their original position (a fake scramble). I randomly repeated these trials with different individual bats. My prediction is that the bats called more often when they hear that their roostmates are in different locations. I think the bats use these calls to localize certain individuals. But like I said, I havent analysed the data yet, so I'm not sure they support my hypothesis. Finally, I will try to use the rest of my Masters data in a descriptive paper on the vocal repertoire and social behaviour.

In 2009, I'm starting my PhD, probably with John Ratcliffe at Memorial University in Newfoundland. Yeah, I know, I've never heard of Memorial University either. It's not exactly Berkeley or Cornell. And yes Newfoundland consists of some barely populated islands just south of Greenland. BUT... I'm pretty excited to work with Ratcliffe. He does really good work (example, read discussion) on bats and behaviour and does exactly the kinds of experiments I like and want to get better at. (And frankly, the guy doesn't screw around when it comes to publishing lots of good papers. He's authored 22 papers since he finished his Masters in 2001. Just for 2008, he already has his name on 9 papers, including one in Nature. See, that's the way I want to operate. Learn from the masters, I say. Also, he has mucho funding. Besides, Newfoundland even has some climbing, not that I consider such things for where I do a PhD....)

Anyways...

A bunch of research topics have been floating around in my head. I'm sure most of them are stupid, but I want to get record them somewhere anyways. Some ideas have to do with reciprocity. Vampire bats perform reciprocal altruism via food sharing. (Heres some footage I took.) Jerry Wilkinson showed that the bats' sharing of blood (via regurgitation) fulfills all of the conditions for reciprocity outlined by Trivers, except for one I think: He didnt show that bats punish "cheaters". Imagine a bat that tries to get blood from partners but doesnt reciprocate. The idea is that donor bats will withold giving blood to begging bats unless they have received blood from them in the past. But this anti-cheating behaviour hasn't been observed yet. How long will a bat give blood to a sharing partner before she says "Ok. Enough is enough. When was the last time you fed me, eh??" It would be interesting to examine how bats react to a conspecific who doesn't reciprocate...

Last time I was in New Mexico where we have captive white-winged vampires, I tried to observe and manipulate food sharing. I found I could observe it fairly easily with an infrared camera and could get one bat to elicit it from others by keeping it hungry for one night. So there's some potential for interesting experiments there.

Which is more important: sharing food with relatives or sharing food with bats that shared food with you? If she had to choose, would a vampire bat favour estranged kin or a long-term "friend" (whose shared blood with her in the past over a long period of time)? Would be interesting to see whether kin selection or reciprocity plays a larger role...

Another set of ideas I had related to vocal communication. For my masters, I suggested that white-winged vampire social calls could be considered "contact calls". That is, they convey individual identity and location. But- What's the adaptive function of contact calling in these bats? Do they monopolize and defend a group of bird prey? Do they travel in groups? If so, why? Are the calls used as an "entrance pass" to share prey with certain individuals? Why do some vampire species use these calls while others do not? I could work on wild white-winged vampires in Trinidad, where I know I can find them. And I know where to get Diphylla (another vampire species) in Mexico...

Diphylla ecaudata the hairy-legged vampire bat

White-winged vampires also have a completely unique chemical defense. I would really like to colloborate with a biochemist on that one. It's all pretty exciting...

At the foothills of the Sierras! (posted from Tehachapi)

2008-06-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

We did it! We crossed the Mojave Desert. I came down with a bad, bad head cold just before we descended down into the desert. I was aching, congested, weary, and hacking up my lungs. We left "Hikertown" Hostel at 4:30pm, and hiked 16 miles (till midnight) to avoid as much of the daytime heat as possible. The "trail" followed the LA aqueduct in a straight line across the flat arid valley. It wasn't too hot when we crossed, especially because it was the evening. Unfortunately, the wind was ridiculously strong. We had to lean heavily into it in order to avoid being knocked over. That night, we were unable to sleep because of the loud storm-like windy conditions. We set our tent up beneath a low bridge, tied down all the guyline points to heavy rocks and even added new ones, but the wind still took it down. We probably slept 2-3 hours total. The next morning I felt awful. We walked another 24 or so miles out of the valley and back into the comfortable mountains. I can't explain exactly what it was like, but you will understand if you watch the film "Gerry" (Yes, theres a movie with that name; it's one of my favourites. Heres the trailer.)

Today we find ourselves resting (aaaaaaahhhhh) at a Holiday Inn Express in Tehachapi. We are taking a full "zero day" here, as in 0 trail miles today. Baths, showers, delivery pizza, and sleep, sleep, sleep... Michelle's taking a swim in the pool right now. That last paragraph made that section of hiking sound really bad, but really it was quite enjoyable overall. But maybe that's just the strange phenomenon of hindsight. Anyways, I cant wait till I'm 100% better and return to that blissful state of hiking (with a healthy body) in the heavenly mountains.

It's been one month since we started. We've done 1/5th of the whole trail so far. Wha?! Seems crazy.

For the last 250 miles we've been skirting west around the bulk of the Mojave desert. Now it's straight north into the Sierras!

Here are some more pictures from our trip so far.

Two lizards mating on the trail. Not sure what species.

Michelle at Vasquez Rocks

The Saufley's lend out 2 cars to thru-hikers. I took this picture just in case you didn't believe me.

Does anyone know what species this is? I've been trying to document all this cool western plants.

This is classic Southern California chapparal covered with Chamise.

the famous trail angels- The Andersons. Their house is invaded by hordes of thru-hikers every summer. Terri makes a huge taco salad buffet for everyone each night, and pancakes in the morning. Their house is called Casa de Luna.

"The Lunatic Lounge":

Not sure what plant this is either. Here's a closeup:

We found this mouse nest with mom and babies in an abandoned graphite mine.

There were several of these mines. Of course I had to crawl inside of every one to look for bats.

Michelle crawling out the entrance.

Holy Pinecone, Batman! I dont know what kind of tree this is either... If anyone reading this knows, send me an email.

A blue-tailed skink!

Michelle stands at a rocks piled on the trail denoting the 500-mile mark.

Me filtering water from one of many reservoir tanks. I actually had no idea my hat looked so stupid until this photo.

Species anyone?

Michelle with Antelope Valley (the Mojave) and distant Tehachapi Mts in the background (which we are now on the otherside of).

Hikers relax at a trailer at "Hikertown" watching Democracy Now! (The TV station alternated between that program, sports, and Chuck Norris).

We begin the (very straight) march into the valley by walking through some fields.

The Mojave marked by the incredibly silly looking, Dr. Seuss-like Joshua Trees.

The Los Angeles Aqueduct

The windfarms outside Tehachapi.

Bats are being massacred by these things. Learn more here (news article), here (videos), here (website) and here (paper).

trail angels

2008-06-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Even if you don't like to hike, y'all should seriously consider hiking the PCT just so you can experience Hiker Heaven (the Saufley's) and Casa de Luna (the Anderson's). Holy Moly these people are incredible. They just let their lives and homes be swarmed by thruhikers and they are so cheery and welcoming and generous. It's totally unreal.

We decided to take an (unplanned) day off at the Anderson's as we were both feeling a little punky and this place is so darn pleasant.

The first two weeks of our hike we saw very few people on the trail. Over the past few days though we've met lots of people. It makes for such a different experience -- it's been really nice to meet and hike with different people.

love to everyone,
Michelle

10 Important Uses of Rice Krispy Treats

2008-06-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

1. Flotation device. This function is more common at sea, but it can even come in handy on the PCT: while fording a deep creek, Michelle and I simply strapped Rice Krispy Treats to our shoes and walked across the surface of the water.

2. Signaling planes. Rice Krispy Treats have highly reflective surfaces, and can easily be used to signal long distances by re-directing sunlight.

3. Insulation. We've often stuffed them into our clothing and/or sleeping bags to avoid hypothermia. Built for a superior warmth to weight ratio, the treats are considered better insulation than goose down, and they are waterproof.

4. Fire starters. One treat can be easily lit with a single match, and will burn for at least 20 minutes.

5. Everyday multi-use kitchen tool. Pot scrubber, cutting board, spatula, stove fuel tablet, and more. Shavings can be used to spice up favorite dishes.

6. Navigation. Although many people know that if hung on a string or placed in a bowl of water, treats will automatically orient themselves in the North-South alignment, most people do not realize that Rice Krispy Treats also automatically adjust themselves for magnetic declination.

7. Anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-itch medication. We've rubbed them over poison oak, and found that they can relieve painful insect stings and bites.

8. Insoles. They provide superior cushioning and can be carved to fit any size foot. They may be the best prevention and treatment method for blisters we've come across.

9. Emergency cash. Even if the US dollar collapses, rice krispy treats will still be a valuable form of wealth. In fact, many gold investors have begun switching to rice krispy treats. Vendors all around the world will treat them like cash.

10. Finally, Rice Krispy Treats are actually edible as well. Indeed, they are quite tasty!

FACT: The earliest records of rice krispy treats date back to ancient Egypt. Evidence suggests the first and largest pyramids were constructed from bricks of tasty rice krispies and marshmallowy goodness.

FACT: Rice krispy treats contain twice as much Vitamin C as orange juice and 3 times the calcium of milk. They are rich in antioxidants, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids. They contain every known amino acid, as well as some ones that have not been discovered yet.

FACT: Rice krisy treats provide more efficient energy than crude oil, coal, or nuclear power. Energy companies found they could not market them as fuel however, because they are just so damn tasty.

FACT: To date, seven Olympic gold medals have been retracted after the winners tested postive for rice krispy treats.

Posted from "hikertown" (mile 500-something), on the edge of the mojave desert
Gerry

a few more photos

2008-05-31T21:52:00.001-07:00

Some pics- not in order:

Michelle and David Foltz at Big Bear

Me stuck in a tree

promotional photo for Liz Lovely Cookies

This sign melted. now that's hot.

at 9,000 something feet

this tree is 1,500 years old

heading into the San Bernadino Mts

this was 30 hours after 115 deg heat in the valley

I like climbing onto rocks

we came down from this ridge that day, Fuller Ridge

"Eagle Rock"

our first mile on the PCT

Michelle fixing her feet

A few photos...finally

2008-05-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

All our pictures will be uploaded soon when we get to the Mammalogy Meetings. Here are a few shots we managed to upload from the busy computers at Hiker Heaven-

Just not enough time at the moment.....

Gerry

Hiker Heaven at Agua Dulce

2008-05-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

At mile 454, we've arrived at the legendary "hiker heaven", where the king duo of "trail angels" reside. Upon arrival, the Saufley's provide you with: a free shower, free "rental clothes", free laundry service, free bed or cot, free food, and they have TWO cars which thru-hikers can use to take trips into different towns. At the guesthouse, there's stove fuel, a free gear/food exchange, a VCR/DVD with a library of films, a library of books on hiking and natural history, a kitchen fully stocked with fruit and ice cream. No exaggeration. They sometimes host up to 65 hikers at one time. The ranch contains huge tents, buildings, and beautiful landscaping. And Donna Saufley, who goes by "Elrod", is not only one of the most generous, upbeat, and amiable people you've ever met, but she also somehow manages to remember everyone's name. It's out of this world.

Gerry

Blissful cool weather

2008-05-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, this blog is a bit bland without photos. We are working on that though. Hopefully, we will have photos posted around the end of this month.

Things have been blissful lately. Weather has been cool, at some points cold even. Two days after heat exhaustion in the desert valley, we found ourselves in a snowstorm! After a night of freezing temps in the San Bernardino Mts, we hiked back down into desert/chaparral and to some hot springs (!!) right on the trail. One morning, we had to actually build a makeshift bridge across Deep Creek; the stream was living up to its name that day due to all the rain and snow. The ford was maybe 15-20 feet. We had to carry and pile huge logs across. During the construction, I managed to fall in at one point after a log turned over. It was truly deep; I never touched the bottom.

I've worn out my shoes and I'm switching into a new pair today (New Balance 811). At Palm Springs, Michelle switched into her most comfortable pair yet (also New Balance). Overall, we feel good and are in great spirits!!

David Foltz is the best!!

2008-05-23T09:46:00.001-07:00

Thanks David!! Your incredible hospitality is very very appreciated!!!

2008-05-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Big Bear, at mile 270- something. We're grateful to be staying at David Foltz' (friend of my parents) house here. It's wonderful to be in a real house again, and especially nice to be staying with such a welcoming host. There are so many people who kindly reach out to hikers in all sorts of ways -- offering lodging, rides, food, water, and more. In trail talk they're called "trail angels" and they mete out "trail magic." Certainly we feel blessed by such generosity. Many of them are people who have hiked the trail before and are intimately aware of the difficulty of hiking long, hot stretches of trail with no water, so they establish water caches where they are most needed. Some of them even throw in some fresh fruit or soda. The biggest trail angels of course end up being our personal ones, our friends and family without whom our adventures wouldn't be possible. They offer immense emotional and substantive support. My mom, who is in charge of our mail drops, always makes sure that we're getting exactly what we need and want in each package. It is an incredible amount of work, and those packages are so appreciated. Asking someone for this kind of support seems so demanding. Of course, I've realized by now that kids make such extreme demands of their parents from birth, without even realizing it. At least now I can attempt to say thanks (THANKS!!).

Our last 4 days have been the roughest so far. The day after we left Idyllwild we descended off the San Jacintos via a ridiculous trail that did in 20 miles what it could have done in 7. We would switchback for miles away from where we were going and then uphill before looping back around and coming to essentially the same point as where we started. The trail was also shadeless and we hiked it in the middle of a horrible heat spell, when the temperature climbed to 115 F, with water sources 20 miles apart. We watched with dismay as the horrible desert floor grew closer at a painfully slow pace. We didn't want to go down there! But we wanted to get to where we were going! When we finally crossed the Colorado desert near Cabazon and Palm Springs it was dark and always windy, with wind turbines whirring in the distance on what is aptly called Windy Point. We hiked under the tunnels of roaring I-10 and passed out in a field by a decaying suburb. It would be the lowest point on the trail until the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. It was loud and hot and terrifying. By far the most unpleasant place we had experienced so far on our hike. The next morning we hiked back down to the highway to hitch a ride to Palm Springs to recover from swollen/blistered feet and heat exhaustion. That day was only meant to be 111 degrees but regardless we checked into Motel 6 and spent the day camped in our room watching gems like "The Family Guy" and "Navy SEALs." We attempted to leave the room at 5pm in our rain gear to buy supplies, as our laundry was still in the machine, but we scurried back into our AC camp as soon we felt the scorching sun, past strange looks from the patrons of the swimming pool. We managed to walk to the outdoor supply store Big 5 at 6:30pm, where I purchased a pair of 9.5 double wide men's shoes to sooth my newly swollen feet. We ordered a taxi to take us back to the trail that night at 4:15am so that we could beat the day's projected 108 degree heat. We thankfully managed to gain some elevation before it got too hot.

And this morning we woke to snow pelting the roof of the tent. California is something else entirely. And we've only seen a tiny part of it so far. Wild.

Love,
Michelle

re: windy point
Michelle, you forgot to mention waking up to terrible ravenous hordes of red (biting) ants crawling through all our clothes and getting in all our food, but I guess that wasn't really memorable compared to the heat...

I knew that place was bad news when I noticed that the cactus were wilting in the sun.

Basically, I learned 2 simple things in hell, er I mean "windy point":

1. 115 deg F and zero shade... no

2. I learned a second thing but I don't remember because my brain was completely fried from the unbearable hellhole furnace called Windy Point.

Actually, a more appropriate name for Windy Point would be "Death Zone" or "Stinging Sands" or "Apocalyptic Valley of the Damned", but then maybe nobody would want to live there.

and I learned one thing at the Motel 6:

3. Navy SEALs are our best defense against evil-doing terrorists, especially when those hardcore commandos are led by Charlie Sheen.

It's soooo good to be getting back into the mountains! Huge thanks from me too, Kay. I wanted to talk to you on the phone, but I never seem to get a chance. And I'll call soon, Mom and Dad.

And thanks so much to Dave Foltz for pasta, steak and all-you-can-eat shrimp. mmmmmmm

love!
gerald/gerry

almost to the 200 mile mark

2008-05-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we hiked about 28 miles in 11 hours over several (no, many) mountains. Our longest, strongest day so far. A huge chunk of the trail was "closed" due to a recent forest fire. So we skipped it by hitch-hiking to our next resupply town, Idyllwild. But then we learned that thru-hikers had been hiking through the closed section, and that it was beautiful with great views. The section goes up into the San Jacinto Mts. You go through several ecological landscapes starting in the desert, then scrub, alpine meadow, and by the end, you are walking through snow. How could we just skip such a nice section of trail?? We decided to get back on the trail and do the whole section in one long day going north to south (backwards). We were really moving, at some points running. I often had my pack slung over one shoulder. (Ray Jardine was right after all, it does allow you to move with more freedom). Then we hitched a ride back to where we left our tent and dinner food. So now after 30 miles, we're back in Idyllwild. We've spent the morning cleaning ourselves and our gear. Today will be a rest day (ie maybe only 10-15 miles). The San Jacinto Mountains are gorgeous. On one side of them, the terrain is all green with pine, and on the other side of this distinct ridge, its arid, brown desert. The PCT walks pretty much along this so-called "desert divide".

We've been really happy with our gear so far. Michelle switched into her third pair of shoes. I'm still using my Inov8 trail runners. These shoes are fantastic!! They are so light and breathable and havent given me any bad blisters yet. Here are 5 other things that are working out way better than expected:

1. FOOD. Gosh, we eat so much food. I think I'm actually gaining weight. Everynight we have corn pasta with lots of vegetables, pemmican, sometimes cheese, and whatever else we decide to throw in. We've been eating sausage like candy bars. And we usually have food leftover. Then theres the food we can get in town. I think I need to go on a diet; from now on I'm limiting my caloric intake to 500,000 calories a day. That's it, no more!

2. Our alcohol stove weighs less than an empty soda can, and we use gas anti-freeze as fuel (HEET), which you can get really cheap at any gas station. It boils a pot of water with medicine cap-size amount of fuel. It's excellent.

3. Wide brim sun hats. Our heads are always in the shade. That makes a huge difference.

4. Rice Krispy Treats. These deserve their own category, because they are actually the most delicious food in the universe.

5. Our tarptent weighs less than 2 pounds, which helps keep our packs so light.

We weighed our packs at the local outfitters. With food and water, mine was 23 pounds and Michelle's was 19. And most of that weight is food and water. I'm never going to go backpacking the same ever again. This ultra-light style is definitely the way to go. It's basically like going dayhiking several days in a row. Basically I've learned that the best gear for thru-hiking is made in people's garages and sold online. The home-made stuff we bought here and here, are excellent!! All the commercial stuff is total crap by comparison.

A few things I have mixed feelings about:

1. Vitamins. Why are we carrying a half-pound of vitamin pills? We eat vegetables and all kinds of fresh foods when we get into town. That weight could be... more clif bars. It seems like I'm always taking pills, but they never run out. Plus those vitamins make my pee look radioactive. I guess vitamins are good for us in the long-term. Maybe if they came in the form of a bar, covered with maple syrup...

2. rattlesnakes. On the one hand, they are beautiful and neat to see. On the other hand... aaaaawwwww, oh god, there's another rattlesna.... oh wait, that's just a stick.... Anyways, as I was saying, we.... AAAAhhh I hear a rattle! Oh that's just a dry branch....
We've seen 5 actual rattlers so far. And about 90 things that kinda look like rattlesnakes.

3. sand. There's a lot of sand here. Sand everywhere, even in my corn pasta. Sand is hard. Sand is hot. Sand puts holes in my socks.

Oops my time is running out...
Everything has been fantastic so far. This is the best hiking trip I've ever experienced... It's such a joy to live out of a pack, especially a little bitty one.

love
Gerald/Gerry

Whew yesterday was incredible and exhausting too. I'm glad to have a half-day break today. It's wonderful to be up in the mountains with some real trees after days in the "desert" -- what we've been through is not truly desert perhaps but most would call it that. It's hot, dry, and shadeless, and there's cactus, but it's not at all like the vast sweeps of blowing sand you might imagine. But we're going to be going back there after this short respite among the real trees. Idyllwild (where we're writing from) is an incredibly friendly town to hikers. We've been enjoying the restaurants. Apparently not tired of pasta yet as we headed straight for an Italian restaurant last night. I'm out of time now! On to big bear ...
Love to everyone
Michelle

110 miles so far

2008-05-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't really describe what this hike is like in words, but I'm still going to try (with the help of some lame analogies). First, the pacific crest trail is kind of like riding a train. It's so gradual and the trail is so nice that you can just relax, let your feet do the walking, look at the beautiful desert scenery, and daydream a bit... then you wake up and *shazaam* you've just walked 25 miles. Second, the pacific crest trail is like an escalator, because you find yourself rising in elevation without any effort. Unlike on the east coast, and unlike any trail to a rock climb, the PCT trails include these crazy inventions called "switchbacks" where you go back and forth gaining elevation gradually. So gradually in fact, that you don't even notice. It always feels like you're walking on flat ground. But then you notice that you're thousands of feet above the valley floor. It almost takes the fun out of going up mountains... almost. But it makes the walking really easy. Third, the pct, at least this section, is like Mars. The landscape here is really dramatic, rugged, and almost alien in the sense that all the plants and animals are so unfamiliar out here. Lots of lizards, rattlesnakes, crazy desert flora... There are these Dr. Suess plants called Ocotillo- heres a picture of one. Anyways, they are crazy awesome... and so cool to come across along with 100 other critters and plants that somehow make a living in this desert. I'm so excited to be here; I probably sound like a lunatic, typing so fast and furiously. The hiking has been pretty easy. Yesterday, we easily did 26 miles across the mountains. The secret? We wake up, hike a couple miles, then eat breakfast, then hike a bit more, then eat lunch 1, then hike some more, eat lunch 2, then hike a bunch, eat supper, and then hike some more before we camp. That's a lot of hiking, but with frequent breaks. The other secret is that we play games like 20 questions. Y'know, the one where you have to guess what someone is thinking of by asking only 20 yes or no questions. Play that game a few times while walking. Bam! There goes ten miles. Piece of cake. Michelle also likes the alphabet game. And sometimes we tell stories. I told Michelle the entire story from the book, The Hobbit, and by the time we were done, we had walked like 7 miles. And we didnt even notice. Now I realize that it might seem like we are getting distracted from the pure wilderness scenery and all that. But there's ALOT of that to go around. And frankly, walking up endless switchbacks does not require the zen-like concentration of climbing. (Not that I'd rather be climbing right now, because I wouldn't. Ok Michelle? I would not rather be climbing. Just wanna be explicit about that.) What else? I saw a few bats. That always rocks my pants off...

I can't wait to show you some pictures. Unfortunately, I didnt bring a USB camera cable so I cant upload them right now. Maybe I will get one somewhere....

There's a bunch of other stuff I wanted to say but can't remember now. And there's other people that want to use these computers I'm sure. We are staying at this hotel-ish like place. We washed our clothes and took showers, etc. I'm excited to get back to the desert soon. I'll get Michelle to write something now. I'm no good at writing...

Gerald/Gerry

Ok, might not be quite as easy as Gerry claims, but yeah, it's true, things have been really good so far. My favorites might have been last night and today. Last night we hiked late and watched the sun sink low over the mountains. Chased it for a couple miles then watched the hills turn all shades of blue. And saw the first clouds of the entire trip rolling in over the mountains across the valley. And found ourselves enveloped in a cloud, breathing out mist. What a change from the arid hills we had just traversed. This morning we woke up in a cool cloud with big winds, and got going fast without breakfast to stay warm. We hiked through easy wide grassy prairies with rounded boulders and one called Eagle Rock, which we of course took turns mounting for eagle-riding photo opportunities. It was the very best hiking weather of the trip, and I lamented when the sun finally peeked through around 1pm. We've run into very few hikers so far on the trail, but have met a handful here in Warner Springs. Seems around 20 were staying here last night. It's hard to resist the hot springs and pools. Showering and laundering after a week of dry dirt and sand is bliss. Judging from log entries it seems most people started at the end of April, but the solitude has been nice. 110 miles down! It sounds like we have some gorgeous alpine scenery ahead in the San Jacinto mountains. I'm looking forward to that.

love,
Michelle

Animal Acoustic Communication conference in August

2008-05-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Gerry,

This isn't your usual blog post, but it looks like the best way to
reach you. Your presentation was accepted for the Animal Acoustic
Communication conference to be held Aug. 12-15, 2008, in Corvallis,
OR. (Congrats!) We had far more requests for oral presentations
than allowed by the time available, and we have to ask you to present
your work as a poster. We hope that you can accommodate this
request.

If you can do this, your poster will be up during the first two days
of the conference, Aug. 12-13 (Tue.-Wed.). There is block of time
exclusively devoted to posters in each two-day time period (with
snacks, so people will really stick around!). The full conference
schedule is now on the conference web site:

http://www.oregonstate.edu/conferences/animalcommunication2008/

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

- Register for the conference if you haven't yet.

- Conference attendees will receive a booklet with 2-page extended
abstracts for all oral and poster presentations. This means that
each presenter (THAT'S YOU) must come up with an extended abstract.
Use the template available on the web site (see the 'Abstracts'
link) to complete yours; when you're finished, please submit it via
the web site. The deadline for these 2-page extended abstracts is
June 30.

- Reserve your hotel or dorm room as soon as possible.
Conference-rate hotel rooms will be held for only a limited time.

Additional information

- As part of abstract submission, you will need to certify that your
work complies with guidelines for the ethical treatment of animals.

- If you applied for student funding, we will send you a a subsequent
email about your request.

- The whale/seabird trip shown on the web site is NOT included in the
conference fee; it costs extra. I (D. Mellinger) did a similar trip
in March and it was great fun, so I recommend the Aug. 16 trip
heartily.

- Oregon is generally a warm and dry place in August. The coast and
the mountains are both quite beautiful, and less crowded than most
such areas in the U.S. We'll soon have information on the web site
about favorite places to go, both around Corvallis and elsewhere in
and near Oregon. You're invited to stay longer before and after
the conference.

Sincerely,
Dave Mellinger
for the conference scientific and organizing committees

P.S. Sounds like you fun in the Valley! Your photos brought back a
lot of memories -- I used to climb there a lot. I still miss it,
though Smith Rock here is awfully nice too.

More photos...

2008-05-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

Michelle at the top of a climb

Ground Squirrel

Camp 4

At the base of Sentinel Rock

El Capitan

Royal Arches

Eating at the top of the Manure Pile Buttress (named for the fact that the park agency use to dump the horse manure at the base of this wall during the early part of last century).

Bouldering

Climbing in Yosemite: 7 days in the valley

2008-05-04T00:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks so so much for all the happy birthday wishes!!

Life is pretty excellent right now. Michelle and I just returned from an amazing week in gorgeous Yosemite Valley, best climbing location in the world (many would say). The weather was perfect all week, lovely blue skies with bright stars at night. The plants and animals are all a bit unfamiliar out here on the west coast, distant cousins of their eastern kin. The valley is heavenly, all pines and meadow, tumbling brooks, waterfalls, woodpeckers, cawing crows and soaring hawks. And the rock... the granite is perfect, immaculate, sparkling in the sun. There are 3,000 foot high monoliths... in every direction!! We are surrounded. By comparison, the ubiquitous 500 foot walls seem tiny.

We arrived on Friday with Dan and Tess from San Francisco. We practiced a bit on some small cliffs at the Swan Slab, where we top-roped some slabs and cracks. I led Grant's Crack (5.9) and Michelle set up Penelope's Problem (5.7). The next day, Michelle took Tess up a long multi-pitch route, while Dan and I practiced some jam cracks. Later, Dan and I raced up to meet Tess and Michelle at the top of the route. We spent a whole exhausting afternoon trying to find the elusive "swimming hole" at the top and the descent trail. Eventually, after running out of drinking water, we gave up and rappelled down next to Lower Yosemite Falls. This picture shows where we climbed, just right of the falls:

Dan and Tess are software engineers at Goggle. I met Dan while I was doing bat surveys in Honduras; he was originally in charge of computers and communications, or something like that, but eventually he was promoted to Base Camp Manager despite his young age. Dan has graciously let us stay at his apartment in the middle of San Francisco.

On Sunday, Dan and Tess left the valley, on the way dropping us off at Glacier Point Apron, a 1,000 foot high and 1/4 mile wide slab of smooth granite. The bottom of the slab was still encrusted in snow. We had to cut our own steps in the snowy slope. We climbed Harry Daley (5.8). The first pitch involved a great finger crack and walking across a one-inch wide crack in the rock. Michelle lead the second pitch including a hand crack straight over a roof. We top-roped Variations on a Theme (5.10b) and then headed down for ice cream and some climbing on small crags near camp, such as Jam Crack (5.9). The bats came out while we were packing up. The echolocation calls of some of the local species are audible to the human ear. There's nothing better than seeing bats on the way down from a climb.

Monday was the best birthday I've ever had. We decided to climb the famous Nutcracker, a relatively small (600 foot high) route next to El Capitan. There are many variations and we took the hardest line for every pitch (5.9+). The last pitch involves some wild moves, where people often break their ankles apparently. In fact, Michelle busted her ankle on this climb a few years ago, albeit not on the infamous "ankle-breaking section". This part involves a long reach up an overhanging corner. You grab a hold way above your head and have to hoist your body up and over a slanting ledge. The move is only dangerous for the leader, and it's not too difficult. We both did it by swinging our heel on to the ledge first.

After the Nutcracker, we climbed a 5.7 corner, a 5.10 slab/arete, and a 5.9 face. We were really, really hungry; that evening we went to the only restaurant in the park that was open- some fancy place with a corny name- and ate: bread and LOTS of butter, then salmon gravlax, a 10 oz steak, potatoes and gravy, vegetables, shittake strudel, then stuffed trout, rice, chocolate cake, and apple crisp. We were the last customers to leave and the bill was a ridiculous 90 dollars.

Tuesday, we took a rest day and hiked around and went to the visitors center to learn what the tourists do here. Yosemite is very developed, which is sad (but also convenient). On the one hand, all the shopping and dining centers detract from the wilderness feel and the natural beauty, but on the other hand, it is kind of nice to come down off a huge buttress of rock and get a slice of pizza in five minutes. For most of the tourists here, the valley is a bit like disneyland but with amazing natural scenery instead of crazy rides. Luckily, we get to do more than just look at the cliffs.

On Wednesday, we did one of the coolest climbs of my life, Serenity Crack (5.10d). Standing at the base, the climb looks pretty intimidating. The route consists of a continuous 400 foot long crack up a perfect clean granite face. The route was originally an aid route, unclimbable except with the help of steel pitons that were bashed into the tiny crack. However, all through the 50's, 60's and 70's so many people bashed pitons into the thin seam that it's now possible to stick your fingers into the piton scars and climb the crack! The crux involved a series of fingertip jams over a bulge with no footholds. It was awesome!

We were originally planning to continue up a 5.10 handcrack called Sons Of Yesterday, which is supposedly the best in the valley, but unfortunately it was just too windy and cold that high up, and I was wearing only a thin t-shirt. So we rappelled back down, put on warm clothes and did another climb called Super Slide (5.9), which was 500 feet of easier climbing.

The next day we returned to the same area, called Royal Arches, to climb a 5.8 offwidth called Trial by Fire. An "offwidth" refers to an awkwardly wide crack that is too big to jam with your fist and too small too crawl inside of, like a squeeze chimney. Imagine trying to climb a vertical crack that is 6 inches wide. You have to wedge your knee or a bent arm (called a chicken wing) or maybe shove both your hands in at once, jamming them against each other. Thankfully, Michelle got me a huge 5 inch camming device for my birthday allowing me to protect myself on this climb. We also went to a lovely little crag called the Church Bowl, where we climbed a beautiful two pitch 5.8 handcrack called Bishop's Terrace, Church Bowl Tree 5.10b, and Church Bowl Layback 5.8. I also backed off a scary 5.10 face climb because it was protected by bolts that were spaced far apart. If I fell before the second bolt I would land in a nasty tree, so I just came down rather than risk it. (Just to make you guys feel less nervous, we never took any lead falls, and didn't do any climbs that were pushing our limits.) We also ran into two people we knew from Cornell, Natalie and Taki.

Friday, the last day, we took another "rest day", which turned into an afternoon of bouldering for me. We made some friends who had crash pads and followed them around to climb some hard boulder problems. "Problems" are difficult little bits of climbing, usually on an overhanging boulder; they often require many tries. Crash pads are huge pieces of tough foam that you can fall on without getting hurt. I did a problem called Bachar Cracker (v4), which was maybe the coolest boulder problem I've ever done. It's named after the famous climber John Bachar, but the name also refers to the possibility of it being a back- cracker: if you fall you could land on some pointed granite boulders. Fortunately though, we had TWO crash pads and 3 spotters to make the fall totally safe. The problem starts down in a crevice cave, and climbs out the roof using a crack that gets progressively smaller. The last move involves a dynamic leap from a tiny fingerlock (your index finger and thumb pressed into a tiny flaring crack). Here's a picture I took of a guy we met named Ethan trying it:

A photographer also took some pictures of me on it. He said he would post them here: http://www.luxdomo.com.

Our last night, we also had the amazing opportunity to meet and talk awhile with the legendary climber Ron Kauk. He's climbed in the valley over 30 years and put up some of the hardest climbs in Yosemite and even the world. Learn more here. Heres a video of him climbing something crazy. Now he's a full time environmental advocate for the park. He invited us to visit his camp in Tuolumne Meadows when we get there on the PCT.

The wildlife is spectacular here. We saw a mother bear and two cubs (who walked basically through camp), deer, ground squirrels, raccoons, and many interesting bird species. The "wild"life here is not afraid of people and will snatch food right out of your hands given a chance.

We stayed at the world famous Camp 4, which is actually listed as a national historic site for its importance in the history of rock climbing. Here, you meet great climbers, old and new, from all over the world. There is quite a strong community of climbers, a "brotherhood" as one old Spanish climber put it. It's easy to get rides from people, and teams always help each other out if something goes wrong up on the walls. In the evening, Camp 4 is bustling with activity; there are people bouldering (there are several boulders strewn about camp), cooking, pantomiming climbing moves, and telling stories about climbs they did. Three years ago, when I first came here, I wrote that Yosemite valley was "the greatest single place to be on earth", and it still feels that way, although I wasn't sad to leave this time. The valley is so crowded with tourists during the summer months. The traffic jams are endless getting into and out of the park. On the way out, our bus waited in construction traffic for about an hour or so. But luckily we were able to sit outside in the warm sun. Michelle looks sad or frustrated in this photo, but she wasn't...

We felt we had gotten a lot of climbing out of our systems. Yet interestingly, we headed to the climbing gym on our first day back in San Francisco to meet up with Kristin's college friend Eric.

In some ways, I feel old already, because I guess I'm probably in my prime for climbing. I'll surely never be able to climb 5.13 and probably will never get much stronger than I am now. At the same time, I feel excited to be able to be doing all the things I've ever dreamed, like doing Serenity Crack (and having it feel easy) and thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Now is such a great opportunity to soak up the pure bliss of the best of what life has to offer. Life on the trail will be simple, even more simple than climbing. Traditional climbing requires a lot of constant thinking and planning. You're always building anchors (that you trust your life to), checking each other, double-checking, keeping the ropes sorted, and sometimes racing to beat the setting sun. But hiking the PCT will be a different sort of challenge, just staying motivated and putting one foot in front of the other for a very long way. I think it will be ok; we are good about supporting each other.

We have many more photos to share from the valley, but we'll have to do that when we get a more stable internet connection....

checking out the bay area

2008-04-22T17:54:00.001-07:00

The visit to Berkeley went very well. I'm giving another talk on
Thursday, to the whole department this time, which is great. seems
like the prof and lab are excited about what I'm doing. the lab is
really super.

We checked out Berkeley and the university, then visited the Google
campus, which was another world entirely. Wow! 4,000 of the world's
best computer gurus all in one place. There were high tech playgrounds
everywhere, s commercial spaceship, a life-size T-rex skeletal
display, completely free gourmet food, etc etc. It was like this
utopian geek cult. Now, we are in San Fransisco. I just lost ten bucks
to a chess hustler in the park. We played two games- a 5 minute and an
unlimited time game. But I was proud to get to the endgame at least.
haha. Anyways, he gave me an instructional DVD on chess openings. And
it was wicked fun to play someone that good.

I'm trying to type fast, cuz I have only 7 min left. What else? We are
leaving to visit Yosemite (with Dan who works at Google and his
girlfriend Tess) on Friday. then going down to San Diego to see Erik,
then starting the hike.

Weather is really great here. the plants are all different. more later....

--
^^*^^
Gerald Gunnawa Carter
http://batbum.googlepages.com

2008-04-22T16:08:00.001-07:00

hello
good way to send free emails? Use the stuff in the sf apple store!
Trip has been awesome so far!

--
^^*^^
Gerald Gunnawa Carter
http://batbum.googlepages.com

How to post here

2008-04-15T19:18:00.001-07:00

Hi Michelle,

If you, me, or anyone else wants to post to this blog:
http://michellegerrypcthike.blogspot.com/

then all they have to do is email a message to batbum1.pcthike('AT')blogger.com

This way we can post updates about our hike here, keep a journal,
share info, or whatever.

--
^^*^^
Gerald Gunnawa Carter
http://batbum.googlepages.com

Hello

2008-04-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

we just started this blog. we will post stuff about our trip here (maybe).