Los Gatos, CA
Well, here we are, back in the fast-paced urban setting. Today was our second full day of lounging around, smelling clean (for the most part), and not having to put on sour clothes or wet shoes. What does a thru-hiker do now after changing our daily routine of spending nearly 5 months walking where we enjoyed physical activity, mental and emotion freedom, and simplicity while living the ultimate dream? Currently, we find ourselves a bit restless, wanting the long lasting daily endorphin high that has quickly come to hault. We managed to spend time in the pool, and hot tub, as well as doing some well needed stretching and foot care. Melissa cooked an Indian dish, Kitcheree, with heaps of fresh veggies and I did some baking of cookies and banana bread. We have found ourselves laughing at some of the modern conveniences we have done so long without, but enjoy some of the comforts as well. We had a hard time sleeping our first night off the trail in Vancouver due to the excessive street noise and loud thumping from the club next door, but have since enjoyed more pleasant and roomier sleep.
Melissa and I successfully completed our post hike surveys for the Pacific Crest Trail Association and I took a few moments to add up the elevation given in each section of Halfmile’s PCT Maps. Pre-hike I heard elevation totals for the entirety of the trail vary from 250-500 thousand feet, but if Halfmile and his GPS are correct, which I would say the majority of hiker favor his maps to Eric the Blacks, we came up with a grand total of 534,290 feet gain, I don’t believe this includes Mt Whitney, or any other side routes for that matter, but who is really counting. 534 plus thousand feet of gain and as you know what goes up, comes down, and I think Melissa and I both felt the downhill more than the up in the final big climbs.
We are again very thankful for the love and support given by family and friends, who took time to share a note of encouragement or put some love into baking and/or packaging some goodies for us to enjoy. Your generosity and kindness is appreciated and we are excited to present our outdoor education communities with their scholarship awards and see the change that is created in many young hearts.
We are proud to announce that InspireOut has raised $5,500 towards scholarship funds for children to attend outdoor education! We can’t wait to present the Web of Life Field School, Klamath Outdoor Science School, and Great Basin Outdoor School with these gifts for students. Thank you so much for your dedication and support to our cause. It has touched our hearts dearly and will change many children’s lives. CLICK HERE to see the many beautiful people who supported our cause. Make sure to also see our long list of TRAIL ANGELS who helped us to complete our journey.
Lastly, our Washington picture album is up – although there are not near enough pictures because of all the darn rain!
We look forward to catching up with each of you individually and sharing stories. May you continue to enjoy the final days of summer.
~Swift & Buckeye
Oh! And stay tuned for the future endeavors of InspireOut as we start to develop our backpacking school!
1 Comment
Mike Sweeney · November 8, 2010 at 6:08 am
Congratulations! Jerry Budrick of the Amador Dispatch told me about you two and it’s taken me a year to check out your progress. Nice job and great blog!
I hiked the Pct over 20 years and finished in 2007. Your photos of Harts Pass etc. brought back some wonderful memories. I will keep following your efforts to set up the school.
I did articles for the Dispatch on my Hika for the Pika and Badwater to Whitney hikes. You could probably google them if you are at all interested.
I hope to continue with Pika advocacy and will really get rolling when I retire in 2011. Looks to me like you two would be wonderful collaborators!
All the best,
Mike Sweeney