The PCT Volume 14: Avoiding the Heat

[joe]

doing okay, some ups and downs,

ups:  I have been cleared to do upper body workouts and I'm doing light weights at the gym, also figured a way to do some light cardio with one foot, and the gym has a handicap shower, complete with chair, which makes life significantly easier (can't get the cast wet), stoked about that...

downs:  I'm involved in an insurance saga, just switched policies May 1, and the new company is putting me through a eligibility review to determine whether they will cover the costs, a bit complicated, but a real chance I'm going to get screwed, straight out of a Michael Moore movie...so sleepless nights worrying...driving is also very difficult (not to mention illegal) and something I'm trying to avoid, but having to do here and there...

overall, I think I'll be ahead of the curve healing though...
look forward to the next mud gathering...

[squiddo]

doing okay, some ups and downs,

ups:  I have been cleared to do upper body workouts and I'm doing light weights at the gym, also figured a way to do some light cardio with one foot, and the gym has a handicap shower, complete with chair, which makes life significantly easier (can't get the cast wet), stoked about that...

downs:  I'm involved in an insurance saga, just switched policies May 1, and the new company is putting me through a eligibility review to determine whether they will cover the costs, a bit complicated, but a real chance I'm going to get screwed, straight out of a Michael Moore movie...so sleepless nights worrying...driving is also very difficult (not to mention illegal) and something I'm trying to avoid, but having to do here and there...

overall, I think I'll be ahead of the curve healing though...
look forward to the next mud gathering...

Joe- sorry to hear about the pains...insurance sucks and hope it works out in your favor.

[Brad Young]

A little thread drift is no big deal. And the words are not offensive per se anyway. Besides, if you consider what the Mudn'Crud handkerchief is really used for (allergy "remediation" might be a good word for it), that's not exactly a topic for polite company anyway (not that the people who post here is polite company by any means, but my family does glance at this thread to see what the girls are up to).

[joe]

post removed, that was easy...

have fun on the hike next week, look forward to more photos...

[squiddo]

A little thread drift is no big deal. And the words are not offensive per se anyway. Besides, if you consider what the Mudn'Crud handkerchief is really used for (allergy "remediation" might be a good word for it), that's not exactly a topic for polite company anyway (not that the people who post here is polite company by any means, but my family does glance at this thread to see what the girls are up to).

HA, fair enough.

[Brad Young]

A friend is over for dinner tonight. We got to talking about our upcoming week on the PCT. That led to some history of all the trips; the over four years we've been going down and hiking, piling on miles over time. Then the photos came up and we compared some from now to some from our very first trip in April, 2007 (33 miles in five days).

Holy mackerel! I guess when your kids grow, it's before your eyes and you don't notice so much. But the difference between those photos and now is utterly striking.

So, as part of getting psyched for this upcoming week (and since I never posted trip reports for the first three trips, since Mudworm hadn't given me her simple instructions for posting photos yet), I'm posting a few photos from April 2 through 7, 2007 (Tricia turned 5 years old the day before we started this trip).

Putting our feet under the Mexican Border:





The PCT southern terminus (with my Dad, who hiked a few of our earlier trips with us):





Katie at 11 and Tricia at 5:








On the trail with a determined hiker (how could such a shrimp walk so far?):





Anyway, that's the retrospective. We're leaving very early Saturday and planning a full day's hike once we get there. Can't wait.

[mungeclimber]

the change is dramatic and fun to see, especially with such a cool hike as the theme.

[Brad Young]

In the last photo there is a Ridgerest strapped to my day-pack. That tells me that this was our second day of hiking (the first was three miles from the border to the first major road north of it). We had to do 11.5 miles to the next possible pick-up point. I had no idea whether Tricia could do that distance in a day. So I brought some basic bivy gear so we could spend the night out if we had to.

She made the hike, but fell asleep in the car within 2 minutes after Vic picked us up. After sleeping for twenty minutes, we got back to camp and she played at the playground for 40 minutes while we got dinner ready.

Kids have limitless energy.

[F4?]

Truly inspiring.

We could start next year, but the little one would be cheated as I'd be carrying it.

[skully]

Good stuff as always, Brad. Those shorts are a bit SHORT though, eh?
((chuckle)).....Groove on!

[Brad Young]

Factor, it took me a minute to figure out what you meant by you'd be carrying "it." It? You mean him or her, not it! Goodness man.

And no matter what the new one is up to, carrying him/her or not, James can always be taken hiking and climbing. We all saw him prove the "limitless energy" theory at the Rendezvous didn't we? The kid wore out a whole pair of pants in one weekend sliding and sliding and sliding.

Skully, those same shorts are already packed for this trip. In addition to maximizing the tan, they have another great function now: they're much shorter than what's in style, and when I wear them it maximizes Katie's embarrassment.

[skully]

They're perfect, then, eh? Awesome.

[mynameismud]

It is cool to see the change.

When do they learn to ride?

[Brad Young]

When do they learn to ride?

I assume you mean really ride, like you two do? If so, the answer is: never if it is up to Vicki and I. We aren't really bike riders. I would however be very open to someone like you or mudworm (or Stacy Schr., who's really gotten into it, but is in Colorado) showing them things like how fun and intense bike riding can be. Some of the tricks you can use; you know opening their minds to a new way to have fun.

[mynameismud]

beats walking.

[F4?]

Pictures??