Livestrong Challenge!

Here I am this morning after the Livestrong Challenge 5K in front of the Texas State Capitol.

Radio Interview

I'm participating in a radio interview today around noon on KGAL-AM 1580.  The host, Ray, will be talking with me about my recent hike and fundraising efforts.  If you are in the mid-Willamette Valley, hope you can tune in!

Addendum - Day 93ish (and 94)

I'm now finally and officially done with the trail.  I got back from Northern California late Friday night after spending the past 2.5 days there with my dad.  You probably remember that back in August I had to skip from Old Station to Burney Falls State Park because of a forest fire in the area.  I had really wanted to get it done prior to leaving California, but it just wasn't going to be possible without spending way too much time and energy that I would need later on my sprint to the finish in Canada.  Turns out that I was right and I needed every last ounce of energy and last minute of time I had to get to Canada before the snow got too deep.  But anyway, I really wanted to get the final 46 miles done as soon after the original hike as possible while I was still numb (sort of) to the pain.  It seems like the pain from the day-to-day grind worsens after a few days off the trail, as much as that may sound counter-intuitive.  So on Wednesday, October 7, Dad and I loaded all my gear into the Subaru and off we went. 

We spent the night at the Heitman's in Old Station.  They are the local trail angels there and have a big tree house in their back yard where hikers can stay.  So that's where we spent the night...in a tree house.  It has electricity and a TV, but no insulation so it was very cold.  Firefly (Mrs. Heitman) made breakfast for us the following morning and I was on the trail by 9 am.  A little later than I had hoped, but still okay.  My goal was to get 30 miles under my belt that first day so that I would only have 16 to go on Friday so that we could get back at a decent hour that night.  Turns out I spent about as much time hiking as we did driving too and from California! 

The fire that had forced me off the trail earlier had clearly done quite a bit of damage to the surrounding area.  The trail, however, was in fine shape and really hadn't been degraded at all.  I was very happy that the terrain wasn't very rough, either!  Except for the occasional lava field, it was generally easy with very few climbs or descents worth mentioning.  The one thing I didn't like is that it was very dry, which I knew it would be.  The skipped section included a notoriously long dry stretch along the Hat Creek Rim.  If I remember correctly, it is about 30 miles long.  It was a primary reason why having a support vehicle was so important to me.  It allowed me to focus on hiking instead of conserving water. 

Later on during my hike north, the shortening days really started to mess up my progress and this was no different.  When I had left California, I still had about a 14 or 15-hour day to work with, but on my return it was more like 12.  What that meant is that my progress wasn't nearly as good as what I was hoping it would be.  To get my 30 miles in, I had to run a good chunk of the trail (that would allow for it) later in the day.  I ran most of the last 9 miles and even then came up short and had to stop at 29 miles.  Mercifully, my dad treated me to a hotel stay and a hot dinner instead of trail food and a tent!  Even with a hot shower and hot food, however, my left knee was really sore the next day (Friday).  It was probably the sorest it has been on the trail and it really slowed me down.  Despite the slower pace, I was able to get to Burney Falls around 3:15 pm.  Unfortunately, due to a lost map on my part and the resulting confusion on rendezvous points, I wasn't able to connect with my dad until about 5 pm, slowing down the return trip.

All in all, though, I felt good about the last 46 miles and was glad to get it done so soon after my original hike.  I can now say that I have hiked from Mexico to Canada in one season, without having to explain the asterisk, which was important to me. 

I'll continue to post relevant updates as often as is necessary.  I'll be uploading some photos to my website and will definitely let you all know when I'm done with that.

Open House Tomorrow, Sunday, Oct 11

If you are near the Albany, Oregon area, please feel free to swing by an open house that my family is hosting for me.  I'll share some of my stories and experiences from the trail with whomever shows up and there will be some good food, too!

Details follow:

Whitespires Church
510 5th Ave SW
Albany, OR 97321

Sunday, Oct 11
2 pm - 5 pm

Hope to see you there!
RJK

Day 151 - CANADA!

After 151 days on the trail, beginning May 5, I have finally arrived in Canada the evening of Friday, October 2. The sense of accomplishment is unreal and in some ways, I can't believe I'm here!

My final day of hiking began at about 7:50 am. The terrible weather from the night before continued into the following morning. I awoke to ice and snow all over my tent and serious condensation issues inside my tent. Everything was damp. When I had everything to the point that I could get out of my tent, I put my shoes on and discovered that they were literally frozen solid. This came after I put my already wet socks on in order to keep my last pair of socks dry for emergency purposes. So you can imagine how great that felt!

Even though it turned out to be my last day on the trail, I didn't know it yet. I hadn't been able to make a decision yet because I really didn't want to put in a 34-mile day in less-than-ideal conditions. Regardless, I wanted to put myself in a position to be able to finish in case I needed to. So, because of the shorter days and the disappearing trail due to the increasing snow showers, I started before 8. Because my feet were so cold and completely soaked, I didn't stop hiking all day except for very brief 5-minute breaks occasionally. I didn't even stop for lunch.

About mid-morning, I still had 5 miles to go to get up and over the highest point left on the trail--which also happened to be the highest point in Washington on the PCT--when conditions significantly worsened. I could see very little because of all the snow coming down made it nearly a whiteout. Fortunately, two other hikers had gone before me about two hours prior so I could follow their tracks. The only problem was that they were filling up fast because it was snowing so hard. By the time 2 pm had come, I was hiking in 8-12 inches of fresh powder but had made it to the highest point. With about 15 miles to go to Manning Park, I kept moving as fast as I could in the conditions, but began to feel the fatigue of non-stop hiking catch up to me. Luckily, it was nearly all downhill to the border. At 4:45 pm, I arrived at the border and what a beautiful sight it was--not in terms of scenery, but just because it was such a huge milestone. (My previous post has a photo of me at the border monument.) After signing the register, I kept moving right away because my feet were so cold. Despite finally being in Canada, I still had 8 miles to go to arrive in Manning Park where my family was expecting me the following day. I wasn't expecting the trail to be as difficult as it was from that point forward, and my worsening fatigue only complicated matters. Nevertheless, I trudged on, hiked the last hour by headlamp, and arrived at my family's cabin at about 8:10 pm, thoroughly exhausted. Nobody was there when I arrived because they were all at the pool or still driving. Fortunately, my sister Kristin was just coming back to grab something from the cabin and so I was able to get in nearly right away. Over the course of the next hour, I got one excited and surprised reaction after another, which made my day. First Kristin, then Adrienne, then Andrea...Mom and Dad were in there somewhere. It was all a lot of fun. Then they all surprised me with matching orange shirts (true to my trail name: Orange-Shirted Guy, or OSG) which was a classy and fun touch to the whole evening.

There is so much more to share, and I will over the coming days. However, for now I'm content with being finished and allowing my legs and feet to enjoy their first time off in a month. It has been a long journey that I will never forget. Making it even more rewarding is the fact that more than $10,000 were raised for the benefit of the Lance Armstrong Foundation before I reached Canada. A total which I'm still trying to increase before this whole experience winds down. No matter how much ends up being raised, I'm so thankful to everyone for your support!

Day 150 - 2 Days Remaining?

(Originally written on Thursday, October 1)

The question mark is there because, put simply, I may try to get all the way to Canada tomorrow. It is about 25 miles to the border and another 8 to Manning Park. I would prefer to stick with the original plan of 20 miles tomorrow and the rest the following day, but the weather just is not cooperating tonight. It didn't really start until the very end of the day, either. We even got just enough sun to dry out our gear around lunchtime. That was definitely a bonus because I don't think any of us was expecting to see the sun before we got to the end of the trail.

Anyway, now I'm faced with a decision. Do I pack up and hit the trail early and go hard all day and finish tomorrow? Or do I take it a bit slower and get in on Saturday? If I had any idea at all of what the weather was going to look like, then it would be an easier decision. As bad as the weather was today, it could have certainly been worse! In fact, we were very fortunate. Fortunate that we were above the snow level so we got snow instead of rain and could therefore stay dryer. And fortunate because the ground temperature wasn't so cold that the snow was sticking. Now that story has changed a bit tonight as I can hear little pieces of ice hit my tent. And when I peeked outside my tent a minute ago, the snow was definitely accumulating on the ground. Now is when I really wish I had some good winter boots. I expect this to be the coldest night on the trail.

U.S.-Canada Border

This is where I crossed from the U.S. into Canada on the evening of Friday, October 2. The "finish" is a little anticlimactic because I had another 8 miles to go after crossing the border. I ended up hiking about 34 miles on the last day to arrive a day early because of blizzard-like conditions earlier in the day at higher elevations.

Day 149 - 3 Days Remaining

(Originally written on Wednesday, September 30)

Prior to today, I had never hiked in freshly fallen snow during the month of September. At least not that I can recall. It's for moments like these that I'm very uncomfortable with the well-intentioned congratulations directed to me for "finishing" the trail. There are still a lot of things that can keep me from getting to Canada, despite my close proximity. Chief of these is the weather. As you know from my previous post, it began raining last night as I was setting up camp. That rain at about 3300' was snow at about 4500'. So at any given point today, I could have been walking in up to 4" of snow. That much snow isn't a problem. But if the notoriously-difficult-to-predict weather of the North Cascades keeps dropping precipitation, then who knows what can happen. Why I DO know is that it is very cold tonight. It is 33 degrees as of about 30 minutes ago here at about 4500'. We are 47 miles from the U.S.-Canada border and 55 miles from Manning Park. Unfortunately, when we climb up and over 6000' tomorrow, we'll stay there for the majority of the distance remaining on the trail. That means more cold temperatures unless there is a change in weather.

Anyway, I have only three more nights on the trail before I reach my destination and that is a very cool thing to think about.

Day 148 - 4 Days Remaining

(Originally written on Tuesday, September 29)

First off, Happy Birthday to my sister Andrea today! (Sorry I couldn't call you...I was in a town that prides itself in its reclusiveness.)

After finally getting a shower last night, I crawled into bed which consisted of my sleeping bag on a hotel floor. And by hotel floor I mean that really thin carpet that is about a quarter-inch thick that they lay directly on concrete. I put two mattress pads down and it was still uncomfortable. Consequently, I didn't sleep well, which is becoming all too common with the recent dip in nighttime temperatures.

Nevertheless, I found the motivation to get up pretty early: a good, HOT breakfast. A breakfast burrito and three slices of French toast later and I was a happy hiker.

Since I wasn't able to do much of anything related to my resupply the night before, I had a full morning in front of me. The laundromat consisted of one washer and one dryer and there was a person in front of me. So that took awhile. By the time I got my load in the dryer, it was about time for the post office to open. So I went there and picked up my resupply box (thanks Mom!). By the time I had everything ready to go, I had missed the 11:15 am shuttle bus back to the trailhead by about 20 minutes. I consoled myself by having a burger at the restaurant. However, I would have preferred to get out on that shuttle because four other hikers were leaving on that one, too. And with the weather being what it is, some hiking company would have been nice! But they are probably two hours ahead of me and it is unlikely that I'll catch up before the end.

But speaking of weather, it's time for me to provide the latest on-the-ground weather update. Weather watching has become an all-consuming project recently. Right now, shortly before 9 pm, the rain seems to be dying down. The shower didn't last too long, thankfully. I have no idea what to expect for the rest of tonight and anytime in the future. Nobody does. It was nicer this morning when I awoke than it was when I went to bed so I was encouraged. Then, literally as I was getting on the 2 pm shuttle, I saw (and felt) my very first raindrops for the day. When I got to the trailhead 10 miles west, it was sprinkling, but nothing major. Regardless, I put my pack cover on just in case. Turns out I really didn't need it. When I made camp 11.5 miles later, I thought I felt something, looked up, and got hit right in the eye by a raindrop. I was already about halfway done setting up my tent so I quickly finished the job and got everything inside before it could get very wet. So I sort of dodged a bullet there.

Anyway, as it stands now, I'm at Mile 2585.5 tonight and I'm hoping to do about 23 tomorrow. If I can, and the weather holds out, then I'll have back-to-back even 20's, then about 15 on Saturday. I'm just really, really hoping for dry weather for the next couple of days. It would be so nice to end this trail on a high note!

Day 147 - 5 Days Remaining

(Originally written on Monday, September 28)

I'm sure about one thing: I'm really glad that I pushed myself to get from Stevens Pass to Stehekin in four days. The weather looked like something was starting to brew this afternoon as I was finishing up my 21.6-mile jaunt to Stehekin River Road. Now I'm in Stehekin proper, which is about 10 miles east of the trail, and despite the darkness, you can see the line of clouds mirroring the line of mountains. When I arrived in Stehekin, there were at least six other hikers already there, and a seventh had already pushed on. The weather information they had been gathering is conflicted--some reports said rain for the next five days, at least one said rain on Wed and Fri, and some said no rain at all. Park Service rangers have a report that is for the North Cascades National Park and that calls for rain, but the rangers themselves say that is for the west side of the park. So the bottom line is: No one really knows for sure. The real concern is that any rainy weather systems that blow through now have the potential to bring snow as well. Temperatures have taken a noticeable dip in the past few days as well...enough so that I've been having trouble sleeping, even with my sleeping bag liner. Here in Stehekin where the elevation is less than 2000', the temperature isn't bad, but I wouldn't want to be higher up! Too bad for me however, because that is where I'm going, hopefully tomorrow. It's hard to believe, but I have less than 100 miles to go, about 90 in fact. I have until Saturday at noon to do it. Under normal circumstances it would be a piece of cake. In fact, all the thru-hikers gathered here at Stehekin were in high spirits until they got the inconclusive weather report. We are definitely all fearing the worst even after having the best weather a hiker could hope for over the past week. I guess some of our questions will be answered tomorrow when we at least try to go out tomorrow. If the weather is very poor, I may wait another day and cram 75 miles into three days, leaving 15 for Saturday. The bottom line is that I'm just not sure of how the next few days will look. I don't think anybody does.

So now my agenda for tomorrow looks like this: breakfast, laundry, resupply. The post office doesn't open until 10 am so I'm definitely sticking around for a little while. The good news is that I'll be able to have breakfast at the same place I had dinner tonight: the Stehekin Landing Restaurant. And the food there tonight was absolutely awesome, or maybe it just tasted spectacular because I had been gnawing on trail food for four days.

So now I'm sitting outside and waiting for the pay phone--the ONLY pay phone in Stehekin--to call my parents to let them know that I made it in safely. Stehekin is remote. You can only get here by air or boat and there is zero cell service. The pay phone is even by satellite. Anyway, my phone call will only take a minute or two and this guy has been talking for a LONG time. I'm kind of starting to run out of patience because I still need to shower. Ugh...this is when I really miss modern conveniences and I need to remind myself that soon I'll be back to having as much technology at my fingertips as I'd like. Only then I'll probably be wishing for some solitude. The grass is always greener on the other side, as the saying goes.

Day 146 - 6 Days Remaining

(Originally written on Sunday, September 27)

I can honestly say that I think I hiked more switchbacks today than any other of the roughly 150 days on the trail. They were relentless. The 2.5-mile steep climb I mentioned in yesterday's entry? All switchbacks. And when I got to the top, after a brief respite, it was switchbacks all the way down to Vista Creek. Then I had another batch of them later on. But it is okay because the weather was absolutely perfect! I literally did not see one cloud all day long. And in the North Cascades, that is a rarity.

Today's hike was anything but "normal". I woke up to iced-over pools of water and frost everywhere. It was frigid! I started out by 8, and knowing that I had some rough, poorly maintained terrain in front of me, I was only hoping to hike 20 miles. I nearly didn't even get that! I started out with a steep drop down to Milk Creek (via switchback of course), then straight back up the other side, then back down to Vista Creek and the Suiattle River before I finished the day with a relatively easy 4.4-mile climb.

The mileage problems really began on the super-steep ascent. It just took longer than expected and by the time I finally got to a decent break point at the top, it was already 11:45 am. Then the descent to Vista Creek, Gamma Creek, and Suiattle River was completely choked with blowdowns (I referenced this in earlier entries). I couldn't believe how many downed trees there were! I took some photos just because I wanted to make sure I could prove later on that I wasn't exagerrating. Most of the time there was a relatively easy route around the trees, but oftentimes there weren't. One place in particular had so mich debris, I had a hard time finding the trail on the other side. I'm just really glad that I put in big miles the past two days so that a day like today didn't kill my chances of getting to Stehekin by tomorrow. My last big challenge of the day was the crossing of the Suiattle. The hype was all that: hype. There really wasn't much of a challenge to it. As long as you were paying attention, you'd be fine. I will say, however, that I'm glad I wasn't halfway across the river when the two fighter jets on a training run came roaring through the canyon! It was loud and awesome...I never get tired of seeing them!

Anyway, now I'm left with 21.6 mostly downhill miles to get to Stehekin River Road tomorrow. The last shuttle bus into town leaves at 6:15 so I don't have a whole lot of time to take my time on the trail. Once there, I'll be doing my final resupply...hard to imagine.

Day 145 - One Week Remaining

(Originally written on Saturday, September 26)

Back-to-back 28-mile days...woohoo!

After two days of hiking north of Stevens Pass, I have about 44 miles to go to Stehekin, my last resupply stop on the trail.

This morning I woke up to a mist with bite. The bite came from the chilly breeze. Today was the first day on the trail that felt like fall all day long. The clouds eventually burned off, but it was chilly enough that I wore my gloves all day long. Perhaps it was because of the chill that I did my 28 miles before the sun went down, unlike yesterday. I move faster in the cold weather just to stay warm!

Speaking of staying warm, it is freezing outside tonight! Even now inside my sleeping bag I can feel it. It's a good thing I brought my sleeping bag liner with me for this part of the trip...I can feel the difference already! But as cold as it is, I'm already dreading tomorrow morning. Getting up is going to be harder than usual...ugh. On the plus side, I've got a pretty cool campsite that I need to take a photo of before I break camp. Basically, I'm wedged between two huge rocks and one of them is providing a "roof" of sorts over top of me. Probably wouldn't help much if it was really raining, but may help counter condensation issues which would be nice.

So after two big days, tomorrow is supposed to be my "easy" 20-mile day. The problem is that I'll likely be working just as hard and just have fewer miles to show for it. The day begins with a crossing of Milk Creek. It had a bridge that was wiped out by an avalanche and now you can either go to the new bridge a mile downstream or just hop across some rocks. Then I have a (gulp) 2.5-mile climb at an 8.8 gradient. I think this will be my steepest climb of that length for the entire trip! Finally, I've got a crossing of the Suiattle River that will be interesting because it doesn't have a bridge (it got wiped out, too).

Okay...I'm off to sleep. Hopefully I'll have good things to report tomorrow!

Poo with a View

I'm sorry, but I just had to post this picture I took of a pit toilet I came across just north of Mica Lake on Saturday, September 26. The trail in Washington has a lot of these toilets in somewhat secluded places but this one made me laugh because of the view it had.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Day 144 - 8 Days Remaining

(Originally written on Friday, September 25)

Today was a day of just slugging it out. It wasn't the toughest day I've had, but it was hard for sure. The guidebook I've been using on the trip indicates that this is the second most difficult section on the entire trail, behind only the High Sierra. I'm sure I haven't seen its worst yet, but the lower elevation and smaller climbs make it much easier than the High Sierra, in my opinion. One thing I will say, however, is that this section has some very steep parts. Some of the steepest prolonged sections I've seen on the entire trail, and that's saying something!

But I learned a long time ago that this wasn't going to be an easy accomplishment. So I just keep slugging away at it, making as big a dent as I can each day. Today's mileage mark started at 188 remaining and tonight I'm at 160. I'm pretty pleased that I was able to get 28 miles done today. In a perfect world, I'll do it tomorrow, too, so that I can focus on getting about 20 the following day, Sunday. That's when I'll be navigating the worst trail conditions I've seen as well as tackling some pretty mean steep sections. It could shape up to be a long day. But first, I gotta get up and going at a decent hour tomorrow so I'm signing off for today.

Oh wait...nearly forgot! Two cool wildlife sightings to report. The first was this morning at about 9 in a forested area. I was approaching a corner when a snow white mountain goat saunters around the corner. He looked at me with an "What the...? Holy crap!" look on his face before he bolted the way he came. When I got to the corner, there was no trace of him except the hoofprints he left behind. The second cool thing I saw was in the afternoon. I heard a terrible crashing in the woods below and about 100 yards in front of me. Aside from the patch of trees, it was a wide open blueberry patch. A big, black bear had been grabbing an afternoon snack when I startled him. It was the best view of a bear I've had yet! Unfortunately, I couldn't get a photo of either occurence. Bummer.