July 7 Halfway!!

I reached my most challenging milestone yet-- the halfway point,
1325 miles (a few miles less due to PCT detours this year). I am 6 days ahead of schedule.



I did't do it standing on my head but I did it!



Gone Fishing

The PCT has a small post commemorative of the accomplishment.





Rubs was at the half-way point and shared his bear story with us. (FYI: He is a massage therapist hence "Rubs"). He left Belden and cowboy camped a short distance away only to be startled awake by someone searching his pack which was less than 3' away. That someone was a big black bear (Billy?)! It's uncertain who was more afraid, but the claw prints left in the dirt as the bear sped off after screams from Rubs leads me to believe it was a tie.
Clay showed up shortly after we got there and I was able to get a pic of him and Gone Fishing chilling-out.





There is a hiker register at the halfway point and Gone Fishing and I counted nearly 60 hikers who have reached
this point. Many wrote words of thanks and heartfelt appreciation for the opportunity to hike the PCT. Many sounded lonley and made an attempt to reconnect with past hiking partners. Most gave thanks to trail angels and volunteers who contribute so much. We read all of the entries, added our personal sentiments, took pictures and just savored the moment. Then we put this list together for you...

YOU KNOW YOU'RE HALFWAY WHEN:
•You stop taking pictures of rattlesnakes and marmots
•You consider it an honor to be called "hiker trash"
•You have mended everything you own at least once
•You or your hiking partner have bent or broken your trekking poles
•You refer to ibuprofen as Vitamin I
•Your first stop in town is the hiker box (a place where hikers donate there excess to other hikers usually found in the post office).
•You can smell a day hiker before you see him (they smell like soap and perfume)
•You can eat, drink, talk, listen to music, and prevent a fall after a stumble all without loosing your train of thought
•You can see the trail when it is invisible to most
•You stop thinking of life before the PCT
•You know within minutes if you are off trail
•You spend more time repairing gear on a zero day than checking your email (a zero is a non-hiking day usually spent in town).
•You can retrofit most anything for hiker use
•Your trail magic stories replace stories about your kids
•You can differentiate the footprints of hikers ahead of you
•You can walk 20 miles-plus a day over every type of animal poop and never step in it
•You can't imagine how your feet and legs can get so dirty after just one day of hiking
•You feel naked without your backpack
And finally-
You didn't have to read what's in the parenthesis above for an explanation.

I could not have made it this far without the support from my family and friends. Thanks to Scott and Tania for keeping watch over grandma and sending me pics, to Mark for managing all the resupplies and equipment changes, to Christie for helping Mark, to my sisters, aunts and cousins for email updates, A special thanks to Michael and daughter Stefanie who go above and beyond the call of duty researching, buying and sending items, making the best homemade oatmeal ever, commenting, texting, loading and sending music, pictures and notes of ecouragement and love.

Straight from the...
Heart