Sunday, September 12, 2010

War Party

We are currently traveling in a war party of 8 people, and growing by the day.  The current roster includes the four core hikers (Moosie, BR, Gangles, me), and we have the momentum and appeal of a giant rolling snowball.

At beautiful Porcupine Lake, Bigfoot found us at dusk in camp.  In Etna, we picked up Grinder.  T-Bone was with us on and off, and caught up in Sisters, OR.  We finally caught Swiss Miss at Timberline Lodge.  We are chasing Heehaw (another AT '05 sobo), and Hiker X may catch us in a day or two.

So far, finding camping for a group this large has not been a problem.  We have been able to find sufficiently large campsites and sleep comfortably.  The trade off in space and resources is emotional and psychological support.  The physical challenge of finishing this trip is achievable by most people--people of all shapes, sizes and ages successfully thruhike the PCT (and AT) every year.  The larger challenge is mental--being able to endure the sheer length of the hike.  Though beautiful, thruhiking can be isolating and monotonous.

My hope is that hiking together, we will be able to keep each others' spirits up so that we can finish Washington and the PCT.

- Team Stubborn

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