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Archive for April, 2006

Water becomes an issue

Posted in 2006 PCT Trail Journal on April 30, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Sunday, April 30, 2006
Destination: Rodriguez Spur Truck Road
Starting Location: Pioneer Mail Today’s Miles: 15.70
Trip Miles: 68.00
________________________________________
4-30-06
15.7 Miles
Pioneer Mail (5260) to Rodriguez Spur Truck Road (3650)
1759 Assent, 3228 Decent
It’s nice to finally be on the trail for good. Looking back, the Kick Off was great but I am glad to be moving. Liz joined me today and will stay with me for about a month. It was great hiking together today and I enjoyed seeing my wife again after such a busy few months with life getting in the way of us spending time together. Doug and Gerard gave us a ride to Pioneer Mail and then continued on to Warner Springs to drop Pro Deal off. The walking was really nice with abundant wildflowers. We enjoyed a few hot mid-afternoon hours in the shade of an oak tree in the middle of a desert meadow. We laid in the tall grass and had our first stretch where water was an issue. I had to walk down stream about ¼ of a mile before I found water at Chariot Canyon. Here at Rodriguez Spur we found water in a concrete tank used for summer wildfires. It had a few floaties in it but with a few drops of Aqua Mira (a chemical used to treat water) we drank up. We are sleeping under the stars tonight and plan on an early start as we have to cross a hot waterless stretch tomorrow afternoon. I have decided to try and not use the water caches that are put out by a group of wonderful volunteers. I believe the concept is wonderful but I am concerned about the reliance people may take in them and what that may do to the trail experience.
Destination: Rodriguez Spur Truck Road
Starting Location: Pioneer Mail Today’s Miles: 15.70
Trip Miles: 68.00
Pioneer Mail (5260) to Rodriguez Spur Truck Road (3650)
1759 Assent, 3228 Decent
It’s nice to finally be on the trail for good. Looking back, the Kick Off was great but I am glad to be moving. Liz joined me today and will stay with me for about a month. It was great hiking together today and I enjoyed seeing my wife again after such a busy few months with life getting in the way of us spending time together. Doug and Gerard gave us a ride to Pioneer Mail and then continued on to Warner Springs to drop Pro Deal off. The walking was really nice with abundant wildflowers. We enjoyed a few hot mid-afternoon hours in the shade of an oak tree in the middle of a desert meadow. We laid in the tall grass and had our first stretch where water was an issue. I had to walk down stream about ¼ of a mile before I found water at Chariot Canyon. Here at Rodriguez Spur we found water in a concrete tank used for summer wildfires. It had a few floaties in it but with a few drops of Aqua Mira (a chemical used to treat water) we drank up. We are sleeping under the stars tonight and plan on an early start as we have to cross a hot waterless stretch tomorrow afternoon. I have decided to try and not use the water caches that are put out by a group of wonderful volunteers. I believe the concept is wonderful but I am concerned about the reliance people may take in them and what that may do to the trail experience.
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The party is over

Posted in 2006 PCT Trail Journal on April 29, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Saturday, April 29, 2006
Destination: Lake Morena ADZPCTKO
Starting Location: Lake Morena ADZPCTKO Today’s Miles: 0.00
Trip Miles: 52.30
________________________________________
0 Miles
Lake Morena ADZPCTKO
Well the Kick Off is winding down and it was a really great event. I met some wonderful people today. My knee is feeling a bit better so some of my apprehension has dissipated. The evening BBQ was really neat. I had a triple cheese burger, potato salad, and four huge brownies.
Jeff and his family departed today. It was great to spend time with them and to continue to build a relationship with Jeff. Another brother-in-law Gerard (Liz has a huge family) arrived for the evening with his partner Doug. The support and interest from family is quickly becoming a special part of this trip.
I got stung by a damn bee on my little toe this afternoon. Fortunately it was not a bad sting as I am highly allergic. I got a bit light headed and it hurt like hell, but the pain is O.K. now. Unreal – the class of 05 just delivered hot chocolate and smores as I am writing this. My fingers are so sticky it is making a mess of my journal
Destination: Lake Morena ADZPCTKO
Starting Location: Lake Morena ADZPCTKO Today’s Miles: 0.00
Trip Miles: 52.30
Lake Morena ADZPCTKO
Well the Kick Off is winding down and it was a really great event. I met some wonderful people today. My knee is feeling a bit better so some of my apprehension has dissipated. The evening BBQ was really neat. I had a triple cheese burger, potato salad, and four huge brownies.
Jeff and his family departed today. It was great to spend time with them and to continue to build a relationship with Jeff. Another brother-in-law Gerard (Liz has a huge family) arrived for the evening with his partner Doug. The support and interest from family is quickly becoming a special part of this trip.
I got stung by a damn bee on my little toe this afternoon. Fortunately it was not a bad sting as I am highly allergic. I got a bit light headed and it hurt like hell, but the pain is O.K. now. Unreal – the class of 05 just delivered hot chocolate and smores as I am writing this. My fingers are so sticky it is making a mess of my journal

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ADZPCTKO

Posted in 2006 PCT Trail Journal on April 28, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Friday, April 28, 2006
Destination: Lake Morena ADZPCTKO
Starting Location: Pioneer Mail Today’s Miles: 0.00
Trip Miles: 52.30
________________________________________
4-28-06
0 Miles
Lake Morena ADZPCTKO
I’m taking a zero day at ADZPCTKO with mixed feelings. The event is a great place to reconnect with friends, meet new people, and gather valuable information. At the same time it has a weird feeling to me. I don’t really know how to describe the feeling but the KO feels foreign for a hiking experience. I did not have this feeling in non-hiking years so I may simply be anxious about my hike. This could be exacerbated because my knee is really sore and I am kicking myself for potentially over doing it on the Mt. Laguna day. The thought has occurred to me that I could have screwed up my hike and that is an incredible disappointing and heartbreaking thought. I am sure I am over reacting and simply have an overuse injury but the fear is troubling.
One really great thing about Kick Off is direct access to the cottage industry vendors who are producing the best gear and doing a substantial amount to support the trail. Today Henry Shires from Tarp Tent showed how to optimize the set-up of my rainbow tent, and Brian Frankle from Ultralight Adventure Equipment helped adjust my pack and personally delivered a set of crampons. Where else can you get such service from the owners of companies and then have them donate time and money to support the trail. These guys are the besDestination: Lake Morena ADZPCTKO
Starting Location: Pioneer Mail Today’s Miles: 0.00
Trip Miles: 52.30
Lake Morena ADZPCTKO
I’m taking a zero day at ADZPCTKO with mixed feelings. The event is a great place to reconnect with friends, meet new people, and gather valuable information. At the same time it has a weird feeling to me. I don’t really know how to describe the feeling but the KO feels foreign for a hiking experience. I did not have this feeling in non-hiking years so I may simply be anxious about my hike. This could be exacerbated because my knee is really sore and I am kicking myself for potentially over doing it on the Mt. Laguna day. The thought has occurred to me that I could have screwed up my hike and that is an incredible disappointing and heartbreaking thought. I am sure I am over reacting and simply have an overuse injury but the fear is troubling.
One really great thing about Kick Off is direct access to the cottage industry vendors who are producing the best gear and doing a substantial amount to support the trail. Today Henry Shires from Tarp Tent showed how to optimize the set-up of my rainbow tent, and Brian Frankle from Ultralight Adventure Equipment helped adjust my pack and personally delivered a set of crampons. Where else can you get such service from the owners of companies and then have them donate time and money to support the trail. These guys are the best.

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Enthusiasm gets the best of my knee

Posted in 2006 PCT Trail Journal on April 27, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Thursday, April 27, 2006
Destination: Pioneer Mail
Today’s Miles: 9.30
Trip Miles: 52.30
9.3 Miles
Mt. Laguna (5980) to Pioneer Mail (5260)
1191 Assent 1781 Decent
Another magical day. We left Mt. Laguna at noon in a complete cloud with very limited visibility. I was surprised to wake up to a very sore right knee and instep. The instep loosened up but the knee was hurting pretty good by Pioneer Mail. I was glad we were stopping after only a few hours of hiking. Looks like I may have over done it yesterday. Oh well, I have a couple of days to recover. We had a plan to get a ride from Pioneer Mail on Friday morning, but 5 minutes after arriving Brad (class of 02) dropped in and offered us a ride and a soda. How could we refuse?
We ran into our first mountain bikers on the trail today. They claimed they did not see the signs which is highly improbable, but they were cordial and agreed to depart the PCT after some polite conversation. And they did, as we came to a road immediately, they got off the trail.
Back in Morena now and another meal courtesy of mom and dad. The camp ground is filling up rapidly and the festivities are beginning—Welcome to the Annual Day Zero, Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off Party (ADZPCTKO). The ADZPCTKO is an informal gathering of hikers and supporters but the party is getting so big that out of necessity it has some formal feel to it. For example, when we got in we were “informed” that we needed to register. It is funny and I guess natural how things go from simple to complicated; the inverse of ent
Destination: Pioneer Mail
Today’s Miles: 9.30
Trip Miles: 52.30
9.3 Miles
Mt. Laguna (5980) to Pioneer Mail (5260)
1191 Assent 1781 Decent
Another magical day. We left Mt. Laguna at noon in a complete cloud with very limited visibility. I was surprised to wake up to a very sore right knee and instep. The instep loosened up but the knee was hurting pretty good by Pioneer Mail. I was glad we were stopping after only a few hours of hiking. Looks like I may have over done it yesterday. Oh well, I have a couple of days to recover. We had a plan to get a ride from Pioneer Mail on Friday morning, but 5 minutes after arriving Brad (class of 02) dropped in and offered us a ride and a soda. How could we refuse?
We ran into our first mountain bikers on the trail today. They claimed they did not see the signs which is highly improbable, but they were cordial and agreed to depart the PCT after some polite conversation. And they did, as we came to a road immediately, they got off the trail.
Back in Morena now and another meal courtesy of mom and dad. The camp ground is filling up rapidly and the festivities are beginning—Welcome to the Annual Day Zero, Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off Party (ADZPCTKO). The ADZPCTKO is an informal gathering of hikers and supporters but the party is getting so big that out of necessity it has some formal feel to it. For example, when we got in we were “informed” that we needed to register. It is funny and I guess natural how things go from simple to complicated; the inverse of entropy

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Mt. Laguna, first snow

Posted in 2006 PCT Trail Journal on April 26, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Destination: Mt. Laguna
Starting Location: Lake Morena Today’s Miles: 22.40
Trip Miles: 43.00
_______________________________
Lake Morena (3065) to Mt. Laguna (5980)
4688 Assent 1781 Decent
Today was full of wonderful contrast as we traveled nearly 3000 vertical feet and went from chaparral to oak woodland to coniferous forest. We also walked from pleasant weather to sleeting rain and when we arrived at Mt. Laguna we were both physically exhausted. We were also beginning to shiver. We had not planned on coming this far today but after running into Charlie Willard at Boulder Oaks and hearing about a hot shower and a comfortable bed the idea was planted. We were also interested in pushing ourselves to test our bodies early on. We faired well but vitamin I (ibuprofen) was on the dinner menu. We did not have reservations at Mt. Laguna and we arrived after the facilities were closed for the evening. We were certainly anxious when (while dripping and shivering) we rang the night bell and asked for a room. The inn keepers immediately invited us in, secured us a room, and even opened the store for us. We bought some junk food to supplement our mush-in-a-cup along with some firewood for the wood stove. What incredible hospitality. I can not remember when a hot shower and bed ever felt so good . . . I am exhausted
Today’s Miles: 22.40
Trip Miles: 43.00
Lake Morena (3065) to Mt. Laguna (5980)
4688 Assent 1781 Decent
Today was full of wonderful contrast as we traveled nearly 3000 vertical feet and went from chaparral to oak woodland to coniferous forest. We also walked from pleasant weather to sleeting rain and when we arrived at Mt. Laguna we were both physically exhausted. We were also beginning to shiver. We had not planned on coming this far today but after running into Charlie Willard at Boulder Oaks and hearing about a hot shower and a comfortable bed the idea was planted. We were also interested in pushing ourselves to test our bodies early on. We faired well but vitamin I (ibuprofen) was on the dinner menu. We did not have reservations at Mt. Laguna and we arrived after the facilities were closed for the evening. We were certainly anxious when (while dripping and shivering) we rang the night bell and asked for a room. The inn keepers immediately invited us in, secured us a room, and even opened the store for us. We bought some junk food to supplement our mush-in-a-cup along with some firewood for the wood stove. What incredible hospitality. I can not remember when a hot shower and bed ever felt so good . . . I am exhausted.

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First Day

Posted in 2006 PCT Trail Journal on April 25, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Destination: Lake Morena
Starting Location: Campo Today’s Miles: 20.60
Trip Miles: 20.60
________________________________________
20.6 Miles, Campo to Lake Morena
3107 Assent 2933 Decent
What a fantastic day, perfect cool temperatures and great hiking. We arrived at the border after a dripping condensation night. I was at a complete loss for words for my register entry and was a bit annoyed by the so called minute men who are literally camped beside the Southern Terminus Monument. When we arrived one of them walked over to check us out with his pseudo military apparel and an A5 Colt Automatic on his hip. Based on the look I shot him he likely got the impression that I was not interested in a self appointed militia whose rhetoric is full of prejudices. I understand the immigration frustration and I am sure these guys think they are doing well but citizens in camouflage with guns are not my idea of a reasonable solution. Wow, politics on my first day? Our hiking to Morena was idyllic; perfect weather, great scenery, and good company. Jeff is a great hiking partner and our styles worked well together. We hooked up with T-minus and hiked together most of the day. At our first meeting T-minus said “Oh you are go-BIG,” and this startled me until I realized that many of us were active participants on the 2006 yahoo group. Still having someone know you somewhat and having never met them was odd. We had a great time getting to really know each other. One thing that was really tough today was having my dad drop me off rather than joining me. He is my best friend and best hiking buddy, but physically he is no longer able to follow me on crazy adventures like I followed him as a boy. Leaving the border all he could say was “wish I was going with you” and my only reply was “me too” and then turned and walked away. Now we are back in Morena with Mom and Dad and pork chops are on the menu.
Destination: Lake Morena
Starting Location: Campo Today’s Miles: 20.60
Trip Miles: 20.60
3107 Assent 2933 Decent
What a fantastic day, perfect cool temperatures and great hiking. We arrived at the border after a dripping condensation night. I was at a complete loss for words for my register entry and was a bit annoyed by the so called minute men who are literally camped beside the Southern Terminus Monument. When we arrived one of them walked over to check us out with his pseudo military apparel and an A5 Colt Automatic on his hip. Based on the look I shot him he likely got the impression that I was not interested in a self appointed militia whose rhetoric is full of prejudices. I understand the immigration frustration and I am sure these guys think they are doing well but citizens in camouflage with guns are not my idea of a reasonable solution. Wow, politics on my first day? Our hiking to Morena was idyllic; perfect weather, great scenery, and good company. Jeff is a great hiking partner and our styles worked well together. We hooked up with T-minus and hiked together most of the day. At our first meeting T-minus said “Oh you are go-BIG,” and this startled me until I realized that many of us were active participants on the 2006 yahoo group. Still having someone know you somewhat and having never met them was odd. We had a great time getting to really know each other. One thing that was really tough today was having my dad drop me off rather than joining me. He is my best friend and best hiking buddy, but physically he is no longer able to follow me on crazy adventures like I followed him as a boy. Leaving the border all he could say was “wish I was going with you” and my only reply was “me too” and then turned and walked away. Now we are back in Morena with Mom and Dad and pork chops are on the menu.

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The night before

Posted in 2006 PCT Trail Journal on April 24, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Apprehension and excitement are both prevalent this evening. We picked up my brother-in-law Jeff this afternoon and we arrived at Lake Morena around 3 p.m. Shortly thereafter, Sauerkraut and Alina arrived from the border and we invited them to dinner. Phil also made it just before food and we had a taco feast. It was great talking to the first hikers I have met. Jeff and I head out in the a.m. Jeff is joining me for 3 days and we will hike together until Pioneer Mail. I do not know Jeff very well and look forward to hiking with him. That said we have no idea if we are compatible and that is a concern. Regardless, for this part of my hike I am willing to be really flexible as I have a lot of schedule options at this early junction. Wow, I really start tomorrow. The weather is quite cool and hiking will require much less water than I anticipated. I will start with 3 liters and thus save 4 pounds in H20 weight. Sounds good—we are off.

Apprehension and excitement are both prevalent this evening. We picked up my brother-in-law Jeff this afternoon and we arrived at Lake Morena around 3 p.m. Shortly thereafter, Sauerkraut and Alina arrived from the border and we invited them to dinner. Phil also made it just before food and we had a taco feast. It was great talking to the first hikers I have met. Jeff and I head out in the a.m. Jeff is joining me for 3 days and we will hike together until Pioneer Mail. I do not know Jeff very well and look forward to hiking with him. That said we have no idea if we are compatible and that is a concern. Regardless, for this part of my hike I am willing to be really flexible as I have a lot of schedule options at this early junction. Wow, I really start tomorrow. The weather is quite cool and hiking will require much less water than I anticipated. I will start with 3 liters and thus save 4 pounds in H20 weight. Sounds good—we are off.

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On our way to southern Terminus of PCT

Posted in 2006 PCT Trail Journal on April 23, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Sunday, April 23, 2006
After years of dreaming and months of preparation we headed for the southern terminus this morning. My parents (Bob & Peggy) are providing shuttle service with style in their motor home. Traveling south we are “camped” at Saddle Back State Park (near Mojave) for the evening. In a days worth of driving, a months worth of hiking miles were logged. Reviewing the distance traveled today is difficult to comprehend walking.
As we traveled past Tehachapi we spotted the PCT crossing Highway 58 just east of town. In the morning we will cross the PCT again near Silverwood Lake as it passed under Interstate 15 headed to Wrightwood.
Before leaving home this morning I got on the bathroom scale and weighed in at 192.5 lbs. That is up about 8 lbs from a month ago. The weight gain was both intentional and a bit of defiance on my part. I knew that carrying some weight on the hoof would be shed soon enough. And I had had it with dealing with a stomach ailment that had been threatening my hike since Thanksgiving.
After months of serious diet restrictions, ultra sounds, CT scans, complex cyst and talk of benign or malignent diagnosis, I said the hell with it. And funny thing, here I am heading for the border. Ultimately, after some excellent medical care the docs generally agree that more tests will only result in more red herring concerns. So I am without a definitive diagnosis but we did rule out some really unpleasant (like cancer) concerns. I feel well enough to give a thru-hike a serious effort. I am really happy to be saying that and I would like to thank Doctors Sunita, Jeff, Dina, Heidi and the incredible Doctor Delphine for helping me get here.
Mom just served up fresh strawberries over angel food cade with whipped cream for dessert. Now this is how to start a trip.
After years of dreaming and months of preparation we headed for the southern terminus this morning. My parents (Bob & Peggy) are providing shuttle service with style in their motor home. Traveling south we are “camped” at Saddle Back State Park (near Mojave) for the evening. In a days worth of driving, a months worth of hiking miles were logged. Reviewing the distance traveled today is difficult to comprehend walking.
As we traveled past Tehachapi we spotted the PCT crossing Highway 58 just east of town. In the morning we will cross the PCT again near Silverwood Lake as it passed under Interstate 15 headed to Wrightwood.
Before leaving home this morning I got on the bathroom scale and weighed in at 192.5 lbs. That is up about 8 lbs from a month ago. The weight gain was both intentional and a bit of defiance on my part. I knew that carrying some weight on the hoof would be shed soon enough. And I had had it with dealing with a stomach ailment that had been threatening my hike since Thanksgiving.
After months of serious diet restrictions, ultra sounds, CT scans, complex cyst and talk of benign or malignent diagnosis, I said the hell with it. And funny thing, here I am heading for the border. Ultimately, after some excellent medical care the docs generally agree that more tests will only result in more red herring concerns. So I am without a definitive diagnosis but we did rule out some really unpleasant (like cancer) concerns. I feel well enough to give a thru-hike a serious effort. I am really happy to be saying that and I would like to thank Doctors Sunita, Jeff, Dina, Heidi and the incredible Doctor Delphine for helping me get here.
Mom just served up fresh strawberries over angel food cade with whipped cream for dessert. Now this is how to start a trip.

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Thank you for the help with Journal

Posted in 2006 PCT Trail Journal on April 21, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Friday, April 21, 2006
This Journal would not be possible without the help of those who have graciously agreed to transcribe my chicken scratch. Many hikers the last few years have taken to carrying a small device called “pocket mail”. This piece of technological marvel allows you to type into a small PDA like device and then send your text to an email address over any phone line. Once in an email it is pretty simply to cut and paste into trailjournals. Not for me however. With the exception of my digital watch/compass/altimeter and my digital camera I have decided to do this hike unplugged and will attempt to write my journal by hand. I think this is going to be much harder than it sounds as I do all my writing on the computer and have for a few decades now. After I write it, I will then send them to the transcribers via snail mail and hopefully they will be able to figure out what the heck I meant as I misspelled every other word.
So thank you in advance to Teresa and Liz who have agreed to transcribe for me. Teresa will be on duty for the first month and then Liz will take over after she returns from Aqua Dulce. Now Teresa says she is going to take full liberty on embellishing my journal if it is boring, so if you read anything totally outrageous it likely never happened. Rather, Teresa simply made it up. Friday, April 21, 2006
This Journal would not be possible without the help of those who have graciously agreed to transcribe my chicken scratch. Many hikers the last few years have taken to carrying a small device called “pocket mail”. This piece of technological marvel allows you to type into a small PDA like device and then send your text to an email address over any phone line. Once in an email it is pretty simply to cut and paste into trailjournals. Not for me however. With the exception of my digital watch/compass/altimeter and my digital camera I have decided to do this hike unplugged and will attempt to write my journal by hand. I think this is going to be much harder than it sounds as I do all my writing on the computer and have for a few decades now. After I write it, I will then send them to the transcribers via snail mail and hopefully they will be able to figure out what the heck I meant as I misspelled every other word.
So thank you in advance to Teresa and Liz who have agreed to transcribe for me. Teresa will be on duty for the first month and then Liz will take over after she returns from Aqua Dulce. Now Teresa says she is going to take full liberty on embellishing my journal if it is boring, so if you read anything totally outrageous it likely never happened. Rather, Teresa simply made it up.
This Journal would not be possible without the help of those who have graciously agreed to transcribe my chicken scratch. Many hikers the last few years have taken to carrying a small device called “pocket mail”. This piece of technological marvel allows you to type into a small PDA like device and then send your text to an email address over any phone line. Once in an email it is pretty simply to cut and paste into trailjournals. Not for me however. With the exception of my digital watch/compass/altimeter and my digital camera I have decided to do this hike unplugged and will attempt to write my journal by hand. I think this is going to be much harder than it sounds as I do all my writing on the computer and have for a few decades now. After I write it, I will then send them to the transcribers via snail mail and hopefully they will be able to figure out what the heck I meant as I misspelled every other word.
So thank you in advance to Teresa and Liz who have agreed to transcribe for me. Teresa will be on duty for the first month and then Liz will take over after she returns from Aqua Dulce. Now Teresa says she is going to take full liberty on embellishing my journal if it is boring, so if you read anything totally outrageous it likely never happened. Rather, Teresa simply made it up.

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Surprise Party

Posted in 2006 PCT Trail Journal on April 21, 2006| Leave a Comment »

After returning from some gear testing last week during a snow shoeing trip I was totally surprised to come home to a house full of family and friends who gathered to give me a proper send off for my trip. The warmth of family and friends is very difficult to describe….I am truly blessed.
During the party the Old Goat read a poem he had written in honor of the occasion. Each time I read it, I discover another clever verse that truly captures my life. Thank you Old Goat, I will treasure this forever:

By the Time I Get to Jawbone* She’ll Be Risin’
We assemble to observe the departure next week
Of Robert Francisco the thru-hiking freak
He was born in Corona to Peggy and Bob
His goal by age forty: to be out of a job
He was raised in Mojave at the level of snow
Fished and hiked hard like a boy on the go
A long-distance track star, he longed for the trail
His wish was soon granted when his family made bail
He washed dishes in Lyle’s Pine Manor Café
Where they served mystery meat and a nice trout filet
Drove a milk truck in Foothill with a college degree
Didn’t pay all that well but the ice cream was free
No stranger to Mother Nature, in fact Her fav’rite son
Sleepin’ out in the snow is how he has fun
He’s outa Big Agnes and up with the sun
Casts a seven-X taper with a Pale Morning Dun
Under the stars and the heavenly sights
He’s already logged a whole year’s worth of nights
Eight hundred calories on his featherlite stove
“How come I hiked when I sure coulda drove?”
Dr. Seuss says, “Oh, the places you’ll go!”
To dry, sandy deserts and passes of snow
You’ll live with the marmot, the pika and bear
Spend idyllic days breathing clear mountain air
You’ll first reach ten thousand just north of Monache
Just like raising the flag on Mount Suribachi
Shooting star and penstemon of scarlet and vi’let
Approaching Mt. Whitney you’ll encounter sky pilot
Seven weeks later you’ll pass over the border
Where the terrain for hiking is made right to order
Through Ashland and Fish Lake, Mazama, Olallie
There’s Mount Hood – we’ll make it, by golly, Miss Molly!
In late August you’ll enter the Evergreen State
And fly o’er the trail as though toting no weight
That’s eighty-one down with just nineteen to go
Tarry long there and you’re caught in the snow
Then fin’ly it happens: you can see through the clearing
It looks like the Washington obelisk you are nearing
There’s the break in the timber – the line between lands
The border at last, where two nations join hands
You race down to meet it midst the hemlock and pine
The goal you’re pursuing – Monument Seventy-nine
Some bubbly, some photos, some hugs shared with friends
Eight more miles to reach Manning, where the Trail fin’ly ends
In six months we’ll convene here again in the fall
To salute Robert Francisco whose new name is go-small
We wish you a full house, not just one or two pairs
And for now we release you with our good thoughts and prayers

Old Goat/2006

*Jawbone Canyon Road – Near Robin Bird Spring, Mile 602 NOBO

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