PCT https://goo.gl/6Gzr2G Liz Hasenberg
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Monday, August 21, 2017
Oregon is burning
Melinda and Bodie have made good progress. They are pretty much on schedule and are in position to see the full eclipse in totality.
However, much of central Oregon is burning and they have almost reached the northern end (traveling southbound) of about 90 miles of trail closure due to fire. Rather than try to find a way around the closures, I'll be leaving San Jose right after the eclipse and heading up there to get them.I should arrive mid-day tomorrow. We will do some car camping on our way home.
So their trip will be a little shorter than expected, but I think they have had fun. Hopefully Melinda will post here once we get back. I guess she had reasonable phone coverage in many places but couldn't make the Blogger app work on her phone.
However, much of central Oregon is burning and they have almost reached the northern end (traveling southbound) of about 90 miles of trail closure due to fire. Rather than try to find a way around the closures, I'll be leaving San Jose right after the eclipse and heading up there to get them.I should arrive mid-day tomorrow. We will do some car camping on our way home.
So their trip will be a little shorter than expected, but I think they have had fun. Hopefully Melinda will post here once we get back. I guess she had reasonable phone coverage in many places but couldn't make the Blogger app work on her phone.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Melinda and Bodie swim upstream
Our son Bodie will begin his second year at UC Davis in mid-September.
He decided to join Melinda on a trip she's been planning for about a month.They flew to Portland from San Jose this morning and have recently arrived in Cascade Locks at the Bridge of the Gods.
After some lunch, they will find the trail head and start hiking south. (That's the swimming upstream part, as most folks are heading north.)
They decided to go south to increase their odds of being the eclipse totality path at the right time. Because it goes through northern Oregon, they have a 5 or 6 day hike to get into the path. If they had left the southern terminus of their planned trip at Crater Lake, it would have taken nearly 2 weeks of hiking to get there. By starting in the north, they reduce the chance of something going wrong causing them to miss the total eclipse.
There are a number of fire closures on the PCT in Oregon right now which will likely cause their plans to change. However, there's some rain going through the northern part of the state right now, which might help knock down the fires.
That's it for now, be sure to follow their progress here.
Greg for Melinda and Bodie.
He decided to join Melinda on a trip she's been planning for about a month.They flew to Portland from San Jose this morning and have recently arrived in Cascade Locks at the Bridge of the Gods.
After some lunch, they will find the trail head and start hiking south. (That's the swimming upstream part, as most folks are heading north.)
They decided to go south to increase their odds of being the eclipse totality path at the right time. Because it goes through northern Oregon, they have a 5 or 6 day hike to get into the path. If they had left the southern terminus of their planned trip at Crater Lake, it would have taken nearly 2 weeks of hiking to get there. By starting in the north, they reduce the chance of something going wrong causing them to miss the total eclipse.
There are a number of fire closures on the PCT in Oregon right now which will likely cause their plans to change. However, there's some rain going through the northern part of the state right now, which might help knock down the fires.
That's it for now, be sure to follow their progress here.
Greg for Melinda and Bodie.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Melinda and Bodie do Section "J"
Melinda and our son Bodie have been hiking section "J", from Sonora Pass to Highway 50.
They started Saturday and have made great time. They should be coming out this afternoon, where my sister Debbie will pick them up.
Bodie realized he grabbed the wrong boots when we reached the trailhead, so he's been hiking in dad's old klunkers. The length isn't bad, but I have really wide feet so I bought an extra wide boot that I'm sure he is swimming in. :-)
If you want to see where they are or have been, check out the tracker link at the top of the list to the right on this page.
Greg
A very wordy summary post on just how much Liz and Melinda rock!
I wrote this when Mel and Liz came home a little over a year ago.
For some reason, I never published it. I'm not sure why - maybe because it seemed like I was trying to steal a little of their thunder too soon. At any rate, here it is as a "retrospective".
===
I guess it's for real; the relentless march of the blue dots has ceased, for now at least. I sat in my office again today as I have for the last 3 months and hit "refresh" on my browser every 45 seconds or so. But this time the "current position" arrow was stubbornly stuck at Belden. I know that along with me, somewhere Carla is weeping. :-)
I have no doubt that Liz and Melinda will finish the trail as section hikers, but I don't think they can eclipse the 3 month journey that they just concluded.
In the summer of 2013, Liz decided she wanted to do this thing, and that Melinda was the right partner. She put together a full proposal including a Power Point presentation, complete with music. :-) Melinda hesitated for all of about 30 seconds before she jumped on board.
They started out with 18 months of careful planning and prep beginning in August of 2013.
The adventure began even before the hiking did when they set off a border patrol sensor with a wrong turn in the car on the way to the southern terminus on April 14, 2015. It continued when they touched the border wall and headed north.
In the first 300 miles, they crossed the most extreme elevation change on the trail, 8000 feet of relentless descent followed by an equal climb in a total of less than 60 miles. The descent itself would have been the end of the road for mere mortals. Liz's feet went through the ringer and she had blisters on blisters on blisters. Over the course of the trip I believe she lost 9 toenails. But rather than quit, they took 10 days for healing in the LA area (Thanks Bill and Kena!) and went back at it.
They crossed 700 miles of desert in all, including one stretch of over 35 miles with no water, carrying up to 6 liters (over 15 lbs) of water with them in the driest portions.
They conquered the notorious Section H in the Sierra Nevada with Forester, Glen, Pinchot, Mather, Muir, Seldon, Silver and Donohue passes. All are over 10,000 feet high, with Forester topping out at 13,200.
Liz measured a temperature on the desert floor of over 100 degrees. Overnight temperatures were often well below freezing and they slept with their water filters to keep the delicate mechanisms inside from being damaged by being frozen solid. They hiked through thunder, lightning, rain, and 1/4 inch hail. And wind. Lots and lots of wind.
They encountered 4 rattlesnakes, billions of mosquitoes (I'm sure it felt like it), boatloads of marmots, lizards, squirrels, chipmunks, birds and not a single bear. (Except the mama and 2 cubs they encountered on preparation hike.)
They met hundreds of fantastic people, including hikers who couldn't have possibly been more different in their day to day lives but were united in their quest to cover the miles. And the trail angels who watered, fed, transported and housed them out of the goodness of their hearts.
Liz's body gave her clear signals that it was time to stop just before Tuolumne Meadows. Having lost 15 pounds and finding it difficult to take in enough calories to fuel the adventure, she felt weak and decided to stop at mile 942 on June 20.
Melinda almost stopped in Tuolumne with Liz due to stubborn soreness in in her left lower back. She had also lost 15 pounds but was able to keep the calorie count up and felt strong, so she decided to give it a go solo. She pushed on for another 3.5 weeks, including a long stretch featuring much of that thunder, rain and hail. But the weight loss continued and the muscle spasms in her lower back just moved from from the left side to the right. Her right foot began to swell, she missed her hiking partner and her family and she decided that she too was done. After covering an additional 267 miles on her own, she left the trail at Belden; PCT mile 1284.
I'm sure I'm biased, but I especially admire Melinda for taking on this challenge. She was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis a couple of years ago. It was especially bad in her hands and she had some in her knees as well. I think her RA doc thought Melinda was nuts when she heard about the trip, but they worked together trying different meds to find the right combination. (Xeljanz plus Methotrexate) The doc now wants her to write about her experience from the point of view of someone living with RA, something I hope she does. It's an inspiring story.
It's impossible to convey how much I admire both of these women for what they have accomplished. They are an inspiration not only to their husbands and sons but also to the scouts in our troop, their friends, families, church families and I suspect anyone else who has read this blog.
I should have let Liz and Melinda have the last word (for now), and so they shall:
From Liz:
From Melinda:
For some reason, I never published it. I'm not sure why - maybe because it seemed like I was trying to steal a little of their thunder too soon. At any rate, here it is as a "retrospective".
===
I guess it's for real; the relentless march of the blue dots has ceased, for now at least. I sat in my office again today as I have for the last 3 months and hit "refresh" on my browser every 45 seconds or so. But this time the "current position" arrow was stubbornly stuck at Belden. I know that along with me, somewhere Carla is weeping. :-)
I have no doubt that Liz and Melinda will finish the trail as section hikers, but I don't think they can eclipse the 3 month journey that they just concluded.
In the summer of 2013, Liz decided she wanted to do this thing, and that Melinda was the right partner. She put together a full proposal including a Power Point presentation, complete with music. :-) Melinda hesitated for all of about 30 seconds before she jumped on board.
They started out with 18 months of careful planning and prep beginning in August of 2013.
The adventure began even before the hiking did when they set off a border patrol sensor with a wrong turn in the car on the way to the southern terminus on April 14, 2015. It continued when they touched the border wall and headed north.
In the first 300 miles, they crossed the most extreme elevation change on the trail, 8000 feet of relentless descent followed by an equal climb in a total of less than 60 miles. The descent itself would have been the end of the road for mere mortals. Liz's feet went through the ringer and she had blisters on blisters on blisters. Over the course of the trip I believe she lost 9 toenails. But rather than quit, they took 10 days for healing in the LA area (Thanks Bill and Kena!) and went back at it.
They crossed 700 miles of desert in all, including one stretch of over 35 miles with no water, carrying up to 6 liters (over 15 lbs) of water with them in the driest portions.
They conquered the notorious Section H in the Sierra Nevada with Forester, Glen, Pinchot, Mather, Muir, Seldon, Silver and Donohue passes. All are over 10,000 feet high, with Forester topping out at 13,200.
Liz measured a temperature on the desert floor of over 100 degrees. Overnight temperatures were often well below freezing and they slept with their water filters to keep the delicate mechanisms inside from being damaged by being frozen solid. They hiked through thunder, lightning, rain, and 1/4 inch hail. And wind. Lots and lots of wind.
They encountered 4 rattlesnakes, billions of mosquitoes (I'm sure it felt like it), boatloads of marmots, lizards, squirrels, chipmunks, birds and not a single bear. (Except the mama and 2 cubs they encountered on preparation hike.)
They met hundreds of fantastic people, including hikers who couldn't have possibly been more different in their day to day lives but were united in their quest to cover the miles. And the trail angels who watered, fed, transported and housed them out of the goodness of their hearts.
Liz's body gave her clear signals that it was time to stop just before Tuolumne Meadows. Having lost 15 pounds and finding it difficult to take in enough calories to fuel the adventure, she felt weak and decided to stop at mile 942 on June 20.
Melinda almost stopped in Tuolumne with Liz due to stubborn soreness in in her left lower back. She had also lost 15 pounds but was able to keep the calorie count up and felt strong, so she decided to give it a go solo. She pushed on for another 3.5 weeks, including a long stretch featuring much of that thunder, rain and hail. But the weight loss continued and the muscle spasms in her lower back just moved from from the left side to the right. Her right foot began to swell, she missed her hiking partner and her family and she decided that she too was done. After covering an additional 267 miles on her own, she left the trail at Belden; PCT mile 1284.
I'm sure I'm biased, but I especially admire Melinda for taking on this challenge. She was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis a couple of years ago. It was especially bad in her hands and she had some in her knees as well. I think her RA doc thought Melinda was nuts when she heard about the trip, but they worked together trying different meds to find the right combination. (Xeljanz plus Methotrexate) The doc now wants her to write about her experience from the point of view of someone living with RA, something I hope she does. It's an inspiring story.
It's impossible to convey how much I admire both of these women for what they have accomplished. They are an inspiration not only to their husbands and sons but also to the scouts in our troop, their friends, families, church families and I suspect anyone else who has read this blog.
I should have let Liz and Melinda have the last word (for now), and so they shall:
From Liz:
"I've had such an amazing 2 1/2 months. I've seen such beauty that
God has given us. I've met so many interesting and fun people on the
trail and I've been blessed with so much trail magic. I've learned to
overcome fear and push through pain.
2 1/2 months
940 miles
Two pairs of shoes
9 toenails lost
1 broken trekking pole
600 pictures.
Thank you to everyone who has supported and cheered me on.
The journey's not over, I plan to finish it in sections. Want to come?"
From Melinda:
"This has been an amazing journey. I've learned a lot about myself.
What I am capable of, and not capable of. I've seen parts of this state
that not many people have seen. Beauty beyond words. The barren
mountains and deserts of Southern California. The drastic contours of
the High Sierras. The silence. Mostly though I have seen a side of
people (thru hikers, trail angels, complete strangers) that is even more
beautiful than the landscapes. That has had the biggest impact on me.
Thank
you to all my family and friends, and Liz's family and friends, for the
support you have given us along the way. And thank you Liz for getting
me to go on this crazy adventure.
Keep an eye on this blog. Who knows when there might be notes from the trail again.
I don't think of the PCT as a obsession, but as a calling to experience and enjoy the simple pleasure of just being."
Friday, July 17, 2015
Day 93 - Chico
July 16
I had a lot of time to think and soul search the last few days and have decided that Belden is going to be my jumping off point.
Missing Greg and Bodie is a given, but my body was telling me it was tired, sore and needs a rest. Plus I was getting very lonely. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the solitude. I was just getting a little too much of it.
It's funny, in the mornings, even with a sore back, I would think maybe I could make it to the halfway point or maybe even the Oregon border. By noon I would realize that those thoughts were not realistic.
I would have really liked to have talked to Greg to let him know my plans. With no cell service that just wasn't going to happen. I could have sent him a text message on the tracker, but knowing Greg the text messages would have been coming fast and furious and I needed to conserve battery just in case I needed the SOS. So Diane and Jennifer were the first to find out my plans. Couldn't help but to tear up when I told them. I still plan on getting to Canada, it's just going to be in sections now. In fact, while hiking I kept trying to figure out what section(s) I could do before summer ends.
Along with the back problems my right foot had been hurting a bit the last few days. I just thought my boots were too tight and would loosen them up. I noticed last night though while I was talking to Greg that my foot is pretty swollen. Even if I would continue on I think I would need another week off the get the body back in shape.
Tonight I pulled everything out of my pack so Diane and Jennifer could see what I was carrying (and to finally get my dirty clothes out to wash). While putting it back together I realized stopping is going to be very hard. As much as I look forward to going home and being with my family I really just want to throw the pack back on and start hiking down the trail again. It's been my life for the last three months. A very important and rewarding part of my life.
This has been an amazing journey. I've learned a lot about myself. What I am capable of, and not capable of. I've seen parts of this state that not many people have seen. Beauty beyond words. The barren mountains and deserts of Southern California. The drastic contours of the High Sierras. The silence. Mostly though I have seen a side of people (thru hikers, trail angels, complete strangers) that is even more beautiful than the landscapes. That has had the biggest impact on me.
Thank you to all my family and friends, and Liz's family and friends, for the support you have given us along the way. And thank you Liz for getting me to go on this crazy adventure.
Keep an eye on this blog. Who knows when there might be notes from the trail again.
I don't think of the PCT as a obsession, but as a calling to experience and enjoy the simple pleasure of just being.
Day 92 - Mile 1275.2 to 1284.3 - Mel
July 15
I'm going to Belden today!! I'm going to see Diane and Jennifer (sister and niece), eat some real food, go to Chico, get a shower and sleep in a real bed. Can you tell I'm excited?
Only nine miles to go, but I went from just under 6200' to 2300' in that nine miles. Even when nothing hurts and I haven't already walked 1200 miles downhill is hard on me. Fortunately the trail was nice, not rocky, and a lot of switchbacks.
It was hot today too. The first part of hike was in the sun, but soon I was under the cover of trees.
I made it to Belden around 12:30. Greg had sent a message that Jennifer and Diane wouldn't be getting there until 2:30. This gave me time to eat. I had a chicken sandwich with bacon, pepper jack cheese and ranch dressing on grilled sourdough. Washed that down with a couple of Sierra Nevadas. Life is good.
Soon after I finished my lunch my ride showed up. I was so excited to see the two of them. Jennifer is now an official trail angel as she also gave two girls from London a ride into Chico and the nearest sporting goods store.
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