Condor's PCT Adventure in 3-Minutes

One of the videos featured at Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kickoff's Video Shorts Festival was "Condor's PCT Adventure in 3-Minutes."  I've seen SunWalker's facial transformation video, which is awesome, but Condor's video definitely takes the cake. He won the "Best Spirit of the PCT" category for this video, so check it out:



Condor (Kolby Kirk) also runs a website called thehikeguy.com, which is loaded with information about his hikes, and includes hiker outings out of the Bend, Oregon area.  Condor also has a few clips from his journals, which are amazing pieces of art work. Seriously, the time, detail, and effort he puts into his colorful, textured journals tell a multifaceted story, which cannot be captured online. I got to travel back to Oregon with him, and he showed me his journal for his upcoming Sierra Trek Hike.  I was utterly amazed at what he had already written, painted, and "stickered"into his journal before the big hike. Very cool.

Balls and Sunshine's 2011 Hike on the PCT

Well, Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) did it again... another video about hiking. I just posted recently about Lint's ultralight set up, and now, OPB has a great video about Balls and Sunshine's adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail. For those not familiar with Balls and Sunshine, they are a father-daughter hiking duo (or should I say MACHINE!) from Salem, Oregon. They completed the PCT last year, and as it turns out, Sunshine is the second youngest to complete a PCT thru-hike, just behind Scrambler, who hiked in 2004. Check out the video below to learn more about Balls and Sunshine's epic hike.

Watch Season 23, Episode 13 on PBS. See more from Oregon Field Guide.

Stories like this deeply move me. The trail has a way of bringing people (and families) closer together in a way that cannot be experienced in a culture filled with distractions. Adversity, challenge, wanderlust, and simplified living strip us down to our core, revealing our vulnerabilities, and tempering our relationships. I often think back to my hike on the CDT with my friends Luna, So Far, George, Tooth Fairy, Patch, Panda, and Chance, and how much I appreciated getting to know them through that trip. I wish I could do it again!
Congrats again Balls and Sunshine on your thru-hike in 2011, and best of luck as you set out to hike the Appalachian Trail!

Hiking 26

I just saw this website called Hiking 26, and I had to blog about it. I have not done much research on this hiker named Ron Ulrich, but what I know is this: he will hike the Pacific Crest Trail (2600-miles) in 26 weeks, and will wear 26 wedding dresses for the duration of his hike. Yep, that's about one wedding dress per week.

I love this project! Here's why: his endeavor takes all the pretension out the current über hiker-than-thou thing going on in the long distance hiking community. We have so many people attempting speed records every year, using the trail as a platform to raise money for a cause, or showing off the latest ultralight contraptions or techniques. Ron Ulrich's Hiking 26 project is a fresh take on hiking the trail. It is a bit art, a bit challenge, and a slap in the face to everyone that takes their long distance adventure way too seriously. Is this project shameless self promotion? Yes it is. So what? So are all the other hikes that are documented on Trail Journals or Postholer. And people announcing their speed record attempts? It's huge self promotion.

I say, "Go Ron! Go! Have a great hike, and may all your wedding dresses whisk you gently to Canada!

Recent Rains in Oregon Open and Close the PCT

Photo provided by blatantgizmo on Flickr.com

While I have been away from Oregon on my small Appalachian Trail adventure, Oregon has been pounded by early rain. My friend, Sweet Potato described the rains as "monsoon-like," and he mentioned that he had some water leak into his basement. From what I have seen the rains will subside for September 21-22, just in time for my return to Oregon!

I got word from PCTA Regional Representative, Dana Berthold, that the recent rains have closed parts of the PCT around Mount Hood. In a communique to the Mt. Hood Chapter of the PCTA, Dana says:

"The heavy rains of recent days have caused new landslide activity in the Zig Zag canyon. The PCT is currently impassable to stock, and dangerous for hikers. The FS hopes to get an emergency crew out to improve the trail enough for hikers, but, for stock a more long term solution will need to be implemented, likely next summer. (This slide area is near the same spot where a new bridge to repair an older slide had just been installed.)"

It sounds like a two steps forward, and one step back situation for trail maintainers who just put in that bridge. I will be eager to know when trail crews will venture into the canyon to begin trail work, as I would be eager to jump into the action. Hmmmmm...

On the same note, I also read a report that the recent rains have re-opened the PCT in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness, which had been closed due to the Pyramid Butte Fire. Apparently, you win some, and you lose some. Safe hiking out there folks!

Flying to Portland Tomorrow

My flight leave San Francisco tomorrow at 2:50, and I cannot wait to get the heck out of here. The daily grind of work and play needs another hiking interruption.  I am also thinking the same thing about the yearly grind of work, work, work: it needs a 6-month hiking interruption.  With that said, I will use this trip as a litmus test for hiking the Continental Divide Trail next June.  If I am "geeked" to be out on the trail after 4-days, then it is seriously time to start making plans for the CDT.

On Sunday, I will be starting my hike at Timothy Lake, and then I will make my way north for the next six days.  I am considering some alternate routes around the Mt. Hood area, but I will need to make a run to REI in Portland to get a map and explore my options.  If necessary (and depending on how I feel) I will continue the hike up in Washington for a day or two, and then turn back to Cascade Locks for the Pacific Crest Trail Day gathering. I am bringing my video camera and regular camera, and I plan on snapping a lot of video and pics.  I can't wait to share them.