[at-l] From a PCT journal...

[lpatton at mailer.fsu.edu]

 From a journal I'm following--Francis Tapon's PCT hike on his website 
at http://francistapon.com/pct/journal.htm   Thought you might enjoy 
this excerpt. ~~ eArThworm ~~

8/20/2006
Oregon Done!

We were doing some 40 dull miles south of Mt. Hood on July 27 around 
7pm when a strange man appeared, a man unlike any other. He seemed to 
have come right off a tropical beach, yet was hiking an obscure, boring 
part of the PCT. This tall, lanky man in his mid thirties was wearing a 
Hawaiian shirt and tiny shorts that were in style circa 1972. His beige 
wide brim hat is more popular on African safaris than on the PCT. 
Despite his odd clothing, he seemed to be gliding on air, effortlessly 
turning a corner with his feet just barely touching the ground. He 
floated toward us, smoothly, and asked, "Hello. Where are you hiking 
to?"

"Mexico," I replied.

"Really? Where did you start?"

"Canada."

"Did you skip any sections?"

"Nope."

"Good," he said, "Can I film you? I am helping a friend who is doing a 
documentary on the PCT. My name is Scott."

"Are you hiking from Mexico?" I asked.

"Yes."

I got excited and declared, "So the first northbounder and the first 
southbounders meet!" Only once in each season do the leaders of each 
group cross paths.

Scott confirmed that we were at the front of the pack. "I am actually 
trying to yo-yo this year," Scott said, "I did it last year, but now I 
am just trying to beat my record."

To "yo-yo" means to go to Canada and then walk back, or yo-yo, to Mexico.

"Wait," I said. "Does your last name start with a 'W'?" "Yes. Scott 
Williamson."

Scott Williamson is a famous thru-hiker. He has done the Triple Crown 
(PCT, Appalachian Trail, and Continental Divide Trail) and was hiking 
the PCT for the 8th time! He is the only person to have ever yo-yoed 
the PCT. He tried to do it three times, but was stopped twice on his 
return through the Sierras by early winter storms. He did it on his 3rd 
attempt. This year, by leaving from Mexico on May 22, he hopes to shave 
one month off his own record by returning to Mexico on Nov 5.

"So how are you doing?" I asked.

"I am 4 days behind schedule. I never filter my water and I got sick. I 
was out for 5 days and lost 20 pounds. It's been hard putting my weight 
back on when I have been averaging 38 miles a day."

That's an insane pace, especially considering that he encountered snow 
for most of his journey. He will average over 40 on his return despite 
the shorter days.

Scott had hoped to do Oregon's 430 miles in 10 days, but had problems 
with a mail drop and had to do it in 11 days. He'll try to do it in 10 
days when he returns to Mexico. We took 18 days to cover the same 
ground. ...




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