[pct-l] A Wonderful PCT Presentation and Possible CDT Yo-Yo

[jeff.singewald at comcast.net]

Last night I attended a presentation by Francis Tapon last evening at my local REI.  Francis spoke about his 2006 Southbound thru-hike, his book, "Hike Your Own Hike - 7 Life Lessons..." and his upcoming attempt to yo-yo the CDT.

I had the chance to talk with Francis and his Estonian hiking partner just a bit south of Hyatt Lake in southern Oregon on August 7th.  His trailname was Mr Magoo.  The presentation was one of the best I have seen and included a 10 minute video from the first 70 miles between Manning and  Rainy Pass.  He had just two days to make this distance in order to hook up with his Estonian partner and those first two days were quite an adventure.  The snow that they encountered in northern Washington was significant and reminded me of the snow we encountered in the Sierras last year in early June.  It was quite impressive given the lack of good landmarks and trail markings in the northern Cascades.

Francis shared a story that nearly brought tears to my eyes.  The young, beautiful Estonian had decided to ship home her heavy mountain boots during the brief stop in Cascade Locks as she planned to pick up new trail-runners at her drop in Olallie Lake.  She decided to hike the 75 miles from Cascade Locks to Olallie Lakes in flip-flops.   Yep, flip-flogs, not Tevas but those thin rubber flip flops many of us used as camp shoes.  Unfortuantely as many of us learned before the 2006 season, Olallie Lake was no longer accepting packages and when they arrived she found that her shoes did not arrive.  She was forced to hike another 75 miles to Big Lake Youth Camp.  Francis shared pictures of her feet at Big Lake and they were quite literally hamburger meat!  At one point, Francis shared that her feet were so sore that it was easier for her to walk barefoot!  This woman had some kinda fortitude to keep going!  The presentation really revealed how solitary a SoBo hike can be.  Next time ar
ound, I would strongly consider a SoBo after seeing this presentation.

And, with regards to the CDT Yo-Yo, Francis shared that he is planning to take a shot at this in 2007 so hopefully we will hear more about this on one of the lists.  I know that I will be rooting him on!  If you get a chance to see his presentation, don't miss it!

Elevator