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10-Year-Old Hikes PCT in 2004

Written by Barbara Egbert
Photos by Gary Chambers

California resident Mary Chambers, who goes by the trail name Scrambler, stood out among the 2004 crop of Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers by her endurance, cheerfulness and absolute determination to finish the journey. And also by the fact that she was only 10 years old. Scrambler, who turned 11 just three weeks after crossing into Canada at the north end of the trail, is probably the youngest person to ever walk the entire way from Mexico to Canada in one calendar year. There are no official records kept on PCT hikers' ages, but Scott Williamson, who also made news this year with his successful "yoyo'' hike (Mexico to Canada and back again, in one year) hasn't seen anyone younger in his many years on the trail. Mary didn't finish alone, of course. Her father, Gary Chambers (Captain Bligh), was with her the entire distance. And her mother, Barbara Egbert (Nellie Bly), was there too, except for three weeks when she left the trail to recover from shin splints and an abscessed tooth.

They all walked into Canada together on Oct. 25, after struggling with snow and bad weather that forced them to take an alternate route east of the official route, going over Buckskin Pass and up the Middle Fork of the Pasayten River. Accompanying them for the final 70 miles was cinematographer Alex Vlacos, who is producing a documentary on his young neighbor's accomplishment. How does a 10-year-old hike more than 2,650 miles when most adults who tackle the trail drop out? Mary's parents were experienced backpackers when she was born, and they began taking her along when she was only two months old. On her first birthday, Mom carried her into the Grand Canyon on the New Hance Trail (while Dad carried everything else) and suibsequent years found them backpacking in the San Francisco Bay Area's wilderness parks, Utah's Zion National Park and even the Maryland section of the Appalachian Trail. Mary learned early how to be comfortable in a tent, walk many miles in a day and entertain herself with pinecones, twigs and other naturally occurring toys. (She does, however, carry one stuffed animal on every trip; "Cactus,' a stuffed porcupine, accompanied her on the PCT.) Since there's no TV, VCR or video games at home, Mary doesn't miss electronic entertainment on the trail. Everyone carries a book, however; Mary averaged one book a week on the PCT, getting a fresh one in every resupply box and mailing the old one home at town stops. Mom and Dad were so jealous! Gary made sure Mary was more than prepared for the PCT, taking her up Mount Shasta (14,162 feet) when she was 7 and up Mount Langley, another California 14'er, a year later. With Mom along, she became the youngest person to backpack the entire Tahoe Rim Trail, in 2001. The family hiked the TRT again in 2003 as training for the Pacific Crest Trail, completing the 165-mile route in 11 days.

Mary is back in school now, her mother has returned to work as a copy editor at the San Jose Mercury News and her father is busy renovating their home in the small Alameda County town of Sunol. Homework has taken the place of camp chores for Mary, and she enjoys long phone conversations with her friends in lieu of months spent almost entirely with adults. But Mary hasn't forgotten how to use an ice ax or set up a tent ... or the thrill of summitting Mount Whitney in the Sierra or seeing mountain goats in Washington. And she never will.

Editors note: I asked Barbara if they had to take any alternate routes because of the weather last year – this is her response:

As a matter of fact, we had to take some alternate routes from time to time,mostly because of Mary's small Just south of the Canadian border on Oct. 25th size. For example, we couldn't get through the waist-deep snow in the Northern Cascades (that's waist-deep on an adult), and the high winds over Slate Peak literally knocked her over. So we took Buskskin Pass to the Middle Fork of the Pasayten River, then over to Frosty Pass, rejoining the PCT at Castle Pass. Similarly, we had heard horror stories of the crossings of Russell and Milk Creeks, and we walked around them by hiking out at Pamelia Lake, walking up the highway (I think it's Route 42) and then back up the Whitewater Creek road to the official PCT.

Also, the Washington reroute was so difficult even Scott Williamson walked on the highway instead. I wasn't about to let Mary walk 20 miles on a busy highway, so with the USFS, I worked out an alternate route that put them on forest service roads over to Chiwawa Valley Road. This way, Gary and Mary walked the entire way, with no gaps. (We think Yogi's definition of a thru-hike is the best: Walk from Mexico to Canada in one calendar year, with every segment linked together on foot.) Scott confirmed what we had suspected -- a lot of "thru hikers" this year hitchhiked from Stevens Pass to Harts Corner to avoid both the reroute and the highway walking. So we feel pretty good that Mary walked the entire distance, even if it wasn't on "official" PCT tread all the time.