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The 7th Annual Day Zero PCT Kickoff

Arriving at Lake Morena County Park late on Wednesday night we found ourselves almost alone in the large campground on a clear, star filled night, deepening in unseasonable cold of late April. A full moon cast a brilliant light upon our camp and made for easy setup. The next morning a light crust of frost coated our sleeping bags and gear and a beautiful fog hung low over the lake, catching the first pastels of light from the rising sun.

A day and a half later about 500 PCT enthusiasts; including past thru-hikers, section hikers, trail angels, aspiring thru and section hikers, wannabe future hikers, hangers on, supporting family and friends, a few ultra-light equipment vendors, several nonprofit organizations, a local transient and an evangelical distributor of "Born Again" literature were peacefully gathering beneath the stately oaks in this park just 20 miles north (by trail) from the southern terminus of the PCT. By the end of the next day, an estimated 650 attendees will have gathered.

Friday morning found 30 or more hikers at the southern terminus, nervously eyeing the threatening skies and hoping for a bit of sun to poke through in the earliest morning. Pictures all around, discussions; "Oh, you're Suge!" or "I've been trying to meet you for three years and finally glad to put a face to the name", "Hey Greg, given the chance will you ever be hiking this trail again?” They sign the register and head on down the trail with Monte Dodge and Jeff Zimmerman joining them for a day hike back to Lake Morena, some 20.4 miles north.

Ned Tibbits, 1974 PCT thruhiker, greets me later that morning with a wide smile and firm handshake and comments; "In the 30 years since I hiked the trail I have only met about 3 or 4 other people who have hiked the trail. Today, I walk in here and find several hundred people in one place who have hiked the trail. I am totally blown away! They ALL understand the passion, the need, the confidence, the mentality, the love for the trail."

The "class of 2004" hosts a spaghetti dinner and only later do we realize that a local transient has gone through the line twice!

As the evening deepens, Meadow Mary and Billy Goat are giving a talk on hiker health to a group of a couple hundred in a meadow facing the lake and surrounding hills.The sun is close to setting and peaking through heavy clouds casting deep late day colors upon the scene and faces of those listening. The lake is like glass with minor ripples shimmering and sparkling. The scene is mesmerizing and distracts the audience frequently from the talk.

. . . a hiker walking down one of the campground roads is followed, unknowingly, by a small twister dust devil, which sneaks up behind him and snatches his hat off his head and carries it into the sky.

. . . a literal carpet of tiny gold flowers makes a "yellow brick road" through the chaparral near the lake and permeates a deep dusky smell upon your nose as you are drawn to lie down here and examine in closer exquisite detail . . .

The Grand Poobah of the ADZPCTKO gave welcoming remarks and reminded the growing crowd of the three main mission points of the event. The ADZPCTKO is put on for our guests; those who aspire to thru-hike or significant section hike the PCT. As such the event aspires to:
1) Provide logistical services to aspiring thru and significant section hikers starting at the southern terminus of the trail, including; transportation from San Diego transportation hubs, transportation from points north up the trail, water caches on the driest sections immediately north of the event, safety in numbers near the border, etc., etc.
2) Provide educational information about the trail, including historical information, geology, flora, fauna, water availability, snow conditions, food storage safety, fire safety, trail condition reports, bear safety, etc., etc., and
3) To provide inspirational and entertaining materials and contacts, including; presentations from past thru-hikers, contact with recent, multiple and ancient thru-hikers to calm their fears and bounce a few questions off of, and innovative homemade gear contest, and a few vendors with innovative, cutting edge gear for the thru-hiker, etc.

The premiere of the new "outdoor theater" with a 9-foot by 20-foot tyvek screen, LCD projection system and stereo sound began with a re-showing of "Walk" by Scott "Squatch" Herriot. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately in hind sight) technical difficulties caused the loss of the sound suddenly just a few minutes into the presentation. Scott, a former stand-up comic, didn't miss a beat and began to provide a series of hilarious “narrations" for the now silent movie. He had the crowd roaring by the time the sound was restored and, I think, most of us may have preferred Scott's narration to the actual soundtrack.

A tape of "Alone Across Australia" was also nixed due to technical difficulties and right in line with the first rule of the ADZ; "There are no rules" the final presentation was scrapped for Buzz and Izzy's great DVD of their 2004 hike. A full moon behind cloudy skies provided for an eerie light cast upon the night. Later the class of 2003 could be heard grooving to a rhythmic drum, guitar, Pringles shaker can, two bottles clinking and several voices rapping all together into an extended jam session around a warm fire, vodka shots, lemon slices and tequila. Yee haa!!

Saturday of the grand event began when I calmly strolled over to the "class of 2003"'s camp after the previous night's late jam and drinking session. I approached a rather wavering Teatree and gave her an early morning hug. As I did she came a bit more awake and went into panic mode, saying "Oh, shoot, it's Strider! Freefall, QUICK, get up! We need to start cooking pancakes, Strider is here!" I assured her that that was not my intention and not to panic even as they all stirred and began to organize the promised pancake breakfast. Soon a long line began to form as the smell of pancakes drifted across and permeated the tents and tarps of those beginning to awake. Pancakes, strawberries, butter, maple syrup and what? A bottle of Whiskey? Oh, the class of 2003 continues to astound us all!

The gear contest entries were collected. The vendors were now all up and running and showing off their newest designs; Six Moons Designs, Gossamer Gear, Luxurylite, Teton Tents (Big Sky Products), Yogi's PCT Handbook, Bearvaults, TarpTents, Adventure 16, Ultralight Adventure Gear, Leki, etc. The Silent Auction began with many great products donated by the vendors and a wide variety of parties. The most unique and one that went for the most? Why, an old highly weathered chair from the "Lucky 5 Water Cache" went for $185!!!

Later in the day, the USFS showed up with a display table offering fire permits to the hikers, the Cleveland Forest Fire Crews brought in three of their trucks and a display table and the PCTA set up their "store". The evangelical distributor of "Born Again" was chased off considering that his materials seemed a bit off focus from the event. He chose not to argue with me fortunately and left quietly. A steady stream of attendees continued to file in, by car, RV and foot.

The homemade gear contest (okay, ready for this one? The Annual Great Pacific Long Distance Hiking Gear and Invention Review; AGPLDHG&IR!) presentations were clever and fun as always and were judged by the crowd, each person getting a ticket that he / she would then put into the bucket for the item they felt was the greatest. The silent auction closed right as Meadow Ed began his Southern California water report. The large, silent, attentive crowd of aspiring hikers listened and followed every word of this famous guru of the PCT.

It rained a bit in the afternoon, but then this is a gathering of hikers and it mattered little to the overall atmosphere and activities

As the evening and the weather darkened a large group of volunteers peeled a huge mountain of potatoes for Bob "The Food Dude"'s famous potato salad. Monty Tam, a new ADZPCTKO organizer living in Warner Springs whipped another group of volunteers into cooking the burgers, veggie burgers and hot dogs, in preparation of feeding the 650 attendees. A line of twenty ice chests, all full of ice and drinks set nearby. A table of "potluck" desserts sat at the end of the food line. The line of hungry attendees snaked around the water talk and down the campground road. The 2005 Aspiring Hikers were offered a line of their own, being the guests of the event! Within a mere 30 minutes the lines were gone and the crowd was sitting contently eating and watching the gathering dusk.

The wind just would not cooperate to enable the erection of the Tyvek screen for the evening presentations, and so an alternate arrangement was quickly set upon by attaching the screen with cable zip ties to the side of Bob "The Food Dude's" RV. This solution worked and the heralded guests of Saturday night’s presentations were summoned.

The last sun of day filtered again through distant clouds and set a beautiful stage for the first; Donald Rogers, the son of Warren Rogers, the co-champion (with Clinton C. Clarke) of the formation of the PCT, gave a talk on "Remembering Warren Rogers". This tall elderly man, the image and face of his father, spoke nervously to a crowd thirsty for knowledge and insight into the historical formation of the trail. As he spoke of his father and his love for the PCT, Don often nearly broke with emotion in the reverence he clearly holds for this great man who passed away in 1992. When he had taken several questions from the crowd and finished, the crowd loudly applauded him for his presentation and the conveyance of passion for the trail and his father

Next, the heralded Scott Williamson, gave a slide show and talk on his several failed yo-yo attempts through the 1990's and then his incredible success last year. Of special note was a series of pictures taken from the same spot at different times of the year, first in early Spring going North, and then in contrast in Fall going South.

The wind picked up and clouds raced across the sky just a few hundred feet over our heads. The full moon peaked out here and there to bathe us in bright light now, darkness then. Weathercarrot's 2004 DVD was up next and the word on how beautiful and spiritual this presentation is had spread through the event and was much anticipated. Weathercarrot introduced it and adjusted the color settings on the LCD projector and the sound system to insure a good presentation. The spiritual, almost religious music set the tone and the crowd braced against the driving cold wind. The beautiful photography, the incredible choreography, the eerie music, the driving wind, the racing clouds and brilliant moon built into a crescendo of emotion and inspiration. I don't believe a single soul there doubted that a thru-hike is an incredible worthy event in one's life.

Later, the drums began again and went on into the night as the camp settled down for the night.

Early Sunday morning the rain began again as we slept and made for a wet and cold morning. We quickly fed hikers a hot meal and ferried them to the border and points north. A lone bagpipe struck up and wandered the campground, picking up everyone's spirit despite the end of the event and the many goodbyes coming.

The event organizers gathered for a "post event meeting" and voted first on the question of whether to hold an 8th event! The motion passed unanimously and we quickly went onto discuss other matters, such as the dates of the next event, the arrangement of different factions in the campground, and assignment of distinct tasks to individuals for the next event. I strolled around the now nearly empty campground later to sweep for trash and found none. Incredible . . . 650 people camped in one place and no liter left anywhere . . . simply incredible.

The aura of the ADZPCTKO survives and thrives in the driving passion of the organizers and attendees. The low-key aspect survives even as the attendance grows due to the consistent focus on the originating principles of the event.

As I drove home it struck me as strange how we all wish to gather to build this trail community spirit and then we go our separate ways again, only to gather again next year, seeking and building the spirit and friendships and camaraderie and passion for the trail. It runs through each of us, through our veins and is pumped by our hearts.