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The Mail Bag - Spring '98
Scott Blanton, Canton GA: Keep up the good work with the Gazette. I look forward to it each quarter. I hiked 2350 miles of the PCT in 1996, and am currently planning a 1998 CDT thru-hike. My tentative plans are to start in Canada approximately June 10th.
Patricia Corry, Helena MT (4/9): Haven’t done a long trail yet (unless you count the Tahoe-Yosemite Trail which I did as a fledgling backpacker ~1970). Badly want to do the PCT in two seasons.
Sarah & Dennis "YipYap" Dooley, Corvallis OR (2/10): We are now doing the CDT with Glen "Fiddlehead" Fleagel and his group. We will be getting on at Twin Lakes June 15 and heading north. They are starting May 1 in New Mexico.
Diane Ensminger & Frank Spirek, South Ogden UT (2/15): Last summer, we accepted six-month jobs with the Forest Service. We spent the bulk of the summer and fall doing field work in Colorado. It was great! The work involved lots of hiking and camping. It sure was nice to get paid to do what you love to do!
We got to revisit many of our old CDT stomping grounds. Much of our work took place right along the Divide in the San Juans, the La Garitas, and the Collegiate Peaks. During the weekends, we’d use our free time to climb the nearby 14ers.
When winter chased us out of Colorado (which didn’t happen until the end of October!), we moved down to Southern New Mexico for a few weeks. Then, as our field season ended, we were offered longer positions with the Forest Service and moved to Ogden.
Our new "permanent" address is 4344 Adams Ave #3, South Ogden, UT 84403. Our new E-mail address is ensminger-spirek@juno.com. As we’ve offered before, we would be glad to correspond with any prospective thru-hiker.
We hope to participate in future ALDHA events now that we live out here in the West. The Great Western Trail rolls right through Ogden and the CDT ain’t too far away. We’d be glad to help out any long-distance hiker who’d be passing through our area.
Al King, Tulare CA (4/6): Thank-you very much for your warm letter of welcome to membership in the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West. While I have know of the organization from friends such as Jill Wilson, I have had no contact with it beyond Jill’s comments about its activities.
Ray Jardine has been spoken of by people in this area, but the article about him in Backpacker presented a view I find appealing; his individualism I appreciate.
Annual treks since 1968 into the Sierras and Cascades, including 21 summits of Mount Whitney (no two have been the same). I expect to celebrate my 100th birthday with a trip to the summit of Mt. Whitney. OR, WA, and Sierra (several times) sections of the PCT.
I find my yearly treks into the mountains creates an annual spiritual renewal....
An important part of my long distance hiking experience involves meeting PCT hikers along the way. Meeting one of these is a rare treat, and the conversation, though brief, is an on-going inspiration.
I look forward to enjoying my membership and to the possibility of attending a membership meeting. Cascade Locks holds great memories for me as I remember the start of our trek up the PCT in Washington.
Julie Marcellus & Dave Humphries, Crescent City CA (4/4): We will be doing a long-distance trek on the PCT this summer. Hope to make the Gathering in October.
Kathy Morey, Mammoth Lakes CA (2/20): Enclosed please find my membership application. My membership is a gift from my publisher and friend, Mr. Thomas Winnett of Wilderness Press, upon my having completed the John Muir Trail in September 1997 with the object of updating Wilderness Press’s _Guide to the John Muir Trail_. The new edition will soon be out.
As an encouragement to other middle-aged hikers, let me admit to being 56 years old and to hiking slowly (6-8 miles is an average day for me, 10-12 a long one). I look forward some day to hiking the PCT and maybe even the CDT - after all, I’m only 56!
Ralph Norris, Why AZ (3/5): I hike each morning approximately two miles over rough and rocky terrain, in the area just north of Why. There is one thing I’d like to know: how do you get someone to walk hundreds of miles, when I can’t get anyone to walk one hour a day with me? Oh, I’ve had people walk with me for a week or so, and tell me they’ve never felt better; and then just stop.
My walking has taken me from a size 44 down to a size 36, and still losing.
Ed Talone, Silver Spring MD (4/23, Las Cruces NM): Started CDT at Antelope Wells Friday April 17th. Made it 130 miles to Silver City. No water and one cache stolen by illegals near Interstate 10.
(5/4, Pie Town NM): Dry and cool here. Mostly dirt two-tracks and little dirt
roads. Nice scenery and some incredible rock formations.
Now that I’ve seen both Columbus and Antelope Wells, go Columbus! 325 miles done, 2450 to go.
Scott Smouse, Bellevue WA (3/16): As David Porter mentioned in the winter issue, we are planning a section hike together in mid-August, from about Red’s Meadow to Sonora Pass.
We section hikers have a problem that thru-hikers probably don’t:
loss of appetite. Last year I left Seattle at sea level and 55!, and flew to Reno, took a bus to Lake Tahoe, and the next morning was hiking on the PCT at 8000 feet and 70!. This sudden change in altitude, temperature, and workload robs me of my appetite. I have to force myself to eat. On the trail, it seems there are no foods I love. I eat fewer calories than I should, which results in less energy, sagging spirits, and many of the problems Ray Jardine mentions in his book. Any suggestions from other hikers who have solved this loss-of-appetite problem?
Nick Williams, VA (4/26): Nick started the CDT at Antelope Wells on
April 26.
Robert Wirth, Basalt CO (3/17): I am so happy to be a member! Although I won’t be busy doing any long distance hiking for 3-4 years, I do plan to keep busy polishing off those peak bagging lists.
The reason I’m writing is to say that so far I’ve enjoyed every newsletter. It is good to see they are filled with stories from other long distance hikers about their adventures of hardship, joy, wonderment, and fulfillment. Perhaps one day I will submit a memory in writing of one of my many hikes.
The N.P.S. has a booklet titled _Register of National Recreation Trails_. Trails are listed for each state, as well length, types of users, type of surface, and other useful information. If you would like a booklet, write to: U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328. There are many trails that all of us are over looking.