Day 39, mile 651

Friday, May 31, 2013
Leg 7: Highway 58 to Kennedy Meadows, California
Overnighting: Walker Pass campground
Waypoint: Walker Pass


Oh, Technology, our co-dependent love-hate relationship continues.  I love that you deliver messages from the trail.  I hate that you deliver them on your own schedule without the original timestamp.

This morning I received the following text messages from Flanagan:

• 8:41am: Since this just sent, we're actually at mile 651: Walker Pass with some trail angels.  Good times.  Love you!
• 8:42am: Not much signal, but tried to call just cause.  We're safely at mile 631, shooting for Kennedy Meadows Monday.  Love you lots!!

Hmmm...  I think you kept the 8:42am message in the "cloud" for a day or two before delivering.  Let's work on this, m'kay?

Hugs,
Becca

P.S.  Cyber-spotting!  Flanagan is in Muk Muk's photo from the trail angel stop with ice cream sandwiches at Walker Pass. 

Flanagan (aka Red) in a red shirt

Read the entire post at http://mexicotocanada2013.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/black-friday/comment-page-1/#comment-594.

P.P.S.  A second cyber-spotting related to this trail magic extraveganza!  Scat Tracker and Unicroc mention playing Eucher with Red and Dufresne in their blog post at http://scattrackerandunicroc.blogspot.com/2013/06/kennedy-meadows-mile-7022-start-of.html.

Day 34, mile 571

Sunday, May 26, 2013
Between Legs 6 & 7: Agua Dulce to Highway 58 to Kennedy Meadows, California
Overnighting: side of trail

Windfarms as far as the eye can see.

Shade is scarce, so you take what you can find.

Day 32, mile 500+

Friday, May 24, 2013
Leg 7: Agua Dulce / Hiker Heaven to Highway 58 crossing, California
Overnighting: Tylerhorse Canyon



COMMAND CENTRAL UPDATE . . . 

We've heard the Andrews will be hiking about 20 miles each day, but have you wondered how that averages out?  What are the highs and lows?  Lucky for you, Flanagan is wearing his fitbit, which tracks his steps, elevation gain (in flights of stairs), level of exertion, and so much more.  Enjoy the following graphs of the boys' first month on the trail.  Click on any picture to see it full-sized.

The hours Flanagan was up and about.  Note that the bars are exclusive of one another.  Let's use May 6 as a standard benchmark for these graphs.  Flanagan was active for 11 hours on May 6 = 3.7 very + 5.2 fairly + 2.1  lightly.  That big dip you see on May 9?  That was the zero day, all day off trail in Big Bear.

Steps per day.  And, yes, you are reading this correctly.  The y-axis lists steps in factors of 10,000.  May 6 has 56,237.  Zero day on May 9 still had over 4,000 steps!

Miles per day.  The "half bars" correspond to resupply / layover days, during which they hiked the morning into town or the evening after getting back on trail.  Benchmarks: May 6 was 28 miles; longest day yet is May 12 with 35.25 miles.

And the height climbed.  May 6 was the peak at 806 floors (approximately 9,675 vertical climb!).

Approximate calories burned.  May 6 was 6005 calories.  Low point on May 9 (zero day) was just under 2650.

 

Seeing these stats, I'm a little intimidated to go on another backpacking trip with these guys.  Or, on the flip side, if they can do 25+ miles with a  full pack, they should be able to do 8 miles with a double pack... I could backpack without the backpack!

Day 30, mile 508

Wednesday, May 22, 2013*
Leg 7: Agua Dulce / Hiker Heaven to Highway 58 crossing, California
Overnighting: side of trail
Milestone: 500 miles

Another major mile reached: MILE 500!  Only 2,250 to go!

* They pass the 500 mile on this leg, but since they are non-communicato, I estimated the date from the hike schedule.  AND I WAS CORRECT ON GUESSING THE DATE; YAY ME!

Day 28, mile 463

Monday, May 20, 2013
Leg 6: Agua Dulce to Highway 58, California
Overnighting: under an oak tree

The hikers continue on their way without noteworthy updates.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT COMMAND CENTRAL . . .

First "augment box" prepped and shipped to our boys.  The leg between Highway 58 and Kennedy Meadows is __ miles.  The original plan was to complete the leg in six days, so that's the box we sent to a friend for cache drop.  As timing progressed the friend is delivering the cache a day early and the boys will come out two days later than planned.  This turned a six day leg into a nine day leg.  Rather than asking our friends to put together an extra the days of food, we cut their shopping list to a 1# block of cheddar cheese and I pulled together this box yesterday morning.

Packing list for the days:

• BREAKFAST: granola, powdered milk + water, Odwalla superfood bar
• LUNCH: tortilla, crackers (Truiscut, Wheat Thins, goldfish), salami or jerky, peanut butter, cheese, muscle milk
• SNACKS: dried fruit (pear, apple, apricot), chocolate covered nuts & fruit, gorp/trail mix, salty nuts, protein bar, Nature Valley bar, Clif bar, powdered electrolyte drink
• DINNER: instant starch (rice, mashed potato, couscous), pouch of protein (tuna, salmon, chicken), freeze dried vegetables, flavor (nacho powder, gravy powder, minced garlic, parmesan cheese, etc.), olive oil

Sounds delicious, right?  For you and I -- who take for granted our access to refrigerators and grocery stores -- this may sound bland.  But our Andrews report the food is great and the variation throughout the day is appreciated.

Will it all fit?

Master Packer Becca "testris-ed" everything into a single the flat-rate box!

Day 27, mile 454

Sunday, May 19, 2013
Layover between Legs 5 & 6: Agua Dulce / Hiker's Heaven
Overnighting: with Caito (Flanagan) and Trail Angels (Mathes)

Came out at Agua Dulca earlier this afternoon as scheduled.  Trail angels again helping out boys.   This time, the angels house about four dozen hikers each night (max two nights) and rent a fifteen-person van to shuttle hikers into the REI in north Los Angeles. This REI happens to be the one that Caito, a longtime friend from college, manages.   Flanagan is staying in town with Caito tonight, while Mathes stays out at the trail angel home.   The plan is to return to the trail tomorrow (Thursday 5/20) afternoon for Leg 6.

Day 22, mile 370

Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Layover between Legs 4 & 5: Wrightwood
Overnighting: O'Hare House (Flanagan relatives) in Claremont, California

Arrived in Wrightwood this today as scheduled.  Joan & Chris, wonderful extended family, brought the guys into town.  They are showed, feed, and relaxing in Joan & Chris's backyard.  They will return to the trail tomorrow (Wednesday 5/15) afternoon.  All is going well on the hike.


Will beautify this post and add photos when I return home next weekend.  For now, this "single for the summer" lady is on her way to the north shoe of Kauai to help count fish while working with an environmental group.

Lots of photos on Instagram

The adage that it takes a village is true in raising children and tracking our Andrews.  While Rebecca (Flanagan's girl) is tracking many of the logistics and manning this site, Karen (Mathes's girl) is posting all sorts of fun pictures she receives from Mathes.  She even made a special page just for our boys.  Check it out at http://instagram.com/pct2013.

As a sneak peak, here are some of the photos from Legs 1-3 on Instagram . . .

Flanagan chasing horses

Mathes self-portrait

Lovely boardwalk

Trail Markers

Flanagan in his element

One of many vista views

Day 16

Day 17, mile 275 (zero day)

Thursday, May 9, 2013
Layover between Legs 3 and 4: Big Bear City, California
Overnighting: Van Dusen Creek
Milestone: first zero day

A "zero day" means there are no miles hiked on the trail.  There may be lots of walking -- to the grocery store, around the town, etc. -- but no progress on the trail.  "But what about the breaks in Warner Springs and Idyllwild?" you ask.  The previous stops were 24-26 hour breaks, without a true day off trail.  They hiked off trail one morning and put a few miles on the trail the following evening.

As mentioned in the May 8 post, this is the first leg the boys are buying all their food for the next leg.  No pre-packed-with-love meals for this week!  Let's see if they miss the just-add-water meals or if they prefer purchasing food at grocery stores (when a grocery store is available).

They are getting a ride back to the trail head about 5:00pm tonight.  No miles today, just making camp so they can get an early start tomorrow.  Their other option was a ride to the trailhead at about 9:00am, but that would keep them from getting two hours on trail in the cool morning air.

Day 16, mile 275

Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Layover between Legs 3 and 4: Big Bear City, California
Overnighting: home of "Trail Angels" Papa Smurf and Mountain Mama
Milestone: 10% complete (5 months = 152 days)


This leg was completed ahead of schedule!  They reached Big Bear City about 3:00pm.    Tonight they are staying with "Trail Angels" -- PCT supporters that open their home to hikers.  Our boys are sharing the home of Papa Smurf and Mountain Mama with their 20-ish year old son, two PCT through-hikers, and one PCT section hiker.  Flanagan reports that the quaint accommodations aren't lavish for eight, but are a welcome change from the trail.

Thursday, May 9th is their first "zero day," meaning they are off trail all day.  Thus far, every day has had a few miles on trail, either walking into the waypoint town or departing and getting 8-10 miles before making camp.  They plan on taking an easy day around Big Bear City and buying supplies for the next leg.  (Knowing Big Bear City was a major resupply point, we didn't pack and ship a cache box to this waypoint.)  I'm hopeful that the boys can locate a wireless connection, which will allow them to upload photos from the first two weeks . . . and that means we can all see the sweeping vistas from the trail.

UPDATE: Mathes' girl, Karen, received many photos from the trip thus far and is sharing them on instagram (http://instagram.com/pct2013).  Below is a photo of our boys in borrowed PJs while doing laundry at the Trail Angels' home.  Glad to see somethings never change, such as Flanagan being an animal magnet (note the puppy is curled up on his lap).

 

 

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More pictures will be added in June!

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Day 15, mile 268

Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Leg 3: Idyllwild to Big Bear City, California
Overnighting: Doble Trail Camp

Amazing views from the rocks

Creative mile marker

Hail didn't damper spirits, but did require a bit more shelter on the lunch break today.

  

Oh, the things you'll see on trail.  

Trail love from trail angels: a recliner, cookies and flats of soda.

Cookies stored in coolers to keep the little critters at bay.

Day 14, mile 240

Monday, May 6, 2013
Leg 3: Idyllwild to Big Bear City, California
Overnighting: Mission Springs Trail Camp


A beautiful landscape from the trail.  No information is known on location beyond the approximate mile 240.

Update re: wildfires

Monday, May 6, 2013
Leg 3: Idyllwild to Big Bear City, California

Update from "Command Central"

A quick follow up on our hikers' location as it relates to the wildfires in California.  Mount San Jacinto (see post "Day 13, mile 160ish") is about 12-15 miles from Banning, California, on Highway 10.  The two fires near Banning are contained as reported on the California Statewide Fire Map at www.fire.ca.gov/general/firemaps.php.  See the screen shot below (click for full-size image). 

This is my research; I have not received any reports from the trail regarding fires.

Day 13, mile 219

Sunday, May 5, 2013
Leg 3: Idyllwild to Big Bear City, California
Waypoint: San Jacinto Peak
Milestone: 200 miles
Overnighting: Whitewater Preserve


Text message from Flanagan to Becca (with another picture!)

2:35pm: Hello from San Jacinto peak, 10,800ft

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MORE PICTURES IN JUNE

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Second of many mile markers

Walking on the sand is a great workout

So many wind farms

Day 12, mile 197

Saturday, May 4, 2013
Leg 3: Idyllwild to Big Bear City, California
Overnighting: side of trail

Day 11, mile 180 + 3

Friday, May 3, 2013
Layover between Legs 2 & 3: Idyllwild, California
Overnighting: Idyllwild

Second cache drop of the trip.

Day 10, mile 177

Thursday, May 2, 2013
Leg 2: Warner Springs to Idyllwild, California
Overnighting: side of trail

A beautifully maintained trail along this ridge.

Oh, the view!

Red loves snow!  This must feel so good after ten days in the desert.

Day 9, mile 152

Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Leg 2: Warner Springs to Idyllwild, California

Text messages from Flanagan to Becca

1:11pm: First milkshake of the trip, mile 152.  Love you!

  

1:17pm: Mathes stole the phone now.  Hellloooo.  Your food has been awwwwwwwwesome!