Category: long hikes

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ADZPCTKO 2013

I finally got to Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off at Lake Morena County Park in southern California. It’s 20 miles from the start of the Pacific Crest Trail on the Mexican border.

Great party, though a little intimidating for a first time attendee like myself.

It sold out faster than ever before, 917 in attendance. But word in the campground was that there are fewer hikers starting for Canada in 2013 than in 2012.

click to see larger version on Facebook
click to see larger version on Facebook

The primary focus of the gathering is to help shed those butterflies that inevitably precede a life-altering experience like hiking the PCT by showing you the broad spectrum of strategies that have been successful in the past and those of your fellow 2013 PCTers. …

Events include:

Pacific Crest Trail Short Film Festival

Gear Contest

Seminars

Silent Auction. Saturday morning you can bid on PCT memorabilia, lightweight gear, and other fun stuff. Proceeds defray the costs of putting on ADZPCTKO.

Meals. Dinner on Friday and Saturday, and breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, are part of the ADZPCTKO tradition.

ADZPCTKO 2013

food

Who should attend ADZPCTKO?

Our focus has always been on Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers, and the weekend events are designed primarily for these intrepid hikers. If you:

Are attempting to thru-hike the PCT in 2013, you can get needed permits and we offer seminars, up-to-date information on trail conditions, last-minute equipment checks, an opportunity to get to know your fellow hikers, and plenty of inspiration and guidance from those who’ve gone before.

Are planning a thru-hike attempt in the next few years, you can see (and buy) state of the art equipment from vendors who specialize in ultralight gear for long-distance hikes, learn more about the trail experience and the beautiful country that the PCT traverses, and join the trail community.

Have completed a substantial portion of a thru hike, you can reconnect with others you hiked with, and share your pictures, your knowledge, your joys, and your harrowing experiences with a new generation of hikers.

What’s new for 2013?

Wolverine shakedowns. The PCT Wolverines, recent successful thru hikers, will analyze everything you carry, tell you what you can improve, and what you can send home.

mountain gear

Certainly the best hiking focused event I’ve ever attended. It’s charmingly under-organized. But former thru hikers independently go out of their way to take care of rookies, like myself.

Here is a new hiker getting shuttled north from ADZPCTKO by an Angel (and puppy) to resume his walk to Canada.

Angel shuttle

If you’ve any interest at all in a thru hike, I recommend you attend for information and inspiration.

see more of my photos from ADZPCTKO 2013

related – Trail Days 2013 May 11th to 19th in Damascus, Virginia is something similar celebrating the Appalachian Trail.

related – SoCalHiker’s report on the event

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From Lost to Found on the PCT

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is a 2012 memoir by American author Cheryl Strayed, describing her 1,100-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail in a journey of self-discovery.

The book reached No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, and was the first selection for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0. …

I’m not as keen on the book as most. NY Times DWIGHT GARNER, for example.

But it did keep me going.

She’s a decent story teller. And her story is compelling.

At age-26 her life was a train wreck. Money problems. Divorce. Abortion. Experimenting with heroin. In grief still, 4 years after the death of her mother.

With no long distance hiking experience, she tries for salvation on the PCT.

wild

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

There are plans to have Reese Witherspoon play Strayed in a future film.

The author re-married in 1999. They have two children and live in Portland, Oregon

The PCT worked for her.

She didn’t appear at the PCT kickoff 2013, by the way. There are many REAL thru hikers who resent Strayed being the most famous ever.

Much like the tragically inept Katz and Bryson, the most famous Appalachian Trail hikers.

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Tell it on the Mountain – PCT

I’m at ADZPCTKO. The kick off party for the Pacific Crest Trail.

Pretty inspiring. 🙂

Check the new PCT movie.

Follow a half dozen of the 300 or so hikers who attempt a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike every year. Armed with cameras, they give us an insider’s view into what it takes to spend half a year living in the wild.

Click PLAY or watch a sneak peek on YouTube.

Available for purchase on Tellitonthemountain.com and Amazon.

I’m doing research for a future PCT adventure. Likely just the California section.

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10 Lifetime Hiking Trails

Luc Foin, cofounder of Baladeo, a French backpacking gear company, posted this excellent info graphic.

Baladeo promotes a “Roots Travelling” mindset to inspire globettroters & independent travelers.

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ADZPCTKO 2013 – PCT kick off

PCT Kick Off (@adzpctko). Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off, April 26-28, 2013. Lake Morena County Park.

I’m putting it on my calendar. It’s a hiking PARTY.

Might even hike the first week or two of the Pacific Crest Trail.

2010

No promises, though.

My calendar is still up-in-the-air.

adzpctko.org

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walking 4132mi down the Nile

Stretching for 4132 miles and crossing through ten countries, the Nile is the longest river on the planet.

… During the 19th century, the river inspired explorers to go in search of its headwaters. Numerous expeditions were mounted to map its length. But none of those explorers ever managed to walk the entire length of the Nile from source to sea.

That’s exactly what two British adventurers intend to do when they launch a 12-month long expedition later this year.

Levison Wood and Simon Clarke are in the final stages of planning for what they call the Walking the Nile expedition. The two men, who met and became friends while serving in the British military, say that they were inspired to undertake this epic trek by fellow countryman Ed Stafford. In 2010, Stafford famously completed a 4000+ mile long trek along the length of the Amazon. That journey helped Wood and Clarke come up with the idea of hiking along the world’s other great river – the Nile. …

British Adventurers Announce Plans to Walk the Length of the Nile

Nile

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Wales Coast Path

Wales Coast Path mapThe Wales Coast Path … is a long-distance footpath which follows the whole of the coastline of Wales. It opened on 5 May 2012, and offers a 870 miles (1,400 km) walking route from Chepstow, in the south, to Queensferry, in the north.

Wales is the first country in the world to provide a dedicated footpath along its entire coastline. The Path runs through 11 National Nature Reserves and many more local Wildlife Trust and RSPB reserves. …

The 870 miles (1,400 km) of the Wales Coast Path links with the Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail, which loosely follows the border with England, to create a 1,030 miles (1,660 km) continuous walking route around the whole of Wales, although skirting past Flintshire and Wrexham. …

Click PLAY or watch some highlights on YouTube.

Controversy

The Open Spaces Society has criticised some landowners who do not allow the path onto their coastal land. This means 170 miles (270 km) – more than 20% of the route – will be on roads, sometimes out of sight of the sea.

official website