Moses, Staggering Beef, and Michael

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
Social Media Intern Megan Hanley here.

Lots of news to share on the PCT front. First of all, it seems that Michael has become friendly with a clumsy cow. But we'll get to that in a moment, dear readers!

Michael and I connected via phone on Thursday (no small feat-- as some of you know, I am notoriously bad at answering my phone, and Michael is usually only in cell phone range for a few hours every couple of days), and then I got a letter from him on Friday. Erin picked him up on Friday to go down south to the PCT kick-off-- more on that when I get the full report-back from her.

Michael rolled into his next stop ahead of schedule after clocking in a 27-mile hiking day! Or possibly a 24 mile hiking day. Here's the thing, guys. I am just not a reliable source here. You're going to have to take everything I say with a grain of salt. I claim poetic license/no real knowledge of the PCT as my excuse. In fact, I am very confused about where in the world he is. Perhaps 200 miles in? Oh, hold on. Let me go listen to my voicemail from him, and then I will update this post.

Wherever he is, there are a couple of trail angels who open their property to PCT hikers, a place to rest. They keep a guest book each season so you can figure out how many hikers are ahead of you-- Michael was hiker #69 this season-- and they ask that you write back to them if you complete the trail. Michael said they were incredibly sweet and welcoming.

On Friday, I received a letter from him written on a PCT topographic map! Unfortunately my cat Marcelo has tried to eat the letter twice now. I am not, it seems, a very careful archivist. Now, unfortunately, I am having trouble reading parts of the letter. It seems to me that Michael has taken up with a biblical hero and an uncoordinated bovine. Am I wrong?

"Dear Megan & Friends,
Last time I wrote I was cold and having a rough time of it. But today things have improved drastically. Since starting, 5 and a half days, my new buddies Moses, Staggering Beef, and I have covered 110 miles. Yesterday we stomped out 24 miles. We've covered some staggeringly beautiful country. I'm really enjoying the challenge and getting used to the long hours spent walking. Lots of the day is spent in mild to moderate discomfort, but I'm really blessed to be with the people I'm with and excited by the ongoing challenge. It feels great to be at the end of section sitting in a field in Warner Springs.
With Love,
Michael"

I will do some fact checking with Michael next time I speak with him, but for the moment let's all rejoice that he has a new friend named Staggering Beef. PCT-induced hallucination? Could be. Es imposible que sepamos (It's impossible for us to know).

Okay! Since this post has been riddled with holes, I include a picture of my cat sitting on Michael's letter and looking adorable AND a map of roughly the distance Michael has travelled. It's google maps, so it doesn't actually show the PCT route, but at least you can imagine where in the world he is. This week Mike's buddy John Henry joins him on the trail. Next week hopefully I will have a report-back from John about who-- or what-- Staggering Beef really is.

EDITED TO ADD: when I first wrote this post, I thought Michael was in Warner Springs. But now that I have reviewed my voicemail, I think he is actually a mere 100 miles farther down the trail, in Cabazon. So here is an updated map!

First Missive from the Mountain Man

Hello friends,

Michael is on his way, and I got my first letter from him this week. While I was merrily posting weather forecasts from my nice warm New York office, he was:

"at a tiny enclave called Mt. Laguna. Last night I slept at very near 6,000 feet (no 14er by any means, but with the wind blowing around 40 mph it was plenty cold."

A 14er is a mountain that is at least 14,000 feet above sea level. You will be impressed to know that I, Megan, have climbed a 14er. It was in Peru, and I had no idea how high we were going because I didn't know how to convert from the metric system. My partner and hiking buddy Rachel got terrible altitude sickness, started crying at the pass, told me to just go on without her, and then swelled up rather like a balloon. We were with a guide. He said, "Esta turista tiene que bajar!!!" which means "This tourist has to descend!!!" So I carried her pack, Rachel cried some more, and eventually we got to a lower elevation. This is perhaps another reason why I am not hiking the PCT with my siblings.

Michael also says:

"Physically I'm feeling good. I've done 40 miles in two days which is pretty good right out of the gate. My feet are a little sore by about hour 8 of walking but so far no blisters."

He adds, however, that all the solitude is a lot to deal with. Luckily, he met a bunch of other solo PCT hikers, and they are going at it together for now. Soon Mike's friend John Henry will join him, and then a few weeks later his buddy Tom.

In the meantime, if you want to send Michael mail, there's an opportunity coming up! You might want to send it right away, as Michael should reach Big Bear by early next week.

Address it to:
Michael Hanley
c/o Adventure Hostel
PO Box 1951
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315-1951
estimated arrival: 5/4/13


Thanks, team! More soon!

100 miles down!

Hey team, Erin sends this update from Michael. I unfortunately missed his call! Bad, bad social media intern.

"Here's what I heard from Michael:
- On Friday afternoon he made it to Warner Springs and was camping out at their Community Center for the night. He'd thought about pressing on that day but the promise of a pancake breakfast in the morning was too enticing.
- His first day of hiking he had to make it about 20 miles before he'd get to a water source. He started hiking at 6am when the trail angels [note from Megan: not a mystical term but hikerspeak for people who help trekkers by leaving water, providing shelter, and in this case driving hikers to the trailhead] dropped him off and made it to Lake Morena by 2pm. Translation: He kicked some ass starting Day 1.
- Miguelito said that he wrote you a letter around Day 2 or 3. Day 2 involved hiking in the rain for most of the day and then camping out on a very cold and windy ridge. Day 2 was not the highlight of the trip and he said that his letter to you was a lot more miserable-sounding than the rest of the time has been.
- Around Day 3 or 4, he met up with two other dudes and he's been hiking with them ever since. Hiking in a group with two other random guys seems to be making the long days much more enjoyable. He's ahead of schedule at the moment and will most likely roll in to Idlywild around Tuesday night.
- Michael and his new friends were quite happy to reach the 100 mile mark. Little victories!
- I'm heading down to Kickoff on Thursday [and will pick up Michael on the way for the celebration that marks the beginning of PCT hiking season... Michael started early to beat the masses, of course] We'll give you a call sometime on Friday once we are together."

So they're on their way! More updates later this week.

Michael is walking north

GUEST BLOGGER MEGAN HANLEY, New York, NY
Well, hello, everyone! Social Media Intern Megan Hanley here.

As some of you may know, Michael has now been on the PCT for three days. This first stretch will take about another four days, so hopefully we'll hear from him this coming weekend. I'll post updates from him then. Until we hear from him, you're stuck with me. Actually, for much of Michael and Erin's PCT hike, you'll be stuck with me! What a journey you and I will take, dear reader.

Michael and Erin have been telling me about the PCT for the past several years, but the truth is that I just absorbed the gist. I tuned them out when they started talking about the benefits of one brand of sleeping bag stuff sack vs. another or how much average snowfall one can expect in the Sierras in junohohiw0-'w3-0' oh sorry fell asleep there for a moment. This means that I have to rely on Google to tell me where exactly my beloved siblings will be. Here's what I learned in my research today:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The Southern California section of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 900 miles. The PCT begins on a low hill near Campo (elev. 2,600’), a small town near the Mexican border. It passes through Lake Morena County Park and beneath Interstate 8, then climbs through chaparral, scrub oaks, and pines to the rim of the Laguna Mountains. The trail dips into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park at Scissors Crossing, then winds up, down, and around the San Felipe Hills and lesser mountains of the Cleveland National Forest before crossing SR74 at 4,900’ and climbing the backbone of the San Jacinto Mountains. It reaches its highest point in this section at 9,030’ shortly before it plunges to its lowest, crossing beneath US10 at elev. 1,190’ in broad San Gorgonio Pass.

For details and printable maps, please visit:http://www.trailsource.com/pacific-crest-trail/index.asp#ixzz2Qfbfnq00

I thought about filling this whole first entry with some musings on how borders affect our ideas about ourselves, our countries, and the people on the other side of the border, but then I decided that that might be a little much for this first entry. Instead, here's some information from Wunderground about current temperatures near Campo, California:

And here's a video of me hiking in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in 2008. Let this video answer the question, "Why isn't Megan hiking the PCT with her siblings?"



Much love, and more updates soon,
Megan

Gearing Up

Erin and I are putting the final touches on PCT preparations down in Berkeley, California. Since getting off the Colorado River last month, my life has been filled with final training hikes, long lazy afternoons considering minor gear selection issues and a fair bit of thumb twiddling. BUT! This weekend, I will finally get underway.

On Friday, I will catch a bus to San Diego and spend a night visiting with my friend Fran. On Saturday night I will make my way to the home of two "trail angels" (people who do acts of kindness for PCT hikers, in this case a husband and wife who hiked the trail in 2007). These kind folks are letting me and several other thru-hikers stay in their home and will drive us all out to the Southern Terminus of the PCT the following morning at 6 AM. Last year, they hosted over 200 hikers. They are incredible. At that point I will simply need to start walking North.

Oh Golly, I'm ready to go!

For those who might not understand why someone might attempt to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in one go, I offer this brief video from Sam Fox's 2011 attempt to break the speed record on the PCT:

http://vimeo.com/40683404

Also here are two pictures of the grandest of canyons:

My friends and I on our last morning on the Colorado. 

The 21 days I spent with these fine folks were filled with immense joy, hilarious antics, breathtaking beauty and true adventure. I will remember them for the rest of my life.

*Photo Credit - a woman from the group camped next to us*

The South Rim as seen from a riffle near Upper Unkar.

*Photo Credit - Avery Potter

Mail and Such Things

Although I will be hiking for five months, the PCT passes through a town, hamlet, or some sort of bastion of civilization every so often. I will stop in many of these outposts to pick up supplies - much of which my amazingly kind mother will send to post offices near the route. Thus, should you want to estimate the location of Erin, myself or any of my esteemed hiking partners you might find the following chart useful.

click on chart to make it larger

The above spreadsheet contains my best guess as to how fast my hiking companions and I will get from one town to the next. It is very likely that I will deviate from the hiking plan estimated above. However, this document gives a basic ballpark estimate. Folks who have talked about meeting up with us once we reach the PNW will hopefully be able to compare the dates on this chart with the dates we actually arrive in said places to know whether we are ahead of schedule, behind schedule or right on track.

***

Another great thing about knowing where we are (and here comes the shameless plug) is that should you decide to send us mail, you could do that. The mental challenge of walking over twenty miles a day and staying focused and happy is the part of this experience that I am most intimidated by. As such, a good old fashion piece of snail mail once in a while could really do incredible things for my morale. Letters are wonderful. Care packages would also be amazing, but please only send edible things. I have done my best to keep my pack as light as possible, and although a Mariners jersey is certainly good for morale (after all I credit the M's with teaching me a great deal about hope and "Refus[ing] to Lose") but I don't really want to carry such an item all the way back to Seattle. 

All mail ought to be sent two weeks prior to our expected arrival date as we will be stopping at some very rural locations with infrequent postal deliveries.

Here are some places where those inclined might consider sending mail:

In Big Bear, CA:

Michael Hanley and John Henry Heckendorn

C/O Adventure Hostel

PO BOX 1951
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315-1951

ETA 5/4/13

In Kennedy Meadows, CA:

Tom Glass and Michael Hanley

c/o KENNEDY MEADOWS GENERAL STORE

96740 BEACH MEADOW RD
INYOKERN CA 93527

ETA 5/30/13

In Old Station, CA:

Erin and Michael Hanley

C/O General Delivery

Old Station, CA 96071

ETA 7/8/13

In Seiad Valley, CA:

Erin and Michael Hanley

C/O General Delivery

Seiad Valley, CA 96086

ETA 7/21/13

In Crater Lake, OR:

Erin and Michael Hanley

c/o Mazama Village Store

P.O. Box 158
Crater Lake, OR 97604

ETA 7/30/13

PCT 2013

Hey all, 

I created this blog during my junior year of college to keep my friends and family up to date while I studied abroad at the University of Jordan. I have recently decided to brush off the dust and resurrect michaelissafe.blogspot for my upcoming attempt to thru-hike the 2,600+ mile long Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Hiking the PCT is something that my friends and I have talked about since at least the summer of 2009. Now after years of discussion, months of preparation including a string of seasonal jobs and tremendous amounts of food packing, I am almost ready to go. On April 15th I plan to start at the US-Mexico Border and walk North to Canada.

This expedition is a true team effort. My sister Erin and I have always planned to hike the PCT together. For employment reasons, Erin cannot get off work until the middle of June. However, she will be hiking the majority of the PCT with me. My good friend John Henry will join me for the first 400 to 500 miles and help me tackle the desert section of the journey. In the high Sierra Mountains, my good buddies Tom Glass and Max Henkels plan to jump on the trail and hike until they have to leave for their respective summer employment opportunities. Tom's hike will probably cover more than 600 miles. 

On the home front, my parents will manage the complicated postal service subsidy program that is my resupply system. Thanks to them I will not go hungry on the trail. Lastly while I hike, this blog will be managed by my oldest and wisest sister, Megan Hanley, who shall serve in the prestigious and recently created post of Social Media Liason. While on the trail I plan to send her letters, and she will update the blog accordingly.