I'm baaaaaack

Brooklyn, NY:
Well, hello, blogosphere. Have you missed me?

It is Megan Hanley, sister of Michael, former social media intern, now promoted to the position of Social Media Director. (To congratulate me on the promotion, please feel free to send Edible Arrangements in lieu of flowers.) Two years ago, I deftly chronicled Longlegs (Michael) and Jorge's (Erin's) journey up the Pacific Crest Trail. Now, it is my honor and duty to be the internet middleman of the story of Katie and Michael's trek along Te Araroa, a trail that crosses New Zealand. Here are some questions you might have about this trail. I will attempt to answer these questions, using my handy guide, Wikipedia.

• Where exactly is this trail?

Wikipedia tells me that Te Araroa stretches from the northwestern corner of New Zealand at Cape Reinga to the southern tip of the South island, at Bluff. It is 3000 kilometers long and typically takes hikers 100 to 150 days to traverse, roughly the gestation period of a goat. This is a new trail, completed in 2011. Apparently it is a source of some significant national pride while also being a symbol of the mutability of borders? Who knows. I'll need to do more research. Here is a helpful map of New Zealand!

• How many kilometers are in a mile, and given this information, how long is the trail in mathematical terms that our poor gringo brains can understand?

1.6 kilometers = 1 mile

3000 kilometers = about 1864 miles

The island of Manhattan = 13.4 miles

This trek = walking the length of Manhattan 139 times, except if Manhattan were covered with enormous mountains. 

• Is Michael making fun of poverty or referencing the most famous Disney canine love story in the new title of this blog?

No.  I wondered this, too, but it turns out the Kiwis just refer to "hiking" as tramping. Wikipedia proves it. 

• How do you pronounce "Te Araroa"?

Here is a helpful Youtube video to help you:

• Why have Michael and Katie decided to travel to the other side of the world in order to walk this trail, when they could instead simply watch Lord of The Rings on Netflix?

That is an excellent question. I'm not sure if I can answer it, so instead I made this video. Some of you may remember my Lords of the PCT claymation movies from 2013. (If you don't remember them, you can just scroll down, which is sort of like time travelling. The internet is amazing.) This time around, I am deeply inspired by the folks at Bad Lip Reading. Enjoy. 

Signing off,

Your Social Media Director,

Megan

ps. For all those of you who are hungry for real news: I heard from Michael this weekend; he and Katie had reached Ahipara, 122 kilometers from the starting point-- about 75 miles in. They just hopped on the trail last week after woofing for a few weeks with some lovely humans. There you go. Real facts, not just Wikipedia research. More soon!

The Lords of the PCT, part Two

Okay, blogosphere.
Here's part two of THE LORDS OF THE PCT.
I give you:

THE TWO THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED FIFTY MILES*

If you can't view this video, click here instead!

*Plus or minus about ten miles.

Look for the conclusion of the Lords of the PCT trilogy tomorrow...

Love,
Megan

The Lords of the PCT

Dear ones,

Erin and Michael are within a stone's throw of Canada-- at least if the stone is a good flyer. In celebration of their (knock on wood) finishing the hike, I've made them a little movie or three.
This is part one:

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE PCT

If you can't see the video, you can also watch it by clicking here.

We're almost there, dear readers!
Love,
Megan

1/6th of the Way There!

Dearest readers,

Please forgive the social media intern's silence. I have had a busy few weeks. BUT I am back with news from the PCT!

Michael passed through Agua Dulce, CA this weekend, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. By my calculations, that means that he's about 1/6 of the way to Canada. He took a zero day to rest, but I did not manage to catch up with him by phone. I was busy performing and planning all sorts of interesting, secretive things with the Yes Lab (check us out), but I still felt bad to miss his call.

Luckily, I still have many interesting updates.

1) First, here's an excerpt of a beautiful letter that I received from Michael last week:

Yesterday I climbed up and over a 9,000 foot ridge and then traversed a snowy hillside. I walked 18 miles down switchbacks to lose 6,000 hard earned vertical feet. I reached a water source and curled up in the shade to wait for the cooler evening to cross the last 5 miles of desert floor. As I get up to walk my final push, the wind kicks up to about 40 mph out of the Northwest and I plod my way at about a 30 degree slant [here he sketches a picture of a stick figure falling forwards] when all of the sudden I just found myself laughing as hard as I could. The situation was so ridiculous. My feet hurt, my knee ached, I was tired, dead tired, and here this crazy wind was trying to blow me back. I naturally proceeded to narrate my life as if I was in a movie trailer, put out my arms like I was an airplane, and composed ever so slightly ridiculous poems about my adventure. A giant smile spread across my face and the last few miles flew by. With love, Michael

2) I thought this episode was very theatrical, so I decided to make a movie about it. At first I thought I could use a hair dryer to play The Big Wind, but it kept knocking my Michael over. So I decided to cut the hair dryer and replace it with a sexier, though no less dangerous, adversary. That's Hollywood, kids.

More soon! Go Michael Go!

Much love,
Social Media Intern Megan