One week before start - Thankful for friends and family

One week before I am on the Pacific Crest Trail!
One week!

The waling buddies: Me, Patti and Debbie

As I think about how all this came about, I remember that weekend when my hiking buddies (Debbie and Patti) were talking about a book that Debbie had just read. It was called "Wild".

Debbie was quite impressed with it, so Patti borrowed the book and read it too.

Well, to make sure I could be part of the conversation, I downloaded a copy of the book to read it on my Kindle. It was a great story and included wonderful descriptions about a woman as she dealt with her problems and hiked on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

Soon, we were all talking about the book.

One day, Patti said to Debbie, "I think we should hike the PCT. Wouldn't that be GREAT?"

Debbie responded, "Yes, that would really be an adventure."

Then Patti turned to me and said, "OK, Bob, are you IN?"

I hesitated a bit, thought about it for a minute, and said, "Sure!"

What neither of my hiking buddies knew is that I had already been thinking of hiking a long trail. Some time ago, while looking for a movie to watch on Netflix, I stumbled upon the movie, "The Way". It is about a man who ends up walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The idea was exciting to me and planted the seed for walking a long trail.

Now the seed was planted and the idea began to grow.

What would be required to walk such a distance?
How may others have done it?

The questions went on and on, but in the end, I decided to start training, gathering some gear, and going on some long hikes to get ready.

So here I am now, one week from starting on a journey into some of the most beautiful wilderness in the world.

I am so thankful for the help and support of my family and friends.

My wife has been incredible, keeping me positive and focused. She has driven me to stores, picked up items that I needed, repaired my sleeping bag and hemmed my hiking clothes. And, she has stepped up to sending me my food boxes while I am on the trail and keeping the home fires burning while I am away.

Grizz Bob - a catchy trail name

My hiking buddies are so supportive, and want to meet me on the way up. Debbie plans to hike for three days with me from Timberline Lodge to Cascade Locks. Patti has mentioned meeting with me in Stehekin.

There are countless folks at work who encouraged me. Bret gave me a light-weight tripod to use with my camera. Steve gave me tips for my gear. And Karan was always so positive and encouraging as I talked about my plans.

Of course, my brother, made the entire process FUN, trying to come up with a unique trail name and giving me positive suggestions about gear.









Finally, there a so many on-line friends who have helped and inspired me.

"Wired" (Erin Saver) documented her PCT hike in 2011 in her blog, "Walking with Wired". Many of MY gear choices were because of her thoughtful and thorough descriptions. She convinced me that I could blog from the trail, and explained in detail how it could be done. I also used her choices for resupply in my decisions for resupply while on the trail.

Another positive influence was Freebird. I met him on one of my hikes near Stampede Pass in Washington State. He put together an amazing journal of this hike of the PCT in 2010, and documented many good ideas for a successful hike.

Another influence was the journal written by Drew Reams, who documented his hike of the PCT in 2010. He had some extremely thoughtful reviews of gear, and led me to choosing my trail clothes and some of my other gear.

Patches Pal met with me to talk about the PCT

And finally, there is "Patches Pal" (Steve). I met this man on the day that I walked over 30 miles. I stumbled into camp in the dark, trampling through his camp to find a place to set up my tent. In the morning, he talked to me about my gear and told me to get in touch with him on Facebook. He gave me good ideas on how to reduce my gear weight, and let me review his gear choices. Yesterday, he took the time to drive from Seattle to meet with me an my wife and talk about the PCT. He gave me a lot of useful tips and gave me confidence that I CAN DO THIS!


So now, there are a couple of going away celebrations,  and soon I will be on the trail.

It has been an amazing journey so far.
I can't wait to see what is in store in the coming weeks and months!