Update from Chris 4/27/2014

Hello all, Martha here:

I talked to Chris on Sunday the 27th and all was well.  He and Gary and Beaker ( Bob Turner) had stopped in Mimbres to take a well eared zero.  Everyone was tired, a bit sore and just needed to relax.  Gary has taken some great photos.  Are you following his blog, Our Endless Earth too?

Chris started hiking again Monday, 4/28 and will hit Pie Town (!) then Grants and Cuba.  the stop after that is Ghost Ranch where I will be sending all his winter type gear, ice ice, crampons, gloves, lined pants, stove and more.

I'm sure you have read of Chris dedicating his hike to Andy-Astro.  Read here for a post from Andy's Mom, Elizabeth Gosselin http://hikingthepacificcrest.wordpress.com

I'll continue to update here when Chris doesn't have time or connectivity.  Feel free to join me on my Facebook page,  https://www.facebook.com

Some very nice and generous donations have been coming in.
A HUGE thanks to everyone out there.

This is what a zero day looks like:

And They're Off!

I'm finally home, where I belong. Back on the trail. 

After two hellish days and nights on a Greyhound bus, Gary and I finally met up with Beaker and made it to Deming, NM. Trail Angels Keith and Mary Schwarzer helped us with local info and made sure we made it down to Palomas, Mexico. We ate a huge meal while a Mariachi band played. Getting back across the border was no problem and the hike had begun. Didn't get started until about 2pm and did a straight road walk about 12 miles north right back to Willie Pritchard's ranch. He kindly let us camp and water up on his property.

First full day on the trail was a blunt reminder of how harsh this environment can be. Every plant wants to stab you - each of us had 1 1/2" thorns poke through the soles of our trail shoes and into our feet. The sun is intense and there is absolutely no shade to be found. Sand and wind that can blast a license plate clean. Carrying enough water to get to the next source and navigation are the main concerns. Made 23 miles today and set up our tents in 30mph winds. 

Stay tuned for posts about the prototype backpack that Honor Point made for me, using Fitbit to track my mileage, staying warm with Stormy Kromer and my Montrail shoes from Ann Arbor's Running Fit. 

Gary and Beaker mark the GPS location of a water cache in the middle of the desert. 

Trail Angel Keith Schwarzer.

Gary and Chris hold the CDT bandana in front of the Pancho Villa statue in Palomas, Mexico.

Chicken mole and a Mariachi band to celebrate the start of the hike.

Mostly road walking the first day. 

FITBIT!

Huge thanks to Megan Serow and the good folks at Fitbit. I'll be using their technology to track my hike. I'll be carrying both the Flex and Zip models for comparison but it will be hard to keep the Flex charged up. The Zip has a battery that last 5 to 7 months.

The devices themselves were easy to set up. I assigned an account for each of them. I look forward to posting some big numbers.

Thanks, Fitbit!

Fitbit Flex

Fitbit Zip

A Dedication

I had the honor to hike with Andy 'Astro' Lyon during our thru-hikes of the Pacific Crest Trail. Astro was young, educated and full of life. Yet he was dying of cancer. I came to regard Astro as a teacher and a healer. We had hours and hours of great conversation while we hiked and I learned a great deal from him. We had some crazy adventures and some serious situations but we both finished the trail.

Astro and I toasting our completion of the PCT

Astro passed away not long ago. I miss him terribly. Fortunately, I'm able to keep in touch with his mother, Betsy and his step-father, Michael. Betsy was kind enough to send me a bandana that belonged to Astro and that he carried with him on the PCT. I'm going to carry it with me for my thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail.

I'm carrying this bandana to remind me of Astro and all that I learned from him.

I hereby dedicate this hike to the memory of Andy 'Astro' Lyon. I am so glad to have known him, so grateful for all that he taught me and so lucky to know his mother, Betsy and her husband, Michael.

Betsy and Michael

Astro and I in the Goat Rocks Mountains of Washington

There's the bandana!

Name Change!

As I prepare for my latest  and most challenging adventure, hiking the mighty Continental Divide Trail, I changed the name of this blog from WolverinePCT to WolverineCDT.blogspot.com. I will leaving from Palomas, Mexico on April 17th and attempting to hike 3,100 miles north to Waterton Lakes, Canada along the spine of the Rockies. The CDT is the King of the Trails and IF I make it, I will have earned the Triple Crown of Long Distance Hiking.

I'll be posting pictures and stories to this blog so please follow along and leave plenty of comments!

My Next Adventure

I gotta get back on the trail. Follow me at wolverineshoretoshore.blogspot.com

Closing Credits

As I've said in the past, no one completes a 2,600 mile trail without a ton of love and support. The purpose of this post is to try to give props to all those who made it possible for me to hike the PCT. The list will be incomplete - there were actually hundreds of people who helped me. Some may have just given me a ride or a piece of fresh fruit or just some advice about the trail ahead of me but all of them deserve my thanks. Please forgive me for an incomplete list.

Camp Champaign: Martha Rogers was my Re-Supply Coordinator, my Research Technician, my Social Media Director and the backbone of the entire project. Had she known what a huge undertaking it was, had she known how much time and money it would cost her, had she known what a huge pain in the ass I could be, there is NO WAY she would have agreed to help me.  Lucky for me, she was there from the very inception of the idea. You think she would have learned her lesson after helping me with the AT! Sandy Lowe keeps us both grounded. Not only does she keep us sane but she came through for me when I really needed her. I love them both.

The Sisters: Patti has been helping me since I first started on the AT. She's done everything from filling and mailing re-supply boxes to dehydrating food. Now her charity, Sox For Soles, is a major sponsor of mine. Carol buys me tons of food, knits and sews custom gear for me and helps me think through some of the challenges of long distance hiking. Pat helps me all the way from Massachusetts and Mary generously contributes from Nebraska. Couldn't do it without you, ladies.

Trail Angels: Almost every hiker I know has a story about how Donna Saulfly saved their ass or the great time they had at the Anderson's. The Braatens, Piper's Mom, Shrek, the Dinsmores, and Kellie OnlyaTest Morrel, who brought maps to me out of White Pass! - it floors me to think about how many thousands of hikers these folks have helped. Every one of us drank water that Mary Barrow puts out every day. And those are just the big names. There are countless others who gave me a ride or let me stay at their place for a night . Heaven holds a special place for all of them.

My Friends: Susie, Drew and Marlyss - I love you guys. John, Susie and Amelia Cassidy, Dave and Nicole, Beaker and Dragonfly, Kristo and his family, Scallywag and his family, Hee Haw and Emily, Typo and his mom, Astro and the Gosselins, my nephew Brian, my nieces Dana, Chelsea and Laura. Plus Rambo, Schrody, Noelle Mercado, Traci Rink and her daughter Katie ... Thank you for all the love and support.

I'd also like to thank Moosejaw - especially Tom, Lola and Perry. Randy and Miranda at Ripcord, Sox For Soles and Granite Gear.