Can I just start by saying, this past section kicked my butt! I’m not sure if it was the four days off I enjoyed or the fact that the tempature jumped to 100 degrees? But anyway you slice it, it was brutal!

  
We had a storm that brought fresh snow to the top of San Jacinto and all sensible hikers, yes there were others that were rescued, left Sunday morning. It started out fine but once I climbed, the trail turned to slush, snow and ice. I have never seen trees rain ice nor have I seen ice crystals on the ground, but it was an interesting combination of beauty, amazement and much route finding! And that was only the beginning.

  
The terrain changed so much over the 100 miles I covered from mountains to desert to bush whacking overgrown reeds and desert willows to pine forests to high desert chapperel. After climbing to over 9000′, I had the pleasure of enduring the biggest decent of the entire PCT. Some 8000′ in less than fifteen miles which isn’t that extreme, but the torment of seeing the desert floor all day, yet not reaching it till late afternoon. And to make things worse, I had my first rattlesnake encounter! As I was checking out this incredibly large and juicy lizard to the left of me, Mr. Snake was thinking dinner was only a strike away. Just as I turned the corner, I saw the snake and he saw me. I screamed, Mr. Snake rattled, and that juicy lizard got away! 

  
With all the ups and downs, I have had much time to reflect on God’s glory. When I have had my moments of desperation, God reminds me that we are in this together, that He will never leave me nor forsake me and He has plans for us to touch the hikers along our way.

  
Even in the desert, there are plenty of oasis’ along the way. My father had asked me when I was going to be at Whitewater? I honestly had no idea, nor did I remember reading about this preserve in the middle of nowhere. As I was stumbling down one of my many steep grades, I see this sign for Whitewater Preserve, 1/2 mile off trail in the opposite direction, south to be exact. Because of Dad, I wandered over to see what all the fuss was about. And wow, what a beautiful and unexpected oasis. I soaked my feet, slept on the grass and relaxed for the afternoon. Much needed rest from the desert heat!

  
What I have learned during these last hundred miles, is that we truly need each other. There is a community of people on the trail and even though I may spend much time walking alone, I always know there are others nearby. When someone needs a little encouragement, medical attention or just a smile, God has placed me right where He needs me! Last week, many people left the trail. Most of them had problems with the heat, some could not bare another day trekking on blistered feet and others may have wondered why they are on this blistering hot trail anyhow? I know that when I have a bad day or fleeting thoughts of sleeping on a comfy mattress, being clean from head to toe or just not suffering, I remember that I have a purpose to spread God’s love on the trail. And as long as I am able to do that, then I will continue to hike. I am sure that there will be more revealed as long as I am willing to complete the journey that My great Lord and I have begun.

” … It has not yet been revealed what we shall be … 1 john 3:2

Before I close, I want to thank all of you for your words of love, your warm thoughts and most especially – your prayers. I am able to read all the comments within a week or so but typically do not have service to respond. Godspeed and may we all continue to walk in God’s love. 

Oh no, she’s going back to the beginning. Every year, as the PCT season begins, there is the Annual Zero Day PCT Kick off or as a thru hiker calls it AZDPCTKO. 

My friend Eva picked me up from Idyllwild, and has been spoiling me all weekend with Sushi, Machaca and lots of love! Then Dee surprised and hooked up with Eva and I, and with the excellent driving skills of Keith, and the mediocre navigation of Siri, we all arrived at Lake Moreno!

  
The Kick Off has many ultralight vendors along with informative presentations on things like Water Report, or lack of, Overuse Injuries, Flora and Fauna of the PCT and don’t forget the smells of thru hikers! There is a reason they left the doors fully open during the presentations! 

  
But honestly, there were two distinct reasons why I had to attend the Kickoff this year. # 1 reason, I wanted my prestigious 2015 PCT Bandana and #2 was I had a small but significant issue with my tent. Last year when I purchased my very lightweight Six Moons tent, I had not yet purchased my one size 120cm hiking poles. Unfortunately for my tent, it does not fond of my too tall poles and has put too much stress on the tent. During a extremely windy situation at Sunrise Park which was day five on the trail, my tent tore! So as I explained my dilemma to the owner and designer of Six Moon tents, he graciously offers to exchange my torn tent with a new tent that accommodates my super long hiking poles! I love Six Moons and Tom. You guys absolutely rock. 

  
So bandana-check, new and improved tent- check, now I can just relax and see what other cool things might find their way into my pack. Gossamer had a couple of items that I was interested in. One thing I purchased last year was an extra storage pouch for my phone that attaches to my pack. My trail friend Jules, aka Breeze has been eyeing that so I was able to pick one up for her. In addition I found an ultralight trowel for digging. Yes, I do poop in the woods and my trowel was quite heavy so it’s all about saving ounces at this point and for $10, I saved 3.2 ounces! Also, they were selling this amazingly small bear canister, no, not to put a bear inside but to keep the bear out of my food! It weighs 1.4 pounds instead of 2.4 pounds and retails at $59.95 but being they were ready to pack up their stuff, I scored the display canister with cool stickers on it for $40. God was blessing me with more than I could imagine. What a day! 

  
So all in all, a super fabulous trip to the Kickoff including participating in my 2015 Class Picture! If you look closely I am wearing the only white jacket in the photo. Go figure, I stand out in the crowd! 

God’s graces are incredible. Ask and you shall a receive; new tent, lightweight trowel, cool bear proof canister, class picture and bandana, gift for my trail friend, but the greatest is the love of friends who travel many many miles to make me feel loved and extra special! Thanks to Eva and Keith for driving no less than a thousand miles to love on me! And Dee, can’t wait to see you on the trail with your new pack! Love is the number one commandment! And boy oh boy, did I get love this weekend! 😄

The adventure continues. Another 70 miles trekked and I am still standing! This last few days on the trail have been the most grueling so far. I’m not sure if it is the intense climbing, day after day or the lack of sleep is finally catching up after two weeks, but I had a tough couple of days of it. Without my trail friend “Breeze” I probably would not have been smiling as much but she is a riot! She flew in from New Zealand and entered the trail the same day as I did on April 10th. We hiked the first few days together, then I jumped ahead and we met again at Warner Springs. I call her “Breeze” because every time I see her, she is as welcome as a summer breeze. When the climbing gets tough, I hear her behind me laughing! She says it’s a nervous laugh because she knows she is in for some additional torment. It makes me smile knowing that someone else is suffering as bad as me. Don’t get me wrong, but its just the reality for this stretch of the PCT.

  
The desert terrain has changed a bit and is entering some higher elevation now. I must admit that I will miss this incredibly beautiful landscape that is so expansive. As I climb from one section to the next, I thank God that I am here. With every step, each breath and bead of sweat, I can’t help to marvel over how God has designed me. Just the mere thought of this overwhelms me and brings me closer to how truly amazing He is! What a great and wonderful God we have!

  
 As I head north, I am starting to enter the mountains of San Jacinto and San Gorgonia. For Southern California they are the big daddies and are still getting snow flurries and some light accumulation of snow as of last night. I am seeing more and more hikers on the trail the last couple of days as we are bottle necking waiting for a storm to pass over us. So what do hikers do when they are waiting out storms? Well a few of us were invited to Brie and Kellyn’s cabin for dinner and some wine. Yes, it is one of the perks that come along when a storm is brewing. 

But the trail is waiting and honestly, I am ready to jump back on. It’s funny that once you get into your groove, sitting around is truly much harder than hiking. I am treasuring my time relaxing with some new friends and catching up with others that I have met on the trail here in Idyllwild. What a charming town and glad I was able to clean up and eat something not dehydrated ! And of course, drink some beer! 

So what have I learned these past few days on the trail? God knows me better than I know myself. He knows that He has plans for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, but I need to conquer some mountains to get to the true riches of His kingdom. And with that, yes I may suffer a bit, but as long as I continue, there will be much growth in my character. And I will become the woman that He designed me to be!

  
We know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance grows character, and character gives us hope. Romans 5:3-5

First 110 miles down, only 2550 to go. It has been an interesting journey so far. I was terrified about being in the desert mostly because of the unknown. All the heat, the lack of water, the endless sandy soil, snakes slithering on the trail, prickly cactus and everything that abounds that is unlike home! Well everything that I thought was true but I have learned to love this place called the desert. The heat is dry and actually not as hot as I imagined. The lack of water is true but you learn when to carry extra and at certain places, there are caches of water humped in by incredibly caring people. The snakes truly are much more afraid of me. I am too big for them to swallow and eat! And the cactus are so beautiful in bloom. But they are not ones you would pick to bring home or put in your hair. Well maybe once but you will learn quickly you are much better to admire them from afar.

The trail is absolutely magical. Each step is filled with Godly moments. The wonders of how a small delicate flower can somehow grow in an inhabited place or why do cows wander in this endless desert? There are much greener pastures but they are quite content just where they are. Contentment is so important on this trail and to think a cow can teach me what truly matters!

I have learned not to worry about what’s ahead but love the moment that I am in. Even when I am headed up a hill that has no end in sight, or when my feet are as hot as the day is long, or when I’m so tired and still need to get to a campsite and where I am won’t possibly do, or when the wind is blowing so hard that I can barely stand or worse yet, erect my tent. Yes, those are the moments that I treasure and know that God is there with me. I do believe that He placed me in the desert first so that when I reach the mountains I will truely appreciate all His glory!

Yes, I do love the desert! I now understand why Jesus spent 40 days listening to His Father and getting direction as to his destiny. I believe that the Lord is giving me the same direction, be still and quiet and know that I am with you every step, every moment, everywhere I go.

Yes, contentment and stillness have been lessons learned and it has only taken me 110 miles. Cannot wait to see what is up ahead. Oh there I go again, be in the moment. Maybe I still have another 100 or so miles to go before I get it… God has such a great sence of honor.

Godspeed….

  The journey begins. I took my first steps on the PCT on April 10 with eight other trail friends. This truly is a small community of like-minded individuals who have the same amazing goal of somehow walking 2660 miles north. God willing, we will all make it!

I have already made myself a bloody good friend from New Zealand. She is a delight and we have much in common. We are the same age, have two children, married on the same date and are in no big hurry to get to Canada. We talked today about our faith and how God has revealed himself in our lives. She is still searching but knows that nothing is by chance and that we were truly meant to be hiking these first miles together! God has a plan for all of us and who would think that he could bring two hikers together that live in different hemispheres some thousands of miles away! “I am the Lord; that is my name.” Isaiah 42:8. Never underestimate the power of our Lord!

These past few days have been splendid with tepid tempatures and clear skies. The trail is much different than I had expected. The high desert is stunning! Purple mountains with manzanita, wild flowers, lizards, snakes, rabbits, skunks and many birds and loud owls in the evenings. It is reminiscent of the garden of Eden and how God had designed this world of ours.  

So after 42 miles, God has provided me strength when I thought I could not take another step. He has created springs of clear water when we have had a drought for three years!   And this is only the beginning. So the journey continues with some waterless days ahead and no doubt, much warmer days too!

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” Psalms 119:105

May the trail lead you to God’s will for your abundant life. 

i have arrived in beautiful sunny San Diego. As I woke up this morning I realized what I had signed up for, hiking with God but the plane flight, that I wasn’t ready for. I’m not sure why flying scares me so? Isn’t it the  safest mode of transportation? I guess it’s that sudden stoppage that I have zero control over. 

God blessed me with a nice crew. As I am standing in line, my hubby kisses me good-bye (like the ole days before 9/11 ) but being an employee of Homeland Security has its perks. So back to the kiss… He kisses me goodbye as the flight crew feels they need to get onboard with all that! Before I know it, I get a big hug from the gal checking my boarding pass as George looks on. Good thing we had a belly laugh before I left or it would have been much to mushy with many tears flowing! 

Now that I am safely back on the ground, I can honestly say, the scariest part is over! My trail angel Jan picked me up at the airport, gave me a tour of downtown San Diego as there were not one, but two Sig-Alerts on I-5. Once again, flying is safer than driving.

I plan to relax for the day, check out my maps and make sure I am headed in the right or most northerly direction. As long as I don’t get on the wrong side of the border, the fence should be a clue, then I will be putting my first footsteps on the PCT early morning Friday. 

God, give me strength to do the things that I can only do when you are with me.  

Happy trails and I’ll keep in touch.  

Campos, my starting point has been beautiful these past few days. Perfect 70’s in the daytime and freezing at night. What else could a girl ask for?

Yes, I am counting down the days to hitting the trail. I have made contact with the ‘Trail Angels’ who are truly angels and plan to pick me up from the airport in San Diego. They will drive me to the trailhead on April 10th where I will launch my next 165 days of life like I have never experienced! 

I have been doing last minute adjustments to my pack including dropping a few gadgets that I decided were unnecessary for the next five plus months. My base pack weight is 16 pounds which includes everything except food and water. I can only imagine Day One on the trail with 7-8 liters of water, four days of food topping my pack weight to nearly 35 pounds! Every step of the way , I will be drinking water and lightening my load. And then, eating the heaviest food first! Can’t wait to dive into all those dehydrated meals that I have been preparing for the past months. 

My Resupply Boxes Mailed by Hubby

My prayer request is “no big snakes” and less then 90 degrees on my first day out. I know, I’m asking for the impossible but “all things are possible for those who trust in The Lord.” Thank you Jesus in advance! I love you.

I am designed for a purpose…

I was hiking the John Muir Trail a few years ago, and I remember being intrigued by the many thru hikers. These are people who have decided to do an entire length of a trail that typically starts at one point, say Mexico and heads north towards Canada. I talked with many who were hiking anywhere from 20-30 miles a day, sometimes more! It was something I had never given much thought of, but after my 21 days on the trail, and defintely not being ready to leave, I knew at that point, I wanted to be a thru hiker too!