FAQ

1.  A question from a college friend after I told her my plan to hike the PCT- “Whyyyyyyyyyy?  What’s at the end that you can’t drive to or fly to?”

It’s not what’s at the end, it’s the journey along the way!  My favorite place to be is outdoors, communing with nature and I long for a true wilderness experience.  Hiking the PCT will not only give me this experience, it will be a physical and mental challenge- something I crave. 

2.  What are you doing to physically prepare for such a challenging undertaking?

For over a year I have been training for my trek.  I usually hike at Chestnut Ridge Metro Park (where my husband is a ranger) since it has the best hills around.  (It’s hard to find hills in central Ohio.)  I have worked up to carrying 37 lb. in my pack and am currently hiking 30- 36 miles /week. I also lift weights as often as possible. 

3.  How much will your pack weigh?

I hope to keep my base weight (everything but food and water) close to 26 pounds. Adding 1 ½ lb. of food/ day and 2 lb. / liter of water, my total pack weight will be anywhere from 35-50 lb. depending on where I am hiking (desert, mountains) and the number of days between resupply points.  I am required to carry a bear canister (2 lb. 9 oz.) through the High Sierra in California so I will need to prepare for that additional weight also.

4.  How will this hike differ from your Appalachian Trail experience?

Because the PCT is for foot AND equestrian travel, the grade is much more gentle than the AT.  That being said, I will have to be prepared for 12,000 foot passes covered with ice and snow, 100+ degree desert temps, below freezing temps at night, fording swollen creeks, BIG mile days.  I will average about 20 miles/ day with some days reaching 30 miles.  My average on the AT was 15 miles/day.

This time around I invested in some light weight equipment so my base weight will be lower than what I carried on the AT.  However, because distance between resupply points on the PCT are longer and distance between water sources can stretch to 30 miles, it will be necessary for me to carry more food and water than on the AT.  I will also need to carry and consult maps and guidebooks at all times because the PCT is not marked with white blazes like the AT.

There will be days when I won’t see anyone on the trail.  I will have to learn to enjoy my own company.  Shadow, the dog I adopted on the AT in southern VA (went all the way to Maine with me), will not be accompanying me.  Although she and Harriet (our other dog) have both enjoyed doing some training miles with me, they will stay home with my husband.  The PCT is not fit for dogs.

5.  How will you communicate with students and staff?

Thanks to a Martha Holden Jennings Foundation Grant, I have a satellite phone and solar panel charger I will use to contact the school directly from the trail.  My trail updates will be broadcast throughout the school so students will know where I am at all times and teachers can use the trail data in their classrooms.   The satellite phone will also be used to provide website updates for my transcriber- Lorraine Gaughenbaugh, (lgaughenbaugh@reyn.org) another Reynoldsburg teacher.  During the summer months students will use this website to stay informed of my progress. 

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