Every now and then the guardian-angels of the Pacific Crest Trail are summoned before the trail-gods. Upon arrival they are asked to report on the well-being and progress of their subjects; their designated thru-hikers. The guardin-angels watch over them, as they make their way through the wilderness. The trail-gods use the information provided by the guardian-angels to create and restore balance along the trail.
The following comprises such a general report:
Guardian-angel: Celestia
Subject: Joris
Days on trail: 38
Current stretch: Tehachapi to Kennedy Meadows
Mile: 595.7
Around 0530 his alarm sounds, muffled, because he keeps his power-bank and Iphone inside his sleeping bag. He does this because the cold nights may negatively affect the life span of either batteries. Still half asleep, he digs through his sleeping bag, finds his phone and hits one of the buttons on the side. It’s safe to say he’s an avid snoozer. I have yet to see him get up after the first time his alarm rings. When his phone starts making loud noises for the second time, he sits up and has a quick breakfast of overnight cold-soaked oats. Having a continuous hunger haunt him, he is happy to indulge in the instant-breakfast. The added advantage of the quick boost of sugar, helps him wake up. As he is preparing himself mentally for the day’s hiking ahead, he seems to ask himself why he’s got so much stuff scattered all over his tent floor. He contemplates getting a system in place which will prevent him to unpack every item he’s brought out with him. Since now he just throws everything onto the floor of his tent, seemingly without any consideration for the extra time this will cost him the next day to sort out. As he lays back for the last glorious seconds, his eyes still closed, he reaches over his shoulder to find the air-valve of his matrass. When he turns the screw-cap off, the sounds of his neo-air deflating, fill the tent. This marks the official start of his day, since the surface of the forest floor now presses through his deflated pad. Comfort is gone. Nothing to do for him to do but get ready to start hiking. He repacks his pack and puts on his dirty hiking clothes. It is a brief moment in his morning-routine which he dreads, but only for a minute. He brushes his teeth, unzips his tent-fly and steps into his flip-flops. After taking his first steps, a grimace forms on his face; the soles of his feet feel as if he’s walking through shards of glass. He tells himself that after a couple of minutes the pain will probably decrease significantly. As it has for most of the past days. He breaks down his tent and makes a mental note; rinse out other pair of socks at the spring and plan the day such that there’s no need for night-hiking; headlamp batteries are almost dead. Again. He checks the now empty camp-site to see if he’s packed out everything; he takes Leave No Trace seriously.
He hikes out. It’s beautiful and cool beneath the shady pine-trees, “maybe today wont be so bad”, he thinks to himself. As he passes an exposed area and briefly hikes through a sunny spot, his minds changes instantly; it’s burning hot already at 0730.
If he was not already properly awake, he is now, after hitting his foot hard against stump of root which he hadn’t noticed on trail. He stops, looks back, sighs a deep sigh and wonders if this whole adventure is not already strenuous enough without mother nature leaving booby-traps on the trail, causing him more strain on his already sore and tired feet.
After a couple of miles he checks his phone to find he’s got cell-phone coverage. He appears excited, because now he gets to upload posts of the past days. While he is getting everything ready to send his text and photo’s into the ether, Simon a.k.a. Rawhide approaches. Yesterday Rawhide was hiking with the others, so Subject asks him if they are still behind them. According to Rawhide the others camped earlier on the trail than he did. They must still be a couple miles back. Up until lunch Subject and Rawhide hike together, and pass the 600-mile marker. They fist-bump, take a few pictures but do not linger; there are miles to crush. At the water source, Subject rinses out his socks and brings out a couple liters, the next water source is not too far away.
At some point Rawhide hikes away, and Subject spots a doe next to the trail. The doe seems curious and by no means scared of him. As he approaches to get a good shot, she slowly moves through the woods.
He is impressed with the ease of which she moves up the sloping hills, and thinks to himself that her physique has made her so much better equipped to navigate these lands than him. He shrugs, turns onto the trail again and chases after Rawhide. He’s got a playlist with Dutch songs playing on his mp3-player. The fresh morning, the gentle terrain and the shade of the pine-trees make for pleasant hiking. He sings along to several of the tunes.
Around 1430, Subject and Rawhide reach the next designated water-source. They resupply on water and get comfortable in the shade on a bed of pine needles.
They break for a late lunch until 1700. As the evening falls they leapfrog with Jono, Bogey and Slinky, hikers they’ve met on multiple occasions along the trail at this stage. Subject is feeling good, and is a bit bummed he won’t make big miles today because the half-dead batteries in his headlamp. He enjoys the views as they move out of the pine-trees and into the desert hills again.
The large group of hikers reaches the cache at mile 615 around 2000. There are no campsites known within the next 3 miles and the sun is setting. Subject and Rawhide decide to camp near the cache, while the others hike on through the night. Today the terrain and abundance of shade made it so that Subject is in pretty good shape after a 20 mile-day. He pitches his tent, joins Rawhide for a quick dinner. He concludes the evening by getting inside his sleeping bag and type out an today’s entry.
Conclusion:
Subject appears a little bit too skinny, but is in overall good shape. He enjoys the hiking and seems to have reached a good level of acceptance that his time on trail by times is very tough and by times is great. Occasionally he makes mistakes, but he keeps learning every day. Subject is happy to meet such interesting and kind people on and off the trail, and enjoys spending time with all the hikers; he laughs a lot. He is impressed with all of their bravery, for venturing out into the wild, leaving the comforts of home behind. At this stage, Subject is really looking forward to finish the desert section and get into the mountains.
The night fell, with bicycle-bells,
the dark had wooden teeth
We broke on up to hill country,
the air was thin and sweet, Lord,
the air was thin and sweet
She held on to my coat that night,
like a kid lost in her sleeves.
Ooh, we warmed the ground,
we hushed our sounds
We slept on walking feet, Lord,
we slept on walking feet
Ooh,
Darling,
Pardon me
Can you help me remember?
When we were flying free,
we were dust from our bodies,
and we were, flicker and flame
Yeah we burned till the morning
Darling,
Pardon me
Living Proof – Gregory Alan Isakov
