First Desert Section---Campo to Julian!

After Rob took us for a quick ocean view from Point Loma on April 23rd, we cruised to Campo and the Mexican Border. We signed our names in the PCT register book at the monument, took some photos, touched a toe or finger on Mexico, and hit the trail. It was quite a emotional high for both of us to finally see the trail head. Rob wandered the trail with us for the first four or five miles to send us off on our adventure. Once again, a huge thank you to Rob! What an amazing soul!

Then....Adam and I for the next 5 months in the smallest 2-man tent on the planet. After the first 5 days of meandering through the desert, we were both extremely surprised to see such a variety of flora and fauna in such a hostile, desolate ecosystem. We have crossed through thick, gnarly chaparral mountain ranges, pinyon pine forests, and juniper and cactus plains. Along the way we have crossed paths with numerous plants and animals, but a couple of our highlights have been the horned lizard, tarantula, and the acorn woodpecker. In addition, we have crossed paths and made friends with many cool people along the way, including other thru-hikers like ourselves.

April 23rd--Mexican Border

Tarantula

Foster's Peak



Adam's taped ankle and our only cloudy day.




Desert Beauty.

 Here is a little summary of our trip so far....
April 23rd--Started at 2:30 PM--12 miles
Day 2--18 miles
Day 3--18 miles
Day 4--20 miles
Day 5--9 miles to HWY 78 and a 13 mile hitch from a nice lady to Julian
Total= 77.6 miles

The days have been hot, dry, and full of walking. With so much time on our feet, we spend a great deal of time each day washing, taping, and rubbing our disgusting, blistered feet. The nights have been brisk, fresh, and starlit....that is, until we crawl into our smelly sleeping bags in the cramped living space and pass out shoulder on shoulder. We both are loving life and are excited for each new day to start walking North for Camp AmeriKids and continue enjoying each moment in the wilderness. Until Idyllwild (ETA 7 days)....

Much Love,
F+A

Happy Earth Day from San Diego!

After two gorgeous days in Ocean Beach/San Diego, CA, we just finished our final prep for the first leg of the trip and are ready to hit the trail in Campo tomorrow morning. Since our arrival in San Diego, we have over indulged in sunshine and babe watching, cruised the coast on bikes, investigated tide pools, and swung from eucalyptus trees on Sunset Cliffs.  Another huge thank-you to Rob for all his help and for bumming around with us in SD.

If any of you would like to send mail/letters along the trail, here is the format on how to address them.

Forest Jenkins/Adam Houzner

c/o General Delivery

Town, State, Zip

In the bottom corner, write “Please hold for PCT Thru-hiker, ETA: (Date). You can find our ETAs on our weekly itinerary.

Our anticipated itinerary for the first leg is:

·      Mexico Border (10 a.m. April 23rd)

·      Night 1 – Lake Morena City Park (20.6 miles)

·      Night 2 – Burn Rancheria Campground (42.3 miles)

·      Night 3 – Upper Chariot Canyon (63.5 miles)

·      Night 4/ First town stop– Julian, CA (77.6 miles)

After Julian, the next mail pick up will be at Idyllwild (178.6 miles) Postal Code: 92549

Thanks again to all of the beautiful people that have donated to Camp AmeriKids and for all of you that have supported our journey. Spread the word, spread the love.

We are going to continue celebrating Earth Day by hitting the beach. Thank you Mother Earth.

Much love, F + A

Last Minute Thoughts

We are two days away from take-off and finding that there are not enough hours in the day. Last minute obligations and preparations have us checking and re-checking lists of things to do, but we are finally logistically ready to go (hopefully).

A highlight last week for Forest and I was talking with the Trempealeau Elementary 4^th grade classes under the excellent leadership of Patty Behan and Dave Erickson. We talked through the trip with them, showed them all of our gear, and answered a lot of questions. Some of our favorite questions were:

• Where will you shower?! – Good question, we will let you know if that ever happens.
• What happens if you get bit by scorpions?! – Probably just cry and try to get help.
• Will you get sick of each other?! – Everyday, but we will share the world’s smallest tent regardless.
• What inspires you? – Cool kids, helping people, and Mother Nature of course.

We would like to extend a special thank you to the 4^th graders, Patty Behan, and Dave Erickson for allowing us into your classroom and listening to us ramble on about the trip. Also, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us raise money for Camp AmeriKids! We had a great time last Friday at Trempealeau Elementary, and we will see you all in 5^th grade!

We wanted to make clear that all proceeds will go directly to Camp AmeriKids and are tax-deductible. We are presenting them with the money and list of donors in the fall. Forest and I are completely funding our own hike. Thank you again for supporting the cause.

If you are not comfortable sending credit card information online or with using Pay Pal, you can send a check directly to Forest’s home addressed to “Forest Jenkins – Camp AmeriKids.” His address is:

Forest Jenkins (Camp AmeriKids)

P.O. Box 393

Trempealeau, WI

54661

We are excited to now offer a birds-eye view of where we will be on the trip. Some of the last minute planning and preparations were to insure that you could have daily updates on how far we are along the trail. If you want to find out where we are between blog posts, just click on the map to the right!

We have had a slight change in plans since the last post and are very excited about it. Our friend, Rob Greenfield, has offered to pick us up from the airport and let us spend a couple days with him in San Diego to acclimatize—hit the beach and blind the sun with our Wisconsin winter complexion—and make sure we are ready to start the hike. He may even hike with us for awhile! He has done some incredible things abroad and shares the same passion for helping people. Check out his blog at www.robgreenfield.shutterfly.com. Thank you, Rob, for all your help and we will see you soon!

Please consider supporting Camp AmeriKids, as we are hiking up the West Coast for the kids on the East Coast.

Much love, F +A

Counting down---13 days until San Diego!

With 13 days before we hop on the plane for San Diego, we find ourselves swamped with tons of little things that all of a sudden are essential to our survival on the trail. We recently booked flights from La Crosse, WI to San Diego, CA on April 20, 2011. We keep questioning ourselves as to why we have chose once again to live together in tight--very tight--quarters for another summer. I expect to be annoyed within the first hour on the plane with excessive questioning from Adam--Are we there yet? May I eat all the GORP? Why am I already tired? From San Diego, we plan to take a bus to El Cajon where we will spend a night in a hotel and grab our last-minute items before we hit the trail. On Thursday April 21st, Adam and I will take a bus to Campo, CA (the Southern terminus of the PCT) where we will begin hiking north.


The last few days, we have been putting together our bounce box, grocery shopping, and organizing our gear. The bounce box is a USPS flat-rate box that contains extra gear, phone and camera chargers, and food supplements that we will send ahead to our next resupply point. Traditionally, PCT thru-hikers have sent the majority of their food ahead to post offices in towns along the trail. Due to convenience and cost issues, we felt it would better to support local communities along the trail and resupply as we go--we may end up eating Kraft singles and Oscar Mayer bologna for weeks on end. 


After months of planning and preparation, we are finally closing in on our departure. We are looking forward to spending our last few days with friends and family. In addition, Adam and I will enjoy our last days apart from each other in our own beds and personal space. As you can see, we are living in the smallest tent known to man for the next 4-5 months. It will be interesting, smelly, and we will survive....

Our pack clothes and daily hiking gear expanded.

Footwear, compacted pack clothes, rain gear, and daily hiking gear.

Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2  with Tyvek ground cloth and Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20 degree down bags.

Tight quarters

STUD with Osprey Atmos 65

100 pounds of pure power....

Osprey Atmos 65 and some trial short shorts

Please consider supporting Camp AmeriKids, as we are hiking up the West Coast for the kids on the East Coast.

Much love,
F + A