cathieandrandy

Finally, it happened. During the month of October, for each of us. Our shared dream became a true entity in our respective realities. Our employers granted unpaid leaves of absence, and we are publicly committed to hiking more than 2600 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Our training began in earnest with a three day trip over Veteran’s Day weekend. We covered a 35 mile section of the Virginia Appalachian Trail, traveling south from Route 7 near Bears Den Hostel to Route 522 east of Front Royal. We “rode” the roller coaster (a very hilly section) to Rod Hollow Shelter where Brent Anslinger turned up. Brent thru-hiked the AT in 1997 where he met Cathie, and later with his bride Amy, he hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail in 2001. Brent was out this weekend with his boss from the Dayton, Ohio parks and recreation program, doing advance scouting for an organized group trip.

We had a very pleasant evening, complete with the rare campfire. The next day we covered 15 easy miles in six hours, including a 45 minute lunch break. Randy kept up with Cathie just fine, though not without the occasional complaint. Highlights included the relatively new re-route of the AT to the open ridge above Sky Meadows State Park, as well as not getting shot by a deer hunter in the Thompson Wildlife Management Area.

The last 10 miles on day 3 were cold and rainy, with brilliant golden maples, the last to hang onto their leaves amid the dark forest.