Siesta
Backpacking Experience
Backpacking since college in 1984 so 33 years. Longest day backpacking prior to PCT hike was 31 miles
Training
Pedaled a bike through town @ 200-500 miles per month to stay in decent backpacking shape. Felt very much in shape for the N Washington start.
Start
Took a boat up Ross Lake to Devil's Junction then hiked the PNW to Holman Pass on the PCT, hiked N to the Canadian border, then turned around & headed sobo.
Date Reached So. Kennedy Meadows
10/3 but skipped @ 550 miles from the RIm Fire in Ashland, OR to Echo Lake
Hike Result
Completed 2,088 miles
LIFE NARRATIVE
Siesta owns & operates a small real estate firm in Northern Kentucky where he helps buyers & sellers with their real estate needs as well as he buys & sells property for himself. His kids are all grown & he’s done a decent job raising and providing a comfortable life for his family, so he decided it was time for him to give himself a 6 month leave of absence from his office. He had an amazing time on the PCT, can’t wait to go back in June to complete the 550 he had to skip & is already planning to hike the CDT sobo in 2018.
HIS TRAIL JOURNEY...
"I ended up completing 2088 miles. I was caught in the Rim fire in Ashland, OR & made a choice to flip all the way down to Echo Lake with a group of hikers to get the Sierra high passes out of the way. I then completed Echo Lake to Walker Pass, hitchhiked back to Echo Lake & hiked N to Truckee, CA. At that point a Typhoon hit the OR/CA coast dumping rain & heavy snow in the upper elevations & I could not complete that section. It was a blessing in disguise because I get to go back this Spring/Summer of 2017 & hike the missed 550 while the streams are ripping & the wildflowers are popping. Overall, epic hike!!! I started with the “Dirty Dozen” which then turned into the “Wolf Pack” then I finished at Campo after not seeing another hiker on the trail for the last 500 miles. This gave me the best of all worlds. I met many many amazing people for ¾ of the hike & at the end I was able to reflect on my adventure on my own without distractions.
I got caught up in a group decision when I flipped down & skipped to mile 550 & I should have listened to myself & walked around the closure but on the other hand I also enjoyed helping other hikers who I felt needed someone else to hike with. Hiking by myself in the last month & a half was a real treat!! I was able to make my own decisions & stop to talk to everyone along the way, never feeling like I needed to be somewhere at some time.
People today ask me how the hike was & my answer is: “it was twice the adventure I ever thought it would be.”
HIS TRAIL ADVICE...
"Age is just a number. Do a few shakedown hikes prior to stepping on to the PCT. Take it one day at a time on the PCT. Break the hike up into many shorter section hikes from one town to another.
Support anyone in your relationships with their dreams & deservedly expect that in return. Be a dream givers not a dream killer.
Love yourself & pass that and your experience on to others along the path.
Embrace the test of pushing your body & mind to it’s limits, it may hurt but it will return the favor & show you what type of machine you can be.
Always stop to offer help to anyone in need along the way, what you have in your 1st aid kit may be just what they don’t have & are in need of.
Sloooow Down."