ADZPCTKO

April 29- May 1, 2010

– PCT Southern Terminus 2011 –                – PCT Southern Terminus 2010 –

Everytime I type the acronym above, I have to say the actual phrase in my head. This weekend we attended the Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off party. Last year when we set out to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail, we ended up hiking out of Lake Morena the day this event commenced after being caught in a rainstorm/snow storm for a few days. This year, we were happy to stay for all the fun.

We connected with old friends met along the trail as well as trail angels that helped us in our quest for Canada. We were so fortunate to share the experience with Deb and Ron, Melissa’s Mom and her mom’s fiance, and Boey, a dear family friend. We brought them to the Southern Terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail, located at a Mexican border town known as Campo, where a year ago, on April 19th, our journey began. I was overwhelmed as I stared ahead and thought of every twist and turn along the gorgeous Pacific Crest Trail between there and Canada. A year ago, I was staring into the unknown.

After we arrived home last year, we were contacted by a girl in Canada who had found and followed our blog. She was inspired to try the trail herself. We skype video chatted with her throughout the winter, answering her questions and attempting to calm the nervous butterflies about her trip. She departed a week ago for her big adventure! We were so happy to connect with her at the Kick Off Party in person! Her name is Carley Julien, also known now by the trail name “Tickette,” and her beautiful website is powertohike.ca. We were excited to learn that she was passionate about raising money for her outdoor school, Power to Be. We wish you big huge burgers and milkshakes along the trail Tickette!

Burgers, hikes, gear talk and movie nights from the class of 2010 filled the weekend with fun and laughter. Thank you to the Pacific Crest Trail Association for all their hard work in protecting this 2,663 mile long trail from being bought out and developed on. We appreciate all of you, especially trail crews who perform backbreaking work to make our walk smooth sailing.

Happy Trails,

Melissa