The Quest

The one question that I am asked the most is "Why?" My reply is "Why not"? I've always been an avid outdoors person, though the longest backpacking trip I had done prior to beginning the PCT was five days. I had hiked several treks in Nepal but with support. I had thought of doing a long backpacking hike and had been seriously considering the Pacific Crest Trail, 2,652.6 miles. But my quest for adventure had taken me to sea for nearly ten years, sailing our steel ketch Tamara from the Arctic to Antarctica and home to Alaska. By the time I had returned, I was 62 years old, and not getting any younger. So I finally picked a start date and began making plans to hike the PCT.

As much as I would love to be sharing this journey with someone, experience has taught me to plan on going alone and if someone joins me along the way, all the better. There are two ways to approach the trail; one as a "thru hiker", completing the whole trail in one season, or as a "section hiker", taking several years to complete. Currently my summers are spent in Alaska on our boat, so doing the trail in sections would be my plan, with a completion date in 2019 during my 70th year.

It made sense for me to start at the Mexican Border for several reasons: 1) I had good support in Southern California, 2) I could re-supply as often as every 3-5 days, minimizing the amount of weight I'd have to carry, and 3) if I couldn't continue for any reason there were numerous points from which to leave the trail. And I could start in early April and still get up to Alaska by May for summer in Prince William Sound on our sailboat Tamara.

Another reason to hike in sections is being able to choose the best time of year and whether to hike N to S, or S to N any particular portion of the trail. Of course doing sections adds the burden of logistics getting on and off the trail. Public transportation is good in some areas, but relying on someone to give me a ride will be more the norm in some of the more remote areas.

Help Make Clean Water Available Worldwide

An issue that I feel very strongly about is the availability of clean water for everyone. Living on a boat, one becomes very aware of energy and water usage. If everyone experienced living in a situation with limited energy and water for a period of time, the world's environment would be in a much better state than it is today. On an extended backpacking trip my main concerns are "where is the next water source?" and "how much will I have to carry in between water sources?"

So while hiking the trail from White Pass to the Columbia River, I decided to turn my PCT hike into a fund-raiser in support of clean water projects. I will do the miles in exchange for Pledges! I invite you to donate to a water project in either my name or your own name. To inspire me to complete the trail, please send me an email notifying me of your donation and your project choice.

Here are some organizations to look into:

Water.org - For more then two decades, Water.org has been at the forefront of developing and delivering solutions to the water crisis. Founded by Gary White and Matt Damon, Water.org challenges the traditional approach by pioneering innovative, community-driven, and market-based solutions to ensure all people have access to safe water and sanitation; giving women hope, children health, and communities a future. read more ...

Global Water is based upon the belief that the lack of access to safe drinking water is the primary cause of disease, hunger, and provery throughout the world. Founded in 1982, Global Water is an international, non-profit humanitarian organization focused on providing safe water supplies, sanitation facilities and related health programs for rural villagers in developing countries. Our program is designed to create safe water supplies in rural villages to enable the rural poor to help themselves. read more ...

Special Thanks to:

Kathy Pool for her donation to waterforcambodia.org
Bill Halstenrud for his donation to Water.org
In Memory of David Masters, a donation to Water.org