This year when Tina and Kevin hit the trail they'll be using an iPhone app that I've spent the last three months developing in collaboration with Halfmile (aka Lon Cooper) a primary source for PCT maps, GPS data, trail information and news.  

The app is called Halfmile's PCT and it's out now in its second version with a third already submitted to Apple for review.   It's getting rave reviews from hikers and has already proven to be very popular with this year's batch of thru hikers even though it was relatively late getting out to them.  Here are a couple PCT News release blurbs about it.

I was inspired to write the app, which integrates and fuses data from Halfmile, by difficulties Tina and I experienced last year and what we also saw other hikers going through.   

To do that this app took a new approach -- and it's a first, I think.  The app actually understands the trail for what it is and not just a line on a map.   It figures out your exact position on the PCT and on over 80 side trails connecting into it.   That means it can tell you how much walking is required to reach any destination in that network, how exactly to walk there, what you'll pass on the way and, in the version coming out next week, how much climbing and descending you'll do on the way.

If I have time in the future, I plan to extend this approach to other long national and regional trails -- both hiking and biking trails.   In the meanwhile, I've got massive amounts of work ahead just on this edition.   Next up is a (hopefully!) awesome 3D trail exploration mode that kicks in when you turn the phone on its side -- but the requested feature list seems to stretch into infinity.  Fun fun.  :)

/David

Yep, we're back from the twilight zone and we're hitting the trail once again.    Tina is rejoining the PCT at Sonora Pass -- mile 1018 of the PCT and where she left things last year.

This time she'll be joined by our youngest son, Kevin, who's enjoying his final college summer break and is looking forward to his first taste of long distance hiking. 

I've still got the bum knee and so I won't be joining them on the hike, but I do plan to "cycle circulate" somewhere nearby in more of a support role.   I'm also busy these days on a big software development project and so I'll be continuing to work on that some too while all this is going on.

All this will be picking up in early June with an actual launch tentatively set for June 15.

Hope all are well, David

At long last both parts of our 2010 Appalachian Trail book, "A Team Takes The Trail", have been completed and printed!   

You can find more explanation and links to the PDF and web browse-able versions here.

Happy Holidays and thanks again for all your support!

--- David & Tina .. aka Biker & Hiker .. aka White Jeep & Seminole

A few days turned into a few weeks as we've migrated eastward after having concluded the "official" portion of our adventure.   Only now am I getting to this wrap up post.  

On the way back east we visited again with my brother his family in San Diego,  Tina's family in West Texas, my parents in southwest Texas, friends in Austin, and friends in Springfield, MO -- picking up all manner of vehicles and gear that we'd left behind like giant breadcrumbs when we "migrated" westward back in the spring!

Along the way we also had the pleasure of getting to meet and help out a delightful young Chinese couple, Hongwu and his wife Liping, who were in the process of moving from Oklahoma to Toronto when their car was totaled in an accident between Joplin and Springfield.  They had to abandon the car but still had to get to Toronto and so we were able to help out by giving them a ride to the airport at St Louis.   As further evidence that it's a small world, it turned out that Liping's post-doc advisor in Oklahoma knew my father from regional forage research meetings they both used to attend!   In any case, it was a pleasure for us both getting to know this brave young couple and we wish them all the best in their new life in Toronto.

Getting on to the actual "wrapping up" ..

The actual adventure, in outline: The main comment we get about this blog is that people have enjoyed the pictures but the questions mainly indicate a need for us summarize what the trip actually wound up being.   Here that is:

1. On April 23rd Tina started hiking north along the PCT from the Mexican border.   A bit more than a week later I joined her as I rode the tandem bike and trailer solo in and around her position, meeting her as I could.  
2. On June 30th Tina summited Mount Whitney and exited the Sierras at Whitney Portal on July 1, having hiked some 800 miles while I'd cycled around 1100.    Due to the dangerous water crossings present in the Sierras at that time, we decided to proceed north together on bike.
3. On July 6th we started biking northward together from Ridgecrest, CA.
4. On August 16th, our 31st anniversary, we crossed briefly into Canada at Sumas, WA.
5. That very same day, August 16th, we rode back into the US, loaded the bike into a small U-Haul truck, and started driving back south, retracing our full cycling path and making some side trips that we'd missed on the bike.
6. On August 25th, after having snagged the truck and Tina's hiking equipment back from my brother Carl in San Diego and visiting our son Keith in Monterey, Tina relaunched on the PCT at Horseshoe Meadows near Lone Pine, CA.
7. On the morning of September 18th Tina reached Sonora Pass on the PCT where I picked her up with the truck.   That wrapped the trip with over 1018 miles of of hiking and 2800 miles of cycling.
8. Later on September 18th we blasted our way back down to San Diego, picked up everything left stored there, and started our eastward migration!

And that's it!   :)

Now we're in Winchester, VA tending to administrative items, sorting through storage, and working on what "next" might be.   We'll be here through Thanksgiving but after then .. ?  :)

Thanks for all the support and for following along, David & Tina

Yay!   Tina reached Sonora Pass this morning completing the 76-mile stretch from Tuolumne Meadows and this year's "trip"!!  :)

We'd initially hoped that she would be able to night hike all the way out yesterday.  But after 22 miles on the day she hit snow banks too steep to safely negotiate in darkness.  That wound up being a blessing in disguise, tho.   She was trapped between snow banks with no room for her tent and the only level spot was a small saddle up at 10,800 feet elevation.  So she just slept right there on top of her tent (which she used as a groundcloth).   Having just completed two of her best days on the trail with the most beautiful stretch she'd seen to date, to cap it off sleeping under the stars on a moonless and crystal clear cold night was just the best.   

Here are her words in the GeoPro messages that came to me last night.   They explain it better -

20:15 - MUST STOP.  TOO DANGEROUS! STEEP SNOW FIELDS.
20:16 - THINK I WILL BE COWBOY CAMPING TONIGHT.  NO ROOM FOR TENT!
20:25 - GOING TO STAY RIGHT HERE!
20:42 - CAMPED RIGHT SMACK IN MIDDLE OF TRAIL IN MIDDLE OF PASS. ONLY FLAT SPOT.
20:46 - EATING TORTILLAS AND CLIF BARS AND LOOKING AT THE INCREDIBLE STARS.  WHAT A WAY TO END!
20:52 - IT DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!   WISH YOU WERE HERE!

It got down to 25 degrees that night and every once in awhile Tina was awakened by ground creatures scratching at her pack or bear canister, but all-in-all it was a wonderful final night.

I'll write a wrap up post or two yet, but in the meantime, thank you all for your support. 

Thanks especially to Kacee who spent so much time packing things up, shipping things to us, receiving and sorting things out that we sent back to her, generally watching over us --- and also for the special surprises she always found time to include in our supply packages!   :)

All the best, David

Now that Tina is on her final stretch I'll risk telling you the secret of our success and good fortune on these treks -- our mascots "The Turtle" and "The Owl".  :-)

The Owl has been with us for over 15 years!   For the ten years we flew our Cessna 182 around it was on every single flight and, if the kids were with us, they made a ritual of kissing it on the head before we took off --- especially Keith (how's that for embarassing? ;-) .. 

The Owl went with us on every hike and on every significant bike ride -- residing in a special place in Tina's pack.   Then last year  it was with Tina on every step of her Appalachian Trail thru hike and it has always been with her this year too -- as she hiked and as she rode with me on the bike.

Since this year we were going to spend so much time apart we decided we needed a mascot just for me.  Thus, "The Turtle" -- which has now ridden with me from Mexico to Canada and has its own dedicated place in my panniers.  

So that's it!  It's not the bike, the tent, the pack, or the ice axe -- it's the The Turtle and The Owl that are our most important "equipment".  ;-)

Okay, back to our regular programming.  

/David  :-) 

After waiting out the rain for two days in Mammoth Lakes (and new snow on the mountain peaks!), Tina hiked the 35ish miles from Reds Meadow over Island and Donahue passes to reachTuolumne Meadows on the eastern side of Yosemite National Park yesterday afternoon.

We're in a pattern of daily thunderstorms in the mountains -- mostly in the afternoons and evening -- and so she still got some considerable rain Monday night, but she was already in her tent and only had to contend with a few drips here and there.   We've now resealed those particular spots and she reported no drips in tonight's rain.

Tina's now out again and 12 miles into the 76-mile stretch from Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass. 

We're planning to wrap things up at Sonora Pass and call this trip done!   That'll translate to over a 1000 miles of hiking and 2800 miles of biking -- given the increasing unpleasantness of mountain weather conditions and our long "to do" list, we're figuring this might be enough for this round!  :)

All the best, David

After stepping off the VVR ferry yesterday around 9:30am, Tina hiked 30 miles, climbed and crossed Silver Pass, and reached Reds Meadow Resort today at 1pm.   Reds Meadow is a Sierra pack station and "resort" (think small store, small cafe, and some cabins) at the end of the road leading to Devils Postpile National Monument.   I was able to snag her there just before a thunderstorm reached the resort and we skedaddled to the town of Mammoth Lakes -- where we are now holed up for the forecast "weekend o' showers and thunderstorms".

As for the trip, the first day was the toughest with nearly 5000 feet of climbing and periods of rain.   Today was easier and shorter but a race to beat the visible thunderstorm, but all-in-all it was a straighforward jaunt.

Notice in some of the pictures how an overcast sky completely changes the complexion of the mountains.  Weather up there is so much more of a serious threat than it is down low that darkened skies immediately set the mind into a constant state of tactical "what if" planning and preparation.  

In any case, the plan for the moment is that Tina will hit the trail again come Monday morning.  

Meanwhile, I'm going to go wash my hands ... again .. (Tina and I just got back from seeing the new movie "Contagion" .. yow).

/David

Finally here with a tiny fraction of the pictures from Tina's 7-day outing through more of the Sierras!  She'd left from the Onion Valley trailhead near Independence, CA on August 30th and reached Edison Lake (and VVR) about 100 trail miles and 7 days later.  The first couple days had been pretty rough as she suffered with altitude sickness symptoms but the rest went well and she was back to flying by the end of the stretch.  

Towards the end we both realized that this was longest stretch of hiking Tina's ever done without resupply .. so that was a nice bar to move with some lessons learned .. but then it was also the longest she's ever been without a shower and so, umm, maybe we don't want to break that personal "best" .. ?  ;-)

We spent a pleasant day and half at the Vermillion Valley Resort on Lake Edison and then Tina was off again (on the morning of the 8th) trying to reach Mammoth Lakes before the forecast rain and thunderstorms arrived.   All about that in the next post.  :)

/David

TUESDAY 9/6 20:30 PDT:
We both made it to the friendly (but expensive) arms of Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) in fine shape -- Tina by pontoon boat across Edison Lake and I via 7-hour drive crossing the Sierras over Tioga Pass (i.e., through Yosimite) and then crawling back into them via the long, rough, one lane seasonal road that leads to Edison Lake.   Now we're clean, well fed, and settled into the place's very finest travel trailer -- Big Red.  ;-)      Turns out that they have a slow pay (100kbit/s) satellite internet connection and so I'm using that to post this.   We're taking tomorrow off and so I'll try to do a summary post with pictures then.
MONDAY 9/5 23:00 PDT:
Tina hoofed it 20 miles over Seldon Pass reaching the turnoff trail for the VVR "ferry" (a small pontoon boat) and setting up camp after dark.   She reported that she has no idea of her surroundings -- she's simply camped on a flat spot a couple feet from the trail.  In any case, she's planning to catch the morning ride across the lake to the "resort" while I drive the 6 hours from here (Mammoth Lakes) to get there by road -- a crow fly distance of only 15 miles!!   I'm bringing all her resupply items and we're set to spend two nights in some of their deluxe accomodations .. a trailer referred to as "Big Red" .. LOL .. ;-) .. at least we get a 20% discount because it's now past Labor Day!
MONDAY - 9/5 11:30 PDT:
In spite of hearing considerable bear-foraging noises in the early evening, Tina ultimately slept well at her camp near the Muir Trail Ranch and mile 859 of the PCT and down at 8200 feet -- by far her lowest camp since she's been out.   Now (11:30am) she has already climbed back up over 10,000 feet on her way up to Seldon Pass.   At mile 879 she'll reach the turnoff to the "ferry" to VVR which comes twice a day to transport hikers across Lake Thomas Edison to and from the "resort".   We plan to meet there tomorrow.
SUNDAY - 9/4:
With no pass to climb it was a straightforward day of hiking as Tina moved 19 miles north on the trail to a point a couple miles from the Muir Trail Ranch.   She goes to sleep a bit uneasy tonight after hearing a substantial amount of crashing around in the trees near her ("like trees being torn down") and then sounds of big rocks being moved around.   So she's probably got a bear or a sasquatch as a neighbor tonight!  
SATURDAY - 9/3:
Tina hiked around 13-14 miles to reach Muir Pass, encountering rain and sleet shortly before reaching the top.   There she found a stone hut erected by the Sierra Club to honor John Muir.  She sheltered in that a short bit but there was already a fellow there who looked like he wanted to spend the night there and so Tina pressed on in the rain/sleet and made camp a couple miles later near Wanda Lake.   As expected, the rain stopped as she put up the tent and the clouds eventually cleared for the evening.   The forecasts say that the clear days are over with for awhile and so she'll probably have this afternoon/evening behavior all the way to VVR.  Nevertheless, Tina is really looking forward to tomorrow.   All the southbound hikers have been raving about how beautiful the Evolution Creek area is and she arrives there tomorrow.
FRIDAY - 9/2:
08:00 - GOOD MORNING!  SLEPT WELL BUT TOO LONG.  PACKING UP.
14:45 - STOPPING FOR LUNCH,
15:04 - MATHER NOT TOO BAD.  BIT OF TRICKY SNOW ON THE NORTH SIDE.
19:54 - FINALLY IN MY TENT!  GETTING DRESSED FOR BED.
20:08 - COMING DOWN NORTH SIDE OF MATHER STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL.  VERY DEEP AND SCENIC CANYON.
Tina had a great day in the mountains today.  She made good progress, caught up with some hikers we'd met earlier who started back at Onion Valley about 5 hours before she did, stumbled onto Red Hat -- a fellow 2010 AT thru hiker, and hiked in beautiful surroundings and perfect weather.    On the negative side, Tina just ran out of her water sterilization drops and so she'll be drinking straight from the streams and it's getting pretty clear that she won't have enough food to make it into Mammoth Lakes -- she'll have to head to VVR in 3-4 days.
THURSDAY - 9/1:
07:19 - ICE ON THE OUTSIDE OF MY SLEEPING BAG THIS MORNING!
07:25 - SLEPT WELL.  COYOTE SERENADE AROUND 5:45 AM.
17:27 - SITTING ON TOP OF PINCHOT PASS.  WAS REALLY TOUGH AND NOT BECAUSE I FELT WEAK OR BAD OR ANYTHING.
17:28 - THOUGHT I WAS NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT!
17:34 - OH, AND BY THE WAY, I JUST GOT BUZZED BY A HUMMINGBIRD AT 12,300FT.
WEDNESDAY - 8/31:
06:58 - SLEPT OFF AND ON.  HAD HEADACHE.
07:02 - WENT TO GET BEAR CAN THIS MORNING AND FOUND A TENT SETUP ONLY A FEW YARDS FROM IT. COULD EXPLAIN THE WEIRD NOISES.
16:12 - TAKING A BREAK.  PRETTY BUSHED.  DISAPPOINTED WITH SELF.
16:15 - RAE LAKES VERY BEAUTIFUL
16:22 - PLAN TO GO ON HERE SHORTLY BUT PROBABLY WON'T MAKE IT FAR
TUESDAY - 8/30:
21:12 - STOMACH JUST GROWLED SO LOUD I THOUGHT THERE WAS BEAR OUTSIDE!
21:22 - I FORGOT TO DRY THE TENT OUT.  IT WAS STILL PRETTY WET
21:35 - STRANGE NOISES OUTSIDE.  JUST MARMOTS, RIGHT?

/David