Questions for the Hikers, Volume 4



Question for the Hikers: Are you guys craving anything? Is there anything I can send you?

Answer: First of all, if this is not your question shame on you for not caring enough about us. Secondly, the things we are craving are things like cold orange juice, toasted bagels and cream cheese or pizza so I think we are pretty much stuck with our cravings. [Please do not attempt to mail us pizza. -Scott]

Question for the Hikers: What is your average hiking day like? Do you walk for 8 hours like a workday and then call it quits and then read, eat, fondle and sleep or what?

Answer: I'm glad you asked this delicate question. Most of the day is set aside for fondling with about 3 hours of hiking thrown in. (Just out of curiosity, what part of this journal gave you the idea that there is a lot of lounging, let alone fondling going on?)

Actually, here is the schedule for an average day: We've been getting on the trail around 5 am, but are trying to start hiking at 4 now, because of the heat. We eat a trail bar and then hike until around 7:30 or so and stop for breakfast. We usually break for lunch around 2 p.m. and hope that we've covered 13 to 15 miles and usually spend a couple of hours relaxing. Then we hop back on the trail usually until 8pm. Usually, we just keep hiking until it is dusk and then look for a flat spot to lie down. This is often right on the trail, so we are lucky we rise early so we don't get stepped on. We have other breaks too. On average, we've been covering approximately 20 miles a day.

Question for the Hikers: I just read over your last journal entries. One thing stands out in my mind. ARE YOU A WIMP? Stop crying about carrying all that weight. I've gone out about 5 times carrying 16 days worth of food all by myself. Which also means I didn't have anyone to share the load with.

(This person had some more lighthearted things to say, but they were deleted to make them sound as bad as possible. Hopefully, I succeeded.)

Answer: How long have you been reading these journals? Hasn't it yet become apparent to you that I whine about EVERYTHING?

You are right that it is only six days, which probably does seem short, but we carry at least 2 pounds of food per person per day (more like 2 1/2) in order to keep up with the calories we are burning, so the weight adds up. We also have to carry between 12 and 16 pounds of water per person on these long 20 plus mile waterless stretches. Also in the mix is the fact that most days, it's well over 100 degrees and you are hiking with very little shade with no relief from the heat.

Now, your 16 days worth of food and all your own gear may still weigh more, but I think my situation is still worth a little bit of whining, so I am going to continue to do so.

Question for the Hikers: What county are you in right now?

Answer: Here is the route our walk has taken us: We started in San Diego County, then Riverside, San Bernardino, and as we swung west, L.A. and crossed into Kern County in the Mojave.

I'm out of space again. If you didn't see your question here, not to worry. More questions will be answered next week.

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