Questions for the Hikers, Volume 6

Yes, it's a bonus Questions for the Hikers! Since we don't know when we can send out email next, we are trying to fit in everyone's questions.

Question for the Hikers: Are you and Scott wearing the same type of shoes? (Since you are the two-legged blister ant farm and he isn't.)

Answer: I think my feet would have had problems no matter the footwear. We started in the same type of shoe - the Asics Nandi- which is a trail running type shoe. I had bought a pair and Scott liked them and bought a pair too. We wore out the Nandis after 450 miles and I bought a new pair. Scott is now wearing Merrill Red Deserts which he purchased before the trip. My feet are finally doing really well-it just took them 6 weeks to get the hang of it.

Question for the Hikers: How does the "drift box" system work?

Answer: A drift box is a box of things that you think you may need, but don't want to carry them on your back-things like extra batteries, extra first aid supplies, maybe an extra book, etc. Originally, you mail this box to yourself at one of your first town stops and when you arrive at the P.O., you pick it up, root through the box for anything you need and then mail it on to yourself at an upcoming town stop. Some places where you can mail food boxes don't have outgoing mail, so if you make a mistake and mail your drift box there, it's bye bye drift box. Also, in Agua Dulce, Scott put his prescription sunglasses in the pocket of his extra "drift box shorts" and mailed them on. Luckily, Julie mailed his extra glasses to him in Mojave. Unluckily, we were traveling through the desert portion of the trail which was really unfun. (At least the worst part was at night.)

Question for the Hikers: Now that you have hiked this far, have there been places that you would have done almost anything to avoid? If you were to do it again, would you rework your travel plans? On the flip side, have there been places so nice that you would die to round up everybody you liked to go down there? Where and why? Do you have some good pictures?

Answer: Wow, this is a complicated set of questions and that last one's a doozy. Don't you know NEVER to ask travelers if they have pictures? You'll be bored after the 3rd picture. Everyone is excused from looking at pictures except Emily. (we take photography together) Get out from under your desk, Emily...we won't be home for 2 weeks.

Regarding the other questions, we will both provide an answer to those in our final set of emails, so you will have to wait. Back     Outta here     Next

Copyright © 2000-2001 Amy and Scott Rigby