Boone and the Follower

Well its been along time so it's hard to know where to start. First things first we are in central Oregon in the town of Bend and 1,960 miles into the trail. In northern California we had a great finish to the state. I was starting to wondered if the state would ever end but, it did just shy of 1,700. That is one big state. But we ended up hiking some of our most constant miles in northern California so it made the end pass by quickly. Once in the state of Oregon we felt like the trail was near complete although we still had about 900 miles to Canada. A couple of miles into Oregon we ran into a few hikers we knew. A man by the name of Billygoat, a 71 year old ... read more

Well after another long section with no internet available we have an opportunity to give you an update and upload some photos. Since Lake Isabella we have traveled over 500 miles bringing our grand total to about 1,2oo miles almost half way and out of California. The section we just finish was the hardest hiking of the trail. We encountered very high passes with more snow then we could ever imagine. We also had back luck with the weather, rain, sleet, or snow would blow in every afternoon and sometimes stick around all evening. There also was an issue of navigation due to the snow fields. There would be time when we would go hours without seeing the trail. This gave us many opportunities to get off trail and lost but we made it through and ... read more

We have finally made it to the town of Agua Dulce and 455 miles complete. In this little town there is a couple whose house is known as Hiker Heaven and the name fits perfectly. We have a mobile home to stay in and each have our own rooms and a full kitchen. They also have a fleet of bikes to get around town. So this has been an amazing stay with The Saufleys and there huge family of dogs, cats, and horses. The next 180 miles of trail will be the hottest part of the trail. The only good part about this is that we are done with snow untill the high sierras. We also will be passing through part of the Mojave desert where the temperatures can climb into the hundreds. In these area ... read more

Well we had another great section last week. In this section we had some very different conditions. Once we left the town of Idllywild we entered a winter wonderland. The first 12 miles was solid snow drift. We both found the hiking fun but after a full day of breaking through the snow to your waist we were glad to be done. The next morning we just dropped down in the the low flats. These are the areas that the sun is just so hot. You just sweat so much but any little piece of shade feel so cool its amazing. We also put in a 32 mile day so we are starting to get our trail legs and that feels great. We are posting this blog from the town of Big Bear Lake City about ... read more

Andy and I successfully completed the Appalachian Trail last weekend which brought our travels to an end for the year. We have now been home for a few days but laziness has prevented me from updating the blog in a timely fashion. When we last checked in we had just four days remaining on the trail. Those final days were difficult but with the southern terminus in sight, we pushed through the many miles of nasty weather. When we finished Mother and Abby were waiting in the state park after coming all the way from Iowa to pick us up, they are so kind. Now that we are home there is no more rushing around, no more miles to cover. As much as Andy and I enjoy racking up the miles, we are happy to slow ... read more