Adventures With Samson-The-Bear

Fred and Ethel acclimate to Southern California and calorie load before starting the trek..

May 5th, the journey begins at the Mexican border wall!

Birds are our most direct decedents of dinosaurs. This one is pretty big.. Fred thinks it must be his side of the family.

First beer of the trail! Thank god beer is good blister medicine. 

This very nice but crazy man was already trying to average 26 mi/day with a  70 lb pack in the desert. Good luck, Sir!

Magic Mary keeps a hiker library in the middle of the desert. Take a book, leave a book. Thanks to Mary, we had a desert plant guide for the next few hundred miles until we mailed it back to her library.  Fred and Ethel made friends with the watch owl.

"Books you don't need in a place you can't find." Au contraire.

Fred and Ethel warm up their climbing legs on the Mt. Fire Alternate route just before Idyllwild.

At 10,833 ft, Mt. San Jacinto is the biggest climb yet. Fred and Ethel get their first taste of snow and discover that snowball fights are a great way to settle arguments on trail. 

Old and twisted lodgepole pines shelter Ethel from the hailstorm. 

Fred and Ethel wake up at Ziggy and the Bear's trail angel house before shuttling around the Lake Fire area. 

What Fred and Ethel eat for dinner when they run out of food and have only a gas station to resupply and 40 miles to the next town. 

Mt. Baden-Powell, named for the founder of the Boy Scouts of America, had quite a sharp spine. Fred and Ethel had to walk the line carefully. 

Goal Tech, a southbound section hiker, handed out trail magic of chips and candy to the hikers he passed. 

Fred gets a little giddy with all the lupine. 

500 miles! Annoyed at the constant singing, Ethel takes the opportunity to remind Fred about gravity. 

When I wake up yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you
When I go out yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you
If I get drunk yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you
And if I have yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you

But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walked 1, 000 miles

To fall down at your door
When I'm working yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's working hard for you
And when the money comes in for the work I'll do

I'll pass almost every penny on to you
When I come home yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who comes back home to you
And if I grow old well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's growing old with you

Dolls and guns, just a little taste of the olde west and the deeply strange scene at Hiker Town.  What better way to wait out a forest fire trail closure than to spend 48 hours at a fake movie set in the baking Mojave desert? 

Yep, Hiker Town is a weird place. 

A quick dip is mighty tempting at the first water source in many miles.  Landers Camp spring, mile 609.

Trail Angel Siri restocks a cooler full of soft drinks and chips in the middle of a 42 mile dry stretch. Thank you, Siri! 

Joshua trees were named by Mormon settlers for their appearance to be praying to the skies. In her own way, Ethel fits right in. 

Okie Girl and Meadow Ed are long time PCT trail angels. Feeding hungry hikers is serious business. Happy Birthday, Ed, and thank you for your many years of trail devotion!

Hiker trash is dirty trash.  TK, Roam, and Not Bad get a hitch with Devil Fish to the Lake Isabella KOA. Beer, showers, and pool are close enough to taste!

Devil Fish.  This man single handedly maintained hundreds of gallon of water at various water caches throughout the trail. Without him, Fred and Ethel would have been dangerously dehydrated on several stretches.  Thank you, Devil Fish! 

Fred discovers the beauty of old trees. Even dead ones. 

Fred and Ethel gaze out from the highest point in the Lower 48. At 14,505 ft., that's quite a view over some intimidating terrain. 

The backside of Forester pass (13,153 ft.) after the descending the snowfields. Apparently they missed their best chance to push each other down a snow chute. 

Dude gave us a ride from Bishop to Independence after a two-day zero and resupply.  

Karma! Before setting off for the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT), Karma pays it forward with rides from Independence to the Kearsarge trailhead. Thanks, Karma, until we meet again!

Happy Birthday to our favorite Bear! Samson turned 30 in one of the most spectacular places on earth.  Only his birthday treats were lacking.  

Palisade lakes below, blue skies above.  The hiking life for dinosaurs is pretty great, though chilly for cold-blooded beasts. 

Mt. Darwin, Mt. Mendel, Mt. Huxley, Mt. Spencer, Mt. Warlow, and Mt. Fisk.  Not bad company for erudite dinosaurs.

Allen, Alun, Steve! Fred and Ethel try to make friends with a marmot but are ignored and summarily disrespected for their efforts. 

Naturalist Rangers are the coolest! Fred and Ethel made quick friends with this one.  Several hours and many questions later, they had a whole new understanding of how the Sierras were formed and carved by glaciers. 

Fred and Ethel are surprised by the unexpected and dramatic shift from a granite to volcanic landscape as they emerge from Yosemite and skirt the Emigrant Wilderness.

Fred and Ethel settle in to a wonderful holiday away from the trail with family and friends.

Can you see me now? Twisted and burled old sequoia trees provide excellent camouflage for dinosaurs. 

My, you are a strange looking friend! Ethel almost gets a hug from a  friendly scorpion.

Nom nom nom... A prehistoric alligator greets them in Belden.  Surprisingly, this was not the strangest coincidence of the resupply as Belden was hosting an annual electronic music rave during their stay. Hikers and ravers do share a distinct lack of connectedness with the outside world. 

Fred and Ethel discover that two breakfasts each is not enough. Try triple ordering next time..

Surprise! Trail magic of fresh salads and cookies along with soda and beer. What more could a famished dinosaur want!?  Huge thanks to this group of professors at Cal State Chico who serve up an annual picnic to hungry hikers, your coleslaw will not soon be forgotten!

This group of outdoorsy professors from California State University at Chico gave us quite a delicious surprise. It was 105 degrees in the valley that day, but a shady picnic in the mountains paid off for everyone. Thanks guys!

Fred and Ethel aren't sure how to feel about making it to the PCT midpoint. Excited for sure, but still intimidated by the many miles that lie ahead. 

Devil Fish strikes again! This time a cache in the middle of a 30 mile waterless stretch in the midst of a national heat advisory. As a unique volcanic landscape, Hat Creek Rim is infamous for intense heat and sun exposure and hikers are best off tackling it without stops.  This water cache helped prevent some major dehydration sickness.  Thanks, Devil Fish! 

Fred and Ethel find the names of many hiker friends who have pulled ahead on their journeys.  What fun trail magic!

Furiosa and Left Foot pose with their dinosaur friends after a great breakfast in Shasta. 

After finding his name on a gear store bulletin board, David agreed to give us a ride back to the trail. Shasta was a much needed break after pushing 25-30 miles/day for weeks on end. Thanks for the ride and stories, David!

Hiking, bird watching, and dinosaur spotting are great ways to pass the time when few hikers are passing. Thanks for the strawberries and root beer floats, trail angel friend! 

Fred and Ethel find themselves in heart of the State of Jefferson, a region and separatist movement symbolized by a double "X" for being double-crossed by state capitols Sacramento and Salem. They learned a few things about state politics that day. 

It's hard to say which is more colorful, Gypsy the truck or Legend, the man who dives her. Just before the California/ Oregon border, Legend served up hot pancakes, cowboy coffee, and lots of stories.  Thanks for the grub, Legend, until next time...!

Whoohoo! Fred and Ethel finally reach the California border. Northern California was challenging and hot, little do they know that Oregon will be too. 

Fred and Ethel with their hiking companions. They agree that hitchhiking is generally preferred over walking.

This colorful guy gave us a ride from Ashland back to the trailhead near Callahan's Lodge and brought us up to speed on the State of Jefferson movement. Thanks, dude!

The Goat Rocks Wilderness proves to have excellent forage for dinosaurs.  Not a bad view either. 

Coppertone and Sugar finding shelter from the rain in Legend's RV. Coppertone is another trail angel that moves north with the hiker bubble providing root beer floats and assistance where he can.  

Karma strikes again! These two trail angels surprised us at a trailhead with hot pancakes and coffee and told us all about their recent adventures on the PNT. Samson mentioned that someone who hitched us a few months back was gearing up for that trail and immediately the pieces connected, "Dude, that was me!" Karma and Veggie have hiked a bunch of long trails, including the triple crown of the AT, PCT and CDT.  They are great folks with a passion for long hikes.  Thanks again, guys, I hope we meet again!

Fred and Ethel soak up all the colors of fall in their last stretch of trail before Canada. The larch trees glowed golden and the blueberries were all shades of fire red.  The sights, sounds and freedom of the trail will be sorely missed by these fortunate dinos.

Could it be?!

After dragging their feet through the incredible Pasayten Wilderness and immaculate weather window and taking 6 days for what should take 4, Fred and Ethel come to the end of their hike. After 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada (the monument says 2,627 miles, but that was based on a 1988 estimation), they sit in disbelief and amazement. 

Ecstatic, exhausted, excited, reminiscing dinosaurs.

What a journey it has been!