Lian de Jel - Six Months With Three Pairs of Undies--Special Color Edition--The Pacific Crest Trail

SIX MONTHS WITH THREE PAIRS OF UNDIES

The Pacific Crest Trail

Special Color Edition with photos

ISBN/EAN: 978-94-6406-353-0

1st edition

Published: November 2020

Published by FriendlyHiker.com

Authors: Andr and Lian de Jel

Photographs: Andr and Lian de Jel

Design and illustrations: Andr de Jel

Other publications

English

ISBN/EAN: 978-94-6406-347-9 Paperback

ISBN/EAN: 978-94-6406-350-9 Paperback, Special Color Edition with photos

Dutch

ISBN/EAN: 978-94-6345-560-2 Paperback

ISBN/EAN: 978-94-6345-561-9 Paperback, Special Color Edition with photos.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all our family members and friends who have supported us in this endeavor from day one. Your encouraging words, especially during our journey, at our lowest moments, you have done more for us than you could ever know.

We would especially like to thank:

Tim Potter, Tim Sharp, Samantha and Donald McCarthy for their excellent help in reviewing the English version of our book. Your time and effort is highly appreciated. Your thoughts and suggestions helped us a lot in creating a high quality book.

Caithlin and Jeether Antonissen for all their help with the design of this book.

The PCTA and all the Trail Angels. Without your devotion this journey would not have been the unforgettable experience it turned out to be.

It is only a mountain when you're down below.

Halfway up it's just a big hill.

Before you know it, you're at the top.

Andr de Jel

Nothing is impossible.

Content

In the early afternoon I see the postman driving off. Maybe it came today?, I say to Lian. Maybe it did. Weve been waiting for so long. Weve been wondering for days now when, or even if we would get an answer. Our mailbox is at the end of our driveway, by the street. I put my coat on, go outside, walk over to it and open the mailbox door. Theres a letter. I pull it out and turn it over. It has a big logo on the top left corner. Its from Canada.

Impatiently, I take the letter from the envelope, open it and read. After just a few sentences my eyes light up and I feel an explosion of joy bursting inside of me. Yes, finally! The last one is in! I rush back into the house. Uhm, Lian?, I say. She looks up from her sewing. Shes repairing her backpack and immediately notices the huge grin on my face. With one hand I hide the letter behind my back and say:

American visa for six months, check.

Pacific Crest Trail permit, check.

California back country fire permit, check.

Search & Rescue PLB transmitter permit, check.

Aaaaaaaand The special visa that allows us to enter Canada from the United States through the mountains CHECK!! All the permits and visas have arrived!

I pull the letter from behind my back and show it to her. The smile on her face is now at least as big as mine. She shoots up from her chair, takes the letter from my hand and starts reading. Her eyes light up. Yesss!!! We can go!!, she says and with the letter still in her hand she hugs and kisses me. This was the last permit we were waiting for. Preparations for the Pacific Crest Trail had required quite a bit more attention than most of the hikes we had done before. There were so may pieces to this puzzle and we needed to solve every single one. It was especially difficult, because we had no idea what the final picture would look like. What is in this puzzle? Which pieces are there? Do we know all of them? Are we maybe forgetting something without even realizing it?

With her arms still around my neck, she looks me in the eye. Do you remember, a year and a half ago, when we decided to do this trip? We had no idea what it would all entail. My mind was bursting with questions. And now now its all done. Its time. We can go! She sighs as though a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. Its not surprising. In the beginning our minds were so full of questions. It was like an unclimbable mountain.

However, as always, its only a mountain when youre down below. Half way up its just a big hill and before you know it youre at the top. Nothing is impossible. Keeping that in mind, we decided not to get flustered. We categorized everything expedition style. Route planning, food provisioning, the desert with its heat and lack of water, the high mountains with their snow and cold. What equipment will be useful and what can we do without? But also: what are the financial consequences? Like our mortgage, the costs we incur during the hike, taking unpaid leave from work and therefore having no income? Which possible risks are we taking and how can we eliminate or mitigate them? What if something bad happens to us? Should we revise our will? So many questions.

Now that I think of it; training was another one of those things. What is the best way to prepare your body and mind for such an ultralong hike? We have already walked over 680 training miles in the past year. The last few months we even attached weights to our ankles to simulate slopes. We thought we were doing a pretty good job.

But you can also train too much

The last few weeks have been tense and confusing. I put too much strain on the muscles on the inside of my knee and now there is excess fluid in the knee cavity thats pressing on the tendons. This is the last thing we need this close to our departure. We were doing so well, and now this. My leg is covered from top to bottom with black sports tape. I stare at it wistfully. Im disappointed and worried. Depressed even. Weve just returned from a training weekend in the German Eifel. But after about three hours of hiking, I got a stabbing pain in my knee cavity. We had to stop and go home. I couldnt walk anymore.

Lian sees the gloomy look on my face and now she looks worried, too. Hows your knee? she asks. Pfff, Lian, I dont know. Im not feeling anything at the moment, but Im not putting any pressure on it now. I have an appointment with the physical therapist tomorrow. Hell have something to say about it. She wants to talk about it some more, but I avoid the topic. After all this preparation What if I have to quit the PCT after only one day and go home? I just dont want to think about it.

The physical therapist gives me a new hiking schedule. I have to walk at a slower pace and take a break every hour to do stretching exercises. He teaches Lian how to apply the sports tapes on my leg. Tomorrow we leave for our last major training session. Ten days of hiking on La Gomera, a dry and hot volcanic island near Tenerife, North Africa. We want to do lots of climbs and descents and get used to hiking in hot weather. In less than a month well be starting our PCT hike in the desert. This is also our last equipment check. Whatever we bring along now is also really going on the hike. Were excited and curious to see if it all works out.

On the kitchen scale in front of me is a small pile of black fabric. They are my new underwear and they look as thin as lace. We are literally weighing everything, in an attempt to get the total weight of our load under 17 pounds and these three pairs of underwear are 2.5 ounces lighter than the previous ones. Do you think theyll last the whole trail?, I ask Lian. Theyre sports underwear. They should, shouldnt they?, she answers. She sounds uncertain. Im not entirely confident either. At least these undies have enough ventilation to prevent my butt from sweating.

I guess well see