Egbert - Zero days: the real-life adventure of Captain Bligh, Nellie Bly, and 10-year-old Scrambler on the Pacific Crest Trail

Although Egbert makes it clear that nobody but a long-distance hiker can truly understand what its like to tackle a thru-hike, her book provides an overarching picture of a hike that comes as close to conveying understanding as any second-hand account can. Her 10-year-old daughter Scramblers enthusiasm for the trail is apparent and contagious. That Scrambler is the youngest person on record as having completed the PCT is an extraordinary feat in itself, but what is truly inspirational about the Blighs is their ability to take on this adventure as a family, and stay together through sun and snow, blisters and mosquitoes, and even too much togetherness. This is a great read for anyone who has ever thought of hiking the PCT, or of introducing a child to backpacking.

Liz Bergeron ,
Executive Director,
Pacific Crest Trail Association

Zero Days is a fascinating account of the thrills and challenges of long-distance hiking, but the true joy of the book comes from watching a family grow closer to each other while spending six months together on the trail. Ten-year-old Scramblers ceaseless optimism is especially inspiring to parents like myself who dream of long backpacking trips with their children.

Tim Hauserman ,
author, Monsters in the Woods:
Backpacking with Children

This is the story of an epic adventure by uncommon and wonderful people. It is a peek into the world of long-distance hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail. It inspires, educates, and entertains. For families or individuals who aspire to attempt such a hike, it provides a reality check and many insights.

Donna Saufley,
owner of the PCT hostel Hiker Heaven

Zero Days: The Real-Life Adventure of Captain Bligh, Nellie Bly, and 10-Year-Old Scrambler on the Pacific Crest Trail

1st EDITION January 2008

Copyright 2008 by Barbara Egbert

Front and back cover photos copyright 2008 by Barbara Egbert and Gary Chambers

Interior photos by Barbara Egbert and Gary Chambers. Some of the photos in this book originally appeared in the San Jose Mercury News .

Illustrations and journal entries copyright 2008 Mary Chambers

Book, cover, and map design: Larry B. Van Dyke

Book editor: Eva Dienel

ISBN: 978-0-89997-458-3 (cloth)

UPC: 7-19609-97458-1 (cloth)

ISBN: 978-0-89997-438-5 (paper)

UPC: 7-19609-97438-3 (paper)

Manufactured in the United States of America

Visit our website for a complete listing of our books and for ordering information.

Cover photos: Scrambler on the PCT in southern California (front, main photo) ; Captain Bligh, Scrambler, and Nellie Bly on top of Mt. Whitney (front, inset) ; Scrambler celebrates her successful PCT thru-hike at the U.S.-Canada border (back, main photo) ; View from Packwood Glacier in southern Washington state (back, banner photo)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used in reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Egbert, Barbara, 1951

Zero days: the real-life adventure of Captain Bligh, Nellie Bly, and 10-year-old Scrambler on the Pacific Crest Trail / by Barbara Egbert. 1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-89997-458-3 (hardcover) ISBN 978-0-89997-438-5 (pbk.)

1. Backpacking--Pacific Crest Trail. 2. Egbert, Barbara, 1951TravelPacific Crest Trail. 3. Pacific Crest TrailDescription and travel. I. Title.

GV199.44.U82P333 2008

917.949dc22

[B]

2007036438

FOR SCRAMBLER AND CAPTAIN BLIGH

ZERO DAYS is the story of my familys backpacking trip along the Pacific Crest Trail. My familymy husband, Gary, our 10-year-old daughter, Mary, and Istarted hiking the trail on April 8, 2004, and finished on October 25, 2004. I named my book Zero Days after the phrase long-distance backpackers use to describe a short break from hiking. Its a zero day because a backpacker racks up zero mileage on the trail itself that day. For weary, footsore, and half-starved backpackers, a Zero Day is a Very Big Deal.

N OTE ABOUT JOURNAL ENTRIES : Throughout our PCT trek, Mary kept a daily journal with illustrations and thoughts about our journey. Several of her illustrations and journal entries are included in this book.

TRAIL SONG

(Sung to the melody of Git Along, Little Dogies)

One morning as I was out driving for pleasure,

I saw a thru-hiker come walking along.

I pulled my car over and opened my window,

And as she drew closer I sang her this song:

Chorus:

Yippee ti yi yo, get along little hiker,

Its your misfortune and none of my own.

Yippee ti yi yo, get along little hiker,

For onward to Canada is where you must roam.

It all started out way back down south in Campo,

Where the cactus grow and the yucca bloom.

She wanted to fatten on ice cream and pizza,

Yet before Jeff and Donnas, she was just skin and bones.

Chorus

At Kennedy Meadows she climbed the Sierra,

With lightning and thunder and mountains that loom.

She finally got to Vermilion Valley,

Where she could get burgers and a motel room.

Chorus

Into Yosemite her PCT took her,

Where the streams and rivers are deep, cold, and wide.

She fooled the bears and the backcountry rangers,

But from the mosquitoes there was no place to hide.

Chorus

She sweated and swore through Section Os bushes

In the miserable heat of the Hat Creek Rim.

Then Oregon came with cold nights and downpours,

And she thought she would never have dry feet again.

Chorus

At the Bridge of the Gods, Washington beckoned,

And she thought for the border shed make a mad dash.

But waitwhats this white stuff falling from the heavens?

Is that simply snowor volcanic ash?

Chorus

by Scrambler, Captain Bligh, and Nellie Bly

FOREWORD

I N M AY , just as the summer heat begins to soar, they arrive, dusty from the trail and ravenous. Their shoes are worn and their clothing tells the tale of life in the rugged southern California mountains and deserts, caked with dirt and salt. Theyve hiked hundreds of miles to get here. Up the road and in the gate they come, seeking rejuvenation and respite from the trail. For them, we open our hostel door and hearts. Ours is a place where hikers take zero days.

Driven by dreams and desires to experience something that is difficult to convey to the uninitiated, most who come through our gates are seeking the same goal: to walk the entire length of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. Many will make sacrifices to take this journey, and many will suffer bodily and mentally to reach the trails northern terminus. Obstacles and challenges will be presented to all. The trail will humble and elate them, luring them onward with the invitation to see what is around the next bend or mountain. Hundreds will start out, but only the luckiest and most determined will make it. A handful return again and again, finding their truest happiness in the rugged simplicity of trail life.