Kennedy Meadows, total mileage 702 miles.

Dear Diary,

Wow, long time no see. It's about time we got to write more on our adventure, after the last post we've done about 450 miles. These last 450 miles have been hot, dusty and wonderful.

Hitch hiking back to the trail from Big Bear was easy. A mom with her daughter picked us up after coming to the conclusion that we weren't axe murderers. Man we fooled them! That afternoon we managed to hike about 10 miles and decided to camp. I (Ville) went looking for campsite off the trail and found a dead horse, Kristen was being picky and decided that we couldn't camp there. Luckily my amazing senses found a new spot not too far from the carcas, we even lit a camp fire. The first one on the trail.

The next few days we were doing good mileage ranging from 20 to 25 miles per day. About 35 miles before getting to Wrightwood we hit McDonald's that was only 0,3 miles off the trail. I had 3 burgers, big fries, large soda and a sundae... for appetizers. Kristen ate something size of a little bird's meal. That night we splurged by getting a room with 3 other hikers from a motel. Costing us 14 $ per hiker, including a hot tub. Nice! The next day we hiked about 23 miles and got us pretty close to Wrightwood, that day we were hiking in the San Andreas Fault area. Getting to Wrightwood from the trail was really easy, we've been really lucky with hitch hiking. It didn't take us long to get a ride to town, maybe it's my stunning scandinavian looks just appeal to both male and female drivers here in US.

Once we got to town we got our resupply package from the post, at the post office we found a list of people who accomodate hikers for free. We called the last one on the list, bingo! We got a guesthouse for just the 2 of us ( we later invited our hiking friend Gabe aka Gabealicious to stay there too), it was located perfectly close to downtown and was surrounded by apple orchard. Thank you Dolores!

The day we left Wrightwood we climbed on top of Mt Baden Powell, 9400 feet ( 2 867 metres). What a stunning view, in Finland we don't have mountains that high so for this foreign sucker it was pretty unbelievable to be standing over clouds and watch a jet fighter fly below you, Kristen's brother Jordan aka J-Lo will help us upload videos and photos of that later. Thanks J-Lo. A lot has changed since our last post, the last few weeks our appetites have grown immensely, our bodies are finally realizing that these 2 idiots are really walking 25-30 miles day after day so we feel hungry all the time. Our bellies are yelling " More bacon you idiot!".It is hard to describe how hungry we are all the time, all we talk about on the trail is food and Seinfeld episodes. We meet other hikers and in 2 minutes we're all talking about food. Remember that dead horse I was telling earlier, if it weren't dead I would have eaten it with noodles and a Snickers bar for dessert. Everyone who knows me also knows that I can eat when it comes to that, well I've lost about 13 kilos (24.2 pounds, roughly) and now I'm trying to get more calories while in town. Now the backpack is too small and pants are falling down while hiking, embarrassing. Back to Pizza Hut buffet.


The stretch from Wrightwood to Agua Dulce was a mix of desert and mountains with pine trees, not too much water so we had to carry a lot of it so that my Scandinavian delicate hydration system wouldn't get cranky again. The headlines in Finnish newspaper were still in my mind, the actual event wasn't as full as drama as you would think. We heard later that from that same mountain a girl had to be evacuated with a helicopter with the same symptoms, 4 other persons got sick at the same place too so my case was only highlighted because I was the only foreigner.
Really close to Agua Dulce the trail was winding through the Vasquez Rocks area witch is famous for being the setup many Cowboy movies, my dad loves to watch those and I like watching them too so it was pretty exciting to walk through an area where John Wayne and his posse had probably slaughtered and bunch of train robbers and hoodlums. I could still smell his glory and their blood there, nice ! Agua Dulce is a small town with 1 mexican restaurant, 1 diner and 1 pizzeria. We hit all of them, my stomach didn't even notice that. The town is also famous for Hiker Heaven witch is a place for hikers to stay free for 2 night max, it's owned by this lady who can be considered as Mother Teresa of PCT. Thank you Donna! We enjoyed our stay at Agua Dulce but it was time to hit the trail again, we've met a lot of people on the trail and we've made some great friendships. You might hear about these people later on our stories ( The 3 Canadians, Justin & Li An, Gabealicious, Fidel Castro and Garfunkel). I'll let Kristen to tell about the rest of our hike to Kennedy Meadows but first I would like to congratulate my Dad on his birthday on June 17th, happy birthday young man!

She said: Kristen here, filling you fine young people in on the rest of the trail drama. Leaving Agua Dulce, we met up with our friend Dirt Monger and hiked about 18 miles or so to the Oasis Cache stocked by the Andersons who we were about to visit (more trail angel love). We made it into Green Valley in the late morning and made a trip into a burger joint for lunch to buy the place out. Back on the trail, we hiked on into clouds and drizzle, which was AWESOME-O. As a hiker, this is fabulous weather to hike in, and as we hiked ever so west to north west, we finally dropped down out of the hills to breathtaking views of the wide open desert. Camped next to a lake with our pal Lightning, and then had a glorious, flat desert walk along the LA Aquaduct. The weather couldn't have been better, in the 70's and windy and climbed back up finally into some trees before hitting the windfarm right outside Tehachapi. Glad to see the wind being put to use on generating some energy and not just blowing us off mountains.

As for Tehachapi, coolest town ever. Nicest people, that all we had to do was look confused (really easy for the two of us) and like complete dirt bags and people would feel sorry for us and offer us rides all over town. Good food, got new shoes (Ville's shoes got so bad, there is not a homeless person on this planet that would consider wearing them), ate, ate, ate, and Kristen got a new pack! And oh boy, am I now a new woman. Literally dropped at least 4 or 5 pounds in just pack weight. That's a whole lot in hiker weight. And now, it's on. I am flying up and down mountains and Ville is just holding onto the back of my straps and holding on for the ride. Thanks Skeeter for not liking your pack and ordering a new one!

Out of Tehachapi, we met such a nice trail angel, John Jackson, who brought us to his house to use his internet, show us his cool shop, load us up with food and water, and drove us out to the trail head. What a great guy! Off we went, back walking into the dry hills to camp in a wind storm (man, you think we would get better at finding shelter in the desert, but no) and had a few long, hot stretches with little water. As we wound through some pretty cool forest (just a teaser), we were back down in the desert and now hiking through dirt biker paradise and hiker hell. Thanks to some lovely trail angels who stock 2 different caches of water, we all don't shrivel and die out there. Going to try and go easy on the dirt bikers, but man, there are trails EVERYWHERE out there and only 1 PCT hikers only trail which seems to be the one trail all the bikers want to ride. And do. And did. And said they weren't. Even tours of bikers. Which tear the trail up really bad and make very deep sand difficult to walk many miles in. Just my rant.

Finally, out somewhere in the desert there was a beautiful oasis of trail magic that some great peeps had set up for weeks to make food and cold drinks for us weary hikers a bit down on the desert by now, lifting our spirits to hike on and up and up and up. Thanks to the good speed, we have been hiking like animals and about 25-27 miles a day now. One day was over 7,000 ft of climbing! Oh boy, and the heat finally kicked in down here in So Cal and the last 2 days into Kennedy Meadows were tough to stay hydrated we would sweat so much. But beautiful it was and practically running into Kennedy Meadows, we have arrived! Finally. Ready for a zero and some eating and relaxation before heading into the snowy Sierras. Except, one little thing missing. Our resupply box with all our ice axes, crampons, gear, food and such. Very, very sad and the sweet (with lack of a better word) lady at USPS was not helpful at all in telling us where it is or when it will get here. SO....plan B, is hike 2 days, hitch out and back here to try and get it if it arrives, otherwise, hike on without safety gear and hope for the best. No mom, we will not be doing that. Kidding.

And just for the record, Ville wants everyone to know, he was not rescued from Fuller Ridge, he only had the flu or food poisoning, but just to make a better story, he is now gay, wants to be a woman, has got a terrible addiction to cocaine, pcp, and is in fact pregnant with a baby seal. Way cooler than the flu.

Mexican border to Big Bear 252 miles

FINALLY!!

Real news from us, the dirt ball hikers, finally reached a town with internet. Alright, time to catch everyone up on all the happenings.

Last we wrote, we were packing all our things and getting ready to head into the wild. We boarded a plane in Bend/Redmond (Oregon) and it was wild to watch out the window as the miles flew by at warp speed, the ones we were about to walk back on by foot. Ville and I spent a day with our friend Anjie in San Diego getting our first stretch supply of goods, getting some biking and beach time, and got a ride from some great trail angels to the border of Mexico in a little town called Campo. We started our PCT adventure at 7 a.m. on April 29, right at the border and began walking north. There was a giant hurd of people also beginning their walk on the same day, heading for the 20 miles north, Lake Morena, where the annual Kick Off Party is held for 3 days with all the hikers, helpers, angels, alumni, and randoms all gather to send off the newbies. We met some amazing people there, all with great advice, stories, and what not to do's. (thanks Eagle Eye, Jackelope, and Bearbait for the boost in confidence, Dr. Sole for the blister control, and Catdog for shuttling all our overpacked items home to Bend after day 1)

Day one was a big push with all 7 days of gear and water to start out right (while we watched slack-packers whiz on by) made it the whole way and only Kristen managed a few fun blisters to start the trail out right. One zero day at Kick Off to relax and watch movies from past hikers was an event not to be missed. May 1st, we hit the trail later to miss the herd and managed 12 miles in and camped on a stream with a bunch more hiker trash. Here, Ville and his english, told everyone we would be camped at campsite 69 (didn't even dawn on him) and now we are fondly refered to as Campsite 69 by some. For the next few days we averaged about 18 miles a day (hit up 2 completely random and unexpected trail magic thanks to some trail crews with food and water guns and some locals who made chili dogs and breakfast bagels for thru-hikers) and made it into Warner Springs after a 10 mile day for some food, fun, food, friends, relxation, springs soaking and more food. We only stayed a night wanting to be back on the trail and hiked 10 miles out the next day.

From the border there was a wide range of scenery changes. I thought the desert was flat. Well, not quite. Who knew? And once we climbed into Mt. Laguna, it was giant pine trees and grassy meadows. Which dropped us back into cactus, flowers, lizards, some rattle snakes, and a bit of sun (like over 100 degree sun, no bueno). After crossing over Hwy 74, we came into some giant white and red sandy boulders and back into trees. And then, we climbed. And climbed. All the way up to over 8,000 feet over Apache Peak (amazing views, see pics) and dropped down into the hiker-friendly town of Idllwild. Was a great place to shower, recharge, and eat for a zero day and everything was close to walk to (this makes for very happy hikers). Realized that computers are what were were born to stay away from after downloading all our photos there and then the blog went down and lost them all. Sorry kids, we are hoping to make it up to you now.

Back up to around 9,000 feet in a day and camped just before Fuller Ridge. Hit some decent snow up Apache Peak and the backside of Fuller Ridge and before the 15 mile switchback decent, we were thinking that Fuller Ridge was all hype. Well...whoever desigened that descent, we should have a talk. :) Needless to say we were a bit spent after that down hill FOREVER and made it to camp at the base in huricane force winds. Poor Ville woke me up in the middle of the night and from dehydration, too much sun, and we think a stomache bug combo, we had to hitch a ride in the back of a cop car (was my first and will be my last time as a jailbird) to Palm Springs to rest and recoup. Any of you ever been to Palm Springs? How about after about 2 weeks out in the woods on a hiking trail? Well, let's talk coulture shock. Walked into a packed cafe for food and there was some very sweet, sensitive, caring, and well dressed men there to greet us! Like to say we saw the sights, but we layed low and watched enough trash television to beg to be back on the trail before Jersey Shore, Swamp People, or Dog the Bounty Hunter rotted our brains.

Ville, still feeling a bit rough, was dying to be out of the room and back on the trail, we crossed over Hwy 10 and began to climb back into the hills near the trillion windmills. Camped at a trout farm (tried to fight the urge to eat all the big fish we saw) and pushed 22 miles up outside Big Bear to try and get into town for our resupply. This morning we pushed 15 miles to Onyx Peak (saw a very strange scene of caged bears, lions, and dogs along the way ??? guess they are used in Hollywood films) and made it into Big Bear Lake post office before they closed for the weekend. And here we are. And what nice excentric people there are in Big Bear. Poor Ville and I were so excited about hitch hiking and both times there was a PCT hiker getting dropped off and the driver offered us a ride in. It has been great! We even got a tour of Big Bear already by Bill, a local who showed us all his knives in his truck while driving us around. Plan is to hitch back to Onyx Peak tomorrow and will update in about 5 days. Until then, check out the photos and enjoy!

The Calm Before the Storm

Hello folks!

Still in the thick of planning and we can hear the countdown till our plane leaves Helsinki, Finland and we arrive in Bend, Oregon (U.S.A.) in only 5 days! Ready? Well, that's a funny question. I guess as ready as one can be to change 10 time zones, move at warp speed to buy, pack, and label resupply boxes (there are about 10 for just our California stretch so far), buy all the "last minute" items to complete our gear, "see" all the family and friends, pick up ice axes and bear canister in Eugene, get over jet-lag, try not to forget anything, and try to remain cool, calm, and collected. Did I also mention we have 8 days to do all this in Bend? :)

Well, after that mess, tickets are booked for our departure to San Diego on Wed. afternoon (April 27th) and we will stay with friends for all of a day before departing on Friday the 29th for the beginning of what all this craziness is for! Then it's one foot in front of the other, and repeat. A few times. Seems easy enough! After the first post, we have had an amazing response from family and friends to help mail us our boxes (since we cannot get into every town out in the wilds, we must mail ourselves food, sections of our maps, and odds and ends), meet us on trail, bring us boxes in person, see us for a day or two (where I am sure they will beg us to bathe and eat), or even hike sections. (Dad, age is just a number, and Lisa, this is your chance to really show us that you CAN be with nature for 5 months and love it. Jordan aka J-Lo, we have you already penciled in for the whole hike.

Thanks everyone for all the support. Still positions open for a sherpa to carry my gear, fan me while I walk, and feed me grapes and chocolate. If you are interested, e-mail me. Until next time, enjoy our wild adventures!

Planning

Planning, planning, and more planning...

Decision time over, we are now knee deep in plans to make this next crazy adventure of ours happen. For all of you who already know us, and those that don't, Ville and I met just about 3 years ago in Vietnam on a scuba diving boat, and the rest is history. Ville is from Finland and I, Kristen, am from the United States (Oregon specifically) and therefore we have spent the last 3 years living between our two countries and on a bunch of crazy travel adventures. We drove across the United States, open sailed the Caribbean, backpacked through Central America, drove up to the Olympics in Vancouver, and are about to embark on the hike of a lifetime; the Pacific Crest Trail. As difficult as the distance has been for us between our native countries, we share an insatiable passion for travel, personal challenges, growth, and the world we both live in. We can't think of a better adventure.

I know what you all are thinking. "Why would anyone want to hike for 5 months? Well, your not the first, will not be the last, and we will be asking ourselves this many times over I am sure. If you have to ask the question, you probably wouldn't even be considering this hike. 2,650 miles (4264 km) of hiking through 3 different states and all different climates is no easy task physically, but mentally and spiritually this is a quest. We have some great friends who have helped a considerable amount in the planning and advice of the trip (thanks a million Mama, Chia, Rocketman, and Anna!) and have spent countless hours of weekends and nights planning out the trail, stops and our boxes that will be mailed to ourselves along the way. Thank you everyone in advance for volunteering yourselves to help mail the boxes to us as we progress, for all the love and support along the way, and helping us to accomplish this dream, without all our amazing families and friends this would never be possible!!

As for training, Ville and I have always been wild things, so we run every day, walk everywhere, and swim when we can. We are both living in Helsinki, Finland right now and have our flights booked for the trip to Bend, Oregon on April 18th to see family, friends, grab our gear, ready our boxes, and catch a plane end of April to San Diego to begin the journey at the Mexican border. Ville was gifted a tourist visa from U.S. to complete the journey (hoping to have enough time to complete the trail before they require his return to Finland) and I am just hoping they still let me in :) We got in touch with a great Finnish watch company, Suunto, who has equipped us with computerized watches to keep track of logistics such as altitude, temperatures, compass, change in weather, a heart monitor (in case mine stops along the way) and a bunch of cool other features. Ville's exact watch was made famous in the recent movie 127 hours.

As I mentioned earlier, without help, we can not possibly make this whole hike happen. We will need help from family and friends to help us mail boxes, stay in touch with us via e-mail and phone when able, pick us up on trail for reprieve, house us and feed us as we make progress, visit us, or even hike parts with us! We are open for all who wish to offer what they can and we thank all of you for the support. You all are our inspiration and we would love to see all your smiling faces along the way. You might even get some dirty, smelly, hiker hugs :)

Hiking the PCT began as a big dream when my dog Timber and I use to bound all over the mountains in my backyard of Central Oregon. That was our ultimate goal. No job, no stress, only a backpack and the great open wilderness. "We only have one life to live, you better make the best of it" was our motto. Timber has since passed on, but I have been lucky enough to find someone who is as crazy as me with love for the outdoors, to live life to the fullest, to continually challenge yourself, and a need to bring ourselves closer to nature before it is lost. I can't imagine a better hiking partner, and we are so ready for this next adventure. Hope to see you on the trail. PCT here we come...