Granny’s Favorite Color & North on the PCT

Granny Hat’s favorite color is NOT yellow even though daffodils are her favorite flowers. Granny admittedly wears a lot of pink and of course, black; it’s a musician thing. She loves the sparking white of the snow and the turquoise blue of northern alpine lakes. But without a doubt, Granny Hat’s favorite color is green, the color of new growth, promise of fruit, life itself.

Miss Green hitched a May Day ride on a warm Chinook racing up from Flathead Lake. She announced far and wide that it is Suddenly Spring and all the winter white agrees, melting off the Swan Range and cascading into the rivers. Granny watched families rafting on the Flathead today, no wet suits, shorts and tank tops in the 80-degree breeze. They better not fall in the water; it is mysteriously dark and cold still. Granny’s neighborhood is celebrating the green but there is still time for snow to fall. “It isn’t Memorial Day yet”, as the local old-timer farmers say.

Granny Hat’s kitchen table is covered again with lime green seedlings and the garlic is 8 inches tall out in the corral garden. This year she added asparagus starts from her neighbors, red and yellow raspberries and a rhubarb plant to go with the strawberry patch. She can already taste that Strawberry Rhubarb pie. Dad broke ground on a greenhouse, should keep everyone busy for a while.

Meanwhile, in the southern California desert, Granny’s eldest has commenced the Pacific Crest Trail, a long-awaited adventure. He was accompanied to the Southern PCT Terminus on the California/Mexico border by his wife Mandy and youngest son, Blaze.

Granny Hat wasn’t there to experience the send- off, but she was able to interview a material witness, 12 year old grandson Blaze:

Granny Hat: Blaze, what did you think of the southern PCT terminus?

Blaze: The monument was made of wood, I thought it would be stone. The border wall is way bigger and longer than I expected. There was a wide road all along it for the border patrol vehicles. There were a lot of people at the trail head to help with sign- in and just watching the hikers leave. They told dad where water could be found on the trail and warned him that there was a rattlesnake spotted at mile 8.

Granny Hat: Was your dad nervous?

Blaze: As we drove up Dad said, “This is crazy! Somebody stop me!” I think he was a little nervous.

Granny Hat: Were you nervous for your dad?

Blaze: When we were pulling up, we were all nervous. We got to walk a few miles with him on the trail and then it was time for him to go ahead and he just disappeared into the bushes. It was disconcerting to see him leave. As mom and I drove away, I got carsick. I don’t think it was nerves; I think it was the windy road.

Granny Hat: Was it already hot in the desert?

Blaze: It was really hot. Dad was wearing long pants and a sweatshirt; don’t know how he could do that. It was very green though from all the rain they got in California. I didn’t expect that.

Granny Hat: I heard you got to do some fun things in Southern California before you took your dad to the trail.

Blaze: We got to go to Disneyland and Disney California. That was really fun. I liked the Cars Ride and the Radiator Springs town, but my favorite ride was Guardians of the Galaxy that used to be Tower of Terror. Grandma, you have to go on that ride, but watch the movie first. We also went to Medieval Times and our blue knight won. Dad’s team wins every time he goes to Medieval Times.

Granny Hat: Now that he has been on the PCT for a few days, do you have any impressions?

Blaze: I think it’s cool that he’s doing this, and I really like that he’s been sending notifications, you know, videos and pictures.

Granny Hat: If you could give your dad a trail name, what would it be?

Blaze: Determined! Maybe that isn’t really a name, but it describes dad. His call sign nickname from the Air Force is cool too, Heat.

Christopher is still awaiting a trail name. For new readers, Granny will explain. It is traditional for thru hikers to adopt a Trail Name. Some choose their own moniker, but she has it on good authority that this practice is fudging. Your trail name should be given you by a fellow traveler who notices something remarkable, funny, silly even about you and your hiking habits. The hikers use these names to sign in at rest stops and to introduce themselves to other trekkers.

According to a web site called Halfway Anywhere, this is an important, weighty tradition:

“Simply put, a trail name is the name you assume to be reborn with on the trail. Thru-hikers do not answer to the arbitrary labels bestowed upon them at their birth without their input or consent. The subtle power exerted by your parents or guardians over you during the course of your life holds no weight on the trail. The trail is a place of freedom and liberation from the shackles of societal norms. The trail is a place for you to find yourself, to become Hummingbird or Bearclaw. If you want the full PCT experience, then you need a trail name. You can’t call yourself a thru-hiker without one. ” !!! SO THERE!

Granny read lists of these trail names in the Kennedy Meadow’s roster several years ago. Some sound heroic like Aragorn or Odysseus. Others were just very descriptive; Long Shanks, Carrot Top, Smiley, Silver Fox. Still others address food cravings a hiker might have; Cookie Monster, Pancake, Vegemite. And then there are determination names; Sensei, Pilgrim, Mission. Funny names include Generic Eric, Skinny Dip (Granny wonders about that one), Stinky Pete and Pants on Fire (Granny is also curious about this one). For now, “Christopher” is hiking the trail; Granny hopes a decent, memorable trail name will be bestowed on him.

In Christopher’s words:

“My feet are great, little bit of back pain, but my hip flexors? We had a little discussion, and they were like “pssst, we hate you”. So, gonna stretch those out, make dinner. I’m actually camped at Boulder Oaks Camp, had to pay a little fee but it’s got water and I don’t have to dig a hole…….. It is a beautiful night, really gorgeous but it is a little lonely. I’ve met a lot of people, they’re all great but they’re all 20!”

“Hi family, today we are going to walk and talk. Today was no joke, started at Boulder Oaks and I was like ‘eh, 15 miles, it’ll be no big deal.’ No, that 15 miles to Mt. Laguna was brutal, I do have blisters now, but my hip flexors are fine. I gave them some dried capers and they were happy with that, but my calves – they’re now mad so I’ll give them some Mt. House Creme Brulee tomorrow and they’ll be fine. I’m walking to a tavern in Mt. Laguna, I’ll have a burger or something. Came into camp here and the Wolverines of the PCT, basically a cult, they clapped for me and had a tent spot for me and a beer. I’m not a big fan of cults but hey, I’ll join this one for the night. Hard day but good. Darwin on the Trail, I follow him, and he said the third day is always a good day of hiking of any thru hike. I don’t know if that’s entirely true, day was tough but for me it was really good.”

(Granny Hat had never heard of the Wolverines of the PCT, maybe they weren’t around when Mission hiked the PCT in 20218 but she looked them up and they are a group of PCT hikers who have become trail angels and they take their calling very seriously, shall we say.)

“Day Four and I came over this ridge, had a really nice view, but the wind was ripping my tent apart, literally apart, so I said, I’m going press on and go far until I find something, so I found this great spot sheltered in the brush, hardly any wind, it’s awesome and super quiet. I can snore as loud as I want to.

One thing, prepare yourselves, this could get emotional. Day Two was rough, I was like ‘what am I doing? This is the stupidest thing ever, what am I doing, why?’ I’m still working on the why. I’ll tell you later.”

 

I will raise my eyes to the mountains;
From where will my help come?
 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who watches over you will not slumber.
Behold, He who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore. Psalm 121