This April-September I walked 2,660miles from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail.The journey was the biggest challenge of my life and a huge milestone. Here you will find journal entries, gear reviews, photos, and video. I hope my blog will inspire you to adventure and follow your dreams.
-Marc "Imperial Gourmet" Fendel
I hope your 2015 brings you health, happiness, and of course adventure. I wanted to give you a heads up that there is a beautiful article about Andy Lyon aka: "Astro" in the March 2015 issue of Backpacker Magazine. Or pick up a copy today from your local newstand and get inspired!
On a personal note I want to say thank you to Casey Lyons for writing a beautiful narative of Astro's story and legacy. This April will be three years since I set out on my own thru hike of the PCT. I could never imagined how much a long walk would effect my life years later. It is staggering. I have so much gratitude for my 2012 journey. So, thank you to all who made it so special. You know who you are. I will leave you with this....
Gourmet: "Oakdale, you walked over 6,000 miles on the PCT in the last three years. Why?"
Oakdale: (In a fake southern accent) "Well, ya know Gourmet..."It's the most beautiful trail in the world."
Happy new year everyone! I hope that your 2015 brings you health, happiness, and of course adventure. We are anxiously awaiting the March issue of Backpacker Magazine which comes out at the end of January. Our dear friend Astro is the subject of feature story. I have discussed Astro quite a bit on this blog. Andy Lyon aka: "Astro" was our dear friend who thru-hiked the PCT in 2012. Sadly he lost his life to cancer only a year after he finished the trail. He left a wonderful legacy of strength and determination and I am excited to share his story as told by Casey Lyons who is undoughtedly one of the finest outdoor writers today. So keep your eyes out for that issue! Happy Trails...-Gourmet
I was hiking on the PCT August 29th in the Desolation Wilderness just north of Lake Aloha. There was a rescue helicopter crew looking for a lost hiker. The man was in his late 70's. Good news... They found him alive. We ran into several members from local rescue. Wow...
We had a delightful reunion in Shasta City with Astro's folks, Deon, and Dave. Thanks to all for a wonderful weekend. Memories of my PCT hike came flooding back as I enjoyed the town without the hustle of prepairing for the next section of trail. There are so many wonderful places to explore in the area. I'll be back! Enjoy, Imperial Gourmet
I am in love with this mountain. The hulking giant simply never gets old to me, and yesterday did not disappoint. If you are a skier or snowboarder then you know that this season has been fairly disheartening in terms of new snow. The good news is that there's always snow at Mt. Rainier making it a huge destination for everyone who loves the white stuff. The parking lot at Paradise was full of kids getting ready to go snowshoeing and inner tubing, a few hundred back-country skiers and snowboarders, and the casual tourists pleased to get a perfect look at the majesty of the monstrous volcano.
Have you seen the Hulder Bors? Well, pray you never do. She is the embodiment of the of the perfect female, save the long tail hidden beneath her robes. She dwells in the far places where order turns to chaos, when your supplies are depleted and hypothermia sets in. She’ll tempt lost hikers to follow her down to the underworld from where there is no return. The Hulder is strong and independent. However, if you entice her to follow you back to your world and marry her, the tail will fall off and she’ll become an ordinary woman. Somewhere in Norway there’s a church with a room full of discharged tails. -Knut The Ancient Norse from the Old World.
Hiking out Tehachapi proved to be so windy that I wished I had a pair of ski goggles. I couldn’t get my tarp-tent to stay up in 70mph winds. I went up to the largest joshua tree I could find to take cover from the wind. I quickly realized that joshua trees don’t work as wind shelters unless you like spooning with a tree posed as a cactus. Joshua trees are home to Southern California and have a woody trunk with big big puffballs of long spiky leaves giving it a unique Dr. Seuss quality.The wind basically blows right through the tree which hardly moves at all. I tried for an hour to set up my tarp-tent. It kept on blowing over despite my best efforts and help from two others who unfortunately had the same problem. After almost an hour of failed attempts, my frustration got the best of me. I gave up on it. Tarp-tent is a great option for a lightweight fully enclosed tent, but it requires the use of one trekking pole and stakes which were impossible to get to stay in the desert sand. Thankfully it wasn’t raining. I did my best to hide from the wind in a rock outcropping only to find that not only was the wind blowing from all directions, but to make matters worse I looked around with my headlamp and realized I was sleeping on the local community of rodent refuse heap. With the last pink glow of daylight disappearing, I sulked while fussing with gear. I wrapped the tarp-tent around me like bivy sack and made the best of it. The sides of the tarp were flapping loudly in the wind. I was miserable, and the shut-eye would not come easy, and the morning wouldn’t arrive fast enough. I wished there was a night-time fast forward button. I finally drifted off to sleep.
Completely startled I woke up an hour later. Something was on top of my tarp! It was slightly heavy. I shook my feet as I felt around for my headlamp. I turned it on. There was an inch of snow on top of me! I cursed at the snow and tried to shake it off. It’s not supposed to snow here in the desert! I looked at my watch and was depressed to find that it was only 11:30pm. The next morning I was a complete wreck. I was sleep deprived. Chrome Dome Crew had talked about doing slightly more than twenty miles. I got up at first light. The wind was still howling. I started walking. I could make out a tiny figure a few hundred yards away from me. Perhaps one of my comrades. I finally made my way up to the man. "Hi, I am Gourmet." With a thick european accent "Hey I am Bronco. I live in San Francisco but I am originally from Slovania." "I didn't think I'd see anybody hiking this early." I couldn't sleep, because of the wind." "Me either." I continued walking. Bronco passed me as I was moving slowly and still tired. "Hey Bronco you haven't seen any other hikers this morning have you?" "Not yet." "Ok. Thanks." I figured my friends were still behind me. It was all I could do to make six miles. I arrived at a giant water cash at Bird Spring Pass, PCT mile 631 which is at the base of a 1,500 foot climb. To the southeast you could see all the way down Bird Spring Canyon. The hills are scorched by the sun with only plants that grow are low to the ground making it easy to see the shape of the terrain. Looking north I could see the trail zigzagging all the way up a big hill. I sat in the dirt next to several hundred gallons of water. I was played out. I decided I’d camp right there next to the water. I had no energy and I was miserable.
Sure enough just twenty minutes later Noamp shows up. “Hey Gourmet. What are you doing?” “I think I am going to camp here. I am wiped out. I didn’t get any sleep and that 1,500 foot climb is
daunting. It’s laughing at me. You guys can go on. I’ll catch up tomorrow. I am just not up for it.” Noamp frowned and looked at me. I looked pathetic and on the verge of tears. Noamp has a very nuturing personality. It's no surprise she's a nanny off trail. She has a round face, glasses, and long blonde hair. She took off her backpack and set it on the ground. Then she starts digging around in her pack and pulls out a plastic bag with a bunch of orange powder in it. She made up a drink of gatorade in a two liter bottle. She hands it to me and says “I want you to drink this whole thing. Now.” I frowned and said “Yes M’am.” “Finish that and then we are going to walk up that hill together.” I had no energy to argue with her. She had already finished the Appalachian Trail two years previous and had completed several hundred miles on the PCT in 2011. Noamp was a professional. I drank the sickly sweet gatorade and got up. Noamp started hiking in front of me. A few lone tears ran down my cheeks as we started in on our insurmountable climb up the switchbacks. Any other day I wouldn't have thought twice about walking right up there. Sure enough, ten minutes later I started to feel a bit better. And just forty minutes afterward, we were at the top of our climb basking in the warm sunlight and snacking on all kinds of goodies. The cool breeze on top of the ridge and the sweet smell of the desert lifted my spirits. I thanked Noamp for saving me and apologized to her for being such a stick in the mud with my bad behavior back at the water cache. She didn’t seem to mind. From then on I’d always tell other hikers that they should listen to Noamp. She’s a pro. A year later she completed the Continental Divide Trail making her what we call a “Triple Crowner.” That is someone who has completed the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. Later that day...
