#andersons

An endless list of my favorite outfits worn by the Princess of Wales (35/∞)

Visiting the University of Derby to hear how the Covid-19 impacted students’ mental health, on October 6th 2020, wearing:

Massimo Dutti handcrafted checked wool coat

Massimo Dutti aquamarine cashmere crew neck sweater

Joseph Coleman light wool trousers

Gianvito Rossi piper 85 black suede pumps

All The Falling Stars gold disc circle earrings

All The Falling Stars gold three layered disk necklace

Halcyon Days aquamarine and gold bangle

Cartier watch

04x03 “The Aftermath” - May 21, 2021

Anderson’s “White Split Belt” - $180.00

By Rees Hughes

This review of the year has become a trailsidereader.com tradition.  However, instead of our usual Top Ten, we are going with just five because of #1.

1) Well . . . the Covid-19 has to take top billing. The PCTA took the lead in the efforts to discourage thru-hiking the PCT in 2020.  Rural communities, with minimal capacity for health services, adjacent to the trail certainly did not want thousands of hikers passing through.  And emergency services, potentially preoccupied with Covid-19, did not want the unnecessary broken leg or mountain rescue to deal with. As a result, many a trip was delayed, deferred, or cancelled in 2020.  The PCTA took additional actions to suppress social media (e.g., de-activating Facebook pages for the Class of 2020).  Although there were those who did not heed the warnings, activity on the PCT was definitely diminished.

The nasty virus that changed 2020

2) Fires.  So we thought that the fires of 2018 re-set the fire season bar to an amazingly high level until 2020 exploded in mid-summer and raged through the autumn.  Fires were more intense, more massive, more destructive, and more widespread.  In California, nearly 4.2 million acres burned, more than double the previous record of 1.67 million acres in 2018. Five out six of California’s largest fires on record occurred in 2020, including the largest in state history – the 1.03-milllion acre August Complex fire.

California’s August Complex fire on September 8

The PCT was impacted in a number of areas by closures, intense smoke, and fire damage . . . from the Transverse Range in Southern California to the Bucks Lake/Quincy area to the Central Oregon Cascades.  It is worth noting that fire in 2020 was a global phenomenon with record fire seasons in Australia, Brazil, and even the Arctic.

At the root of the extreme fire season on the West Coast was climate change.  Unless the record high temperatures accompanied by drought conditions change -- and there is no reason to think that they will -- the experience of 2020 is likely to become the new normal for the PCT.

3) Photos to Inspire You to Walk the PCT.  We ran a series through much of March and April that featured several dozen hiker responses to this prompt.  Here are a couple of images contributed by Mala Cuffo.  If you missed them, it is worth going back to those early months of spring.

4) Farewell to Angels. Eric Smith wrote a thank you to some of the long-time trail angels whose kindness and generosity has helped define trail culture.  The Saufleys (Hiker Heaven), Barney and Sandy Mann (Scout and Frodo), the Andersons at Casa de Luna, and Carmen in Julian (Carmen’s Restaurant) all have either closed or have announced their intent to close ‘angeling’ operations.  You can read Eric’s post here:

https://pcttrailsidereader.com/post/190683149223/farewell-to-angels

Terry Anderson at Casa de Luna

As numbers have grown along the PCT starting earlier and earlier in the season (lasting longer), the commitment can become overwhelming. I am one of the many who benefited from the gracious, open arms of each of these angels.

5) Getting Out.  Although not PCT-specific, the pandemic reinforced the importance of getting outside, spending time in nature, and celebrating trails, parks, forests, and wilderness.  As we learned more about how the coronavirus spreads, it became clear that some of the safest places we could be were outdoors where the wind dissipates any concentration of the virus.  I know that for me and many in our community that there was a reawakening regarding the importance of resources like public beaches and parks, trails for walking and cycling and equestrians, etc.  Indicative of this reawakening, our local community passed a ‘parks and open space’ tax in November with 80% approval . . .

Epilogue

It is unclear what 2021 will bring.  The roll out of the vaccine gives me hope that there will be a return to a more normal PCT experience.  However, it seems unlikely that distribution will be sufficiently widespread by March and April to permit thru-hikers to make their normal early start.  This, combined with California’s escalating drought conditions, would suggest that by late July fires will be impacting trail users.  I’m thinking that it will be a great year for some section-hiking . . . there are so many reasons to get out there (see Joris Bouchard’s image below from the ‘Photos that Inspire You to Walk the PCT’ series).