Flip Flops in October??

via google images

A surprised call from Teddy - I, as always, immediately began bombarding him with the questions - how far did you get? where are you now??  His response... "Babe, I have a situation."  I continued to talk over him, letting him know that I was able to, with help, get everything done that he needed from Monday's call, and when each of the packages would arrive, etc.  He interrupted pretty firmly, and repeated, "Babe, I have a situation."


More panic set in, but this time I could not contain it... of course, my first reaction was to begin crying - yes, I was hysterical even before I heard of what he was saying... He promptly told me that he was not hurt, but was not sure of if he would be able to finish the trail.  A flood of everything came rushing in... confusion, sadness, frustration, worry, anger... strangely enough, never relief.  What could have gone wrong that would cause him to stop NOW?? With almost 1,900 miles under his belt... what could possibly be happening ??


A freak snow storm in Oregon - that's what is happening.  Let me start from the beginning of Teddy's latest story.  After hiking out of Crater Lake for about 20 miles, Teddy pitched his tent for the night in Diamond Lake - a camping area in the woods about 7 miles from the PCT.  It had been raining, so when he removed his boots, he opened up all the laces, pulled out the tongue, and let them air out for the night in his tent.  When he awoke the next morning, 4 inches of snow had fallen, and his boots were FROZEN OPEN.  The socks he took off the night before were rolled up and frozen like baseballs... he packed up his camp, hands, feet and boots frozen and began hiking back towards the trail.  Because of the snow, he lost the trail.  He turned around and walked about a mile and a half onto the highway and made his way back to Diamond Lake to have some lunch and figure out what to do next.  It had stopped snowing down where he was eating, so he figured it wasn't snowing on the trail either, so hiked the 7 miles back into the trail to find another 4+ inches of snow had fallen.  He would never be able to maneuver through 8+ inches of snow, on a trail he could not locate, with shoes that were frozen open and about to expire.  Yes, if you remember, one of the things Teddy needed from Monday was a new pair of shoes... it is now 28 degrees out, and mentally and physically exhausted and frozen, Teddy said he nearly left his stuff on the trail and was thinking about heading to the nearest airport.  He trekked AGAIN back to Diamond Lake, and called me with his "situation."


My words of encouragement, support, and love were not working - any time Teddy called and he felt lonely or tired, I was able to talk him through it.  We were always able to turn things around and leave the conversation on a positive note.  Not today.  It didn't look as if I was going to be able to turn things around today.  We talked for a little while, and after throwing some different  ideas around, some alternate plans for moving forward, Teddy decided to go take a hot shower, clear his head, and he would call me back.  I knew in my heart that Teddy did not want to stop hiking.  I knew he did not want to fall short on his goal of being a PCT thruhiker... he just didn't see how he could go on under the current circumstances.  And quite frankly, neither did I.  


After a good cry and a wonderful conversation with Teddy's sister Dawn, I was ready to hear from Teddy when he called.  My clarity in the situation and faith in Teddy and his mission was restored by Dawn, her Angel cards, and lots of prayers to God.  I was ready to help him turn things around.  I was ready to help him get back on his way.  I prayed that he too, was ready.


He did call, and I believe a hot shower and some food did Teddy wonders.  We got back on the phone and made a plan.   Enter "flip flop".  According to Wikipedia,   flip-flopping can take many forms but is often the term used to describe beginning at one end (on the PCT, usually the southern end) of the trail and then, at some point, like reaching the Sierra, going to the end of the trail (Manning Park in B.C.) and hiking southbound to finish the trail.
With maps in front of both of us, Teddy explained how he would, with the help of several trail angels, get driven up to Cascade Locks, the last town stop in Oregon, about 300 miles up the trail.

He will continue from that point, and hike north into Canada to the Northern Terminus of the trail, and then get back to Cascade Locks and hike the last 300 miles he had to skip due to the freak snow storm that had occurred.  Now, in case you are wondering, YES - Teddy would still be considered a thruhiker.  Thruhiking is a term used in referring to hikers who complete long distance trails from end-to-end in a single trip.  Basically, it does not matter what order you hike it in, as long as it is in the same calendar year, in one continuous trip.  
Ultimately, Teddy discerned that flip-flopping and finishing was more enticing than dangerously moving forward through the remaining 30% of the trail with an uncertain outcome.

Several things had to happen here to make this new plan a success.  I had to cancel his new shoe order, find a boot outfitter up in the next town, and he needed to secure a ride up the trail.  All were a success... confirmation email of the cancellation was received, there is a new pair of size 14 boots (and on sale - yipee) waiting for Teddy in Bend, Oregon and a trail angel named Lloyd Gust, along with Lloyd Miller will travel 45+ miles to retrieve Teddy, bring him to get his boots, packages, resupply and up to Cascade Locks.  

From there, Teddy will hike the Washington section of the trail and then return to finish the remaining 300 miles of Oregon.  Like I try to do in any situation,  let me point out all of the POSITIVES:  Scarecrow will now be hiking with other thruhikers in Washington, he will bypass the nasty storm going on in Oregon, take advantage of the opportunity to hike the rest of the trail without fear of it closing down due to weather, and go back when the weather is favorable in Oregon.  The only down-side to this plan - he will not have completed the trail "in order".  Small sacrifice to make for his safety, and possibly jeopardizing his status as a thruhiker of the PCT.  Anyway, who doesn't like flip flops??

Relieved to be continuing as,
~The Thruhiker's Wife~