Adventurous Dad = Adventurous Children

So, this has been the longest stretch of time without a word from Teddy. I don't think he will have much to report, as he is by himself, hiking through the last part of the Mojave Desert.  He is approaching Kennedy Meadows, which will be an exciting stop for Teddy, as once he arrives there, he will pick up a new pair of hiking shoes he had ordered, his ice axe, and a bunch of goodies from the kids and I.  It is our hope that all the Snickers bars and girl scout cookies aren't melted and crushed by the time he receives them.  Once arriving in Kennedy Meadows, Teddy will have walked 703 miles - only 1,947 left to go.  What an adventurer.

The kids are hanging in there, anxiously awaiting for Teddy to call, ready to catch him up on all that we are doing to keep busy.  They truly channeled their dad's adventurous spirit on Sunday, when they decided to go groundhog hunting in our back yard. Rubi, our dog, was barking at something that was under a piece of fencing.  Instead of bringing the dog inside, Dakota and Jagger decided to lift up the piece of fencing to see what Rubi was barking at.  Rubi anxiously waited in attack mode while the kids lifted lawn chairs, fencing, and planks of wood to uncover what was described as an enormous groundhog.  Jagger told me later it was the size of the gas tank for the barbecue.  Rubi was trying to bite it, it was up on its hind legs hissing at the kids and the dog, while the kids were totally freaking out, now not knowing what to do.  They surprisingly were able to grab the dog, and ran inside.  What they did not anticipate was all of the mud that Rubi brought in with her.  So, while I was out, now they had a muddy house, a dog that was freaking out, and a huge groundhog loose in the back yard.

via google images

I did not receive the call about any of this until after the fact - after the kids cleaned Rubi, after cleaning up all of the mud that got into the house, after all of the fencing had been put back in its place, along with the planks of wood and the lawn furniture.  Now that I know what my adventurous children are TRULY capable of, there should be no problems with the chores I give them - ranging from "empty the dishwasher" to "fold up the clean towels."  Any complaints from them now, and I will just send them back outside to hunt for the groundhog.


We anticipate Teddy calling in the next day or two - as soon as he does, I will be sure to report all that is unfolding in his adventure, and hopefully nothing else on the groundhog hunting going on here.

~The Thruhiker's Wife

Rashes & Record Temperatures = Really Rough Ramble

via google images

Ok, so Teddy is a month into his trip - every time he calls, he sounds so strong, energetic and speaks in such a positive way.  Enter poodle-dog bush.  Pictured at left, this plant is covering many parts of the trail in Southern California.  Teddy has unfortunately been introduced to this beautiful, yet harmful plant along the way.  According to Wikipedia, poodle-dog bush causes severe irritation if touched, akin to poison oak or stinging nettle.  It can raise blisters lasting as long as two weeks.  Even worse, Teddy also came into contact with poison oak, so between the two, he is sporting a nasty, itchy, uncomfortable rash.  It appears on his skin as if he was burned - he said it is really gross and extremely uncomfortable.  Hopefully it will go away before its two week span is up. To make matters worse, there have been record heat waves in the area where he is hiking.  He said yesterday, it registered at 104 degrees, and I am sure, with hiking through the Mojave desert, his situation cannot be too comfortable. The photo below was taken by Teddy on his cell phone as he began the Mojave Desert -  in all the days he has been walking, there has not been a day of rain.

Mojave Desert via google images

I have tried to find other hikers' photos to post, so you have an idea of the terrain that Teddy is hiking through.  The photos are from the PCT website, taken by other hikers along their journey.

 

    Photo by Tim Gallagher

Photo by Nick Legg

Hang in there, Scarecrow - before you know it your rash will be healed, your body rehydrated, and you will be calling me about record snowfalls in the Sierra Mountains, where you will be using your mighty ice axe and subzero tolerant sleeping bag.  Brrrrrrr....

The Thruhiker's Wife