Experiences and a life worth sharing..
Day 246
11-8-2006
Started: Locke, CA
Finished: San Joaquin, CA
Today's Miles: 24.0
Total Miles: 3998.1
It was really nice to get the day started with some company in camp this morning. Having other long distance hikers around is something that we haven't had the opportunity to experience much on this hike, but today we were fortunate enough to "share" our hiking experiences with not only one, but two groups of long distance hikers. When we headed out of Locke this morning we had no idea that by the end of the day today we would not only be hiking with Jacob and Tamar, a couple who started at the Atlantic Ocean with their sights set on the Pacific Ocean earlier this year, but we would also be hiking with Ken and Marsha, a couple who successfully completed a hike from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean last year. Only a short distance from Locke we came upon the riverside town of Walnut Grove. The corner café in Walnut Grove had a sign out front advertising hot coffee, so obviously Sheri couldn't resist getting her caffeine fix. After a quick stop we continued this mornings hike on a combination of levees and roads through farmland and along sloughs across the flats of the Delta. We spent a lot of time walking near the water on the tops of levees, and across a good portion of the Delta we were at an elevation that was below sea level. We talked about how stressful it must be to have to put your faith in the levee system to keep you and your house from flooding away. When we reached the riverside town of Isleton we heard some first hand reports of just how threatening it is to live around the power of rising water. The owner of a cozy little coffee shop on the main drag in town showed us pictures of buildings that had been hit hard by flooding water, the water was so high that you could use a row boat to get to the second story doors. We weren't at the coffee shop long before Jacob and Tamar came strolling through the front doors. We hung out and enjoyed listening to the shop owners entertaining and colorful stories about local life while Sheri sipped on her second cup of coffee and Jacob and Tamar ate a couple muffins. We didn't hang out too long because we felt like we needed to hike at a good pace today seeing as how we had decided that we were going to try and get a big chunk of miles in with the hope of creating an opportunity for a few shorter mile days when our families arrive at the beginning of the week next week. Because Jacob and Tamar have a plan of hitting the coast at the end of the week next week they had decided to take on a more casual pace and so when we all continued out of town we told them we were sure we would see them again soon and to have a great day of hiking and then we picked up our pace with the hopes of making it to the San Joaquin River by the end of the day. A few hours later we had a moment of "trail magic" that enabled us to meet our distance goal and also enabled us to see Jacob and Tamar even sooner then we had thought we would. The "magic" happened just when we were least expecting it. We reached a levee road this afternoon that had a big sign on it that said, "Private Levee Road, No Trespassing". We double checked our guide and after being sure that our route was definitely supposed to go on the "Private Levee" we decided we would just be sure to tread lightly and hope not to see anyone while quickly making our way the hand full of miles down the "Private Levee" to our next turn. We were getting close to our next turn when we realized that there were two people coming our way down the "Private Levee". Sheri looked up and said, "well, if we are on a Private Levee these two will probably be the one's to let us know." As the two walkers got closer Sheri came up with another theory. Sheri thought out loud, "that might be the Powers". Marsha and Ken Powers are long distance hiking enthusiasts who live out here in California. The Powers hiked from the Atlantic to the Pacific last year and have been a great resource, for both Jacob and Tamar and us, on our hikes this year. As the walkers narrowed in on us an energetic woman asked, "are you the Propsters?" In response Sheri asked, "are you the Powers?" The huge smiles on all our faces was the only answer any of us needed! The Powers explained how they had seen Jacob and Tamar a few miles back as they drove past on a road that is across the water from the "Private Levee" and had decided to park at the next turn and walk back toward them. When they saw two hikers coming up the levee they were at first amazed at how fast Jacob and Tamar had covered the distance, they then realized that it wasn't Jacob and Tamar at all, it was us. We were so excited to meet two more long distance hikers and couldn't resist the opportunity to have six hikers get together and "share" stories of our cross country experiences. We hung out and chatted with the Powers until Jacob and Tamar came strolling up the levee. We happily took Ken and Marsha up on their offer to spend the rest of the afternoon hiking together and then go back to their house for a night of "trail magic". We all had grins from ear to ear as we made our way to the San Joaquin River. The bridge over the river was a giant arch that is almost two miles long and the walkway is on the same level as the oncoming heavy traffic. Marsha took the car over to the west side of the river and walked back toward the rest of us. Her energy and full of life attitude exposed itself as she came flying up over the top of the bridge waving at the five of us as we were still making the climb up the east side. After completing the hazardous bridge crossing we all piled in to Marsha and Ken's car and headed for their house. As many hikers find, conversation quickly turned to food. The Powers knew just what four hungry hikers would need and they treated us to a wonderful meal at a pizza place called Zachary's Pizza. The owners of Zachary's are friends of the Powers and when they heard that Ken and Marsha had brought four cross country hikers into the restaurant they had the manager bring us all Zachary's T-shirts, in our choice of size and color, as their way of congratulating us on our Journeys. After a filling dinner we headed for the Powers house. After hitting the showers we sat around and shared stories, watched a slide show of photos from Ken and Marsha's hike and took great comfort in being around others that knew first hand "WHY". We have been asked so many times, "Why would you want to walk across the country?", and in the company we were in today, everybody knows "WHY". We have found that observing how people choose to live their lives and taking the time to hear the stories that the great people of this country have to tell has been one of the most rewarding experiences of our Journey. Hearing the stories from people who have made the choice to live a lifestyle similar to the lifestyle we are currently living has also been very rewarding. The desire that each of us had to "share", and not "compare" our hikes was very refreshing. While each of us might be living a long distance backpacking lifestyle, seeing some of the same terrain and experiencing some of the same conditions, we are all taking each and every individual step as just that, an individual. The sights, sounds and feelings that each of us has been fortunate enough to experience throughout our Journeys have all been observed and absorbed with our own unique set of senses and it's those unique experiences that makes us all so passionate about living the long distance backpacking lifestyle. As a group of six Individuals we all recognize how fortunate we are to have a significant other, another Individual, to "share" our experiences with, and for that matter, another individual to "share" our Life with. "Sharing" our unique experiences has enabled all of us to feel a camaraderie and a bond that we are so fortunate to have as part of our Journey. The stories that Jacob, Tamar, Ken and Marsha "shared" with us have now become part of our journey and their experiences have added to our "value". We know that we can learn from the life lessons that their Journey's have taught them and take comfort in knowing that there are more "crazy" people in this world who enjoy the same types of adventures that we do. If there is a life lesson we could pass on it would be for everyone to think about your own life and evaluate whether or not you spend more time "sharing" or "comparing". If everyone could concentrate their efforts on spending their energy "sharing" their life with others and worry less about "comparing" their life to the lives of others we would all benefit from an increase in "value". This country has shown us many examples of individuals who are more concerned with being just like their peers, or "keeping up with the Jones". We have found it to be a rare, yet beautiful thing when individuals have the desire to be just that, Individuals. We are loving being able to spend quality time with four Individuals who understand the benefit of "sharing" the experiences of their Journeys. We would have a hard time finding more passionate Individuals, and are grateful that they have all become a beautiful piece of our Journey. We look forward to "sharing" more time with all of them, and hope to continue to find passionate Individuals who spend less time concerned with "comparing" and spend more time improving their "value" through "sharing"!
Your Friends on the ADT,
Randy and Sheri
Follow our Journey at www.treckusa.com
