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HitTheTrail Member
Joined: 30 Oct 2007 Posts: 5455 | TRs | Pics Location: 509 |
This article was in the Wenatchee World paper. Guess who's daughter Hannah is?
Hannah & Chelan
Who: Hannah Kiser and Chelan Pauly — both 25 years old Wenatchee High School alumni with a love for science, the outdoors, and Type II fun.
What: A 2,660 mile thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Where: From the Mexican border to the Canadian border. We’ll hike through the Southern California mountains and Mojave Desert. Up into the Sierra Nevadas to the top of the Mt. Whitney (highest peak in the lower 48 states), through the volcanic landscapes of Northern California and Oregon. Then, into our own stomping grounds of the Northern Cascades.
When: Starting May 4 and hopefully finishing by the middle of September (that’s averaging 20 miles a day).
Why: To celebrate a quarter-century of life, do something a little crazy, and more importantly to raise money for an organization called Inspiring Girls Expeditions. For every mile we hike, we plan to raise at least $1 to help send a high school girl on a wilderness-science education expedition. This means each step is not only part of a personal adventure but also part of a broader purpose. Please go to https://www.crowdrise.com/pct-fundraiser-raising-1-for-every-mile-we-hike-to-help-future-young-adventurers/fundraiser/chelanpauly to learn more.
How did you decide to hike the PCT?
Hannah: Chelan and I mentioned doing it in passing throughout the years and I always told her she had to wait until I was done running competitively, or she’d have to do it twice. Last spring I decided to take a break from competitive running, started backpacking a lot, and thru hiking the PCT came to mind. Being millennials, this journey of 2,660 miles started with a text: “Hey Chelan, want to hike the PCT?!” and I think her response was, “Yes! You’re serious, right?.” We decided that if we put it off more than a year the probability of us being in a better situation to do it wouldn’t be guaranteed, so we made the leap and committed last August.
How do you know each other?
Hannah: We met back in 7th grade as dorky cross-country runners with pigtails, braces and bodies that didn’t fit us yet. They say if you’re friends for seven years it’s likely you’ll stay friends for life. It’s been 14 so I think we’re good. We ran, took classes, joined clubs together throughout high school, and have stayed in close contact despite going different directions in life.
What have you done since leaving Wenatchee?
Chelan: I spent the year after high school as a Rotary exchange student living in Lima, Peru and then attended Whitman College. I continued running cross-country at Whitman, was heavily involved in the outdoor program and graduated in 2015 with a Biology and Geology degree. I spent the next two summers working for the Entiat Hotshots as a wildland firefighter and most recently spent the winter working at a Nordic ski lodge in Idaho.
Hannah: After high school I attended University of Idaho and ran cross-country and track while getting my degree in biochemistry. Since then, I’ve been working as a lab technician in a reproductive biology lab at Washington State University.
What are your goals for the hike?
Chelan: Having fought fire in many of the national forests on the West Coast, I want to explore and appreciate them from a recreationalists perspective. Personally I look forward to writing, drawing, and reflecting on the natural world and my role within it.
Hannah: My goal is to get back to that childhood-like feeling where you lose track of time, don’t look in a mirror for days and eat mac and cheese everyday. I would also like to make new friends in two minutes and sleep so hard not even a curious bear could wake me.
What are you most excited about?
Chelan: I am very excited about the trail community and the people I will meet.
Hannah: For me hiking the PCT is about celebrating my life. In college I didn’t take much time to reflect on races or seasons, or celebrate my and my team’s successes. As post-season competitions would be bigger, more competitive and more demanding of my focus and fitness. I don’t regret the sacrifices I made, it is so rare to have the opportunity to give your life to your passion but now that it’s over, the PCT is all the vacations and celebrations I never got to have.
What is one of your biggest fears?
Hannah: My big picture fear is that I will love thru-hiking so much I will have to become a bum and continue hiking until I have hiked all the long trails. Once I find something I enjoy, I am really good at making it into my life. A more life-threatening fear is the incredible snow pack in the Sierras this year.
Chelan: I am terrified of river crossings and running out of chocolate.
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DIYSteve seeking hygge
Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 12655 | TRs | Pics Location: here now |
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DIYSteve
seeking hygge
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Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:32 pm
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Magellan Brutally Handsome
Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 13116 | TRs | Pics Location: Inexorable descent |
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Magellan
Brutally Handsome
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Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:52 pm
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Great stuff! Go Hannah and Chelan!
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Leafguy Member
Joined: 16 Sep 2003 Posts: 525 | TRs | Pics Location: Wenatchee |
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Leafguy
Member
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Tue Apr 25, 2017 6:51 pm
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I sure would hate to have to keep up with them😜
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zephyr aka friendly hiker
Joined: 21 Jun 2009 Posts: 3370 | TRs | Pics Location: West Seattle |
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
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Tue Apr 25, 2017 8:16 pm
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Wonderful, HitTheTrail. Their story is inspiring already. Maybe you will update us on their journey from time to time. ~z
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GaliWalker Have camera will use
Joined: 10 Dec 2007 Posts: 4929 | TRs | Pics Location: Pittsburgh |
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GaliWalker
Have camera will use
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Tue Apr 25, 2017 8:31 pm
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Fantastic. Wishing them a safe and successful experience.
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RumiDude Marmota olympus
Joined: 26 Jul 2009 Posts: 3590 | TRs | Pics Location: Port Angeles |
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RumiDude
Marmota olympus
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Tue Apr 25, 2017 8:35 pm
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Right on!
Rumi
"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
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wildernessed viewbagger
Joined: 31 Oct 2004 Posts: 9275 | TRs | Pics Location: Wenatchee |
Will be an incredible experience for them. I imagine the prolonged immersion in the outdoors would make for an interesting transition when they are through. I may try to do a few days with them but I can't keep up with their pace or ability to recover.
Living in the Anthropocene
Living in the Anthropocene
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HitTheTrail Member
Joined: 30 Oct 2007 Posts: 5455 | TRs | Pics Location: 509 |
zephyr wrote: | Maybe you will update us on their journey from time to time. |
Actually, I have only met Hannah causally a couple of times and have never met Chelan. Wildernessed might be better at giving us updates. I am sure he will be in frequent contact with Hannah. I have coffee with him on a regular basis and will provide info as I can.
All the best of luck to them on their trek.
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The Lead Dog Member
Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 981 | TRs | Pics Location: Kent Wa |
Watch out for the freaking perv guys that hike the trail also. Pepper spray is best. Not for the Bears either. Be careful.
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drm Member
Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 1376 | TRs | Pics Location: The Dalles, OR |
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drm
Member
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Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:27 am
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This is one for all of us.
HitTheTrail wrote: | What is one of your biggest fears?
Hannah: My big picture fear is that I will love thru-hiking so much I will have to become a bum and continue hiking until I have hiked all the long trails. |
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zephyr aka friendly hiker
Joined: 21 Jun 2009 Posts: 3370 | TRs | Pics Location: West Seattle |
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
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Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:30 am
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HitTheTrail wrote: | Wildernessed might be better at giving us updates. I am sure he will be in frequent contact with Hannah. |
My apologies. I thought Hannah was your daughter. Must have read it too quickly. ~z
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HitTheTrail Member
Joined: 30 Oct 2007 Posts: 5455 | TRs | Pics Location: 509 |
zephyr wrote: | My apologies. I thought Hannah was your daughter. |
Oops, probably my fault. Hannah had been featured in several of Wildernessed's TR's lately so I assumed people would know. Sorry for the confusion.
My daughter is a technical climber and likes to travel vertical rather than horizontal. But she has a similar profile, holding an advanced degree in the hard sciences and currently working as a researcher. And she has been involved with the "Girls On Ice" program since she went through it when she was 14. In fact she is going out with them this summer to teach mountaineering skills.
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olderthanIusedtobe Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 7708 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
The Lead Dog wrote: | Watch out for the freaking perv guys that hike the trail also. Pepper spray is best. Not for the Bears either. Be careful. |
Really? From my limited experiences doing short segments of the PCT, I got the feeling that groups of people leap frog each other constantly but more or less stick together for days or weeks at a time. Like a large temporary family. Look out for and take care of each other. I would think traveling the PCT is relatively safe.
I encountered a couple of solo female hikers on the stretch that runs past Glacier Peak. They seemed like they were doing just fine.
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The Lead Dog Member
Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 981 | TRs | Pics Location: Kent Wa |
Really. Girls traveling alone get hit on all the time. Esp at campsites at night some prefer not to camp in established camps but off the trail. With a group, the odds are better, but solo girls are not so lucky. It used to be the biggest risk was the first part of the trail in Ca. hikers where were dodging people crossing the border. Now it is guys not being gentlemen, but predations. Check out the PCT girl hikers that are on the trail right now reports on You Tube If you don't believe me.
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