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[pct-l] Trail closed, huh? --- Pacific "Coast" Trail



Argh!  Why do they always say "coast" trail?  Even my Mom still does this!
 
yogi
www.pcthandbook.com
 
 


Wayne Kraft <waynekraft@verizon.net> wrote:[from the Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI]
Pacific coast hiker's trail closed
Friday, May 13, 2005
BARRIE BARBER
THE SAGINAW NEWS
After 353 miles, David Estrada headed home from the mountains.

But it was not his choice, the Saginaw Township man said.

U.S. Forest Service rangers closed snow-covered trails along the Pacific 
Crest Trail, ending his dream to hike from Mexico to British Columbia.

Still, the 64-year-old retired Delphi Saginaw Steering Systems worker raised 
at least $1,000 for the American Cancer Society in memory of his friend and 
fellow hiker, Jack Pallett of Marquette. They met on the Appalachian Trail 
three years ago. Pallett died of pancreatic cancer at 59.

Estrada stopped his most recent trek May 7 in the San Gabriel Mountains at 
Phelan, Calif.

"I've never given up on anything in my life," Estrada said. "It really made 
me feel so bad, especially because I was doing it for my buddy."

Estrada started April 20 at Campo, Mexico.

Along the way, he fought Mother Nature continually, including a bout with 
desert heat.

"Very hot," he said. "I almost got heat stroke in one section. I had to 
throw myself under some brush."

In another desert spot, he put on heavy clothing as he trudged through 
winter-like winds.

"It was just blowing you away," Estrada said. "I had to put winter gear on 
to keep going. That surprised the heck out of me. I wasn't expecting that at 
all."

Cagey critters made it a necessity to walk cautiously, too.

"I ran into a rattlesnake that I've never seen that big," he said. "It was 
like the (width) of a coke bottle" and three to four feet long.

The former U.S. Army paratrooper has asbestosis, a progressive lung disease, 
although he exercised and lifted weights to prepare for the journey.

Estrada, who completed the 2,160-mile trek along the Appalachian Trail, said 
he might try the Pacific Crest Trail again someday.


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