Guest blog from Mom!

The following post was written by my AMAZING mom about her experiences being my official support team! Besides the worrying (which she details below), mom has been mailing all of my resupply packages, sending me extra gear as needed (so thankful she sent the rain pants when she did!), and generally being my #1 fan. Mom, I couldn't do it without you!

Here it is, in her words:

My job in our family is to be the worrier! Nobody else does it nearly as well as I do. Actually, there is little competition. I'm not sure anyone else worries at all. So when Jenny announced last fall that she wanted to hike the PCT, I was the one to go into immediate action. Seriously, she had to be kidding! My cousins had hiked this Trail many years ago and the articles they sent back to their local newspaper read like something from Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air." I had also unfortunately read Cheryl Strayed's "Wild" before ever dreaming that my daughter would want to undertake this same challenge. Reading about near emergencies in every chapter left me breathless when I thought about all that could possibly happen to Jenny.

However, I knew there would be no changing Jenny's already made-up mind about this goal of 1700 miles. While I totally trust that she is a smart, organized, extremely capable young woman who shows good judgement and clear thinking, I could also imagine all kinds of things that might potentially go wrong. Jenny was originally planning to make this trip alone and began reading, making lists, dehydrating food, and buying equipment. I confess, "alone" made me crazy. So I made it my job to suggest all kinds of hiking companions. I was thrilled when her brother, Matthew, said he'd be excited to join her for a section of the Trail. And then, it got even better. She asked her boyfriend, Justin, to go with her and he too was in! Since then, several other friends have also jumped in for a week here & there. The result is that I've felt much better about it since two or three seem so much safer than one. Jenny did just finish a one-week solo section (she HAD to do it!) and even she admits that it's more fun to have a hiking companion. Thus, I think we're both equally as happy that Justin plans to continue hiking with her to the end. Thank you, Justin!!

There's one other major thing that has contributed greatly to my peace-of-mind -- the nightly SPOT email. Jenny was able to program 10 addresses into some satellite gizmo which sends us her exact longitude & latitude coordinates. Nothing makes me sleep better than getting a SPOT! There's only been two nights with missing SPOTS since June 5th when Jenny & Justin started walking across the Mojave Desert and into the Sierra Mountains. While I rationally know that sometimes the topography doesn't lend itself to a successful SPOT message, that's all it takes for me to lapse back into my worrying state. I'll be glad when this adventure is over, but I'm also extremely proud of Jenny's spirit and spunk and determination. She is amazing!

My husband, Dave, & I are now in Tahoe, staying at our oldest son Tim's home. As soon as I heard Jenny's plans to do this hike, I knew I had to lay my eyes on her at some point. We picked her up on Sunday after 640 miles of backpacking and, I have to admit, I'm impressed. She looks great, doesn't have major back or knee problems, seems healthy, has met many interesting & amazing people, and, aside from the early horrendous award-winning blister, generally has had a fabulous time. Her pictures and stories are wonderful. I find that I'm even a bit envious! And although she's enjoying Tim's hot tub immensely right now, I can tell she is eager to get back on the Trail again. So I will hug her good-bye, tell her I love her, and wish her "Happy & Healthy Trails" until she reaches her 1700 mile goal at the Oregon-Washington border! And then, ever so slowly, I will finally start to breathe again!