Running commentary

Driving at five miles an hour on the rutted and bumpy dirt of Road 20 near the California-Oregon border to intercept my 24-year-old daughter Erin and her friend Lani Ulmer on the Pacific Crest Trail last week took all the patience I could muster as I anticipated our reunion after a full year apart.

As we rounded one corner after another climbing slowly and steadily I kept my eyes on the road while my wife Deirdre scanned for the two hikers who had pushed the pace over the previous 11 days to accommodate our plan to join them for a few days on the trail.

Finally, Deirdre spotted the two leaning against their packs at the trail junction and we embraced them despite the fact that they had not bathed in a week-and-a-half and basically appeared like extensions of the earth itself.

When you consider that fewer than 400 hikers complete the entire trail in a given year, taking on the challenge and even getting through California is notable. With a light snowpack and relatively favorable weather this year, the number of success stories may be higher than average. Lani was one of just over 200 hikers who completed the entire trail when she did it the first time in 2010.

The hikers, classmates at Sisters High School since their freshman year in 2004, started on the Mexican border on April 11 and trod more than 1,700 miles over more than 100 days to arrive at this spot. Seeing my dusty daughter gave me a sense of joy and pride beyond explanation. Beyond the trail grime, I saw two incredibly fit athletes with arms and legs toned from an incomparable workout regimen of hiking and average of about 20 miles a day.

Erin ran the Detroit Marathon earlier this year and there is no doubt her level of fitness is well beyond when she toed the line for that 26.2-mile race. They have done some days of over 30 miles and had recently covered well over 40 doing a 24-hour challenge in an effort to meet up with us.

Needless to say the prospect of climbing in the car and heading to Medford for a rest day at my brother-in-law's home felt like a trip to heaven for the two weary women.

But first, we had to go pick up two more members of "The Fellowship" who had hitchhiked from Etna, California to Ashland in order to join us. One of the two is another member of the class of 2008 at Sisters High School, Blake Ehr, who Erin and Lani had caught up with near Mount Whitney. The other, Clayton, had been traveling with the women for most of the trail and the foursome had become a team of friends.

The young men told us we could find them at Albertson's in Ashland, so we headed down Road 20 toward civilization amid non-stop chatter about what Erin and Lani had been experiencing. With the windows up to keep the dust out, we realized within seconds that we were also keeping the smell in. It is hard to describe the odor other than "pungent earth." Cracking the window improved matters, but once the young men added to the mix, let's just say we were glad it was a relatively short drive to Medford.

Laughter abounded as we drove along. I felt struck by the simplicity of life on the trail and began to sense the attraction of taking on such a quest that requires planning, time, sacrifice, and will, but pays back in ways only the individual hiker could ever completely understand or explain.

With showers and food as a priority, we made our way to Medford in order for the hikers to rest, resupply, and rejuvenate. My wife's brother and his spouse showed tremendous graciousness and hospitality and soon bodies had been scrubbed clean, clothes laundered and stomachs filled. Spending a night inside would be a rare treat after three months outdoors.

This rest stop happened to coincide with a breaking up of "The Fellowship" as Lani needed to move more quickly for the remainder of the trail in order to catch a flight on her way to Australia in mid-September. Lani joined us for one more day of hiking before setting out on her own. The two young men had to hitchhike back south to where they left the trail, but hope to catch back up with Erin before Crater Lake.

My wife and I, along with two of my wife's sisters, Veronica Shean and Holly Akenson, as well as family friend Rhonda Schantz, joined Erin for a few days on the trail in Southern Oregon aided by Holly's mules. We wanted to share some of her experience and simply be with her. Hiking alone for about seven miles toward Hyatt Reservoir with my daughter last Tuesday has been the highlight of my summer. Deirdre got to spend a total of five days on the PCT before bidding Erin goodbye - until she arrives at the McKenzie Pass in early August.

I think all of us can be inspired by someone who catches a vision of a challenge they want to undertake and then sets out to do it. Erin told me long before the movie "Wild" of her intentions. I believe she will make it to the Canadian border, but I have witnessed already that she is having a profound experience. Being with her for even a few days has me itching for an adventure of my own.