People of the PCT
People have the tendency to form groups, and long trails are no exception. Hikers of the same pace or interests will often band together, and trail families, or "tramilies" are formed, broken, and reformed. What's more, often these groups of hikers get named for general reference. The Blue Couple, Super Siblings, the Orchestra of Farts, the International Dream Team... and my group, the Rattlesnacks. We have been hiking together for the most part since day one. Recently we have been bestowed a new name: The Kindergartners. At first I took offence, until I thought it through; we are often found laughing, drawing, playing games, napping, snacking, and listening to stories. Although I often use terms to reference the group and use "we" throughout my blog, many times there are a few group members missing. It is rare that we are all together at once, as sometimes people do their own thing or subgroups are formed for a day. However, I use these names throughout my posts, so I wanted to talk a little more about the people you have heard about:
TC
A fast hiker, usually in front. He somehow manages to do his own thing yet still be a part of the group. On the way to becoming a triple-crowner, he thruhiked the AT in 2010 and finally took the time to do another trail. He rode his bike trans-continental North America, thus the name. TC cowboy camps every night for quick mornings and epic views of the night sky.
SOUTHBOUND
Slow and steady, unless he is listening to music; then he charges ahead. Southbound thruhiked the AT in 2014, headed North. He loves to laugh and tell semi-funny jokes. He is often found with a shawl draped over his head for sun protection, not for religious purposes. Generous and caring, he makes amazing guacamole and has mad guitar skills.
SPYGOT (pronounced spy-got)
A young woman from Germany who is super kind and curious. She wants to study occupational therapy in college after finishing the PCT. With family in the US and Germany, she is well-traveled, having spent half a year in New Zealand WWOOFing and backpacking. Spygot has her sights set on doing more long-distance trails in the future.
STRETCH
An organized to go-getter from a small town in Texas. She worked in the Alaska and has awesome stories about her adventures there. Every day she whips out a home-made dinner, making us all envious of her delicious food. Reliable and smart, she finds amusement in watching and listening to the rest of the group members.
STEAK
We go way back; the first thruhiker I met on the shuttle from the airport. His accent and lingo reveals that he is from the UK. He dislikes most american foods, and opts for "crisp sandwiches (chips on a tortilla)" on the trail and steak and coke when he is in town. A fast hiker, he manages to sleep in late and still catch up to the rest of the group
PICKLES
Another one of the hikers I remember meeting the first night at the hostel and hiking with on the first day. Friendly and respectful to all, he is a fast hiker who does sporadic mileage to get to food. Pickles takes and edits amazing photos on his smartphone and is trying finish in time to go back to school.
PENGUIN
The only one who started a different day than us, we met Penguin within the first week at Mt. Laguna. He fell behind for a while, but met up with us in towns until we lingered so long he finally caught up. He is from Germany as well, loves penguins, and took a bit of time away from being a pharmacist statistician (??) to hike the trail.
