Trail Tales – Why I Hiked the PCT Entry 1
Author: admin | Category: Pacific Crest Trail, Trail Tales“Phoenix! You gotta be kidding!” I yelled into the telephone receiver.
“Nope,” Zwiebel replied, “We’re down in New York picking the car up now.”
“But Phoenix is not that much closer to Seattle than we are!” I shouted. “We can’t drive a transport car to Phoenix!”
“Too late, we already signed up for it. We’ll be by to pick you up in a few hours.” I knew, by the eagerness in Zwiebel’s voice, that I might as well pull raw meat away from a hyena as dissuade him from going to Seattle by way of Phoenix. The crazy idea of Savitt and I going out there to look for logging jobs during our winter break had been mine, Zwiebel was not even interested in looking for such a job, but once we included him in our plans his natural zeal for far-fetched enterprises took over.
The entire week between Christmas and New Years we called transport agencies in the Hartford, Boston, and New York areas, searching for a car that needed transport to anywhere in the northwest region of the country. When Zwiebel asked hopefully if we would settle for St. Louis I called the search off, with a hint of relief that I was perhaps coming to my senses in spite of myself. However, Zwiebel would not be deterred, which perhaps explains why I was not consulted about a transport car to Phoenix until after an official agreement had been struck.
“What kind of car is it?” I asked with resignation.
“Oh, yeah, glad you asked,” Zwiebel said quickly, “You better pack light; we’re going in a VW Beetle.”
I was not thrilled about three people riding a couple thousand miles in a Beetle, with Savitt at 6’3”, and with the gear necessary for a three-week trip to Seattle and back (by way of Phoenix!). Yet, the original idea to look for logging jobs had been mine, and my traveling companions would be two of the best buddies one can have on an ill-advised adventure.
The three of us were part of a group that thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1975. An instant chemistry developed between Savitt and I since the very first practice hike. Savitt was my nickname for Dave Beffa-Negrini, originating from our passion for playing cards and a jeweler who coined himself “The King of Diamonds.” Our natural abilities for long-distance hiking, our shared passion for games and puzzles, and our ability not to take ourselves or our tribulations too seriously made the challenges we faced along the trail enjoyable.
Zwiebel was the nickname given Dave Hall during the 1975 hike, partly to distinguish him from Savitt and yet another Dave in the group. He was not an original member, yet began the thru-hike the same day as the group and had stuck pretty much to our schedule, in large part due to our support vehicle and to the charms of Katie Brown. I proposed to the group that we adopt him, which in essence meant joining us in a circle at occasional resupply points and reaffirming our commitment to help each member of the circle hike the whole trail. Unanimous consent followed. I am not sure whether he now blames or credits me with what followed, but we have remained good friends.
My relationship with these two, then and always, reminds me of a quote from Melville:
As for small difficulties and worryings, prospects of sudden disaster, peril of life and limb; all these, and death itself, seem to him only sly, good-natured hits, and jolly punches in the side bestowed by an unseen and unaccountable old joker . . .
I knew that the three of us would meet any ill-conceived or ill-fated endeavor good-naturedly. With this certain knowledge, I consented on going to Seattle (by way of Phoenix!); thus began a true adventure in its own right which, consequently, ultimately gave birth to the adventure of hiking the 1977 Pacific Crest Trail.
Tags: Pacific Crest Trail, Trail Tales