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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011 1B
REGI{DNAL
]
I AND OPINION * UPCOMING EVENTS ]
INSIDE
SECTION
B:
EDITORIAL
/
I 0 tl
Going the distan,c,e: I l-yes,r-old h,ker asp.'es to Triple Crou,,,,
Another reason they are
striving to meet the comple-
tion date is a scheduled
speaking engagement. Eric
and Reed will be addressing
the American Long Distance
Hiking Association Confer-
ence in Wennachti, Wash.,
the weekend of Sept. 21.
"I imagine they will want
to learn about Reed's through
hike and her experiences as
an ll-year-old on the trail,"
Eric said.
Father and daughter Eric and Reed "Sunshine" Gjonnes begin
their 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail hike at the Mexican border
April 29. Photos submitted
M. Kate West
Chester Editor
chesternews@plumasnews.com
Who knew that the state of
the economy would start 11-
year-old Reed Gjonnes, aka
Sunshine, off on the adven-
ture of a lifetime and start
her on the path to earning the
Triple Crown of hiking?
The story came out when
Sunshine and her dad, Eric,
who are hiking the entire
2,650 miles of the Pacific
Crest Traii(PGT), made a
week-long stop in the Drakes-
bad and Old Station area at
the end of July.
"This hike has been
planned for years and Reed
has been raised to be my
through partner; her whole
life has been spent dropping
me off or picking me up at
trailheads 24/7," Eric said.
"All of our family vacations
have centered on the PCT."
He said that he and his
wife, Teresa, had originally
agreed that he would get his
career wound down so that
he and Reed could hike the
trail after she graduated from
high school.
"Then, after 17 years, I lost
my job as an electrician.
Rather than crying over my
job loss and the economy I
decided to put a positive spin
0n the situation and went
home and announced this
would be the year for a
through hike," Eric said.
He also said the family had
been preparing financially
for him not to work and to
through hike the PCT in 2013.
"The job loss and economy
just accelerated our start
date," he said.
Shaping up for the trail
"Dad and I used mom's
weights in my backpacks as
we walked around town.
We unlaced our shoes on
purpose to condition our feet.
Basically we stay in good
shape year-round but we
• needed to condition our feet
for the trail," Sunshine said.
Reed has also put in condi-
tioning time out on the trail
with Eric, who section hiked
the entire PCT between 2002
and 2010.
"Over the years Reed ,has
hiked weekends and three -
four day stretches. Each time
she has setthe 8oBl,to hike .....
further than she did the day
before," Eric said.
While section hiking Cali-
fornia last year he looked for
a way to include Reed. She
joined him in Chester and
they hiked to Burney Falls, a
distance of 90 miles.
"The first day she hiked 19
miles and immediately broke
her previous mileage record.
• Two days later she hiked 22
miles and broke her record
for the second time in one
week," he said.
The journey begins
The Gjonneses officially
started their journey April
29, at Campo, Calif., on the
Mexican border, and reached
the Drakesbad Resort July 28.
They plan to finish their
hike Sept. 15 in Manning
Park, British Columbia.
Eric said that although
they are going to try hard to
meet their original arrival
date, the time might have to
extend to Sept. 21 because
their travels took longer in
the Sierra Nevada.
He said the start and finish
deadlines were set around
Reed's return to school.
The Salem, Ore., youth,
who has twice hiked through
Plumas County, will start
sixth grade in September.
Trail challenges
"The No. 1 challenge this
year has been the Sierra
Nevada mountains. Because
there was no visible trail for
most of the 500 miles, it made
navigation very difficult and
slow going," Eric said.
He said there were more
challenges because of late
winter.
"It was said to be the high-
est snow year on record and
it seemed to last longer be-
cause it didn't warm up as
soon. Before, you could go 18
miles in between passes with
snow. We went over 500 miles
in the snow line," he added.
He also said the melting
snow made for turbulent
rivers and creeks.
Reed agreed, "The creek
crossings have all been strong
and deep with no bridges."
"Most rivers were between
our knees and over our heads;
there are few bridges in Kings
Canyon, Sequoia National
Park and Yosemite," Eric
added.
The winter challenges
continued and in the areas
where the Gjonneses faced
less snow they instead had to
The long 2010-11 winter led to late seasonal warming and heavy spring runoff in the high country.
Eric and l 1-year-old Reed Gjonnes said water crossings presented their greatest challenges in
hiking the Sierra Nevada.
deal with lots of fallen trees
and debris.
"Because we were working
so hard each day, our daffy
miles dropped. We began to
run out of food because we
weren't coming out as quickly
as we needed to for supplies,"
Eric said.
He said he cooked daily
and Reed would eat until she
was full. Eric ate what was
left over and did lose a sub-
stantial amount of weight.
"We never ran out of food
but I did ration my portions.
We were behind by two days'
worth of food. After that we
ashing
Reed Gjonnes, an 11-year-old from Salem, Ore., is through
hiking the entire Pacific Crest Trail this year. She has hiked
through Plumas County two years in a row -- last year she
hiked a section of the PCT from Chester to Old Station.
faced another challenge be-
cause once we left the Sierras
I packed too much food," he
said.
Despite the challenges of
the high mountain terrain,
the Gjonneses are confident
they can still make their
Sept. 21 deadline.
"We took days off at every
town site in the Sierra; we
have spent two-thirds of our
time to get halfway. We feel
that since we have had our
time off, we can walk heavier
miles during our remaining
time on the trail," he said.
Trailside activities
When asked what she likes
most about hiking the PCT,
Reed said,:"Spendlngtime •
with my dad, hiking every
day and meeting the trail
community. Everything has
been wonderful."
Teamwork has formed
their daily routine.
"We set up the tent together;
then Reed lays out the bedding
while I cook," Eric said.
He said eating and meal
cleanup often signaled the
end of the day.
At the lower elevations
when travel wasn't so strength
consuming the pair sometimes
cooked, cleaned up and played
cards with other hikers.
Eric also said he and Reed
would often read together
from books on their iPods.
"Once Reed falls asleep, I
journal. I have also been
writing articles for Back-
packinglight.com," he said.
He said those interested in
following their continuing
journey can go to that web-
site. Once there, viewers
should click "Articles" on the
toolbar, then people and look
for his name.
He said he would likely
write four or five articles by
the time the hike is finished.
Eric's journal address is
trailjournals.com/ballsand
sunshine. He said he works
when he can to maintain the
daily blog that has received
more than 100,000 hits.
"The hikers are really in-
terested in keeping up with
Sunshine," he said.
Going for the Triple Crown
"Sunshine aspires to be a
Triple Crown hiker which
means she will hike the PCT,
the Appalachian and Continen-
tal Divide Wails," Eric said.
The Gjonneses are plan-
ning to hike the Appalachian
in 2012 and the Continental
Trail in 2013.
"Reed at age 13 in 2013
would be irrefutably the
youngest person to hold the
title," he said. "Plans are al-
ready in the works for the
Appalachian Trail and the
schools are working with us
on the beginning and ending
of the school year."
Time out at Drakesbad
"The generosity of Ed
Fiebiger at Drakesbad was a
highlight of the 2010 hike for
Sunshine• A chance to return
to Drakesbad was a motivat-
ing factor for her to hike the
entire trail this year."
Teresa and Reed's 8-year-
old sister, Annika, have fol-
lowed the entire PCT journey
from California highways.
They joined Eric and Reed at
Drakesbad.
Where possible they met
Eric and Reed at trailheads.
"They were a welcome
sight and always brought hot
meals and hero sandwiches,"
Eric said.
As to favorite locations
along the way, Reed said, "So
far Drakesbad is the best part
of the trip."
She said she was excited to
be going in the pool and had
been invited to horseback
ride.
It is possible that as Sum
shine and Eric arrive in Old
Station they may have had
another reunion waiting.
During the 2010 hike
Reed met trail angels Georgi
See Trail, page 9B
•
Traveling north on the Pacific Crest Trail, Eric and Reed "Sunshine" Gjonnes find they have to
greatly decrease their daily mileage goals due to the record-setting 2011 snowpack.
In this water crossing on the Pacific Crest Trail, dad Eric Gjonnes takes the brunt of the thunder-
ing waterfall as he both braces and shelters daughter Reed from the pummeling waters.