PCT thru-hiker by Phyllis Davies

Bill Davies was turning 66 when he started thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail on April 28, 2001. Bill had done a 12- mile hike when he was in Boy Scouts but had not hike much since. Everybody thought that he wasn't able to hike because he was old and that he weighted 206 pounds and was 5 feet, 11 inches tall. Wes Armstrong flew Bill to Southern California and hiked the first day with him from the Mexican border but Wes had to go back to his dental practice because he is a dentist and a pilot. Bill was slow at first because he carried to much gear and his old boots gave him blisters, So he went back home and rearranged his gear and he got better trail runners. Mrs. Davies was driving in to the PCT because she had a tour promoting her book "Grief Climb Toward Understanding". She wrote that book to rebuild her life after their 13 year old son Derek died in a commercial midair collision. Mrs. Davies helped Bill and the other hikers out when she didnt have anything else to do. She took hikers to town, the store, the laundromat, and etc. She served over a 1,000 or more meals to the hikers. Bill's thru-hike took 123 hiking days, he finished the trail weighting 160 pounds and his longest day was 34 miles. Mrs. Davies drove over 12,000 miles supporting Bill. When Bill turned 80 his daughter, Dawna, gift to him was a lunch party with his friends and a flight to John Muir section of the PCT. 

• Three facts that I learned from this article was that you should always accomplish anything you put your mind too, never listen to anybodies opinion, and always think positive. 
• Two interesting things i learned from this article was that you should never over pack and you should always buy new gear.
• The two questions I have that are not answered yet is did Bill have a map as he was hiking? And did he have a flashlight while he was hiking?
• The two definitions i have are serendipity and supporting, serendipity means have fun and be happy, supporting means to be capable in a role, these words are importanr because they explain everything a person should have in their life.
• The connection I made after reading this article is that the people that love you will always have your back and support you no matter what.