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SavageLlama
02-02-2005, 20:15
Sad that they didn't stay in a single shelter.. there are some great AT shelters!



Step by Step; Couple discover their ideal life on the trail<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
By Deb Acord
The Gazette (<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com /><st1:State w:st=<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = " /><st1:place w:st="on">Colorado</st1:place>)
January 21, 2005<o:p></o:p>

The story of Ken and Cindy Swinarski's grand adventures begins in the golden deserts of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Arizona</st1:State></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p>

Ken, a dedicated Harley rider, met Cindy 15 years ago in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:place></st1:City>, where they were both working. They often explored the area on Ken's bike, but one day decided to set out on foot. That first hike was followed by another. And another. <o:p></o:p>

At first, their adventures were modest hikes through the saguaros and Joshua trees of the desert and the red and orange rocks of the <st1:place w:st="on">Grand Canyon</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p>

"We just started exploring, and found out we liked hiking," Ken says. <o:p></o:p>

As they explored, something happened. The more they hiked, the more they wanted to hike. They started to tackle longer routes. Twenty-mile trips felt like day hikes. Fifty-mile paths were more satisfying. And 80-mile treks made them long for more. <o:p></o:p>

They adopted a puppy, a 5-pound Australian shepherd mix, named him Buster and taught him to love the trail as much as they did. <o:p></o:p>

It was a good life. But it was about to get better. <o:p></o:p>

After 16 years, Ken was laid off from his job at Intel. Even though he didn't have a job, he and Cindy decided to get married in 1999. They made the decision on the 500-mile Colorado Trail and decided something else there as well. For their honeymoon, they planned a hike that would make their previous walks seem inconsequential: the 2,160-mile <st1:place w:st="on">Appalachian Trail</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p>

It was a turning point for the Swinarskis. On the trail for more than three months, they learned how to live with each other in a two- man tent and discovered what was most important in their lives. Instead of worrying about the next job, they began focusing on hiking, Buster, and hiking with Buster. <o:p></o:p>

The Swinarskis now live in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Woodland</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, where Cindy grew up. There, in a small home that was Cindy's grandparents', they have developed a routine that is the envy of their friends and family: They work a year, hike for two years. <o:p></o:p>

They've held various jobs between hikes. Cindy was a bartender, Ken did highway construction, and together they drove 18-wheelers crosstry. Buster always is at their side, alert for the moment the backpacks come out. <o:p></o:p>

When the Swinarskis are in their job cycle, they hike when they can. But when they're in their hiking cycle, they just hike. Besides the Appalachian Trail, they've completed the Colorado Trail twice and the 133-mile Northfield-Lake Placid Trail in upstate <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:State>. <o:p></o:p>

Ken also walked the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, a brutal through-hike along the West Coast that winds over 60 mountain passes in three states. Cindy and Buster started that trail with Ken, but dropped out at the 700-mile mark after Buster began struggling. <o:p></o:p>

Ken also fits in the occasional solitary hike, like one he recently completed in the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Superstition</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Mountains</st1:PlaceType> in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Arizona</st1:place></st1:State> or one of his local favorites, an 80-mile loop in the Lost Creek Wilderness. <o:p></o:p>

The couple love trips that put them on the trail for a long time, Ken says. Together, Ken, Cindy and Buster have logged 12,000 miles in 19 states and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>. They have plans for thousands more. <o:p></o:p>

THE LIGHTER THE BETTER <o:p></o:p>

The Swinarskis learn something on every trip and have become expert hikers, continually updating their gear and following the mantra of dedicated through-hikers: Go light. <o:p></o:p>

Their basement is a gear museum of sorts; one corner is filled with nine sleeping bags, three tents, two stoves, assorted backpacks, several pairs of hiking poles, hiking clothes and bins of freeze-dried food. <o:p></o:p>

"We started out with the oldfashioned hiking boots," Cindy says. "Our gear was really big and heavy. So, every time we planned another trip, we tried to find ways to make our load lighter." <o:p></o:p>

The couple discovered gear designed by a man who is the most well- known proponent of going light. Backpacks, tents and other gear originally designed by Ray Jardine are sold under the name GoLite. <o:p></o:p>

It's a name the Swinarskis swear by. "When you're going long distances, you've got to cut back on what you are carrying," Ken says. <o:p></o:p>

The couple take only their GoLite packs, a lightweight tent, sleeping bags and mats, a tiny camp stove, water filter, hiking poles, a multi-tool, headlamp and dried food. <o:p></o:p>

Many people who hike a trail the length of the Appalachian or the Pacific Crest plan for weeks or months before they start walking. The Swinarskis say they aren't long-range planners. Instead, they browse guidebooks and maps, set a route, and head out. <o:p></o:p>

They don't stash supplies along their route beforehand. "We just kind of go," Ken says. "When we need to get supplies, we hitchhike to the nearest town." <o:p></o:p>

That plan works well everywhere in the country except <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>, he learned. "In <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>, nobody will pick you up. I think they're too scared." <o:p></o:p>

The Swinarskis have walked and thumbed their way through much of the wildest parts of the country. Some strangers have treated them like treasured guests. Others thought they were homeless. <o:p></o:p>

"That's funny," Ken says. "When you're out there on the trail for that long, you really understand what home is... what's important. You've got everything you need -- your backpack, your clothes, your tent, food and water, each other, and Buster." <o:p></o:p>

The Swinarskis hike with Buster and for Buster, they say. "He loves to hike so much. When he sees the backpack come out, he starts going crazy," Ken says. "We used to just hold out his pack, and he would run into it." <o:p></o:p>

For years, Buster carried his own food in saddle bags, but he's 7 1/2 now and slowing down a bit. "Now I carry his food and keep him tethered to my backpack," Ken says. <o:p></o:p>

Buster has made a name for himself on trails and is known best for his trick of sliding down snowfields on his stomach. "He loves it. We love having him there," Cindy says. "We can't imagine hiking without him." <o:p></o:p>

The Swinarskis have talked about the day Buster can't go. "But until that day, he'll be out on the trail with us," Cindy says. "When we hike, we always watch Buster. Many times, when we go into town for the night, it's because of him, because he's too tired or sore. He can't say 'ouch' so we have to be extra careful about what we make him do." <o:p></o:p>

The trio hikes about 18 to 20 miles a day on their long hauls; sometimes more, seldom less. They average a brisk pace of about 3 mph. <o:p></o:p>

One day in <st1:place w:st="on">Yosemite</st1:place> on the Pacific Crest Trail, Ken pushed himself from 3:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. the following night. When he was done, he had gone 50 miles. <o:p></o:p>

"I woke up and was too cold. I had on all my clothes, and I wasn't going to get any warmer, so I started walking. It was my longest day yet," he says. <o:p></o:p>

HARD BODIES, EASY MINDS <o:p></o:p>

Hiking at night is unusual for the Swinarskis. When Ken, Cindy and Buster are out together, they start walking each day at dawn and end when the sun goes down. <o:p></o:p>

They rarely stop except to eat. Both are strict vegans, so they usually eat beans, grains or dried fruits and vegetables, supplemented with wild plants, roots and berries they have learned to find along the trail. <o:p></o:p>

Their hiking regime keeps their bodies rock hard. It's a conditioning they missed during their stint as truck drivers. When they stopped driving in June, Ken weighed 194 pounds. By the end of September after hiking daily, he was down to 155. <o:p></o:p>

Cindy's weight didn't fluctuate that much, she says, "but it seemed like all my muscle turned to fat." <o:p></o:p>

The Swinarskis recognize the physical benefits of walking dozens of miles for dozens of days at a time. But that's not why they do it. <o:p></o:p>

"It's so peaceful. You can have a spiritual experience when you want to. It's great therapy," Cindy says. <o:p></o:p>

Ken is drawn to the simplicity of life on the trail. "You discover you don't need all these material things. All you need is what you've got on your back: food, clothing, shelter and water." <o:p></o:p>

That way of life is hard for him to resist, he says. "Sometimes when we get back after being out a long time, I have to sleep in a tent in the back yard. I can't go back into the house." <o:p></o:p>

Cindy doesn't share Ken's aversion to "home." Sometimes, she admits, she misses it. "I think it's a nesting thing," she says. <o:p></o:p>

But she and Ken have figured out how to balance their adventures with some home time. "After we're back for a while, we're ready to go again," Cindy says. <o:p></o:p>

Her mother says she understands that feeling. Nita Fry of West Creek had never hiked before last summer, when Ken and Cindy asked her along for several days on the Colorado Trail. <o:p></o:p>

"It was the first time I had ever done anything like that," Fry says. "I didn't think I could do it, but I did." <o:p></o:p>

Fry and her husband have always supported Cindy and Ken in their adventures, she says, but she never quite understood what kept them going back out. <o:p></o:p>

"I used to take them to trailheads and drop them off, and I'd get upset and worried when they walked off. <o:p></o:p>

"After I had been with them for those few days, I was envious of them. I came back realizing why they do it," Fry says. <o:p></o:p>

Living on the trail "allows you to find out who you really are and why you are here," she says. <o:p></o:p>

# # #

ON THE WEB
www.appalachiantrail.org (http://www.appalachiantrail.org): planning short or through-hikes, events along the trail, trail news, links to hikers' blogs
www.pcta.org (http://www.pcta.org): trail conditions, maps, photos, events along the trail
www.pcthiker.com (http://www.pcthiker.com): trail news, hikers' journals, gear lists, photos
www.coloradotrail.org (http://www.coloradotrail.org): trail news, maps, photos, events
www.golite.com (http://www.golite.com): lightweight gear, resources, journals <o:p></o:p>

ON THE TRAIL WITH KEN, CINDY AND BUSTER

Miles hiked together: 12,000
Buster's best day: 27 miles
Favorite trail snack: Clif Bars
Food they dream about in the middle of a long hike: Fresh greens
Favorite terrain: Above tree line in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Colorado</st1:place></st1:State>
Gear they wish they owned but haven't found yet: Single-wall tent that doesn't have condensation
Gear they couldn't live without: Hiking poles
Most interesting ride: In a stinky cattle truck that had just dropped off its load, while on a break from the <st1:place w:st="on">Appalachian Trail</st1:place>
Most interesting observation about hitchhiking: SUVs never pick you up.
Number of times they slept in a shelter on the <st1:place w:st="on">Appalachian Trail</st1:place>: 0 (too many mice)
Scariest moment: Caught above tree line on the Colorado Trail in a lightning and hail storm
Philosophy: You've got to get up and do it every day, rain or shine.
Footwear: Trail-running shoes with short gaiters
Trail tip: Take bread bags and put them over your shoes while walking through wet terrain.
Another trail tip: Camp close enough to a stream so you can still hear it, but far away enough so it doesn't drown out the sounds around the camp.
Trail they want to explore: Continental Divide Trail
What they've learned about weight: Cindy started out carrying 45- 55 pounds; now she carries 20-25 pounds. Ken started with a 75- pound pack; now he carries 30-35 pounds. Buster started with a few pounds; now he's pack-free.

tlbj6142
02-02-2005, 21:11
Sad that they didn't stay in a single shelter.. there are some great AT shelters!There are two of them and they have a dog. Sounds like they are considerate. Besides, they enjoy the quite aspects of hiking. A shelter full of people (and/or dogs) isn't quite.

And, for all we know they slept at shelters every night. Just not in them.

PKH
02-03-2005, 05:28
I'd like to say these people are lucky, but the truth is of course, they've made their own luck.

Cheers,

PKH

NICKTHEGREEK
02-03-2005, 08:12
Never slept in a shelter and took the dog along. Perfect!!!!:clap