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Here is a copy of the Independent article. We were preparing a presentation as a fund raiser for the orchestra in which Marcia plays flute.

2250 First St., Livermore, CA 94550
Phone: (925) 447-8700   Fax: (925) 447-0212

Pleasanton Couple Makes Once-in-a-Lifetime Trail Trek

by Robert Several

On May 1 of last year, Ken and Marcia Powers, a Pleasanton couple in their 50s, hoisted backpacks on the Mexican side of the border 50 miles east of San Diego, at the southern end of the Pacific Crest Trail.

They set off on foot, heading north, with the goal of following the trail all the way to its end. They made it; 144 days and 2658 miles later, on September 21 in Manning Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada, the journey ended.

On those 2658 miles, much of atop the Sierra and Cascade ranges of California, Oregon and Washington, the couple experienced both peril and beauty. They took hundreds of pictures.

"It's been said of the Sierras," Marcia Powers says, "that no matter which way you turn your camera, you cannot get a bad picture. "We have spectacular pictures - snow and ice, sunrises, sunsets, mountains, desert, meadows, storms, water running. "The scenery is what kept us going."

The Powers have put together a slide show of their adventure and will present it at 8 p.m. Tuesday (May 22) at Sunrise Mountain Sports, 2455 Railroad Avenue (at First Street), Livermore. A $5 optional admission fee will be asked, with the proceeds going to the Livermore-Amador Symphony Guild.

The Livermore-Amador Symphony was very much a part of the trek, with several members participating, beginning with Marcia herself; she plays flute in the orchestra.

Two other members, horn player Marta Weinstein and oboeist Linda Ashworth, provided valuable assistance. Weinstein, a pilot, helped fly the Powers to their starting point at the Mexican border. Throughout the hike the couple sent rolls of film to Ashworth, who posted photos and news on their website.

Ken and Marcia Powers have lived in Pleasanton since 1970. Ken took early retirement from Chevron after working 32 years there. He turned 56 shortly after they returned home from the Pacific Crest Trail. Marcia celebrated her 53rd birthday on the trail.

Prior to challenging the long trail, the couple hiked the shorter John Muir Trail, some 200 miles through the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite and Mount Whitney. They did it twice, in 1998 and 1999.

They tried to make the Pacific Crest Trail as easy a walk as possible by carrying light backpacks - under 25 pounds - that were stripped down to essences. They packed only what they absolutely needed and everything of that, down to the last detail, was of the lightest possible weight. Their camp stove, for example, was a model that could be folded up and carried in a pocket. Marcia even shaved the brand-name lettering from her shoes to lighten them.

The couple averaged 20 miles a day, hiking basically from one water source to the next one. Their longest day walk covered 32 miles. They climbed a number of passes over 10,000 feet. At the highest point on the trail, Forester Pass, they ascended to 13,180 feet.

"Just think of walking from downtown Pleasanton or Livermore to the top of Mount Diablo. That was our average hike each day, including the changes in elevation," Marcia says.

Wildlife sightings were one of their special rewards. The sightings included six bears; twice they spotted a mother and her cub. Their human contacts were another bonus, according to Marcia. They occasionally met other hikers and shared the subculture of the trail.

Whenever they were relatively near a town, the couple would change from hikers to hitchhikers and grab a ride to the town to replenish their supplies and mail their film. Marcia says everyone was friendly and helpful.

(These hitchhiking rides were side trips and didn't take away from their trail trek; they walked every foot of the trail.) The hardest and most perilous part of the journey came near the end, on the Washington stretch of the trail, which they traversed in September.

"The trail through Washington is 508 miles long," relates Marcia. "It was 508 miles of brutal, brutal weather - howling winds, blizzards, near-zero and zero visibility, rain and more rain. "We had visibility for about five half-days. The scenery we saw then was just spectacular. We could only imagine what we were missing the rest of the time."

What motivated them to take on the Pacific Crest Trail? According to Marcia, it wasn't because they had something to prove. Their attitude was rather similar to that of other middle-aged couples planning a trip. "It was just something special we wanted to do together," she says.

In addition to the Tuesday evening program at Sunrise Mountain Sports, the Powers are sharing their trek on their website: www.GottaWalk.com .