A list of questions we are frequently asked:

How much do your backpacks weigh?

Backpacks and gear have varied for each of the trails. We weighed our packs with three days' food and a liter of water each on the backpackers scale at Amicalola Falls for the AT. Ken's pack weighed in at 27 pounds and Marcia's at 24 pounds. Notice who carries the greater percentage of pack weight to body weight. 

Long Distance hikers like to quote the "Base Weight" - their pack weight with no food or water. It turns out the weight of water and food varies a lot during long distance hikes. Water varies during the short term (usually the day) depending on waters availability. Food weight varies from one re-supply to the next.  Our Base Weights are Marcia 12 pounds; Ken 17 pounds.

We like lightweight trail runners with aggressive tread and an attached tongue that minimizes trail dust in our shoe. We can use a shoe because our packs aren't heavy. Most long-distance hikers prefer lightweight shoes because the effort of lifting an extra pound of shoe 5,000,000 times on a thru-hike is a lot of work. The lightweight shoes mean that the soles of our feet take a pounding with all the rocks and roots in the trails.

We don't carry camp shoes or sandals, but many hikers do. We ford streams in our hiking shoes. Our shoes dry quickly because they are synthetic materials with lots of holes for aeration. It also helps that our feet generate a tremendous amount of heat when we are hiking. Neither of us has had any ankle problems, maybe because our ankles get stronger with more hiking. Ken's shoes have lasted 1200 miles. Marcia needs new shoes every 500 miles.

Where do you get your food?

For us, buying food at home from grocery stores, repackaging into daily allotments and mailing food, fuel, maps and sundries seems like the easiest system. That way we don't have to plan meals for several months and re-supply boxes have what we really want to eat. We do buy cheese and bread, bagels or tortillas and snacks in town when we pick up our re-supply packages.

The first flat and level spot that we see after 8:00 is home for the night. We usually, but not always, set up our single wall tent, cook, eat and go to bed. Having clean socks at the end of the day is the best treat and it helps keep our sleeping bags clean.

Eventually the trail goes near a town. A motel provides a shower, laundry opportunities and sometimes a phone or internet access. We really like a town big enough to have a Post Office and restaurant, too. Occasionally we run across a hot spring or shower like Red's Meadow or we rinse ourselves and clothes off in streams. Scrubbing dusty legs off with a handful of snow isn't as bad as it sounds, especially in California.

Why do you want to hike?

Initially, we hiked because of the challenge. We weren't sure that we could go the distance. Once we were comfortable on the trail and realized that our bodies held up to the pace, we enjoyed being out in the back country with the ever changing vistas, terrain, weather and flora and fauna. The simplified life style feels right and makes so much of civilization seem superfluous.

Which trail is the hardest, best, prettiest, most fun?

This is a difficult question to answer. The Appalachian Trail is usually considered the hardest because of it greater (and steeper) elevation gains. But many things on the AT seem easier because of its proximity to civilization. Sometimes it is too easy to go off-trail to get pizza and ice cream.

Best, prettiest, and most fun becomes a subjective question. We usually say the Pacific Crest Trail is the prettiest. It seemed to have the most views per mile. But the Continental Divide Trail also had great views and was our greatest accomplishment. The constant focus on navigating the CDT was an additional challenge. The western portion of the ADT also has incredible views. The red rock areas of Utah are incredibly beautiful, but bring your own water.

We felt the Appalachian Trail was a more social trail. There were many more hikers and the frequent shelters became a gathering place for hikers every night. The trail passes through hardwood forests for most of the trail. The views are limited by the constant cover of leaves. Our AT hike was very different than hiking in the western states.

Which trail is your favorite?

Another tough question. Usually we answer the PCT or the CDT. We seem to flip back and forth between the two. We feel that thru-hikers usually remember their first long trail as their favorite. Another contributing factor is that these two trails are near our home and family. We live and frequently hike near the PCT. We were both raised and have family near the CDT.

We also really enjoyed the states of Utah and Nevada on the ADT. Hmmm, there seems to be a common thread - maybe we like the remoteness of the western trails. Actually the desert trails seem to be becoming our favorites.

Usually we hike only with each other. But at times it is nice to have someone else to talk to. On popular trails we find other hikers in towns. But on the trail we like to feel like we are out there alone.

How fast do you hike?

We don't walk as fast as lots of thru-hikers, but probably faster than most recreational hikers. We figure our pace at about 2.5 miles per hour. It varies with the terrain - steepness and footing are big factors. We make our mileage by hiking longer days than most hikers. We normally hike from dawn to dusk. We have found that stopping in towns takes a lot longer than hikers think. 

Most of the animals are either afraid or curious of humans. We usually see the rear ends of bears going down the hill to get away from us. A few times bears have just watched us, keeping their distance. We haven't seen any grizzlies, but we feel like they have seen us. We have seen tracks of grizzlies, wolves, wild horses, and other animals. The size of their prints is amazingly large.

Some of the stream crossings in the high sierra were really scary. We were hiking there during peak runoff time. We were so focused on the stream crossings that we forgot to take pictures.

Our newest scary moment was Marcia's stepping into quicksand in Dark Canyon. This canyon is not on the official ADT, but was on the original scouted route. Marcia sank almost hip-deep into the quicksand before she got out.

Another scary moment was Ken's hypothermia incident in Montana. 

At the time these were just other incidents that we had to deal with and we did. Most of what must seem like scary moments we have thought about and we are mentally prepared to deal with them. Hiking in remote areas requires us to prepare for unexpected incidents and adjust our plans accordingly.

Some days we feel like quitting. Most hikers feel that way at times. Fortunately we rarely both feel that way at the same time. We know that whatever is bothering us at the time will change soon. If it is too hot, we tell ourselves that tomorrow will be cooler. If the trail is steep, we will soon be going downhill. The feeling of wanting to quit doesn't last long.

Is the trail well marked?

Most of the trails are sufficiently marked so that hikers can follow them without much trouble. The PCT and AT have enough hikers on them that the trail is worn into the ground. The only potential problem is taking the wrong fork at a trail junction. Most junctions are clearly marked. The CDT, on the other hand, has many miles of unmarked and/or unfinished trail. Many times the trail goes into a meadow and disappears. We then had to find where the trail exited the meadow. Sometimes the search took half an hour or more, and cut into our days mileage. The ADT is rarely well marked except where it follows other trails (Buckeye, Katy, River-to-River, Colorado). The ADT is a relatively new trail. The marking of the ADT varies by state and within states, but the marking is progressing. 

Do you have trail names?

Our first long distance hike was the PCT in 2000. We were aware of trail names but neither of us start the trail with a trail name. Most of the hikers starting with one were AT veterans. It didn’t seem to be an important tradition on the PCT so we hiked using our given names.

At the ADZPCTKO in 2001 the party was mostly over, class 2001 hikers had moved up the trail and we were reminiscing with 2000 thru hikers. A guy from Kentucky came in and said he was frozen because he didn’t have a tent or sleeping bag (this is the desert, right?) and it was cold! Hikers lent him gear then asked him if he was going to take the day off at Lake Moreno. He replied in his Kentucky twang, “Nope. I gotta walk.”  I knew that was my trail name because it described exactly how I felt. “That’s it!”  I yelled. “That’s my trail name! Ken can figure out his own trail name.” Our hiker friends refused to change saying that we were Ken&Marcia and would need to remain that way. It was too late to change. So I use GottaWalk as a signature and I guess that it stands for both of us.

Most of the 2002 CDT hikers were people that we had hiked with two years earlier and trail names were not important. So we were still Ken&Marcia or K&M.

By the AT in 2003 we had hiked so much using our run together names that even I thought it was too late to change. Now we are recognized collectively as GottaWalk.

The "official" list of Triple Crown hikers is kept by ALDA-West. In order to be on the list the hiker must be nominated (self nomination is acceptable). The members of ALDA-West usually know about other long distance hikers and who has really hiked the 3 long distance trails. 

We know of several people who should be on the official list who are not. So just because they are not on the list doesn't mean they haven't hiked the trails. The official list contains 53 names. The total number of hikers must be less than a hundred.

Two hikers, Flyin' Brian Robinson and Squeaky, hiked all three trails in one calendar year. Another hiker, Let It Be - Namie Bacil, has hiked the Triple Crown three times. 

What are those animals on the Back and Next buttons?

I clipped pictures of marmots from our pictures and use them as pictures for the buttons. The snake used as a horizontal break is also clipped from our pictures. 

…GottaWalk

If we didn't answer a question that you have, you can email the question to us. We may even include the question and its answer on this page!

Email your question to: Ken Powers