AsAbat RIP and a PCT story

[Backwoods]

Some off you might have know'n AsAbat from his many posts on this list or becouse he was the So Cal PCT water report guy. He passed away from natural causes back in Agust in his tent at a beutifull lake in Oregon after a hard day hike that just happened to be were I ended up camping the same night he was discoverd. He was a freand of mine I'll miss him. So let me tell ya story about that day. all this happend in one day. I had been hiking with a very strong lady for a week or so before this day and we camped at Shelter cove OR the night before and it was the weekend so on our way out in the morning we hit a Ski resort thats was only open on the weekend 1/4 mile off the PCT and had a AYCE buffet she was faster than me ( I was doing 25 to 38 mile days OR's pretty flat compaird to the seirras I'd just finished but still she was killing me and I was hiking 2 or 3 hours more a day than her to keep up and ended up hitting the wall so hard tha I took 5 Zero mile day's off trail in Bend OR a few days later) so I left first and said catch me down the trail. They were having a car race in the parking lot and I stoped for awile to check it out. Turns out she past me out front without seeing me. I diden't know untill some SB section hikers asked if I was BackWoods and said she was 5 miles ahead hallin ass to catch me asking if they had seen me when I was behind her the whole time she's a trail runner so that was that I never saw her again and diden't think to get her # Darn. About 10 miles from breakfast that day I ran into A SAR party they said they were looking for a hiker that was missing. After talking to them for awile I knew it was AsAbat. So for the rest of the day I was walking through the forest yelling AsAbat hoping to find him and concentrating on any springs/streams since he was the water report guy. Well it was getting late so I pulled into lake Charlston it was not A developed lake and nice. I was walking around it looking for a camp spot when a large family by a campfire asked if I was a PCT thru hiker I said yes they said get over here we have New york steak shish kobobs - fish - beer - soda you name it so I was sitting by the fire pigging out and they tell me that there were all kind off officals there today and they found a dead person that they had been searching for in his tent in the spot I was planing to camp in I knew it was AsAbat and cryed a bit. How could they know he was a freand of mine. Anyway they said the sheriff cused them out for not checking the tent for 2 day's They said they just figured they missed him coming in and out or he was tired and they were minding thear own biz. AsAbats wife reported him missing he was just taking a 2 day hike and dident show up to be piked up. I just thought I'd report on Asabats passing and start my PCT report with 1 of my more eventfull and sad day's how I'm ever going to find the time to report on the whole 2650 miles I don't know. It's a crazy trail and a small world. When my time comes I hope I'm doing what I love as AsAbat was. Rest in peace my freand.

[lilbitmo]

Thanks for sharing that Backwoods, you may know that a large group from the Whitney Portal Store Message Board met two weeks ago and did a memorial hike to Trail Peak above Horseshoe Meadow - the link to that thread is HERE

Sorry for you loss and he was a good man to do the water reports and water storage like he did - RIP AsaBat

[Backwoods]

Libitmo I diden't know about the memorial hike thats great news. The reason I started backpacking instead of the ultra endurance road cycling I did for 20 years was becouse my best freand Dan Crain was hit by a car and killed 2 years ago as we were training for a Race called the Everest Challenge 29000 + ft gain in 2 day's also my mom passed the same year and moving to IDY from newport beach ca about a year ago helped with the change also. I would say good morning both of them on trail and then AsAbat was included we wern't so close but still he was a great man so I had my own little memorial hike every day.Bill was a big LEAVE NO TRACE guy and we had a talk the other day about all the TP right on Skyline trail as I walked up it as strange as that sounds. Carefull whoever is doing that you'r being watched from above and it will catch up with ya some day!! I diden't get back to Idyllwild untill the 3'd after the PCT and I was just a tad beat up and it's true what I have read about adjusting to Real life after a thru hike it was just weard. Living in IDY made it a bit easy'r though. Also my Iphone with ATT was useless for just about 100% of WA and OR never again with ATT that's for sure people with Verizon had 4G and 3 bars I had NO SERVICE except in some towns for months. I don't think I'm weird the trail just brings out things. Things I was holding inside before my journy. RIP AsAbat.

[lilbitmo]

Backwoods, congrats on the PCT that's amazing. I've only done the section hiking from Mexican boarder to just before Auga Dulce but I've had the fun/pleasure of meeting many a Thru hiker and have even done the kick off one year, all good people.

Glad you were able to get away and sorry for your losses, all of them.

Hope to see some reports from you in the future, look forward to meeting you on/in the hills.

Lilbitmo/Patrick

[HH8]

I don't think I'm weird the trail just brings out things.

Once on the way out after seeing no humans for about a week, we ran into a crowd of maybe 20 with a ranger giving a talk. I know my eyes went deer-in-the-headlights in reaction to the swarm. As I tried to sidle past them, the ranger pinned me with the question, "Where are you going?" He meant to let me know I was veering off the trail. It strained my civility to mutter, "OUT!" as I made my way back onto the trail past the teeming humanoid vermin.

[Backwoods]

Yep HH8 it's a trip coming OUT. It's weird all the trails that I have done over and over look diffren't to me now that I'm back so I keep feeling like I'm lost. Then trails I have never done before like Skyline the other day are easyer to follow than the trails I know becouse I don't think I should know it. I can't explain it. Then I was hiking only 1.8 on the PCT on the way to the tram from home in Idyllwild and I just sat down for a wile and felt at home I did think did I just walk down this narrow ribbion of trail all the way to Canada. One thing about the PCT is that it's such a long trail that it's imposable to take in more than a few hundred miles or my brain get's overpowerd by the sheer enormity of it so I have to break it down into sections. Now there are camp spots everywere that I just diden't see before I'm seeing everything around the trail's as if it's in HD compaird to before starting my hike thats pretty cool. And I had to watch out for bears the last few month's I came face to face with one said Hay and it took off no biggy another time a cub ran down towards the next switchback and I diden't see mon and I was headed that way that worried me more. no bears here though. It's all good though I still love hiking the San J's I was affraid I woulden't after all the wonderfull places I have been on the PCT I think it boils down to just being out in nature be it Mts or desert just being OUT there is what matters to me.

[Sally]

Thank you for the words about AsAbat, Backwoods. I never met him but I'm sure he was a great guy because he touched so many lives.

As for re-entering "real life" after a long hike, I know what you mean. After making a record for the slowest thru-hike of the JMT, 26 days, I got home only to become severely depressed.

I thought it would be nice to sleep in my soft clean bed after the trip, but one night I got so restless that I ended up sleeping on the floor in my sleeping bag!

When I had to go into town I became ultra-sensitive to crowds and noise. It was surreal. It took a couple of weeks before I felt normal again.

I was worried that I would never have such an incredibly beautiful experience again, but that turned out to be not true. Every time I get out there it is still a wonder, and I will always have great memories of my great adventure.

[Backwoods]

Sally I'd say you were real lucky to be able to spend 26 day's on the JMT instead of having to hurry becouse you had to make it to Canada before the snow hit. And as for being depressed I chose to hike the 30 miles back to Harts pass after reaching Canada so to avoid the hassle of renewing my passport. I was unhappy that I was finished and throwing little fit's I just diden't want it to be done I was so pissed that I did 28 miles that day and it's a hilly mother in that section I'd say as diffucult as the seirras not as high but one steep climb after another. crazy. I don't mind sleeping in my bed at all. Maby becouse I used a NEO AIR and had it diald in just right nice and soft and not 1 leak in 2650 miles. On the way home I decided to take the train to unwind it was on 10/01/12 near Hanford CA that the train I was on got slamed into by a semi truck and deraild I was on the top floor of one of the car's that ended up on it's side everybody say'd I should have just walked home I wouldent have this sore knee I now have. And it would have been safer. And going into the super walmart in Hemet after I got home I almost ran out that was freeky.

[Ulysses]

Congratulations on a successful through hike Ken. Well done. Sounds like a real life changing experience. I've been watching this board and wondering when you would show up again. Looking forward to some pics or video.

[avid]

I hope you have some of your great videos to share. The one's you have posted have been utterly great. Congratulations on your thru hike. Your re-entry experience is not uncommon from what I hear. Be gentle to yourself.