tHInK outsdE Interviews Sierra

Middle school teacher Christy "Rockin" Rosander is helping her students get outside by teaching a 10 week course on the Pacific Crest Trail, which passes nearby her hometown of Tehachapi, California.  Students learn about the PCT, thru-hiking, how to read a map and compass, how to select hiking gear, and how to deal with common emergencies on the trail. She calls her project tHInK outsidE, a play on the word "hike".

Last week, the tHInK outsidE students interviewed two trail kids: Sierra, the youngest person to hike the PCT in a single season, and Reed "Sunshine" Gjonnes who, at age 12 has already hiked both the PCT and the Appalachian Trail, with plans to hike the Continental Divide Trail this summer to become the youngest person ever to hike the Triple Crown.  Here is Sierra's interview:

tHInK outsidE – What did you miss the most from home while on the trail?
Monkey -  “I missed my dad, my cats, and sleeping in my own bed.”

tHInK outsidE – Did you ever feel lonely?
Monkey -  “No, I was with my mom, and I enjoyed meeting the other hikers on the trail.”

tHInK outsidE – What did your friends think about you finishing the whole PCT?
Monkey -  “My friends were really excited and amazed.”

tHInK outsidE – How was homeschooling while on the trail?
Monkey -  “Homeschooling on the trail was fun, but some days it was hard to do school work on the trail because we were hiking so many miles.  I worked on math every day at lunch, and some days I wished I could just relax like the other hikers.  But I loved reading in the tent at night.”

tHInK outsidE – How does it feel to break a record?
Monkey -  “It felt really incredible to have accomplished my goal.”

tHInK outsidE – Is there something really important that you forgot to pack?
Monkey -  “I didn’t forget to pack anything, but I did lose two things on the trail.  I lost my purple Snow Peak titanium mug near Wrightwood, California and my sunglasses a day or two before Crater Lake in Oregon.”

tHInK outsidE – Name the three most awesomest animals and wildlife you have seen on the PCT?
Monkey -  “The three most awesome animals I saw on the PCT were baby bear cubs, silverback marmots (I called them “Grandpa marmots” because they had silver hair), and a baby rattlesnake.”

tHInK outsidE – What was the worst weather conditions along the trail? How did you get through it?
Monkey -  “The worst weather conditions on the trail were during a three day storm in Washington.  It rained and hailed throughout the night, thunder boomed, and lightning flashed across the sky.  During the day we hiked through a cold mist, which made our teeth chatter at times.
I got through the storm because I was determined to hike the PCT, and a little weather could not mess up my plans.  We also received some incredible trail magic during the storm, including hot food and drinks, candy bars, and other snacks.”

tHInK outsidE – What was your favorite part of the hike and your least favorite?
Monkey -  “My favorite part of the hike was reaching Monument 78 at the border because I was really excited to have accomplished my goal.  I also really enjoyed hiking through the mountains.  One of my favorite days was when we hiked over Muir Pass and passed by the yellow-legged frogs at Wanda Lake and stopped to investigate the tadpoles and aquatic invertebrates at a pond near Evolution Lake.

My least favorite part of the hike was hiking on really hot days in the less scenic parts of the desert. One day it was so hot it melted the sour gummy worms in my mom’s pack!  Of course, we laughed a lot about that, which made it fun.“

tHInK outsidE –  What hike do you want to do next?
Monkey -  “I really want to hike the Continental Divide Trail and the Appalachian Trail to complete the Triple Crown. This summer I plan to hike the Colorado Trail with my mom.  It is shorter than the others (about 480 miles), so we can hike it without taking time off from school.”