Wednesday, July 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
TREKKERS: Local PCT
hikers <Halo= and
<Chief= halfway there
Continued from page 1
<That was tough because
we were not even two weeks
in and hadn9t really even
found our rhythm yet, but that
was one of many adjustments
we9ve had to make along the
way,= said Melissa.
Sasha began the jour-
ney with the trail name of
<Camel= based on her ability
to go for miles without taking
a drink of water, but it didn9t
take long before she earned a
new name based on her ability
to organize, lay out plans, and
generally take charge.
<We referred to her as the
CEO, but shortened that down
to 8Chief,9= said Melissa,
whose trail name is <Halo.=
<She just started taking own-
ership of the hike within the
first two weeks and has con-
tinued being in charge of a lot
of what we do.=
Chief also has taken on
more of the video editing for
the pair9s YouTube channel
(HRC on the PCT), according
to her mother.
In reflecting how the
adventure has gone thus far,
Chief said, <It9s been a really,
really amazing hike so far.
Every section has some-
thing new to bring. One of
my favorite sections was in
the Sierras where we crossed
through the five big Sierra
passes. For example it was so
amazing to be up on the Muir
Pass and to be able to look out
and see forever.=
Halo said that she has
learned that being a through-
hiker is much different from
going on a shorter backpack-
ing trip.
<If you plan a four-day
backpacking trip you get to
cherry pick the places you
want to go and the sights you
want to see, but when you
are through-hiking you have
to deal with what you get,
whether it is the heat, the mos-
quitos, or whatever,= she said.
<The PCT continually throws
wild-cards at you forcing you
to adjust and pivot. Plus, the
daily mileage we are doing
is much more than what you
would normally do on a back-
packing trip.=
Chief remembered the one
time so far on the trip that
they hiked at night to avoid
the heat of the day.
<We picked a good section
to do in the dark because the
trail parallels the California
Aqueduct for a few miles and
it is barren country basically
on a roadway,= she said.
A particular highlight took
place in late June near the
Donner Pass when they got to
join a group of fellow fiddlers
led by Alasdair Fraser, a mas-
ter musician and teacher who
has performed at the Sisters
Folk Festival.
<Chief and I are both fid-
dlers and had worked with
Fraser in the past at his camps,
so we planned a big fiddle
jam up there in the moun-
tains,= said Halo. <That was
my favorite part of the PCT
so far.=
A video of the jam can
be viewed on the YouTube
channel.
Overall the journey has
gone according to plan and
the two are holding up physi-
cally quite well even as they
have continued to average 20
miles a day. There is a down-
side to their fast pace, accord-
ing to Halo.
<One thing we didn9t fore-
see is the lack of flexibility
we have because we need to
finish earlier than most other
hikers,= she said. <We have
met some amazing people
who are our 8trail family,9
but we can9t readily take rest
days with them just to hang
out because we need to keep
moving.=
Halo, 49, admits that her
body is taking a beating.
<You are hurting every
day,= she said. <My body is
basically destroyed.= Yet,
she continues on, remember-
ing that she heard from one
through-hiker that it can take
three months after finishing
for the <hurt= to dissipate. She
had plans to buy some new
shoes on the stop in Shasta
to help combat a very sore
Achilles tendon.
A common issue among
PCT through-hikers is either
starting out with too much,
too little, or the wrong gear,
but Halo and Chief said that
9
PHOTO PROVIDED
Melissa “Halo” Stolasz and Sasha “Chief” Stolasz mark the milestone
crossing the California/Oregon border along the Pacific Crest Trail.
the only gear change they
have made thus far was to
give up on the solar phone
chargers and add an extra
charging brick instead.
<After two different solar
chargers not working out for
us, we ditched them,= said
Chief. <Other than that, we
have had all the right gear
from the very beginning.=
Halo and Chief expect to
be passing through the Sisters
area in late July, where they
will once again see family,
along with friends.
<It will be exciting to make
our way into Oregon,= said
Halo, <but we need to take this
journey one day at a time.=
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