Ballard and Walker: PCT Thru-Hikers

Queen of the hill

Pacific Crest Trail

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August 21, 2000—Day 105—Mile 1945—Elk Lake Resort, Oregon—Duffy's Diary: Ten days ago we stopped by the Green Springs Inn, a quaint establishment not far from Hyatt Lake (mile 1745). While enjoying a rare meal of something other than noodles or peanut butter (if you go, be sure to try their beer bread), we chatted with the inn's owner. His name was Diarmuid—how very medieval—and he was quite knowledgeable about the PCT as well as its gossip. With a twinkle in his eye, Diarmuid filled us in on the PCTers who'd recently come through his establishment—including the infamous Bill and Hillary. These couple-hikers had never seemed to mesh on the trail and from early on we speculated that they might be destined to follow separate paths.

Diarmuid added fuel to the fire, noting that "they looked like they were breaking up." It seems that Hillary had finally gotten fed up with Bill's loafing and was moving ahead without him. Bill wasn't so psyched about solo-hiking so he'd decided to call it quits and return home to Arkansas. Diarmuid wouldn't speculate on Hillary's post-trail plans but was eager to note that he'd heard from other sources that she seemed to be spending quite a bit of time with Rudy, a former hiking rival (it is worth noting that, as these things go, Hillary is a very competitive hiker).

Yep, more evidence that being in the hiking business can be tough on couplehood. Angela explored this subject in entertaining fashion in our last entry, but I would be remiss if I let her get the only word on the subject. So here is my rebuttal, err, perspective. [MORE. . .]

Duffy and Angela are losing weight! Check out what gear they've dropped. Also see their original gear lists.