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Trail PocketMail By Simon Willis
Weight matters. When you're carrying a backpack the length of the
United States, from the border with Mexico all the way to Canada, across
deserts and mountain ranges, then you count every ounce. And every ounce must
count. Hiking the 2,658 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail with my
partner Liz was a harsh lesson in what we did and did not need. Sometimes we
shared a sleeping bag. We rationed toilet paper. We even cut down the handle
of our toothbrush - all to save weight. And yet our Pocketmail composer was
such an essential piece of equipment it went with us every step of the way. That was not the original intention. I had agreed to write a
monthly column for a UK backpacking magazine called TGO-The Great Outdoors,
and planned to ship the Composer ahead of us from town to town. I'd mail it
General Delivery to a Post Office, collect it when we arrived, write and send
my story, then mail it on again. Except it didn't work out like that. I mistakenly assumed it was just another writing tool.
Instead, this little silver device became our mission controller, our planner,
our lifeline and our indispensable electronic confessional. The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, to give it its full
title, passes through the wildest, most remote parts of California, Oregon
and Washington. Every 3-7 days we'd step out of the mountains and into a tiny
community. Usually these were too small to have a supermarket selling the
light weight high calories meals we needed, but they would have a Post
Office. So we had prepared thirty three boxes of food which our friends Paul
and Heather were mailing to us. However, timing was everything. It was
essential to ensure the boxes arrived in a town just before us, but not too
early or they'd be returned. Thanks in large part to Pocketmail we never once
missed a box or went hungry. What's more, we never felt isolated. Liz and I love being in
remote backcountry but spending six months away from family and friends could
have been a strain. Instead, fresh news from home was waiting for us whenever
we reached a payphone, and we could reply either with personal messages or,
by using the Group feature, could send an update bulletin to everyone we
knew. It was by far the most economical way to stay in touch and, had there
been an emergency back home, it would have been the most efficient way to
contact us. Just before embarking upon this adventure I decided to keep an
on-line Journal. It was so family and friends, or at least those who were
particularly interested in our hike, could follow it closely. I had no idea
how many people would end up reading it. Complete strangers stumbled upon the
site while searching the internet. Every night I'd lie on my back in our
Tarptent and, typing with my thumbs, put all the days events into the
Journal. I even confessed mistakes which experienced hikers shouldn't make,
in the hope prospective PCT hikers might learn from them. Indeed, when I
admitted that the dust and heat of Southern California had given me a nasty
case of chaffed buttocks, e-mails with suggested remedies came from across
Europe and the USA! (Nappy rash cream worked best.) However, this Pocketmail Composer is not alone in having
travelled the length of the Pacific Crest Trail. We've met several people,
particularly solo hikers, who would not undertake a long journey without
their small silver companion. My only problem will come when I return to
work. Will I be able to switch back to a full size keyboard? And can I stop
typing with my thumbs? Simon Willis flew to the USA with America Airlines. |
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