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by Jim Horn, with Photos by Jim Hamlin and Jim Horn
A little bit of history on our association with the West Coast Trail. Jim Hamlin and I did the trail in 2002, and by the time we’d finished the journey, we’d pretty much decided to make it an annual getaway. The trail is grueling, both mentally and physically – it’s dangerous and it’s serene, giving plenty of opportunities to find out what you’re made of and to tighten the bonds of friendship and to help and be helped by others. Jim and I had made this pact – to do an annual trip to the WCT, but this, the first anniversary of that decision, was looking like it was going to be the first time we’d have to skip the trek. We’d booked the Chilkoot Trail for Mid-July and TWO week-long trips were out of the question. We’d joked several times throughout the past couple of months about doing the trail this year, and late in May, after a lunch of sushi, we decided to call and see if we could still get reservations for mid-June. As it turned out, there were quite a few spots open, and after a few arduous seconds of debate, we decided to go for it. I asked my wife, Kris, what she thought of the idea, and she was surprisingly supportive and gave me some ideas on how we could make things work. I happily reported this information to Jim, and the fact that now it was his turn to get permission! While we were on my computer, booking and checking schedules, Todd Martin, a friend from ClubTread, came online and asked what we were up to. After telling him, we decided to ask him if he wanted to join us. I don’t know if Todd’s a “spur of the moment” kind of guy, but after about a minute of discussion, he was in for the odyssey.
So there it was – Jim Hamlin (LongShadow), Jim Horn (Jimbo), and Todd Martin (Hiking_nut) were ready for another adventure – but it was riding on Jim’s ability to get permission from his wife, Natalie. This was a Friday afternoon, and Jim asked for the weekend to discuss things with her. By Monday afternoon, we were booked and heading back to the West Coast Trail. Oh Yeah, BABE! :)
Our scheduled departure date was June 18th, 2003 – three days before summer solstice – affording us a week of the longest days of the year for the adventure of our lives.