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2nd Chance Hiker

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    • 2nd Chance Hiker

      i don't normally watch youtube thru hiking videos unless there is something unique or different about the attempt (and there have been very few of those).

      anyway, i learned about the this guy from my georgia hiking facebook page. this individual is going to thru hike the PCT as his goal is to lose 200 pounds (he's close to 400 pounds at the beginning of the series).

      i've only watched the first video so far and about all i can say is he has a great attitude. i know that he only covered 7.3 miles in first 4 days, and several times people have had to give him water. i hope this is a life changing experience for him.

      2,000 miler
    • after 12 days he still has a positive attitude.

      he's covered 26 miles (several zero's) thus far.

      he's had help a few times from trail angels bringing him water and taking some of his winter gear from him so as to lighten his pack.

      he's from florida; i don't know why he chose the PCT or decided to start hiking at the end of january.

      i think the AT would have been a better choice as towns are closer together and there is much more help available both on the trail and from the many hostels a cell call away.

      and february in florida would have been a great opportunity to do a series of shake down hikes to get in better shape and dial in his gear while he waits for the weather to warm up a bit.
      2,000 miler
    • Glad he is having fun, hope he loses the weight. The first 20 miles are pretty easy, but he is going to reach some sections soon where at the rate he is going there is no way he can carry enough water to get through. I predict trouble ahead.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Glad he is having fun, hope he loses the weight. The first 20 miles are pretty easy, but he is going to reach some sections soon where at the rate he is going there is no way he can carry enough water to get through. I predict trouble ahead.
      Maybe if he does, he can step back and rethink what he is doing and switch over to the AT.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • max.patch wrote:

      episode 10 quick recap:

      the good: hiked 6 miles.

      the bad: ran out of water. again.
      Yup, his slow pace and poor water management is going to bite him in the butt at some point. I really don't think he knows how lucky he has been with the rain and the clouds so far. He was 5 miles from Mount Laguna in the last video so the next day should not be a problem. I seem to remember several water opportunities and some road crossings after that, but when he gets into the long, dry stretches he had better have a plan.

      I am watching his videos with interest; and I am rooting for him. I appreciate his good and positive nature, but I also detect some justified nervousness in his laughter.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • a post from reddit which i believe to be factually correct:

      Funny how so many people post vlogs, but folks don't question THEIR motives. Cory (Second Chance) started this as a journey to lose weight and get a second chance at life. His original facebook site was just his way to keep his journey separate from his personal facebook. He never expected any of the attention, and it's kinda shocking to him. I can tell you from conversations I've had with him that he was completely unprepared for the social media storm. He's had to learn to deal with stalkers, with overly enthusiastic fans - hell, he had to learn to delay posting because people were trying to find him on trail! So, if you had some idea that this was planned, you are wrong. How do I know this? I'm Stingray in his videos, and I've been helping him along.
      2,000 miler
    • There is also a FB page that seems to be moderated by someone close to him. Similar sentiments were echoed, the attention he is getting from the public is a little overwhelming and asking people to keep some distance and respect his privacy. I will be continuing my PCT section hike towards the end of May around mile 266, but if he is still on trail he will probably be well past that by the time I get there.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • Second Chance has a new video up...



      I have to admit, I love this guy. He finally had a 10 mile day.

      The remember the part of the trail seen in this video, it is after Mount Laguna. So sunny, hot, and dust dry for me. I am jealous of how pretty, cloudy, and green it is now. Makes me wish I could get out there this time of year. With all the rain they have been getting, this is setting up to be a 'Super Bloom' year in the desert too. Ughh, maybe if I ever get to retire.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Second Chance has a new video up...



      I have to admit, I love this guy. He finally had a 10 mile day.

      The remember the part of the trail seen in this video, it is after Mount Laguna. So sunny, hot, and dust dry for me. I am jealous of how pretty, cloudy, and green it is now. Makes me wish I could get out there this time of year. With all the rain they have been getting, this is setting up to be a 'Super Bloom' year in the desert too. Ughh, maybe if I ever get to retire.
      When I first started reading your post the first thing that ran through my mind was the flexibility in retirement, and of course that is where you ended. :)

      Great thing about teaching is the time off in the summer. The downside is that it is not Fall or Spring.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • When the PCTA started setting per day start limits on permits I had mixed reactions. I did the PCT 20+ years ago now & THE resouce was Ray Jardines Guide. While I disagreed with some of his advise, just about everyone was on one of his schedules. All of his schedules arrived at Kennedy Meadows at the same time when he figured the snow pack was low enough that the Sierra could be traversed. I hit it in an extremely high snow year (95) & there was a bottleneck there. Hikers were planning bail out points & how to get to lower elevations with less snow further north. A few were waiting on mountaineering equipment to push through. I hiked with one of the six I know that pushed through. While the "Hiker Campsite" grew I think I counted 44 at the high point.

      Fast forward 20 yeqrs where the hostel in Agua Dulce sets their capacity at 50 & a maximum 2 night stay. 50 is also the number of permits issued per day to start. Traditionally the PCT has been about timing. Start at a point that snow is low enough in the Sierra to allow safe travel then race to get to Canada before snow hits again up in the Cascades. I think I was on Rays 5 month iteneray & started mid April. Maybe hikers should take a friends advise & start early & take time off just before the Sierra.

      This could work out for Second Chance with an early start. I found water in places the guidebook said were often dry in hiking season. The trail through the Mojave has changed since I hiked it ( I was lucky enough to arrange water cashes with people I was hiking with), After that there was a strech with 20+ miles day after day between water sources. One of them was a cattle pond complete with cattle pissing & crapping in it Trail Angel (I don't think he even knew the term) came driving down the road from work & invited us to his place. Went from desert to napping in lush grass besides a swimming pond waiting for dusk to night hike to make some miles. Hopefully more seasonal streams will be running for second chance. That along with more hostels & hikers services, Guthook, etc. he will continue on.
    • Astro wrote:

      Great thing about teaching is the time off in the summer. The downside is that it is not Fall or Spring.

      I keep telling my wife I have it tough, but she doesn't believe me. I would trade my summer for the Fall any day. The fall is my favorite time of the year.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • Mountain Mike -

      As a section hiker I have some choice as to when I hike. I went through the Sierras in August which was gorgeous, but I know I had it easy compared to the thru-hikers. On the other hand the earliest I can get out to do these desert sections is the end of May. If all goes well I will be hiking across the mojave towards Tehachapi in early June. That should be interesting. This pale Irish boy really suffers in the desert.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Mountain Mike -

      As a section hiker I have some choice as to when I hike. I went through the Sierras in August which was gorgeous, but I know I had it easy compared to the thru-hikers. On the other hand the earliest I can get out to do these desert sections is the end of May. If all goes well I will be hiking across the mojave towards Tehachapi in early June. That should be interesting. This pale Irish boy really suffers in the desert.
      I also did the Sierra in August, SOBO when I went back to fill it in. Most of it with a Thru hiker that got giardia & just before it & after weeks off the trail opted for sobo to finish the season. Fords that his friends described as waist deep were rock hops or knee high for us.

      I can't offer you any advise on that section of trail since the route through the Tejon ranch was in planning/construction mode the year I was hiking it. Using Delormne maps we planned our own route across the desert & arranged water caches with Michele's parents whom were planning to meet us in the town of Mojave. It was frustrating camping next to a fenced in resivoir & walking along irrigation canals, also fenced in. But maybe you will get lucky like we did. When we hit our first cach location it hadn't arrived yet. It was so cold we were all still in our fleece! We each still had at minimum a liter of water so we pushed on. Our trail angels caught up with us along a road walk & tanked us up & dropped a late day cache at the end of our road walk. As we set up camp a few miles later I actually saw some snowflakes. It was brief but had to laugh at the irony of snow in the Mohave Desert in June.
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Great thing about teaching is the time off in the summer. The downside is that it is not Fall or Spring.
      I keep telling my wife I have it tough, but she doesn't believe me. I would trade my summer for the Fall any day. The fall is my favorite time of the year.
      Live in AL, MS, LA and you'd trade your summer for anything....FL would be better than these.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • This guy is an inspiration...he’s awesome. I don’t care how far he gets, he got off the couch and he’s a winner in my book.

      It takes so much courage to do what he’s doing. It’s easy to sit around feeling sorry for yourself, staying in your rut while your health declines. It’s hard to take the bull by the horns and do something about it...especially when you don’t have a clue what you’re doing. I can totally identify with him. And he does it with a smile. His laugh is contagious.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      This guy is an inspiration...he’s awesome. I don’t care how far he gets, he got off the couch and he’s a winner in my book.

      It takes so much courage to do what he’s doing. It’s easy to sit around feeling sorry for yourself, staying in your rut while your health declines. It’s hard to take the bull by the horns and do something about it...especially when you don’t have a clue what you’re doing. I can totally identify with him. And he does it with a smile. His laugh is contagious.
      I think he has a great positive attitude. I hope he is able to complete the trail. I'm enjoying his videos. I
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • These are two friends I did 54 miles of the Foothills Trail with (scary huh?), the big guy was 326 then, in the past few months he's lost 77 pounds...the third guy in the other pic is Jim, our shuttle.
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      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • Astro wrote:

      That one guy has some serious dreadlocks. With the smaller picture on my phone I thought in the first one it was a backpack. :)
      He carries his pillow on his head...he's nothing like you would expect him to be, about as laid back and easy going as they get...if you hung out with him you'd never guess the big guy is an attorney, both good company.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.