This Tri-City scientist will go a long, long way to help solve global warming
His bags are packed; he’s ready to go.
Steve Ghan is embarking on an adventure of a lifetime – hiking 1,500 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.
He hopped on the Amtrak in Pasco to head to the starting point July 27 and will be returning the same way from San Diego in a little more than three months.
Ghan, a climate scientist who retired from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, raised just over $11,000 in pledges — from 250 people — all of which will be donated upon completion to the Citizens Climate Lobby, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to building political support for a national market-based climate change solution.
The hike starts in Dunsmuir in Northern California and will cover 1,550 miles to the Mexico border.
Ghan plans to hike about 15 miles each day for a total of 100 trip days. He’s been getting in shape for months — biking 13 miles a day to work and back, climbing Badger Mountain weekly. In the past few weeks he added some longer day hikes and biking to the Badger Mountain trailhead before climbing it.
“Nonetheless,” he said, “these exercises do not fully simulate repeated 15-mile days of backpacking, but they get me halfway there without risk of overtraining.”
His ultralight pack weight is 10 pounds, without food or water. This includes his tent, sleeping pad and quilt, Jetboil stove, pack, warm clothing, first aid, light, satellite communicator, smart phone and battery. To this he adds 2 pounds of food per day, planning for up to seven days between resupply points.
Ghan also carries up to 6 liters (25 pounds) of water for 30-mile dry sections. He will treat wildland water to protect against microbial contamination using a portable handheld ultraviolet Steripen and a Katadyn BeFree hollo fiber filter.
His resupply sources are mostly towns along or near the Pacific Crest Trail, although several require him to walk or hitchhike as much as 30 miles to get to the resupply points — typically mail stops where PCT hikers send supplies ahead of time.
He can purchase fresh food only from grocery stores. Propane cannisters, which will last for seven days or so, are available at all trail towns and can be recycled after use. The major resupply locations are South Lake Tahoe and Tehachapi.
Ghan plans on making journal entries at most resupply towns, where wi-fi and power are available.
He will be dropping digital waypoints to a dedicated Garmin website by satellite text device every evening, letting people track his progress https://share.garmin.com/SteveGhan.
He’ll also be sharing his progress and adventures in a blog that’s accessible by contacting Ghan at steven.ghan@gmail.com and pledging to support CCL at 2 cents per mile.
“I am timing the hike to hopefully avoid the hottest weather,” he said. “From my starting point at mile 1,500, I’ll have plenty of miles and time to get used to the altitude as I approach Forester Pass, which is at 13,000 feet in elevation in mid to later September, and crossing the deserts in the cooler months of October and November.”
“While the hike is certainly a dream come true,” he added, “what I most want is effective and efficient national legislation that reduces carbon emissions to prevent environmental and economic harm caused by climate change”.
This story was originally published July 27, 2018 at 3:55 PM.