William “Cola” Wells and I literally crossed paths the first weekend in May, 2015. I had parked my Mitsubishi Montero under a shade tree on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) where it crossed Kelso Valley Road in the mountains south of Lake Isabella, California, when he happened along.
Cola was a month into his PCT thru-hike. I was volunteering as a radio road block at the High Desert Trails Rally. I was as excited to learn about his experience as he was the race cars flying past us on roughly 60 second intervals.
Before parting ways, I asked for his website so I could follow his journey. He had completed the Appalachian Trail (AT) in 2014 and was, at the time, over 600 miles into the...
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