THE LON ROAD HOME — Retiring SWC IT whiz Lon Cooper is hiking royalty due to his popular website and epic treks. In April he will start a 2,660 mile hike from Mexico to Canada. Courtesy Photo

THE LON ROAD HOME — Retiring SWC IT whiz Lon Cooper is hiking royalty due to his popular website and epic treks. In April he will start a 2,660 mile hike from Mexico to Canada. Courtesy Photo

 

FORREST GUMP JUST FELT LIKE RUNNING.  LON COOPER, SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE’S PERIPATETIC INSTRUCTIONAL LAB TECHNICIAN, JUST FELT LIKE HIKING.

 

 

Cooper retires from SWC on March 7, one day shy of his 59th birthday.  After bidding farewell to the campus and community he has helped to keep running, he plans to do some walking.

All the way to Canada.

“On April 3 I am going to Campo,” he said.  “That is where the start of the Pacific Crest Trail is and I will start walking north from there, 2,660 miles to Canada.”

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a beloved trail for hikers.  Spanning from Mexico to Canada, crossing California, Oregon and Washington state lines.  Its southern terminus is about 38 miles east of SWC or about an hour car ride away.  From there, just beyond 26 National Forests, seven National Parks, five State Parks and three National Monuments, its northern terminus is in Manning Park in British Columbia, Canada.

Many people hike sections of the PCT, but those who are bold hike it end-to-end, which usually takes five to six months to complete.

They call themselves thru-hikers.

More than 25 years ago, Cooper lived in Texas and worked as a photojournalist for the Austin American-Statesman, the Dallas Morning News and various other smaller publications.

An outdoorsman all his life, Cooper thought hiking opportunities in Texas were not spectacular, but found a new career path that was.

“It was the very beginning of digital imaging and the Dallas Morning News was really interested in that,” he said.  “They encouraged me to learn about it, so I did.”

Cooper’s technology, computer education and expertise are a result of the time he spent working with the Dallas Morning News.

In 1995 Cooper moved to California where he worked as the information technology director at the Bakersfield California Newspaper.

Cooper soon discovered hiking opportunities in abundance.

“When I moved to Bakersfield, I was fairly close to the Sierra Nevada,” he said.  “I ended up hiking the John Muir Trail that goes from Yosemite to Mount Whitney.”

Prior to hiking the John Muir Trail, Cooper only had a few weekend treks under his belt, but nothing he would consider substantial.  The John Muir Trail was his first long hike and after that monumental journey he was hooked.

Cooper has since hiked the PCT extensively, typically hiking anywhere from 15 to 20 miles a day.

“I have been a little obsessed with the PCT,” he said.  “I have hiked it every summer, several hundred miles of it.”

He has also put an extremely generous amount of time and effort into creating maps for the PCT.  His maps are the cumulative result of data logged into his GPS logging device from 2007 to 2013.  His maps can be found on his websites pctmaps.net, pctwater.com and lon.net.

Along with fellow hiker David Lippke, Cooper created Halfmile’s PCT, a free app for smart phones that is a companion to his maps.  It shows users PCT landmarks and trail notes relevant to exact locations.  Cooper’s maps are popular amongst PCT hikers and explains where his nickname, “Half Mile,” came from.

Jack Haskel, a trail information specialist for the Pacific Crest Trail Association, regards Cooper as an expert on the PCT due to his vast knowledge from hiking and mapping it for many years.  Haskel acknowledges the importance of Cooper’s maps to hikers of the PCT.

“They are probably the most widely used maps for long distance hikers,” Haskel said.  “He helps to educate people through his maps.  They are definitely appreciated and loved.”

Haskel estimates there are around 700 to 800 people each year who attempt thru-hiking the PCT.

On Cooper’s thru-hike, Deb Kress, his girlfriend, will accompany him.

“It has been his dream for a long time,” she said.

Kress said they originally planned to thru-hike the PCT in 2015, but decided to go this April because Cooper will retire a year earlier than anticipated.  Kress, whose longest hike was a three-week continuous hike of the John Muir Trail, has mixed feelings about their imminent hike of the PCT.

“It kind of jolted me a little bit,” she said.  “It is scary.  I cannot wrap my head around how long this trail is.  But I am feeling pretty confident that when I am following him on this trail I am going to get where I need to go.”

Cooper estimates his gear, not including food and water, will weigh around 12 pounds.  That includes a backpack, a tent, a sleeping bag, a cook-stove, a knife, a first-aid kit, spare clothes, rain gear, an iPhone and a few other necessities.  He and his girlfriend will also have with them collapsible water containers, capable of carrying about seven liters, which they will refill at water caches, springs and streams.  Going north until about Lake Tahoe, they will stop at post offices to pick up packages they sent to themselves, containing food and snacks such as dried fruit, granola, quinoa, rice, beef and salmon jerky, crackers and freeze dried spaghetti.  After passing Lake Tahoe, Cooper and Kress will buy food at stores along the way.

Cooper estimates they will reach Canada six and a half months after he starts or at least by October.

Hikers have perished on the trail by falling off mountains, dying from hypothermia and a couple were hit by a car while hiking alongside a highway.

Cooper said he is prepared and not scared.

“People will ask if it is dangerous, like if wild animals are going to get you,” he said.  “But I do not think of it as dangerous at all.”

Donna Arnold, dean of the School of Arts and Communication, was Cooper’s supervisor during his first five years at SWC.  She was not aware of Cooper’s upcoming PCT hike, she said, but not surprised by it either because he “is a typical outdoorsman.”

Arnold and his co-workers praise Cooper at SWC for his respectful demeanor, strong work ethic and concern for the quality of his work and the impact it can have on students.

“When you call Lon and ask him for assistance, he is always trying to figure out the best way to solve the problem,” Arnold said.  “He is a great worker, we are really going to miss him.”

Forrest Gump said he ran across the United States for no particular reason, but the swift and efficient yet ever-so-kind computer technician, knows exactly why he is hiking up the PCT.

“I love the PCT, it is a great trail,” he said.  “You have the natural beauty, but then there is also the aspect of a journey to set out on foot with everything you need to just walk.”

And thus Lon “Half Mile” Cooper will walk, one step at a time.

Just about 5,320 half miles to Canada.