"We made some miscalculations," was how Ron Gaiser described the hike he and Kiwanis Club President Jonathan Hall took on the Pacific Crest Trail. The two men undertook the hike as a fundraiser for the Club, asking each member to donate dollars for miles hiked. At the last Kiwanis meeting they showed pictures and talked about their experience.

The hikers set off from Lander's Meadow and planned to hike toward Tehachapi in five days. They got a ride to that point and were prepared with food, water, tents, and rain gear. All this required them to carry heavy packs and that was fine at the beginning. The weather was nice, and the scenery was beautiful. They were euphoric that first day.

However, the next day the clouds moved in, and it became increasing colder. Then the wind blew and heavy rain came pounding down. They were completely soaked within 15 minutes. Their carefully packed rain gear was no match for the onslaught of the rain. Two days of rain made the trail muddy and slippery, causing one of them to take a dangerous fall.

In spite of the rain, the hikers ran out of water and became thirsty and dehydrated. They had not realized carrying heavy packs and hiking up steep hills would require more water than usual. They separated at this time with the more able man going ahead to look for water.

The five-day hike turned into a six-day hike, but Ron and Jonathan finally reached their destination. Both declared, "We won't do that again." Kiwanis members were amused by the humor, trials, and disasters that happened to these two men who vowed to become Trail Angels rather than Pacific Crest Hikers.

The Kiwanis Club of Tehachapi is an organization dedicated to serving the children of the world, one child at a time. The club meets every Wednesday noon at the Tehachapi Police Department Community Room, 220 W. C St. Guests and prospective members are always welcome. Please call (661) 823-4848 for further information. Check out our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/KiwanisTehachapi.