Meet the hikers! Click on a name to link to the biography
Ben Harth
Jonny Lane
Ezra Freeman
Maria Stavrakas
Kate Brennan
Hannah
Rachel Kotok

Ben Harth, aka Kaptain Krumholz, likes to walk. Over the years he has walked about 3,500 miles on the Appalachian Trail (where he met Tanner and Jonny), John Muir Trail, Colorado and Continental Divide Trails, and the Lost Coast Trail to name a few favorites. Krumholz also plays guitar, clarinet, and kazoo. He currently has a particular fancy for Klezmer music. Ben is 29 years old and has lived in San Francisco (where he met Maria and Kate) since completing the AT in '95. Prior to that he grew up in Chicago, lived in Israel for a year, and then studied philosophy at New College in Sarasota, FL (where he met Ezra). When he needs money Ben works as a model maker, prop and scenery builder, museum exhibit maker and general cool stuff creator. City biking, Indian food, the Glen in Golden Gate Park, really long walks, and John Coltrane-these are a few of my favorite things.

Send email to benharth@yahoo.com

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Jonny Lane is a hiker. He wears heavy leather boots, and his last pair lasted 4,000 miles. Jonny got his degree in theatre from UNH which is very useful on a long walk. Jonny worked for Ben & Jerry's before the whole Unilever thing. He got his trailname, Squirrelfight, when he thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1995. Most of his life has been spent in NH but in the last 6 years he has been in San Francisco more than New England. Jonny will turn 29 this May and he has never owned an automobile. Just bicycles. More than anything Jonny likes referring to himself in the third person. He is also a big Red Sox fan and he has a crush on Maria.

Send email to stavlane@hotmail.com

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For Ezra Freeman (Staggerin' Willie), hiking the PCT is the realization of a notion that got into his head in the summer of '96 and has been bugging him ever since. Sitting in his campsite along the San Joaquin River, halfway through the 250 mile Muir Trail, he looked at the trail stretching north and south; he imagined that trail extending all the way to Canada and Mexica and decided that his next time on the PCT, it would be for a long time. In addition to the Muir Trail, Ezra has hiked about 500 miles on the AT and 250 miles of the CDT in Colorado. After each of those 1-month trips, he left the trail wanting more. We'll see how he feels after 6 months! When not on the trail, Ezra is the president and chief butcher of Goal Liquidation Enterprises (formerly Pygmy Products, Inc.) In his spare time, he enjoys playing the upright bass and doing the do.

Send email to ezrafreeman@hotmail.com

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Maria Stavrakas, "Pickle", did not know she was hiker trash till the ranger told her group they had been "reported" as campers. I have longingly desired the feeling of true wilderness immersion for the last 2 years, since we decided to hike the PCT together. I am truly thrilled to be here with good friends, without whom I would not be able to laugh through the desert quite as easily. Our naturalist, Ezra, has helped increase my knowledge of desert plant life. I've watched lizards, birds and heard coyotes and owls throughout the day and night. I'm giving Greek lessons to Jonny. Who knows what the future in trail life has in store for me and the group.

Send email to stavlane@hotmail.com

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Kate Brennan began taking long outdooor walks as a small child. Art and Nancy, Kate's incredible parents, introduced her to this wonderful endeavor. Kate's parents rule! Kate is walking with the crew for one short month from Campo to Deep Creek. A week after stepping out of the wilderness, she will fly to Antibes, France to spend her summer. As she walks, Kate is attempting to learn French with her "Basic French" tape. She hopes to section hike the trail over the next 50 years of her life. Kate's goal in life is to travel the world several times over before building a unique home somewhere far away from most. Her hobbies consist of snowboarding, skateboarding, hangin' with her friends, travelling, travelling, and travelling. She misses her sister Molly, her parents and her entire family very much. She wishes she could fit them all in her backpack.

Send email to tahoekatiemae@hotmail.com

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Pitch earned her trail name from her incredible, almost magnetic ability to sit in or touch in any way the stickiest, messiest pine pitch available. As a young child, Pitch would often play in the woods and come home with a head full of pine pitch. Now you may not know this, but there is no way to wash pitch out of hair, you must brush it out. So, on these occasions, Pitch's mother would sit her down at the kitchen table where she would cry for hours while the pitch was painfully scraped out of her long, dark curls. Pitch now wears her hair short, so as to avoid similar incidents.

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Hello, I'm a new Vegetable called Knergneemergh. What's that, you ask? Read on. A Knergneemergh (pronounced Ner-Nee-Mer with a nasal tone) is a species of tiny mermaids that dwell in the depths of the coldest alpine lakes in Northern California unknown to science. The Knergneemergh is a rare aquatic creature that is extremely difficult to spot. The Knergneemergh has metallic turquoise scales and a purple body. Knergneemerghs are female only and hunt on land only during the full moon. - Rachel