Editor’s note: The Helena National Forest’s “Adventure Girl” Sue Farley — aka Dusty — recently set out to fulfill a lifelong dream of hiking the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington. This is the third of her occasional dispatches to the Independent Record from the trail.

It’s not uncommon lately, when I run into friends and acquaintances to be asked, “How’s your friend doing? You know, your friend that is taking that big ‘hike’?”

“Oh! That friend, she’s doing great!” I’m always proud to report. With three months and 1,805 miles under her boots, she has less than two months or 800 miles to go.

Just last week, she left a message on my voice mail. She was calling from Shasta City, Calif., where she had officially reached the 1,500 mile marker. I was surprised to hear she was still in California, learning that more than two-thirds of the trail is in California.

On the average, Dusty (new trail name Glacier) hikes more than 20 miles a day. Her longest day so far has been 27.4 miles. She’s developed a fixation on food — careful not to lose any more weight, she finds it difficult to carry enough and to eat enough food.

She laughed as she recalled a conversation she had with a day hiker near Lake Tahoe in late June. As she came upon an older gentleman, he asked, “Where ya headed?” His eyes really lit-up when she said “Canada.” He proceeded to ask what her biggest challenges were. When she said it was tough to eat enough, he offered her a fresh PB&J. She was touched by the gesture and devoured the gourmet sandwich.

She’s been collecting trail recipes from fellow hikers and has developed a new favorite… Soy-Ginger Asian Noodles with salmon steaks. Hmmm, doesn’t sound half bad. So much for roughing it.

Thoughts of friends and family keep her strong. She looks forward to town stops every 10-14 days when she sports her Hawaiian town shirt and eagerly heads to the post office to collect mail and eat restaurant food! Lots of restaurant food!

Having completed the first leg of the trip, “strolling through California,” Dusty will spend less than a month in Oregon before crossing the Northern Cascades of Washington. The Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail is the shortest and is considered the easiest. The PCT Web page describes Oregon’s Cascade Range as “a subdued volcanic landscape, having a gentle crest that is fairly constant in elevation.” The only major elevation change is the 3,160-foot drop into the Columbia River Scenic Gorge to cross the Columbia River and into Washington via the Bridge of the Gods. The chief attractions will be Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the nation, and Mount Hood, Oregon’s largest and most hazardous active volcano.

Since she has reached the halfway mark, it has sunk in for her how much of an effort it’s been to hike half way, and it is daunting to think about how far she has left to go. These days, though, she allows her thoughts to turn to home, family and friends. Heck, she might even be thinking about work. I wonder if there are days she “wills” her feet forward. Perhaps she makes a pact with her feet… “You carry me another 20 miles and I’ll buy you a new pair of socks!”

For more information about the Pacific Crest Trail, visit the Web site at www.pcta.org.