Setbacks and Slight Changes

Hey everybody.
There have been some minor setbacks. As you know from the counter I left on May First. What some of you don't know is that I ran into trouble shortly after starting. I apologize for the break in information, but here is a complete telling of what happened:
One of the main symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis is the body's inability to retain sodium. If you are the athletic type you know the value of sodium as an electrolyte. Without electrolytes one can suffer a condition called hypotonic dehydration. That is exactly what happened to me.
On the second day of the hike I was drinking plenty of water and covering ground. At around 11:30 in the morning I replenished my water reserves at a spring (using water filter of course) and hefted on my incredibly heavy pack (56 lbs. I know because we weighed it at the hospital) and continued on my way. Shortly afterwards I began to feel sick.
Now when I say "sick" I use the term in a loose way. Loose in that I can not adequately describe exactly how I was feeling beyond saying; nauseous, tired, short of breath, numbness in my extremities, and incredibly fatigued. I knew that something wasn't right.
As I continued on my way the feeling of illness and not being right continued to intensify. I looked at my map and picked a spot a few miles ahead as my next rest point, at which time if I was not feeling better I would call for help. I never really got the opportunity to make that decision, my body made it for me.
As soon as I arrived at my checkpoint (which was at the crossing of the trail and a county fire road) my legs collapsed under me and I began to vigorously vomit. Even though I had eaten, I was primarily vomiting very sour water. At this point I became very cold despite the 90+ heat and started to shiver uncontrollably. I knew that I needed help. As luck would have it I did have slight phone service and so I called 911.
On call to the county sheriff, there was some confusion. Even though I knew where I was on my map, it seemed that the sheriff could not find my location on his map (it later turns out that the county fire road has three different names on three different maps...), so they sent the helicopter out to find me.
The next few hours are very dreamlike for me. The helicopter had to make six passes over my general location before they were able to spot me waiving a red bandana as a signal. By this time the winds had picked up to a point where they could not safely make a landing. They were able to locate the road I was at however, and radioed the location to ground crews. I had just about passed out when I was awoken some twenty-ish minutes later by the sound of a big forestry truck and a sheriff come to my rescue.
I was loaded into the sheriff's SUV and taken down the mountain (I was at roughly 2,979 feet) to a waiting ambulance. Then by ambulance to Kaiser in San Diego.
I was treated for hypotonic dehydration in the emergency room, and then just sort of turned loose into the streets of San Diego. At the time it looked as though I would have a ride out to a spot further out on the trail where I could begin again, but that fell through. After two days of trying to figure something out down in San Diego it became apparent that the best course of action would be to return home temporarily and figure out a new strategy. It seems that I had bitten off more than I could chew.
So here is where we are currently: I have an appointment with my doctors today for a full physical, as well as to get checked for diabetes (seems that the shock to my system was so great that I may have actually given myself diabetes), and after hearing their conclusions I will go from there. What I would like to do is to start again but further north in the Sierras, and go from that point on into Canada. Then return next season and start at the same place but work southwards. But this is still up in the air. What is certain is that I am going back. Even if it takes me multiple seasons, I will complete the PCT.
My goal is long term success of the mission. Even though I had wanted to thru-hike the whole thing, it seems that with my condition I should focus more on what it will take to complete the hike in the long run.
If in the event that I am not given the okay to return to the trail this season, and the hike needs to be put on hold, all money in the hike fund will be split between the two non profits as planned.
I apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment that this might have all caused. Believe me, it doesn't make me happy that this is how things are unfolding. Yet as I have always found in life, things don't always unfold how you want them to. But they do unfold how they are going to unfold, and it is all we can to do to just roll with it and make the best of it.
I thank everyone for their support and am as always welcome to input and suggestions from everyone.
Wish me luck.
-Cody

Updates!

Hey Everybody!
So a lot has been happening this past week as I gear up to the final week before the hike. First is that Franks Walk has been approved for a kickstarter page (www.kickstarter.com). The planned project through kickstarter is a feature length documentary to be created out of all of the film footage after the hike. We hope to have the kickstarter up within the week.
Second is that the GPS tacker is up and running (albeit not linked to the page just yet). You can check it out for right now by visiting http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0zJcuRoNA25uyizG1nn08zn9lddbid3YM .
Third: The Ghost Of Wrights has a show tonight at 9:00pm at Carrie Nation's bar in Los Gatos to launch our second EP.
Fourth: I will be in the NBC11 studio tomorrow morning to film an interview that will air Saturday morning at around 7:00 am. Hooray for more exposure!
Other things that have happened in the last week: The original departure date came and went, and I turned 25 years old.
Also, Franks Walk items are coming soon. The first item that will be available will be foam "Can Koozies" with the Franks Walk logo on them. These will be given to anyone who donates (or already has donated) to the hike fund. We hope to have T-shirts available as well in the near future.
Until next time;
-Cody

Correction:

Just wanted to let you all know that the location of The Ghost of Wrights show has changed from Orchard Valley Coffee in downtown Campbell to the patio of Borders Books in Los Gatos. The date and ti e are the same though.
-Cody

Come see the band!

Hey everyone,
The Ghost Of Wrights (that's the band I play mountain dulcimer for) has a show next friday (April 15th) at 8pm at Orchard Valley Coffee Co. in downtown Campbell. It will most likely be my last performance before I depart for the hike. You should all come out and see us. To check out some sample songs check out our website here.  I look forward to meeting a lot of you at the show!
-Cody
p.s. We are tentatively calling our style "neo-folk rock" So if you like folk/rock and Americana type music (think KPIG) you should come and give us a listen.

Indy

Just took my dog, Indy (short for Indiana "We called the dog Indiana."), down to the Jolley's in Morgan Hill. She will be staying there while I am away. It is her first time away from home without me since she was a pup. I can tell she was really sad and confused when it came time for me to leave her there. Luckily, this time it is only for the weekend so she can start getting used to her new temporary home. There are also a bunch of new dogs for her to make friends with.
When I drove into the drive way at home and she didn't run up to greet the car, it really hit me how much I will miss her while I am away. Just as she will miss me too.
Maybe I can get someone to bring her out to meet me somewhere on the trail.
Pets: another thing that the PCT hiker needs to consider.
-Cody
p.s. Thanks to the Jolley's for taking care of Indy while I am away. I know they will take good care of her and make her welcome in their family.

Wow! News Coverage!

Howdy Y'all!
So it looks like the San Jose Mercury has picked up the story now! Which is totally exciting because I was also (in a round about way) on the cover of the San Francisco Chronicle today. I say that it is "a round about way" because the story is actually about a recent dig that I was associated with. I was part of the initial team representing Santa Clara University working under Dr. Timothy King at the Castroville Mammoth Dig. So that is three papers in one week! Not too shabby.
Also, in the wake of the Los Gatos Weekly and Mercury articles I am receiving an amazing response from people. It is such a good feeling to see that Jessie's story and my promise are touching so many peoples lives. It would make Jess smile to see how this whole thing is progressing. I even received a donation all the way from Brooklyn NY! I don't even know any one in Brooklyn!
Things are really rolling now!
Also I have decided to delay my departure officially until May first to allow for some melt time. I have also received similar advice from a few people who have hiked the PCT before.
Until next time,
-Cody

Updates!

Hey Y'all,
The clock is ticking! According to the countdown as of now I have eighteen days left. However that may change... Due to the recent storms and the subsequent snow pack that they have left in the Sierra (allegedly the most snow the Truckee-Tahoe area has seen in 50 years)  I am considering delaying my departure by two weeks to allow for some extra "melt time" before I expect to reach that area in late June. This extra time is also needed to give my coffers a chance to fill up a bit as well. So the departure date may actually be moved to Sunday May First: May Day. Which is traditionally considered a good day to begin new endeavors.
Website Updates: Check back soon for new the new V-Blog page on the website where videos and journal entries will be posted, and also check back soon for the launch of the "Where's Cody?" map.
In other news: I was in The News. The Los Gatos Weekly just ran a story about my hike, and I am very excited for the help it will give me in getting the word out.
Gear Updates: My gear list is almost complete. I just purchased the MSR Whisperlite backpacking stove and I hope that it lives up to and surpasses the expectations I have for it. Still left on the list is my Tent, water purifier, and hiking poles. I already have them picked out- I just need to purchase now.
Personal Stuffs: The band (The Ghost Of Wrights) is scrambling to finish our second EP and get it released before my departure. The guys will continue playing shows without me, but will be sans dulcimer for five months. You can check out out album blog and show updates at our website www.theghostofwrights.com 
Lastly for this update I want to give a special specific shout out to my wonderful girlfriend Alison who has been supportive enough of my seeming insanity to let me go for five months. I love you Alison! Go buy stuff from her at the Borders Fixture Sale.
Until next time,
-Cody