When Nathan Martin of Oakland says he needs lightweight Judaica, he’s talking strictly in terms of pounds — not intellectual content.
After all, every ounce counts for a guy who’s going to carry his house on his back for nearly six months.
The 33-year-old Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory researcher plans to set off in mid-April to hike the 2,600-mile Pacific Coast Trail that stretches from the California-Mexico border to just inside British Columbia.
His packing list so far includes such barebones essentials as three pair of socks, one pair of specialty hiking pants, an ice ax, a first-aid kit, plus a tallit, siddur and mezuzah.
“There is a whole art to trying to reduce the weight as much as possible and still have a safe trip,” said Martin, who is hiking to raise money for charity and as a personal challenge.
As for bringing the Judaica, “that’s important to me. It’s worth the extra weight.” Martin figures the religious kit will weigh in at about four-fifths of a pound; overall, he expects to heft a pack weighing 35 to 40 pounds.
Dubbing himself the “chai walker,” Martin has enlisted the support of family and friends as well as fellow members of Berkeley’s Congregation Netivot Shalom in his undertaking.
The congregation’s social action committee, on which Martin serves, will help coordinate a rendezvous weekend with him June 11 to 12 somewhere in Yosemite.
The committee also is giving Martin some of the Judaica for his journey, including a waterproof mezuzah that members plan to find for his tent. Committee chairwoman Cheryl Hyde says the group also will encourage others to support Martin’s endeavor.
Martin hopes his hike will raise several thousand dollars for a Sierra Club program called Inner City Outings. The program offers outdoor activities for inner-city youth, the disabled and others who normally wouldn’t have adventures in the wilderness.
“It sort of made sense if I’m going to be taking a lot of time out that I do something helpful for other people as well,” Martin said. Using the “chai” theme, Martinis asking supporters to sponsor his efforts with a chai donation of $18 or a double chai of $36.
Chai also refers to the 18 miles he plans to log daily to reach his goal. Martin wants to arrive Oct. 8 in Manning Park, B.C., before bad weather sets in next fall.
He hopes to begin his journey April 15 from a place called Campo, just north of the Mexican border. From there, he’ll head north along the spine of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, through the Cascades in Oregon and Washington into Canada.
“I’m trying to time it so there still will be snow but it will be walkable,” he said.
“It’s a very rigorous, challenging thing,” acknowledges Martin, whose longest single hiking trip until now has been on the order of 50 to 75 miles.
“I’d say I have moderate experience. I’m not by any means highly experienced,” he said. However, he’s confident he can meet the challenge. “I think a lot of it boils down to the willpower to keep walking, over any particular backpacking technique,” he said.
Martin said about 200 hikers likely will attempt to traverse the entire trail this year; he estimates about half will finish.
To prepare for the trip, he is taking wilderness training classes and is hiking 20 miles weekly with a weighted backpack. Sometimes, he’ll hoist his pack and commute 45 minutes by foot from his Rockridge home to his job in the hills on the Berkeley campus. “It looks kind of funny,” he admits.
When Martin sets foot on the actual trail, however, that heavy pack will mean survival. Because water is scarce along some parts of the route in southern California, he’ll have to load up with extra liquid.
“There are some sections you have to go 20 to 40 miles without water,” he said. He may bring a cellular phone with him in case of an emergency.
Though most of his hike likely will be solo, Martin has arranged for family, friends and congregation members to meet him at designated points to replenish his food supplies. He’ll keep a travel journal and mail off installments so others can follow his progress on a Web site.
Martin expects to travel for a few days at a time with other hikers he meets along the way.
“I think it would be great to meet up weekly with Jewish people to study,” Martin said, though acknowledging his long hike may present logistical problems to that happening. Nonetheless, Martin said he wants to observe Shabbat in some way on the trail. “I’ll probably camp that day or not walk a whole lot and say some prayers.”