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Ken and
Marcia Powers hike on the American Discovery Trail near Carson City, Nev., Wednesday,
Sept. 28,
2005. | |
A husband-and-wife team reached the Pacific Ocean
on Saturday after a 4,900-mile cross-country hike, becoming the first to
backpack the transcontinental
American Discovery Trail in one continuous trek.
Marcia and Ken Powers started Feb. 27 at Cape Henlopen in Delaware.
Nearly eight months later, they looked out over the Pacific Ocean at Point
Reyes.
"We feel great. We're done," Marcia Powers said after reaching the
ocean late Saturday afternoon, a day ahead of schedule. "We are a little
bit sad that a great adventure is over. It was a fantastic adventure."
The couple from Pleasanton, Calif., traversed cities, desert, mountains
and farmland as they crossed 13 states.
They overcame deep snow in the East, a quicksand scare in Utah, close
lightning strikes in the Midwest and blinding desert sandstorms in the
West while averaging 22 miles a day and taking only four days off.
But they raved about the
French history of St. Louis, the grandeur of the Colorado Rockies, and the
kindness of strangers they met along the way. They particularly remember
two brothers who put them
up in their homes around
Chester, Ill., and a motorcyclist who gave them water in the Utah desert.
"Americans are truly warm-hearted and wonderful people," said Marcia
Powers, who is in her 50s. "We got to meet people that we would never meet
in our sphere of daily living at home.
Joyce and Pete Cottrell, of N.H., were the first to backpack the entire
official route of the American Discovery Trail, but they hiked segments
out of sequence over two calendar years, finishing in 2003.
The transcontinental trail starts in Delaware, meandering through
Washington, D.C., Cincinnati, St. Louis and other cities, 14 national
parks and 16 national forests before hitting the Pacific at Point Reyes.
(Agencies)
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上周六，一對美國夫婦在長途跋涉4900英里、穿越整個美國大陸后順利抵達太平洋沿岸，成為全美背包族中完成不間斷徒步穿越"美國發現之旅"的第一人。
馬西婭·鮑爾斯和肯·鮑爾斯夫婦今年2月27日從美國東部特拉華州漢露潘角出發，長途跋涉將近8個月后，他們終于在舊金山北面的雷斯岬看到了向往已久的太平洋。
"感覺真棒，我們成功了！"上周六下午傍晚抵達太平洋沿岸后馬西婭·鮑爾斯說，他們比原計劃提前一天到達目的地。"一次偉大的冒險經歷就這樣結束了，我們還真覺得有點遺憾。這次冒險經歷太棒了。"
這對夫婦來自美國加利福尼亞州西部城市普萊森頓，他們穿越城市、沙漠、山川和農田，整整走過了美國13個州。
在東部，他們遭遇了暴雪；在猶他州，他們險些被流沙吞沒；在中西部，他們與閃電"親密接觸"；在西部，他們遇到了令人致盲的沙暴。夫婦倆平均每天步行22英里，中間只休息了4天。
但是，一路上他們被圣路易斯市的法國歷史遺跡和科羅拉多州洛基山脈的壯觀所折服。他們還認識了許多熱心人，這些陌生人的熱情和友善讓他們終生難忘。切斯特市的一對兄弟給他們留下了深刻的印象，那對好心的兄弟將他倆安置在自己家中。還有一個騎摩托車的人在猶他州的沙漠中給他們水喝。
"美國人真是既熱心又善良，我們遇到了許多日常生活中永遠都不會碰到的人。" 馬西婭·鮑爾斯說，她今年50出頭。
來自新罕布什爾州的喬伊斯和皮特·科特雷爾夫婦是第一個徒步完成"發現之旅"的人，但他們是在兩年中分段旅行，直到2003年才走完這段旅程的。
"發現之旅"路線是東起特拉華州，西至太平洋沿岸的雷伊斯角，其中穿越華盛頓特區、辛辛那提、圣路易斯和其他城市，經過14個國家公園和16個國家森林保護區。
（中國日報網站薛曉文譯） |
Updated: 2005-10-18 09:19
