Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | Sunday, April 30, 2017 E1

LIVING Pat BywaterManaging Editor870-1722pbywater@timesnews.com

Lots of peopleplay baseball intheir backyards

this time of year.It’s practically

a rite of spring tofield grounders inthe same spot wheresnow piles stood onlya few weeks ago.

But the Wegley

family of southwestMillcreek is different.Their backyard actuallyis a baseball diamond.

Jerry Wegley is acorporate and estateattorney for The KnoxFirm. He and his wife,Maureen, have six chil-dren. All of them havebeen involved in sports.

The Wegleys usedto live on West 10thStreet, but in 2008,they decided to lookfor a house with roomfor the family to grow.

They heard abouta home with an in-ground pool and a

baseball field, anddecided to checkit out one Sun-day after church.

“We walked into thebackyard and my wifesaid, ‘We’re buying thishouse,’” Jerry Wegleysaid. “At that point,our negotiating posi-tion really changed.”

When they movedin, the field was inhis opinion the best-maintained LittleLeague-sized diamondin Millcreek. It features

A field of dreamsthat’s close to home

John DudleyJohn Dudley

See DUDLEY, E2

A R T S | E 7

PLAN YOUR WEEKAn exhibit at MeadvilleCouncil on Arts, aconcert by Erie JuniorPhilharmonic and morelocal art happenings arescheduled for this week.

Look inside for more.

E R I E S N A P S H O T | E 3

GOAL IS FUNMore than 500 kids gettheir kicks at the GlenwoodYMCA’s spring youth soccerleague.

M O T H E R ’ S DAY

MEMORIESShare your favorite memoryof your mom, in 150 wordsor fewer, and an optionalrelated photo. Submissiondeadline is May 5.

Submit to jennie.geisler@timesnews.com by May 5 at5 p.m.

L E A R N T O S K AT E

CLUB OFFERSLESSONSWestminster Figure SkatingClub’s lessons take placeWednesdays, through May31, 6 to 7 p.m., at MercyhurstUniversity Ice Center,501 E. 38th St. For moreinformation, call 838-1914.

By Randy FergusonContributing writer

B rothers Scott and MattStearns of Saegertown haveblown the brotherhoodparadigm out of the water.

While many twenty-somethingbrothers sustain their relationshipwith brief family gatherings or theoccasional baseball game, the Stea-rns brothers hatched a plan to quittheir jobs, catch a ride to northernWashington state and hike theentire 2,650-mile Pacific CrestTrail from there to the U.S-Mexicoborder in California last year.

At age 23, Matt Stearns, a recentWashington & Jefferson Collegegrad, was just months into a prom-ising career with a materials sciencefirm in Pittsburgh. Scott Stea-rns, 28, was a successful graphic

B R O T H E R H O O D U N D E R T E S T

Scott Stearns is pictured looking off into the sunset on a day when he was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail into the night with his brother, Matt.[CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/MATT AND SCOTT STEARNS]

Scott Stearns poses on top of Old Snowy Mountain on thePacific Crest Trail in Washington. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/MATT

AND SCOTT STEARNS]

Pacific CrestTrail facts

Established by Congressin the 1968 National TrailsSystem Act, The PacificCrest Trail snakes 2,650miles from the desert ofsouthern California throughOregon and Washington,where it meets the Cana-dian border among some ofthe country’s last remain-ing glaciers. It’s known forsome of the most stunningviews, challenging ter-rain and dramatic altitudechanges in the UnitedStates.

Points of interest on asouthbound hike includeWashington state treasureslike Glacier Peak Wilder-ness, Mt. Rainier and theColumbia River Gorge intoOregon, where Mt. Hood,Crater Lake and the volcanicrock fields of North Sisterdot the landscape. TheCalifornia stretch is punctu-ated by the high SierraNevada mountains, SequoiaNational Park, El Capitanin Yosemite National Parkand Mt. Jacinto, the finalmountain before reachingthe southern terminus inCampo, California, alongthe Mexican border.

See and learn more

To see and read more about the Stearns brothers’ PacificCrest Trail experience, follow them on Instagram. MattStearns is @stearnsy7 and Scott Stearns is @scottstearns.

Online extra:

See more photos of Matt and Scott Stearns’adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail: GoErie.com/photos

Local siblings quit jobsto hike Pacific Crest Trail

See TRAIL, E4

E4 Sunday, April 30, 2017 | Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

designer with a largereal estate, entertain-ment and accommoda-tions company in Erie.Both men enjoyed theirchosen careers, butperhaps suffered froma touch of wanderlust.

Scott Stearns floatedthe idea of hiking thetrail a few years back,according to MattStearns. “I was familiarwith the AppalachianTrail, of course, buthad never heard ofthe Pacific Crest Trailbefore that time. Themore I researched thetrail and its featuresand terrain, the moreintrigued I became.”

But the two wenton with their livesfor the next coupleyears, until a Christ-mas gift exchangeput the prospect of aPacific Crest Trail hikeback on the table.

“In 2015, we gaveeach other hiking-related Christmas gifts,mainly just because weboth had an interest inhiking and not so muchbecause we had a plan,”Matt Stearns said.

Shortly after thoseholidays, and afterplenty of introspec-tion, Matt Stearnscalled Scott Stearns oneday and said, “I mightleave my job. Do youwant to go hike thistrail, and would yoube willing to quit yourjob if I quit my job?”

Scott Stearns said yeswithout hesitation. Itseems the two had beenhaving similar internaldialogues. And justlike that, the wheelswere set in motion.

“I think we bothrealized we were inpositions we wantedto get out of as soonas possible and moveon to something else.We both were ready totake off,” Matt Stearnsrecalled. “This idea wasjust floating around inthe back of our headsand things just linedup, so we went for it.”

That was aroundMarch 2016 — less thanfour months before thetwo would hit the trail.

Matt Stearns quithis job the first weekof June. Scott Stearnsquit his the first week ofJuly. The two took theirfirst steps on the PacificCrest Trail on July 17.The pair spent the briefinterim stocking upon gear and supplies,planning and acceler-ated physical training.

“Our friends werereally supportive,”Scott Stearns said.“They know us asoutdoorsy people.Everyone was excited.They were readyto take the journeywith us in spirit.”

Their mom, JeanneStearns, while sup-portive, was a bit lessenthusiastic. “Shedidn’t want us to go outinto the wilderness,”Scott Stearns said. “Shedidn’t think we hadenough training. Shesuggested a month inEurope or something,”he said with a laugh.

“None of us reallyrealized just what wewere getting into,”he admitted. “Thetrail in its entirety ishard to conceptual-ize. And I think thatunderstandably madeit hard for our mom.”

Matt Stearns remem-bered their arrival atHarts Pass in Washing-ton, where they wouldhike 30 miles north tothe Canadian borderbefore turning aroundand beginning their2,650-mile journey:“Our father (Dave Stea-rns) had driven us outto Washington as a sortof prehike road trip.The drive up the moun-tain just to get to thestarting point is prettyintimidating. You’rewinding around theside of a mountain with

a cliff to one side, andclimbing to 7,000 feet.We were surroundedby glaciers, and every-one was feeling just abit overwhelmed.”

The trail let it beknown from the out-set that the Stea-rns’ trek would notbe a cake walk.

“The first mile wehiked we were alreadycrossing snow fieldsthat we had hopedwould be melted bythe time we arrived,”Matt Stearns said. “Wehad to cross a sectionof blow-downs wheretrees five to eight feet indiameter were piled oneach other like pickupsticks. It took hoursto travel just a couplemiles. Some of thetoughest stuff we wouldhike on the whole trailhappened on day one.”

During those earlydays, the brothers metthe first of many fel-low hikers. Most wereAmerican, but theymet hikers from Japan,Australia and Chileas well, Matt said.

“These folks werefrom all walks of life,hiking for all sorts

of reasons,” he said.“Some were hiking forinspiring reasons, somefor tragic reasons. Butin essence, we were allhiking for the same rea-son. We were all tryingto survive in the wilder-ness and prove some-thing to ourselves.”

Scott Stearns recalledone remarkable south-bound hiker from Cali-fornia — Grateful Red— a modern-day hippie,film school graduate,occasional actor and,of course, Deadhead.“He had this huge redbeard and red hair,and was definitely aninteresting character.”

Red is an experi-enced hiker and trailpurist who made hisown tent, backpackand even some of hisown clothing. And, asScott Stearns learned,animal parts had noplace in Red’s lifestyle.“His food, clothingand equipment wereall vegan-based. Buthe had that trail prettywell locked-down, andknew how much food tocarry, how and wherehe could restock withvegan provisions. Histrail experience reallyhelped him. He blewus away and finishedway ahead of us.”

Trail angels wereanother remarkablepresence. They arepeople who donate theirtime, goods, servicesand even homes tothose hiking the trail.Two of the most well-known are Terrie andJoe Anderson. They’vebeen hosting hikers foryears at their home,known as Casa de Luna,near Green Valley,California. In peak sea-son, 50 or more hikersmight be found camp-ing in their backyard.

“The Andersons tookus in, fed us dinner,gave us a room in thehouse, did our laundryand cooked for us,”Matt Stearns said. “Wesat around and watched

football for the wholeweekend. Joe cooked uspancakes for breakfast.We paid for nothing.They were such gener-ous and fun people.”

Days on the trailproved to be a rollercoaster of emotions.

“Our best daysincluded passing land-marks like one of the bigmountains, a waterfallor heading into town,”Scott Stearns said.Town meant food. Itmeant people. It meanta place to rechargebatteries and the soul,even briefly. “Thebummer days werealmost always weather-related. We were eitherstuck in the rain orstuck in the snow.”

Matt Stearns echoeda similar sentiment.“The hardest days forme were those wherewe were hiking 100to 120 miles betweentowns. Your back-pack was the heaviest.You were the furthestaway from a shower or

shelter or a candy bar.”“The last 50 miles

included the highestelevation gain within aday on the whole trail,”Scott Stearns said.“We were in southernCalifornia by then, butat 7,000 feet it’s stillcold. The days werealso getting shorter.We had to hike a lot atnight. Our feet wereextremely sore. It was alot of mindless walking.It wasn’t until the lasttwo days that our spir-its lifted, as we realizedwe were actually goingto achieve the goal ofhiking the entire trail.”

They completedthe trek on Dec. 9.

“It’s hard for me tobelieve that for nearlyfive months we spentevery minute of everyday beside each other,”Matt Stearns said.“It doesn’t matter ifyou’re with a brother orgirlfriend or whoever,you’ll learn a hell of alot about someone onthe trail — how theyreact under pressure,how gritty they areand their mental focus.We went through somuch, so many intensemoments and uniquememories. My per-spective of my brotherchanged. There’s a new,indescribable connec-tion we have now.”

Asked if the trailreally does discon-nect the hiker fromreality, Scott Stearnsconfirmed, “Well,we missed the wholeelection thing. Weheard that waspretty exciting.”

Randy Ferguson is afreelance outdoorswriter based in north-west Pennsylvania.

TRAILContinued from E1

Scott Stearns posted this picture from his hike along the Pacific Crest Trail with this note: “I guess that means I amsomewhere in the United States. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/MATT AND SCOTT STEARNS]

“The first mile we hikedwe were already crossingsnow fields that we hadhoped would be meltedby the time we arrived. Wehad to cross a section ofblow-downs where treesfive to eight feet in diam-eter were piled on eachother like pickup sticks. Ittook hours to travel just acouple miles. Some of thetoughest stuff we wouldhike on the whole trailhappened on day one.”Matt Stearns