It was a dream come true for AXE. There they were. 10:55 AM on Saturday May 1st... sitting around "g's" kitchen counter... cell phones in hand... poised with index finger in position... ready to slam the speed dial for Vancouver Island's, West Coast Trail's (WCT) reservation desk at exactly 11:00 AM EST. Nervous beads of sweat had been forming on AXE's forehead... for days... as he anticipated the huge potential for being closed out of a permit. And yet... there they were: AXE, the Hat, "g" and Slammin Sarah - all ready to swamp the reservation desk's busy signal with calls from Malta, NY.

The WCT only allows 60 hikers to enter the trail per day; 26 from the northern and 26 from the southern trailheads, and 8 from the middle of the trail via Nitinat Lake. The best weather is from July through August. After their failed attempt in 2003 to secure a permit to hike the only 50 mile loop in Glacier National Park, their long string of permit success had been surprisingly killed.

At 11:00 AM the dialing frenzy began. There was early dialing confusion as "g" and AXE got through to a WCT phone cue that was apparently available only because they had dialed the WCT phone exchange before it was switched to operators who would begin to take reservation requests. At 11:04 AM, Slammin' Sarah broke through and was in! Quickly, her cell phone was handed to AXE who switched into the personification of an air traffic controller with his pants on fire. "Testing... one, two three. I hear you WCT permit desk loud and clear. This is AXE, my address is... our requested dates are... blah, blah, blah!"

The Boys were going to Vancouver Island on July 22nd. It was May 1st and there was no way the Boys could have forecasted the series of disasters that still awaited them. Three weeks after getting their permit, "g" would become quasi-disabled (4-weeks) with severe muscle spasms to his back after bending over his bivy sack on the 3rd day of backpacking in the Adirondack High Peaks Region. Four weeks after getting their permit, the Knee would become perilously close to back surgery when he hoisted a 250-lb power washer into the back of his truck. Axe's 9-month, chronic knee problem (stretched ACL) taught him he could hike relatively flat terrain, but his ability to endure 6-days of hiking the WCT would become a matter of calculating drive to succeed. And the Hat's hiking plans were nearly dashed because of a minor oversight with his wife - celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary the same night the Boys had discussed flying to B.C. Physically... three of the four Boys were in very sensitive and precarious health situations.

On June 20th, with four weeks until their departure date, it looked like only the Hat was a shoe-in for hiking the trip. How would the boys fare? Were they becoming old and fragile or simply too unlucky to hike? Check out the links below... as the Boys attempt to hike the revered, West Coast Trail!