Jeff Stahl Lincoln Tahoe Trek

Like many other good athletes who have graduated from Lincoln, Jeff Stahl S56, has kept in great shape and now he plans to use that physical ability to memorialize his good friend Jim Puccetti S55, who passed recently, by hiking from Lincoln High to Lake Tahoe, a 200 mile ramble, sometime around September.

Jeff plans to call it the Jim Puccetti Memorial Trek and hopes to get students, faculty, alumni and friends to pledge at least two cents per mile for his efforts. We would hope that pledges of .10, .20, and larger will be forthcoming.

Jeff states that all, repeat, all of the money collected from pledges will go to Lincoln High in the form off a Jim Puccetti Memorial Scholarship. Jeff states he will fund his own expenses.

Won't you send in your pledge now? At 2 cents a mile that is a mere $4. A 20 cent pledge will be only $40. Send in your pledge to: LincAlum@aol.com along with your name and address and class affiliation. If you wish to send a check, please send it to

ALHS Alumni Association,

ATTN: Jim Puccetti Trek,

2162-24th Ave.

San Francisco, CA 94116.

Keep watching this page for updates from Jeff Stahl as he travels on his way to Lake Tahoe

Greetings,

I am off to Lincoln this morning and then plan to head for Tahoe tomorrow. The Class of 1956 had a reunion meeting last night and I picked up several checks and some additional pledges. I hope that the word will go out to the Class of 1955 as well. Pledges can be made online at LincAlum@aol.com or checks may be sent directly to Lincoln H.S. 2162 24th Ave. S.F. Ca. 94116 - Attn: Jim Puccetti Trek. Lincoln
also has a website: http://www.LincolnAlumni.com - I will have my wife, Irene, contact the school every other day for progress reports which
should be posted online. I'm not sure that I will be able to make the entire journey. My feet are not in perfect shape and I have to be back by 10/7. I hope to be able to walk 20 -25 miles per day and will give it my best shot. Jim would expect no less.
Thanks for your support.
Skoal!
Jeff Stahl

I left San Rafael at 7:45 A.M. with our next door neighbor Julie Nguyen. She drove me to her school in Richmond - you can't walk across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge . I followed San Pablo Ave. - Historic Highway 40 - through Richmond , El Cerrito , San Pablo , Pinole to Hercules. I followed the railroad tracks east as you cannot walk on the freeway - Highway 4. Went as far as the Franklin Canyon Golf Course and then came to a long dark tunnel. Decided not to chance it, so walked on a country road that ran parallel (Christie Ranch). Finally stopped a passing car and found out it was a dead-end and had to backtrack to Wynburn Ranch. A nice lady gave me a couple of bottles of water and said I could go cross country over her property. There were several barbed wire fences I needed to negotiate before finally locating a road that took me to Franklin Canyon Road . Decided to head for Port Costa - big mistake! Still had to walk about 8 miles of steep uphill and down grades. Didn't arrive until about dark - 7:20 P.M. - about 30 miles in 11 hours – not smart for the 1st day. Slept on the porch of an abandoned house.

Walked from Port Costa to Martinez - home of John Muir. Had breakfast at McDonald's and called my friend John Masayko who lives in Antioch . Asked him if there was any way around the U.S. Naval Weapons Station. He said he was on the way to the hospital for a radiation treatment but then he was going to Martinez to visit his parents. I could meet him there after 1:00. Walked to his parents house near Alhambra H.S. Had some water and juice and got to wish his mom a happy 82nd birthday. John took me for a hamburger at Hazel's and then to Triple A for some better maps. He did not like my route along Highway 4 to Stockton . He took me across the Antioch Bridge (no pedestrians) and had me walk along Highway 160 to Brannan Island State Park . Arrived at 6:00 and spent the night.

John had advised using Brannan Island Road to Jackson Slough and then on to Isleton. By 9:00 A.M. it was really getting hot. My pack weighed over 35 lbs. and I was getting discouraged. As if an answer to my prayers, who showed up with breakfast and O.J. but John. He had researched my route further and decided that he would shepherd me to Isleton and on to Walnut Grove. He carried a gallon of water and 1/2 gal. of O.J. which I
consumed almost entirely by 4:30 P.M. when I arrived. Had something to eat at Mel's Ice Cream and then scouted for a place to spend the night. No motels, but found a park behind the elementary school. John left toward sunset and I waited for dark to set out my bedroll. Had a miserable night. The moon was almost full and extremely bright. A nearby dog barked endlessly. Cars passed down a lane just feet from my head. I hardly slept and then in the morning I thought it was beginning to rain. Apparently, the automatic sprinklers were set to go off at 6:15 A.M. and they really did there job. I got drenched. Cold, wet and aching, I decided to call Irene at 7:00 A.M. & have her get me. She arrived by 9:15 and I was home before 11:00. I don't think our place ever looked so nice or a shower felt so good!

I am disappointed that I did not get further. I estimate that I walked about 65 miles in 3 days, only about 1/4 of the way to Tahoe. I severely underestimated the degree of difficulty this hike entailed. I feel I failed Jim and his family, the legacy of John Muir, the wonderful kids I met at Lincoln H.S. and all the generous folks who made pledges or donations. However, I think I made the correct decision. I plan to drive the rest of my proposed route with my friend Ron Potter, Lincoln Class of 64, tomorrow. I hope to walk an additional 35 miles from about Kit Carson Pass to our cabin on Wed. and Thurs. The people who pledged by the mile can then have the option of choosing 65 or 100 miles. I want to thank everyone for their support and generosity. Fill the unforgiving moment wisely. Go Mustangs!