Trimming the Fat

My mom surprised me with a Garmin 62s GPS.  I'm so excited about it.  I found a special PCT Topo SD card for it too.  I was going to hike the trail with just Halfmile's PCT maps and a good map compass.  But so cool to have a good GPS!  Well, with the addition of the GPS to my pack weight, swapping my cook pot to the lighter Snow Peak titanium pot, and getting rid of some little things; I had to re calculate my pack weight.  It's base weight is now 15lbs 2.9 oz.  I'm jumping up and down over this!  I'm 1lb 4 oz lighter than I was before and that's with a GPS!  I'm feeling like everything is in place and I just want to get on with it.  Take me to the trail head please.

Comments

I have not figured out how to reply to comments, if its even possible. I do enjoy reading the comments I get.  Gary, thank you for the recipe! I'm going to try it out.  Brian, you are absolutely right, and I'm hanging on to my trail name. 

Cheers,

Helicopter

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

Trail Name

There is a tradition at kickoff & amongst hikers to give each other trail names. It's usually a name that fits your personality or based on something you do.  Being given a trail name is part of the whole experience of hiking the PCT.  So I have a dilemma of sorts.  When I told my hiking partner about trail names, he gave me one.  It fits, it brings back a lot of memories, & since my partner & friend can't go I'm sentimental about it.  On the other hand I want to embrace the whole experience of the PCT, including being given a trail name.  So what to do?  I think I shall introduce myself by the name given me, 'Helicopter'.  If I get to keep it great; if my fellow hikers change it...

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

More food

Yummy food. The most discussed thing on thru hiker forums besides gear is food. I'm excited about a post I read tonight. You take instant pudding mix & combine it with powdered milk in a ziplock bag. In another bag you put crushed graham crackers. On trail a little cold water to the pudding mix, let set, top with graham cracker crumbs. So I bought several boxes of pudding, graham crackers, & vanilla wafers. I think the nilla wafers will make a good topping also. Tomorrow I'll be smashing the crackers & wafers and assembling the pudding mixture. I plan on dehydrating pineapple as well.  It's all about variety so I don't get tired of the same food day after day for 5 months. I know I will enjoy this little treat on the trail.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

Start Date

I just found out that my friends Chris (Splits) and Becky (Two Step) Haynam are starting their hike the day before me!  I may catch up to them prior to kickoff.  Initially I was going to start my hike at kickoff.  Kick off is a weekend gathering at Lake Morena Campground, 20 miles north of the border.  It's the largest gathering of ultra light vendors in the country.  But most importantly, its an orientation and sharing of information about the Pacific Crest Trail for hikers.  This year it's April 27-29. However I'm now starting my hike a week early on April 18.  My plan is to hike 110 miles to Warner Springs and then get a ride to Kick Off from there.  I decided to leave a week early because it is shaping up to be a low snow year in the Sierras.  That means an earlier start through the Sierras is possible.  The lack of snow has been hard on ski lovers but its good news for me.  Route finding will be easier.  Stream crossings will be shallower and less swift.  The downside is that the desert will be dryer and I'll need to carry a lot of water. 6-8L in sections.  That's heavy! I'm looking forward to doing some hiking with Chris and Becky.

It's crazy but...

I had a big day & I'm feeling wired. I'm also feeling sick to my stomach & excited.  I started the day with a long drive to a job interview. I was early so I had time to review my notes. I felt confident & prepared. So the interview went well & they offered me the job. I told them I was thru hiking the PCT & wouldn't be available til Oct. So they will touch base with me Oct 1 to see if I'm still interested. Then I got a call at noon from a company I applied to last year. It's my dream job - flying corporate, home every night & weekends off. They invited me to interview. Problem is, I'd have to start April 25 & give up the hike. I said No. Yep, sorry, its a year opportunity but I'm hiking the PCT. I'm crazy!!!!! He understood. He said he'd keep my resume on file for future openings. Yikes. I'm... I'd say the same thing given another chance. Wow. Ok gotta go.. process.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

Born to Walk

After reading Born to Run, I've been thinking about how it applies to my hike. The book was about ultra running, runners, & the Tarahumara Indians in Copper Canyon Mexico. The author talked about the joy you can see on the faces of these Indians & top ultra runners when they run even when there at mile 40 in Death Valley. Well I'm doing an ultra walk. And yes, hiking through forests, deserts, & crossing mountain passes puts a smile on my face. The beautiful moments & experiences on the trail will be worth any pain or discomfort it takes to get there.  I know there will be times when I'm tired, sore, & scared, but those difficult moments make the awesome moments even more rewarding. Its a good feeling to push through a 'wall'and become stronger. I feel very fortunate to be able to get off the couch and walk.  So, I say to myself - Have a little pain? Embrace it. Fear? Welcome it.  Joy? Love it! Cause you were born to walk !  Woo hoo yaa

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

Resupply

My last dinner has been cooked, dehydrated, and bagged in quart size ziplock heavy duty freezer bags.  Mac n Cheese, yummy.  I've never dehydrated food before so this has been quite a project to start out with - 5 months worth of dinners!  If you don't dehydrate the food long enough it will spoil.  If you dehydrate it too long it will lose taste and nutrional value.  But how to tell when its perfect?  Well, I'll take a loss of taste over rotten, however my first taste test of some lasagne was pretty darn good. 
There are 3 basic strategies for resupplying on the trail.  1. Buy all of your food on trail and ship ahead to those places where you can't get enough food; 2.  Resupply entirely from packages sent from home; or 3. A combination of both.  There are pros and cons for each of those and most people do strategy #3, a combination.  I am resupplying almost entirely from home.  I chose to do this because I have time to do it now since I'm not working, I think I'll eat better with home cooked meals, but primarily because I wanted to be able to relax when I got into town.  After hiking 20 +/- miles, I didn't think I'd want to run around town shopping.  I like the idea of just going to the post office, getting my package, and then finding a place to rest my feet and unwind.  Plus, I like to open packages!  It helps that my awesome cousin Darlene is able to be my at home Trail Angel.
Now that the cooking and dehydrating is done, I have shopping to do.  I want to get a variety of snacks, granola bars, tuna etc...  I read that Chia seeds are really good for energy as is a corn dish called Pinole.  So I think I'm going to check that out at the local health food store.  I won't foget chocolate chip cookies either!