Rain

At any moment it is suppose to start raining, and continue for the next couple days.  Whats the big deal about rain you ask?

I live in Los Angeles, on a clear day, usually after some rain, I can see the Pacific Crest Trail from my front porch, I think. Most days I can see this lovely mountain range, but every once in awhile, when the air is very clear another mountain appears in the background. I think, that mountain is one that the pct passes over. I like to think so anyhow.. I know it's close, 14 miles as the crow flies, so I can dream I guess. 

California has been in a severe drought and any rain we get is a blessing! It's good for the farmers to the north in the inland empire, and good for our drinking water resources and many other reasons of course.  So, as much as most southern Californians get a little cranky when it rains and upsets their perfect sunny days, deep down we all know we need it.  

I have good/bad feelings towards the rains affect on my thru hike, for selfish reasons of course.  The less rain we get, the less snow I may encounter on the trail.  A low snow year makes for an easier 6 months. On the other hand, the less snow, the less water in streams.  Some people have already reported dry rivers in the desert sections. Snow melt equals water.  Liquid gold to a thru hiker!  The less reliable a water source is, the more water you have to carry.  Water is heavy.  There will be times when I will be carrying 15-20 pounds of water. 

Rain also affects my daily life.  Currently my only means of transportation is a scooter. While I have great rain gear, its still not very fun to drive in the rain. If I book a job this weekend, I will do what I have to do! I have a thru hike to fund and nothing will get in my way! 

Rainy days also mean getting stuff done at home, there is a resupply plan that has been looming over me, never leaving me alone, but I hate planning. No I loath planning. Planning my hike just seems to go against what I am looking for from this adventure, but its a necessary evil. It has to be done. So I guess if I'm stuck at home for the next couple days, I have no more excuses. I have to tackle this. 

I think back to Rain storms in Wisconsin. I have such fond memories of great thunderstorms! Sitting on front porches, surrounded by water pouring from the sky. Seeing amazing lightening and jumping when it thunders. The smells of the earth and concrete when wet.  My sister and I on the front porch of her farm trying to get pictures of lightening. Such fond memories. 

Ok Rain, bring it on...

I'm ready for you.

picture taken from my porch after the last rain. The pct is back there somewhere...

A bipolar week

For some reason I have been in a real funk lately. Maybe it's the fact that I'm working less or have just too much on my mind, but man, I just couldn't shake it!
I also seemed to be on a bad luck streak. Missing out on an easy $250 because I was cooking food and didn't check my phone for 45 mins... and then losing $135 because I fell asleep. All I see when I lose money is weeks of the trail fund going down the drain. That money alone would of paid for more than 1 month of my hike!
I have also been worrying a lot about whether I can go to my nieces wedding, or go home for a visit before I head out, or if I can sublet my room, and if I don't where will I store my stuff, and where will I store my car, and should I rent my scooter and should I fix my car and... and... and... there is just so much to plan for. I also started doing my taxes and well, that was a let down too...
To try and get myself back in the mood of doing this thing I laid out all my gear on my bed and took a pic. Looking at it all always makes me feel good. Then I posted it on a fb page with all class of 2015 pct hikers and got a lot of responses and started feeling "back in it".

Then something amazing happened.

my roommate came in the house announcing "colleen you got a package". I didn't order anything so I was curious. I come out of my room and see her standing there with a rather large box. Hmmm? It was at that point that I had a feeling of what it could be. A friend I met in the fb group and I had been talking about a bear vault that I might be able to buy off a friend of hers. I said out loud "there is no freaking way". I opened it up and indeed it was a bear vault! The bv500! With just a note on an index card that said "from one vet to another" (or something similar, I lost it). Tears literally came to my eyes, I had to sit down and just take it in. Such a kind act.

Today I received another gift! Another member of the hiking group, who I have never met, got my address from the women who sent me the bear vault and she sent me a homemade freezer bag cozy! I am just beyond words and amazed by the kindness of strangers!

My mood has been completely changed around! The list may still be long and pretty overwhelming but I have to remember to try and attack it one thing at a time!

I felt so good I went out for a 5 mile hike around the neighborhood. Pretty close to the end I saw a bag of clothes sitting on the curb, so I went over to investigate. Half the bag was filled running clothes in great condition. So I grabbed the bag and finished my hike. I put them up for sale today and already have made $52! Plus I sold my hiking shoes that I have decided not to wear for $50. Every little bit helps!

To the two ladies that lifted me up at exactly the right moment, I thank you!

73 days and counting

Well when I put it that way....

yeah... I am still completely freaking out!

Things are getting real.

Who would think that leaving everything behind to go live out of a backpack for 6 months and walk would take so much planning and prep!

Here are some of the things I have had to tackle and a lot of things that are left on the to do list!

- Gear.  Research and buy the right gear.  I can't afford to make mistakes and buy a new piece of gear on the trail. Ok, It may happen, but right now I feel pretty confident in my gear.

- Permits. Make sure I have all the proper permits and ID's to be able to hike, camp, use fire and enter and return from Canada.

- Sublet. If I wan't to keep my awesome room in LA I need to find someone to sublet it while I'm gone.

- Vehicle.  Well my car is dead and the thought of spending money to get it running (bad clutch) is money I can't afford to spend.  I need to find somewhere to store it.

- Resupply plan.  I plan on buying most of my food in town as it happens, but I need to figure out where I have to send myself a box and figure out how I will do so.  Also talk to another hiker about an Idea to deal with this issue.

- Train. Get out and walk! I have to admit that I am failing on this part of the prep!

- Train with all gear & camp.  Hopefully this will happen soon! As soon as I get my sleeping bag this will happen!

- Work.  Work my butt off so I can better enjoy this adventure!

- Blog.  I definitely need to blog more!!!  I also need to work on writing more interesting blogs... lol but right now my mind is in facts and lists mode... these blogs help me sort out everything going on in my brain!

- Pack. Pack all my stuff and put it in storage.  Hopefully if I find someone to rent my room I can just store it in the attic space... otherwise, well, I have no idea what I'm gonna do.

Well time to work on my resupply... for some reason this really seems to be something I keep avoiding. I just want to throw my pack on my back and go hike, but I also don't want to run out of food, so lets get to it!

happy planning!

So lets talk gear!

*** THIS IS AN ONGOING POST UPDATING OFTEN ***

To keep my mind off the fact that I am freaking out about all the little details I have to take care of, I have decided to talk about my gear and post pictures!

BIG FOUR:

PACK - Osprey Exos 48 Liter - small

Originally this was not the pack that I wanted, but picked it up at a REI garage sale for a really great price. It is a little heavier than I would like but hoping it will work. The upper lid could be left off, but I kinda like the extra pocket space it provides. Once I'm ready to go I may cut off some of the unnecessary extras to lighten it a bit. I do wish the 2 pockets on the hip belt were a bit bigger.  If I get my sewing machine running I may make some changes.  My favorite feature so far is the mesh back support that keeps the pack away from you back and allows ventilation.

SHELTER - Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1

Great tent, very popular on the trail. I had planned on going with a tarp tent that was a bit lighter and even cheaper, but have never had a tent that wasn't a "stand alone" tent and thought maybe being a novice with that kind of tent wasn't the best idea. I was going back and forth when this tent became available used on a fb used gear flea market page for the same price as the tarp tent, so I bought it, decision made.  Have set it up several times and it is so easy, I think I will be happy.

SLEEPING BAG 
Therm-a-rest Mira 15 degree bag
 $410 total weight 28 ounces.  This bag comes with a hood, toe pocket for keeping toes warm. 750 fill down. Can usually find this bag on sale and currently there is a slightly used one on sale for $280. So it won't be as warm, and will be almost 10 ounces heavier, but will save me about $140

SLEEPING PAD - Therm-a-rest NeoAir Xlite small

Another trail favorite.  I originally was going with the cheap closed foam pad, but after hearing everybody talk about this pad, and how they switched to this pad mid hike I decided to go for it.  I bought the small, it is very small, part of my body will hang off, but I knew that when I bought it. So light and takes up very little space in my pack! Because of the material on the outside and the reflective material inside, it kinda sounds like you are sleeping on a potato chip bag. One thing that has become very clear to me is that I need to be able to sleep comfortably!

CLOTHING:

EVERYDAY WARM WEATHER CLOTHES

Well I better like this outfit, because I will be wearing it a LOT!
The shirt is a Merino wool blend, very comfy!
Shorts are Ink&Burn running shorts, very light stretchy material. I removed the liner.
Injinji toe socks to help with blister control
Buff, can be worn many different ways. I currently wear it to keep my neck warm when riding my scooter and found it to be wind resistant added plus!
Simple hat - radar style. Not sure this is the best option for the desert, may be replaced at some point.
gaitors - Dirty Girl Gaitors, got the "obsessive" pattern, mostly just cuz it matched everything, love them, wouldn't hike Cali without them. Shoes - Altra lone peak, love these shoes, but even though I have already bought them a size up, my next pair will be a 1/2 size bigger and I may even need to go up after that, the trail will decide.

LONG LAYERS / SUN PROTECTION
REI Sahara long sleeve shirt - I have had this shirt for a long time, and never wore it, a couple years ago I wore it out into the woods and realized how much I like it. It will protect me from the Sun, Cold, and bugs.

Patagonia hiking pants - I got these from a friend for a great price, I may need to get them altered, they are a little long. They are very thin and light and should work great! Only forseeable problem is that they are very light colored and will probably be very dirty by the end of this all! haha

BASE LAYER / SLEEPING CLOTHES
In all the research that I did I knew that I wanted Merino wool base layers! They are not cheap! Most average around $75 each piece! I already had decent base layers for snowboarding, but they are white, and not merino wool! I figured that unless I found a great deal that I would not get new ones and would do something creative like dye them.
Then one day someone shared in a group that Icebreaker had these on clearance 65% off! I got both pieces for under $40 amazing!
The socks are wool, I hate sleeping in socks but if I need to I will!

COLD WEATHER CLOTHES
One of my favorite pieces of gear so far, my Sierra Designs Gnar lite down jacket. I have to admit that I have been wearing ever since I bought it! I usually pair it with my wind/rain jacket (my orange one). They have kept me warm down to 40 degrees going 50 miles per hr on my scooter! I was surprised when I wore just this jacket one day and realized it blocks the wind pretty good too!
my hat, well it's my favorite hat and has been with me through thick and thin, so it gets to come along.
The mittens I bought during a really good online sale, they are down and water resistant, but may be overkill. may just be on standby.







RAIN GEAR 
Marmot Precip - I'm really happy with this rain jacket! I was just going to use one I had, but it didn't have a hood and was a bit heavier. Then I came across a great deal and couldn't pass this up.  My only uncertainty is that it may be a tad big, but then again it will fit my layers underneath.

The pants are Sierra Designs rain and wind pants, I have treated them with waterproofing to make them a little more waterproof. I wore them in the rain on my scooter and my pants got wet, the treatment made it better, so hopefully they will work great.

EVERYTHING ELSE

THE KITCHEN
First off, I wish I had a smaller pot or a lighter one...
GSI Soloist Pot - got it for a couple bucks.. it's kinda banged up, but who cares, it boils water.. I would like to think I could get away with something with less capacity, but the large fuel can fits inside, so it works. Guess I should stop second guessing it.
I'm bringing a long spoon and and a knife/spoon/fork combo just for the heck of it. Some think the sporknif is unnecessary but it only weighs .2 ounces.. and it makes me happy.
I love my little stove, It has an ignitor and you can control the flame.
For a food bag I got a zpacks cuban fiber bag. so light and super tough
I also just made a pot cozy w/ a lid, not sure what my final cozy will look like so I'll post about that when I have that settled.

FIRST AID KIT

Keeping it pretty simple.
Band-aids: 4 - Gauze: small roll - Triple Antibiotic - Safety pin - Abreva: cold sore treatment - Antibiotics: 2 - Anti Diahrea: 6 - Antihistamine: 3 (just in case, I have no allergies) - Aleve: 25 - Ibuprofin: 25 - Alcohol pad - very small elastic band
Not pictured (I still have to buy) - Tenasious tape - baby fingernail clipper - super small tweezers

SURVIVAL STUFF
Well... not much.
Spot Locator
Headlamp
Bug net
20' of line
knife
patch kit for sleeping pad
blue led light
lighter
Pen + 2 feet of duct tape

end of the year status update:

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

As I sit here and think about the past year of my life, I am pretty damn happy.  It was a good year.  

2015, well... should be an Epic year!

Am I ready for my hike? Heck no! I still have a couple things to buy, and I have to start saving money! I will admit that I am starting to get slightly nervous that I will not be able to afford to do this trip.  One thing is for certain, I will start! April 15th I will step on to the trail in Campo California and start walking North. The things I worry about: the pain I get in my knees and hips when hiking may not "work itself out" and could cut this trip short or I may run out of money and not be able to continue, either of those things are a possibility, but I'm not going to dwell on them.  I will start.

As far as my gear list goes, I have 2 of my "big three" items. I got great deals on both my backpack and my tent, and am very pleased with them. I have gone back and forth on what sleeping bag to get, I think I have come to a decision!  Unless there is some great sale on a similar bag (which has been my luck for most of my gear) I have decided to go with one of the top rated, most popular bags on the trail and will be getting a zpacks 10 degree down bag, cost $420, weight 19.5 ounces! Yes, just 1 lb 3 ounces! So light! I Guess I am starting to get nervous about the total weight of my pack and just don't want to add any more weight. This will be my most expensive piece of gear, but it will be so worth it! Other than that all I have left to buy are my Trekking poles, a bear canister (to be used in the Sierras), a GPS locator, depending on the weather probably micro spikes and a ice axe for the sierras, for comfort from the weather but not necessary: a trekking umbrella for the desert portions and waterproof socks for the Sierras and Washington. I would also like to get a different rain coat and different pants, but for now I will use what I have. As much as I would love to have all the perfect gear for this, that just isn't going to happen.

All I know is I have to seriously bust my butt getting work in the next 3 months! Do the kind of jobs I don't like doing! Hustle Hustle Hustle to get work! I know I can do this!

Here is a quick pic of everything I have so far... minus some socks and my base layer (thermals) which are in the mail.

All the items in the row down the center are items that I will be wearing and will not be in my pack. So much better than all the items Cheryl Strayed put in her pack! I'm so thankful for all the information online about ultralight hiking! This gear will make me much more likely to succeed!

Now it is really time to do all the other planning.. paperwork.. food.. money the gear  was the fun part!

Happy New Year to all my friends, family and followers!

The WILD Effect

I will admit that I only recently heard about the Pacific Crest Trail.  A few months ago a friend of mine that I work with posted something on Facebook about her son hiking the PCT.  I was like, What? he's doing what? I checked out all the pictures that he had posted on fb and then I think I googled it, which led to hours, I mean days of watching you tube videos! In the back of my mind the entire time I was thinking, I could do this. I joined facebook groups, I started researching gear, I figured that by 2016 I could do this!

Then I found out about the book "Wild".

I think it was my mom that first asked me if I had read it. "No", I answered, but I'll add it to the growing list of books, websites, databases and fb pages I will need to read and study. I kept noticing people talking about "Wild", and not in a good way from hikers anyway, and not just any hikers, but pct thru hikers.  I knew nothing about the book, but read the comments and was pretty turned off by the negative things said about the book, the author, and the movie.  Yes, the Oprah approved book, loved by millions was made into a movie, with none other than Reese Witherspoon playing the main character (and writer) Cheryl Strayed, how could you not love it?

One day some troll posted a link to the trailer along with some comment meant to insight reaction.. and it did. from me. I still had not read the book. I'm not sure why he was so hateful about some women who wrote a book about her journey.  Maybe it was jealousy, maybe hate towards women, maybe he was just one unhappy man, whatever, it left a bad taste in my mouth.  One thing was for sure, and it seems to be the biggest complaint about the "wild effect", is that the trail will become more popular.  Is that a good or a bad thing?  Should something so magical be kept a secret for only the "serious" hikers to know about? I heard that in 2013 about 700 people stopped by one of the trail angels houses near the beginning of the trail, in 2014 they reported about 1400 people, in just 1 year the amount of people doubled. Who knows how many people there will be in 2015, 2016 and beyond. When I first heard about the "wild effect" I decided to move my hike up from 2016, to 2015, hoping to hike the trail before it becomes to busy and maybe a little touristy.  The concerns are legitimate, will there be enough water at the water caches left in the middle of the desert for the hikers by trail angels? Will the small stores in town run out of food and supplies that people buying along the way depend on? Will the trail angels that let people stay at their homes be overwhelmed? Can you imagine 1400 people staying at your house during a couple month time period? They truly are angels!

I remember a man in the fb post I was talking about before saying to the guy, if we are worried about a movie bringing light to the PCT then we must also worry about all the blogs, and the independent films and the you tube videos and the facebook posts, they all introduce the trail to people who have never heard of it. In this day and age, where technology and sharing our lives with others has become so common place, there is no way to keep this private. By the end of the post I felt like I needed to write on the back of my backpack "I HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK !" I feel as though, because I am a women, I am immediately put in that group.  I am nothing like Cheryl Strayed, I exclaim!

The movie came out to select theaters this week, and there are already talks about an Oscar nomination for Reese Witherspoon. I've noticed no more negative talk in the groups, still concern for the effects it will have, but no negative comments directed at the writer. I'm starting to believe that it was just that one guy posting in different groups.

So the other day I did it, I downloaded "Wild" into my Nook app on my phone and began reading it and I'm glad I did. Not because it's some great novel that everyone must read, but because it is about one women's journey to find herself and she just so happened to do it on the the Pacific Crest Trail.  A trail I will be hiking in 4 months and 1 week (but who's counting). I winced when reading about all the gear she took and the weight of her pack! I enjoy hearing her story.  Just as I enjoy reading blogs from other female hikers.  She Hiked her own hike, and she did that when not that many women did it solo, good for her!

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 4 months. I'm sure that friends of mine that have shown no interest what so ever in my plans to hike the pct will now be interested.  I'm sure I will be tagged in lots of articles about the movie and I will have to get use to saying "yes, I've heard of the movie Wild".

I will finish reading Wild.

I will go see the movie.

Then I will go "Hike my own Hike"

p.s.
my trowel from "Duece of spades" arrived in the mail this week.
:D

Are you hiking alone?

Yes.

What? your hiking alone!!!

Yes.

Well... kind of.

technically - yes, but actually - no.

let me explain....

Yes I am hiking by myself, and by that I mean that I have not made any plans with another hiker to start and finish with them. Will I be by myself on the trail, probably not. I'm not the only one going on this crazy adventure, there are others! Last year aprox 1300 people started at the Southern Terminus in Campo California.  Most of those people will start in April, with some in March and May, that is a lot of people starting every day! All these people will hike at different speeds, but after awhile you will fall into a group of people that hike similarly to you. Most people tend to camp at water sources, I may be by myself during parts of the day, but most likely will not be at night (which is ok with me). I'm kinda looking forward to meeting the total strangers that will become my family in 5 short months...

Speaking of 5 months... OMG I leave in 5 months! (4 1/2 months actually)

So what have I been up to since my last post, a month ago? A lot of researching gear... struggling with decisions... Buying stuff... working my butt off and sadly, very little hiking. Thankfully I am pretty much done with buying gear so I can move on to other things... like my food plan.

Oh! Remember the shirt that took me forever to decided on? yeah, I'm second guessing it again. haha.  After I bought the shirt and wrote the blog post I had to laugh at myself at the struggle I had with shorts!  I found some that I liked a lot, but they were way too expensive! But thanks to a 50% black friday weekend sale, I decided to splurge and I bought them!

  

I did manage to get a little hike in at the Grand Canyon on Thanksgiving day.  Life is good.