wandering chardonnay

PCT 2015 Gear List

My current gear list.

Pack- ULA CIRCUIT	41
Six Moon- Scout 8 titanium stakes	34
Sleeping bag- Big Agnes Mirror Lake	16.7
Sleeping bag stuff sac	2
Poly-cro ground sheet	1.5
Z Lite sleeping pad	10



Nokia Smartphone	6
Sansa Clip Mp3 Player	1
2 wall chargers for gadgets	2
Energizer Headlamp	2
Sawyer Mini Water filter	2



Plastic screw-top container to soak my dinners	2
Titanium spoon	.6
Knife	1
Smart water bottles x 2	2.5
Stuff sack for food	1
Tiny notebook and pen, permits, etc	2
Various small items in ziploc: Toothbrush and toothpaste, floss with sewing needle inside, earplugs, ibuprofen, earbuds, extra chapstick, tiny plastic camp mirror, hairties, lighter.	4
Sunglasses	1
One ounce hand sanitizer	1
Full size bottle of sunscreen	4
Toilet paper	2
Trash compactor bag liner	2
Zippered stuff sack for items	2



Extra pair of darn tough socks	1.5
Laundry down flash jacket	9
rain poncho	7
wool hat	2
Bandanna x 2	2
Warm tights	1
Mosquito headnet as stuff sack for clothes	1


Total base weight of pack (this is the weight without food, water, fuel or worn clothing)	18 lbs

Worn: Hike skirt, synthetic shirt, injinji toe socks, sports bra, BFord hat. Dirty girl gaiters.

In December, because of the holidays, I didn’t hit the trail much. Then in January I was, well busy doing stuff so I didn’t get out on the trail for big miles hardly at all. So today when I went out for a 20 miler I was not sure how it was going to go. Good news! It went great!

I over slept and got a late start (10am), but I threw on my 25lb pack and I was off. The weather was great (it’s SoCal the weather is always great), did my ole favorite route over the mountains then out to the Penasquitos Waterfall. I was happy with my pace, made good time (i jogged a little because I did not want be in the mountains after dark). I only stopped once for a snack. I’m never really hungry when I’m moving like that, but I know what happens when I eat nothing…crash.

Anywho, ended up with 23 miles, boom! Yes, I was shocked too. That extra 3 came from me getting turned around on the mountain (see why I didn’t want to be out there in the dark). There are so many trails out there behind Sabre Springs it is easy to not know which direction you came from.

So even though I wasn’t on the trail I was training. In the gym. Hitting the treadmill and weights. Dropped another 5 pounds, surprisingly. Well I guess not really. I’ve dropped a lot of sugar, salt and meat from my diet. But I still feel like I eat not all that well and don’t even get me started on booze I been putting down. What, don’t judge, my social life has picked up lately.

Posting my gear list soon……….

What is this feeling…..

Life, PCT

Having trouble describing the way I am feeling lately. It’s really a hodgepodge of feelings. In the last month I have connected with some really amazing people and that makes me happy (but also sad that I will soon have to be away from them for so long on the trail.) It is probably completely irrational but I am kinda worried I’ll be forgotten. Maybe I’m just being silly but it is the way I feel. Maybe it is just the realization of things actually happening that has me all wound up.

In the last week I purchased burning man tickets, sent in my Canada permit and my PCT permit. I traded out for a different tent(six moons- Scout), started 2 different jobs, and considered joining the circus (i know, that’s story for later). My social life has been at cruising altitude for a while now, that is fun an all, but the hermit in me is clutching a parachute and checking for exits.

Breathe………don’t panic……….this to shall pass. Freak out tomorrow. Aw heck it’s Friday, let’s wait and freak out on Monday!

Priorities

Hiking, Life, PCT

Well I had to make some grown up decisions today. Boo. I had hoped to go on a week long 150 mile hike next week, as a training hike. I was really looking forward to it. Being able to test some gear, test myself, learn some things and have some fun. But unfortunately that is not going to happen.

See taking 5 months off work and hiking the PCT is not an inexpensive endeavor. Recently when I was chatting about doing the trail (it’s all I do now) a guy asked how can you afford that you must have a trust fund. Wouldn’t that be great but um, no. To take 5 months off work I’ve had to make some (many) sacrifices. Some have been harder than others.

Like that training, I was really pumped about it. For awhile there I was going hell or high-water. But then word priorities kept popping into my head. Right now the PCT is my priority. You know if it’s meant to be it’s up to me!!

Right now I just can’t afford to take a week off work. (Heck, I’m actually interviewing for a second job tomorrow.) 3 months, 4 days, 23 hours til the first step (well give or take, close enough to freak out a little) Time to start making the tough decisions. No more procrastinating and what not. I still haven’t decided what socks to take Injinji or Darn Tough!!! Agh! Wait….don’t panic….breathe…ok…Injinji it is, there that wasn’t so hard. Boy, soon the only decision I’ll need to make is start with the left foot or right foot!!!!!!!!!

Solo but not alone

Hiking, PCT

Often when I tell people I’m hiking the PCT one of the first questions is “are you going alone?”. I confidently and quickly say yes! I consider myself a solo hiker. 9 times out of 10 when I hike I go it alone. Mostly I just enjoy the ‘me’ time or if it’s a training hike I need to focus on pace/speed/route and what not. More likely it’s spur of the moment (my packs always in the car) no time to organize a group. Don’t get me wrong I love to have company, it just tends to be a different kind a hike.

More than once I have taking someone out hiking with me, got to chatting and next thing you know I’ve taken a wrong turn, or two! My hiking buddy Pat is great he tends to take me to places I never been; he leads so I can just follow, take in the views and chat my little head off.

Yeah solo is how I tend to roll. But I am not alone.

As I prepare for this mighty adventure I am more aware than ever that I am not alone. I won’t be on the trail alone, I’ll have all of you! This would not be possible without YOU! The support and encouragement I’ve received has been just crazy. Prior thru-hikers giving me tips and suggestions. Friends and family donating to my fundraiser, offering rides (if I want to come home), help on the trail(mailing me french fries!), buying me gear, walking the trails (not complaining when I get us lost), listening to me (obsess about planning)….It is quite overwhelming.

When I leave from the PCT’s southern terminus I will be a solo hiker……but I will not be alone.

So I hope you guys are ready we’re doing this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every ounce counts…..

Hiking, PCT

Went out for my training day on Monday. 20 miles 25 lbs backpack! Last time I went out it was 17 lbs, man what difference. Started out pretty pumped up on caffeine, straight up the hill, thinking to myself ‘i eat mountains for breakfast’. I love taking on the mountain right out of the gate. Then I cruised down to the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve pass the horse stables and out to the waterfall.

Right at the hwy 15 underpass was a bridge out sign. I almost turned around but then though heck I’d go check it out. Yep it was out alright. I decided to try to cross anyway. Spent a good ten minutes debated how to do that. I haven’t had the best of luck crossing water. Happy to say I made across (only got one shoe wet). On the upside I’ve learned that my trail runners and socks dry rather quickly! Oh did I mention it wasn’t just one bridge out…..there were two! The second one was much easier to get across. All that rain last week really left a mark.

At the waterfall I turned right around and headed back. I was feeling good and making good time so skipped my planned lunch/rest break. Bad idea #1…….I so hit the wall not long after that.

All of a sudden my legs were just barely moving and my pack felt like a small car. With my pack pulling on my right shoulder I decided to loosen my straps for some relief. Bad Idea #2. By now I’m thinking just keep moving. Meanwhile I forced myself to eat a granola bar and sipped some Gatorade. To get all my miles in I had to stick to my initial plan and climb to the top of the Sabre Springs open space trail……

Long story short…..I made it but it was not entirely pretty. I’ve gotten myself to drink more water over time. Now I have to work on getting nutrition right. Oh and I got a lovely little blister from loosening my straps! Some lessons have to be learned the hard way.

Hiking relieves stress…….

Hiking

So what’s been going on with me? Well short story October was freaking awesome; November, crap. Not even gonna get into it’s just been, well crap. The only thing keeping me from losing it is, well, hiking. When I’m hiking it all just stops (for awhile) the noise, sadness, anger, disappointment, hurt…….That being said my training miles are coming along quite swimmingly!!

I recently went back to tackle El Cajon (El Capitan) mountain over in Lakeside. Last time was not pretty at all (didn’t even make the summit). It was actually a fun hike this time, carried a gallon of water (drank half), no leg cramps and finished in under 6 hrs! Amazing what a little prep & training will do. One of the websites about the hike says “for experienced hikers”; guess that’s me now. It’s a 12 mile out and back (elevation gain:4300). It was that thing I just had to do, can’t let the mountain shut you down. So yea me.

If I haven’t mentioned it I got in my first full 20 miler! That was back in October so yeah….

Anyway I decided it was time to stop dinking around carrying that daypack, as if. So today I filled up the ULA with my sleeping bag, water, food and some other trinkets, pack weighed in at 17 lbs! I was kinda shocked, it didn’t seem like there was that much in there, whoa. Headed out over the Poway hills, then down to the South Poway Trans-County trail, then onto the Los Penasquitos Canyon out to the Penasquitos Falls. Honestly, I really hadn’t planned to go that far, but I just kept going. The Poway Hills are my new fav, there is very few people up there, and the views are great! There are even a couple of lawn chairs and a budda statue at the top, in case it need to hang out for a bit and I guess meditate or whatever. It was a beautiful hike, all 18.34 miles of it (average speed 2.57) guess I was in the zone.

When I haven’t been able to get out on the trail I’ve been at the gym, did 9 miles last night on the treadmill. I started this thing where I hike at a incline while I’m watching TV, on commercials I run (downhill). Man sometime the commercials go on foreva! Ever other day I throw in some leg press, bicep curls, planks whatever I feeling like at the time.

I want to be in at least decent shape come January. Plans are to hike the San Diego Trans-County Trail (140 Miles in 7 days), fingers crossed I can pull this off. It would be a great shake down for me. We shall see….

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Stay tuned I’ll be (attempting) to tackle my resupply plan soon…..oh dear, maybe I’ll wait till December!

Synchronicity

Life, PCT

Talked to my mom this morning. She is convinced I should contact a friend of hers about a job “because they are hiring”. While I need a job with good insurance, better pay and the security of a government job would be great and all…I just can’t see starting a new job with only 5 months til I leave. By the way she did not acknowledge this fact at all. Now I have told her. I’m not sure if she has forgotten or chosen to pretend that it is not going to happen. For like a second I doubted myself…

After talking to her I logged onto my computer…..this quote was posted by another thru hiker:

“Alongside our greatest longing lives an equally great terror of finding the very thing we seek. Somehow we know that doing will irreversibly shake up our lives, our sense of security, change our relationship to everything we hold as familiar and dear. But we also suspect that saying no to our deepest desires will mean self-imprisonment in a life too small. And a far- off voice within insists that the never-before-seen treasure is well worth any sacrifices and difficulty in recovering it.”
-Bill Plotkin, ‘Soulcraft’

With that, I realized I would not be making that call.

Breaking away from the “norm” has created a great deal of anxiety for me. While there is safety, security and familiarity in the norm it doesn’t make my heart sing and my soul soar. I need, want, will stay on my current path. The desire to hike the PCT is in me now, not later, now.

When I return maybe I’ll get that job with better pay, insurance and all the things; or maybe not. The path I’ve chosen may will have it’s ups and downs, heck I may fail miserably at this whole endeavor but at least I will have tried.

Portland……………..

Life, Travel

One great thing about my weekend in Big Sur was that I got to do A LOT of thinking. I haven’t yet figured anything out, but I certainly thought about stuff. Mostly I been trying to figure out what I will do AFTER the PCT. Seeing as I won’t have a job, home or even a car, I got to figure out a plan.

Seriously I have been tossing around the idea of moving to Portland. Thru hikers tend to gravitate there (surrounding yourself with people get “it” can be real nice), plus I know a few burners who recently moved there, plus they get rain. Oh how I miss rain. Anyway I do like San Diego (even with it’s lack of rain), thing is I’m not sure I love it. I need to find a place to land for a while, a longer while than usual. I need a place that makes me not think about being anywhere else.

So yea, I need to plan a trip to Portland, quick like.

Big Sur, CA

Life, Travel

Went on the most fabulous camping weekend! My friend Pat and I threw a bunch stuff and a tent in the sugar cube and took off for a couple of days in Big Sur! It was well, fabulous. I didn’t even have cell phone coverage, yea! It was just great to drive up there with absolutely no plans.

We camped in three different camp sites. The first one we tried to slip out without paying, but at the last minute we paid (it had nothing to do with the golf cart chasing us)! Hilarious. The next day we camped at place that totally had a full sign posted …..but then we asked and they had one left! I think those full signs are a joke, just saying, because the next it happened again. We opted out of camping by the beach (Limekin)with ALL the families instead we drove up in the mountain and BINGO! We found the greatest campsite ever! Yep I liked it that much! It was just off a bend in the road. At first we thought we would be camping by the road then hiking up the canyon. However there was a couple of great spots just feet up the canyon.

After tucking our tent into a spot right between two redwoods, we hiked up the canyon following a small creek that led right back to a Waterfall! I swear this was the second waterfall of the day (we hiked to one earlier). Did I mention right up the road from our site was great spot with a log a view of the ocean and a great spot to watch the sun rise and set! Yep this place was so sweet I wouldn’t have been surprised if a unicorn pranced by! (Actually we did see some deer at sunset and zebras on the drive up).

We squeezed in a lot of hiking between taking in the sights (even some window shopping). It was cool as you are driving along the coast you can just pull over and hike out to a secluded beach, or up and down the canyons.

Lovely place, I recommend going. I know I will be going back!!