Dogs, Maildrops, Tattoos, OH MY!

The trail has a funny way of preparing you for what's to come even of you're not even out there yet. Over the past two weeks Cori and I went from having nearly everything set to leave to questioning our ability to even do the hike.

Between the two of us we have three beautiful fur babies:


Jasmine, a 13 year old cocker


Hershey, a 10 year old chocolate lab


Dudley a 4.5 year old Pyrenees/Lab mix

We had homes lined up for them a month or more before leaving, then one week before we were suppose to move out of our apartment and deliver all the dogs to said homes, all of our dog sitters bailed out on us. On the same day. Are you kidding me?!!? Needless to say, all of our carefully thought out plans were thrown by the wayside. We had one week to find new homes for them or there would be no PCT hike. All of the money and time already spent on the trail (train tickets, food, gear, etc.) would be pissed away along with our dreams of spending the summer out west. It was time to pull together all our resources, and be as flexible as possible with our schedules. We banned together to get everything worked out. In the end, friends and family came to the rescue; the dogs have been placed in (temporary) great foster homes and we can't begin to thank them enough. Having already completed a thru-hike once before we both understand that our ability to complete the PCT will be the result of all of the support we are receiving from friends and family back home. Thank you.

Once the dogs were settled, we loaded up my car with all our gear and maildrops, and I headed down to my parents in Blue Ridge, GA. I spent part of my time getting all of the maildrops and extra gear organized and ready to go.




I spent some of my time Cafe Ink and added to my AT tattoo. I've been dreaming of getting this done for the past three years and it turned out better than I've ever imagined! I plan on having the PCT and CDT tattoo ed underneath the AT as I complete those trails.



After some family time in Blue Ridge, Cori and I headed back up to South Carolina where we spent the last three days with her family.

Then, on Wednesday morning, at 2:45 am we stepped onto the Crescent Amtrak train to begin our journey westward to hike the PCT.



We will spend the next three and a half days traveling across the country to Del Mar, CA. There, we will be greeted and hosted by trail angel Betty Wheeler who took care of Cori last year when she got the flu. I can't wait to finally meet her in person!

Until then, Happy Trails!

What's in my Resupply (Maildrop) Boxes?

The thought of putting together maildrops for the PCT weighed heavily on my mind. I tried them in 2009. I was vegan at the time so I wanted to make sure I stayed true to my vegan ethics. I spent hours dehydrating my favorite curry and pasta dishes. I bought quinoa flakes in bulk. I made my own fruit leathers. My food bag was going to be the envy of every hiker on the trail. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. There is something about long distance hiking that changes how you taste food. How you crave food.  I was to much of a newbie to anticipate that. One can only imagine my disappointment when my favorite dishes became hard to stomach. All I could eat were rice dishes, pasta, and poptarts. Needless to say I abandoned my maildrops and began to resupply in town. So when it came time to decide on a resupply strategy I thought long and hard about what I should do. I carefully weighed the pros and cons. Maildrops would help me stay within my budget. They would reduce the amount of town chores I would have to do which meant I would have more time to eat, shower, and sleep. I had more control over what I would be eating, ensuring that my diet wouldn't be filled entirely with junk food. On the downside my hike would be dictated by making it to a post office by a certain time and day. There's the added cost of shipping the food. I had to try and plan how many days it's going to take to get from point A to point B from the comfort of my couch. Not an easy task.

After some discussion with Cori, we both decided on a hybrid strategy; resupplying in town part of the trip and doing maildrops for part of the trip. I'm 95% confident that this maildrop process will be much more successful. We ordered most of our food from MaryJane Farms, which makes all organic backpacker friendly foods. We tested most of these dishes out on a road/camping trip this summer and loved them. The rest of my diet is filled with typical backpacker foods that are lightweight, easy to prepare, and were a staple in my AT diet.

I spent an entire day this past week portioning out food into ziplock bags and  strategically placing them into one of the 16 Priority Flat Rate boxes neatly lined up on my living room floor. It was exhausting, but I know I'll appreciate it when I'm on the trail.

For anyone who may be curious about what exactly it is that we eat out there, below is a breakdown of what I'll be sending myself along the trail.

Breakfasts
EAS Complete Protein Powder (Vanilla)
Instant Coffee
ProBar Organic Meal Bar (Original, Berry Blast, Superfood Slam, Superfruit Slam)
Clif Builders Protein Bars (Vanilla Almond, Cookies & Cream)
Pop-Tarts (Strawberry, Blueberry, Wildberry)

Lunches
MaryJane Farms Organic Black Bean Flakes (Regular and Spicy)
MaryJane Farms Organic Pinto Bean Flakes
MaryJane Farms Organic Black Bean & Corn Chowder
MaryJane Farms Organic Spuds with Spinach & Cheese
Krave Jerky (I plan to eat this with the mashed potatoes to get some protein)
Fantastic Foods Hummus

*For the hummus and refried bean mixes I plan on picking up tortillas or chips at a store in town. I may buy extra if the next mail drop location does not pass near a grocery or convenience store. 

Dinners
MaryJane Farms Organic Bare Burritto
MaryJane Farms Organic Eat You Veggies Pasta
MaryJane Farms Organic Lentils, Rice, & Indian Spice
MaryJane Farms Organic Wild Mushroom Couscous
Knorr Rice Sides
Ramen Noodles
Primal Strips (I plan on eating these with rice side or ramen noodles to add protein to the meal).

Snacks/Electrolyte Replacement
Clif Bars (Blueberry Muffin, White Chocolate & Macadamia Nut, Pomegranate)
Kind Fruit & Nut Bars (Blueberry, Pomegranate & Pistachio)
Diamond Almonds Spicy Bold Series (Wasabi, Smokehouse Jalapeno, and Habanero BBQ)
ProBar Fuel Bars (Blueberry, Strawberry)
Luna Protein Bars (Chocolate Peanut Butter, Vanilla Lemon, Chocolate Coconut Almond)
Jelly Belly Caffeinated Sports Bean (contains electrolytes)
Honeystinger Organic Energy Chews (Smoothie Flavor) (contains electrolytes)
EmergenC Immune Support (Blueberry & Acai with Vitamin D)

Desserts
PayDay Bars
Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies
Little Debbie Chocolate Cream Pie
Baby Ruth Bars
Oreo Snack Packs

Toiletries
Wet Wipes
Vitamins/Aleve
Q-tips
Travel size tooth paste
Dental Floss Sticks
Ear Plugs

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram. More photos will be uploaded to my Smugmug Site when possible. I'm hiking with Cori "Grommet" Holladay. You can read her blog here.

What am I Carrying?

First let me say, I'm hiking on a budget. A very, very small budget. All of the money I've saved has been allocated toward the trip itself and paying bills while I'm gone. I really didn't have any money left over for new, fancy, ultralight gear. This means I'm carrying a lot of the same stuff I carried on the AT in 2009...nearly six years ago....when the gear was actually considered light. What I don't already have I've managed to buy cheap or I'm borrowing from my incredibly nice hiker friends.

When it comes to evaluating the weight of my gear, I'm taking a similar approach to my gear as I did with the AT; I am NOT going to go through the painstaking, time sucking, make me want to pull my hair out because I'd rather watch paint dry process of weighing each little item in my bag. I've got far more important things to focus on (like spending as much time outside as possible, spending time with friends and family, working....you get my drift).

What ultimately matters is what the overall base weight of my pack is (my pack weight without food and water). Yeah, yeah, I can already hear some people saying, "but if you weigh each little thing you can decide if its worth the weight.." blah blah blah...

Here's my philosophy; if any of my essential gear (the big four - backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent) weighs 2 lbs. (32 oz.) or more, I seriously need to consider an alternative. As far as anything else  in my pack (electronics, clothes, etc.); if it makes me happy, more comfortable etc., I will more then likely bring it. I do have limits. I believe that lighter is better, more comfortable, and easier on your joints. I believe that things should be multifunctional. Finally, I remind myself I'm going out into the Wilderness where really anything beyond food, water, shelter, and clothing are a luxury. And believe me, I like my luxury bag of electronics...it weighs two pounds. Ridiculous I know, but I love to write and I'm using my phone for nearly everything (camera, navigation, blogging, kindle) so having an external battery (the brick), to me, is well worth its weight. Aside from my need to lug around this "luxury", I try to keep in mind that one of the things that makes trail life so addicting is its simplicity. I'll do my best to keep it that way.

With all this being said, I've developed a compromise for my gear list. I've listed weights of my "big four" items since this is where the bulk a packs base weight is for most people. Then I weighed my pack (without food and water) to get my overall base weight. Its a little higher than what I was shooting for, but I think I'll be OK.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram. More photos will be uploaded to my Smugmug Site when possible. I'm hiking with Cori "Grommet" Holladay. You can read her blog here.

Blog Stickers!

Over the past few months I've found myself repeatedly writing down my blog information for anyone who learns about my upcoming journey, so I decided to get stickers made with my blog information. 

I debated for awhile about which company to use until one afternoon Cori caught me staring at my Nalgene bottle which is full of stickers, many of them Appalachian Trail stickers made by lowrider press ( http://lowriderpress.com/custom.html). "Why don't you just contact him for a quote?" she asked. Brilliant!!!

Lowrider is a fellow AT hiker and I loved the idea of my money going toward a fellow hiker rather than some mega company. His stickers are high quality,  vinyl,  and outdoor resistant. 

I designed the stickers myself (to match my tattoo). Once I sent him the files, the  turn around time was about a week. The price per sticker was far under what any local company was quoting and also beat some other online competitors.

I'm very happy with how they turned out and would recommend him to anyone looking to do something similar.

LowRider Press

PCT Training

I'm Uncomfortable....

Thru-hiking is tough on your body and while many argue that the only way to prepare your body for a thru-hike is to thru-hike, I disagree. The degree of pain and discomfort I went through on the AT is a testament to how ridiculous I believe this paradigm of thought to be.  Yes, I successfully finished the AT, but I think it could have been a lot more enjoyable in the beginning had I been better prepared. Let's face it; most of us spend the majority of the day sitting, and maybe an hour or two exercising, 3-5 days a week. Admittedly, I barely even meet this typical standard. Before starting the AT in 2009 I was a graduate student consumed with research papers, classes, and field work. I was struggling to keep my head above water and working out was not a priority until six months before I left for my journey to Maine. Transitioning from this typical lifestyle to walking 20+ miles a day with roughly 30 lbs. on my back is a rough adjustment. I've come to believe that the fitter and healthier you are before starting your hike the easier time you will have adjusting to trail life.

I am not an expert in personal training. I just know what didn't work for me in the past, and I'm using that knowledge help me better prepare for hiking the PCT. Thru-hiking the AT changed my life in many ways one of which was becoming a fitter, healthier person in my off-trail life. Now, I workout rather regularly and I'm lucky enough to live in some beautiful mountains which provides ample opportunity to hike. My current job also requires me to be on my feet 8-12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. As a result, I'm already use to being on my feet for long periods of time which will make it easier to transition to a life of walking northward everyday.

When I'm not living on the trail I spend a lot of time in the gym. I do total body strength training 2-3 days a week, as well as cardio 2-3 days a week. About three months prior to leaving I spend my non-gym days out hiking (weather & personal health permitting) with my fully loaded backpack and put in 6-10 miles once to twice a week and do one long hike a week of 10+ miles a week. I'm currently striving to increase my long hikes every week by 2-3 miles so that before I leave I will have hiked a few 20+ miles days on terrain similar to that of the PCT with my pack on.

Thru-hiking hurts. There will be sore legs, possible blisters, and definite ass-chafing. There will also be incredible rewards, plenty of laughter (mostly at myself I'm sure), and lots, and lots of eating whatever I want. My training plan isn't a perfect substitute for thru-hiking but it's a start to creating some unforgettable (and less pain filled) memories.

You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram. More photos will be uploaded to my Smugmug Site when possible. I'm hiking with Cori "Grommet" Holladay. You can read her blog here.

PCT Resupply Strategy

Please note: I've had several friends ask about sending care packages along the trail. This resupply list is for my personal planning purposes, and I'm choosing to share it in hopes that it may help other aspiring thru-hikers plan their resupply options. Please see this post if you're looking for information on sending care packages.

I am planning on using a combination of in town purchases and mail drops to resupply along the PCT. I used a combination of Yogi's PCT Handbook, the PCT Pocket Guide, and suggestions from fellow thru-hikers to decide where to send mail drops to and where to resupply in town. I found Yogi's book to be the most useful since it has the most details about options in town, and provides a chart of how former thru-hikers would resupply in each location. In total, I'm planning on having 15 mail-drops and 13 in-town resupplies.

I'm Going on a Hike!

Oh my Godsh I'm going on a hike! You mean the PCT you ask? No! (Well yes, but that's not exactly what I mean at the moment). I mean I'm going on a hike now...like this week! I've done nothing but day hikes in the last four years. FOUR YEARS. Pathetic. What makes this even more exciting? A new backpack...AND a new tent.

When One Door Closes...

Nearly three weeks ago I helped Cori pack up her first three mail drops for her Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hike and shipped them, along with her gear, out to California. Two days later she faced one of her greatest fears, and got on a plane to San Diego, CA. By April 25, she was 1 of 75 people standing at the southern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).  That evening she was at Lake Morena celebrating ADZPCTKO (Annual Day Zero PCT Kickoff), feeling ever not so well, and after another two days of trying to overcome suspected jet lag she thankfully found herself back at the home of trail angel Betty Wheeler. An initial visit to urgent care revealed that she had contracted a virus and was instructed to take an additional 7-10 days of rest. At her rate of recovery, she would need at least another week off to recoupe, putting her back on the trail mid May. With a goal to finish by September first, this would mean hiking an average of roughly 25 miles/day with no days off. Doesn't sound like much fun. After three days of sleeping with no sign of recovering, and much discussion about the "right thing to do" she decided to come home, and try again next year. This decision later proved to be invaluable. Later visits and tests to the doctor revealed she had contracted a strain of the flu. She wound up needing a full two weeks of rest before feeling "normal" again.

Although seemingly unfortunate, this series of events has resulted in a new outlook for both of us. Next year, when Cori revisits the trail, I will be with her.