83 days till my start date. New GEAR!

New Gear Purchases

I've been on a roll here lately. I've been moving items from my online wish lists to the shopping cart. Then I wait for the UPS to deliver, just like a kid for Christmas morning. It's always exciting to come home to a box on your door step addressed to you. 

It's really exciting to see the months of painstaking planning all come together. I've had such a good time learning and obsessing about gear. It's great to see the items I have been looking at online and in stores to finally come into my possession. I wanted to start buying this stuff a long time ago the problem I had is that I kept changing my mind or I would find something I felt would be better. So I have held off on actually buying stuff till I was within a few months of my start date. Now is that time. My start date 4/23/14 in case you wanted to know. 

Here we go with the new Goodies!

Komperdell Trekking poles $47 and Komperdell water proof gloves $56. Ordered online from Sierra Trading post. Paid about half price for them, so that's cool. It's like buy those gloves at $100 and get the poles FREE! Right? I wanted to test the gloves and see how "water proof" they are. I put them on and ran water from the sink and the water beads and rolls off. Trekking poles are light weight and I really like the cork grip. 

Columbia omni-heat 800 fill down jacket!

Found this jacket on the clearance rack at Sportsmen's Warehouse $119. It's the jacket I had on my wish list on Amazon for $180 except I was looking at getting the red jacket not the green. but since it was a deal I bought it, cause at the end of the day it's not going to matter what color it is.  

Omni-Heat baby!

This is the first time I have bought anything with Omni-Heat I have read good reviews. This is my first puffy jacket, I never liked the way they looked. But know I know why so many people wear them. 

 I tested this jacket out on a walk the other night it was freezing out and it was amazing. every other part of my body was losing heat and starting to get cold except under my jacket. So far so good...

Packs into this nice little stuff sack. It weights in at 1 pound. so not the lightest but when It's cold I'm sure it's going to be worth it's weight in gold. 

Warm and cold weather base layers

 Brooks Rev III running shirt.
This shirt is awesome it's made of a lightweight mesh material, Wicks moisture and dries quickly. I tested it out during a workout at the gym and it's awesome! It looks and fits really good too as an added bonus. paid $38 from REI

Another Columbia Omni-heat product.
Mid-weight base layer for the colder days. Might also be a good sleeping shirt. I had thought that the omni-heat silver reflectors would feel itchy against the skin but it was very comfortable. I rolled the sleeve to show off the inside. 
Also a really good looking and well fitting shirt. Only $28 saved 48% from sierra trading post. 

REI Convertible zip pants

I really like the material these are made of. and They where on sale, half price! $32

Last but not least SOCKS!

So I have this obsession about socks. Pre-hiking It was underarmour socks. now I am in hiking/running sock testing mode. I am trying to narrow down to maybe two brands that work the best for me. Since socks are inexpensive I have just went out and purchased a bunch off different brands and types. haha who am I kidding hiking socks are expensive. I noticed during my workouts on the treadmill and stair stepper I noticed that with my normal Underamour socks I was getting hot spots on the ball on my feet and on the side of my right foot. I can't stand blisters I can't think of very many things worse. So trying out the socks you see below I have had great results.

As pictured: Wrightsock cool mesh $12, they have a built in sock liner (two layers white on inside black outside). These socks are pretty neat. I have been doing a lot of research on preventing blisters and using a sock liner was highly recommend by some. so these socks have one built in which was nice. The blue sock on the bottom is a sock liner I have tested it only a once with the Wigwam socks and it was pretty good. 

SmartWool Micro Toe socks $16 but only paid $7 (sierra trading post) First off people who wear toe socks are weird... I cannot confirm or deny that I one of them. At first trying the sock on was terrible almost gave me a gagging feeling haha.  After a few minutes I didn't notice the feeling of having something between my toes and it became very comfortable. They are pretty thin and could easily be used as a liner used with another pair of more rugged socks. Good socks i enjoy wearing them around the house as well. You might think they would be constricting, but they have a freeing feeling about them. 

injinji toe socks Awesome! my favorite so far but of course they are the highest priced $18. I am defiantly going to be taking this pair with me I will more than likely purchase a few more pairs before I go. After you get over the fact they are toe socks and only weirdos wear toe socks they are so amazing haha. I would say if you have never worn toe socks get over yourself and try a pair on you might discover something awesome...

Wigwam hiking socks. $14 Seem to be a pretty good rugged wool sock. I like them and they look awesome on. If that even really matters... Some would say "it doesn't matter what or how you do something. What only matters is how good you look doing it". I don't know who says that but their has to be someone. ;)

Thorlo Experia coolMax, Powered by Thorlo pads $15 They have super thick heel and toe section, and a thinner material for the rest of the sock. I haven't even tried them on yet. but They look very promising. 

Since I have been testing these socks I haven't had a single hot spot while running so I'm thinking I really couldn't go wrong with any of them. Now I just need to test them actually on a hike. So once the weather gets better here in Colorado I'll just have to put them through the final test,  actually hiking in them. I know Darn Tough Socks are a favorite among many out there I will be trying those soon as well. If anyone has any good input on hiking socks please comment. I am open for a discussion. 

97 days till my start date. It's OFFICIAL... I'm going!

It's finally real...

Ever since I have first heard about the PCT I have been intrigued. I wondered if it was actually something I could actually do. I have read many journals/blogs over the last year. I even followed a couple people the whole trail last year. Which is really cool by the way. It almost feels as if I have done the pct already. I started to develop this desire/want to hike the PCT so bad I wanted to just pack my stuff and go middle way through the year. But I want to do it "right". (start to finish/Mexico to Canada). The planning has made it feel more real as I invest time, money and effort if figuring out the logistics of the resupply boxes, gear and travel arrangements. Which brings me to my point... I just Booked my flight to San Diego! 

As I entered all the information into my Rovia booking engine and selected one-way flight and pressed search. I could feel my heart rate increase. 

just sitting here I could hear my heart beat at this point. I have booked many flights before and never have I had a physical response like this before haha. 

Boom! only $98. So it's done, it feels real now. I am actually going to really do it. I have made up my mind a long time ago, but it's official now. I'm not turning back, I'm going to go and I am going to finish or Die trying! That's the warriors way. 

It's Kind of funny to think that It was a hard decision to make weather or not I was actually going to Hike the PCT this year (2014). But the reality is that was the easiest part. The Hard part now is figuring out how much food to send myself on the the trial and when and where. Obviously I have many tools, great knowledgeable people and such to help me figure that out. It's still quite the task. Not to mention the hike itself... it's going to be interesting... I Can't wait!

108 days till my start date. FOOD part 1.

Food Food Food! 

Testing food, what could be better than that?
I'm very excited to start figuring out what food I'm going to be eating everyday on the trail. I'm going to try and make a lot of variety and test everything before I start going into mass production mode. 3-4 meals a day plus snacks for about 150ish days, that is a lot of food! I don't even have a clue as to what that much food even looks like. The plan is that I am going to be resupplying with maildrops cause I don't what to have to buy processed garage food, plus being vegan would pry make it harder to resupply in some smaller towns. So I am up for the challenge and this is part of the pre-journey, journey for me. 

Dehydrator time!

 I just got My new Nesco Dehydrator the other day. The very same day I had to run to the Sprouts Grocery store and pick up all the ingredients to make this Vegan Chili I've never had before just so I could dehydrate some and try it. Had fun making a short video as well. 







A little video for your viewing pleasure.

The Results...

The Chili is  really good, except for the corn. I knew I shouldn't have added corn. I think I would also add one can less of tomatoes and more Garlic and add more of the other spices I think I'll play with it a little. however It still was very good as is. Minus that stupid corn, it was just kind of chewy I didn't care for it being in there.
 After dehydrating it I packed it in a ziplock and I was excited to taste it the following day... I was impressed it didn't taste any different. I boiled some water and added about 1.5 cups of water. The Beans where softer but still really good.  I am so excited for this chili. I found a good recipe on the first shot. I would recommend this recipe to nonvegans as well it was some of the best I've ever had. 

Recipe is called The best vegan chili in the world. 

Recipe makes 8 servings 

Ingredients 

1 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon salt

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 green bell peppers, chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained

2 (12 ounce) packagesvegetarian burger crumbles

3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

1 (15 ounce) can black beans

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

Chili recipe from allrecipes.com

I've been having all kinds of fun dehydrating all kinds of random stuff. I'm Going to try and make my own flax milk maybe soy milk and see how it dehydrates. I eat oatmeal everyday for breakfast and I would love to continue that on the trail as well. I buy bulk organic quick oats they are the best. 

Here is my breakfast Oatmeal recipe if anyone wants to try it:

2/3 cup oats (or 1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp cinnamon 
1/4 tsp salt
Fruit of the day
4/3 cups of vanilla flax milk (or 1 cup if 1/2 cups oats)
microwave 2.5 min
add Crumbled pecons and honey! (I know some say honey isnt "vegan" but I don't care what others say honey comes from flowers and it's amazing ;) 

111 days till my start date. Planning is now what consumes me

        Anything worth doing is worth doing right!          

View from Grey's Peak 14er

 I've spend the last 8 months reading countless blogs, websites, and a book learning everything I can about Thru Hiking the PCT. It has been such a good time reading the blogs/journals it's almost like I've hiked the PCT already several times. I've had the most fun researching and learning about gear. 

New tool box and me 2013

Gear is like tools of the trade for the hiker. I am a Master Auto Tech in my other life and I love tools. Here is a picture of my tool obsession so you can get an idea of where I am coming from

In Yogi's PCT Handbook she says "I use gear to hike... Not hike to use gear". I pry fall in the later part of that statement. I guess I just love all the "stuff" that one needs to thru hike. I'm the type that obsess about something till I know everything. So the gear is a huge thing for me. Figuring out what stuff I need to have, what brands are good, what is everyone else using and why. To much fun! I have spent hours looking at REI, Sierra Trading post website comparing things like weight, cost, reviews and whats new, whats going to be coming out soon.  I don't know if there is a perfect anything when it comes to gear everyone has there own preferences and options. It's funny you may have 10 hikers in a room and every single one of them may have different pack, tent and sleeping bag. To each their own.  I'll go into depth about the gear I've just purchased and what I am planning on getting soon. I'm going to make a dedicated page for that. 

Details details details...

So I have finally sat down and started planning the details of my trip. How I'm getting to San Diego, where I'm sending my resupply packages, how many days of food in each box what towns I'm thinking about staying at and when and where I need to send additional gears and new shoes. Crazy amounts of details which are pretty important. Here is what it looks like for me planning this out as we speak. 

So I'm using a combination of a bunch of resources.

 Craig's PCT Planner (pctplanner.com) 
Amazing tool that uses your hiking speed, compensates for slower speeds when elevation increases, estimated hours in a day you think you will be hiking and the miles in between towns. To estimate what day you will be in each town. Just an awesome resource. Thanks Craig! Craig (aka OTC = oh that Craig) actually just Hiked the PCT 2013. His blog was the first one I found and followed while he was actually on the trail  which was really cool by the way. (I'll post links at the bottom to his planner and blog sites) Below is PCTplanner My plan is still work in progress...

Yogi's Pacific Crest Trail Handbook
Anyone planning to do the PCT should read Yogi's PCT Handbook. It just has everything anyone would want to know. Just good to hear from multiple people who have done the trail before Multiple times. It covers practically every aspect about do this hike. From resupply, gear, travel arrangements, first aid  to pooping and what to do with the TP and so so much more...

I also printed off a nice overview map of the PCT from www.andrewsmaps.com. It has all the towns, mileage in between and mail drop locations.  Really nice and good looking map. 

My resupply strategy is going to be 98% maildrops. 

  Which means I'm going to be mailing myself resupply boxes via USPS priority mail. In these boxes I will have food and snacks for as many days I need till I hike to the next maildrop location. (About 3-7 days each) also I can send myself new shoes, socks,  wet wipes, tp, ect... Some people prefer to buy food as they go which works fine for them however I'm vegan which means I only eat plant based foods. No meats, eggs or dairy. Yes that includes cheese, cheese is dairy. People freak out about not eating cheese for some reason,yum cheese. I consider myself 98% vegan I'm not going to starve if all thats around is a fat juicy bloody steak. I like meat I just choose to eat better 98% of the time.  So buying food in small towns to maintain my healthy vegan life style is pry next to impossible. I'm going to spend the better part of a month dehydrating fruits, veggies, soups and vegan chilli. 

Here are the links: 

Craig's PCT Planner
Craig's PCT Blog/Journal
Yogi's PCT Handbook
 Halfmile's maps

Next:  I'll pry post about what I'm doing for training, dehydrating my own food and gear. Feel free to follow or leave any comments.  So excited, ready or not 111 days till the first day on the trail!!!