20 Days till my start date... More new Gear

New gear is always good.


It has been a long drawn out process of figuring out which gear I want to take on this little adventure. I have almost a year invested in learning and discovering everything I can. Yet I have managed to ignore a lot of gear that seems like the "majority" of hikers talk about these days. Cuben fiber and other Ultralight weight gear options and brands. It all seems like great light weight high quality stuff. So I don't know what it is, I cannot explain it. It just doesn't have any appeal to me as of now. But I'm doing this hike my way and that's all I care about. I am happy with what I have chosen and I can only hope that it serves me well on long haul down the trail. Which is basically the definition of term that is often thrown around "hike your own hike" (HYOH). Words of encouragement to enjoy the Hike as you want to and do the way you want and not let others tell you "how" it should be done. Everyone has there own reasons for wanting to go on a 2663 mile hike. Which is awesome.

Now to the goods   

I got the Thermarest NeoAir Xtherm to complete my sleep system. It's called a "system" due to the fact that all the pieces are meant to work together.  My sleep system consists of my Nemo 15 degree sleeping bag, sea to summit reactor bag liner, and the new inflatable Thermarest. Clothes can also be included in the "system" my sleeping clothes are going to be some wool socks, wool hat and base layers top and bottom or clean shirt and shorts that I won't normally hike in to help keep my bag clean and dry.

 Inflatable Thermarest which is used not only for comfort when sleeping on the ground but it's most important job of insulating me from losing heat into the ground. The Xtherm has internal baffle system to trap heat and return it to the body, also has a reflective outer layer to reflect body heat as well. The stuff sack doubles as a pump sack. Using the pump vs just blowing up by mouth helps keep moisture out.


I tested everything out the other night... it's like a dream. I used my down jacket stuffed into the pillow slot in my bag and it was perfect. I can't wait to be on the trail already!

I went out on my second hike with my new pack it was a little chilly and windy so I got to try out my new rain jacket to block the wind. it was great. Opened up the pit zips to cool off and it worked well.  I got an Outdoor Research Foray Rain Jacket it's made out of Gore-tex. I love the fit of this jacket. I'm curious as to how much rain this "Water proof" jacket can handle before it starts to leak through. But I have high expectations. 

The Hike that day was great. I went a little over 5.5 miles (1 hour 38 min) and with 30lbs in my pack again like last time. I got the packs adjusting straps all figured out now to and it feels great, Gregory has built an awesome fitting pack! It's a internal frame which helps transfer the weight to my hips through the hip belt. 

Just in case anyone is curious as to how I know my distance hiked, pace and all that good stuff I use an app called Map My Hike. It's pretty neat, every mile it audibly tells you your total distance avg pace and pace for the last mile. cool way to keep track of your hikes. 

I have been itching to go on a longer hike. as you can tell by the shadows in the pictures above the sun was really low in the sky and I was trying to finish before it gets dark. Last weekend I got the chance to hike over 10 miles for the first time ever. I'll talk about it in my next post, so that's all for now.

Don't forget to subscribe I'll be hitting the trail soon. I have a lot of food stuff to do yet so it's going to get crazy in the next couple weeks. I can't believe that in a week I need to start sending out my first resupply boxes. Which I have yet to put together...

51 days till my start date. Coming together

More Pieces to the puzzle...

Today in the mail I got a nice little surprise. Actually a couple surprises, well more like 4 surprises...
I Got 2 separate notices that I need to get a couple packages from the apartment office. It really is like Christmas, I don't know what going to be in the box till I open it. I have so much stuff coming in the mail these days.  I'll have to wait till Monday and see what I got though since the office is closed Sunday. 

I got my Dirty Girl Gators so that's exciting. Tired those on for size. a little loose around my ankle but I should be able to fix that. He's what color I picked out It's called Giardia hehe. don't drink that water.

I also got some really exciting news... My permit to enter Canada via the PCT was approved! Not like I was worried or anything ;)

So it looks like I can actually finish this thing, if I can walk that far. 

I also decided on what shoes I'm going to try out. I went with Brooks Cascadia 9 they are Trail runners. Which seems to be ideal for the conditions one encounters on the PCT. According to prior PCT hikers trail runners are the way to go. The more Breathable the better. It's was funny going into the REI to try them on (which I did 3 times) I knew exactly what I wanted and 3 different sales people tried to sell me heavier duty Gortex Hiking boots. Each one of them had there own favorite boot that they thought I should be using on a hike like this. So really you have to know what you want. It's ok to feel like you know more than the sales person you pry done more research. Go in and just get what you came for. 

So far so good. I like em! I did buy them a size and half bigger than normal. I tried on a pair 2 sizes to big and it just wasn't comfortable. The reason you get bigger is because your feet swell and and actully grow larger over time. Supposed to help in blister prevention as well. I've only had them on the tread mil so I can't wait to get a little dirt on them from the trail.

Tried on the Gators with the shoes. I had to take a picture cause it's the cleanest they will ever be...

I ordered my pack (Gegory Z65) a few weeks ago and had to send it back. It didn't fit. I measured my torso which is 17.5" which fit into the size small (up to 18") and medium (from 18") for the Gregory packs. I ordered the Small and it was way way to small of course. The only reason I even ordered the small instead of medium is The mediums where out of stock and because in the store I tried on a medium Gregory Contour pack and it almost seemed to big like I couldn't get the hip belt high enough on my hips. So maybe I'm screwed and fall into no mans land when it comes to my torso length and I won't be able to find the Goldilocks pack size/fit.  (the baltoro is actually adjustable) Now the hurry up and wait game for them to get my return and ship out the other size.

On it's way are items like something to hold my iPhone to the stick pic. (stick pic is a little thing that goes on the end of a trekking pole and you can attach you camera) a Bluetooth folding keyboard for journal entries on the trail. a Buff, and  Vivobarefoot ultra trail runner shoes/ my camp shoes/ river crossing shoes. Check these out on Amazon and some other things I can't think of right now. 

I just got a new Iphone 5c as well. I chose the 5c over the 5s because the c gets better/stronger signal in the mountains/rual areas. It has something to do with with the design of the antenna and possibly plastic frame vs metal 5s frame. I can't be sure I'm not a cellular communications expert and I have not tested or compared the two. So don't take my word, do your own research. I compared the cameras and there is not a noticeable difference in quality. There is, but isn't. (not even to bother me any) I'll leave it at that. 

By the end of the week I should have made up my mind on the tent. I also will order cook stove here pretty soon. 

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79 Days till my start date. Sleeping Bag!

NEMO Nocturne 15

I have received my Sleeping bag via the UPS man! Just like a kid on Christmas day I couldn't wait to bust open that box and see what was inside. It's just so crazy the rush of excitement you get when you get things delivered to your house. 

 I put a lot of thought and research into which sleeping bag to get. In the beginning I didn't know anything about sleeping bags. Except you sleep in them.  I learned that this was a good area to spend some $$$ and not cheapskate this purchase. At First I struggled with do I get a down bag or synthetic? I went with down, then it was what temperature or comfort range do I need. Then of course what brand do I choose. I looked at a lot of bags online and at REI and Ultimately I picked the NEMO Nocturne 15, it's different than the norm. It's has a unique shape, They call it "spoon" shaped. I had first heard about it from Backpacker magazine it had the editors choice award. So I gave it some good thought and went for it. But I Think I was mostly persuaded by this video Click here to watch. 

 I also got my Sleeping bag liner as well. Sea to Summit Thermolite Mummy bag liner. It says it's supposed to add 15 degrees warmth. It's really soft and feels amazing. 

 I've never owned a sleeping bag this nice before. I tried it on for size and I am so glad I went with the "spoon" shape. It's perfect! The liner is stretchy so it allows for movement as well so I think they will work good together I can't wait to test it out for real. If I had my tent and sleeping pad I would pry be sleeping outside tonight on our little balcony. It's only 12 degrees out right now it would be perfect test run haha... brrr (I hate winter)

I have noticed that it seems most people in Yogi's book seem to have a 20 degree bag only 2 of the 18 Hikers in her book uses a 15 degree bag. However she gives the advice that If you get cold easy to have a bag with lower temp rating and you will be much happier. So that's pretty much what I did. I figured I could always vent heat out but I couldn't magically make my bag warmer. So that's my sleepin bag. 

 Click here to check out my gear page. You can follow my blog by email or by clicking the follow link on my Google profile. Feel Free to leave me a comment or if you have a question. 79 days!  The excitement is building I'll be on that plane to San Diego in no time. 

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.