22 days till my start date... Freaking out man!

(you are freaking out man)
Time flies 

23 Days till my start date... Correction 22 days! I moved my start date forward a day.

The original plan was to spend 2 days in San Diego before heading down to Campo. Campo is the town little over a hour south by the border of Mexico, Which is where we north bound (nobo) hikers all start from. I was going to stay in a hotel for a couple days and bum around town and check out some restaurants and pick up any last minute items. 

Instead I decided it would be a better idea to meet some more people in the PCT hiker community. I found a really nice couple named Scout and Frodo (those are trail names, they hike pct in 07) who have agreed to pick me up from the airport, let me stay at their place and take me to the Trailhead in Campo the next day. They have even mentioned giving me food while I was there! I won't be alone. They do this for a lot of hikers. Last year Scout and Frodo helped out abut 250 PCT hikers. They ask nothing in return, they help us hikers cause they just want to. We call these amazing people "Trail Angels". I am so excited to meet them and everyone else that's going to be there and starting the same day as me. So thats the latest news. Now to catch up on stuff. 

I Finally got my new Gregory Z65 pack a couple weeks ago. Loaded it with 30lbs of gear and water. I'm almost embarrassed to say this... (Well almost) This is the first time I have hiked with a pack larger than a small hydration/camel back haha. Got to start somewhere I guess.  

Hiking with a large pack for the first time... I was actually surprised multiple times during my little 5.5 mile hike. I felt good right out of the gate, as one would expect. The 1st 5ish minutes where great. However I was surprised first by how uncomfortable I started to become. Hip belt was pinching, shoulders hurting and even my collar bone was hurting. I thought wow this is going to be hard to get used to.  I kept adjusting the straps as I went along Thinking I just need to toughen up. 2nd Thing, I was surprised that my legs didn't even notice the extra weight.  My pace was the same as with my day pack. Training has paid off!!!! Of course 5 miles is nothing to the 20+ I'm going to have to do everyday on the PCT.  So about the pack being so uncomfortable. I didn't need to be tougher, just smarter. I finally adjusted it "correctly" and It felt great again. I started focusing on my Gait and pace instead of my pack and I forgot about it completely for the most part. I pulled out the hiking poles and carried on. The 3rd thing I was surprised about was how fast I could walk with poles... Once again another first. I've never really hiked with poles before. Hiking with poles is awesome I could use them to propel me up hills and slow down and take pressure off the knees on the down hill. The last mile I did took only 13 minutes which is 4.6 mph that is 1.6 faster then I normally hike with my day pack (w/out poles). It was fun to say the least. 

 Next post, more new gear, 18.5 mile training hike, and final preparations...

50 Days till my start date. First Mobile post

Test test 1 2 3

I just got my folding keyboard and tripod for my iPhone. I will be using these to type my journal entries while on the trail. I figured I better give it a test run. So here it goes.

I also just got the blogpress app. The blogger app is a little limited. Blog press seems a little better. The app usually cost $4.99, however it's on sale for $2.99. Right now as I type I am testing out my square jellyfish cell phone holder and tripod. I needed something to hold my iPhone that screws on to the stick pic. ((Stick pic) I came across this brand and I give it 5 stars for sure.






Folding keyboard,tripod, iPhone and chargers weight just under a pound. The Keyboard is rechargeable w/ usb cable.
Pictured Below is the tripod the holder on top of the keyboard folded. and iPhone of course.






I picture me typing like this in my tent under neath my sleeping bag all tucked in before bed. Luckily I can type just good enough to make this work. The Folding key board works great the only issue is the backspace button is small and not in the normal spot. some adaption is going to have to take place. Because the keyboard is spilt down the middle I realized I have been pushing the b key with my left hand this whole time. There is a little bit of a learning curve here but I'm going to make it work.

Today I also got my Vivobarefoot ultra shoes. I figured I would use them for camp shoes and for crossing rivers and what not. they are lighter weight than crocs or frocs. I am going to go for a run tonight on the treadmill to try them out.







they sure are funny looking but compared to crocs... I'll take these any day.

I've updated my gear list as well on my Gear page (Gear tab at the top)

lots more to come. subscribe to email updates, RSS feed or Follow on google+



-Posted from my iPhone

Location:Fort Collins,United States

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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