Moxie
Latitude:38.74247
Longitude:-120.03404
GPS location Date/Time:07/07/2012 20:13:33 PDT
Message:I am safe and all is well.
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Moxie
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Saturday, July 7, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Some of My Fellow Hikers
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| From the left: Hamburger, LavaGoat, Easily Distracted, her sister Rear Guard, and Dusty Bottoms |
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| Scalawag, from Temecula, CA. He had been working in the water filtration industry, but was laid off. He decided to do the PCT with only 3 weeks notice! |
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| Easily Distracted (from Florida, did the AT), with the Michigan Wolverine (from Ann Arbor, did the AT) in the background |
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| LavaGoat, right after she face planted. She is such a champ! In her 30s, married, living in San Diego, I feel like I have more in common with her than with other hikers. She is a very capable outdoorswoman and it's my challenge every day to keep up with her. |
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| Style (did the AT) and Rear Guard (Easily Distracted's sister. This is her first long hike.) |
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| Dusty Bottoms (did the AT with Easily Distracted), signing the log book for a Geocache we found in the shade of a manzanita bush. Dusty Bottoms is a sweet boy about my age with an amazing sense of humor; he sees beauty when I'm too tired to appreciate it without prompting. He cares about everyone he meets. |
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| Hamburger, a true gentleman from Hamburg, Germany. He has a wonderful sense of humor and genuine warmth. Here he is in Warner Springs, right before heading out in the evening. |
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| Lunchbox has been living in Davis for a couple of years, so it's fun to hike with him and talk about familiar places. He recently did a cross-country bike tour to raise money for Habitat for Humanity, and as he went he helped to build houses. He's looking forward to doing the AT and building his own minimalist house. Mt. Everest is the very last thing on his bucket list. |
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| Here GipCGirl and LavaGoat watch Scalawag (in the red bandana) go through the hiker box in Warner Springs. His resupply didn't arrive at the post office, but he was able to scrounge up enough cast-off food to make it to Idyllwild. GipC is a retired woman from Australia. She did most of the AT in 2010 but broke her leg. She returned in 2011 to thru hike it. She finished just 7 months before starting the PCT this year. |
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| Neon and OnnaMove from Arizona. I ate breakfast with them my first morning in Julian and they told me about their section hikes on the PCT last year. Really friendly people. |
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| From Left, Houseparty, Tim (from NOLA) and Little Cubit (so named because she has short arms) at Mom's Pie in Julian. They fed us on the house there. It was wonderful. That was the last time I saw Houseparty and Cubit; I hear they were in Palm Springs recently. Tim and his brother Jeremy are also staying at the Motel 6 here in Big Bear. |
Monday, May 14, 2012
Mi. 211-- Cabazon, CA
Let me tell you, it's frickin hot in Cabazon, CA. Last night we camped at mi 206, where there was a water spigot at the road. After climbing 20 miles down Fuller Ridge with not-enough water, it was a wonderful sight to behold coming into camp just before dark. Jeremy greeted me with a liter of filtered water; I had run out of water nearly 5 miles before in the heat of the day. I guzzled it down and caught up with Lester, Marcus and Jeremy about the day's hike; we had all been attacked by the hive of feral bees, seen a rattlesnake at a serendipitous water source, and as a result of missing that water, had run out well before the spigot.
Today we came the five miles to a trail angel home. They have tents set up in their back yard to shelter us from the heat of the day; I started walking at 6am and by 7 it was already blazing hot. The place is a little odd... They have a nice setup, but it stops short of being hospitable. Hikers aren't allowed in the house, no fires (so no cooking I reckon), there is no place to purchase food, and hikers are not allowed to ride in their car. I wanted to leave a donation but didn't have any cash. The hostess had mentioned she was going to the store, so I asked if I could ride along to get some cash back. She pursed her lips, gave me a sour look and said that was NOT okay. The alternative was to give her my ATM card and my PIN number and have her get the cash for me! Hell no. So no donation. Another hiker mentioned that they lock up the computers at 9pm. Yet another hiker told me that their website mentions a 10 dollar minimum donation required. When I heard those reports, it felt more like a distrustful, money making scheme than trail angels. To their credit, they gave us a bowl of water to wash our feet, had plastic flip flops for loan, let us sit under the shade structure where they had two laptops set up, and let us rinse our clothes in a sink hooked up to the garden hose. All of these things were wonderful treats in the heat. I wish I had been able to leave a few bucks to extend my appreciation for them.
GipCgirl, who had been travelling at least a day ahead of me, showed up at the house an hour after I did. She reports that the next stretch is also waterless and difficult and she suffered from dehydration. She had to hitch hike back to this point to recover. She and Damsel decided to rent a car to get to Big Bear City (Damsel is hiking with her dog, Lucy. They got lost in the desert and made it here scratched up and dehydrated, but safe.)
Since I last updated, I've been to Warner Springs and Idyllwild. In Warner Springs, the resort went bankrupt and now there is nothing there but a school and a tiny post office. To stop the gap for us hikers, Warner Springs Monty worked with the school district to provide resupply, camping, showers, and BBQ for us. It was really wonderful. Sherry, the ag teacher, was wonderfully hospitable and made us feel totally at home (with Apple cobbler cooked in dutch ovens in campfire coals and pot upon pot of cowboy coffee).
After WS, it was 40 miles to the Pines to Palms highway at mi 151. Lawrence the Spring Guy picked up Scalawag, Style, Ori (a fellow from Israel), and myself and drove us to Idyllwild for lunch. I zeroed there the next day and since I had arrived ahead of schedule, I caught up with a bunch of people I haven't seen since kickoff. I learned from Anchorman that Ranger-- my hiking buddy from my first day on the trail-- dropped out. He had gotten a hitch forward to Julian and left from there.
We hiked out the next day (Saturday). It was only an 8 mile day, but it kicked my butt; it was entirely uphill and STEEP. And that brings us back to the beginning-- my miserable, hot, dusty, knee-busting, thirsty 20 miles coming down Fuller Ridge.
Overall I'm doing well. My little blister on my toe is looking good and my muscles are doing well. However, the last two days killed my knees. I woke up today stiff-legged and took a while to get going. Also, when I arrived in camp last night I had lost sensation in my toes. Today it's restored to all but my big toe. I can feel pressure, but not other sensations (another hiker told me that the same thing happened when they hiked the AT, and it took months to come back to normal). I'm considering joining GipC and Damsel in their car up to Big Bear.
More than anything I'm homesick, but that is starting to get a little better, especially in camp and in towns when I'm surrounded by a group of people who all have the same priorities as me (take off the pack, air out the feet, set up camp, filter water, cook food, go to bed).
Today we came the five miles to a trail angel home. They have tents set up in their back yard to shelter us from the heat of the day; I started walking at 6am and by 7 it was already blazing hot. The place is a little odd... They have a nice setup, but it stops short of being hospitable. Hikers aren't allowed in the house, no fires (so no cooking I reckon), there is no place to purchase food, and hikers are not allowed to ride in their car. I wanted to leave a donation but didn't have any cash. The hostess had mentioned she was going to the store, so I asked if I could ride along to get some cash back. She pursed her lips, gave me a sour look and said that was NOT okay. The alternative was to give her my ATM card and my PIN number and have her get the cash for me! Hell no. So no donation. Another hiker mentioned that they lock up the computers at 9pm. Yet another hiker told me that their website mentions a 10 dollar minimum donation required. When I heard those reports, it felt more like a distrustful, money making scheme than trail angels. To their credit, they gave us a bowl of water to wash our feet, had plastic flip flops for loan, let us sit under the shade structure where they had two laptops set up, and let us rinse our clothes in a sink hooked up to the garden hose. All of these things were wonderful treats in the heat. I wish I had been able to leave a few bucks to extend my appreciation for them.
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| Style gave me a sassy haircut-- it's spiky now! |
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| Sherry, the ag teacher in WS |
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| Lawrence the Spring Guy goes around to the springs in the area and cleans them so they'll be safe for us to drink from. This is the Chinese place where we bought him lunch in Idyllwild. |
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| Just before leaving Idyllwild. I got lost a couple hours later. |
After my zero in Idyllwild, I decided to go up the Devil's Slide Trail and travel South to make up the miles that I hitch hiked. On the way, I met OnlyATest who told me she had taken the Tahquitz Meadow alternate trail. Since it was .7 mi shorter and involved 450ft less climbing than the official PCT, it sounded pretty good to me. Well... after a few miles the trail forked to the south, but I continued east. Hours later, I was lost and off my map. I came to a cliff... where I could see the city of Palm Springs below me. That wasn't right. So I started backtracking. Finally, around 5:30, I came to the place where I messed up. It was 18 wasted miles of hiking. The next day I said "screw it! I put in my miles on San Jacinto!" and I hiked the 5 miles back to Idyllwild where I hung out with OAT, Dusty Bottoms, Lunchbox, Easily Distracted, and Rear Guard.
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| The Michigan Wolverine took this picture of me in camp with Mt. San Jacinto in the background. We had climbed over it from Idyllwild that day. |
Overall I'm doing well. My little blister on my toe is looking good and my muscles are doing well. However, the last two days killed my knees. I woke up today stiff-legged and took a while to get going. Also, when I arrived in camp last night I had lost sensation in my toes. Today it's restored to all but my big toe. I can feel pressure, but not other sensations (another hiker told me that the same thing happened when they hiked the AT, and it took months to come back to normal). I'm considering joining GipC and Damsel in their car up to Big Bear.
More than anything I'm homesick, but that is starting to get a little better, especially in camp and in towns when I'm surrounded by a group of people who all have the same priorities as me (take off the pack, air out the feet, set up camp, filter water, cook food, go to bed).
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Mile 77.6 - Julian, CA
I wrote this in response to a message from my mom, but its such a good summary, I decided it would do double duty:
Walking straight downhill for long distances, I've learned, is extremely difficult! I've been doing a lot of that and my poor little knees are tired. After the very first day, I had Jon order me some poles and he's sending them overnight to Warner Springs. I bet you wished you had brought yours to Carlsbad!
I'm in Julian today. I hitchhiked with two guys, and we got picked up by a British ex-pat in a luxury SUV! His son is looking at colleges in nor cal and I talked to him about UCD. It was a pretty good first experience with hitch hiking.
I got off the trail because I was feeling tired and discouraged by the news that all of the water for the next 25 miles is dried up. The first 13 of those miles are straight up out of a canyon! But I came here, got a room, showered, ate. After I talked with a lot of other hikers and townies and read the Facebook messages of encouragement I decided to rest here today and get back at it tomorrow. I met a lovely couple at dinner last night who took a great interest in me and gave me their phone number so I won't have to hitch back to the trail.
The b&b where I'm staying is full of hikers; they have a special rate for us: $70 for a private room with a bathroom, free WiFi, afternoon tea at 4, full breakfast in the morning and they do our laundry! it's extremely quaint, like everything else in Julian. Downstairs they have sitting areas with beautifully carved rocking chairs, board games, and a library. My favorite part is the bed! It's covered by gorgeous quilt upon gorgeous quilt and it's extremely comfortable! I closed the curtains so I could sleep past sunrise, but I only made it to 645 (I've been sleeping with the sun).
Speaking of sleeping, the night before last I cowboy camped for the first time. That is, I slept without a tent under the stars. My tent kept whipping around in the wind while I was trying to set it up and I finally said "screw it!". I laid out my groundsheet, sleeping mat, and sleeping bag. I got inside and started to cook my dinner when these yellow-jacket looking things started to hover around the edges of my sleeping bag. They weren't agressive, but they worried me. Finally I thought "crap, maybe they are ground nesting bees and I'm on top of their nest." So I rolled up my stuff in my ground cloth and moved away. Sure enough, they all landed and crawled into teeny holes in the ground. So I slept about two feet to the side and watched all of the bees come home as the sun set. It was so cool.
I haven't camped alone yet so far, and I've kindof fallen in with a group that travels about the same number of miles as me. Gipcgirl (gypsy girl) is a retired lady from Australia, near the city of Perth. Hamburger is a retired man from Hamburg, Germany. LavaGoat is a young married woman from San Diego. Lunchbox is a guy about my age from Placerville. OnlyATest is in her 30s and from southern California, I don't remember exactly where. Bolts (has bolt earrings in his ears) is from Sunnyvale and reminds me of Matt DeGroot. Jason is a nice kid about my age but I don't remember where he's from. Everyone is hiking solo. But it's worth mentioning the group of four 20something Israelis who are always nearby, but stick to themselves (in fact, they have the room just down the hall from me). There were also two brothers from NOLA, but they pulled ahead of us the night before last and I haven't seen them since then. [Edit: I just ran into them in town.]
Walking straight downhill for long distances, I've learned, is extremely difficult! I've been doing a lot of that and my poor little knees are tired. After the very first day, I had Jon order me some poles and he's sending them overnight to Warner Springs. I bet you wished you had brought yours to Carlsbad!
I'm in Julian today. I hitchhiked with two guys, and we got picked up by a British ex-pat in a luxury SUV! His son is looking at colleges in nor cal and I talked to him about UCD. It was a pretty good first experience with hitch hiking.
I got off the trail because I was feeling tired and discouraged by the news that all of the water for the next 25 miles is dried up. The first 13 of those miles are straight up out of a canyon! But I came here, got a room, showered, ate. After I talked with a lot of other hikers and townies and read the Facebook messages of encouragement I decided to rest here today and get back at it tomorrow. I met a lovely couple at dinner last night who took a great interest in me and gave me their phone number so I won't have to hitch back to the trail.
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| Fantastic breakfast at the Julian Gold Rush Hotel |
Speaking of sleeping, the night before last I cowboy camped for the first time. That is, I slept without a tent under the stars. My tent kept whipping around in the wind while I was trying to set it up and I finally said "screw it!". I laid out my groundsheet, sleeping mat, and sleeping bag. I got inside and started to cook my dinner when these yellow-jacket looking things started to hover around the edges of my sleeping bag. They weren't agressive, but they worried me. Finally I thought "crap, maybe they are ground nesting bees and I'm on top of their nest." So I rolled up my stuff in my ground cloth and moved away. Sure enough, they all landed and crawled into teeny holes in the ground. So I slept about two feet to the side and watched all of the bees come home as the sun set. It was so cool.
I haven't camped alone yet so far, and I've kindof fallen in with a group that travels about the same number of miles as me. Gipcgirl (gypsy girl) is a retired lady from Australia, near the city of Perth. Hamburger is a retired man from Hamburg, Germany. LavaGoat is a young married woman from San Diego. Lunchbox is a guy about my age from Placerville. OnlyATest is in her 30s and from southern California, I don't remember exactly where. Bolts (has bolt earrings in his ears) is from Sunnyvale and reminds me of Matt DeGroot. Jason is a nice kid about my age but I don't remember where he's from. Everyone is hiking solo. But it's worth mentioning the group of four 20something Israelis who are always nearby, but stick to themselves (in fact, they have the room just down the hall from me). There were also two brothers from NOLA, but they pulled ahead of us the night before last and I haven't seen them since then. [Edit: I just ran into them in town.]
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Lake Morena
Ok folks, I've made it the first 20 miles. ML, R, & B dropped me off in Campo at 8 after getting pastries at a panaderia. After about four miles of hiking, I made friends with Ranger, an older gentleman who liked my pace. The weather was perfect: overcast. We camped for the night at about 13.5 miles and got completely drenched in a rainstorm. It rained on us the whole way today to Lake Morena. We met a guy named Macgyver about a mile from the lake and walked with him to the general store where we got a bite to eat and I bouht some butter (forgot the olive oil, d'oh)
I walked down to the campground and met a woman named Mikki and her husband Jake. Jake grilled me on my gear and knowledge, and Mikki informed me that I passed muster. Jon will tell you that before I left I was worried about being scrutinized. So that was a relief.
Found my site and set up camp. I saw some 'celebrities' such as kolby "condor" kirk (i've been following his video blog) and Teddi Boston, the first woman to thru hike the PCT, before it was the PCT. Met the people I'm camping with; Butch (aka wedding dress guy), Jason, Tank, Malarkey, JB, and another fellow by the name Oso Bruto. All the guys are pretty friendly. It was nice to share a beer around the table. I volunteered to help with registration at 9am tomorrow; I figured it would be a good way to see everyone who arrives tomorrow.
Next stop is Warner springs, 89 miles away.
I walked down to the campground and met a woman named Mikki and her husband Jake. Jake grilled me on my gear and knowledge, and Mikki informed me that I passed muster. Jon will tell you that before I left I was worried about being scrutinized. So that was a relief.
Found my site and set up camp. I saw some 'celebrities' such as kolby "condor" kirk (i've been following his video blog) and Teddi Boston, the first woman to thru hike the PCT, before it was the PCT. Met the people I'm camping with; Butch (aka wedding dress guy), Jason, Tank, Malarkey, JB, and another fellow by the name Oso Bruto. All the guys are pretty friendly. It was nice to share a beer around the table. I volunteered to help with registration at 9am tomorrow; I figured it would be a good way to see everyone who arrives tomorrow.
Next stop is Warner springs, 89 miles away.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Train, bus, train
I'm here in San Diego! Richard, My-Lien, Berg and I finally arrived safely and I'm looking forward to waking up at 530 to drive to Campo.
Friday, of course, was my last day of work. I was surprised by my coworkers with beautiful flowers and a gift card to Sport Chalet. After work, I went home to wrap up some details before heading to San Jose for my bon voyage party.
Mom, Katie, Maggie and Jim put on an excellent party. They made me an awesome banner; Maggie decorated my favorite cake with a river, a trail, fields, trees, and a hiker figurine; Katie put together PCT maps with info about my blog and how to send me treats! It was great to see everyone again. For the next two days it was back to running errands.
This morning Jon and I woke before dawn and went to pick up ML, R, & B. We took a train, a bus, and another train to San Diego where R's aunt Irene picked us up. We made the rounds to visit their family and then went to the BEST hole-on-the-wall Thai restaurant I've ever been to. Stuffed, we are now at ML's parents' home and tucking in.
The forecast for tomorrow is a little drizzle during the day and thunderstorms at night. I never imagined that my first day on the PCT would necessitate my umbrella for protection from RAIN instead of sun! I'm nervous, but excited!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
T minus 10 days
I can't believe it. After saying to myself so many times "in a couple years" the day has finally come when I refer to my start day as "in a couple days". So much is going on right now, it feels surreal.
I finally got a Chrome Dome hiking umbrella from Golite, it was even on sale so the wait paid off! The outside of the umbrella is reflective, for the desert sun, and I'll be able to use it again in the Washington rain (photo credits to Jon). It has a nice span; I've just gotta figure out a way to attach it to my backpack so I can go hands free. Despite my last post, I'm back to having doubts about the capacity of my backpack, especially considering the bear can. I'm seriously considering switching to a Gossamer Gear G4. I would gain about 20 liters of capacity and lose about 11 oz of weight. It seems pretty win-win.
My mom made me a collection of wonderful meals. It was overwhelming to see how much love and attention she put into making these meals for me (she even took the time to sprout the beans before she dehydrated them so they would be extra nutritious). Included in each baggie is a sheet of the ingredients with instructions for cooking, an inspirational quote to keep me motivated, and a little snack to eat while I'm cooking. See what I mean? She went all out. Thanks Momma <3
This coming Friday is my last day of work. I've been enduring fond teasing from my bosses and co-workers (regarding work-ethic, wrestling bears, and my caffeine intake, mostly!), and hearing well-wishes and "we'll miss you"s from my regular customers.
Since I work in a very small grocery just around the corner from my home, my regulars aren't just customers to me. They are my neighbors and have become part of the landscape of my life. They are the faces Jon and I see when we walk in our neighborhood after dinner and run errands downtown. In two years I've seen pregnancies, births, and first birthdays (or at least, the daily runs for pickles, ice cream, and party supplies!). E has become a motherly figure to me and worries over me as I prepare, S suggested they put up a map of the trail on the bulletin board outside so everyone can follow my progress and M suggested that we hang an announcement of my last day so everyone will know to come say goodbye. There is heartfelt enthusiasm, encouragement, concern and excitement from everyone; it means to me that I am finally a Davis townie, not just a student passing through anonymously, anymore.
I am really, really going to miss everyone while I'm gone. But I'm planning to be back in October, and already I'm looking forward to sharing my stories.
I catch the train to San Diego on Tues 4/24 with Richard and My-Lien and their young son Berg. My-Lien's parents generously agreed to put me up for the night in their home. The next morning, we'll pile into Richard's grandparents' car and the three of them will drop me off at the border on their way to the Salton Sea (which, I am told, is quite a spectacle). Starting my journey off with friends by my side will be great; I had worried about how to get from the train station to the border, but I shouldn't have. Already I am experiencing trail magic.
My mom made me a collection of wonderful meals. It was overwhelming to see how much love and attention she put into making these meals for me (she even took the time to sprout the beans before she dehydrated them so they would be extra nutritious). Included in each baggie is a sheet of the ingredients with instructions for cooking, an inspirational quote to keep me motivated, and a little snack to eat while I'm cooking. See what I mean? She went all out. Thanks Momma <3This coming Friday is my last day of work. I've been enduring fond teasing from my bosses and co-workers (regarding work-ethic, wrestling bears, and my caffeine intake, mostly!), and hearing well-wishes and "we'll miss you"s from my regular customers.
Since I work in a very small grocery just around the corner from my home, my regulars aren't just customers to me. They are my neighbors and have become part of the landscape of my life. They are the faces Jon and I see when we walk in our neighborhood after dinner and run errands downtown. In two years I've seen pregnancies, births, and first birthdays (or at least, the daily runs for pickles, ice cream, and party supplies!). E has become a motherly figure to me and worries over me as I prepare, S suggested they put up a map of the trail on the bulletin board outside so everyone can follow my progress and M suggested that we hang an announcement of my last day so everyone will know to come say goodbye. There is heartfelt enthusiasm, encouragement, concern and excitement from everyone; it means to me that I am finally a Davis townie, not just a student passing through anonymously, anymore.
I am really, really going to miss everyone while I'm gone. But I'm planning to be back in October, and already I'm looking forward to sharing my stories.
I catch the train to San Diego on Tues 4/24 with Richard and My-Lien and their young son Berg. My-Lien's parents generously agreed to put me up for the night in their home. The next morning, we'll pile into Richard's grandparents' car and the three of them will drop me off at the border on their way to the Salton Sea (which, I am told, is quite a spectacle). Starting my journey off with friends by my side will be great; I had worried about how to get from the train station to the border, but I shouldn't have. Already I am experiencing trail magic.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Hey look, it fits!
Castle pointed out that having the bear can on top of my pack will probably make the load top heavy. My friends My-Lien and Richard were kind enough to show me their gear stash, and I found a couple of straps that might work to lash it to the bottom of my pack instead. I'll move the tent up on top.
I'm getting so excited! While I was at work today I talked about my trip with a number of my regulars, and the enthusiasm has been just wonderful. Everyone is so genuinely happy and excited for me and it's a big positive feedback loop. I left work feeling so psyched!
PS. and then Jon and I raced to squeeze in five miles before sunset. It was a beautiful day today!
Friday, March 2, 2012
So Much Love!
You guys already know that I'm a headstrong, independent gal. It almost never crosses my mind to ask for help; I usually find a way to get things done myself. Even when that stresses me out enormously, at the end of the day I'm gratified that I tackled a big job alone and did it well. Planning this trip wasn't going to be any different from my usual MO. When I started getting ready for this trip, it didn't cross my mind that I would have help with buying gear, preparing food, or, really, anything (except shipping boxes). I was prepared for that, and spent three years reading, researching, and saving up my money.
Preparing for this has been such an amazing experience, especially as the clock ticks closer. People I seldom talk to have come out of the woodwork on Facebook to offer me words of encouragement and to say "let me know if I can help in any way!"
My friend Lou was married recently, and at her wedding she thanked her guests saying "I usually think of myself as a pretty forgettable person... and now I see you all here and I'm thinking 'Holy shit! people actually like me!'"
Although I lovingly laughed at Lou at the time [OF COURSE WE LIKE YOU, LOU, YOU'RE THE BEST!], I'll admit I'm having the same reaction right now. So I want to THANK ALL OF YOU so deeply for the love.
My mom has been especially amazing. She has been 100% on board since I first announced my intention. She's been reading trail journals and websites, watching indie hiking movies, bragging me off to her friends, and bought me all kinds of gear from my wishlist for my birthday and Christmas. And yet she still asked me the other day "What can I do to help?" after she read my post about the Battle of Resupply Boxing. I gave her the task of inventing some good recipes for me with ethnic flavors. By the end of the next day she had rustled up a couple of dehydrators from the ladies at her church, visited three ethnic markets, and had started creating recipes. And when I offered to reimburse her she said "HELL no! I'm your MOTHER. I'm ENTITLED to buy you food! Don't be ridiculous." (Crap, now I'm all verklempt).
I've been promising everyone else that I would update my wishlist and let them know when it was ready. But last night as I weighed my gear I've realized: I'm pretty much good to go. Anything else would be "dead weight". Really, the only thing left that will have a major, positive impact on my trip is cash. Being who I am, I don't *expect* to receive cash and receiving any amount would be mind-blowing to me. But I've had so many offers to help... who am I to tell someone that they can't help me?
So cash it is. If you would like to send me something, send me a Facebook message and we can figure out the best way of making it happen.
$10 will buy me a big juicy burger and a milkshake when I come into town
$15 will pay the postage on one of my 30 resupply boxes
$50 will get me a motel room and a SHOWER and a tub in which to wash my clothes
$100 will get me burger, a SHOWER, and a motel bed PLUS a trip to the grocery store to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, a bit of meat and some bread
$150 will pay for a month of medical and dental insurance
If you do prefer something tangible... here's my wishlist... Caveat: it's only got a couple of "maybe nice to have" things on it.
Thanks again everyone and BIG HUGS!
Preparing for this has been such an amazing experience, especially as the clock ticks closer. People I seldom talk to have come out of the woodwork on Facebook to offer me words of encouragement and to say "let me know if I can help in any way!"
My friend Lou was married recently, and at her wedding she thanked her guests saying "I usually think of myself as a pretty forgettable person... and now I see you all here and I'm thinking 'Holy shit! people actually like me!'"
Although I lovingly laughed at Lou at the time [OF COURSE WE LIKE YOU, LOU, YOU'RE THE BEST!], I'll admit I'm having the same reaction right now. So I want to THANK ALL OF YOU so deeply for the love.
My mom has been especially amazing. She has been 100% on board since I first announced my intention. She's been reading trail journals and websites, watching indie hiking movies, bragging me off to her friends, and bought me all kinds of gear from my wishlist for my birthday and Christmas. And yet she still asked me the other day "What can I do to help?" after she read my post about the Battle of Resupply Boxing. I gave her the task of inventing some good recipes for me with ethnic flavors. By the end of the next day she had rustled up a couple of dehydrators from the ladies at her church, visited three ethnic markets, and had started creating recipes. And when I offered to reimburse her she said "HELL no! I'm your MOTHER. I'm ENTITLED to buy you food! Don't be ridiculous." (Crap, now I'm all verklempt).
I've been promising everyone else that I would update my wishlist and let them know when it was ready. But last night as I weighed my gear I've realized: I'm pretty much good to go. Anything else would be "dead weight". Really, the only thing left that will have a major, positive impact on my trip is cash. Being who I am, I don't *expect* to receive cash and receiving any amount would be mind-blowing to me. But I've had so many offers to help... who am I to tell someone that they can't help me?
So cash it is. If you would like to send me something, send me a Facebook message and we can figure out the best way of making it happen.
$10 will buy me a big juicy burger and a milkshake when I come into town
$15 will pay the postage on one of my 30 resupply boxes
$50 will get me a motel room and a SHOWER and a tub in which to wash my clothes
$100 will get me burger, a SHOWER, and a motel bed PLUS a trip to the grocery store to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, a bit of meat and some bread
$150 will pay for a month of medical and dental insurance
If you do prefer something tangible... here's my wishlist... Caveat: it's only got a couple of "maybe nice to have" things on it.
Thanks again everyone and BIG HUGS!
Gear List
Okey dokey, true to word I've compiled my gearlist in Excel and posted it. Check out the link at the top of the page just below the John Muir quote.
My chart is missing weights for a few things, but I have the bulk of my gear weighed. I tried to include everything that I am responsible for moving. That includes the clothing I'm wearing, although others don't always include this in their total pack weight, arguing that it's not in their pack (Cheaters. You still have to carry it on your body!) This measurement of EVERYTHING is called "Skin Out Weight".
There are two totals: One is my regular skin-out weight. The other is my Sierra skin-out weight. The reason for the separation is that the Sierras require some extra gear: bear resistant food canisters, and potentially an ice axe and traction devices, depending on the snow level (we'll see how March goes).
I haven't measured consumables (food, water, fuel, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, soap, toothpaste, toilet paper). The way I'm going to handle that is to measure the weight of the empty container--since that is constant--and call it good enough.
I had been vaguely dreading the total tally. I had a rough idea that I would come in under 20 lbs based on the manufacturers' spec sheets for my gear. I was crossing my fingers that I'd be under 18 for my "regular" weight. I was downright giddy when I came in at 14.3 lbs and ran around the house telling all of our roommates that my pack is only 14.3 lbs so far! They've heard me talk about this long enough to know that it was good news :)
My chart is missing weights for a few things, but I have the bulk of my gear weighed. I tried to include everything that I am responsible for moving. That includes the clothing I'm wearing, although others don't always include this in their total pack weight, arguing that it's not in their pack (Cheaters. You still have to carry it on your body!) This measurement of EVERYTHING is called "Skin Out Weight".
There are two totals: One is my regular skin-out weight. The other is my Sierra skin-out weight. The reason for the separation is that the Sierras require some extra gear: bear resistant food canisters, and potentially an ice axe and traction devices, depending on the snow level (we'll see how March goes).
I haven't measured consumables (food, water, fuel, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, soap, toothpaste, toilet paper). The way I'm going to handle that is to measure the weight of the empty container--since that is constant--and call it good enough.
I had been vaguely dreading the total tally. I had a rough idea that I would come in under 20 lbs based on the manufacturers' spec sheets for my gear. I was crossing my fingers that I'd be under 18 for my "regular" weight. I was downright giddy when I came in at 14.3 lbs and ran around the house telling all of our roommates that my pack is only 14.3 lbs so far! They've heard me talk about this long enough to know that it was good news :)
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Battle of Resupply Boxing
There are two schools of thought when it comes to food on the PCT: buy-as-you-go and mail drops. For the sake of reduced stress while I'm on the trail, and since I have to mail maps to myself anyway, I decided to make mail drops. These boxes include maps, fuel, toilet paper, food, sunscreen, insect repellant, vitamins and other things I'll need in small(er than available in the store) quantities. I've made a calendar with my itinerary and assigned a ship date for each town, and Jonathan will be sending them to the post office at each town to be held for me to pick up when I arrive.
I've done pretty well at going to Winco and Walmart at least once a week on my day off and buying a big old cart full of food for the trip. Winco has excellent bulk bins. So excellent in fact, that their bulk bins are legendary among backpackers. They even have dog food, bird seed, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt, tapioca flour, peanut butter, and honey in bulk, not to mention the normal nuts, seeds, granolas and dried fruits!
I've been making big batches of my favorite spaghetti sauce and vegetarian chili, running them through the dehydrator and vacuum sealing them into meal-sized portions with noodles and couscous (again, love those bulk bins).
I ordered flat-rate boxes from the post office for my "normal" 3-4 day drops and I've started collecting larger boxes from work for my larger 7-8 day drops. Gradually the pile has grown larger and larger.
But all of this acquisition has been easy compared to putting the stuff INTO the boxes. I'm starting to refer to it internally as The Battle of Resupply Boxing. At T minus 50 days shit is starting to get real, and it feels the most real when I'm in the heat of the battle.
Recognizing my "holy crap" moment a few days ago, Jonathan jumped in to take some of the decision making off my shoulders. I gave him some rules like "two snacks and three meals per day" and "these packages count as two meals for the first three weeks, but one meal thereafter" while I pondered over how much fuel and toilet paper I'll be consuming for each box of meals he packed. Finally we made it through the first five boxes! Phew, what a relief.
Now just 25 more to go.
I've done pretty well at going to Winco and Walmart at least once a week on my day off and buying a big old cart full of food for the trip. Winco has excellent bulk bins. So excellent in fact, that their bulk bins are legendary among backpackers. They even have dog food, bird seed, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt, tapioca flour, peanut butter, and honey in bulk, not to mention the normal nuts, seeds, granolas and dried fruits!I've been making big batches of my favorite spaghetti sauce and vegetarian chili, running them through the dehydrator and vacuum sealing them into meal-sized portions with noodles and couscous (again, love those bulk bins).
I ordered flat-rate boxes from the post office for my "normal" 3-4 day drops and I've started collecting larger boxes from work for my larger 7-8 day drops. Gradually the pile has grown larger and larger.
But all of this acquisition has been easy compared to putting the stuff INTO the boxes. I'm starting to refer to it internally as The Battle of Resupply Boxing. At T minus 50 days shit is starting to get real, and it feels the most real when I'm in the heat of the battle.Recognizing my "holy crap" moment a few days ago, Jonathan jumped in to take some of the decision making off my shoulders. I gave him some rules like "two snacks and three meals per day" and "these packages count as two meals for the first three weeks, but one meal thereafter" while I pondered over how much fuel and toilet paper I'll be consuming for each box of meals he packed. Finally we made it through the first five boxes! Phew, what a relief.
Now just 25 more to go.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Gearing up
I've never been a real "hardcore" backpacker or gearhead. I did a good bit of backpacking growing up, but gear was never the main focus; we bought our gear for cheap at the fleamarket or garage sales. Not to mention, in the past few years I had only done a couple of weekend trips and had been able to get by without a lot of gear and specialty clothing.
Gearing up for this trip has been a long process and a steep learning curve. I basically had to start my gear collection from ground zero as I decided that what I already had wouldn't fit my newly-formed gear philosophy.
I read Beyond Backpacking by Ray Jardine, a huge proponent of lightweight backpacking (also, that guy and his wife, Jenny, are super hardcore. He lists all of their major outdoor adventures from the past 50 years on his website.). His philosophy in a nutshell: Pack light and you will enjoy the trip more and be capable of walking faster. Therefore, you won't have to pack as much food, and therefore your pack will be lighter, and therefore you can move faster, and so on... Seems like pretty sound advice to me.
I watched with horror as Mike Clelland ripped apart people's gear lists on the BackpackingLight.com forums, telling them to ditch the toilet paper and use sticks instead! That seemed extreme to me (which isn't to say I haven't learned from his suggestions).
The one statement that made the biggest impact on my philosophy was to this effect: We carry gear to assuage our fears and make up for lack of experience.
With that in mind, I came up with this "philosophy" which guided my gear buying decisions:
1) I'll go as light and high quality as I can...
2)... For a reasonable amount of money...
3) ... And try my hardest not to pay full price
4) I will truthfully acknowledge where I am inexperienced and buy gear accordingly
For example, a lot of ultra-light backpackers use a tarp for shelter, since it can be so much lighter than any tent. I've never used a tarp as shelter before and I'm not confident in my ability to put up a sound tarp-shelter in every situation, let alone in the middle of a storm when I am potentially on the verge of hypothermia. Plus, I'm not okay with spiders or mosquitoes, so a floor and walls are a must. Recognizing this, I researched single-person, fully-enclosed backpacking tents. I read a lot of reviews and gear lists and came up with my top three candidates, ranking them by weight:
Gossamer Gear's The One
Henry Shire's Tarptent Contrail
and Henry Shire's Tarptent Moment
Once I had my list, I haunted the used-gear ads and gear swap forums on Backpacking Light (BPL) and Whiteblaze (the Appalachian Trail forum). I found a nearly-new ONE for sale for $200 (30% less than retail) and purchased it from the owner. And that is how I came to have my tent.
A similar story with my stove. A home-made soda can stove was not for me! I didn't want to go starting any forest fires on accident (it's said to have happened with this type of stove), and I wanted to be certain of having the fire-power (and simmer ability) to cook up the delicious meals I'm planning. So I bought the Snowpeak Titanium Litemax stove from REI with my 20% off coupon and got some cash back from couponcactus.com. It makes up for my inexperience, only weighs 1.9 oz (plus the fuel canister), and I didn't pay full price. So I met all my criteria with that one.
I have most of my gear now (a big, huge thank-you to everyone (especially my parents!!!) who really went all-out for me at Christmas time), and I've been meaning to put it all in a spreadsheet and tally up the weight. When I get that done I'll post it here, as long as you promise not to send the link to Mike Clelland!
Gearing up for this trip has been a long process and a steep learning curve. I basically had to start my gear collection from ground zero as I decided that what I already had wouldn't fit my newly-formed gear philosophy.
I read Beyond Backpacking by Ray Jardine, a huge proponent of lightweight backpacking (also, that guy and his wife, Jenny, are super hardcore. He lists all of their major outdoor adventures from the past 50 years on his website.). His philosophy in a nutshell: Pack light and you will enjoy the trip more and be capable of walking faster. Therefore, you won't have to pack as much food, and therefore your pack will be lighter, and therefore you can move faster, and so on... Seems like pretty sound advice to me.
I watched with horror as Mike Clelland ripped apart people's gear lists on the BackpackingLight.com forums, telling them to ditch the toilet paper and use sticks instead! That seemed extreme to me (which isn't to say I haven't learned from his suggestions).
The one statement that made the biggest impact on my philosophy was to this effect: We carry gear to assuage our fears and make up for lack of experience.
With that in mind, I came up with this "philosophy" which guided my gear buying decisions:
1) I'll go as light and high quality as I can...
2)... For a reasonable amount of money...
3) ... And try my hardest not to pay full price
4) I will truthfully acknowledge where I am inexperienced and buy gear accordingly
For example, a lot of ultra-light backpackers use a tarp for shelter, since it can be so much lighter than any tent. I've never used a tarp as shelter before and I'm not confident in my ability to put up a sound tarp-shelter in every situation, let alone in the middle of a storm when I am potentially on the verge of hypothermia. Plus, I'm not okay with spiders or mosquitoes, so a floor and walls are a must. Recognizing this, I researched single-person, fully-enclosed backpacking tents. I read a lot of reviews and gear lists and came up with my top three candidates, ranking them by weight:
Gossamer Gear's The One
Henry Shire's Tarptent Contrail
and Henry Shire's Tarptent Moment
Once I had my list, I haunted the used-gear ads and gear swap forums on Backpacking Light (BPL) and Whiteblaze (the Appalachian Trail forum). I found a nearly-new ONE for sale for $200 (30% less than retail) and purchased it from the owner. And that is how I came to have my tent.
A similar story with my stove. A home-made soda can stove was not for me! I didn't want to go starting any forest fires on accident (it's said to have happened with this type of stove), and I wanted to be certain of having the fire-power (and simmer ability) to cook up the delicious meals I'm planning. So I bought the Snowpeak Titanium Litemax stove from REI with my 20% off coupon and got some cash back from couponcactus.com. It makes up for my inexperience, only weighs 1.9 oz (plus the fuel canister), and I didn't pay full price. So I met all my criteria with that one.
I have most of my gear now (a big, huge thank-you to everyone (especially my parents!!!) who really went all-out for me at Christmas time), and I've been meaning to put it all in a spreadsheet and tally up the weight. When I get that done I'll post it here, as long as you promise not to send the link to Mike Clelland!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Trail Names
Being on a long trail, in the wilderness and responsible only for oneself, is a completely different life from the 9-5 many of us live back home. Most people take on a new name while they're on the trail to indicate this perceived separation of existence.
Often times, these names are granted by others, describing a trait or special ability or referring cryptically to a memorable event. Sometimes, people come up with their own names. Some people have trail names without even knowing it (My brother, Chris, is known as Crash. I'd nominate that as a pretty good trail name!).
My trail name is/will be Moxie. It was partly given and partly chosen.
Back in 2005, I had a minor crisis as I was preparing to transfer to UC Davis from community college. I needed to immediately enroll for 9 units of classes in order to meet the transfer requirements. The catch: when I received this news, it was the middle of summer and my college's add-class deadlines for summer school had passed weeks ago.
I got online and found two colleges whose registration deadlines were TOMORROW! IN LOS ANGELES! 350 MILES AWAY FROM WHERE I LIVED! I filled out the registration paperwork and faxed it to the colleges, then searched their catalogs for online courses that were eligible for transfer to UC. I put my name on the wait-lists and emailed the professors explaining that I would be adding their classes late and please email me the syllabus so that I could start on the coursework right away.
A week goes by, then two... and one of the colleges had still not processed my registration. The deadline to add the class late had passed! I emailed the professor asking her to be my advocate in getting special permission to add the class late, since I had been participating and doing the work. Her response: "You're still hanging in there?!?! girl, you've got MOXIE! I don't see people like you very often. Sure, I'll speak for you."
And with those few words, my academic career was saved.
I had to ask my mom what MOXIE was. And I've never forgotten since: sass, courage, spunk, verve, pep, unmitigated gall, determination, fortitude, know-how, cleverness. The word suits me 100%.
Moxie, and all the words used to describe it, are words that I've heard in conversation as I tell people about my upcoming adventure. So I'll take it as a trail name.
Plus, I've always wished to have an X in my name (it's a pretty bad ass letter. Jonathan adds "If you have an X in your name, it means you've seen some shit").
What would your trail name be if you could choose it?
Often times, these names are granted by others, describing a trait or special ability or referring cryptically to a memorable event. Sometimes, people come up with their own names. Some people have trail names without even knowing it (My brother, Chris, is known as Crash. I'd nominate that as a pretty good trail name!).
My trail name is/will be Moxie. It was partly given and partly chosen.
Back in 2005, I had a minor crisis as I was preparing to transfer to UC Davis from community college. I needed to immediately enroll for 9 units of classes in order to meet the transfer requirements. The catch: when I received this news, it was the middle of summer and my college's add-class deadlines for summer school had passed weeks ago.
I got online and found two colleges whose registration deadlines were TOMORROW! IN LOS ANGELES! 350 MILES AWAY FROM WHERE I LIVED! I filled out the registration paperwork and faxed it to the colleges, then searched their catalogs for online courses that were eligible for transfer to UC. I put my name on the wait-lists and emailed the professors explaining that I would be adding their classes late and please email me the syllabus so that I could start on the coursework right away.
A week goes by, then two... and one of the colleges had still not processed my registration. The deadline to add the class late had passed! I emailed the professor asking her to be my advocate in getting special permission to add the class late, since I had been participating and doing the work. Her response: "You're still hanging in there?!?! girl, you've got MOXIE! I don't see people like you very often. Sure, I'll speak for you."
And with those few words, my academic career was saved.
I had to ask my mom what MOXIE was. And I've never forgotten since: sass, courage, spunk, verve, pep, unmitigated gall, determination, fortitude, know-how, cleverness. The word suits me 100%.
Moxie, and all the words used to describe it, are words that I've heard in conversation as I tell people about my upcoming adventure. So I'll take it as a trail name.
Plus, I've always wished to have an X in my name (it's a pretty bad ass letter. Jonathan adds "If you have an X in your name, it means you've seen some shit").
What would your trail name be if you could choose it?
Moxie on the PCT
Thanks for reading about my experience on the PCT. I'm Stephanie, a 25 year old from San Jose, CA by way of Davis. I'm starting my PCT trek at the end of April 2012 in Campo, CA. I'm aiming to arrive in Manning Park, BC, Canada (2650 miles north) in late September 2012.
This hike has been a long time coming. About three years ago I came across a copy of "The Backpacking Woman", in which the PCT was mentioned and revered as the pinnacle of achievement for women backpackers. Right then, I decided I would do the PCT, without knowing a single thing about it, not even its length!
In the intervening time, I've devoted countless hours to reading about long distance backpacking, researching gear, learning how to dehydrate and prepare food... it's a long list... And I've been so grateful to have the unflagging support and enthusiasm of my family, friends, and co-workers.
More than anyone else, I have Jonathan, my partner in all things, to thank. For his complete faith in my ability, encouragement when my own confidence falters, listening patiently to my broken-record talk of the trip, and for agreeing to be my quartermaster, co-ordinator, and home base.
This hike has been a long time coming. About three years ago I came across a copy of "The Backpacking Woman", in which the PCT was mentioned and revered as the pinnacle of achievement for women backpackers. Right then, I decided I would do the PCT, without knowing a single thing about it, not even its length!
In the intervening time, I've devoted countless hours to reading about long distance backpacking, researching gear, learning how to dehydrate and prepare food... it's a long list... And I've been so grateful to have the unflagging support and enthusiasm of my family, friends, and co-workers.
More than anyone else, I have Jonathan, my partner in all things, to thank. For his complete faith in my ability, encouragement when my own confidence falters, listening patiently to my broken-record talk of the trip, and for agreeing to be my quartermaster, co-ordinator, and home base.
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