Some thoughts before departure...

  • I am still not a vet, doctor, lawyer, dog trainer, cia agent, fbi agent or a navy seal so...walk
  • I am doing this for the challenge of course, and I hope to gain a confidence that comes with this type of endeavor. But also I hope to gain some new knowledge about the world and the truths that reside in it.
  • Am I walking to "find myself"? Or just to take a walk. You decide...and you'll probably be right.
  • I'm not in the best shape of my life, but I do have a lot of new great gear so....
  • After living with my parents the last 2 years, it makes perfect sense to walk 2650 miles - alone.
  • Yes there will be bears, cougars, rattlesnakes and scorpions both imagined and real along the way. I'm definitely more worried about those imagined.
  • Am I scared? Not as of yet, more of just a constantly increasing anticipation. But check back with me on the 3rd night in the desert.
  • I tried to keep my pack fairly light, but I definitely would not call it ultralight. Somehow when I added up all my ultralight gear and put it in my ultralight pack, I ended up with just slightly heavy.
  • My biggest concern for this trip is that I get too hungry somewhere along the way, my brain goes awol as it usually does when I get hungry and subsequently you never hear from me again...I'll try to eat frequently.
  • I am not Christopher McCandless. This is not Into the Wild.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Back on the Trail

Day 10, Mile 184.3ish - Today i sucked at life and i sucked air. Got a really late start and just got my tent up before i couldn't see anymore without using my headlamp. They say "sleep high, train low" for good conditioning. Well i just did the opposite in sleeping for two nights at basically sea level and then getting dropped off at 8100ft and climbing higher with poor results. I ended up spending about an hour or more at a outfitter in Idyllwild getting a pack and having the manager grill me on the weights of various things I have with me. It was not fun, but i think i got a pretty good pack for a pretty good price. Got a Gregory Z55, seems to fit everything and look good too- always important. For future reference should you ever be hiking the pct, do not come home after the 8th day because of a fire closure, even if it will save you money. When i came off i was happy and ready for more, hitting my mileages with time to spare. In just one day at home i became soft and weak, somewhat physically, but more mentally. It was so hard for me for some reason, i got as melancholy as the day i left for the border. It felt as though i was leaving and missing the house, my bed, the food, my parents, and Hayley all over again. I basically had a breakdown at the car because i was scared to go back out with all these changes; pack, shoes, altitude, snow. I'm still a little scared actually, I'm out here completely alone, i passed the last hikers 5 miles ago. I have snow within 4 inches of my tent and the thermometer is on its way to 35, not to mention the strange noises-but i just did. The desert is one thing but this is a whole new ball game. I hope i can make it to Bob's tomorrow. I have to cross Fuller Ridge which is supposed to be both "torturous and treacherous" as the guidebook so benignly puts it. I also have to get in 25 miles to make it to Cabazon, its gonna be tough. Sorry this post is so depressing, I'm just trying to keep it real; although this may be a case of "when keepin' it real goes wrong" (see the dave chapelle show on dvd). Ok my fingers are numb now, im going to attempt sleep. Song of the day; whaaat goes uuup most come dowwwn, something wheels round and round Thought of the day; i need to grow up.

JWC on the PCT

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