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.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Sunshiny day

Day 126, Mile 2265.1---Last night i woke up in a fit of heat, this is a good thing. I ended up using just my bag last night and it was more than sufficient. Tonight is definitely a little colder, but now i got options. The miles went by fairly quickly today. One of the benefits of hiking with 8 other people is the time and miles seem to pass easily. Hike with one person or two and switch off etc. Had some amazing views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier, as well as Mt. Saint Helens. Great scenery but you have to pay the price of climbing to see it. Got up to just under 6000ft today, going just over 7000 tomorrow and walking on Packwood Glacier. There was a spring directly on the trail(rare) today and the guidebook touted it as the best water on the entire trail. It was nice to not have to filter and just stick the bottle under the gushing little waterfall. I can't say that i can agree or disagree with the guidebook. The water was coming out of a pile of lava rocks and apparently all that filtering did the job as it was entirely tasteless. It wasn't just me, Landshark and Hoffa agreed. I have never had water that was just like well, liquid. Hard to explain, but i guess that means it was good? Well it wasn't bad. I found out some interesting news this evening from Landshark. He and Catepillar are taking a cruise back from Vancouver to LA (possibly LB harbor) on the 28th of September. I am definitely thinking about joining them. The price might even be cheaper then the two standby flights i would take to get home. Downside is i will probably be finished around the 24th-ish so i would need to find a place to hang out for 3 days. Also i am not sure i want to wait any longer then i absolutely have to to get home. I would arrive fat and tan though, that would be nice. Alright sleep is needed. Thought of the day; now that i have backpacked a fair amount i look forward to exploring other wilderness areas with friends and a dog. Song of the day; iiiii fownd my thriiiyillll onnnn blu! berrrry hiiiyiiil - by that one guy. Craving of the day; oddly enough i can't think of one, i have a pretty decent amount of food for this leg that's probably why.


JWC on the PCT
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