0 Days - 4 Days

What an experience!!  Seriously guys I have already learned so much and seen that crazy focused productive side of myself that I haven't seen since high school.  College was not as hard as my high school was.  This was like a Senior Project or something.  And it was so much work just for the preparation!  Now comes the lull, the hush, before the next round of hard work.  I have about 4ish days before my feet actually hit the trail.  Today was final prep day here in Stamford, CT with my mom.  It was map allocation day, teas, and deciding which tent to bring until my awesome tent arrives.  It could actually arrive tomorrow because it is en route according to the people at Mountain Laurel Designs.  I decided on the one I know, a small Cabela's solo tent that my dear brother, Khaled let me borrow a while ago.

I'm convinced I'm going to forget something important, but I know I won't.  Though I might.  But I probably won't.....

Something important like NO BAKE CHEESECAKE!

I'll know my base pack weight (weight before perishables like food and water) tomorrow, which will be really telling in how I've done with my attempts to keep the weight low.  The lower the pack weight the less likely you are to get injured, the easier it is on your feet, and the faster you can safely hike.

I have "completed" my spreadsheet with my locations where I will be in towns, including addresses and dates for New Mexico and estimates for Colorado. I would love anyone who wants to send along trail notes or yummy things to contact me directly and I will share the document with you.  I feel better doing that than publicly posting the dates and places I'll be at as a solo female thru-hiker.

I will be able to get emails and messages along the way thanks to the solar charger my dad gifted me and an external battery that a good friend Alex gifted me.  Signal is on and off, but it is there, so you'll be getting updates as often as I can manage and definitely when I'm in towns!  I love to hear from you all while I'm doing this, and any motivation is good motivation.

Off to a final restaurant meal with my mom before leaving for Texas tomorrow morning and New Mexico the day after that!

Inspiring

A fair few of my friends and close acquaintances have told me that going on this trip and trying to help the camp that I love so much is inspiring. As flattered as I am, I can't help but feel slightly off about this comment. I think it is the ease of using the word "inspiring" these days or the disbelief that what I'm doing "just because" could be inspiring. Because, honestly, I don't think of what I'm doing as an inspiring thing.  I'm just doing what I've wanted to do for years.

Abe and Reid - the creators of Portage To Camp

The word inspiring is defined as"causing people to want to do or create something or to lead better lives" Thanks Marriam-Webster Dictionary. The "want" is the key here. Not necessarily to DO anything, but to WANT to do things. I think that is what throws me off when people say that too.  I think inspiring means it makes people DO things, but looking back I realize that there are many WANTS before someone can get to the DO.  Sometimes it takes many inspiring adventures before someone finally goes.  

It has got me thinking about this whole idea of inspiration and I even had a bit of a disagreement with my mom about what makes someone inspiring. This conversation was not actually triggered by my trip but about a comment I made about Abe living an inspiring life in many ways. The conclusion, really, was that when people live unabashedly the way they want, they inspire others to let go of their fear and restraint. It also interested me to think that if I truly inspired these people who say that they are inspired by what I'M doing that actually means that the people who inspired me actually indirectly inspired my friends.

Allison on the AT being inspiring

So I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to Allison Kieley, who I haven't made aware of her influence yet, for inspiring me. She started thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail a couple years ago/1.5 years ago (timing?) and really rocked the prep work and getting sponsors and I was inspired. I had the stirrings of a dream I had had for many years to do a thru hike and she unknowingly reminded me of that.  On top of that she totally provided me with the confidence to reach out to companies that I love for sponsorship (Duluth Pack ,Vigilant Eats Super Foods). In fact, I was told by an artist friend of mine that my, rather minimal, sponsorship was inspiring to him because that's what he has wanted for his art. So Allison actually triggered this little inspiration waterfall and I'm sure she had inspiration that triggered her.

Packing my Med Kit and in Camp stuff in the Duluth Lumbar Pack trying not to regret the decision to hand make all my meals

And perhaps my trip will inspire others to raise money for Warren or organizations they love and those people will inspire others to do the same. Or perhaps it will get them really dreaming about getting out on a long hike and reconnecting with Nature.  And maybe they will, maybe they won't. I do believe that the more of us who learn to live without fear of living the way we want will inspire more and more people to do the same.  There are many people who inspired me to let go of fearing things like discomfort, unfamiliarity, lack of control, etc. and I hope I can do the same for others along the way.

These are the kinds of ripples we leave behind that allow us to feel immortal. At least until the sun engulfs the Earth ;)

8 Days to Go

Today is about shopping.  As many of you know I am packing my food out on this trip and being a healthy chef I am really going out of my way to make this food nutritious, balanced, and delicious.  I spent my morning mixing dehydrated brown rice and beans with Mexican spices and dried tomato paste for an awesome meal.  I've also got one I'm really excited about!  It's quinoa with dehydrated pre cooked navy beans, coconut milk powder, garam masala, curry, mustard seeds, shredded unsweetened coconut!  I'm hoping to add some dried apricots to that one!

Costco, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods today followed by HOURS of dehydrated meal recipe creation and bagging.  I finally got to the Town Guides section in Yogi's Guide to the CDT and feel a lot more confident in my decision making abilities for how many days of food to plan for.  That was a huge stress for me.  I'm also aware that I won't always be correct as things change and minds change, so I'll be looking to supplement meals from grocery stores and hiker boxes (where hikers dump things they don't want or need like food and gear).

I got my pack in the mail the other day and seriously guys ULA!!  They will get it done and fast!  I ordered it and within 2 days had in on my doorstep.  Really amazing.  Short post for now!  I'll be looking to post some of my recipes on here as I go along, especially if they turn out well!

Maybe I'll find myself working the OCC (Out of Camp Camping) program at Warren one day and can pass along some great food finds.  Or I could do that anyway!

Until next time!

12 Days to Trail - Last Minute Gear

Hello Connecticut!  And the final 12 days of packing out!  I have been getting my last bits of gear together, phew, and am almost all set.  I'm really excited for a Costco shopping spree next week!

The three big pieces of gear are getting upgraded now. That's my pack, my sleeping bag, and my sleeping pad.  What happened?  Well, my old pack got weighed this morning and it's a whopping 6 lbs without ANYTHING IN IT!  My new pack is too small.  I think I was in denial because I really didn't want to invest in another pack.  The new pack wasn't meant for trail actually, just for day trips and city living.  I got it before I decided to do a thru hike.  I got a little freaked out because I leave in 12 days, but I called ULA Equipment to ask about the shipping time on the pack I want and they said if I place my order in the next 2 hours it'll ship out today and get to me in CT mid next week! Perfect! Done. (edited to add: OMG Email confirmed it just shipped!)  Here she is, what should I name her??  Suggestions welcome!!

The Circuit! 2.5 lbs of awesome

Then there is my Thermarest, which I have been trying to get back for months from our cabin in upstate NY.  It was not picked up when requested and so I found myself without a sleeping pad. Oops.  Which means, I get to invest in a newer, lighter weight one. At first I wasn't sure I wanted to get this bad boy because it crinkles a lot when you move on it, but all I hear is awesome stuff about it. The sleeping bag rubbing on fabric makes noise anyway, so I don't think I'll notice it as much as I'm worried about.  Also my anxiety insomnia goes away when I'm on trail so I shouldn't be as sensitive to noise as I am now.  Here it is.  I got the short one because I'm short and it's cheaper!  Yay being short.  Not in ANY stores though.  So it's also gotta be shipped.

Thermarest NeoAir XLite

Also, after extensive research, I discovered that the reason my sleeping bag did NOT keep me warm in Alaska is because the loft died.  Well the fluffiness, to be less technical, has been worn down. Also it's a 20F bag, which is just NOT warm enough for me.  I am pretty much always cold unless it is in the 80's.  I sleep best in the high 70's.  I know I'm crazy.  It's weird because my body temp is actually lower than average, but my blood pressure is low and so I think it's a circulation thing.  When I was studying in Switzerland, my doctor told me I should increase my salt and red wine consumption to help!  Maybe I'll dehydrate some red wine?  Anywhoozelbees, I've been exceptionally overwhelmed with the price tag on sleeping bags.  Rather, on good sleeping bags.  REI didn't come through in their selection, but EMS, our east coast outdoors store potentially did.  I'm still undecided and may have to put in an order online because I'm still short.

Western Mountaineering has the bag I really want, the Versalite at 10F, but at $545 I don't know that I can do that... Maybe next year? or in another 10 years?

EDITED:  I got this one!  EMS is clearing them out and they are super low on Women's and have a 20% discount on top of the clearance, so bam!

EMS Mountain Lite 15 Women's - sorry no link.  They don't sell them online anymore

Gear Talk

Serenity Bug Shelter and Grace Solo Tarp from MLD

I just purchased this bad boy to be my companion for the duration of my trip!  Like I said previously, the idea of a tarp tent really makes me happy.  There are a lot of things I like about sleeping in a traditional tent, like the security and coziness, but there are a lot of things I'd like to get away from like the condensation, the stifling feeling, not seeing the stars, no breeze when the weather isn't nice, and lots of poles.  Oh and weight.  The tent I got way early on was a bit of an over excited decision and resulted in a lovely 2 person tent that weighs almost 5 lbs.  This practical little guy, made for one, weighs a total of 24oz!  1.5 lbs!  I just saved myself pounds of weight to carry around for 4-5 months.  Go me.

I also mentioned before that the idea of being a bit more exposed scares me in a good way.  I feel like it will definitely be a challenge to get used to it, but the rewards will be worth it!  Also, to work a tarp tent you have to be a lot more aware of the weather and manipulating it according to the winds, which you don't have to consider AS much in a traditional tent.  I also have a smaller pack this time around and so need to save space.  This guy gets REAL small.  No poles either, just my trekking poles.

Gregory J38

This is the pack I have right now.  I also have my old pack that I used in Yellowstone (21 days), The Bitter Roots of Idaho (30 days), and Alaska (40 days), but it's quite the monster, and rather beaten up.  Oh it did get a trip to Europe with my best friend Sarah who hiked the Camino de Santiago.  I'm not ready to let go of hip belts, though a lot of ultra light backpackers are anti hip belt.  My legs are my powerhouses.  Have you seen my hips?  Hip belt all the way.  This Gregory, I might name it Greg, is 2 lbs 12 oz, which is light weight for sure.  I've seen some nice ultra lightweight packs that weigh in under a pound.  Just can't afford one of those yet.

At 2,320 cubic inches it is on the smaller end of a thru hiking pack, and frankly I don't think it's marketed as a thru hiking pack, but at this point it's either this one or my monster pack, also a Gregory Pack.  Considering some people thru hike using old mesh laundry bags or very typical nap sacks, I'm thinking this will be great.  It's been my city biking and produce delivery pack this winter.  Always surprises me how much it fits in there.

Ahnu Sugarpine

Merrill Barefoot

Salomon X-tour

One consistent thing I read regarding thru hiking is variety in footwear as well as lighter weight footwear.  I have some Merrill Barefoot sneakers, similar to the ones above that I know my feet enjoy a whole lot.  They are very aerated, which I haven't decided is a good thing or not in the New Mexico desert.  I'm going to go with a good thing and see how I fare.  Then I've got my Ahnu boots for snowy climates, which I'll have shipped in, and my Salomon's were a gift and will replace my Merrills when they die, which may be sooner than later.  I've been told I need about 5 pairs of shoes for my trip.  I'm gonna go for these 3 and pick up more along the way if I need them.

Dirty Girl Gaiters!

When I heard of Dirty Girl Gaiters, well, I was beside myself.  Obviously I wasn't going to settle for some boring black gaiters.  These have a great reputation and are lots of fun.  The amount of designs she has is astounding, and I ordered this galaxy awesomeness!  I'm sure they lose any semblance of color or design after not too long on the trail!

The MSR Whisperlite International from MooseJaw

ANDDDDD, this lovely stove.  We've been giving each other the eye since I decided to go on trail again, especially after my last big trip in Alaska.  We ran out of our White Gas and where we thought we could refuel, we could not!  they had not received any shipments!  So, stuck with minimal wood in the tundra, in 99.99999% rainy days, we had to eat mostly cold food for 3 weeks.  This stove can use Kerosene, unleaded gas, and white gas!  Yay!  It should be in the mail soon!  The fuel canisters cannot be flown out, so I need to buy some in Lordsberg, or put a bunch of stickers on the outside and put gatorade on the inside and pretend they're my drinking bottles.....

That's enough gear talk for today!  My life on trail is getting clearer and clearer. 3 more weeks!

How I'm Prepping

These days have been busy days.  In almost exactly one month, I will be stepping onto the dry, treeless expanse of the New Mexico desert.  I am feeling the time crunch to get all my things together.  I have a big presentation at the Bloomington REI tomorrow, Thursday, to talk about what I'm doing and why.  I'm really excited and hope lots of people can come and support.  Hopefully we'll get some people to join the donation train!

SO, what exactly AM I doing to plan these days?

• Dehydrating tons and tons of fresh veggies
• I don't want to have that low nutrient rich diet a lot of thru hikers subsist on, and I can't help myself.  I want to make delicious foods that I can share with any hikers I meet along the way
• Dehydrating tons of fresh fruits
• Think pineapples, apples, bananas, pears, raspberries, lemons, limes, oranges.  Some of the citrus has gotten blended up into a powder, while others are going to be kept to soak in my water bottles to add taste and vitamin C
• Making delicious dehydrated snacks as healthy treats
• Coconut macaroons, when dried are super light and quite calorie dense, great nutrition profile too.  Fruit leathers from apples, bananas, and raspberry puree.
• Making green powders from dried greens
• So far I haven't mastered making this taste very good....I think it's going to be a chugging in the morning sort of thing.  Just get some hardcore nutrients and anti-oxidants into my body
• Making/ putting together electrolyte drink powders
• Taste is off.  This is the dried citrus, blended with salt and powdered honey.  The piths threw off the taste.  I'll be mixing it with a more commercial electrolyte mix to even out the taste
• Researching last bits of equipment I will need to pick up before heading out, like an ice axe...
• I'm actually excited about that
• Dreaming about forgetting to bring shoes and waking up in a panic
• Or a compass, or enough clothes, or being in the wrong state
• Starting my route planning
• How many miles am I going to average.....?
• Getting addresses sorted out for the first leg of my journey
• Mail on trail is like the holy grail!

Packing Light

Source

As some of you know I have been reading Ray Jardine's Beyond Backpacking and it is pretty phenomenal.  I'm getting to the point in my planning where final decisions need to be made and my vision for my life on trail must come together.  At least in material.  So far, the most intriguing and inspiring change that I've been reading about is using a tarp instead of a tent.  I've always been a huge tent person, adamantly against the idea of being even MORE exposed in the dark of night than I already am.  BUT, suddenly this seems like a great idea.  If there is one thing Warren introduced me too from the start, in a good way, is pushing your boundaries of comfort.

I will never forget my first year at Camp as a 7/8 year old cubby, who I can openly admit was definitely spoiled and accustomed to the finer comforts of life.  The memory that sticks out to me and I think of every time I intentionally take a cold shower or have no hot water available, is on the last day when my extremely patient and amazing counselor, Charlie, insisted I shower in the Homaji basement, which were the only showers at the time for us.  I can only imagine what that meant about my hygiene levels because I definitely avoided showers.  It was right before parents were coming to pick us up, so, you know how it goes, we HAD to be clean.  The water would not warm up to a temperature I deemed hospitable and I threw a fit about it.  Also, have you seen the old Homaji basement.  Creepy place.  Not like it is now, beautiful.  Anyway, After a time Charlie's perseverance paid off and I showered.  I probably cried the whole time or something.  I think I cried a lot as a young camper.  Sorry and thank you amazing counselors of Warren!!!

So the point of that little trip down memory lane is that that was the first memory I have of a lesson that has become invaluable to me.  I took my first steps in learning that discomfort is not something to fight but something to accept.  Discomfort is part of the world, both in nature and in city life.  If you fight discomfort your entire life you'll be that crying cubby who smells bad and makes a well-intentioned counselor's day that much harder (think figuratively).  Accepting discomfort is an art and a practice in patience and perspective.  I've had SO many more lessons about accepting discomfort and learning about the happiness and peace that comes from that acceptance.  Like accepting the bugs at the Archery range allows you to rock the bow and arrow.  Or accepting the discomfort of standing on top of the Pamper Pole allows you the feeling of victory as you smack that buoy.  I can't say I ever accepted the cold of Half Moon Lake, opting out of the swim test every year or intentionally failing so I could get out more quickly, until I became a counselor.  I had to encourage those kids to accept discomfort and pass the swim test for their own future enjoyment and accomplishment.  Only then did I ever finish a swim test.

Source

Bringing this all back:  I want to sleep under a tarp.  I want to scare myself a little bit so that I can grow a little bit more and accept that exposure in order to connect more deeply with the earth.  I want to step away from my world of constant comfort and find comfort in lack.  So, I'm going to try that out!  I think it might change my life for the better.

Anyone here have experience with tarp camping?