Day 1 - (4/26/12) - The Adventure Begins

Contents:  Camp to Lake Morena County Park (20.6 miles)

Today was a great day!  After a terrific breakfast, we left for the southern terminus a little before 6:00.  I think the drive took just over an hour.  When we arrived at the border, the thermometer in the car read 48 degrees and it was raining and blowing hard.  I definitely could have been in the Pacific Northwest.  I took the obligatory photos at the monument and stuck my arm through the fence into Mexico. The fence was actually quite puny and I considered climbing over it. However, I thought better after deciding that falling off and breaking an ankle would not be an optimal way to start my thru-hike.

Leaving the trail head wasn't nearly as climatic as I had anticipated.  I had expected it to feel like the beginning of a marathon or even more powerful, but it actually just felt like the start of any old adventure.  If anything, it was less exciting than many, as I didn't have my usual case of summit fever or visions of joyous powder turns from skiing in my future.  It was still a very pleasant experience though.  

The hiking went well and I felt strong.  I mostly walked by myself but reconvened with others during breaks.  It sprinkled on and off during the day but wasn't at all miserable and the conditions generally improved throughout the day.  The scenery was quite diverse and kept me occupied.  Southern California has received a fair amount of rain recently so the dessert is lush.  I also noticed a lot of granite which I didn't expect to see.

All of my gear worked flawlessly.  Most importantly, my new pack felt amazing.  We already have a great working relationship, and I am thinking about naming her The Green Bean.  I'm trying not to get too caught up in the ultralight frenzy and therefore didn't weigh her fully loaded before leaving San Diego, but I'm guessing she would have weighed in around 30 pounds.  In addition, my homemade stove seemed to work as well or better than many others, and without a doubt, I have the most popular tent on the trail.  Although it's only day 1, I'm feeling really good about my gear choices.

This evening I ate dinner with new friends and then we went to a couple kick-off party activities, namely "Who Wants to Be a PCT Thru-Hiker: (think Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?-cheesy, but fun) and some book readings.  All in all, it was a nice way to wrap up a successful day.

Tomorrow, I plan to take it easy, check out a few presentations, and perhaps stroll into Lake Morena Village to pick up some additional snacks.  I'm usually extra hungry in the mountains, and today was no exception.  I plowed through all of my food allocated for today down to my orange peel (I don't know why I've never thought to eat this in the past - it is actually very tasty).  I'm definitely going to be eating a ton this summer!

Off to bed now.  Goodnight!

Day 0 - 4/25/12 - Greetings From San Diego

I made it to San Diego, and all is well! After a tasty waffle breakfast made by my friend Robert and a stress-free ride to the airport courtesy of Mandie, I knew my day was off to a great start.  Sensing luck was on my side, I decided to try my hand with the TSA at SeaTac and made it through security with a knife, trekking poles, and tent stakes.  YAY!  I was pretty proud of myself and stoked I avoided paying $20.00 to check my pack.

Once I landed in San Diego, I only had to wait about 15 minutes for Frodo, who picked me up as well as two other hikers who arrived at almost the same time.  I knew I was in the right place when Kathleen, a girl from Portland, walked up and gave me a huge hug.  I guess you just know a thru-hiker when you see one, and I immediately felt at home.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent relaxing.  I walked to the grocery store and picked up a Gatorade for tomorrow and a bottled water which I drank.  I then refilled the bottle with some denatured alcohol that Scout and Frodo had on hand for our stoves.  I headed to Jim and Jan's house where I'm actually staying tonight.  Jim and Jan live just a few blocks from Scout and Frodo and are also hosting thru-hikers.  Between the two houses, there are probably about 40 of us.  It's pretty awesome! We enjoyed a spaghetti dinner, and it's been fun getting to know people.  I've already made new friends.

Tomorrow the plan is to rise early, eat breakfast at Scout and Frodo's house, and then head for the border a little before 6:00 AM.  I'm excited to finally start hiking!

California Dreamin'

The adventure is finally here!  Tomorrow morning I'll be bound for warm and sunny So Cal!  

Yesterday was my last day of work.  It went really well, and I had time to say goodbye to most of my co-workers, though there were definitely a few I missed.  It felt strange not going to work this morning. Transitions have always been hard for me, and I feel a little out of sync today.  As silly as this may sound, I also feel a little guilty about not working.  However, I know I'll be back in the work world before long and I won't regret taking this break. Also, in a couple more days, my job will be the trail.  Once I've settled into to my new normal, I'm sure the corporate world will seem light years away.
  

The past week and a half has been a lot of fun.  It has definitely felt like vacation, and there were days when I was surprised I even remembered to go to work!  I've had a great time enjoying the awesome Seattle weather with friends.  Moving out of my apartment early made things a lot less stressful.  Thanks to all the friends who have given me a place to crash and made me part of your daily routines.  I hope to return the favor someday!
     

I'm not 100% sure how my blog entries are going to work going forward, but I think most of them will be handwritten and mailed to my parents who will make the updates.  Hopefully, I'll sometimes have time to post entries from libraries along the way as well.  

If you'd like to get in touch with me, you can always shoot me an email or give me a call.  I definitely want to hear from you!  I'd also love to get letters, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, etc.  The best way to get something to me is to mail it to my parents, and they'll add it to my next mail drop.  Their address is as follows:  

          1334 G St.

          Anchorage, AK 99501

Thanks again for the support!  Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers during the next few days!  

Down to the Wire

The countdown is on, and I’m busy wrapping up my life in Seattle.  My parents flew down from Anchorage for the weekend, and they helped me move out of my apartment and put my belongings in storage.  For the next week and a half, I’ll be staying with various friends and house/cat-sitting.  It’s really nice being able to relax and spend so much time with friends now that most of my preparations are finished.  Special thanks go to Heidi and Shamus for giving me a permanent address and a home for my car while I’m on the trail. 

I’ve made a few last minute gear changes.  My parents were kind enough to buy me a new camera which runs on AA batteries, so I’ll be able to leave my camera charger and spare camera batteries behind.  I think this will save about half a pound of weight.  I’ve also switched up my water treatment system.  I’d been planning to use bleach to treat my water per Red Cross instructions but just decided to invest in the Sawyer Squeeze Filter System.  The Sawyer Squeeze is super light, and it will allow me to drink my water immediately, unlike the bleach which has a minimum 30 minute treatment time.  Also, I should be able to store water in the Sawyer Squeeze pouch which will reduce the number of water bottles I have to carry.  My only concern is whether the pouch is durable enough, but I can always change to bleach if it’s not working once I’m on the trail. 

My last day at work is going to be Monday, the 23^rd, and I’ll be flying down to San Diego on Wednesday, the 25^th.  When I arrive in San Diego, Scout and Frodo, two famous trail angels, will be picking me up at the airport, giving me (and other hikers) a place to stay for the night, and then driving us to the southern terminus early Thursday morning.  From there, I’ll have a 20 mile first day to the Kick-off Party in Lake Morena.      

A side note about trail angels…. Trail angels are amazing people who help hikers along the way.  They make our trips possible (and so much more fun!) by stocking water caches in the desert and providing rides, showers, meals, places to stay, trail magic (random acts of kindness along the trail), and so much more.  People living in communities near the PCT go so far out of their way to help thru-hikers succeed.  I’ve read countless blogs where hikers have said over and over how their faith in humanity was totally restored on the trail.  It really is incredible, and I’m excited to be part of this big family.

Have a great day!  Thanks for all the positive thoughts! 

Heading Toward Crunch Time

I wanted to give everyone a quick update!

I ran the Yakima River Canyon Marathon on March 31st and had a fantastic race.  It was my fastest marathon yet.  Thanks for all the positive vibes!  Now I’m looking forward to joining my mom next April for her first Boston Marathon.  We’ll be a tough duo, and Boston will be a great motivator to get back into running shape after the PCT. 

I gave notice at work last week.  I had been anxious about jumping this hurdle but have been completely overwhelmed by support from my colleagues.  Someone recently asked me what I was most scared about regarding the PCT.  I think they expected me to respond with a comment about the physical toll or mental challenge.  It only took me a second of thought to admit that I was most scared about quitting my job.  I will have been at PACCAR for five years to the day when I leave, and they have been some of the best years of my life.  I became the person I am today during these years, and working at PACCAR gave me the time and mental space to pursue my passions.  I also met many wonderful people who I will miss.  In some ways, leaving PACCAR feels like the end of an era.  However, I know that the door is open, and I may return to my career there in the future.

You’ve probably been wondering about my gear!  I sure have been!  My Gear List tab has finally been updated, and I’m looking at a base pack weight of about 17 pounds.  Base weight includes everything that will be carried on my back with the exception of food, water, and fuel.  I’d been hoping to get my base weight down to 15 pounds, but I’ve done as much elimination as I’m willing to do right now and will just send items home from the trail if I deem them unnecessary. 

Stay tuned for more updates…. Life is about to get a little crazy! 

One Year Post ACL Reconstruction!

Yippeeeeeee!!!!!!  I made it!  This entry is a little off the PCT topic, but it feels relevant to me!

It’s hard to believe a year has passed since my surgery.  For those of you who don’t know, I tore my right ACL on March 12, 2011 in a ski accident at the Alpental Ski Area.  I’m fortunate my knee was the only thing injured.  It’s crazy to reflect on the heartbreak I felt after the accident and compare it to the optimism I feel today.  I vividly remember calling Joe, my boyfriend at the time, from the Shot Six run, waiting for him to drive to Alpental to pick me up, and the depressing trip back to Seattle.  I can still taste the Brooklyn Bridge pizza from Pagliacci that I ate for dinner that night between tears.  Despite being checked out by the ski patrol doctor, I knew something wasn’t right.  

I wound up going to the ER at Northwest Hospital early Sunday morning where another doctor told me he was 99% confident nothing was torn.  I left the ER feeling happier but still not totally convinced my knee was ok.  On Monday, I stayed home from work and scheduled an appointment with Dr. Chun, an orthopedic specialist at Virginia Mason, for Thursday in case I wasn’t feeling better.  During the week, I vacillated over whether to cancel the appointment but wound up keeping it because I still felt some instability and I was antsy to resume running.  Nevertheless, I thought the doctor might laugh at me since two others had already given me a clean bill of health and I was walking around pretty darn well.  I could have only wished that was how it went!  Within about 5 minutes, Dr. Chun told me he was more than 50% confident my ACL was torn, and I had an MRI later in the morning that confirmed a full tear.  I was totally shocked!

After the MRI, things happened really quickly.  Since ACLs do not repair themselves, surgery was necessary unless I wanted to try living without it.  Joe and I met with Dr. Belfie, an orthopedic surgeon at Virginal Mason, first thing the next morning and were both completely sold.  Dr. Belfie did an exceptional job of presenting us with the pros and cons of various reconstruction options.  In addition, despite the full tear, I had fantastic range of motion and very little swelling so having surgery immediately was possible.  I elected to use a graft from my own patellar tendon and was scheduled for reconstruction on Monday.  I spent the rest of the day arranging to be out of work the next week and then escaped for a weekend of cragging in Vantage.  There wasn’t much more damage I could do to my knee, so I intended to tough it out and enjoy one last weekend of freedom before the surgery.

My reconstruction went perfectly!  I returned home the same day and started physical therapy two days later.  The first couple weeks were challenging and I owe a lot to Joe for taking such excellent care of me and helping me stay positive.  After two weeks, life started looking up.  I was able to begin outdoor cycling at four weeks, a walk/jog program at seven weeks, light running and lead climbing at three months, and skiing at six months.  This may seem like a super slow process, but at the time, each new step (down to driving a car!) was thrilling. As cheesy as it sounds, I really appreciated small things I’d often overlooked.

A year later, my knee feels strong.  I set my sights on the PCT over 4th of July weekend last summer during my first long hike following the surgery.  I was so happy to be back in the mountains!  I’ve had a great ski season, and I’m looking forward to running the Yakima River Canyon Marathon on March 31st and then starting my trek next month.  I’ve learned a ton from my injury, surgery, and rehab, but what sticks with me the most is how amazing the body is at healing. I don’t live in fear of injuries anymore, because I now know I can come back stronger than before.  

Happy Spring!

Presidents Day Weekend

I was able to arrange a four day weekend around the Presidents Day holiday in order to head to Anchorage to visit my parents.  In addition to celebrating my mom’s birthday, squeezing in a long run, and waiting outside while the fire department ventilated our house after snow clogged the vents and caused a carbon monoxide problem, I managed to fit in some quality PCT planning time.  Organization was the name of the game! 

One of my first projects was to sort out my maps and route beta.  On the trail, I plan to carry Halfmile’s PCT maps (http://www.pctmap.net/), Yogi’s Town Guide, and The Pacific Crest Trail Databook, by Benedict Go.  I’ll also have the Wilderness Press PCT guidebooks, but I have a feeling these will be overkill and ditched along the way.  Rather than starting with everything I need for the entire journey (too heavy!), my parents are going to send me what I’ll need for each subsequent section in my resupply packages.  Therefore, I spent a lot of time over the weekend dividing up my maps and tearing apart my books.  This was a super tedious process, and I’m happy to have it behind me. 

Since I’m not going to make it back to Anchorage before I hit the trail, I wanted to get as organized as possible for my shipments.  Before leaving Seattle, I’d made tentative contents lists for each resupply box.  Over the weekend, my mom and I made a trip to the post office where we picked up a stack of flat rate boxes.  Our next stops were Costco and Fred Meyers.  Though my parents are planning to do a lot of shopping for me throughout my trip, I wanted to have some non-perishable items on hand to get started.  We also talked about how to repackage the food, as they won’t have space to ship everything in its original packaging and it would be too heavy for me to carry anyways.  While Costco and Freddie’s were a bit overwhelming and I wound up making a few changes to my lists, it was fun to think about the heaps of guilt-free goodies I’ll be eating this summer!   

My parents are going to be working overtime to make my resupply shipments the tastiest on the trail, and I owe them big time.  By doing most of the shopping for me, they’re allowing me to consume more fresh food.  They’ll be sending bagels, English muffins, and homemade treats that I couldn’t possibly purchase or make before the start of my adventure.  Thank you!   

The rest of my weekend was spent on smaller projects like activating my SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger (see the Where’s Kristy? tab for information about this nifty device), figuring out my solar charger, which I’ll use to charge my cell phone and batteries for my headlamp, SPOT, and radio, and showing my parents how to update my blog (most of my entries will be handwritten and mailed to Anchorage from pit stops).  My dad was also kind enough to seam-seal my new tent.

Back in Seattle, I just bought a one-way ticket to San Diego!   Big thanks go to my grandparents for donating their Delta miles!  I’m planning to leave Seattle on Wednesday, April 25th, and I hope to start hiking from the Mexico border on Thursday, the 26^th.  I’ll spend the 27^th and 28^th at the Kick-Off in Lake Morena, about 20 miles from the trailhead, and then mosey north from there.  I can hardly believe it!  It was great to get so many logistics taken care of over the weekend, and for the first time, I feel like this trip is actually going to happen! 

Planning Resupplies

There is a lot of planning that goes into a 5.5 month thru-hike.  The good news is that I love trip planning, so the PCT is right up my alley!  The first step in planning my thru-hike was deciding on a resupply strategy.  Some hikers use the “buy as you go” method, while others prepare drop boxes before leaving and then have someone from home ship them to post offices and businesses along the trail.  I am going to use a combination of these two strategies.  As much as possible, I plan to buy supplies along the way.  Buying as I go allows me to support the local economies and accommodate for changing preferences.  It’s hard for me to predict how much and what kinds of foods I’ll be craving after 1,000 miles on the trail.  However, in order to save time and minimize long hitches, I’ll also be preparing some drop boxes which my parents will send me along the way.  

I spent a full day over Thanksgiving weekend planning my tentative itinerary and resupply schedule.  The primary resources I used were Yogi's PCT Handbook, by Jackie McDonnell, and Craig's Online PCT Planner (http://www.pctplanner.com/).  Yogi's PCT Planner addresses just about everything a person needs to know in order to plan a PCT thru-hike (gear, desert hiking, crossing the Sierra, injury prevention, etc.). Yogi also includes a ton of information about resupplying, including a list of the primary resupply locations, the services available at each spot, and directions from the trail.  After using Yogi's guide to determine my resupply locations, I plugged them into Craig's Online PCT planner along with my start date and expected hiking pace and came up with a tentative schedule. Craig's Online PCT Planner automatically adjusts pace for changes in elevation and allows the hiker to modify the plan for zeros (days off from hiking) and neros (short days).  You can view my tentative plan on the Itinerary and Resupplies tab above.

What is the Pacific Crest Trail?

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,663.5 mile trail that runs between Mexico and Canada via California, Oregon, and Washington.  The trail passes through six of North America’s seven ecozones.  The trail’s lowest point is 180 feet at the Columbia River Gorge at the Oregon-Washington border, and its highest point is 13,153 feet at Forester Pass in California’s Sierra Nevada.

About 300 people attempt a thru-hike each year, of which approximately 60 percent finish.  PCT thru-hikes are almost always northbound.  Most northbound hikers begin in late April or early May and finish by early October.  Unlike many other long-distance hikes, the PCT has a very short hiking window.  Thru-hikers want to avoid crossing the High Sierras in California too early when there is still a lot of snow but need to finish by early October before winter hits Washington.  Due to the short time frame, thru-hikers typically have many 25+ mile days. 

Regardless of how far I make it, it is sure to be an amazing journey.  I can hardly wait to begin!