It has been really hard for me to get out of the "just in case" mindset. Just in case items like emergency shelters, space blankets, and other survival gear just simply have no place in my pack. They will all eventually just filter to the bottom and stay there like a big rock, never touched or needed. I feel like there is an art to packing for a long trip, it is hard to know exactly what is essential and what is a luxury the first time out. It should be interesting in the first week to see what I over or under packed.
Below is a link to the most current and comprehensive list of my gear to date, I doubt very much that anything major will change between now and the start of my trip.
http://lighterpack.com/r/ag7xga
My goal was to have a sub 15 pound base weight, meaning that all of the gear in my pack, not counting food water and fuel, weighs less than 15 pounds. I think that 15.81 is pretty acceptable seeing as I have been on a budget when buying gear and was not always able to buy the lightest, most compact equipment. I could still come pretty close to that goal if I were to leave behind the back up battery for my phone, which I feel is my one real luxury item. However, I would like to be able to take pictures with my phone, use it to update this blog, and have it for emergency situations, because of that I don't see myself leaving the battery.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
What the Hell Am I Doing Here?
Let me start by saying that I am not a writer, these posts will be written on the fly and likely not proofread. I am also not a photographer, my goal is simply to have a running account of the trip that my family and friends can follow and that I can look back on, and laugh at, later.
What the hell am I doing?
My plan is to hike from Crater Lake National park to Bridge of the Gods at Cascade Locks, Oregon.
How many miles will you be hiking?
The hike will be between 270 and 300 miles depending on alternate routs and the exact start point.
How long will it take?
It will take about 23 days on trail, though I am planning to have at lease two rest days on trail and I will spend a few days in Bend at the half way point. I should be done around late August.
How many miles will you hike a day?
Well, that is a hard question to answer. I have based my resupply schedule on an average pace of 11 miles a day. However, I am hoping that as the days go on I will be more comfortable completing 15-20 miles each day with longer distances being possible. It is entirely possible that due to terrain or heat or because of other circumstances which I can not control that my mileage could be less than 11 miles a day, and that is ok too.
Will you be alone?
Yes and no.
Yes - My awesome girlfriend will be with me for the first 11 days and 120 miles, from Crater Lake to highway 242 when we stop off in Bend. I am really excited to share some of this experience with her. Being hot, smelly, and tired in the same tent together for 11 days should be an adventure all on its own, I am sure that we will enjoy the time together.
No - After a few days off trail in Bend to rest and relax (Eat) I will be again hitting the trail, this time all on my own. I am most anxious about the first few days, and nights, alone. I don't know that there is any way to really prepare mentally to be alone in the wilderness for an extended length of time, though I think as the days go on it will get easier. Also, I think that by the time I am on trail the main Pacific Crest Trail hiker herd will be moving through Oregon, so even if I don't see anyone I don't think that I will ever be alone, there will always be hikers a few hours or days behind and ahead of me.
You'll be packing heat right?
This is something I have been asked a lot, like by most people I talk to, and after a lot of careful thought and consideration the answer is no. At 31.2 ounces (1.95 pounds) my Glock 32 is just too heavy to make the cut, it weighs just a half pound less than my entire tent with poles and stakes. The likelihood of needing it is slim to none and it would probably end up stuffed in the bottom of my pack taking up space and weighing me down.
But what about bears?!?
It would be sweet to see a bear! However, seeing a bear is pretty unlikely and having a man eating black bear come romping out of the forest to murder me in my sleep is even less likely. However, if that does happen I promise I will do my best to murder it back before it eats too many of my important bits.
What about mountain lions?!
See above.
What will you be eating?
In simplest terms, junk food. I will be doing my best to eat between 3500 and 4000 calories per day. I also want to try and keep the weight of a days food under two pounds. To accomplish these goals I am packing a pretty unreasonable amount of junk food including poptarts, honey buns, nutty bars, trailmix, and granola.
Will you have to boil all of your water?
Lucky for me there is some pretty handy, lightweight, and affordable technology which allows me to filter water so it is safe to drink. If for some reason my filter fails I am carrying a small bottle of chemicals which work to kill all the dangerous bacteria, viruses, and cysts that may be present in the water, if things look really bad I can always filter water and then add chemicals.
Will you be carrying food for your whole trip?
No, I am not an ox or mule. I will be mailing boxes of food ahead to resupply locations. The two locations I will be mailing my resupplies are Shelter Cove Resort, and Timberline Lodge. I will also be resupplying when I stop in Bend and I will be buying food at Olallie Lake Resort. Aside from food, my resupply boxes will be filled with fuel for my stove, toilet paper, and maps for the section ahead.
Have you seen Wild/Are you doing this because you saw Wild?
No and no.
Why the hell would you want to spend nearly a month on some goat trail in the middle of nowhere??
Honestly? Because I can. I have wanted to hike this section of the trail since high school. I figure I may not have another chance once I am done with college and in the "real world." Also, having done something like this will make for great essay answers when I apply for nursing school this year.
What the hell am I doing?
My plan is to hike from Crater Lake National park to Bridge of the Gods at Cascade Locks, Oregon.
How many miles will you be hiking?
The hike will be between 270 and 300 miles depending on alternate routs and the exact start point.
How long will it take?
It will take about 23 days on trail, though I am planning to have at lease two rest days on trail and I will spend a few days in Bend at the half way point. I should be done around late August.
How many miles will you hike a day?
Well, that is a hard question to answer. I have based my resupply schedule on an average pace of 11 miles a day. However, I am hoping that as the days go on I will be more comfortable completing 15-20 miles each day with longer distances being possible. It is entirely possible that due to terrain or heat or because of other circumstances which I can not control that my mileage could be less than 11 miles a day, and that is ok too.
Will you be alone?
Yes and no.
Yes - My awesome girlfriend will be with me for the first 11 days and 120 miles, from Crater Lake to highway 242 when we stop off in Bend. I am really excited to share some of this experience with her. Being hot, smelly, and tired in the same tent together for 11 days should be an adventure all on its own, I am sure that we will enjoy the time together.
No - After a few days off trail in Bend to rest and relax (Eat) I will be again hitting the trail, this time all on my own. I am most anxious about the first few days, and nights, alone. I don't know that there is any way to really prepare mentally to be alone in the wilderness for an extended length of time, though I think as the days go on it will get easier. Also, I think that by the time I am on trail the main Pacific Crest Trail hiker herd will be moving through Oregon, so even if I don't see anyone I don't think that I will ever be alone, there will always be hikers a few hours or days behind and ahead of me.
You'll be packing heat right?
This is something I have been asked a lot, like by most people I talk to, and after a lot of careful thought and consideration the answer is no. At 31.2 ounces (1.95 pounds) my Glock 32 is just too heavy to make the cut, it weighs just a half pound less than my entire tent with poles and stakes. The likelihood of needing it is slim to none and it would probably end up stuffed in the bottom of my pack taking up space and weighing me down.
But what about bears?!?
It would be sweet to see a bear! However, seeing a bear is pretty unlikely and having a man eating black bear come romping out of the forest to murder me in my sleep is even less likely. However, if that does happen I promise I will do my best to murder it back before it eats too many of my important bits.
What about mountain lions?!
See above.
What will you be eating?
In simplest terms, junk food. I will be doing my best to eat between 3500 and 4000 calories per day. I also want to try and keep the weight of a days food under two pounds. To accomplish these goals I am packing a pretty unreasonable amount of junk food including poptarts, honey buns, nutty bars, trailmix, and granola.
Will you have to boil all of your water?
Lucky for me there is some pretty handy, lightweight, and affordable technology which allows me to filter water so it is safe to drink. If for some reason my filter fails I am carrying a small bottle of chemicals which work to kill all the dangerous bacteria, viruses, and cysts that may be present in the water, if things look really bad I can always filter water and then add chemicals.
Will you be carrying food for your whole trip?
No, I am not an ox or mule. I will be mailing boxes of food ahead to resupply locations. The two locations I will be mailing my resupplies are Shelter Cove Resort, and Timberline Lodge. I will also be resupplying when I stop in Bend and I will be buying food at Olallie Lake Resort. Aside from food, my resupply boxes will be filled with fuel for my stove, toilet paper, and maps for the section ahead.
Have you seen Wild/Are you doing this because you saw Wild?
No and no.
Why the hell would you want to spend nearly a month on some goat trail in the middle of nowhere??
Honestly? Because I can. I have wanted to hike this section of the trail since high school. I figure I may not have another chance once I am done with college and in the "real world." Also, having done something like this will make for great essay answers when I apply for nursing school this year.
What does a month worth of food really look like?
I finally decided to get off my butt and pack up all 23 days of food that I would eat on this trip. I'm glad I did this now because I realized that I don't have enough coffee... I would have had to call for rescue if I ran out on the trail.
How I managed to make sure each bag got what it needed I do not know (some bags are probably short).
Before I package up resupply boxes for shipping I will do a few spot checks to see the average bag weight and calculate total calories per day.
Also this is the first test of posting text and photos from my phone, I am hoping that with this I will be able to update from the trail when I have service.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Mapping it Out
After becoming frustrated while trying to plan with my paper maps I decided that I needed a better way to visualize my daily hiking goals, camp spots, and important water locations. I have used RidewithGPS before to plan motorcycle rides and trips, and I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that I could get it to follow hiking trails. Being able to switch between satellite images, USGS topo and scan maps, as well as standard google maps made all of the planning easy. Another bonus to mapping everything out online is I get to share my plans with everyone else.
Crater Lake - Hwy 242
Hwy 242 - Cascade Locks
Crater Lake - Hwy 242
Hwy 242 - Cascade Locks
Prepwork
I never really realized just what went into preparing food for 20+ days on trail. My original though while still just kicking around the idea of this trip in my head was to buy light weight freeze dried backpacking food for the majority of my trip, the food is really tasty, it is light weight, and it is dead simple to prepare. There is however, one main drawback, it is incredibly expensive when compared to other food. At five to nine dollars a meal there was just no way I could swing it, at that price I would have been looking at over $150 for dinners alone. Instead, I will be relying on the staple foods of long distance backpackers, instant potatoes, ramen, pasta sides, and peanut butter.
Just a small selection of the foods I will be packing. At first I thought this red tote would be more than to stash away all the food I would need for the trip... Boy was I wrong. In my closet I now have an overflowing tote and boxes of food next to it, I am still slightly panicked that I don't have enough.
It is kind of interesting, as you start to buy backpacking food you get into a mindset of looking for the most calorie dense food for its weight. These large size Honey Buns are 360 calories per serving and weigh in at 3ounces.
An average days food fits into a gallon freezer bag and consists of a mostly granola bars, cookies, and trail mix. Breakfast is some kind of cereal and powered milk with instant coffee, lunch is a tortilla with either rehydrated humus or peanut butter, and dinner consists of Ramen, Knorr pasta or rice sides, or instant potatoes. I am also going to be carrying an 8oz bottle of olive oil to add into any meal I can.
Each days food comes out to between 3400 and 3800 calories, this will still not be enough to keep me from losing a bunch of weight.
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