Pre Hike 1 May 2018
/So May has arrived. The month I start my hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. I have one more day in Ohio and then I depart for San Diego. And I do not feel ready. I woke up in the middle of the night last night, my mind swirling with questions and reminders of tasks yet to be completed. Don’t forget to give your passport to your sister so she can include it in your final resupply box in Washington!! Where is my passport?!! Okay calm down. It’s on the desk where it’s been for the past few days. But there will come a point in time where I will suddenly accept my pre-hike planning, my gear, my limited understanding of what I am about to experience. I am almost there. I know that it may come as a kind of light-headed relief - this unavoidable acceptance. Deep down I am extremely excited and so eager to finally be hiking. And I know that the insecurities that arise from the not knowing will be resolved on the trail and through the daily experience of walking mile after exhilarating or potentially difficult mile. The trail will teach me and be my guide. There will be many mistakes. Many! But I hope that with each potentially embarrassing or ridiculous moment, I will grow and become a more confident and experienced hiker who faces sudden unplanned situations with a practiced and sturdy hand.
I’ve spent the past week going to the REI in Columbus to either return gear I no longer need or buy new gear to lighten my pack weight. I said goodbye to the GoPro 6 saving myself 4.5 ounces, $400 and hours of technical comprehension. The most recent purchase was the Montbell Sunblock Umbrella. It weighs a mere 6.5 ounces. I had purchased a Euroschirm Telescope Handsfree Umbrella. I use trekking poles and with this set up, the umbrella attaches to my pack freeing my hands to use my trekking poles. But the telescope umbrella with attachments weighs 13 ounces – 6.5 ounces more than the Montbell. I thought the Montbell would allow me to lower my base weight by 6.5 ounces. But after testing both umbrellas today, I realized that the Euroschirm was better suited to handle the strong winds in Southern California. So I will have to accept the additional 6.5 ounces. I’ve been weighing everything in my pack including very small items like finger nail clippers and a small tube of Colgate toothpaste. It all really comes down to ounces and how they add up. I was really hoping to have my base weight below 14 pounds but it just isn’t going to happen at the start of the hike. I am currently around 16 pounds. I am going to accept that weight and my gear to start the trail. As I put miles behind me, I will continue to refine and hopefully lower the base weight. Do I really need my camp shoes? Do I really need to bring a small portable keyboard to write in my tent at night after each day? For now, I say yes I do. I am the one who has to carry this weight. And maybe a few weeks in to the hike, I will be able to give myself a pack shakedown eliminating items that I no longer need or rarely use. That said, I don’t want to be an ultra-light hiker. That is not my goal in hiking the PCT.
I told Julie today that my first resupply box – Warner Springs – should be mailed out this week. In addition to food, the box also contains the next section’s maps, trail and town notes – all things I will definitely want to carry out of Warner Springs. So it starts. And so I accept. But until I am actually gazing at the monument – the Southern Terminus - and seeing the first moments of the trail blazing before me, it all seems surreal. Tomorrow is the final day of prep in Ohio. Big breath. Big courage. I’d love another week before I leave. But honestly, I want to start this adventure by boarding the train in Cleveland at 3:30am. And in one brief day, I will.
