I am close to 30 days out from the trip and in the last two weeks I finally got my last few pieces of clothing and sneakers. With little risk of rain, I opted to avoid the extra weight of a rain jacket, and instead purchsed a lightweight windbreaker shell, Houdini. At 4 oz, this should give me enough protection from wind and any light moisture I encounter.
Second, I had a realization last summer on the PCT that I really do not like vests. Determining that my years of fleecy vests were imposed by my thru-hiking husband, and also because I simply fit in better in Portland, I thought carefully about how useful one would be in SoCal. My conclusion was that a full-sleeved down-like jacket might be nice--easy to slip on during cold desert mornings, compact, and super lightweight. While perusing Patagonia for my Houdini, I found the Nano Puff. Ten ounces of yummy warmth, and hot pink to boot.
Cupcake has returned from Austin and has announced his mission to motivate me. Over the last two weeks during our Saturday hikes, we have covered Iphone apps, maps, clothing, food, sewing kits, gaiters, ice axes and food. I am slowly reeling in this collection of thoughts and taking action. Food boxes are getting filled. We are now done with my dinners and breakfasts. Unfortunately, the classic thru-hiking powdered milk, Milkman, is no longer available. Excellent source of creamy fat in a pouch. So, instead I will have to suffer with nonfat dried milk for my breakfasts, add water, a bit of freeze-dried coffee and finally, the gritty, fatty, sweet granola.
I was also fitted for my sneakers at FitRightNW. I will use Adidas Supernova Sequence, one half-size larger, and WIDE. I debated whether to buy two pairs now, for fear that I will hate them 500 miles through, but I think I will be ok.
Things are getting very busy for me as the final month approaches. I hope that this journal will soon be less gear talk and more thoughts. I am sure that it will be.
31 days to MX.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Big strides off the trail: carrying and treating water
Note: This post contains issues about parasites and their effects on specific biological functions. Continue reading at your own risk.
I accomplished a lot this weekend. Great strides toward the big PCT extravaganza. Applied for the permit. Arranged for my ride to the border. Bought my bear canister...at a whopping 2 lbs. 9 oz., I hope that after 700 miles, I might be strong enough to carry it.
I had some concerns about how to handle carrying extra water on the trail. There are some sections that require you to lug enough water for 25 miles, and carrying it all on your back isn't always the most convenient or comfortable way to do it. Enter the concept of the front pouch--the perfect place to add an extra 2.2lbs of water while storming through the Mojave. I bought the Double Shot and tested it out around my hips, bottles and pouch in front, with my backpack on my back, strap under the Double Shot. Worked perfectly. True, I was just sauntering around the paved paths of the cemetery, but I did climb several hundred feet three or four times, and I felt good. I little sweaty on my stomach, but I will survive.
Next was the big debate on how to treat my water. Filters are heavy and they clog, but some hikers swear by them.Water tastes fresh, you can drink it right away. Cons are that it takes time to sit and pump the filter, the filters jam, and require excessive cleaning or replacement parts. Chemical treatment can take upwards of 1 hour before you can drink, and you can walk and treat, while you can't walk and pump. Chemical treatment usually makes the water taste really bad, requiring some powdery drink (Crystal Light, Iced tea, Tang, etc) to mask the iodine, betadine or chlorine taste. I met some thru-hikers last summer in Oregon using a UV treatment system, a Steripen, so I thought I would try that out. The worst thing that could happen: exposure to some water-borne pathogen that I have probably already had. Notes on Steripen to follow, but first let me digress on my first-person experience with parasites.
Giardia? sometimes called "Beaver Fever" Had it. Picked it up on the Colorado Trail/Continental Divide Trail in 2007. I have met many PCT thru-hikers who believed that they have had giardia because they threw up or got lots of diarrhea. Typically that is the result of food poisoning, or frankly, just poor hygiene. (always remember to clean your pot and eating utencils while in town) My experience with giardia was that it didn't hit me until almost two weeks after my trip. I felt tired, crampy, and had gas that smelled like sulfur. Plus your poop floats--the tell-tale sign that your body is not digesting fat. Giardia is easily cured with a prescription of Flagyl, which temporarily makes you feel worse than the giardia symptoms. It hurts, but you will finally finish the dosage and you will get better. You sometimes need to give a stool sample to get the prescription = time-consuming and costly.
Cryptosporidium? Had it. I got this lovely little bug on the Colorado Trail in 2008. This parasite does what everyone falsely claims about giardia--it incapacitates you, first with weakness, then by purging every remaining calorie from your system out of both ends. It is vicious to the point that you cannot drink water or even suck on ice cubes. It lasted on and off for three weeks for me. (I did, however, manage to bag two 13,000ft+ peaks, Mt. Flora and Mt. Eva, during this illness. Cheers for me. Owen you are a lucky man.) I had to give a stool sample (three weeks after the trip) and they gave me something to help stop the persistent stomach cramps. Within hours I felt better. I did lose about 10 pounds, though.
And finally, my favorite parasite so far in my life: Round worms. Had them in Nepal in 2005. Apparently I picked them up somewhere in Kathmandu, either in the water or in the food. Two weeks later I pulled a 12" worm from my butt. Thankfully we were within several hours walking distance from the last clinic before Everest. At about 16,000ft, I met a doctor stationed there from Colorado, who told me that there were many more inside me, and that with one $50 pill I could dislodge all of their teeth from my intestines. The next few days were sketchy and uncomfortable to say the least, but this story has made me a legend in the thru-hiker world. Go figure.
Back to the Steripen Adventurer. With two CR123 batteries, I can treat up to 60 liters of water for all these microbes and more. It weighs only 3.6oz. Sounds perfect. Hope it doesn't cause me any trouble. Just in case I will carry a small packet of Potable Aqua Tablets.
Next challenge: setting up the stove and cooking a meal. 46 days to go.
I accomplished a lot this weekend. Great strides toward the big PCT extravaganza. Applied for the permit. Arranged for my ride to the border. Bought my bear canister...at a whopping 2 lbs. 9 oz., I hope that after 700 miles, I might be strong enough to carry it.
I had some concerns about how to handle carrying extra water on the trail. There are some sections that require you to lug enough water for 25 miles, and carrying it all on your back isn't always the most convenient or comfortable way to do it. Enter the concept of the front pouch--the perfect place to add an extra 2.2lbs of water while storming through the Mojave. I bought the Double Shot and tested it out around my hips, bottles and pouch in front, with my backpack on my back, strap under the Double Shot. Worked perfectly. True, I was just sauntering around the paved paths of the cemetery, but I did climb several hundred feet three or four times, and I felt good. I little sweaty on my stomach, but I will survive.
Next was the big debate on how to treat my water. Filters are heavy and they clog, but some hikers swear by them.Water tastes fresh, you can drink it right away. Cons are that it takes time to sit and pump the filter, the filters jam, and require excessive cleaning or replacement parts. Chemical treatment can take upwards of 1 hour before you can drink, and you can walk and treat, while you can't walk and pump. Chemical treatment usually makes the water taste really bad, requiring some powdery drink (Crystal Light, Iced tea, Tang, etc) to mask the iodine, betadine or chlorine taste. I met some thru-hikers last summer in Oregon using a UV treatment system, a Steripen, so I thought I would try that out. The worst thing that could happen: exposure to some water-borne pathogen that I have probably already had. Notes on Steripen to follow, but first let me digress on my first-person experience with parasites.
Giardia? sometimes called "Beaver Fever" Had it. Picked it up on the Colorado Trail/Continental Divide Trail in 2007. I have met many PCT thru-hikers who believed that they have had giardia because they threw up or got lots of diarrhea. Typically that is the result of food poisoning, or frankly, just poor hygiene. (always remember to clean your pot and eating utencils while in town) My experience with giardia was that it didn't hit me until almost two weeks after my trip. I felt tired, crampy, and had gas that smelled like sulfur. Plus your poop floats--the tell-tale sign that your body is not digesting fat. Giardia is easily cured with a prescription of Flagyl, which temporarily makes you feel worse than the giardia symptoms. It hurts, but you will finally finish the dosage and you will get better. You sometimes need to give a stool sample to get the prescription = time-consuming and costly.
Cryptosporidium? Had it. I got this lovely little bug on the Colorado Trail in 2008. This parasite does what everyone falsely claims about giardia--it incapacitates you, first with weakness, then by purging every remaining calorie from your system out of both ends. It is vicious to the point that you cannot drink water or even suck on ice cubes. It lasted on and off for three weeks for me. (I did, however, manage to bag two 13,000ft+ peaks, Mt. Flora and Mt. Eva, during this illness. Cheers for me. Owen you are a lucky man.) I had to give a stool sample (three weeks after the trip) and they gave me something to help stop the persistent stomach cramps. Within hours I felt better. I did lose about 10 pounds, though.
And finally, my favorite parasite so far in my life: Round worms. Had them in Nepal in 2005. Apparently I picked them up somewhere in Kathmandu, either in the water or in the food. Two weeks later I pulled a 12" worm from my butt. Thankfully we were within several hours walking distance from the last clinic before Everest. At about 16,000ft, I met a doctor stationed there from Colorado, who told me that there were many more inside me, and that with one $50 pill I could dislodge all of their teeth from my intestines. The next few days were sketchy and uncomfortable to say the least, but this story has made me a legend in the thru-hiker world. Go figure.
Back to the Steripen Adventurer. With two CR123 batteries, I can treat up to 60 liters of water for all these microbes and more. It weighs only 3.6oz. Sounds perfect. Hope it doesn't cause me any trouble. Just in case I will carry a small packet of Potable Aqua Tablets.
Next challenge: setting up the stove and cooking a meal. 46 days to go.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Starting to feel overwhelmed
It's less than 60 days before I leave and I was just hit by the realization that it is less than 60 days before I leave. I got my tent last week and set it up in the backyard. It sagged. I adjusted my trekking pole height (which is what creates the structure) and it still sagged. I got in anyway, accepting that I know myself and at some point I give up and become an 80%-er. "it's good enough..." I can already hear myself on the trail.
So, the iPhone...the sales guy was right. In about two days this little gadget figured out how I type, but as others warned, the battery life sucks. I can't get Cupcake's IGo foldable keyboard to interface with the iPhone so if I choose to keep it I'll be tapping away on the glowing screen like I am doing right now.
So next on my list is preparation of boxes that I want to mail to myself, deciding what to do about water treatment/filtration, and buying what seem like gargantuan sneakers to hold what will become my sore, blistered, swollen feet.
In actuality all of this can be done in about one week. I am merely fretting over details at the moment. I have a ride to the Mexican border. I have hiked over 1500 miles carrying my backpack, and slept at over 16,000ft with a sleeping bag colder than the one I am taking. I have run 50 miles, mostly in pain. I have pulled a 12" worm out of my butt (more details on this one when I write about water on the trail) and been forced to dance for Maoist rebels at gunpoint. I survived Baltimore for almost six years and made friends while living in a project in Birmingham, UK. But the reality is that all of this pales in comparison to Jake's experience. Jake suffered a C6 spinal cord injury, and could not move for months. Jake's family has given up a lot of things to support him, care for him, and be his cheering squad through the next stage of his life.
Jake has started rehab and really loves it. Jake loves life. I can do this.
58 days to go.
"Sticky"
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Test blog from iphone
Gave up on trying to make something work with Verizon. Just bought an
iPhone. This is a test.
iPhone. This is a test.
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