One Month

So a month from tomorrow I'll be boarding a plane to San Diego to hang with my friend Dan for a couple days before hitting the trail on the 14th of April..

Food is finally in the works, starting out at around 3000-4000 calories daily for the first month.. And anticipate upping my load to 5000/day after the hiker hunger sets in. I can't truly conceptualize eating that many calories a day.. But I know it happens to most hikers. I'll have burned a lot of fat off of my body and even at those high ranges I'll still be running a deficit. I can't say I'm looking forward to the insatiable hunger, but I do look forward to eating as much as I want (whole pizzas, chickens, giant burgers... Etc etc) on my stops in rural towns. My mailed supply boxes has been upped to 10.. More than I want.. But oh well...

Final bit for this post. Some people carry funny, technically useless things along the trail. Something with meaning but little function.. Like a small toy or trinket. I think it's kind cool. I mean, so many hikers work so hard to cut weight from their packs, but to go and carry something so "useless" is almost against the light weight dogma. That little something must have strong meaning. I've decided that I'm going to carry a baseball. I got the idea from my friend Ryley. Not directly, but he did unintentionally inspire me. I think it'd be an awful cool keepsake to have a ball signed by all the meaningful people I met or hiked with or who help me along the way. A game ball, carried 2,660 miles, if you will. Can you say, keepsake?

It's getting so official.

I've quit my job, I've received my maps, I've got my fire permit, long distance permit, and my entry into Canada via the PCT permit... I've made some more gear purchases in the area of first aid and misc. goodies. (Though every gear purchase I make is no longer fun nor exciting, because it simply raises my pack weight).

All of these things are making my trip even more of a reality. Once I nail down my resupply points, purchase groceries for my 5-10 boxes, and get all that in order, I won't have much more to do but worry, wait, and work out for the next month.

Furthermore, I am closing in on a start date. I'm thinking around the 14th of April (maybe the following Monday?)... Many things are influencing that decision...

• I would like to be slightly ahead of the pack. The pack is the large group of hikers that will start their journeys after the Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off which takes place on the 25th and 26th of April. By being ahead of the pack, I will avoid some bit of crowding and have a little breathing room for my resupply. I have a small worry about too many hikers cleaning out the good food before me in small grocery stores...
• I also don't want to be THAT far ahead of the pack. I really do enjoy hiker company, and I hope to meet some fantastic individuals, so by being near or at the front-ish (at least for a little while) I'll still have high probability of meeting some great folks!
• I also want to attend kickoff... Meaning I will have to hitch-hike or find a ride back (probably from somewhere around Idyllwild. I know that sounds kind of weird to some of you, but hitching or finding a generous and wonderful kick-off going trail angel* won't be TOO difficult. 
• I could easily fly into San Diego and bus - trolley - bus to Campo to start my hike, and time it to meet up with Kickoff in Lake Morena County Park, but  my good friend Dan who now lives in Carlsbad (yes, may of you college friends know exactly who I'm talking about) says he can take me to the trail and there's actually some great opportunity for us to catch up and hang out before hand!
  
  So yes, I want a lot of conflicting things out of my start date... However, in the end, there may have been missed opportunities or difficulties involving this whole start date mess, but there isn't any use worrying about it much. I expect great things and shitty things from the whole trip, start to finish and embracing the trail and my course along it is really the only thing I can do if (and when) my plans fall apart. In the end, I think the trail will provide what I am looking for and what I need. Or at least that is what I hear.
  
  * Trail Angel: Someone who goes out of their way to perform acts of kindness for thru-hikers. Things like giving rides, posting a phone number people can call for a multitude of things. Having food, water, and other goodies along the trail. Supplying water caches. Hosting hikers at their homes. Offering services like laundry, lodging, food, etc. And many more wonderful acts of kindness and charitable good will. Angel really is a great word for these people.
  
  Up next: a gear rundown? resupply stops?

Because I get asked the same questions a LOT...

-- How long will it take? Roughly 150 days, give or take. I really can't know what I'm capable of until I get into the journey.

-- Are you going alone? Yes I am. The right combination of availability, craziness, and compatibility has never presented itself with anyone I currently know, but there are many people along the way and I'm sure I will meet some good ones.

-- How will I get food? I will resupply via towns about once a week. A combination of buying as I go and and mailing myself packages to the occasional post office with food, maps, clothing, etc... I've planned out some, but again, I really can't know what exactly to expect until I am on the trail. So I will be using this hybrid strategy. I really can't motivate myself to buy all my food ahead of time, it's more planning than I want to do, and I'm not worried about the consiquences. I also don't feel that i can anticipate my dietary wants and needs throughout my entire trip and fear that I will buy and send myself a lot of shit that I will hate. Buying as I go, except in remote locations, will help me retain variety and the ability to change my diet as I see fit, rather than being stuck in some food rut that I decided months before.

-- Am I carrying a gun/weapon? Only my wits and my favorite Benchmade will accompany me on this trip, and hopefully not too much of a lethal stench... Weight, practicality, necessity, legality, and my self-trust, are all great reasons NOT to carry a firearm.  No bear mace either..