waiting...preparing...getting nervous...I'm so over it already..

I am finally starting to feel the push of not having everything I need yet and only a few weeks away from the start date. I began going through all the food I have purchased so far and discovered that there is still sooo much more to buy and prepare...dehydrated veggies, refried beans and hummus, TVP, nuts...seems like the list is endless still. I also started separating the guide book, yogi's book and Halfmile's maps into the sections I will be resupplying at. I have all the mailing labels printed and separated as well. All tedious chores for my new adventure, making me long for the trail even more so. Is there a trail angel that will do this for me?

I still have alot of gear to buy too but I am waiting for some more money. I hate waiting. And I hate not having what I need so I can say I am totally ready...right NOW! I want to be free of all the planning and getting ready and everything else involved until I leave so that I can spend time with friends and family before I take off. They will be missed by me greatly, but I know they will also be supporting me in spirit as well.

A few months ago, time seemed to stand still. Now it is going to fast and I am beginning to freak out. This is really happening for me! I am excited and scared...still. this will be my first time camping in the wilderness alone without my beloved Droopy dog, my hiking partner and protector for many years. I miss him so and it will be hard sleeping alone without him. I know that everything will be alright out there as I feat the city much more than the wilderness...but nonetheless, it is scary doing something alone...in the dark...for the first time.

PCT Section hike

Well I've had some issues come up and not sure if I will be able to start when I want, so I recently decided to do some sections before the Kick Off just incase.

This weekend my friend, Halfmile, and I did a 41 mile hike south from HWY 74 to Warner Springs. I took the Amtrak down to San Diego to meet with him Thursday afternoon and we drove to Warner Springs Monty's house early Friday morning, where he took us to our starting point after dropping off Halfmile's car in Warner Springs. The train ride was nice. I totally appreciated it more than the Greyhound. Not only was it faster, but I had more space to stretch my legs and no one bothering me. There is also a snack car which has pretty much everything...including Arrogant Bastard Ale...MMMM

We only did about 11 miles the first day, as we got a late start. Also, about six miles into the hike, I decided to trip over a large rock and ate some serious dirt. I was more embarrassed than anything b/c this has never happened to me before. But I also scratched up my new Natives and was pretty upset about that. So much that I didn't even realize I had blood dripping down my face and my shoulder was hurting to boot. Anyways, I got cleaned up wiped off my now scratched up sunglasses, Halfmile took some pics to make me feel even more stupid and we got on our way. Hiked to Nance Canyon and cowboy camped on the little beach there, listening to the frogs croaking all night. It was a pleasant memory of back home. LA doesn't have the croaking of frogs and cricketing of crickets all night like Jacksonville, FL. I miss that. I brought my new tent, but I so love sleeping under the stars so I figured I had the next night to check it out. It was beautiful, despite the cold. A lone bat hovered over collecting mosquitos for dinner before I dozed off. It was awesome!

It got really cold that night and frost built up on my bag and well, I was freezing. Halfmile had a bivy but even he got a bit chilly once the dew created condensation inside it. I didn't get much sleep that night between being cold and my face and shoulder throbbing all night. I also tried out my new alcohol stove and it sux in the wind, even with a wind screen. As soon as I put the pot on top of it the dam thing went out. I tried getting it lit maybe five times and finally gave up and used Halfmile's stove instead. I am glad though that I am not on the thru to discover this dilemma. I will definitely bring a warmer bag when I get to that point and will use the propane stove instead. I'm really disappointed that neither of those pieces worked for me but o well...such is life.

The following day was absolutely gorgeous and the temps reached 80. There was alot of uphill so I went slow b/c of my hip issues. It didn't help that my face was still throbbing and now swollen as well. I later decided to take some Ibuprophen for the pain. Halfmile told me the first week that it was acceptable to take it on a regular basis when thru hiking. Really? What am I getting myself into? LOL So around 5:30 we made it to Chihuahua Valley and headed out to Mike Herrara's (trail angel) to get some water. The wind was cranking and by 6P fog was rolling in thick and heavy and very quickly. The temps had already dropped down to 55 and it was looking nasty, so we decided to crash there. So I still haven't used my tent yet...poop! Unfortunately, Mike was not there this weekend, but he welcomes anyone who comes by and had plenty of supplies and water waiting for us. I'm glad we stayed there b/c the wind was cold and the screen on Mike's porch really helped. He also had cots and BLANKETS! Woohoo! So I used ALL of them... some under me and one big thick one on top of my bag and slept like a rock until about 7:20A. I was afraid to get out of the sleeping bag in the morning though b/c it was still really cold out. Halfmile checked his thermometer and it read 33...bbbrrr. It didn't get over 40 until well after noon. It also stayed very foggy, so what I thought was the most beautiful scenery of the whole trip was not visible. Bummer

We had to make up some mileage our third day and after it warmed up and the sun came out, it turned into a lovely day. Halfmile noted some nice camp spots on his GPS for his maps and I got to stay at my first trail angel's house the night before! My face and shoulder weren't hurting as badly and the swelling had gone down too. We hiked 17 miles from Mike's to Warner Springs. I was tired but didn't admit it to him. We did about a three mile per hour hike. There is an old church there on the side of the road just before you get to the town. I love old buildings and they also have a public use FLUSH toilet in back with running water. So I took advantage of the facilities, washed up a bit and checked out the church, took some pics. I wanted to ring the bell soo bad but Halfmile said it probly wasn't a good idea....thanx dad! On the way back to his place, we went through Julian to check it out, just incase I might want to thumb the 17 miles when I get to Scissors Crossing. They had this really old cemetery there which I love to check out, so we did and then ate some dinner at the Rongbranch Rest. Halfmile got a burger and I had the Pasta with creamy artichoke sauce...YUM! Then we shared an apple pie with ice cream, which apparently Julian is famous for. It was a great day!

I woke up this morning with a serious sore throat. I imagine b/c of the nasty weather from the night before. But I feel like I can still hike some more so I really feel good about being a thru. I learned some valuable lessons on this little section...like don't let the rocks trip you, and I need a warmer sleeping bag and ...this is really important...make sure to bring enough TP. I ran out at Mike's house and had to bum some from Halfmile...thank goodness he had extra...LOL. I thought about doing the rock thing but all the rocks in that area are pretty rough....

I can't wait to get out there again and do some more sections or hopefully even better...complete the thru as planned!