For myself, or others and myself?

I have been thinking for a few weeks now about hiking, self involvement and/or how to make my thru-hike attempt seem less selfish and more about helping others. Of course, one question might be, why do I think I need to make this hike about something other than myself? Isn't it enough to just have fun for 5-6 months, without making it about other people and their needs? Well, in theory yes. Yet I know from past personal experience that if I have committed to something other than myself, I am more likely to be able to push through tough times if I have committed to other people,  organizations, etc. And this has more to do with my own limitations than my selfless wish to help others. Of course, it isn't one thing or another. Both things are true and, like most folks, I am a bundle of contradictions.

Given all these ideas and musings,  I have decided to blend this hike with a wish to raise money for the City of Hope. Why the City of Hope? My friend in L.A. was recently dx with a very rare, nasty, aggressive kind of cervical cancer. Other than that really bad news, being an American and self employed, she also has no health insurance so she was looking at not being able to treat the cancer in any meaningful kind of way. Fortunately, she was accepted into a treatment program at the City of Hope, with no cost to her. This is an amazing and remarkable blessing in my friends life. To know she will have the best chance of living without the worry of losing her home and everything she has worked for all her life, is something I want to support. So, I hope to make some kind of plan to raise monies for this worthy organization. More information to follow.

Gear Sale!

It's finally time I got rid of some of the extra gear I have hanging around. Over the years I have purchased packs and cookpots, some of which I never used and the others only very slightly. The prices will be well below my original cost and I hope a good deal for someone else who needs quality gear at cheap prices. Here goes!

I have a two year old ULA Circuit, size small with a medium waist belt. It has been worn for about 20 days on the trail. Recently washed, no nicks or tears. In excellent shape. The only issue is cosmetic. There was some sap on the back panel. It has been removed and is no longer sticky but it did stain the material. It has the newer (as in brand new, $30 worth) S shoulder straps. Works better for some women and slight men... I would keep it but I also have the ULA P-1 which I like better... who needs two of them? Weighs 35 ounces and costs $200 new. I'm selling for $100. SOLD!

front

back showing new straps

Sap stain, no longer sticky!

The second pack is a Gossamer Gear Mariposa. Purchased in 2005 for $129.95 Size small which fits 16" to 19" torsos. Weighs 20.5 ounces. I wore it twice for training hikes but never used it on the trail. It never really fit me but it is sure to fit someone! I think the higher of the torso range would be better. I'm a 16" and it was too long for me.  I don't know,  how is $70 dollars? Still looking for a good home!

sil nylon

back with pad

Last but not least is a Snowpeak Trek 700 titanium pot with lid. The photos show some water spots but this is one of those items I never used in the field. Silly me. My scale says it is 4.4 ounces but the website lists the weight at 4.8 ounces... maybe they are including the stuff sack, which I don't have. New they are $39.95 but for you? 20 bucks would do it. Sold, pending the arrival of a check.

So if you are interested or if you have any questions, leave a message here or email me at shskye@cabrillo.edu. Thanks for looking!

Stove set-up

I am relieved to have decided on my PCT trip stove set-up. I have used so many different stoves over the years, from home made soda can stoves to a Whisperlite white gas stove, that I have a hard time deciding on which way to go. I finally went with the cheapest stove, the easiest to use and a modified cozy cooking method. Instead of putting my food in a freezer bag to cook I'll just use my pot with a cozy on it! Easy-peasy. Here are some photos.

pot (with everything inside) in cozy on scale...

Fancy feast cat food stove!

Pretty simple

One decision down, many, many more to come...

Training hike

Hi all. I spent three+ hours on the trail today, with a 20# pack. Got to get the parts used to the work. Here is a photo of the cutest (can mushrooms be cute?) teeny, tiny mushrooms I encountered today.

Below is a pack I made a couple of years ago and this is the one I've been using on my hikes. My commercial packs don't feel right so I am going with a home made one, at least for now. This one is made of material that is too light to withstand the rigors of a 5-6 month hike so I sent off for material that is a bit tougher. 70d instead of 30d, if that means anything to anyone but me. Any-hoo, when it arrives I will be working on a new one, with components of all the previous packs I have made or purchased. Kinda like a pack casserole, if you know what I mean.  If I can pull this off I'll feel very proud of myself.

Inspiration

Some days it is important to take inspiration from where ever one can find it. This guy provided such inspiration to me today.
http://www.wimp.com/beinspired/

2012 PCT dinner meal plan

This is my standard cook set-up. As dinner seems to be the most important meal of the day for me I have put together a dinner meal plan that includes 26 different dishes. I want to make them as varied as possible so I will be interested in eating them when I am tired at the end of the day. Here goes.

PCT dinner meals

1. Mac and cheese with tuna
2. Pasta with pesto and chicken
3. Thai chicken with peanut butter
4. Grits and cheese veggies
5. Chicken noodle casserole
6. Chicken chili
7. Leek/mushroom/gnocchi soup (pg 49)
8. Trail Tom Yum (pg 50)
9. Sesame Lemon chicken (pg 53)
10. Indonesian Sesame noodles (pg 56)
11. Coconut lime shrimp (pg 59)
12. Curried rice with chicken (pg 62)
13. Pesto potatoes with salmon (pg 65)
14. Alice lake alfredo gnocchi (pg 68)
15. Gnocchi with sage butter parmesan and bacon (pg 68)
16. Sheep lake mush (page 70)
17. Fruit chicken stuffing (pg 69)
18. Chicken and dumplings (69)
19. Ginger curry couscous (pg 64)
20. GoBlue fredo (pg 54)
21. Salmon chowder (pg 46)
22. Three sisters stew (pg 43)
23. Black bean and corn chili (pg 43)
24. Trailhead ropa vieja (pg 51)
25. Garlic wasabi mashed potatoes (pg 65)
26. Dungenesse blue gnocchi (pg 67)

Number 1 and 2 are of my own device

Numbers 3 through 5 are from Freezer Bag Cooking by Sarah Kirkconnell

Number 6 is Trader Joes canned chili, dehydrated. I can’t make it any better.

Numbers 7 through 26 are from One Pan Wonders by Dicentra Black

If any of you talented foodies have any other suggestions, please feel free to share.

Packs

I wish I could say the new packs were the 'bomb' but I am still having difficulty with pressure on my lower back. Quite a bummer, yes? Anyone got any ideas?