T-minus 7 days

Here we go again. I’ve been reluctant to start blogging here as I haven’t been sure I’d be going back out to the trail this early in the season, but it looks like everything is falling into place and I’ll be back out there soon. As in less than a week. 

So much has happened in this last year. Or maybe this happens every year and I don’t remember it from one year to another. But I’ve spent the past year diligently trying to lose weight. Why? Simply because I want to protect my knees, and I still want to backpack, at least for another decade or more.  I’ve been blessed with generally good health and haven’t had too many terrible joint injuries in the past but still, there is no reason to hurry the age related trouble along.  So, over this time I’ve been able to drop 20 pounds, and I am pleased. But dang, what a hell ride it’s been. I’ll never understand why it’s so easy to gain weight and it takes and act of Congress to lose one fricking pound. And with this Congress...

So the plan this year is to take the Amtrak to Dunsmuir, CA, hike five miles south to Castella, then hit the trail to Ashland, OR. This being around 213 miles. I expect to take three weeks, including a VERY slow first section and take two, two day layovers in the towns I will enter. Speed is not going to be my thing this trip. 

The hard part about doing low miles in the first section is that I have to carry more days of food to make it through the time on trail. For me this will be 10 days of food to carry, 3 days more than I’ve ever packed at any one time. So for once I’ve been super careful and have managed to get my food for this section down to 12 pounds total. In the carry bags. 

Nothing extra that’s for sure!!! We’ll see how it goes. I’m banking that the famous “hiker hunger” won’t kick in for the first section and that I’ve planned my food correctly. If not, I can still stand to lose a few more pounds. 🤪