Ian – Page 5 – Mexico to Canada 2023 (and beyond)

Well that kicked my ass

April 25, 2023Ian

Monday, April 24, 2023

This post is going to start rough, but it gets better at the end.

I am camped in Hauser Canyon right now with a bunch of other hikers. Honestly, I feel sick.

I don’t know if I’m having an anxiety attack or what, but this isn’t fun on day one. I was recently diagnosed with obsessive compulsive personality disorder and I think it is rearing it’s ugly head right now.

I don’t want to worry anyone with this post, but basically I’ve been sick to my stomach since lunch, save the last 3–4 miles where I hiked down to the canyon with a really nice couple from the Netherlands.

I forced myself to eat a bit of a freeze dried dinner, but a lot of it is left in my trash bag for now.

I’m now back in my tent and feeling a lot better after some meditation, talking to my amazing wife on my sat beacon, and holding my little stuffed Biffer that I brought along.

What a crazy day. I’m going to hike up to Morena in the morning (5 miles away, the first two being straight up) and see how I feel. Might spend the night there. Not sure.

Pics from today:

I finally calmed down and got some decent sleep. Not great, but decent. I woke up around 6:30, broke camp, stretched, and headed up the 1000 foot climb out of the canyon. This actually went ok and had some great views.

I’m now at Lake Morena at the malt shop with a bunch of other stinky hikers, waiting on a turkey sandwich for breakfast. I still am not hungry, but I’m going to try and get some calories.

Hoping to get to Cibbets campground tonight, but that’s about 13 more miles, so I may end up calling it a bit earlier.

San Diego

April 24, 2023April 24, 2023Ian

Sunday, April 23, 2023

Edit: Disclaimer – Since I am going to start posting regularly from trail now, I wanted to take a minute and say thank you to all who have followed so far. This will be a very personal blog and my goal is to show the good, the bad, and the ugly. There will be cursing. There will be crying. There will be laughing. You have to show all of the experience and that’s what I intend to do. Fair warning.

I hit the trail tomorrow morning. We flew into San Diego on Friday and have spent a couple of days enjoying the weather and the sights. Courtney and both sets of our parents flew out to take me to the southern terminus and see me off on this journey.

We went to REI on Saturday to get fuel for my stove (and of course a couple of other things because I can’t just buy one thing there) and saw the shuttle that takes hikers from San Diego to the southern terminus. Apparently they run a few times a day.

We also drove out to Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument to get another stamp for our national park stamps collection. Great views of San Diego across the water and some old lighthouse history.

Also went to La Jolla and saw some sea lions and a random McClaren at a car show.

Anyway, I’m all packed for a 6am leave time from San Diego tomorrow morning and hoping to actually hit the trail around 7:30 or 8. Let’s do this!

Last Night at Home

April 20, 2023April 20, 2023Ian

Thursday, April 20, 2023

I’m enjoying my last night at home with my wife and my dogs. They got all sorts of treats and new toys for my going away. Going to miss the hell out of these two boys.

I packed all my gear into my big Samsonite suitcase and got my next resupply box (with ice axe and microspikes) ready for Court to send when she gets back from San Diego.

Everything I will have in my life for the next few months

Oh, I also shaved my head (!). I used to shave it all the time when I was in my 20s, but grew it out for my wife. But the trail doesn’t care what I look like and I don’t want to have to deal with it.

So that’s it. We are dropping the dogs off at a friend’s tonight and getting up early to fly to San Diego for the weekend. There I will do a couple of last minute errands like buying fuel for my stove and anything else I might decide I need.

Then Monday morning, the 24th of April, I will walk away from the Southern Terminus monument. Surreal.

Final Training Stretch

April 16, 2023April 19, 2023Ian

Sunday, April 16, 2023

I’m currently sitting on my back porch in the morning sun, listening to the birds, throwing Finn’s toy to him, and reading my ultrarunning mental training book. No, I’m not doing an ultramarathon, but the concepts are similar to thru hiking and there’s a lot of crossover.

Yesterday I finished my last training hike. 15 miles out at Lake Georgetown again. It got WAY hotter than forecast (about 95 when I finished) and it was a challenging way to end my training. That said, I feel great today.

I also found out that my Sawyer Squeeze water filter was 100% clogged after being in storage for a couple of years. It is sitting in a vinegar bath right now to try and get it functional again, but after seeing the flow rate on my Katahdyn BeFree (my backup), I think I’ve decided to start with that in the desert and have the Sawyer be my backup instead. The BeFree has gotten really popular on trail in the past couple of years, due to its flow rate and ease of cleaning. Exciting stuff, I know.

I also finally figured out how to keep my umbrella attached and hands free to my pack, which made a HUGE difference in temperature during my hike. That’s a keeper.

Here’s a couple of rambling videos recapping all that.

The rest of this week is finalizing resupply boxes, cleaning gear, and packing for San Diego on Friday!

Resupply Hell

April 14, 2023April 14, 2023Ian

Friday, April 14, 2023

I’ve spent the morning prepping breakfasts and dinners. I did around 25 of each, plus a few freeze dried meals and I’ll figure out on trail whether I want to keep getting stuff sent from home or if I can mainly resupply in towns. I’m sure it will end up being a mix of both and I’ll figure it out eventually.

It’s fairly chaotic, at least a little more than I would like, but realistically, there’s no way to get it right before the trail. Trial and error baby!

Now I get to start dividing them into resupply boxes.

Also, I did the obligatory full gear layout pic yesterday.

I fly to San Diego a week from today!

Rainy Day Resupply Prep

April 7, 2023April 19, 2023Ian

Friday, April 7, 2023

It has literally been raining for two straight days. We need it here in Texas, so I’m not super complaining. I was supposed to hike 2 miles yesterday for my endurance training, so that got re-directed to the Peloton, but at least I’m not on trail yet where I’d have to hike in the rain anyway.

I’ve spent the week buying all kinds of food and bits of gear from Amazon and Costco. I also simplified my resupply plan at the beginning of the trail. Not including specialty gear drops like ice axe/microspikes at Idyllwild and new shoes at Wrightwood, I’m only going to have to send three or possibly four actual resupply boxes until Kennedy Meadows at the base of the Sierra. The trail towns have gotten so good with hiker resupply now, there’s really no need to prep all your boxes ahead of time like you would have done maybe 10 years ago.

Costco purchases – I will never run out of ziplocs

I am also sending a bounce box with all my luxury toiletries, hair clippers, town clothes, etc. I will first pick this up in Julian and then bounce it along to other towns along the trail as I go.

Here’s my resupply hell right now. I will organize more this coming week, but right now it’s all just in a pile.

And for good measure, here’s my gear room.

To be fair, I’m only using about 10% of the gear in that photo. There’s actually a method to that madness and I can pack my full pack in there in about 5 minutes.

Anyway, this next week is all about organizing and prepping resupply. It will come together!

3 weeks to go!

April 3, 2023April 3, 2023Ian

Sunday, April 2, 2023

I’m writing this on the mobile app about 10 miles into my 15 mile hike on Lake Georgetown today. This is my second to last long training hike before I hit the trail on April 24th!

I haven’t posted from the app in a few years, so I’m wondering how the formatting will come out. This is how I will blog from the trail, so I guess I better get used to it.

I’m currently airing out my feet and eating lunch before I push the last 5 or so miles back to the car.

I feel really good today and am waking up most days really excited now. This coming week is food testing week and next week is setting up resupplies. Then the next week is finalizing everything and flying to San Diego!

Ok, back at home now. I’m feeling it a bit from the 15 mile hike yesterday, but I came through with only one real blister (deep under a callous on my left heel). This spot has always given me trouble, so I’m just going to tape the hell out of it and hope it hardens up quickly on the trail.

When I got home yesterday I took an epsom salt bath and then got cleaned up and went to my parent’s house for dinner.

The trail itself was great. The wildflowers in Texas this spring are strong.

Video

Pack pic

More flower pics!

I did about 10 miles before I rested, did a quick meditation (something that I will try to do daily on trail), changed socks, and ate lunch. The last 3 miles were fairly tough and I had to stop twice to tape up hot spots. I would LOVE to prevent blisters before they happen and my shoes are great, but I’ve never done multiple 15+ mile days in them in a row, so it’s just going to be a trial and error system for my feet when I get there.

Today, I went on my first grocery store trip to get various backpacking meals and test them out. I’ve decided I’m going to try and only use my stove for boiling water and then adding that to pre-packaged (both self-packaged and bought) bags. I just don’t want to deal with the clean up of a pot after a long day of hiking, not to mention the extra water it takes in the desert. It already annoys me doing it at home. We’ll see if it works, but that’s how I’m going to start out.

I’m going to try out different combinations for dinner this week and then cap it off with a sous vide pork chop on Friday night as a grand finale!

I really enjoy the planning aspect of all of these, even if it’s a bit intense logistically. It reminds me of my tour management days in the music industry when I was in my 20s. I have a knack for it and it’s really fun, even if most of these plans will probably go to hell once I actually get into the reality of trail life. Oh well!

Onward, to the trail!

PCT Class of 2023!

March 24, 2023Ian

Real quick post today, but I’m feeling really good about the trail today and I wanted to share. First, I am one month out from my start date! April 24th is coming quick!

Second, I got my PCT Class of 2023 bandana today! The bandanas have been around since the early 2000s and they are also used for hitching. One side says Hiker to Town, the other says Hiker to Trail, depending on which way you are going. Also, it has a basic map on it, so for those of you who don’t really know where the trail goes, I figured this is a helpful visual aid.

Training continues and I’m starting to test out meals and get resupplies together. It continues to snow and rain in California, so it’s going to be a really strange year. Hoping for a super bloom in the desert though!

Wilderness First Aid

March 16, 2023Ian

March 11-12, 2023

Over the weekend I spent two days getting certified in Wilderness First Aid. It was put on by REI and NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) out at McKinney Roughs Nature Park, one of my favorite hiking destinations in the Austin area.

I went Saturday and Sunday, 8am-5pm, for 16 hours worth of instruction. We went over the basics of first aid response and focused on all the bad stuff that can happen when you are out in the wild. It was a fairly high level overview of everything, as the point is really to just give you some idea of what you are doing and how to react so you can stabilize an injured person until highly trained help can actually get to you, if need be. Also, we were trained in determining the severity of injuries and situations so we will know when to evacuate patients or not.

We had classroom instruction supplemented with “scenarios” where we got to put on makeup and fake blood and have people try to diagnose the problem. The first day was a little awkward, but by the second day everyone felt a lot more comfortable and it was actually pretty fun.

I met some cool people, including a guy that hiked the PCT last year. It was nice being with people who all had a similar passion for the outdoors.

Despite being surrounded by medicine my whole life, I realized I’ve never had any formal training in any kind of first aid. I’m very glad I took this course, though I’m hoping to never have to use it.

In other news, I am continuing my endurance training schedule. Today I just got done with a 5 mile full pack hike around the neighborhood and I am planning on 14 miles this weekend, probably out at River Place Nature Trail, which is the best and toughest hike in Austin.

I also have dug into spreadsheet hell and started really getting resupply strategy in place today. The first few weeks are going to be a little nuts with boxes, as it’s looking like I’ll need to send my microspikes and maybe even my ice axe to Idyllwild so I can get through Mt. San Jacinto. Damn snow just won’t stop. I enjoy the planning aspect of it all, but I’m also glad that trail towns have gotten a lot better with resupply so I don’t have to send all my boxes from home. I’m going to send a few at the beginning and then start resupplying in towns and sending stuff to myself further up the trail as I get used to it and understand the nuances of it all.

Onward to the trail!

Urban Hiking

March 1, 2023Ian

March 1, 2023

I’ve started a more organized training regimen, following some advice in a great book I’ve been using, “Adventure Ready: A Hiker’s Guide to Planning, Training, & Resiliency” by Katie Gerber and Heather “Anish” Anderson.

This book, along with many others, has been a great training tool for both physical and mental preparation. The other one that I’ve now ready probably 4-5 times is Badger’s “Pacific Crest Trials”.

For a couple of weeks now, I’ve been hiking with a full pack 3-5 miles roughly every other day during the week and then doing a 12-15 mile hike on the weekends. There’s a structure to it and I’m hoping it will really get me prepared to hit the trail in good hiking shape and make getting my “trail legs” a bit easier and faster.

Despite riding my Peloton and weight training for the last two years, 5-6 days a week, actual hiking works very different muscles and is the only way to really train for an endeavor like the PCT. I’ll train with this regimen for about 9 weeks and then have a full week of rest before I fly to San Diego and hit the trail.

I got a new sun hoody from REI that I’m really liking. I’ve gotten a nice route in my neighborhood down that I can vary between 3-5 miles and even has a nice hill at the golf course that I can climb. It does feel a bit strange walking around with a full pack with my tent poles in my side pocket and I often wonder if the neighbors think I’m a homeless person, but oh well.