I woke up to the announcement that the dining car was open for breakfast. I checked my email, and I finally had one. I had not received an email for three days. Everyone is honoring my sabbatical.

The email was my expected notice from Scout and Frodo telling me when I will be picked up. There will be twenty hikers staying there with me.

When I get there, I will need to find a car with a yellow pompom in the window. This is the picture they sent me.

Admittedly, I must be clinically insane. Who gets into a complete stranger’s car just because it has a yellow pompom in the window?

I’m looking forward to meeting some of the people I have talked with the past couple of months.

Jason, from Utah is a retired police officer. He is my age, and I promised him the first round. As we are the same age and point in our lives, I suspect we will hike together a bit.

Jamie is from Wisconsin. We talked briefly because she was looking for some help storing equipment near Seattle. I thought I had a solution but it did not work out.

There were other names I recognized, but I did not know them.

The goal today is to continue to relax and detox from too much information. No news. No email. No social media. I was correct that the train ride was going to help increase my patience.

For dinner, my guest was Gayle, an African American grandmother who is taking the train to Los Angeles to bury her sister and to help her niece grieve. She is a real life angel who has spent 40 years as a teacher for kids with autism. I could read that she was a bit nervous sitting with me at first, but it quickly became the best conversation I’ve had since I’ve been on this train.

The dining car only has so much room, so you have to sit with people you don’t know. You have to make conversation, and I love to do that.

She has a special job to do, but she is already prepared.

With that, I will call it a night. Tomorrow I will wake up early, shower, switch into my hiking clothes and toss all the rest of the stuff I don’t need. The trail calls.

When I successfully signed up for a permit, I hoped that I would be able to take the train instead of flying to San Diego. My wife and I took a train when we visited Egypt. Unfortunately, I was ill and I stayed in my room the whole trip. By taking the train I hope to mentally slow down. I need to turn up my patience. I need turn off the internet.

The train is lovely. My room is tiny, but there is plenty of room for my gear.

I spent some time in the observation car. It has been a long time since i sat looking out of the window of a moving vehicle. I’m always the driver. I relaxed. I read. I wrote.

For dinner, I was seated at a table with a retired married couple from New Mexico and a film-maker from Wisconsin. We sat there talking for two hours. For once, I wasn’t doing all the talking.

It was dark by eight, so I converted my room to the sleeping configuration and called it a night.

The first phase of this journey is now complete.  I have spend countless hours researching, learning and relearning, training and hiking.  This is everything I’m taking.

1. A ULA Catalyst backpack with my kit, 2.5 days of food, and a water carrying capacity of eight liters.
2. A bag for the train.  It has my hiking clothes, snacks, and toiletries.   I will dispose of it in San Diego when I change into my hiking clothes.
3. A box with five days of food that I’m sending to Warner Springs.  I’ll mail it once I’m done writing this.
4. One pair of Altra Lone Peak 3.5 shoes with Green Superfeet insoles.  They have eighteen miles on them to break them in.
5. My Ghost Whisper jacket, because it will be cold tomorrow.
6. A one-way Amtrak ticket from Milwaukee to San Diego.

That is it.  These are my needs.  No more and no less.  I am so ready to go!

I spent a good two hours going over everything to try to find ways to lower my base weight.  After some effort, I was able to cut 8.4 ounces or slightly over half-a-pound.  Doesn’t seem like much, but then when you are going to walk 5.5 million steps, half-a-pound is pretty significant.  I’m still 3.2 ounces over my 15 pound limit.

At this point I would have to cut something significant. Can I skip taking my glasses because I’m wearing contacts?  That is 3.4 ounces.  Maybe I’ll just wear my glasses.  The solution is water and water is heavy.  I walk slower in my glasses.  At some point I just have to stop worrying about it.  I’m really close and I can decide better once I see what I’m using and what I’m not using.

I can say that I’ve gone through absolutely everything.

With that I’m focusing on getting my food packed and spending time with my family.  They are going to miss me, and I’m going to miss them.  That is what I’m going to do until I leave.

Today is my last days of work.  At five o’clock, my profession will be backpacker.

Last night I put all my base weight in my pack and got on the scale.  Up to this point, it was all really a thought exercise.  I used Lighterpack and a small scale to weigh everything.  Now I’ve taken everything and put it in my pack and with the help of my daughter weighed it proper.  It is not where I want to be.  I have three days left to science the crap out of this pack.  I’m at 15.8 pounds.  Time for aggressive measures.

Now, there are some simple ways of reducing pack weight.  When I look at gear lists, I see what other people have done.  I can do some magic and move items out of the base weight category.  For example, I could say that I’m wearing my down jacket and reduce my pack weight a quick 8.5 ounces.  However, that is the same thing as saying that I’m going to save money by taking beer out of the entertainment budget by moving it to the food budget.  One could say, “Look I reduced the entertainment budget!”, but it was just accounting trick.  No, I need to find some ways to cut more weight.

As I have written before, I’m made some decisions that come at a weight penalty.  My pack weighs 49 ounces, but it has a carrying capacity of 40 pounds and has enough room to hold my bear canister.  Many of my sisters and brothers have much light packs, but with much lighter carrying capacities.  My pack can also take a beating.

I have dry bags for my clothes and quilt.  I could just use a garbage compactor bag, but I’ve see what that does to your quilt.

I could squeeze all the Neosporin out of the tube and into one of the small zip lock bags I have bought.  The tube weighs something and the zip lock bag is lighter.  Every little bit helps.  However, a tube with a cap is much more secure.  One accidental squeeze and the zip lock bag opens and I have Neosporin all over the place.

My battery is bigger than I need.  I am taking contacts and glasses.  That weighs something, too.  I have three days to figure this out.  I have some ideas, but not much time to implement them.

 

Sitting on the living room table is a resupply box addressed to me.  My address is General Delivery, Warner Springs, California.  In it I have a set of maps for California, Section C and five days worth of breakfasts and dinners.  I will buy my lunches at the Warner Springs Community center.  For the whole trip, I will only need to send about ten boxes from home, but the first one is 109 miles in.  I will send it on Saturday.  With that, there is no more planning.

Looking at the calendar, my last day at work is Friday.  There are events every single night this week.  I hope to hike some Ice Age trail on Saturday morning.  There is no more time left to train.  Since I started training to hike the PCT, I have hiked about the distance of the PCT spread out over three years.  I will begin the hike with good muscle mass on my legs and strong ankles.  I have no foot or knee pain.  With that, there is no more training.

I have taken the time to tie down all the loose ends in my life.  I have handed off all my responsibilities other than husband and father.  It is very strange to look at my calendar and see every single day open through October 1st.  With that, I have just one focus.

Next Monday, I will spend the day laying out my gear one last time.  I will strive to reduce it some more.  I’d like to be closer to fourteen pounds.  There is a hiker who is leaving the same day named Chloe.   She shared her kit that weighs nine pounds.  I set her list next to mine to see what the differences were.  From an item to item point of view, there were not many differences.  It was all about choices.  Her pack weighs 18 ounces and mine weighs 48.  Hers is made of light weight materials and she removed the metal supports.  That means that it will become uncomfortable above 25 pounds.  Mine is a tank, ready for a beating and is comfortable up to 40 pounds.  She is going stove-less.  I would like a warm meal at the end of the day.  That is 1.1 additional pounds.  I wear contacts and am taking a pair of glasses.  That is half a pound.  She is taking a smaller battery.  Mine is probably too big for what I need.  That would save me 1/4 pound.  Her first aid kit is just 1.8 ounces.  Mine is 7.6 ounces, but has stuff I know that I will encounter on the trail like poison oak.  She is depending upon electronics.  I have backup paper maps.  We have the same clothes, but hers weigh less because she is smaller.  All that being said, she has an emergency beacon, and I do not.  It is all about choices.

Next Tuesday I leave.  I will wear clothes that I will throw away when I change into my hiking gear when I reach San Diego.  I am so ready to go.

The time draws near.  The excitement grows.  It is hard to sleep!

My focus has turned from training to tying down loose ends.  I have only six days left of work.  The firm I work for isn’t very good at thinking ahead.  I told them that I was going for a hike November 2nd, and only now does the urgency kick in.  I’ve heard rumors of how they are angry.  They didn’t think I was actually doing this.  Now they are trying to take notes.  When an employee gives five months notice, it is really the organization’s problem, not the employee.

My good friends at the Presbytery gave me what every backpacker needs in their backpack — a rock!  It is the Rock of Faith.  It weighs just one ounce.  It is not a want.  It is not a fear.  It is a need.  Therefore, I am taking the Rock of Faith.  To make room in my kit, I needed to take out one ounce, so I removed the hydration sleeve on my backpack.  It weighs 1.4 ounces, so adding the Rock of Faith decreases my base weight by 4 ounces!  They also gave me a beautiful send off.  With their prayers, how can I fail?

On Saturday, I will send a box to Warner Springs with plenty of time to get there.  I have decided to take breakfasts and dinners for five days and I will buy lunches along the way.  I was going to send two days of food to Mount Laguna, but I know I can buy stuff there.  The advice from those that have hiked before is to buy along the way.   I should follow their advice.

I have a couple of more church meetings and emails to do, so there isn’t much time to train.  At this point, I’m ready to go.  If I wasn’t ready now, I certainly would not have enough time to get ready.

Wow!  Fifteen Days!!!

After I finished writing my blog yesterday, I spent about an hour trimming the Orange Superfeet insoles.  The arch seemed to be in the wrong place.  I decided to go to a local shoe store that sells this product.  I should have done that in the first place.

Before I started training, I wore a 9.5 shoe.  Three years later and over a thousand trail miles, I now wear a 10.5.  That I knew.  What I didn’t know is that I am also a wide.  Switching to a Green Superfeet wide resolved the problem.  With that, the only lagging equipment issue is resolved.

The success of this massive hike is completely dependent upon the health of my feet.  Until I started training, I never had problems with my feet.  They were mostly ignored.  They are now equal to my eyes, heart, lungs and brain.

The weather in Southern California has changed a bit.  There is been rain and snow. That is good news for me because that means some of the seasonal streams that were dry two weeks ago may have water when I’m there.  It was bad news for my sisters and brothers who have already left.  Many wrote that they stayed in town to let the weather pass and that is always a good decision.

Unfortunately, one of the hikers I was quietly cheering on, a Navy Veteran like me hurt her knee and limped into Mount Laguna (mile 42) and was looking for a ride to the hospital.  There is enough time for her to heal if it is something minor.  I have my fingers crossed.

Not much left for me to do.  I have pulled out all my gear and put my name and phone number on it like my Mom was sending me to camp.  Everything is in one of two bins, that which I am taking and that which will be shipped to me later.  I have food that I will ship to Mount Laguna and Warner Springs.  I’ll send those boxes next weekend.

I continue to make minor adjustments.  I’ve lightened my first aid kit, removing stuff I do not need.  I’m pretty much dialed in at this point.

Life wise, I have been saying goodby to friends.  I am a Ruling Elder of the Presbytery of Milwaukee for the PC(USA), and I have a number of churches I walk with as they go through transition.  I seem to do a good job at it, as I was elected to be Co-Moderator of the Commission on Ministry despite the fact that I’m leaving for six months (hopefully).  I’ve said my goodbyes to Faith Springs in Pewaukee, 1st Presbyterian Church in Clinton and I will be saying good bye to Calvary Presbyterian of Milwaukee on Sunday.  I told the Presbytery that I could continue to walk with them, but I was told no.  I told them that I am obeying in protest.

At this point, I have no responsibilities other than Dad and this hike.  It is a weird feeling.  I have to keep in mind that even in life, the lighter the load, the faster and farther you go.

I updated my training log and I’ve completed 250 trail miles since January 1st.  Those are miles with at least thirty-five pounds on my back.  I’ve been pretty lucky.  It has been a low snow year and the trails near my house have been open all winter.

I will train in most conditions.  Rain, snow and cold do not stop me.  They are opportunities to test my gear.  The only condition I will not train in is ice where I cannot wear my micro-spikes.  I’ve quit my job effective March 30th.  I’m not going to hurt myself now.  Crashing and burning before I even leave would be too embarrassing.

I did back-to-back nine mile days with forty pounds.  After adjusting all the straps on my backpack, I have it dialed in.  Yesterday, those forty pounds were nothing.

I have an event tonight, but I will be able to hike tomorrow and Thursday.  I’ve set a goal of 100 miles before I leave.