13 days and counting!

Surprise!  I only have 13 days left, before I set off on my hike.  For those keeping track, I originally planned to leave on March 15th.   A month and a half ago or so, I moved it up to a mid-week start (March 11th) for a few reasons.

First, I wanted to have a bit of a buffer for my time-table of arriving in Kennedy Meadows and the start of the Sierra.  I am taking an Advanced Snow Skills Class on May 3rd.  While leaving on March 15 gave me ample time to arrive, I figured adding a buffer of 4 days wouldn’t hurt.  At worst, I would simply have to take a couple of Zero days, and I would use up the extra time.

Secondly, I wanted to start on my own.  I believe there has been one other permit issued for March 11th.  However, on March 15th about a half-dozen permits have been issued.

Everything is coming together.  I have checked off most of the items on my to-do list.   I finished up my resupply boxes.  There will be odds and ends added by my crew before shipping the boxes out, but I am confident in their contents for now.  There are 29 resupply points total.

One rather funny thing happened while I was packing my resupply.  I have planned for a certain number of days on the trail.  I wanted my resupply boxes to cover 90% of my needs, with planning to hit stores for supplemental items, perishable foods, and to fulfill cravings.  The other day, I was finishing up my resupply boxes.  With the boxes all ready to go, I had used up all the food that I had purchased in advance.  I felt accomplished.  Until I realized I had packed ALL of the food I had bought.   I hadn’t left any for the 3 days hiking I have from Campo until I arrive at my first resupply in Mt Laguna!  Minor oversight of course, and a quick trip to the store remedied the problem, but it was definitely a humorous realization.

After buying food for my first three days, adding all my gear, and my anticipated water needs for the first day, my pack weighs in at a reasonable 42 pounds.  This is a few pounds heavier than I was hoping for, but there are a certain items I didn’t compromise on to shed weight.  For example, I have a full tent. While it is an utralight tent, it’s still a tent.  Many hikers prefer to go with a tarp tent to save weight.  This is one example of weight savings you can realize by paring down your gear.

Many of my choices were a result of planning for the extremes.  My gear will cover me for more weather swings than those that go Ultra lightweight.  Many UL hikers have very little gear for dealing with extreme weather.  So, being warmer, dryer, and more able to withstand harsh weather adds pounds to your pack weight.

I am sure after a few days on the trail, I will end up sending home whatever gear I think I have over prepared with.

Even at 42 pounds, my pack is less than 20% of my body weight, which is a good starting point for just starting out on the trail.

Speaking of weight.  Weight loss is a concern on the trail.  From the statistics I could find, weight loss varies widely, however, a man of my size can expect to lose anywhere from 25 to 40 pounds on the trail.  You generally run a calorie deficit everyday.  Expending more calories than you take in.  Over a week or so this isn’t a big deal.  Combine this with, 5 months on the trail, and 2660 miles of hiking and you’re talking about real weight loss.  Many people compensate by gorging themselves in towns.   With that, I have also added some weight to compensate.  Lets just say, I played a bear this winter and added my winter fat.

When I leave Campo, I expect to weigh 220 pounds.  Now, if I happen to lose 40 pounds on the trail, VIOLA!  Im back to my high school graduation weight!  That wouldn’t be so bad!   Gurl, I went on a trail diet and lost 40 pounds!  Thanks megashake!

Along with my (un)intentional weight gain this winter, I am not as trained up as I had hoped to be.  The first couple weeks on the trail are going to be challenging.  Fortunately, over the past several years, I have trained for dozens of endurance events.  My body should adapt rather easily, as it is no stranger to the rigors of hard work.  In my mind I keep falling back to the adage, “If we wait until everything is perfect to start, we would never start!”   I guess I will just have to mosey my imperfect self to the border and start walking north.

It is finally sinking in that I’m leaving.  In looking at the calendar for the next 2 weeks, nearly every day is full with preparation or social engagements.  I am going to need to head out on this hike just to get some rest!

Time has certainly flown by.

I’m getting excited.

Here’s one of my favorite videos from the trail.

21 days and counting!

The last couple weeks have been much of a whirlwind!   The stars are aligning and everything has worked out ideally to this point.  A week ago was 2 years in the making, and I have to say, I am finally glad it is over.

Two years ago, my boss called all the management staff in our department in for a “short notice” meeting.  The CFO and my boss (the controller) were leading the meeting.  It was during this meeting we were told the company was for sale, and they expected the say to happen rather expeditiously.  Of course there was a multitude of question, most of which went unanswered at the time.  We were being told to help them provide necessary documentation to facilitate in the sale.

Over the following two years, there were various suitors of the company.  All of which, fell through for a variety of reasons.  Last April/May, it looked as if we finally had a buyer, and the close of the sale was imminent.  The new company would be cutting most of the SGA positions, as they were a company of similar type, resulting in a lot of redundancy.

At this point, it looked like we would be laid off at some point in late summer.   However, the sale of the company wasn’t imminent.  The date the sale was supposed to close drug on. And on.  And on.  Around the late July time frame, I ultimately hatched the long incubated plan of hiking the PCT.   I knew as a result of being laid off, I would receive some sort of severance.  Additionally, because I had been notified, over a year ago at this point, the company was for sale, prudence dictated we reduce our spending.  This resulted in a long over due savings.  After thinking if over for a couple weeks, I discussed it with my husband and we decided it was pretty much the perfect time to undertake the trail.  I wouldn’t likely have such a well-funded opportunity to take 6-9 months off work “for fun”.

The decision was made, and we waited, and waited.  Morale at the company wasn’t good.  Work volume overall fell off due to the financial health of our company.  As a result, I had more time in the day than work, which left me with a lot of idle time to research and plan for the trail.  This was great to a point, and then it became stressful.   I know it sounds silly.  However, having a job where the work load is minimal, being laid off is “imminent” is REALLY stressful.  You are in a perpetual holding pattern.  The recurring thought every Monday was, “Well, maybe this week.”

Fast-forward to early November and the deal fell through.  I was somewhat devastated.  It looked like my plan of hiking the PCT in 2015 was unlikely.   Toward late November, a new company showed interest in acquiring the company.  However, based on the previous 18 months, I took it with a grain of salt.   Over the holidays, I looked at our budget over and over.  Ultimately, I came to the decision that if I was employed until March 1st, I could hike the trail with severance, or without.  The decision was made at this point, I was going on my hike.  It was a relief to some extent.

Over the next two months, I prepared for the trail.  I purchased a lot of food for the resupply boxes.  I began packing my resupply boxes (and ultimately finished them last Sunday, YAY!)  I finished up my gear purchases (you gotta love Christmas for asking for gear from family!)  It was a rather productive time.  After the holidays, the close of the deal looked good, however there was little information in the way of layoffs.  And if there were layoffs, who would be included.  (I have never wanted to get laid off so bad in my life!!!!!)

Along with this uncertainty, I began to waver a lot about our own financial health.  Is leaving a company I have worked for, for 9 years, prudent?  Is this really the best time to be doing this?  About 60% of the time, the answer was a resounding “NO”.  Even after seeing everything on paper, and knowing, financially, we would be fine, I had huge doubts.

In mid December, I had a bit of a break down.  Fortunately, I married Superman and he was able to help me put my psyche back together.  In January, the mounting tension caused a rather heated conversation in which I basically told him, “I didn’t want to do the trail.”

Through it all, I managed to hang on to the goal of doing the trail.  In early February, the sale of the company was complete, and the new owners took over.  We were all informed there would be layoffs, however we were not told when or to what extent.  Once again, doubt enters.

On February 11th, the layoffs occurred and roughly 50% of the workforce at my company was let go.  I was included in the reduction.  Severance was exactly what I expected it to be.  While I was happy to get a severance package, there was a lot of emotional baggage I hadn’t expected.  I was leaving a career at a really good company I had worked at for 9 years.  Many of my coworkers are friends.  And on top of it all I felt really bad for those who didn’t have the insight into what I had known for the previous 2 years.

I honestly thought I would be overjoyed.  With severance, the financial uncertainty disappears.  Today marks a week since I got laid off, but I cant help but feel a bit of a void.  It’s really, really strange not having a set schedule.  I know this is adjustment period, and in 3 weeks time, I will certainly have a set schedule.  Hike, eat, sleep, repeat.

I have been asked by many people if I’m REALLY excited.  My answer to this point has been, “Not yet”.  The excitement will come, I believe.  I am looking forward to the adventure, but I still have a bit of mourning to do in the meantime.  Its been a long, challenging road to get to here.  A lot of the ramifications of which I hadn’t considered.

When I started this post, I thought it was going to be one of happiness (yay I was given money NOT to come back to work), but as I have often found when I write, the way I really feel comes out.

On a more positive note, I was in Vegas for the last couple of days, and on the way home to San Diego, we crossed over the PCT in the Cajon pass.  And as has been the routine for the last year, whenever we cross over the PCT via a highway, we must stop and look.

We exited the 15 and using Halfmile’s maps found where the PCT goes under the 15 freeway.  We walked both east and west on the trail a bit.  Crossing under the 15 while 5 o’clock traffic motored over head was a boost.  Even with 8 lanes of traffic overhead, I could feel the serenity of the trail.  It’s a rather surreal feeling.