First Post

I thought it was about time for the first post.

Even though the walking doesn't start for another three weeks the journey feels like it started when I left Colorado.  Tiffany and I made our way West via several ski resorts in Montana and Idaho.  In Montana we got hassled by a real estate agent who offered us money to move out of the crowded bar at the Brewery so he could have our table.  In Idaho I got the flu after a day of skiing and spent the whole night swapping ends on the toilet.  Nasty Nasty!!  On the trip I also had my first ever tire blow out.  That sucked, but luckily I had everything to change the spare tire, get a new one, and continue on my way!

Now back in Oregon I have been busy visiting friends and family and playing!  There has been some training for the hike, but it wasn't until this week that I met up with Tiffany half way through the State for a real training hike.  We loaded our packs with weight and hiked through the forest park near Oregon State University.  Afterward we made a stop by Suds & Suds to find our name plates from accomplishing the around the world beer tour in college.  Ah, good times.  The following day we headed to Silver Falls State park to complete a back to back trip.  We took a rainy walk to all the falls with our loaded packs.  We got some great looks in the tourist areas!

Aside from all the fun, we have been hitting the grindstone pretty hard with our planning.  Well, kind of hard, and maybe it was a little fun... Some resupply stops are too far away from stores so we have to plan ahead to have boxes of food and other supplies mailed.  This seems simple at first, then daunting to think about all the food you need, then you wonder why you eat so much.  It is a lot of food, especially when you are trying to get 2,500 to 3,000 calories per day per person.  That can be a lot of food!  Although I must say calorie shopping is much more fun when you are aiming for lots of calories per weight.

We have hemmed and hawed (if those are the correct spellings) about items to include and items to exclude from our packs.  What should we take for the desert, what should we swap out once we hit the Sierras?  Almost seems like too much thinking when we have both backpacked so many times.  I am sure we'll change it up after we are a week or so into the hike.

One item we will be bringing on this trip which neither of us has used before is the food pouch cozy.  This allows for you to keep your food warmer longer, and cook those foods that you wouldn't normally want to have because they take too long to cook.  We also made a pot cozy, but opted leave this in the extra gear box as we think most of our cooking will be in the just add water bags.

I am not sure if I will get around to weighing all gear and posting a lovely spreadsheet like Tiffany, but I will try just for comparison and for those who might be curious about what I am taking.  I am more curious to find out what gets thrown out of my bag and what the spreadsheet looks like after the hike!

For those of you who have asked for and are waiting for the itinerary, it should be out in a week or so.  Tiffany and I just had our last food and resupply discussion and think we have it all figured out.  Although, I am sure all planning will be out the window after day 3, maybe 5, and we'll have to adjust on the trail.

Happy Trails,
K