Date: 2010-01-19
To: 15 pounds!?!
Miles today: 0.0

So I was doing some strength training today and man was it hard! For the last three years I have been running and strength training at the gym 3-5 days a week. Then I backpacked all summer long and got to a lean 140lbs (I¢m 5¢9¢). It was great! Then I totally became lazy over the last 4 months. First it was just b/c I was so busy with my last quarter at the University of Washington and my crazy work schedule, but now it¢s shear laziness. I figured I deserved to be utterly lazy after working so hard the last year, but it adds up quick! Since last September I¢ve put on 15 pounds!! (and that ain¢t muscle weight.) I kept putting off training thinking that I was in pretty good shape, but now I¢ve seen the light.   So tonight I packed up my spare backpack with 35lbs of old (and heavy) camping gear and took to the stairs near my apartment. I live on the water near Seattle and there is a big hill that leads up to a neighborhood called Capital Hill from my house. It¢s a couple hundred stairs up, one block over and then a couple hundred stairs down. I climbed up and back a couple time and was pooped! I guess the hiking that I have been doing on the weekend with a lighter pack isn¢t cutting it these days. Haha. Two months to ¢GO TIME¢, so it¢s time to get serious! Seriously!        As for other planning, I just received my brand new MSR Hubba Solo in the mail yesterday. It¢s nearly a pound lighter than my old tent (a Sierra Design Hyperlight) and takes up less room in my pack. Not to mention, my hyperlight sustained some damage to the seams when I camped at the base of Guadalupe Mountain,TX in a 70mph wind storm this time last year. It did fine for weekend trips in the summer this last year, but I don¢t trust it for 5-6 months on the trail. Thanks to my pops buying the Hubba for me for my graduation present, I didn¢t have to dig into my much needed trail funds.         I also sat down yesterday with my maps and 2010 Trail Companion to begin planning each day for the entirety of my trip. I¢m aware that this may be futile since my plans on trail will be changing daily, but it gives me some goals that are moderate and a tentative schedule for mail drops. I am starting the trail on March 31st, and I need to be at Katahdin no later than Sept 10th to meet my family there. It¢s going to be tight and I¢m going to have to pull some long days on the easier terrain days. I made it through the first month of trail planning and figured that I could cover nearly 400 miles the first month. Now I just need to have some high mileage months in there somewhere to make up for the slows days in the White Mountains. Sadly, I¢ll get to Damacus a couple weeks to early and I don¢t want to risk loosing the days to back track and zero there during Trail Days on May 13th-16th. I¢m also trying to avoid hitching. It makes me nervous. Maybe b/c I¢m a female and I haven¢t done it that much. But so far it seems that there are enough resupply spots close to the trail that I won¢t need to hitch. We¢ll see as planning gets further along.         I also made my reservations at the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega. It¢s a great deal compared with other options for people that are flying in from out of town and do not have friends or family to drive them to the trail. My friend David (who will be hiking the first 500 miles with me) and I will be flying into Atlanta around 2p on March 30th and taking the MARTA red line to the North Springs stop (47 minute train ride). From there, the Hiker Hostel will pick us up. The $70 each that we are paying covers pickup at North Springs, a bunk at the Hostel, shower, fuel, breakfast and a shuttle to Springer Mountain on March 31st. This compared with the UNITAXI rate of $75, plus stay in Gainesville (whatever that would cost, $45?) then whatever the UNITAXI rate to Amicola plus having to do the 8.8 mile approach¢¦.the Hiker Hostel thru-hiker special is the way to go for sure! They will also hold gear and supplies that are shipped to the hostel. This makes it a lot easier for me since I am flying out of Seattle on March 23rd to Dallas/Fort Worth to visit friends and family for a week, then flying to Atlanta. This way I do not have to worry about lugging around my gear or loosing and/or damaging it en route to the trail. Takes a big weight off my shoulders. (no pun intended) And now that the USPS offers prepaid boxes, I can ship my gear for under $15. Heck yeah!        I also ordered a couple extra memory cards for my camera. I¢m planning on just loading each of them and sending them back to Seattle for my friend to empty and send back to me. I have two 2GB cards and one 1GB card that I will be using. It kills me not to bring my big camera since I am very much into the photos from my trips, but I do not want to add the weight to my pack.         I also got a killer deal on some Merrill Chameleon Mid weight boots in the REI basement a couple weeks ago. Only $32 bucks with tax! So now I am starting with my heavy-weight, leather Lowa boots for the colder months and then moving onto the Merrills. I¢m aware though, that I may kill the Merrills in Pennsylvania, so I still need to pick up one more pair of boots to break in before I go in 2 months. I¢m waiting for my REI dividend to come in on March 1st to make that purchase.         Well, that¢s it for now on the planning front. Til¢ next time!-Beth