Date: 2006-09-04
To: Prep #47--17.5 Miles Baby!!!
Miles today: 0.0

Woo Hooooooooo!! I did it! I went on my first overnight shakedown hike, and hiked further than I've hiked in a 2-day period..ever!! The trail is 17.5 miles total, but if you count the 2 times I got lost (hee hee) I probably went closer to 18.5 miles...so here's what I learned:Stats for these 2 daysLow in the 50's, high in the 70's, no rain (lucky me), went 10 miles on day 1 and 7.5 on day two. Started hiking at 11:15 a.m. on Sat. and FINALLY got to camp at 4:40 p.m. w/about 4 breaks in between. Starting hiking at 10:40 a.m. on day 2 and finished at 3:00 p.m. w/about 4 breaks. I figured I averaged about 2 mph, and my beginning pack weight was 27 lbs w/2 days food.My Gear:--I am now calling my Therm-a-Rest my Therm-a-Rock. This was the ONLY thing about my gear that was horrible....I didn't sleep because my back and hips were killing me and I had to keep turning from side to back to other side to back to..... I'm going to find out if it's normal to go through an adjustment period and after a few days the body adjusts to sleeping on a .625" "pad", or if I need to find something else w/more padding. Whew...after very long day of hiking, I was not happy about the lack of sleep, but I made it despite this minor set-back. It also could have been due to the gun shot and fireworks someone was setting off in the area...but that finally stopped at 10:00 p.m. --My ULA Cataylst was awesome. I think I may have figured out the strap issue, but will go on a few more hikes to confirm. I've got until November (when Brian gets back) anyways, and think I'll try to fit in a few more of these 2 day hikes. After breaks, I'd slip it back on and it started feeling like it fit me like a glove. --LOVED LOVED LOVED my Hubba tent. It has enough room inside for me to store extra clothing so if I wake up hot/cold, then I can just sit up and change...no digging around outside in my pack (which was stored under the vestibule protected from any rain). --Stayed toasty warm/got hot in my Western Mountaineering 20-degree bag. REALLY glad I bought this one w/a full zip, because I unzipped the bottom and stuck my feet out...aaahhhhhh...mucho...bettero. --My trekking poles are now my best friends. They really helped me towards the end of day 1, when I was convinced that there was no campsite! --Trailrunners....still ZERO blisters! I had one spot starting to get "hot", but I put a band-aid on it for day 2 and came home w/zero blisters! I do think I need arch supports though.   This is just the gear that stood out to me. Everything worked great and I'm really pleased w/everything I've purchased. I also really loved my 6 Liter Platy water tank. Got water one time and had plenty for cooking/washing up/eating/full water for next day/hydrating in the evening. I even poured a little out. Myself:--My feet...well...they were calling me names that I've never heard come out of even a truck driver's mouth! They hurt...really bad. I'm getting some arch supports first and I'm trying an exercise a massage therapist told me about. I bought some golf balls and she told me to roll my feet on it, and it will help stretch and strengthen the foot (not the outside so much...the inside). Wow...I ended up taking 4 Vitamin I (ibuprofen...good bye liver!!) and it still didn't stop the pain in my feet and legs. For the record, however, I've been plagued w/this "mystery" pain my entire life in my feet/legs so none of this was surprising.   --Taking breaks is something I MUST do more of. I think it would have helped my feet situation a lot. Mentally, I knew I had to get to a certain spot, no stealth camping allowed, so as I've admitted before, I'll get all wrapped up in the schedules if one presents itself. --Distance...there is NO WAY IN HE** that I'll do any more than 5-7 miles a day when I first start the AT! If I had been on the AT this weekend, I would have called it a day long before I did on my first day. I think I probably overdid it honestly, but as I said, I didn't have a choice but to get to this campsite, so good ole' fashioned stubborness prevailed and, I think the cussing helped a lot too, actually, I know it did!--Shortcuts/mental rationalization---I am proud to say that I had 3 opportunities on this hike to take a short cut, and I took none of them. That's not to say that I didn't think about it. On day 2, my already beat up feet were hurting pretty badly and I had decided to take the last shortcut (would have cut about 1.5 miles off the trip), because I didn't want to be stupid and injure myself. Well..as fate would have it, I hiked right past it (it wasn't marked) and I ended up doing the whole thing anyways. I then ended up on a road (getting lost time #2) and ended up at the little booth where you pay to get into the park. "Judy" told me I could just take the road and be done in no time, but she (knowing what I'm training for) looked at me and said, "but you're not going to do that are you? The trail is back that way..." and I turned around and went back to the trail. I was really excited when I realized that I beat my own mind and overcame some mental hardships.--Music is essential for me. I did not take my MP3 player, but WILL be taking it on future hikes. There is a certain point that your mind becomes numb to the "beauty" of the wilderness and it starts focusing on whatever is screaming loudest at the time, which were of course, my feet. I'd start singing or whistling and it would almost instantly make me feel better (or at least distract my mind) So call it an "artistic mental distraction" but the MP3 player is definitely coming. My apologies in advance for anyone who comes upon me while I'm singing "In the Still of the Night" by Whitesnake at the top of my lungs (don't you just love those 80's hair bands?)--Being stupid...which I do a lot. In the future, while training (duh...training!) I will be taking a shorter route on this trail. There is a different path which makes your first day closer to 7 miles, instead of 10. I need to keep in mind that I'm training not for my 20+ mile days on the AT, but am instead training for the beginning of it. If between now and March I can work up to 10 miles comfortably, great. If I'm only comfortable at 7, then that's great too. Ain't no point in doin' it, if you're not enjoyin'it right?I can't wait to go out and do it again. I'm thinking of trying to turn it into a 3-day hike if the park will let me, where I take the shortcut, spend the night, then go back and do the loop I bypassed the next day, spend the night, and then hike out. That would be most excellent.