Pura Vida!

Arrival
Cara and I flew out of Reagan airport from DC after staying at my friend Jon's house. We had a a connecting flight in Miami that my parents joined us on out of Nashville. Together we all flew into San Jose Costa Rica and waited for a bit for Cara's parents to join us. We headed over to the rental car place and learned that the quoted price was off by half. There was mandatory insurance that more than doubled the expense of the cars. We decided to reduce the cost a bit by getting 2 economy cars rather than the SUV we were originally going to use. The car with my name on it was a POS! Things literally hanging off the car.
All hungry, and a bit mad at the rental process, we stopped at a place right down the road for a bite to eat. It was typical Costa Rician food, though not a very good rendition of it. After getting confused with Colones we figured out the bill and headed out of the Central Valley.
Costa Rican drivers are, to an American, completely insane. The pass without qualm. They merge with no blinker. They beep to thank you. And they don't get mad. There's no anger or short temperedness. People aren't yelling out windows or flippin the bird. They just GO! I felt harried and frazzled not being used to it. My dad was getting angry and driving a bit aggressively in response to their style of driving. After a few turns we got on a toll road and made good time out of the mountains. We stopped at a Fruiteria and got some awesome mangos, a red fruit with a spiky exterior, and some pina. On the journey to the house we missed the turn to get the key, turned around and found the place, we eventually made it successfully to the house, tired worn and ready to be out of the car!
The house is fantastic. There is an infinity pool in the back, a very large open living space, small - but well stocked - kitchen, 3 master suites, and a (unused by us) computer room. Cara and I got the up-stairs suite, as we didn't mind running up and down the stairs.
Jim, dad, and I went across the street to get some bottled water and beer in Esterillos Oeste. We found the grocery store after being unsure if the dirt road in lead to anything.
Saturday
We woke to no water in the house. This became an on going issue, though it really hardly bothered me at all. An afternoon dip in the pool and pool water to flush was all we needed. I won't continue with daily updates on this. Apparently one family living here blamed the cows escaping from the next property over on stomping the water line. The property operators said it was more likely a recent earth quake. Either way they had to dig up the street, find the leak, refill our cistern. We had water back on on Thursday, our Costa Rician 'camping' expirience.
We didn't have a plan for the day to begin with, so we decided to go to the closest big town araound - Jaco. Also billed as one of the premier tourist towns in the country. We parked on a dirty busy road, and walked around town. There is a Red Lobster as well as some other American chain restaurants. After we all exchanged money into Colones we walked down to a dirty beach and ended up at a highly recommended Soda - Soda Flor. I enjoyed my plain meal, but the others were not terribly impressed. It didn't help that the loud music blaring was throwing a discordant vibe into the meal.
We went next door and picked up some grocery supplies. All of us hated Jaco and were quite ready to get out. We traveled back south towards Esterillo and stopped at an ocien view over-looking Jaco. The distance made the town prettier. We also checked out some macaws hanging out in the trees above us. We pulled into the beach of Esterillo and walked the beach. My dad knew there was a Geocache up the beach and we went beyond the giant mermaid statue in the surf to find my dads first international cache! He was very excited to leave some travel bugs and take some too. After the cache we stopped and had a beer at Lowtide Bar, run by some Americans.
We heard there was a man named Rafa: Father of the Monkeys that was supposed to take people on a boat ride to Damas Island, a mangrove studded peninsula. Cara called Rafa and he is a VERY odd guy on the phone, messing with Cara and giving her the run around, but in a friendly, though obstinent way. We reserved 6 spots for 8:30am the next morning.
Sunday
My parents went to Sunday Mass in Esterillos Oeste as Janet, Jim, Cara, and I went in search of the Father of the Monkeys. We were to meet him at a gas station almost an hour south, just north of Quepos. Rafa was waiting. He sent us across the street to get some coffee from a place called Rancho Leon, we were so impressed with the people and the nice setup we decided we would come back for lunch.
All others of the group had since arrived, so we followed Rafa to the boat launch, just down a gravel road just up from the gas station. We all climbed into a flat bottomed boat and set off up the estuary. We saw many birds around, on the shores and flying about. Once we got close to one particular shoreline Rafa started yelling 'Come on babies!!' As well as some stuff in Spanish. Not seeing the monkeys he turned into a narrow track up into the mangroves. On our way I saw several 'Jesus lizards', known for their ability to run across water. Towards the end of the waterway the troop made itself apparent in the tree tops. We were excited to catch a glimpse of the monkeys. Little did we know that they would soon get woed to clamber onto and into the boat. One licked banana from Janet's hand.
The monkeys were fantastically cute and well mannered. They came and said HI and grabbed a few bananas. One monkey urinated on his tail and twirled his tail, getting pee on me - symian pee is a first! After awhile we motored around the mangroves some more, spying a baby crocidile on a mangrove root. After an enjoyable few hours, Rafa brought us back to the cars.
We went to Rancho Leon and had a great lunch before heading back to the house and arriving at the same time they did after church concluded.
After a few hours we went and had dinner by the ocean at Esterillos Este in a resort called Del Mar.
Monday
We woke with the plan to first go to Rainmaker, a hiking trail with swinging bridges, and then going to Manuel Antonio afterwards. Rainmaker was a very nice walk, about 2.5 miles, much of the time up in the tree tops walking on cable bridges suspended between trunks. the place didn't have too many people there and we enjoyed an unhurried pace through the Preserve. The cable walkways were sometimes 100's of feet in the air, swinging gently as you crossed. They did a good job though, enclosing the bridges so those with a fear of heights weren't put off by the extreme height. We saw a couple poison dart frogs, beautifully colored green and black, we saw leaf cutter ants carrying their treasures along little ant highways, and lots of lizards. I jumped in a swimming hole below a waterfalls at the end of the hike, refreshing!
Manuel Antonio is closed on Mondays, which we hadn't put into our planning, so instead we walked the town and shopped around, though we bought nothing but a coconut for it's milk.
Since we'd eaten out twice the day before, we decided to get some more groceries at the Maxi Pali, owned by Walmart.
Tuesday
We got a late start, not really knowing what to do next, and not knowing what everyone else might want to do. I decided that we could go north to Carara National Park and check that out. This was our only other excursion, besides the first day to Jaco, that we went north from the house - everything is south and everything keeps getting better the more south you go.
We first stopped right before the Rio Terrcoles bridge, since we heard crocidiles liked to gather there. We parked across from a policia checkpoint and walked along a narrow concrete strip onto the bridge. Traffic zoomed by a few feet away. Occasionally sections of the bridge had bent or broken railings. Half way across I could see a log that may have been a croc. As we got closer I saw it was indeed a croc. Surrounded by 1 or 2 buddies. During a lull in traffic we crossed to the otherside and were amazed by the crocidiles sun drying on the sand bar on that side. The size of these dudes was amazing. I have never seen them this big. A few probably reaching beyond 15 feet in length. There are pictures, but I doubt they will do justice to these massive beasts!
After crossing the bridge completely we found several little shops selling the same trinkets as was in Man.Ant. the day before; it's like they all use the same supplier to get their wares! Same carved frogs, same wood place mats, same art work. All of it is not even made in CR. I kept looking for something unique, but hadn't stuck upon it yet.
We walked back across the bridge and got back in the cars and headed south a couple kms to the Carara park visitor center. The park isn't too impressive, though they told us about a boat tour to feed the crocs - I was the only one that thought that could be fun! - and about a few km long hike through the forest. Being really hot out we all consensused to not go for a hike, but keep that in mind for future activity. We never came back, and I reckon we didn't miss too much.
We drove south a ways from Carara to Playa Herradura and Los Suenos resort. From what I had read the resort changed the coast line in the area and was the premier resort in the country, costing $40 million to make. It was exactly as I expected, almost like a little pool of the US abroad. Golf course, sweeping palm lined cobble streets, fake waterfalls rushing down faux-cliffs, every blade of grass manicured. We wound our way through this opulence to the marina with public parking and shopping. The shopping area was an open air mall with a few restaurants and not really all that much to see. We strolled along, taking our time to kill some time and finally after quickly exhausting the area decided on a late lunch at the Italian food restaurant. I got more Costa Rician 'typical' food.
After eating we drove around to Playa Herradura proper outside of the resort. Many locals gathered here, and it felt much more real the the contrived falsness of the resort. Jim, Janet, Cara, and I decided to walk down the beach to see if we could get on to an island. My parents decided to drive on and see some other stuff on their own. We walked along way down this gray-sanded beach (much cleaner than Jaco) but didn't make it to the island before reaching some to slippery to cross rocks so we headed back. From here we drove south some more to Playa Hermosa, and its black sand beach. We parked at a hotel and walked through pool side to the beach, much more relaxed here, no guards no gates. We watched some kids surfing as the sunset behind a bank of clouds throwing out one last brilliant shard of light.
Wednesday
We got up very early to hit Manuel Antonio before the day got too hot or the park too crowded. We parked at the cul-de-sac at the end and a guide we spoke to on Monday became our guide for the park. At first we were leery of whether or not we would need a guide. Cara and I were leaning towards not needing one. It turned out to be good to have one, as Henry carried a high-powered telescope on a tri-pod, and he had the eyes of long practice to see many sloths of 2 varieties, frogs, beehives, crabs, 3 kinds of monkeys, coati, toucan,and even a black squirrel. We would have walked right by a lot of these critters or, had we seen them, it would have been a distant and unclear view. This park is dripping with animals! And the beaches are over the top amazing! Most places had very rough surf and gray or black sand. This beach had white sand backed by turquois water and very gentle wave action. At the end of the tour the girls decided to sit on the beach, Jim decided to head back to the car, and my dad and I do an extra hike around Cathedral Point. My dads motivation a cache, mine the joy of walking! There were good views, and not too many people, after almost an hour of walking through Primary forest we made it to the end of a loop with one lone monkey taking a nap right over our heads.
We headed back down one last long beach to a shallow driver crossing of no more than 6 inches, there were several boats ferrying people across for a few Colones, but we just waded. If there is a way to make money here, even the smallest unexploited nitch, people step up to do it! Industrious people.
On our way out towards Quepos we stopped at a restaurant that had a large airplane as its center piece with a bar inside of it. Cara Janet and I walked up to a small art store and browsed while the others looked at the great view and sipped on some Cokes. we ordered appitizers once back, the calimari was so good, best I've ever had!
We got back in the cars with the destination of Dominical, somewhere south of us. We'd heard it was a nice little town but we didn't take that to heart as much as we should've. Of all the places around I liked Dominical the best. The town parallels the main road on a dusty gravel lane. To the right the ocean waves pond the shore. The scene of the town was great. Everyone was friendly, the town quaint but with enough to make it interesting. The art was good, Cara bought a mask. We spoke to several Americans that had setup shop in town, this is where the hippies come to play. The coffee shop and yoga place were run by roommates, the information desk was operated by an American girl that spoke fluent Spanish. Down on the beach a hippy grass market, selling all the typical tourist trinkets, was setup. Hostels abounded in the town. If I were to come back to CR to do some hosteling, this is the destination!
Before leaving, the chick at the info center called Rafa for my parents and he gave her the same run around as he had to Cara this time to someone speaking his language! Too funny.
Thursday
My parents went down to see Rafa. We set out shortly after to see some things before meeting them for lunch at Rancho Leon. First we drove to Playa Payo Seco just south of Parrita and found it to be a highly of the beaten path stretch of beach mostly known of by the locals. We saw nothing worth stopping for so drove as far as we could and headed back to the main drag. Being Holy Week and a national holiday most businesses were closed up tight, but there were a couple places opened in Quepos, one being an art gallery with lots of original local paintings. I found 3 to bring home! One, mostly green, jungle and mountain scene that I just loved, and 2 small very colorful ones that I think work well as a set that Cara also enjoyed. Jim and Janet purchased a nice oil painting as well. We setup a zip line for Saturday as well.
After meeting my parents for lunch we cam back to Si Como No (sure, why not) a hotel, resort, restaurant, and tour booking agency. There was one little blurb in Lonely Planet about an eco-tour in a mountain range close by. It sounded interesting to me as it was off the coast, and so probably much differnt than other things we had been doing. Everyone else seemed open to it, so we wanted to check out pricing and package deals. Si Como No is the most beautiful hotel I've seen here. Perched high on a ridge over looking Man.Ant. and the Pacific it is placed steeply on a hill so all the accomodations are up and down winding stairs. The architecture is fantastic as was the breeze. In addition to the place itself being fantastic, the package deals were good too. If we went and did the Santa Juana villiage to do hiking, horse back riding, waterfall swimming, fishing, and eating local food we could package it with a zip line course on our way for deep discounts. We decided to do this and paid up right then. My parents decided to opt out of the zip line course, but do the rest.
I should say, Rafa worked some magic on my parents. They were giddy with the joy of playing with monkeys. One perched on my moms head for a photo. But I bet she wasn't lucky enough to get peed on!
After booking at Si Como No we stopped at a place called La Hacienda, a restaurant we heard was good, and there was another art gallery there. We didn't go in the reataurant but when we got there we saw a couple squirrel monkeys crossing a rope above the road. I heard tittering coming from the back of the place and peeked through to see many moneys climbing in the trees. We all went back there and a guy handed out a few bananas and the monkeys with babies on their backs came down and mobbed us and robbed us of our fruit!
We headed back to the house for an early evening since we had to set alarms for 5am the next day to make the tour at Si Como No.
Friday
We arrived with plenty of time before our guide, Amelio, showed up to take us on the tour. We climbed into a 4x4 and headed into the palm oil plantation. The dirt road was good condition and fairly smooth, crossing over several very sketchy bridges until we came to some river fords that the bridges had washed out. The road became rougher as we got past the palms and into the foot hills. Soon enough we came to the zip line tour. There was also a butterfly garden there to occupy my parents as we zipped through the forest. We did one very short zip across a stream and then we did a walk uphill to where the course actually began. The guides pointed out cinnamion and other spices, as well as different types of trees, such as the walking palm - a descendent of the Ents.
The zip line course was a lot of fun and I always felt safe. The guides always made sure we were clipped in at least one place before pushing us down the line. The tarzan swing and the rappels were the most adreniline pumping to me, the zips were great but I just enjoyed them, didn't get my heart pumping quite as hard. We were many stories up, traipsing among the tree tops. The good natured guides showed us a great time.
Once back to the beginning we climbed back into the back of a pickup truck and started going up into the mountains, there were no longer foothills! At one point we were stopped by a Catholic procession doing the stations of the cross. Soon enough we reached the sugar cane mill and we stopped to watch how the locals used oxen to mill the cane. We also got to chew on cane and drink the freshly milled product. Next we went for a 45 min hike down through the forest seeing bats and lizards and learning about many of the folk remedies of the local flora. At the end of the hike we came to a waterfall and swimming hole. Cara, Jim, and I jumped of the 21 foot high ledge into the pool. Bad-ass Janet had to show us up by jumping off the 45 ft ledge! This was something on her bucket list she got to check off though! She's braver than I!
After we swam around for a bit the 6 of us plus the 2 guides walked over to a tilapia fishing pond and tried our hand at hooking one. Jim got one quickly. And I kept feeding the fish with my bait, but not snagging one!
Next we got on horses. Storm clouds seemed to be gathering just over the mountains and the guide was pushing us to get done, I think. We got done and saw no rain though. The horses carried us up a very long and steep hill to the actual villiage of Santa Juana near the peak of a mountain with a panoramic view of the ocean the mountains and Manuel Antonio. We had the best typical Costa Rician food yet. And drank (and bought) coffee that was grown in the garden around us. A spectacular finish to an awesome tour. This was THE highlight of the trip. A completely wonderful time in the mountains of C.R. We made it back to the house a few hours later weary and sore, but no worse the wear; everyone was happy with the day.
Saturday
My parents left, as their flight was leaving at 1pm. Traffic was supposed to be bad between the coast and San Jose, even worse for us the next day. We planned on leaving even earlier.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail is Selfish

Musings
Most times when I go camping I have gone with others. Either as a group or with one or two others. I definitely enjoy the smaller the group. I plan accordingly, the larger the group the less miles the more waiting around pointlessly (from my POV, to them not pointless!). I am really looking forward to hiking solo. I want to wake when I want to wake, start hiking early and go until I want to stop. I think I will get more miles and push myself further and at a more appropriate speed.
Despite this I am so looking forward for friends to come and visit and hike with me. Jimmy is meeting me and hiking with me for 8 days through the Smokies. Dan is meeting me during the second week of May to hike for a couple weeks through Greyson Highlands in Southern Virginia. At that point I will be within range for Cara to come visit and hike on some weekends (most I hope!!). Even further along, Anthony will hopefully join me along the Blue Ridge or in Shenandoah for a few days. Then I expect Jim to come out for a weekend or two in Northern VA, MD, and Southern PA.
I will often have people come see me - with plenty of alone time in between. This way I can throttle my hike. Hike early and long while I'm alone and have a much more relaxed pace when I get visited.

One really slow guy would try and get in front of everyone after every break and then not move over to let you pass

Back to the group mentality - I hear a lot of people becoming part of a group when on the Trail and beginning to hike with people. I have no intention of this. I like interacting with groups, and I hope to see the same people night after night at the shelter area, and even passing or being passed by the same characters. But I won't come to depend on others. I feel like this limits me and compromises my ability to make my own decisions and Hike My Own Hike. When part of a group, I put the group first, meaning the slowest and most in pain. That is my nature. If I'm committed to the group, then everyone is important within that group. This is good for many situations, but that is not the point of this trip. I am hiking the Appalachian Trail for myself. I've already come to the conclusion the the AT is a very selfish endeavor. It is the ultimate 'doing for oneself' and ignoring the exact wishes of loved ones. I have a T-shirt that says it all: 'It's All About ME' (ME is inside the state of Maine and the postal abbreviation of the state). I have been selfish before, but in a defeating way. I have, for several years now, turned that around and been positive, but I also had this underlying want to do something completely for myself in a good way. And I love Cara so much for being able to support me in this. I can't wait to support her in whatever selfishness 'for her only' thing comes upon her during her life! All that being said, I don't want to be apart of a group that limits me, or makes me do for someone other than myself. (I will help a hiker in need if I come upon one. I will give food, moral support, or even carry their pack... to the nearest road!)

When my friends come out and visit I will be catering to them, because I want to share this adventure with them. I want to share my love of nature and the outdoors. And I will NEED the support and promise of seeing people I care about out there. I will be looking for other people to build relationships with while out there as well. I will be open to making life-long friends. I want to care, and already do, about people that are out there already, even if they don't know it. I'm rooting for these people I may never meet to win thru!

Small groups with good people are VERY fun!

Group dynamics are an odd thing as well. I often sit back and observe, and participate, but I normally try to be on the outskirts of a group with interaction with one or two people. Even while leading I do this. When groups divide and sides are taken I try to stay aloof, I do not want the drama. Some people crave drama as they crave the air they breathe! These people will create drama where there should be none. This class of people aren't bad people, they don't even know or realize that they do this intentionally and seemingly maliciously. I have seen it time and time again. Especially in the backpacking Meetup group. I figure even socially awkward people want to be part of groups, but for whatever reason, push people away. They go to these Meetups, and clash with other people that might be hard to be around, just like them. The Appalachian Trail is a very much solitary adventure. I perceive that those hikers able to hike and sleep alone do better and have a better chance of winning. I have read and seen some people on the Facebook AT page already get off because they can't be alone. One, D~, went with several people and the group split up the first day of the Trail - obviously the dynamic was discordant. D~ immediately attached herself to another guy that turned out to be nice and pack her pack and forget to put her cookset in it. Of course this was his fault so she said some mean things about him and ditched him. And immediately attached herself, post-haste, to yet another person. She gets lost going pee in the middle of the night and, according to her, would've wandered to her doom had it not been for her new friend. Soon after she quits the Trail. Promising to herself, and to anyone who will listen, that she will be back next year with a friend that will stick with her. I would like to see a study done on those that hike, an 'entrance poll' and a 'exit poll' of some kind, that asks some questions to get to the center of a hiker psychological profile. I feel the self-reliant are much much more likely to climb the other end, and the needy drop quicker than a ripe apple on a windy autumn day! This of course excludes injury, family, or monetary issues that can face any hiker on the Trail.

One guys' blog has him gushing. "I love it" "I hiked further than I thought" "This is awesome" That is the mentality to have, and the reason to be out there. Because the Appalachian Trail is such a selfish endeavor you shouldn't bother to be out there if you aren't loving most of it! Be selfish, don't be out there for anyone but yourself. On a hard day, use the disappointment others will feel in you to stay out there; ultimately that shouldn't be the deciding factor of staying out there, just a reason to follow the "Rules of Quitting"

Rules of Quitting:

1. Never quit on a gray day
2. Never quit on a rainy day
3. Never quit on a very hot day
4. Never quit until you have that same decisive feeling for seven days in a row
5. Never quit in town!
6. Take a couple zeroes, eat lots of calories
7. Hike a few 5-mile days and see if that makes a difference
8. Your over-active brain is not always your friend on the trail
9. Never quit because people are passing you
10. Never judge any one else's decision to quit or hike on

- Borrowed from a former Thru Hiker

I will miss this

Time grows short until I quit talking about it and start doing it!!

And this

Gear in Review - Clothing

The List
Packa
REI shorts
REI Convertible pants
North Face synthetic T shirt
Minus 33 T-shirt
Stoic Base Layer
Synthetic Boxer briefs
3 pairs of wool socks
2 pairs of sock liners
bandana

REI Down vest*

Long Underwear*
Turtle Fur knit hat*
Fingerless Mitten gloves*
Ear/Neck thingie*

Cold weather gear

The Story
I have expounded on the virtues of the Packa before. And I will do so again! This piece of gear will be used daily as a pack cover on the (hopefully occasional) rainy day it will also be my rain gear. In camp it can either be strung up like a tarp or sat on to keep me bum dry. I found the Packa at Trail Days and Cara bought me the gear for Christmas and it looks as if it lives up to the (self generated) hype. Now all I gotta do is actually get the chance to use it! Cedar Tree, the thru hiker that invented and sells the Packa, gives it a warranty of 2000 miles, and from everything I've heard stands behind his product 100%. Not only do I like the idea of supporting a small shop and a former thru hiker, the product itself is is totally a great idea. Every feature a rain coat has it has, every feature a poncho has it has, every feature a pack cover has it has - except it has none of the draw-backs of any of those products!

I will be starting in early April. The day rushes toward me! From all I have heard, people starting in late March into early April can expect cold weather and at least the possibility of snow until they hit Damascus, VA, north of the Smokies. If my schedule holds true I will be passing thru Damascus during the second week of May. I have plans to send home the items followed by an asterisk when I hit town. The climb up Mount Rogers should be easy breezy!

Warm weather Gear

Much clothing will be sent home when it warms up. I will be keeping a long sleeve shirt for the occasional chilly night and to change into while I wash my other clothing. Same with the pants (that can also be shorts). A change of clothes will be nice, and they are light. Also, having relatively clean camp clothing will be important, as well as having something to wear while washing my clothing is important.

I will be playing around with this the next few days to see how it fits into my pack, But this is generally what I take winter camping. I have been warm (or hot while hiking) with this gear into the teens. I may also trade out the sleeping bag once I hit Virginia, but that is covered in another post! I have packed what I want and left what I don't think I'll need. The dry compression sack with the clothes is smaller than a soccer ball and includes the chamois cloth that will serve as my towel. I left out from that the clothing on my back and a couple layers that I will be wearing or putting at the top of the pack for quick retrieval.

I have seen people wear hiking kilts, and some ultra-lighters with only the clothes on their backs. Then my brother says he would wear jeans because that's what he wears every day anyway, so why change it up? Clothing, like most everything else, is a matter of preference. This is one of the reasons I love the Appalachian Trail, there is no right way to do it. If you walk from GA to ME who cares how heavy/light fast/slow fat/happy you are?!

What are your experiences? Do you have a hiking 'uniform' you put on?

Money money money!

It makes the world go round. It takes quite a bit of preparation and expense to hike the Appalachian Trail. When I decided I wanted to hike the Trail I arbitrarily decided that I wanted a certain amount of money as a safety net. I have not reached that goal, which was quite high, though I have a comfortable amount, I think.

Money makes the world go 'round,
Money leads hikers to town.

I have read many many many ad nauseum posts on White Blaze of someone asking how much money one needs to bring on the Trail. This is a very important question. And I can understand querying the masses.... if there weren't many easily searchable threads already pertaining to the very topic! All the threads on WhiteBlaze range from $3000 to $8000 for on-Trail expenses. And each past or future thru-hiker is very adamant and expressive as to why that is their number, mingled with the folks that remind everyone to HYOH (hike you own hike). With all that in mind I set a dollar amount, and additionally I have some rules for myself and some money saving methods I am going to try out.

If Money is the root of all evil,
then Roots in the Trail are Money.

I will reflect heavily on these pre-Trail thoughts after I'm done. I may find all these to be completely ridiculous and lackadaisically simple minded. But it's not from senselessness that I spout these opines. I have thought and re-thought and these are the logically thought-out methods I have concluded, I am hoping logic has clouded my delusions! Of course, rose-colored lenses and the romance of the Trail may have clouded my conclusions instead.

Allowance
I am doing this pre-Trail as well to get into the habit. Go to an ATM on a certain day and withdraw a certain amount, and X amount must last X days. Anything left over is a bonus for next time. If you are short, then either you get that much less next time, or just have some lean moneyless days. While driving back and forth to work it is more difficult to just have a moneyless day when the car demands fuel. On the Trail I will be allowing myself a certain amount every 2 weeks. Much of that time I will be in the woods with no one to exchange for services my hard won monies. In town's I want to limit myself the ability to splurge just for spending sake. It is very easy to swipe the card, but to have the cash in hand and see the pile dwindle makes it more real. I am looking for reality on this trip!


Tried an True Gear
The gear I have I have tried to test and use as much as possible. I also have purchased much of the gear from REI with an REI dividends credit card. REI allows you to return without question gear you can't use or don't like or begins to smell funny. While REI isn't the cheapest place in town, getting 5% back as well as being able to return anything for store credit forever saves money and space in my supply closet at home. Friends and family have been very accommodating and have really hooked me up with things I would not have otherwise thought that I could afford, such as boots, the Packa, SPOT, and good clothing. I would've "suffered" thru with more basic stuff - which would of had a chance of making me uncomfortable at the very least, or injured at the worst.

Pre-made meals
I have made all of the dinners for the entire trip in advance. I have nearly all of my lunches and breakfasts also made and ready to ship. Not only does this allow me to control my caloric intake, but I also have been able to buy in bulk and find deals on good quality highly nutritional meals. Not going into a grocery store in a small town while in the throes of the Hiker Hunger will save me money, and my meal diversity is substantial as well.
I have heard of others, including thru-hikers that are adamantly against mail-drops. Then I have also heard thru's just as loud for drops. So it is obviously a personal choice. Whether it's to spend a full day in town searching for food, re-packaging it into bags and then heading out, or my choice of hopefully grabbing what I need from the Post Office and tossing it in my bag before scooting out of town - it is a preference,  not a necessity one way or the other.

Limit sleeping indoors
I am trying to stay out of towns as much as possible. Much of the adventure is the camaraderie one finds on the Trail and in the Trail towns, I will participate to the fullest extent, but I will be sleeping in my comfortable secluded little tent 13 of 14 days. If there is a hostel on the Trail that has that magic allure I will stay. I have some mail drops scheduled for deposit at Trail hostels, and I will be staying at those places for comfort, recuperation, and of all the stories I've heard of these places. But I don't have plans to stay in hotels often! My drop stops are in towns either on the Trail or in towns that are as close as possible to the Trail. I want the ability to get places without relying on taxis, shuttles, or my thumb!

Self control
The AYCE. Once the hunger sets in, I've heard these joints are hard, neigh impossible, to pass by! My budget will cover eating meals from towns whenever I want, however I want to control my urges, and stick to my prepared meals. This goes back to staying out of town! This goes for beer too. I will definitely want to have a tall cold one from time to time! But even the cheap beers add up quick! Six later and you've spent as much as you had the past week in food.

Very Good News, indeed!
I was asked last week to write a letter of intent to the President of the company for which I work. With a bit of trepidation I wrote several paragraphs outlining why I wanted to take off for 6 months of unpaid leave. Would he understand? Would he go with my supervisors recommendation of allowing me to go? Or would this be alien to him?
I received word today that the Prez has followed my bosses advice (THANK YOU MIKE!) and he is OK with me going.
I am reassured that I will have a job when I get back, that I have not done all this planning to have a final and unassailable road-block within sight of the start date, the Day of Ascension of Springer's Approach Trail. I will not be paid to be gone, obviously, but I have enough in savings to carry me. This does give me a "finish by" date. I gave myself a full 6 months to do the Appalachian Trail, though I have every intention of doing it in a maximum of 5 months. I really needed to add some cushion into the dates so I didn't hear a ticking throughout the trip. If I am injured or there is a family emergency or whatever the case may be, I have a window that is slightly longer than I need it to be. Additionally I will be able to use my accrued leave at the beginning of the trip, about a week and a half, to give me a boost monetarily.

A Food Drop: Exposed!

An eye opening look into the seedy under-belly of Appalachian Trail hiking drop boxes!

Ok, that is a bit of an exaggeration, while it's true I'll be eating seeds, grains, and nut and they will be going into my (under)belly, and this post will force you to open your eyes, to at least glance at it quickly before your short-lived attention span skitters elsewhere. Retracted, not an exaggeration!!

The Box
I am using USPS Priority Mail boxes to ship my food and sundries to myself. Actually my awesome support crew, the woman that I love whom prefers chipmunks to squirrels and is occasionally called 'Songbird', will be doing the drop ships. Priority Mail really works out, she can just pop on line a week ahead of when i need the next box and schedule a pickup at the house. The mail courier grabs it and sends it on it's way. Very easy for her. I have the boxes preassembled for ease, including notebooks, maps, extra plastic bags, as well as food for until the next box is needed. The plan is to swoop into town, get to the post office and dump the food in my pack. If I have no plans of staying in the town, or the bounce box is further along, high tail it directly back into the woods, with maybe a stop to grab some extra grub or a hot meal.

Breakfasts of a Champion
To break each fast when I roll out of my sleeping bag in the cool morning, I will have an Oatmeal Breakfast cookie, a NutraGrain bar or other type of protein bar and nuts or a packet of MRE peanut butter. Additionally I am drying fruits to go along with this array. Finally I will be adding bagels to this as I go thru towns. Nothing is finer than Peanut butter on a bagel! I will heat up a cup of water for my coffee and drink that while I tear down camp and munch on a bagel. The rest of the food I will eat while I hike up the Trail. I have found I get hungry early and often while I hike, and my energy begins to flag if I don't have a constant something to ingest.

First Meal

Second Breakfast, Elevensies, Lunch, and Tea-time
I will have a piece of food for every hour I am hiking. I have consumed almost as much, and occasionally more, on weekend hikes. So I do not feel like I am packing too much. I may require supplements additionally beyond the heaps of food I will be toting.
Each lunch is separated in a sandwich baggie. In the mornings I will put the food for breakfast and lunch in my accessible belt pouch so there isn't stopping for eating. I find it completely OK not to break to eat. Contained in the lunch packet: Clif bar, Honey Stinger or other Protein bar, Lance Crackers, and Nature Valley Oat bar. I will also have jerky, summer sausage, and country ham - those are to add to dinners, but also snack on throughout the day. I will also buy blocks of cheese in town.
I have also tossed Slim Fast mixed with dehydrated milk to equal every-other-day in the drop boxes. I figure drinking a few hundred calorie boost when I'm feeling depleted and sick of water is good.

Not weak lunches rather a week of lunches so I don't get weak!

The Good the Bad the Cooked
Pictured below are some various meals I will be enjoying. A couple rice dishes with dried butter dried vegis and spices, some Knorr noodles with stuff added to make it better, Couscous and chicken with dried vegis, mashed potatoes+, and stuffing. Everything only requires water and heat. The rice dishes will take a bit of fore-thought if I don't want to waste 10 min of fuel. It's possible to reconstitute all of these meals with boiling water, in the bag that they are in currently. Add water and put it in an insulated pouch and wait a bit. Not shown here are some bean meals, lentils, and others that came from Harmony House. I did add Harmony House dried vegetables to nearly every meal. All the rice, couscous, and potato dishes have a huge variety of vegetables, from corn, spinach, peas, carrots, etc. Also I used fake meat from Harmony House to add some flavor to the rice as well. I tried to coordinate the spice with the appropriate meal, like dill to carrots, and chilli powder to faux-ground beef. I think I will have enough variety that hiker boxes from GA to ME aren't littered with little bags of Harmony House and rice!! Or the dreaded incognito bag of white powder!

Gear in Review - Camp Kitchen

The Skinny (which will hopefully keep me from getting skinny!)

Seven days of dinners

MSR Pocket Rocket
I have the MSR Pocket Rocket. A funny name, right? It sounds dirty, which is probably why it makes me giggle. But that's where the laughing stops. This device is light, at 3 ounces. And powerful, able to boil water in a couple minutes. The Pocket Rocket is also tiny, fitting into a small plastic case to protect it.
I have used this stove extensively, in Zion, the Cascades, all over West Virgina, Virgina, Maryland, and New York. I've used it in every season. I have been satisfied with the performance, and the cost of this equipment. There is a long list of why this is a valuable, quality stove which I won't bore you with. It boils water, it simmers with some work (hold the pot or skillet a bit off the cooking platform), the canisters last a good amount of time.

The Good
Weight
Size
Name
Burn time
Price

I have some issues with the MSR Pocket Rocket though. The 3-pronged pot base is decently stable, but I am always aware of how I must be fairly exacting on placing the pot on the Pocket Rocket and with two cups of water watching it sway a little bit.
Also I had the great idea of putting a wind screen like a sleeve around the entire device and canister, as the wind has a huge, huge effect on the efficiency of this equipment. I did some research and found that what I was thinking about doesn't allow heat to escape and could make the canister explode, if I want a wind-screen I will be using my body, a shelter or a sleeping pad. I could probably engineer some tin-foil around just the cooking portion to keep the wind from effecting it too much.

The Not as Good
Stability
Lack of Wind-screen

The bottom line is that I will happily use this stove over the competition from ease of use, fuel type, weight and cost.

Cooking Food
For this next section I will be describing how I get food from course hard dry rice, to moist plump and delicious!
I will be posting soon a dissection of a food drop. To give you a taste I need to describe the types of food that I will be cooking. In the mornings I only have coffee water to heat up, the meals are breakfast cookies and bars, nuts, and dried fruit. Lunch is protein bars and shakes. Dinners will all be cooked, however all of the meals will not require dirtying a single dish. That's right, 6 months with no dishes! I will be using an Insulated Food Cozy. I found the product at Trail Days a couple years ago and I have tried it out every camping trip since. You have a freezer bag with your food in it. You boil water. You pour the water into the ziploc bag, stir, and place the bag inside of the Cozy, fold over the top and put it aside. Now, if you play the Harmonica, it is the time to play that instrument for 7 to 10 minutes. Viola! Your food is now tender enough to eat directly out of the freezer bag. How many dishes do you have to clean? None. Best idea ever.
So what will I do with rice? That method would leave it hard still. For this I will pour 1/2 the water I'm going to use into the bag at lunch time. The other half of the water I will follow the above steps. This method reduces my need for a cook set to a single metal mug that I can use for multiple purposes. Coffee in the morning, dinner in the evening. The entire cook set is a stove, a mug, a spork, and an insulated pouch.


Other Ingestion Related Gear

Steripen Adventurer + funnel pre-filter
 The Story
What's small, light, easy to operate, and leaves no taste. If you said a Smart car, you're wrong. The Steripen is it, I tested it out in the Cascades in Washington. Granted that was water almost directly from glaciers, so it really didn't need to be treated most likely. Still it was easy to use. My only complaint is that is should have a small piece of rope, like a camera has, to put around your wrist. That way when you drop it, it doesn't sink to the bottom of your bottle.
The pre-filter removes particulates like leaf matter, water spiders, very small rocks, and churches (now read the last two in a British accent). Of course neither remove the taste of the water, so if you are getting water from a stagnant pond, it will still taste like frog slime. Then again, I know from personal experience that iodine tablets don't remove that flavor either!
 
Nalgen bottles
The Story
I have a water bladder, but I found that they are not for me. They are a pain to fill up, I have an irrational fear that I will poke a hole in it. And I have never actually gotten it to fit in my pack with my gear in the appropriate pouch, to refill it one must remove everything from the pack. Instead it ends up getting put under the top flap. Half the time the hose gets crinkled and I must take off the pack to get water anyway.  A bottle is multi-use, easy to fill, easy to purify, indestructible, easy to clean after filling with wine, and cheap!

SeatoSummit folding bucket
The Story
A bucket is always useful, when the water source is far away, easier to let crap settle to fill the water bottles, a good way to let water warm up in the sun before taking bath. It is light-weight and has all kind of LNT principles as a reminder.

Gear in Review - Sleep System

UPDATE: After spending 5 months in a tent, I've updated this review here: Sleep System - UPDATE

Mountain Hardwear Sprite 1
Specs
3 lbs. 6 oz.
18 square feet

The Story
I have covered this in the blog previously. But to re-iterate:
I got a bivy for the Trail. I tested it several times and I found it to be unusably hot in the summer time. OK in the winter time. And worthless in the rain. Also cramped, not incredibly light. and I could feel a mouse running across my legs all night through the bivy. All in all, just terrible.
I switched out the bivy for a Mountain Hardwear Sprite 1 and I have been completely satisfied. I have used the tent in the canyons of Utah, the mountains of the Cascades, and for over a year on the East Coast. I find the tent roomy enough for me and my gear, including my boots and pack. I have enough room to sit up. Legolas even has a place to swing and cast light on me if I decide to stay up and write. Easy to setup and take down. I have yet to be in a deluge, if it leaks like a sieve I will be complaining about it!

Big Agnes Grouse Mountain Down Sleeping Bag
Specs
3 lbs
good to 15 degrees
Ground pad sleeve

The Story
I have never owned a down bag. After hearing horror stories of wet down I shied away from down. I have had synthetic bags all my life and have always had good luck with them. I have a 40 degree LL Bean bag that I have had for years, and might be switching out to when it gets very warm this summer. I needed a general purpose bag, something that would bridge the gap between too cold and hot out. After researching and weighting my options I found that Big Agnes is a really good brand. Accolades from customers, and the design features including no insulation where it's a waste, a pillow sack inside the bag, the sleeve for the ground cloth were all determining factors. The last, and most important factor: dividends from my REI credit card! I normally would never link a credit card, but if you do online bill pay, buy things from Amazon, buy things from REI, why wouldn't you use this to your advantage? I pay down my credit card month to month so there is no interest or fees. I travel for work, buy a lot of gas, and I have been buying many things from Amazon to prepare for this trip. I have gained a lot of "free" money from these rewards. I have tried to do this so I am using the system to as much of my advantage as possible.
Bottom line. Good bag. Expensive, but the right price for me (free)!

Stoic LTWT Step Sleeping Pad
Specs
1 lb 7oz

The Story
Not much of a story here. I had a closed cell foam ground pad for the winter months to use in conjunction with a 3/4 ThermaRest that I used by itself in the summer months. Together those 2 work great. I chanced upon the Stoic on Steep and Cheap with a price I couldn't turn down. Turns out the Stoic was close to the same weight as the ThermaRest, with a mummy tapered full length design. I'm happy with the design and weight, it is comfortable and does what it's meant to do - float me on a warm cushion of air as I'm floating in dream-land!

SeatoSummit Reactor Thermolite Mummy Bag Liner
Specs
8.7 oz
Adds 15 degrees of warmth

The Story
This big fuzzy body sock does what it does and does it well! I have had it for several years and have used it as a blanket in Brazil while hosteling and it has added warmth on 0 degree nights in West Virginia. The only qualm I have is the body sock thing! It doesn't have a side opening so if you're hot you can poke a single leg out, as I often like to do. Once inside it your in for the night. It is best used for cold weather camping or completely by itself in hot weather.

Things Missed...

...and NOT missed!

I often try to imagine myself on the Trail. Walking along, day after day. Waking with the sunrise, enjoying a breeze, hearing the pitter-patter of rain on my Packa or tent, even being sore tired damp and smelly (not to romanticize the Trail!). I can imagine those individual scenes. I can't imagine it day after day for half of a year. But that's going to be my life. And I crave it! However much I want to get away from many things there is going to be things that I will desperately miss as well. Until the Trail becomes normal, lack of normalcy will be echoing around me. How long will it take for it to sink in that this isn't a short trip? I have done over-night camping trips, and I have done 12 day canoe trips. It takes over a week for the life-style change to really sink in. Even then, you know in a few more days you will be moving with the help of gasoline again rather than your bodies own motive power.
So, what am I going to miss the most? And what do I think I will not miss the most? Here's a couple lists. At the end of my journey I will look back at these lists and then write again about which things on the list turned out to be missed more, less, or surprising!

I will miss:
1. Cara
2. Friends and family
3. Kaya
4. Home
5. Bed
6. Heating/cooling
7. Wine from the bottle
8. Cooking multi-sided meals
9. Showering daily
10. Pay-check

I will NOT  miss:
1. Traffic, other impatient drivers
2. Feeling rushed frustrated and angry at things I cannot control
3. TV
4. Sitting the majority of every day
5. Worrying about needing to exercise or eat right
6. Being bored
7. Immersion in a society consumed with short attention spans, lying politicians, greed, and rampant consumerism.
8. Dress pants
9. Looking at my cell phone every 2 minutes for email - once a day will be fine IF there's signal!
10. Commuting


I know these lists will change, maybe gradually. I may start not minding skipping showers for a week at a time. I may start to really like ambient temperature every day. I may miss dress pants (doubtful on that account, I wear jeans most every day and haven't had an urge to put on slacks).

Things that I take for granted, like water from a tap, a fridge, ease of buying whatever I want whenever I want could possibly become things that I really miss (speaking of consumerism!). I go on this trip to remove myself from typical American life, to get some perspective, and to find out what I really consider important. I may be standing way too close to see what I really value.

What about you? What did you miss? What will you miss?

Class of 2012

Already the Class is forming. People are in planning and excitement  mode.

I've visited Trail Days in Damascus, VA the last two years. There is a hiker parade as the main event. Main St is shutdown, the crowd forms - many with squirt guns and water balloons (I assume to wash off the Hiker Stench) - and different Classes hike down the street. Some people wear their hiker garb, others wear diapers (no idea how that tradition started), others costumes. The Classes stretch back decades. These classes are a tight knit group of the larger tight knit Trail community itself. Some groups go further and camp in the same "towns" in group camping. These folks have shared experiences, their stories are inter-woven with one another. The events that happened that year on the Trail, weather or tragedy or hilarity, traveled via word of mouth and registry to many hikers that year, cementing a bond between them. This is something I am very much looking forward to.

These people, fellow adventurers, intrepid travelers all, will be my Classmates. I may never meet some, but they will still have a large effect on me. I will be reading their entries in the shelter registers, I will get to know their sense of humor, their frustrations, and I will look forward to news from up-Trail. Those following me will do the same. If I do finally run (or rather walk) into these hikers, I will have an understanding and feel a sense of kinship to them that they won't have for me if they have never read my musings in the registers.

I have already had the pleasure of reading the words laid down by a couple bloggers that are hiking this year. I am looking forward to reading future posts, both on the Internet and in the registers, as both are beginning before me. Laughing Dog and Appalachian Jake are two that I have found so far. Both are good reads, and give me insight into them. Meeting them will be a pleasure.

I have done some research and the more research I do the more blogs and resources I find concerning the upcoming 2012 season. Since the Good Badger has already begun a list of bloggers, I will link his site, and let you do some of your own research. I will be adding all these to Google Reader (RSS is a wonderful thing) so I can follow along.
I see a buzz on White Blaze about those that are preparing to hit the AT in 2012 as well. There are also a bunch of Facebook groups 1, 2, 3,  4, 5, 6
And since I'm a fan of Google+ this blog has it's very own Page for micro-blogging.

More prep talk
On other fronts I completely re-did my shipping schedule and ironed out the areas that I had as gray-areas (Shenandoah and White Mountains). I am pleased with the amounts of time between drops, and the closeness to the Trail. Most I have are within a mile, usually less. I have setup an average of 13 miles per day between drops. I guess the part I may regret and need to change is the length of time between drops. I am planning on some of two or three days, however most drops are for 7 days with a few 8 or 9 days (110+ miles between drops). This may be way too heavy. In the next few weeks I will be loading my pack with all my intended gear, water, and the heaviest amount of food I will be carrying. Virginia has some very long ridge walks, and the southern New England states are, well let's face it, they're easy - comparatively. I have read probably over a dozen journals and books of peoples experience on the Trail. Everyone talks of the hard the beginning, the length of Virginia, the rocks of Pennsylvania, and then the Green Mountains. There are several states, CT, MA, NY, NJ that people say, "another state - woohoo!" and that's about it. That being said, I have also heard those states are very pretty, and I am looking forward the the N.E. stroll (I hope it won't be too hot this summer). I hope that 1 weeks worth of food will not be too much on my back. I am trying to minimize time in town, either having to wait until the Post opens or getting drawn in to all the town calories($)! My meals are light and have high nutritional value, the Harmony House meals are very light! The packets of chicken and the summer sausage both are a bit heavier since they both have some moisture weight, but those will be eaten first!

Pack List
I found a nice web-site that has an enormous library of user generated item weights, as well as the capability of adding your own. It is a work in progress, since I'm not completely a gram-weeny I don't have too much concern with the exact weight of every single item. I care more about the approximate weight just for reference. Once I'm on the Trail for a few weeks, and the handle of my tooth brush is cut off, then you can call me an ounce-counter! 

Holidays and the Approaching Adventure

I went to snowy New Hampshire for Christmas. This has been one of the best Christmas in recent memory. Then again, when does one have enough time off to do nothing for 10 days!

I have been good with my personal days this year, and even with this last expenditure I will be rolling some days over to next year. When I go on the Appalachian Trail I will have some days to give me that one last extra boost monetarily.

New Hampshire

Cara and I drove up after work and arrived fairly late on the 16th. Her parents own and operate a country inn called Lovette's Inn, in Franconia, just down the road from Franconia Notch and Canon Mountain, only a couple miles from the Appalachian Trail and within very easy driving distance of several other ski resorts, and the entire White Mountains region. I didn't realize how many trails this area has to offer... more on that later! Both of her brothers and Significant Others were there, as well as her older brother's 2 kids. The next day after getting there we visited and played with the kids, watched some Christmas movies and generally relaxed. What little snow was on the ground melted. I was hoping for a white Christmas but we still had lots of time until the guy in the red suit showed up.

Over the next several days we opened some presents, ate massive amounts of good food, drank excellent wine, and just generally enjoyed the downtime. Guests with their children came and enjoyed the Inn along with some of Cara's brother's friends that were in the area. The hustle and bustle, was counter-pointed by how homey it felt. One evening we took the kids over to the Polar Express on the Hobo Railroad in a nearby town. The program included getting on a train, getting hot coco and candy, and traveling to the North Pole to hangout with Santa and the elves. Very fun to see the joy and wonder on all these kids faces.

After Cara's brother's left it was just Cara, me, and her parents for a week. We did more of the same, Christmas movies, some light shopping in Littleton, hit a couple local restaurants. Cara and I drove to North Conway to the outlets, on our way across from Franconia we passed by the base of Mt. Washington, which was unfortunately mostly shrouded in clouds and the sky dropped rain onus that froze on the roads and made shopping treacherous - I needed some micro-spikes! The following day the sky cleared and the temperature dropped. The 4 of us went back to Mt. Washington and I was able to see the true sky-scrapper in all it's majestic glory.

We got snow! Enough to go on a short hike on snow-shoes on the cross-country trails behind Lovette's Inn. that evening we decided to open one Christmas present. The girls boxed up a map that I had been eying in a local store, they thought it was a semi-joke gift... I guess they didn't realize how much I love maps! I poured over it, imagining myself cresting this hill, following that stream. The White Mountains has enough trails scattered around it, some very densely interlaced, I could spend the next 20 summers trying to explore them all. I was always impressed by the amount of trails in Acadia when we visited in my childhood. Acadia has a fraction.

This area echoes in my mind with names that I have heard over and over in all the books on the AT I have read. I saw the AT cross the road in Crawford Notch, looked at the mountains surrounding the Notch, stared up at Mt. Washington and tried, really really tried to imagine myself on the Trail for 5 months. But I can't. I cannot fathom how I will feel, or if I will make it. I imagine that I will, but how can I not when I'm making a 6 month commitment to the AT. People ask me almost daily, relatives and friends, if I am ready for my trip. I always answer positively, but it is not an honest answer. I am filled with eager anticipation, tinged with fear of loneliness and knowing that I will miss Cara and everything "normal". The anticipation is great, I have not fully allowed myself to realize I am actually going to embark on this trip. It's all an idea right now. I see the silver thread of the tread-way skimming across the mountain tops, marching a steady march to Maine. I see images flash by in fast forward as if I was on the Trail. But it is all illusory, dream-like and ephemeral still. I am planning and studying maps, trying gear, and making food packets, but I can't comprehend 6 months. I can't grasp going to a post office for food week after week. It's like sitting on a beach gazing at the stars and you can't wrap your head around the vastness of all the stars above you or even all the grains of sand beneath you. I doubt I will get it while I'm out there immediately. We're programmed to always be looking to the next thing, the next drop off point, the next day, the next turn in the Trail or the next peak to bag. I'm hoping when I have 7 days food on my back and all I gotta do between now and the next post office is walk that I can be more in the NOW than I ever have been before.

Another walk in the snow with the three yellow labs playing in the snow with us, and a couple more days of delightful nothingness, work and the world called us back. Ten days gone so quickly, and with less adventure then I have had in years. But I feel recharged. My love grows ever stronger for Cara, and times like this of us just being for days with only quiet happiness confirms my feelings. Of course the drive back in traffic was completely trying to my state of euphoria, people are in such a hurry to get back from work and away from family. I surely won't miss traffic and brake lights while I am on the Appalachian Trail! We got back in time to see my Uncles and Aunts and cousins before finally getting home in Southern MD...

Anticipation

I have been putting together meal packets for the Appalachian Trail. I enjoy the preparation. Not only do I like searching Amazon for deals on food and getting package after package of Clif Bars in the mail, I also enjoy separating, organizing, and repacking. I try to imagine myself 6 months from now when I get to a post office and unbox my fuel for the next week. Will I curse myself for not enough diversity? Though I've tried for it. Will I berate myself for forgetting to put a packet of coffee one morning? Will it be too much or not enough? I feel I can't answer any of these basic questions until I have been out there for awhile. At first I think I will be wasting food, as 700 calories of rice, couscous, or other starch is a LOT, but later, when the hiker hunger creeps in I'm hoping it will be enough. Not to get bogged down into crunching numbers, but I have tried to make the meals fulfill what calorie expenditure I have researched. I do not want to lose much weight while I hike. I can't afford it. To that end I have lots of protein bars, nuts, dried fruits and meats, and tons of starches planned. I am trying to buy as much now while I have a pay check so while I am out there I won't need to spend my saved money on daily meals. I want the money put back to go for 'over-and-beyond' stuff; like an occasional hotel stay, an AYCE buffet, a shuttle ride for Cara to her car - whatever it takes for me to be happy out there, but not the base expense of the Trail.

The anticipation builds, as I think how fast the past year has already gone. Only 3 more months. Only 3 months to buy, build, organize test, address, label, check and double-check EVERYTHING. And all these checks and double checks could go awry if I hike faster than what I have planned (not slower, not in my vocab!). Also adding to the anticipation besides, the ticking of the clock, are the presents I received from all my loved ones. An awesome pair of boots, the Packa which I've spoken of before, hiking socks, a poncho, camp mug, MAPS!, a better funnel and pre-filter for the SteriPen, and a AT tee shirt! People know what I need!

The list grows shorter of what I still need to do. Some things must wait until last minute, like getting a cheaper cell phone, loading the licensing for the SPOT, discontinuing credit card use and switching to cash. Other things I need to ramp up on in a major way, like drying beef jerky and fruits, completing meal packaging, boxing meals into shipping containers. All the work is fulfilling and time consuming.

 *Other pics to be added soon

I have found a good resource for finding out where the AT crosses roads:
http://walkiness.com/scripts/newvarat.php
Google Maps also has a couple good publicly shared maps of Parking and Shelters, provided by the ATC:
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/about-the-trail/mapping-gis-data

Cancun

Cancun

Cara and I went to Cancun for a four day weekend a few weeks ago for a friends wedding. We grabbed a direct flight down to the resort outside of Cancun. Our time was short, and there were events for the wedding guests daily so we did not venture off the resort.

I liked the weather, I liked the resort - Moon Palace Sunrise. I relaxed and soaked up the calm ambiance. The resort was very nicely appointed with everything you could want, from swim up bars to a huge variety of good food and cheap booze (free to guests, cheap to them!).

The well manicured lawns, the maintained streams and fountains, the tractor that picks up sea-weed from the beach to keep it beautiful all gave the place a very unreal feeling. In the sense that it is an escape from reality, it did the trick. Most of the people that worked there knew English very well, I did dive into my mind and pull out quite a few Spanish words and phrase, all unnecessary. I want to begin re-learning sentence structure, I'd love to be able to have a solid conversation in Spanish by the time we go to Costa Rica next year. All of the employees being able to speak English made the place seem that much more unreal. Not a bad thing, just an observation.

We did see some wild-life. We saw iguanas,. and 1 lonely orange-billed gull surrounded by his drab brethren, and to top it off we saw a coati! The coati, also known as the snookum bear, looks kind of like a cross between a cat and a raccoon. Cara and I were going for one last stroll around, killing time before we headed to the airport. By a line of bushes I saw a tail float up from the shrubbery. The tail immediately made me do a double take, as it was much too long to be a cats tail. I skirted the bushes, and grubbing around in the dirt was this coati. He looked very smart and very hungry! He paid us no mind as we stalked him and watched him move down the bushes in search of his meal. A worker tossed us a muffin to feed to him. I always have reservations about feeding wildlife and getting them dependent on humans, I did appreciate the close up views though. My guilt is bearable, but still there.

The important part of this trip, the great part of this trip, the truly memorable part was the joining of two lives. The wedding of two friends, surrounded by family and friends supporting their decision to combine their lives to one. The ceremony was held in a pavilion over-looking the beach. As we walked along the path to the place of marriage, three planes dodged and wove above us, doing aerial maneuvers seen at airshows. The wedding party all made it under the pavilion before the sky opened up, before the bride made it there. The horse and carriage slowed nearly to a halt and then clopped away to shelter to wait out the passing shower. This gave everyone a good laugh and will be integral in the telling of their day forever - an occurrence that some may find horrifying they found funny and up-lifting. After the ceremony we all went to the reception with plenty of alcohol and dancing. I wish the newly weds all the best! They are a wonderful couple.

The trip was relaxing, the travel was easy. Cara is such a good traveling companion. Neither of us like to feel rushed so we arrive early and lounge waiting for the plane. We take it easy and enjoy all parts of the journey. I would want no one else to be with on these trips.