Planning 101

It seems that there is lots of time before this epic trip from Mexico to Canada. 2017 seems an awfully long ways off. That doesn't mean that I have been idle. I have realized that if this is going to happen there are a few things that I am going to need to change about myself.

One of the first obvious things I need to change is my discipline about keeping a journal and blogging. I am horrible at both. This blog will be my vehicle to changing this part of myself. I tend to be a private person and find it very difficult to articulate my thoughts, perceptions, and reflections about the day's events. That is going to have to change if this blog is to have any future value to me, of interest to you my gracious readers.

I want thank the PCT thru hiker I met on the PCT above Squaw Valley on June 22, 2013. I didn't get his name and we only chatted for two or three minutes. I met him within five minutes of setting the goal to hike the entire PCT. When I said that I was just thinking about doing what he was doing he encouraged me to do it before I got too old. I asked him what he would recommend as a resource and without hesitation he referred me to Yogi's Pacific Crest Trail Handbook.

He said the only thing that he would change about his hike was that he would bring an iPhone with the GPS waypoints in it. He said he has met a few people that have them and that it would be a very useful addition to the gear he was carrying. I wished him well and continued my hike, but not before pulling out my iPhone and asking Siri to remind me about Yogi's PCT Handbook when I got home.

I purchased Yogi's handbook when I got home (thanks Siri) and have finished the first half of the book with all of the tips and resources. That is where I found the next valuable resource Halfmile's PCT maps. I am a map geek and enjoy reading a Topo map and picturing the terrain.

I began thinking about having an iPhone on the trail so I google searched for resources about coverage and recharging batteries and cell phones. I found this great article on being wired on the trail and was introduced to Erin "Wired" Saver.

Thank you to Wired for her blog of her PCT trip in 2011. In the first few pages of her trip blog Wired referred to something called Craig's PCT Planner. It was here that I was introduced not only to a great resource, but found a live blog Lunky.com → Craig's PCT Hike 2013 of another PCT celebrity who was actually hiking the PCT this year and writing a blog using the same technologies I am considering using.

I am in the process of following Wired's 2011 PCT adventure using Halfmile's maps and Yogi's  Trail Tips and Town Guide (the second half of Yogi's book) to gain a better understanding of the trail.