What I Learned on my Summer Vacation(s)

My first summer of backpacking is over. The snow has started to fall (already? Yikes!) and I now have commitments starting next week that'll keep me in civilization for longer periods of time.

I got to do three backpacking trips (Henry W. Coe State Park, and two in Jennie Lakes Wilderness) and one "pretend" backpacking trip (this past week near* Desolation Wilderness. 

So, here's what I've learned:

• My 20°F Sleeping bag is fine down to about 30. I had to put on my down jacket at about 4am to stay comfy. My feet got too warm and I had to take of my sleeping-socks. I'll have to figure out what to do about that; I'm afraid that opening the foot zipper will be too cold.
• The 60/40 down fill on my sleeping bag is obvious when used as a quilt and temperatures drop to (probably) the mid-30's. (Might try to attach one of those $20 Costco down throws on that side to make that better.)
• I can indeed hike 8.5 miles in a day with a 30 pound pack. Yay! I get really tired and my legs hurt and it was difficult to sleep because I was sore despite being exhausted, but I did it.
• I actually hate going downhill.  I hate it more than going uphill. But only very, very, very slightly. Why can't all trails just be flat and unpaved? (Downhill tends to aggravate my knee pain.)
• Speaking of knees; variety is the key.  All uphill or all downhill will kill 'em.
• Sometimes, I don't feel like boiling water for dehydrated dinner packs.
• My tent is, in fact, water proof.
• If I fuck up and put my tent in a water-collecting divot in the ground, the inside still stays dry! (In other words, my tent succeeded where I failed.)
• Mosquito nets aren't as silly as I once thought they were.
• Some trails on some maps, even if that map was made by the government agency managing the land, don't exist.
• Campfires make most any day near perfect.

For future equipment, here's what I think I need/want:

• Decide if my (one size too large) down jacket is better than a fleece jacket. (I did like the hood of the puffy when it was 30-ish degrees...) (And in the wind.)
• Two (or three) of these nice 2 liter water bladders I've seen.
• Base layer for my legs.
• Second(?) base layer for legs for sleeping.
• Backpack rain cover or compactor bag liner? (I'm leaning slightly to rain cover.)
• Rain pants? Or just treat my current pants for water repellent-ness? Or just deal with the base layer and moistened pants... And wind. Ooh, I forgot about the wind. Ugh. Need more thinking...

On to the next adventures which are, a four-or-five day trip somewhere in January or February. Somewhere like Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Henry W. Coe State Park. And, I'm expecting to start the PCT in March. (Yikes, that seems so close...)

(*Near Desolation Wilderness: I'd planned to go into the Wilderness for a two night trip but the weather was too cold and possibly too wet for what I was comfortable with. So, I car-camped in a USFS Campground in case my preparations were not good enough for the 30° F overnight lows.)

Decisions Have Been Made!

Ok, I've watched a couple of videos from this guy, Jeff Corrigan (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4zc1A6-xCo30KjS54wcmNA).

He hiked a portion of the southern-most section earlier this year.

About a month ago, I knew I wanted to start the PCT earlier than most. I need the time to get, well, I guess, my hiker legs. I'm planning on starting out only able to do about 5 to 8 miles per day for a couple of weeks. If I started at that pace at the same time as everybody else, I'd likely never finish.

So I was trying to figure out the best time for me to start. The desert in late winter/early spring I hear is beautiful. I believe most of the streams and creeks will be flowing from rain and stuff.

So, I've decided to start my thru hike in <drum roll> mid-March 2018.

...

Wait, I thought there'd be trumpets or something. This is a monumental decision. Meh.  Ok, back to looking at maps.

First Overnight. Evah!

I'm nervous.

Like, a lot.

I didn't sleep well last night and I doubt I'll sleep well tonight.

A week ago, I decided that I was done with planning to go backpacking; I just wanted to fucking go do it. I decided that within two weeks, I was going to go on a quick initial backpacking trip. A simple overnighter. Everything around home here in the Sierras is still jammed up with snow and inaccessible which was frustrating.

All this planning and spending money--around $1,000 or so, I'd guess--and nowhere nearby that I wanted to go. My first trip was going to be to Weaver Lake in Sequoia National Forest, but it's all still under about 10 feet of snow and the roads aren't open. Fuck that. Everywhere I thought to go and found to go was always covered in snow. Or too long a hike. Or two damn much elevation gain. (I'm still worried about my knee.)

Then I found a little 11 mile round trip hike in Henry W. Coe State Park over by Gilroy, CA. Not too much elevation gain only about 1,350 feet. Not too long; about 11 miles. Not covered in snow. Water reports looked good, too.

So I started planning. Got my maps. Got everything I actually need. Got a little stove to boil water. Got the fuel canister (fucker's kinda heavy). And now I have everything packed up. And I'm fucking nervous.

I'm nervous about my knee. I'm nervous about the climbing. I'm nervous about the descending. I'm worried about how heavy my pack is.

28.2 pounds.

My pack weighs a whopping 28.2 pounds which includes two liters of water. (I think there's decent water out there, but I'm not 100% certain and two liters should get me through an 11 mile hike all by itself.) And I'm worried that carrying that much weight without a lot of training is going to be too much for my legs and knees.

And the route as described is 11 miles. 11 miles of carrying upwards of 30 pounds. Up and down hills. I just don't know if that's a wise place to start.

But. If I take the route and reverse it, it's a three mile walk up a creek. It's flatter. Probably wetter. And likely easier on my knees and legs. That's what I'm going to do. Hike to the end of the creek.

Then, if I'm feeling up to it, I'll continue the remaining two miles the pond. The slope up from the end of the creek to the pond is of 9.6% grade which, by the time I get to the end of the three miles of creek, I'll know if I'm able to do. And three miles of gently climbing alongside a creek should be easy and immensely doable. And fun. (This is supposed to be fun, remember?)

If nothing else, I'll find a nice secluded campsite all by myself and enjoy the evening and night and morning.

And, now, I'm ready to go. Excited and nervous. (I mean, what if I HATE backpacking???)