[pct-l] planning priorities

[Scott Williams]

I agree with you Steel-Eye.  The most important thing for me at least was
the training I did before hitting the trail.  All the rest is important,
very important, especially food, but I was able to replace several important
pieces of gear with better stuff en route, food was better when it was from
my boxes, but often it was great to buy it in the towns I came to, as I
simply got tired of what I thought I'd like, after several months of eating
it.  There are alot of changes you can do during the hike itself.  But most
of the people that I met who dropped out early did so because it was just
too hard for them physically, or they got tired of being wet while camping,
and didn't really know their gear.

Train, train, train, and camp as much as you can manage, in bad conditions,
to see how your gear handles it.  To tell a Mango story, he spent numerous
nights sleeping in his gear on wintry, cold nights on his back porch, to
tweak what he was bringing, to make sure it could handle the conditions he
would be experiencing.

Good question,

Shroomer



On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 6:39 PM, CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net> wrote:

> Good evening, Kevin,
>
> When planning a trip such as this it’s awfully easy to get totally wrapped
> around one’s own axle worrying about the technology and the logistics side
> of the event.  While these are important – I too am a gear-head and an
> inveterate planner – there are few situations with either that can’t be
> remedied in route.  This is not a moon-landing mission were we may only use
> what we start with; there are dozens of instances where we can learn,
> adapt,
> and make adjustments with everything from gear, food, methods, scheduling,
> support, etc.  About every five days we hit town to resupply and at that
> point can change by acquiring or divesting equipment, and by learning from
> other hikers.
>
> I say the best preparation is lots of hiking to become more fit, and a
> similar amount of “camping” to adapt to the gear and food – whatever they
> may be.
>
>
>
> Steel-Eye
>
> Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
>
> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
>
> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 10:47 AM, Kevin Cook <hikelite at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I'm well into planning for my 2011 thru hike. There are still many things
> > undecided, but I'm having trouble prioritizing things. Here is my
> > dilemma...
> >
> > Right now, cash flow is limited, but I'll have plenty for the hike in
> > April.
> > I planned to mail myself a substantial portion of my food along the way,
> > but
> > I also realize that most(?) hikers resupply along the way. I already have
> > most of my gear, but I'm starting to reconsider some items for
> replacement.
> >
> > For my food, I'm planing to dry a lot myself and/or order some freeze
> dried
> > ingredients in bulk. Freeze dried stuff is just soooo light, even
> compared
> > to dried stuff! When I backpack, my food is always the heaviest part of
> my
> > pack, so for me, that's the easiest place to try and save weight. In
> order
> > to send myself resupplies along the way though, I need to gather up the
> > food
> > well in advance so I can package it all up and have my boxes ready to
> ship.
> >
> > I've also grown concerned about bugs. My sleep system is a hammock and
> tarp
> > setup that I made myself. They work great, but I'm considering making new
> > ones. I have one tarp that I made bug netting walls that attach with
> > velcro.
> > It's not too heavy, but it is very bulky. When I made it a few years ago,
> > it
> > was a proof of concept experiment, so I used inexpensive bug netting. It
> > worked so well though, that I have taken it on several backpacking trips
> > now. I'm considering making a new setup, but there is some cost and time
> > involved.
> >
> > There are also things like maps and databooks, permits, bear canister,
> > shoes, etc
> >
> > So my question is... what things do you all think I should worry about
> > first? I have a little money to spend each pay period between now and
> > April,
> > but only in the range of $200-300 a month at the most. Come April 1st,
> I'll
> > have all the funds I need, but I'm concerned there won't be enough time
> to
> > get everything ready if I wait until then. Plus, I miss out on trying to
> > catch deals along the way. I'm planning to start my hike on April 20 (my
> > birthday), so that isn't a lot of time.
> >
> > I realize that there are no right or wrong answers to this question. I'm
> > just looking for your opinions. Hopefully you will try to explain why you
> > think I should prioritize one thing over another though ;)
> >
> > Thanks in advance for your feedback. It's getting harder and harder to
> > think
> > about anything else besides this hike!
> >
> > --
> > ~ Kevin
> > Soon To Be PCT Thru Hiker!
> > "The indoor life is the next best thing to premature burial." Edward
> Abbey
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