[pct-l] 2012 Hike Planning Session: 10 Questions

[Edward Anderson]

Tim,
 
I think, from your email, that you are doing all of the right things to prepare for your hike.  Your weekend hikes will prepare your body for the 18-day journey on the PCT. I'd start out with something less than the full weight in your pack, and then work up to the full weight that you will carry when you start from the Mexican Border. Exactly where, in the Santa Cruz mountain area, do you live?  I have ridden horses well over a thousand miles in those mountains. I am the only man who has completed the Swanton Pacific 100 mile endurance race ten times. Twice, I did not finish.  The course is beautiful and is one of my favorites. It is a 100 mile loop. It passes through five State Parks and has some great ocean views. 
I have also done the Big Creek 70 twice. Those Santa Cruz mountain trails, at least those that I am familiar with, will prepare you well for the first 180 miles of the PCT.
 
I have never had to refrigerate the BabyBel cheeses - although when you buy them, they come out of a refrigerator. I don't know about the Laughing Cow soft cheeses. I will have to check that out. Where do you buy them?
 
MendoRider-Hiker/Ed Anderson
 
 
 

________________________________
 From: Tim Gustafson <tjg at tgustafson.com>
To: Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com> 
Cc: "pct-l at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net> 
Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2012 5:58 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] 2012 Hike Planning Session: 10 Questions
 
> In your list of 10, I am only commenting on #5. As a Veggie, is cheese a
> possibility for you?  Some Veggies eat dairy products.  If you can eat
> cheese I would recommend that you try BabyBel. Each cheese is encased in wax
> and sealed in plastic. I used them throughout my PCT journey (about six
> months on the trail) and had none spoil so long as I did not crush them.
> Then I might have a little mold along the crack - I just trimmed it off.
> They taste good and have good calories.

Yes, I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian.  Truth be told, I'm actually a
Pescetarian.  I've had those BabyBel cheese before and I agree they're
great.  There's also "Laughing Cow" soft cheeses that are also
individually wrapped and (if I recall) to not need refrigeration.
That stuff is great on crackers.  I also am big into nuts and dried
fruits - I love raw almonds particularly.  Also, who doesn't love
Trader Joe's sweetened and dried mango slices?  Yum.

> Since you will only be hiking for 18 days, don't worry that you will lose
> some weight.  Just put on some extra before you start and then accept that
> you will lose that and a little more by the end of your hike.

I'm actually hoping that I lose some weight.  That's part of the
motivation for this trip.  I could stand to lose well in to the
double-digits of pounds, so I won't view weight loss as a problem.

In the interest of being scientifically thorough, I'm contemplating
switching to "trail food" for a few weeks now, while I'm still living
indoors and taking regular showers.  I figure that way I can see if it
agrees with my metabolism and digestion.

I'm also attempting to start a regimen of hiking each weekend with a
loaded pack in a big loop through the parks in my neighborhood.  I'm
lucky in that I live exactly 1 mile from a trail-head that connects to
probably a hundred miles of trails in the Santa Cruz mountains - I can
literally hike from my house to San Francisco, about 65 miles away,
with little road walking.  And while the Santa Cruz mountains are not
the Sierras, they're not insubstantial either.  And the trails around
here connect together in such a way that I can adjust my mileage based
on how I'm feeling and the kind of progress I'm making mid-hike
without having to double back.

-- 

Tim Gustafson
tjg at tgustafson.com
http://tgustafson.com/