Pre Trip

The plan is to continue my PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) hike from where I left off last year at mile 1092 to mile 1726. Roughly from South Lake Tahoe, CA to Ashland, OR for 634 miles. Next year I will finish the 2650 mile trail.

Equipment:  My Base Pack Weight (everything except food and water) is 13.5 lbs. The only item I wavered on was my stove. In the end it added just a little over a pound. But Coffee. Just. Coffee. We'll see if it stays or get sent back later, for now the Jet Boil is in.

There are 3 risks for this section.

1) I wasn't able to "get in shape" as I hoped. Additionally, I weigh more than I would like.

2) Northern California is in extreme drought. Actually, ALL of California is in extreme drought conditions. So, I can expect most seasonal water sources to be dry, and maybe others. I don't want to have to count on a water source only to find it's not there. Might have to carry more water than I would otherwise, and water weighs 2lbs per liter.

3) Largely because of the drought there are extensive fires. Below is a map of the fires from a couple of weeks ago. Currently, the trail is CLOSED 2 places on my 2014 section. Hopefully there will be no new fires, and the trail will be open by the time I get to the closures.

I'm also going to try to "take it easy"...a little. Last year I focused on the miles, always on the miles. It's addictive. How far can I go? Most days I was on the trail at or before sunrise, camped at dark. Ate lunch and snacks while I walked. This year I would like to relax a little. The plan is to finish around Sept 30 with a leisurely on trail pace of about 20 miles per day.

Well, that's about it! 6 months of planning and dreaming. An extensive "to do" list completed at home. Today I flew into Reno.  Poor Lori had to get up at 2:45am to get me to the airport...and then work all day! My pack made it fine (I sent UPS).  Tomorrow the adventure begins!