April 2, 2018 – September 11, 2018
Here it is folks!
I’m super excited.
A lot of work went into the resupply strategies, camping spots I chose. I arranged my distances to coincide with elevations. It’s been a lot of work, but now I know how many meals need to be made. Tonight, I made HUGE progress!
Hi everybody. it’s been a crazy couple of weeks. i realized I’d been robbing my food during the winter without maintaining a proper inventory and rather than get caught with not enough food, I’m refocusing efforts on snacks and main meals this week. I’ve spent the last two nights dehydrating, slow cooking, and vacuum sealing anything I can. i also made my own granola bars….which are super easy. I highly doubt I’ll buy a box of granola bars ever again! The best part is I know what’s in them!!!!!
I’ve literally dehydrated pineapple chips, papaya’s (those seeds get EVERYWHERE) blueberries (which I added to the granola bars), raspberries, blackberries, apricots, vacuum sealed milk, granola, pancake mix, and slow cooked about 12 portions of veggie chili….all within the last 40 hour period! My supply is being restocked…my kitchen is a DISASTER!
A couple weeks back I also held a FB information session. Scott held the camera while I answered questions, spoke about my plans, showed off my gear, etc. I decided to upload the video to Youtube, if you feel so inclined, check it out. I’m very proud of it, and my progress to date.
Only 368 days to go!!!!!!
Janine PCT information session
Monday I just got back from Pine Lake where I spent 3 nights in the wilderness in sub zero temperatures – in a freaking one man tent. It got to minus 4 one night, that’s when I knew I was completely out of my mind. But I had so much fun!!!!!
I got off work the Friday afternoon and headed 12km straight up the W. Kalum FS road to pine lake. My camp was set up within 15 minutes and I was already contemplating what to make for dinner…4 hours early! I settled on Mac and cheese for my first night.
I didn’t get as much hiking in as I originally intended. I wasn’t aware of trail conditions for the entire loop and between you and me, I’m somewhat paranoid to leave my really expensive gear unattended. I guess that’s something I’ll have to get over. But it was also insanely chilly I think my body was almost trying to hibernate. So I was compassionate with myself. I decided that if I wanted to drink candy cane hot chocolate and do word searches one afternoon instead of heel toe it around the trail, I was going to be okay with it. The reality is on the PCT there are going to be days where I’d rather die than hike, I need to remember to treat myself with kindness during those days…my journey is a marathon, not a sprint! This was a really good lesson to learn.
The next time I go camping on my own, I’ll be a little less forthcoming with my location. The Saturday night of my trip I was asleep in my tent. I woke up in the middle of the night because my bladder was calling on me. As I was just starting to come to, I heard something behind the music I was lightly playing to give myself some white noise in amongst the insane quiet. It sounded like a vehicle. I woke up, paused the tunes and sure enough I could hear a Diesel engine come down the road straight at my site —- AT 12:30 IN THE FREAKING MORNING!!!!!! My heart was pounding the entire time and the guy got pretty close to my camp, within 20ft. I was instantly thankful I chose pine lake and chose to have my vehicle with me. The person didn’t bother me at all, just simply stopped as soon as they saw my gear, turned around and left. But I’ve seen enough scary movies to know how wilderness trips alone for a five ft blonde girl never usually work out well in the movies…I promptly got out of my tent with my sleeping bag and locked myself in my car until I was sure they were gone. I still don’t know who was there but if it was some random person looking for a place to pull over and party, he really chose the woods…pine Lake takes about 30 minutes to get to…and that road sucks!!!! So needless to say, I’ll be a little less vocal about my spots moving forward, for safety sake!
One other extremely awesome lesson I learned was about ‘trail magic’…. the concept is thru-hikers when they’re feeling the most down and out and ready to quit their hike, some miracle or magic happens to make them rethink quitting. Sunday night, I was really beat and tired of being cold. I honest to god considered going home. I knew it would take me 10 minutes to break down camp (if that) and I’d be home by 7pm to ‘Netflix and chill’. I was literally contemplating leaving when I was looking northward and saw the brightest, slowest, clearest meteor I have ever seen!!! It took 30 seconds to get out of eyesight and when it passed over the lake, it lit the lake up!!!!!! I knew then and there I wasn’t going anywhere and I proceeded to watch the Leonids, by myself on a starry clear night. I packed up Monday as planned feeling great!!!!
Trail magic could be a thru-hiker with an extra beer or Big Mac, a cache of water when hiking through the desert heat when there’s no reliable source for at least 20 miles…it could be a ride to town from the trail or an extra bag of granola in a hiking box when you just ran out. Trail magic exists and I got to understand the awesomeness that is “trail magic” in person, or at least somewhat of the concept.
Dehydrating food has slowed down over the past several weeks, but these camping trips are great because I’m trying out my recipes before I depend on my cooking in a real world situation. At least at home if my food sucks, I can drive and get some. Over the winter I’ll be replenishing my inventory and dehydrating once again, now that I’ve tasted my food and know what I like, to build my cache up for my trip.
What an adventure already and I haven’t even started the PCT!
The other day I went to Prince George for an MRI for my left shoulder. Thank goodness my training regimen hasn’t adversely affected my shoulder. While I was in the city, I decided to utilize the last of my gift cards for Atmosphere and buy myself my hydration bladder for my pack, a pack cover, and trekking poles. I’ve been using the hydration pack since I got it Wednesday afternoon. I literally bought my gear, went to my appointment, then went hiking…in the pouring rain. I had purchased my pack cover the following day, AFTER my bag got soaked lol. I anticipate a lot of wet hikes in my future.
I’ve been telling more and more people about my plans and for the most part, people are just as excited as I am. There’s this slight air of terror as well when I tell them the distance, as people often confuse the PCT with the West Coast Trail….”That’s the one on Vancouver Island, right?”….uh no! When I tell them then trail spans from Mexico to Canada, they then look at me with this incredulous face. Then comes the flurry of questions;
“How long will that take?” ————–5.5 months (approx.)
“Is anyone going with you?”————unless people join me for section hikes, nope, I’m on my own.
“What does Scott think of this?”——-obviously he isn’t thrilled at the prospect of me being gone for like 6 months, but I think he knows how important this is to me and that we will find a way to make it work. This hike is important to me because it signifies a dream I had over 10 years ago, and the work it took me to make it a reality. This isn’t just personal growth I’m talking here, and my confidence in myself, this is 70+ lbs shed and the way I’ve chosen to put my new body to the ultimate test.
“You’re going to walk the whole thing?” ——-That’s the plan
“at once?!?!”————-yes!
I’m 1026 days away, and spending that entire time preparing myself for this hike. Trust me when I say I’m seriously working towards this goal, as crazy at is. I will be prepared when I start in Campo, Mexico and will test myself with every step! I cannot wait!
I just came back from Calgary after a surprise Mother’s Day visit for my mom. We had a great time. While I was there, I thought I’d Check out some outdoor equipment and sporting stores. My in-laws gave me a $150 gift certificate for Mountain equipment coop, so I brought it along.
I ended up going with the Osprey Ariel. We decided 70L max given that I’ll be using bounce boxes and re-supplying roughly every week. The pack weighs 4lbs, so that leaves another 26lbs approx. for food and gear. Here’s a pic of my new pack:
I’m pretty stoked. Of course buying the pack made the trip feel real.
I got a smoking deal. Regular $369.00 paid $230….and I bought it at Atmosphere. Which means I still have a $150 to spend at MEC….it’ll likely go towards an ultralight tent, sleeping pad or sleeping bag.
I decided against buying ouch food in favour of my own dehydration method. I figure if I get started now, it’ll give me plenty of time to screw up and learn, as well as keep my costs down in the end.
My step sister-in-law came up last week for a visit, she’s an avid backpacker. So naturally she was excited about my pending hike and dished out tons of helpful advice including what to look for in a pack and possibilities for my re-supply. She’s a great source of information! We might even get together a few times over the coming years before my trek to practise. I of course invited her to hike a leg of the PCT with me!
I showed her my PCT binder, that I’ve affectionately nicknamed Ogre, it’s friggin huge. A 3 1/2 inch binder jammed full of maps, elevations, shopping lists, resupply plans, etc. I obviously cannot bring Ogre with me on my hike, but for now, it’s my PCT bible!
I’ve had a few people ask how they might be able to help or support my trip financially. Aside from writing to me during the hike, (I’ll have post office addresses and my expected arrival dates posted in advance of my departure) and keeping me in your thoughts, I have a wishlist currently set up at REI.com. Access it at www.rei.com then click “wish lists” down towards the bottom, my wish list name is Janine’s PCT Hike or you should be able to search it out using my first and last name (Wilson, of course ;).
I’ll also have a wish list at MEC and locally at All Seasons for those who are interested in purchasing more local, however they have not been set up yet. My food choices are uploaded to REI.com (they had tons of freeze dried food variety) as well as some small but very necessary tools. I chose REI simply because half the needed items for my trip (camp stoves, fuel, firestarters, headlamps, sleeping bags, etc cannot be flown or shipped outside the USA, as such they’ll need to picked up in store in advance of my hike. Since I start my hike in the USA, it only made sense. Once I have uploaded my MEC and All Seasons wish lists, I’ll let you know. There I’ll include the major items (*cough* Dad *cough* 😉
If you’re looking for gift ideas for me, this is an awesome source. My hike will cost me excess of $6,000 any financial support you can give is very much appreciated 🙂 Family and friends following my blog, I’ll probably direct you here if you ask me what I want for my ___________ (insert special holiday here)…feel free to bookmark now!
Again my wish list is at www.rei.com, take a look 🙂
If you do purchase a gift for me and want to mail it direct to my house, shipping can be sent to:
You can also request I pick up in store….not preferred because I’m not sure when I’ll be in Seattle next, but if you do please label the purchase for in-store pickup, have them call me so we can make arrangements and please ensure the store you choose is Seattle. My number is 250-615-8187.
So, today was very exciting in my planning process; I managed to get a ton done. I honest to god wish I had more access to credit these days, I probably would’ve started ordering food today lol.
Today I:
$1.07 to feed myself per mile! Broken down like that, it doesn’t seem too unreasonable at all!
Most of the food I’m stoked to try, although I’m nervous. I mean how good does Pad Thai taste in a freeze dried pouch??? Can anyone tell me??
Check out my re-supply schedule here:
And the menu/cost breakdown here:
As always, I welcome any comments or suggestions 🙂
Why didn’t I pay better attention in Geosciences when we studied topographical maps? I found a really cool site that has downloadable maps that lay out EVERYTHING on the PCT including safe drinking water stops, post offices, stores, elevations, abandoned forest roads, camp sights, etc. After staring at it for hours, I am just starting to figure out my journey and how to fucking plot it. These maps are intense!!!! Not only is the writing horrendously small but for only the first 200 miles of the “hike from hell” I’ve printed off over 50 sheets of maps, resources and elevation logs. Perhaps turning my nose at a $30.00 map purchase online was rather ridiculous. Although I have to admit planning this over the past couple of days has been exhilarating. Going through page by page of my printouts makes me feel as if I’m building my journey and customizing it. I have the first week rough planned including potential camping areas, re-supply locations and have mapped out approximate hiking distances. I’m shooting for a minimum of 20 miles per day. I don’t think this is unreasonable and I’m bound to cover more ground daily the more I hike. Not only will my body be conditioned to the conditions and elevation changes, I’ll be in rocking shape!
I also downloaded a PCT planner where I inputted potential dates and with my goal of 20 miles per day, I’m looking at 6 months to do the whole thing. Yikes! I’d rather not be on my own for that length of time, so I may have to consider lightening the load by using the “bounce box” strategy. This is where hikers ship a package to post offices along the trail for themselves and it contains things you definitely need in between re-supply boxes but not necessarily right this minute. If you need something, the box will greet you at the next stop, which is usually no more than 50 miles away and you can restock the next time you resupply in town. If you don’t need anything you simply re-seal it and forward to yourself at the next pick up location on the trail. For thru-hiking this idea is pure fucking genious. Not only are you not carrying extra weight, you can simplify the whole experience. I am NOTORIOUS for over-packing, just ask my husband.
These are my bounce box ideas, if you can think of any other ideas let me know:
I’ll scan my first week into my blog over the next day or so. It’s rough draft, but a good start. Especially for a hike that is at least a few years away.
Have I mentioned I’m jazzed?