First and foremost, our John Muir Trail hike begins in 3 short days! I can hardly believe it's here! We have been talking about, planning and preparing for this trip for so long that it's hard to believe that in 3 days we will be in Yosemite holding our permits ready to start this adventure. Woo Hoo!
Our resupply materials (i.e. food, toiletries, etc.) have all been packaged up and shipped off, and just a few days ago I received an e-mail from the nice people at Muir Trail Ranch that said our resupply buckets had already arrived. Putting the food and the resupply boxes and buckets together took quite a bit of time and effort and I have to give Aaron most of the credit for making sure that we have enough food everyday and that everything got put into the right box and was shipped to the right place.
Look at all that work for just one week.
While preparing for this hike, we decided to update some of our gear. Aaron has a new sun shirt hoody, trail T-shirt, sun visor, new ULA Circuit pack (to fit that big bear canister), shoes, and socks. I have a new sun shirt (that will remain white for maybe only half of the first day), extra camera batteries and an additional memory card, First Ascent down jacket (took a long time to find and pick out, but it is the down jacket of my dreams), shoes and socks. A few days ago we packed all of our stuff into our packs and weighed them. My base weight (weight without food or water) is 14 pounds even, and Aaron's is also around 14... not too bad... When we return, we'll have to let you know which gear worked really well, and which we should have just left at home.
Also, we have run into some bad luck recently. 12 days ago I rolled my ankle on a short training hike in Mission Trails about a mile from the visitor center! Can you believe that? I completely rolled it in towards my other foot when I took a big step down off a dam and I just crumpled to the floor. Let me say this. You do not want to hear and feel a "pop" in your ankle (or any body part for that matter) 2 weeks before you are supposed to set off on a 222 mile adventure. I visited Aaron's running doctor who has been helping him with an older foot issue, and he explained that I had a grade 2 calcaneofibular tear, taped me up, told me what to do to help heal faster and sent me on my way. I did have a some swelling and bruising, but I think I'm well on my way to recovering, and today I can walk just fine. I'm still a little bummed that I won't be able to dance my way down the trail, but at least I feel well enough to go! ALSO, in case that weren't enough... Aaron also hurt his other foot on a separate training hike about a week ago. Probably, he sprained it a little or had some tendonitis, but he is also fairing much better today - thank goodness! We both are very grateful to this running doctor, Dr. Runco (that's really his name) for all of his patience, and expertise concerning our feet/ankles!
What perfect timing.
And finally, we did end up finishing the last part of section A of the PCT, which means we have conquered the first 110 miles and can officially call ourselves "PCT section hikers." A big thank you to our hiking friends who joined us for this last section and made the hike that much more enjoyable.
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