Day 0

Sunburned and not even on the trail. Grrreat.  

We landed in San Diego (after a 5 hour flight) at 8:40 am. While in the air between Pheonix and San Diahhhgo we looked out the window at the landscape below. Unless I can't read a map, we were flying over where we would soon be hiking. 

Im excited, don't get me wrong, but when we read about the desert and drought maybe that point wasn't driven home enough. It is now. Desolate expanses of nothingness, dried and cracked. Even from the plane window the land looked thirsty. We'll deal with it when we get there. 

--- 

On the other hand San Diego was fantastic and strange. Walked from the airport past a large marina, a military base, through some neighborhoods where looking is likely as close as I'll get to entering a home, until finally... The Pacific Ocean. My first time and I ran in then out of the frigid waters.

After the beech some kind strangers, Dan and Jada, helped us get to the park where we encountered Girl Scout, the first trail angel of our journey. He picked us up off the city street, drove us to get tacos and dropped us off at the southern terminus. We are on the trail.

Preparation!

Obsessive. Preparedness is a state of mind. Getting the gear, food, water, and other logistical challenges for the PCT is a part time job, not even touching on training or actually doing the hike! Always I am cognizant of balancing cost with weight and size and necessity.

Lynne Whelden proposed the idea that packed weight is fear. Fear of wet, cold, sore feet, bears, hunger... one could apply the axiom to anything. 

I'm a gearhead, I'm thrifty, and I've walked more than a couple of miles with a backpack. But I haven't bought a new sleeping bag, backpack, hiking shoes, or jacket in a couple of years and my kit is a bit threadbare. Additionally, I'm trying to join the ultralight to light weight club, which means hiking with a base weight (everything I carry not including food and water) ringing in at a total of 10 to 20 lbs. Why is this difficult? My old sleeping bag = ~4 lbs, my old hiking pack = ~5 lbs, tent was ~4 lbs, and my boots were 1 lb apiece (that's 15lbs for four items!) so I've had to research new, lighter gear and become conservative about my packed weight economy.

I think I've invented to gear buying indexes. For example, using assigned scores to pick trail running shoes:

• Total Cost = Cost of Shoes * (Total PCT Length / Projected Mileage per Pair of Shoe)
• Score = ( Total Cost * Weight in Oz. ) ± Feature Factor   
  *Feature Factor is an attempt to give shoes with "exceptional breath-ability, comfort, good reviews" a subjective adjustment for the added value (from 0.00-1.00).

Did I use this when buying my trail runners? Hell no. My point is that switching from my old backpacking style to lightweight backpacking means that everything I carry must be justifiable to the ounce. The research can be fun, but has driven me a bit crazy. I think about why I really need anything at

There will be more posts on gear to come - what I'm bringing, why, what I'm not bringing - and our final gear list will be available (cant wait), but I want to share some references I've been using while I research and prepare for the PCT.

• Outdoor Gear Lab - interesting and helpful reviews by experienced hikers
• Halfway Anywhere - Love this guy's blog.
• Jason Hikes - another great source
• Mexico to Canada 2013 - hiker blog
• In These Woods - still getting updates!
• lighterpack - great design!
• yogis guidebook - dare I say, essential? At the very least - great for research and planning

We made a video!

In case you needed a more personal introduction to the tenacious twosome of cross-country trekkers, look no further.

Colorful weather map - incites fear into Dan's heart.

i09 article with pictures of this year vs. last year.

NBC news feature about the drought in SoCal - just straight up terrifying pictures for a duo about to traverse those barren slopes.