[pct-l] Resupply how?

[Eric Lee (GAMES)]

Rosella wrote:
>
We wonder if it`s possible to buy our supplies along the trail instead of the work with all the boxes we have to send and collect along the trail.

We also are interested in experiences about how much to train before the trip.
>

It's possible to buy your supplies at many places along the trail, but there are some places where you cannot and will have to send a box to yourself.  If you're interested in detailed information on resupply strategies, hopefully someone from the list can share their experience, or you might consider purchasing Yogi's PCT Handbook (http://www.pcthandbook.com/) which has complete descriptions of each town stop and what's available there.

As for training, more is always better, of course.  I find that there are two different kinds of training you have to be concerned with.  The first is your general cardiovascular fitness; that is, do you have the energy required to walk all day up and down hills?  This kind of fitness is pretty easy to train, just exercise long and hard in whatever manner you prefer; whether bicycling or jogging or aerobic machines.

The second is conditioning your body to endure the specific kind of pounding it takes from hiking all day, every day.  This kind of conditioning is important because without it you might find yourself with plenty of energy but still unable to hike because your feet/ankles/legs hurt too much.  I don't know of a good way to train for this other than just putting on a heavy backpack and hiking a lot.

The good news is that many people start thru-hiking without much training at all.  They just get into shape on the trail, which works ok except that their first few weeks are miserable.  It's certainly possible to do it that way.

I think your most important task right now is to figure out how to control your blisters.  If you're getting blisters on your training hikes, you're certainly going to have brutal blisters on the trail.  Try experimenting with different kinds of shoes, different kinds of socks, or using athletic tape to cover the places you tend to blister before they get injured.

If you're concerned about your ankles, you should consider wearing lightweight boots with a high ankle collar to give you some more support.  Many thru-hikers wear low-cut running shoes and are fine, but if you are at high risk of injuring your ankles, it's better to wear slightly heavier boots than to sprain your ankle and be off the trail.

Eric