[pct-l] A quick introduction & some initial questions :)

[Kevin]

I love your goal of being "away from civilized life". That's absolutely my goal next year! I bet you enjoyed being able to experience the trail with your 4 legged friend. :)

I really would like to bring one of my dogs, but right now, I don't think I'm bringing him. Maybe for the northern sections when it's cooler.

Sent from my iPhone4

On Oct 5, 2010, at 8:18 PM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hello John,
> 
> Welcome to the pct-l forum.
> 
> I am also from redwood country - lived in Mendocino for 34 years and had a horse 
> ranch in Comptche.  Now live in Agua Dulce on the PCT.
> 
> I rode an Arabian horse on the PCT from the Mexican border to that of Canada. I 
> did this journey during 2008 and 2009.  I went solo on just one horse and 
> basically lived on the trail, resupplying myself by driving my rig ahead 
> and caching.  In talking to hikers that I met I became aware that most talked 
> about what they did while visiting towns and what they would do when they 
> hitched to the next town. Of course, with a horse you can't hitch into 
> civilization.  And I wouldn't want to if I could.  Being independent, self 
> reliant, and away from the civilized world was what I wanted.  There are 
> also some hikers who seek the wilderness experience. 
> 
> Have you considered a different approach - doing the PCT in two years instead of 
> one?  You would be able to take your time and enjoy the scenery and the entire 
> experience more. Less pressure to maintain your miles/day average.  Some hikers 
> are in such a hurry that they actually wear head lamps and hike at night. They 
> miss a lot. And sometimes they over stress themselves, get burned out, suffer 
> injuries, and end up quiting the trail.
> 
> I read that you have considered a Hubba tent.  After considering the various 
> options I ended up going with the Hubba.  I know that it is a little heavier 
> than single wall tarp tents and bevies, but, to me the advantages are worth it.  
> I like that it is free-standing.  I like that there is a separate rain fly - I 
> only used the rain fly it I needed privacy or when it rained or snowed. I never 
> had a condensation problem as some have complained of with single-wall tarp 
> tents. More often I only set up the inner insect screen tent.  I like to be able 
> to star gaze and to be able to look out and see my horse and surroundings.
> 
> Since I lived on the trail and took my time I brought along a solar shower. I 
> would usually make camp early and I took my layover days on the trail. 
> 
> 
> Because I reached horseshoe meadows late in June - when there was too much 
> snow on the high passes to safely go through on a horse, I (preplanned) 
> trailered around to Sierra City and rode north from there.  For 2011, I plan to 
> ride those High Sierra Sections that I missed.  I am allowing up to six weeks 
> and plan to do a lot of fishing.  I have planned six resupply locations along 
> the trail at road crossings plus one off the trail at Cedar Grove, where I will 
> send my resupply bucket to the visitor center. I am bringing three bear 
> canisters - two for processed horse feed and one for me.  Bear canisters are 
> required in several areas along this route.
> 
> MendoRider
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Redwood Guy <redwoodguy at gmail.com>
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Sent: Thu, September 30, 2010 6:47:58 PM
> Subject: [pct-l] A quick introduction & some initial questions :)
> 
> Hello Everybody,
> 
> I am new to the list (as of this week) and wanted to drop an introduction
> email :)
> 
> Over the last few months I have been giving some serious consideration to
> doing the PCT in 2011, probably starting on/with the ADZPCTKO schedule.
> 
> A brief bit about myself: I am 36, male, single (happily-grin), 6'1 in
> height, and a tad over 210 pounds - and loosing about 10 pounds a month (180
> is my goal, down from 288 at the first of the year) -- and I live in the
> most beautiful location in America (no, really grin)... the middle of the
> Redwoods (around Eureka CA). I have a fairly successful business developing
> security communication software (and social community websites when I am
> bored) and have been doing that for ~10 years. It has allowed me to travel
> almost all of the CONUS and parts of the Caribbean. I will admit that trying
> to find a way to have somebody take over my business for 4-6 months is going
> to be hard. Even harder, I suspect, will be the fact that I am single and do
> not own a house (travel too much to justify it) and thus I rent. A very
> tough decision I will have to be make will be do I keep paying for rent for
> a place I am not at, in order to secure it for when I am done, or, do I just
> try to find a place when I get back. Those are just two of the major "life
> decisions" I suppose I have to work through before I even determine whether
> or not I can do the PCT in 2011. Thankfully, those are about the only two
> big issues.
> 
> I started planning for long distance hikes around the first of the year and
> I had no gear at the time. I grew up in the Mojave desert (Victorville,
> Apple Valley, Lucerne Valley) and spent a few years in Big Bear. I have
> hiked pretty much every range between Big Bear and Barstow, Lucerne Valley
> and I5. Of course, all of that was 20 years ago. Since I moved out the
> desert and into the Redwoods I have not done any major hiking until the
> first of 2010. But I have tried to get serious about it. The largest problem
> I have here where I live is that the vast majority of it is at or near sea
> level. Getting above 3000 feet is just not possible in the middle of the
> Redwoods. I am planning a few trips over into the Trinity Alps in the next
> month or two and maybe over to Lassen before it gets snowed in, in a quest
> to get some higher elevation hikes in. I suppose I should head over to East
> Sierras too, to try to get a 9-10,000 weekend in too.
> 
> 
> I was really wanting to bounce some initial questions off all of you in
> hopes to giving me some guidance and insight into some future purchases. I
> would be grateful for anybody that would take the time to give their
> perspectives. I will preface the fact that I am not a DIY kind of guy. I
> have no objections to mending gear, but making them is not in my scope of
> pleasurable activities - lol - which really makes no sense as I am a
> software engineer by day. Guess the aspect of building software never
> carried over to building gear. Odd.
> 
> 
> In regards to my base weight: I have been able to go from 30-pounds at the
> first of the year down to a base weight of 15-pounds, for a three day hike.
> I am trying different methods/setups of gear to try to get this down to
> 12-pounds, which I think is going to be my target base weight. I would love
> to hit the 10 range but I am not sure if I can and still remain comfortable
> at that point. By "comfortable" just let me say what I mean by that...
> having grown up in the desert, I have come to both respect and loath snakes
> and scorpions - grin. The Mojave Green is perhaps my most feared creator on
> the planet lol. I use to hike hundreds of miles a month through the most
> forsaken places between Big Bear and Barstow and those darn Mojave Greens
> where the vain of my existence. Than, there is the stupid little scorpion...
> lol... if seeing a Mojave Green will make me scream like a little girl, the
> scorpion will make me screen like ... well.. I'd rather not go there LOLOL.
> Suffice to say, by "comfort" what I really mean is I have zero desire to let
> things crawl on (or under) me at night. So, all that to say this: I could
> probably do a 10(sub?) pack but I am not willing to do the tarp-only option.
> I really do want a full-enclosure for my sleeping habitat. I am thinking
> along the lines of a TarpTent (but not sure which yet) but I will address
> that below.
> 
> 
> In regards to the big-three:
> 
> I have two packs at this point. The larger is the ULA Circuit (36 oz / 4,200
> cu in) and the smaller is the ULA CDT (17 oz / 3,200 cu in). I am really
> considering trading my Circuit for a OHM, however the one thing stopping me
> from doing that is that when I get into the required bear-canister-country,
> I am not sure if the OHM (nor the CDT for that fact) will be large enough
> for everything plus the canister. Can anybody with experience/knowledge of
> the OHM/CDT confirm if you can get the canister plus the rest of your gear
> into either of those packs. I do not yet own a canister (not required where
> I live, so I just tree-bag food) so I have no idea of the canister/pack-size
> issue. I suppose in the same regard my follow-up question would be... is the
> OHM and the CDT just in general too small of a pack for generalized use on
> the PCT? Is the Circuit at 4200cuin about what I guy needs to make it all
> work? The CDT is a great little pack but lacks the internal support bar.
> Granted a pad can compensate, but is the CDT taking it too far for a
> thru-hike of this length?
> 
> In regards to my tent: Well, this is a tough one for me. I have been "one of
> those hammock guys" since I started into getting outdoors at the first of
> the year. So I do not even own a tent at this point. I should mention that I
> am 6'1 in height. I should also mention that I use/carry Gossamer Gear
> Lightrek 4 Trekking Poles.  At this time I am giving serious consideration
> to the following tents: (1) TarpTent Moment [reason: ease of setup seems to
> be amazing with this one, but not the lightest]. (2) TarpTent Contrail
> [reason: slightly more fiddling with the setup each night, yet a few ounces
> lighter due to trekking pole requirements] (3) Gossamer Gear The One
> [reason: even more fiddling with setup it seems, and almost always out of
> stock, but it is 8 ounces lighter than the Contrail]. I had/have also
> considered the MSR Hubba HP for the Sierra region, but the two extra pounds
> just kills me to consider. However, I have no real-life experience with any
> of these. I suppose the popular answer would be "they are all good,
> regardless of which you pick" but perhaps some of you have personal
> experience that you could share that c/should sway me to one over all the
> others?? Again this goes back to my "no creepy crawly things" so having a
> fully enclosed system is what I am after.
> 
> In regards to my sleeping bag: Honestly, I do not have one of these yet
> either. In the hammock world we use under/over quilts plus a whole lotta
> cloths when it gets really cold, so I've never spent the bucks for a nice
> sleeping bag. But, I need to own one if I am to make this work. I have very
> little understanding of the different bags out there and the technology
> behind them. I understand the differences between down and synthetic and so
> forth but that is about it. I do know that I am usually cold at night. I
> seem to not enjoy the cold and am often cold. Anything below 40 or so and I
> get really cold. I am working on solving this by sleeping in a colder room
> and trying to adapt. I also know that I loath mummy bags. I am a side
> sleeper and tosser and need my knee room to bend due to an injured knee (not
> enough to keep me from doing long trails, but enough to make me know it is
> not happy at times) so I would love to have some feedback on sleeping bags.
> Obviously to start with: Do most folks use two bags depending on their
> location on the trail? One for the desert region and than swap it out for
> another one when they get out of the desert, or do most of you just pack a
> single lower temp bag and unzip it while you are in the desert? I guess the
> next question would be, just how low of a temp bag do I need? 30? 15? What
> is realistic when it comes to the high mountains? I have only spent a single
> night in the Sierras (east side) a few years ago, and I froze my butt off
> lol. Anyway, any suggestions at all when it comes to a sleeping bag would be
> great. I think I would like to place a top-end price of $350 on my bag.
> Maybe slightly higher if there is something beyond exceptional in the
> 350-400 range that everybody just totally loves.
> 
> 
> So with the big three out of the way. Onto the smaller details.
> 
> 
> Stove: I have been a huge fan of alcohol stoves. I have tried most of them
> and have fallen in love with the Minibulldesign mini-atomic. It can go for a
> good 10 minutes without refueling. Which has been long enough to cook all of
> the meals plus drink I have cooked over the last year (with the exception of
> pancakes I had once LOL... read: serious pleasure meal lol). So I guess the
> question than becomes how much fuel one has to carry. To those of you who do
> use alcohol stoves... do you tend to carry 4, 6 or 8 ounces? Or, more? Do
> you actually carry a couple of 8-ounce containers and only refill from a
> post office resupply box every 8-12 days, or do you just carry a couple of
> ounces and resupply ever couple of days? Been really wondering about this
> one. Also, if you put your 12-ounce bottle of heet into three containers
> (say: 8, 4 and 2 bottles) their total weight (full) is 11.70 oz. The heet
> bottle by itself (full) is 11.20 oz. If you just carry an 8oz bottle it is
> 8.10oz. and if you combine 2&4oz bottles it comes out to 3.55oz. Which is
> the option you choose?
> 
> Pots: Yeah, this is another one of those "whatever you prefer" situations,
> like so many other things. I will simply leave my question about cookware to
> this: Do most of you carry a single pot for both cooking and drinking, or do
> most of you carry a small pot for your drinks and another one for cooking?
> 
> Water containers: This seems to be an interesting issue. Those who are
> bottle-water-containers only and those who use hydration packs. I understand
> the weight difference of this issue (argument?) and I am in no way
> challenging that whole issue. But I guess what my question is, is just
> that... is the argument here strictly a weight issue? Are there reasons
> outside of weight that allow for the acceptable use of of Platypus style
> bladders. Or, does this whole issue come back to the "how often we walk into
> a town" issue? I must say, this is one perplexing issue. I do both, just
> depends on how much water I think I will need. If I am going to need more
> than 2L of water, I just throw my 3L Platypus bladder into my ULA pack and
> any additional 1L water bottles I might need. Again, perplexed by this one
> issue.
> 
> Dry sacks: Do the vast majority of you place just about everything inside
> dry sacks inside your backpack, or, do you just put your sleeping bag and
> cloths in dry sacks - and thus safe yourself a few ounces?
> 
> Pepper spray: From what I have been able to gather, the vast majority of
> folks do not carry pepper spray (or such). Those who do seem to do so mostly
> in Central Cal for potential bear issues. Here in the Redwoods there seems
> to be an over abundance of idiot dog owners who fail to keep their dogs
> under control. It seems as if at least once a month I almost get into a
> fight with crazy women after their dog gets a face of pepperspray.
> (Honestly, not sure which is worse, the dog who charges and thus learns I
> fight back, or the lady who goes crazy because I felt threatened and choose
> to defend myself against her dog that "has never bitten anybody" - yeah,
> well, I'm not going to be the first lady! Control your dog, sheesh.) Anyway,
> rant over -giggle- those of you who do choose to carry, do you just take a
> small 2oz container, or a 4oz, or go for the bigger bear 7 or 13 oz
> containers?
> 
> Shoes: This is one of those areas that I am having to really adjust myself
> too. From the time I was old enough to have a hunting license and go hunting
> I have used boots 365 days a year. I cannot remember a time in my life
> (except for those days when work use to require an real suit) when I have
> not had boots on. But, as so many have been teaching me, the lighter your
> pack gets, the less the need for heavier boots. Makes sense. At work I wear
> 5.11 boots that weight in at 24.50 ounces each(!!). After reading through
> some of what is being used on-trail these days, I have picked up a pair of
> Brooks Cascadia 5's to try out. I'll be doing an 11 mile trip in them to
> give them an initial try this weekend. So, I guess my question here is
> really all that I have explained. Are the vast majority of folks moving away
> from boots and into the realm of using "trail" jogging shoes? Should I look
> for a pair of light boots and stick with them, or go the shoe route?
> Obviously this is one other of those "which works best for you" so this is
> really just me trying to get a general idea of what the trend is at this
> point.
> 
> As for cloths... I think I will just leave that for a whole other post. No
> doubt I have already asked way more questions than probably anybody out
> there is going to be willing to answer.
> 
> 
> I have just one last question... and my only non-gear related question:
> 
> It seems like the vast majority of folks, based on what I have read from
> trail journals, seem to stop into towns every day or two, or three at the
> most. I do not want to sit here and say that I would not end up doing the
> same thing (I've never done a trail over 5 days, so zero experience) but it
> would seem to me that stopping in towns every 48-72 hours just really makes
> the trip much more... well, a lot of things. Civilized, longer, less weight
> to carry (could be a good thing), personally cleaner on the hygiene part of
> things, so on and so forth. But on the other side of this, I just seem to
> wonder if not heading into town so much would make things... well, less of
> all those things. Are there a percentage of folks doing the PCT who do not
> head into towns every couple of days? It would stand to reason that with as
> many people on the trail these days that a percentage of the folks decide to
> extend out their trips to town. What is the general idea behind heading to
> town so often, and for those that do not, do you find not heading to down as
> more pleasurable when it comes to quality trail-time?
> 
> I am very much looking forward to perhaps getting to meet many of you, learn
> a great deal, and perhaps spend some time on some trails together! If there
> is anybody out there in the Redwood area I would love to know I am not
> alone!
> 
> Thank you everybody!
> 
> John Abela
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