Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Best Friends Forever!!!

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has been sharing my blog around the internet.  Your support and friendship means a lot to me.  Most importantly of them all my awesome wife, thank you for everything you do!

Please share with anyone you think that might be interested.

Thanks!














Sunday, April 26, 2015

New Backpack!

Alright, two weeks to go!!!!  Today I finished a little project my wife started for me a few months ago.  It looks great and I’m that much closer to planning for my hike… in two weeks.  Although I’m not really getting any planning done and it looks like I get to “wing” another thru hike I haven’t been completely unproductive.  I’ve managed to buy most of my gear, except for a new tent, and put it all together.  Gear wise I’m doing great.  I even managed to get a new backpack!  Still not sure if I like it as much as my Granite Gear Vapor Trail, it looks like I’ll have to find out the hard way, on the trail. 




I've desperately been trying to eat a little better this time around.  While weight loss is great I’m going to try to slow it down a little this time.  I’m also going to try to save a little money and buy the expensive stuff at Costco beforehand.  I purchased a vacuum sealer and hope that I get the time to make some premade meals before I leave.  It would have been great to dehydrate a few meals but that’s just wishful thinking.


So just tinkering around getting the small things done before I hop on a plane and head to New Mexico.  My next post should have some pictures of what I’m carrying and wishing I wasn't carrying.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

3 WEEKS TO GO!!!

So it’s been a couple weeks since my last post and I realize that blog views are directly related to how much you post.  On the trail I have the excuse of not having cell phone service to update the blog. Until then I’ll try to get a few post in that share the preparation process for a 4 month hike.  All sorts of things have happen since my last update.  I’ve been getting new gear and traveling all over the country.  A couple weekends ago we traveled to Austin, TX for a pretty sweet wedding.  It was a great time with friends and family.

My wife has been on my ass nonstop about getting her projects done before I leave.  It’s pretty much consumed every waking moment.  Here is the “almost” finished bathroom.  Last night we purchased the grout and bullnose tiles for baseboards.



She’s trying to get more projects out of me but doesn’t realize I haven’t planned a single day of my hike yet.  I did purchase a plane ticket for the 9th only to have my buddy tell me he can’t leave until the 10th. A search and rescue buddy Joe is coming out to hike the first 3 weeks with me.  He hiked the PCT a couple years ago.  He mentioned something about jumping out of Blackhawk helicopters in to Lake Tahoe so I let him slide this time.  I hope Lordsburg has cheap lodging and good beer.  Adding up my flight, bus from Tucson to Lordsburg and the cost of the shuttle to the trail I’ve realized it isn’t going to be cheap.  It’s especially depressing considering I’m going to the middle of nowhere special on the border of Mexico.

One positive thing is that I’ve managed to get some new gear, not quite everything I would like to get but I’m doing pretty good getting what I can afford.  Here is what I’ve managed to scoop up over the last couple of weeks.  Big thanks to my neighbor Susette!

Patagonia M10 Jacket – waterproof and only 8.1 oz!!!
Patagonia Silkweight Merino top
Thermarest NeoAir XLite – not sure how I feel but it appears to be the lightest option at 12 oz
Leki Corklite Hiking Poles – for some reason I like cork, my old poles have seen better days
Yogi’s 2015 Handbook – quite the upgrade but very similar to my 2008 version…
Ley Maps 2015 – now to print them out…
3 2L Platypus bottles – Cascade Designs did me a solid and replaced my old ones under warranty
Timberline H2O filter- the best…



Only a couple things left.
Shoes
New Backpack
Headlamp

and by some miracle… a new tent… not looking too good right now though.
and it’s time to stockpile food that would be cheaper to buy beforehand.

I need to spend some time to get everything organized.  More importantly I want to make sure I don’t forget anything small.  For example, duct tape, nail clippers, mini knife, parachute cord, headphones, sharpie, deet, compass, etc.  That’s what I’m slightly worried about and need to start making a list.
I’ll end on a positive note, I did manage, with 3 weeks left, to start biking to work.  The ride sucks and waking up at 0530 every morning is not ideal.  But it is about 15-20 miles round trip every day that only takes about 30 min to get to work and 35/40 to get home.  Honestly I should have started doing this months ago.




Joshua

Monday, April 6, 2015

Double Post Monday!

Chas shared this with me, it's a perfect example of weight loss on the trail.  If you look closely he loses most of his weight in the first month.  He did shave a couple times, something I don't really understand.

Check it out. CNN put it on their website and he got over a million views on youtube... geez.



1 Month Out!

A little update.

Things have been quite crazy lately.  I just realized that I have less than a month to get my self in shape.... and get all of my planning done for the trip.  I need to keep things reasonable so I'm just going to plan out New Mexico in advance...  Maybe get an idea where the good breweries are along the trip and good food spots.

I've been inundated with a honey do list before I'm allowed to go on my hike.  The biggies being a bathroom and central air duct swamp cooler project.


Getting there but I think I'm running out of time quickly.  In addition to that our office just moved to a new location across town.  Occasionally I'm able to get some CDT computer time at lunch to do some trail planning but due to the move I've been underwater.  The good news is that I now have a great view, oddly it really helps with the stress.


I've managed to get a little bit done.  I got some new gear and am in the process of buying more.  Yesterday with the help of my awesome neighbor I got a sweet new rain jacket that is.... 8 OZ LIGHTER than my current jacket!!!! woot!!! I have to head to REI to use my dividends and their 20% off deal for members. Hoping to get a sleeping pad and maybe some new trekking poles.  So many choices out there these days, it's getting difficult to pick something you like.  I do believe brand loyalty is getting more influential in my decisions than ever before.  I just chose the best brands with the best price....  I'm also planning on giving up my Granite Gear Vapor trail to go with the ULA ohm 2.0, a big deal but I'm pretty excited about it.

This weekend we head to Austin for wedding of epic proportions!  Some good friends are getting married and it's going to be awesome.




Thursday, April 2, 2015

Gear Review page


I've added some gear reviews and plan on adding more everyday.  Check it out Gear Reviews

If you have any questions feel free to post a comment on the gear review page.  If you would like me to try and review something your company makes please contact me via email.