Mountain Tops and Moving Out

The days are flying by down here in Bend. On Monday, Ben and I took a day trip up Broken Top, one of the many beautiful mountains in the Oregon Cascades. The weather was much more cooperative than last week, we had sunshine all day long. We were on snow most of the way up the ridge, and then there was a little bit rock climbing/scrambling to get to the summit. The climbing was very doable, but it is on crumbly volcanic rock with significant exposure. We roped up for the top section of the climb, belaying each other when needed. Ben brought his GoPro camera, so we were able to get some video footage of the climb, which was awesome to watch. Like last week, it is priceless to be out in our happy place together. We will be lucky enough to get to stay there for several months starting next week.

As of yesterday, we are getting down to business, wrapping up all of the final details before we head out of town on Monday. We got a storage unit, and started moving all of our things out of the apartment. We got a LOT of non-perishable food at Costco and Trader Joe’s and Amazon, once we get to my mom’s house we will put together all of our resupply packages. For now, we just have a lot of chocolate and rice sitting around that we have to try to keep our hands off.

Another pre-trip project: Ben suggested that we write inspirational quotes on each page of our maps. There are several hundred pages, by the way. One of his friends had done this on the Continental Divide Trail, and the idea really resonated with me. So for the last several days, I have been looking up mountaineering quotes, song lyrics, movie quotes, yoga mantras, anything that I think will bring hope and strength and courage over the months and miles ahead. This one is fitting for today:

“The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life. It’s so easy to make it complex. But what’s important is leading an examined life.”

-       Yvon Chouinard (180 Degrees South)

Part of the “why” of hiking the PCT is to simplify life, to go back to basics. Right now the process of simplifying is complicated in itself. Thank goodness we will be walking soon.

Ben on the ascent

Looking up at our ascent route

Looking down at our route and over at South Sister

From left to right: Middle Sister, North Sister, Mt. Washington, 

Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood

Team Two Man Wolf Pack on the summit

On the way down! 

Ben working his way down the snowfields 

The Three Sisters 

Some food for the journey ahead 

 

Counting down the days...

Today is June, which makes the trail seem within arms reach. A week from today is Ben's last day at work. Two weeks from today we will be taking our first steps from Harts Pass. It's very hard to wait at this point. I spent my days in preparation for what is to come, and at night I can't turn my mind off. I've never had trouble sleeping, but these last few nights I feel consumed by thoughts of the trail. It is a nervous excitement, I suppose, one that will fade when I start walking.

This afternoon I laid out everything I will be bringing with me on the PCT, just to see what it would look like. It was a very strange feeling. To agonize and plan over all of these details for months, acquire all of these specialized pieces of equipment, and it all forms a very neat little pile on your living room floor. And then all gets placed (hopefully) neatly into a pack you can carry with you. To literally carry your home on your back. I love the whimsy of it.

Unpacked...

...Packed! 

Seasonal Gear

Maps and guidebook pages 

Snowy Shakedown

In the spirit of Memorial Day weekend, Ben and I headed out yesterday for an overnight trip to test out our gear and work out any kinks in our systems. It was also a chance to just get out and walk and clear our heads, as planning for a long-distance hike has been really overwhelming at times. I will be sitting at my computer, checking snow depths, reading gear reviews, or making an outline of our trip itinerary/resupply schedule and I will think, “I just want to walk!! I don’t want to plan to walk anymore.”

And so we walked. We headed up the Green Lakes Trail in the Three Sisters Wilderness and camped near the still snow-covered lakes. Luckily, we were able to find a dry campsite in an alcove of trees so we didn’t have to camp on the snow. We had optimistic thoughts that we might get a decent weather window to go up Broken Top early this morning, but it rained and snowed for much of our mini-adventure. I’m a Seattle girl, so we expect rain on Memorial Day (and Fourth of July for that matter). Besides, I consider it valuable psychological training for the thru-hike.

We received our ZPacks quilt in the mail a few days ago, and I was anxious to see how it worked in the field. Instead of carrying two sleeping bags, Ben and I will share one quilt. It saves us a significant amount of weight, plus has the added advantage of allowing us to share body heat and snuggle in the backcountry. If you’re used to a mummy style sleeping bag, it’s definitely a different concept. The quilt kind of tucks under your body, but if you move around, it can be a bit drafty. The quilt is also made with a water resistant down that helps the down to maintain its loft (and therefore it’s insulating qualities) even if it becomes wet. We will still do everything in our power to keep our sleeping system from getting wet, but it is nice to have some added security. Overall, the quilt was pretty darn comfortable. We were a little cold on and off, but hopefully with practice we will figure out how to move around without letting cold air in. The sleeping pads, however, are a different story.

We got these Velcro strips that we adhered to each of our sleeping pads, hoping that they would keep our sleeping pads from inevitably sliding apart during the night, which causes one or both of us to be laying on the ground, sandwiched between the pads. Unfortunately, the Velcro seems to pull apart as soon we lay down on our inflated sleeping pads. Pretty immediately after getting home this afternoon, I went to work researching an alternate solution. I just ordered a “Thermarest Couple Kit,” which is a pair of straps that you wrap around both sleeping pads. They have decidedly mixed reviews – from useless to awesome – so we will have to see.

Most importantly, it was invaluable quality time with the other member of my wolf pack. There has been a lot of change lately, and it is important sometimes to take a step back, go to your happy place, and remember what you are doing, why you are doing it and who you are doing it with. 

Warm and dry (the camera lens got a little wet and fogged up)

Looking toward Broken Top

Our mountain home..the Tarptent Double Rainbow

Our double quilt from ZPacks 

Rachelpel - Stopping blisters in their tracks since 2013!

There is so much planning that goes into getting ready for a trip of this magnitude. Organizing gear, planning mail drops, getting our maps and guidebook information organized by each section of the trail. And making foot salve. When Hydropel, Ben's favorite ointment for blister prevention, was discontinued, we figured we would just try to make it ourselves. We were able to figure out the ingredients and their proportions without too much difficulty, and I went to work in the kitchen. It is actually just three ingredients: petroleum jelly, dimethicone (which is a type of silicone used to prevent friction and create a water resistant barrier), and a hydrophobic starch powder (which is added to prevent the ointment from being too greasy). It is actually a lot of fun to make!

Since we will be wearing light-weight and breathable trail-running shoes during our hike and will be in wet conditions a good amount of the time, having a water resistant ointment is imperative. We've been using our "Rachelpel" on bike rides and day hikes, and it seems to be keeping our feet in good shape. We are also sending a sample to our friend Ryan to field test, he is hiking the PCT northbound as we speak!

Ben's Gear List:

Without further ado, here is Ben's gear list! We will be splitting up the camera equipment, with him carrying the Pentex camera/accessories, and me carrying the smaller camera (Canon and/or GoPRo) and the tripod. We're still looking for a lighter weight tripod, shooting for something that weights a pound to a pound and a half.

Ben's Gear List:
	Item:	Weight (ounces):
Shared Gear:	Sleeping Bag: ZPacks 10 degree Twin Quilt	33
	Tent: Tarptent Double Rainbow	41
	Snowpeak Titatium Stove	2.5
	Stoic cookpot 1.6 L	5.8
	Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter	2.5
Individual Sleeping system:	Prolite Gear EvoPad 3/8 inch (half pad)	5
	Neoair Xlite Pad Small	8
Essentials:	Pack: ULA Ohm 2.0	26
	Stuff sacks	3
	Rain cover/Pack liner	4.4
Clothing worn:	Merino wool T-shirt	3
	Shorts	3
	Socks	2
	Shoes - Brooks Adrenaline ASR GTX or Mizuno Wave Rider	22
	Simblissity LevaGaiter	2
	Hat	3
	Casio Pathfinder Watch	2.9
	Black Diamond Trekking Poles	17
Clothing packed (not all items to be carried for duration of trail):	Patagonia Cap 2 baselayer	4
	I/O Bio Contact Merino Hoodie	5
	Socks (2 pairs)	4
	Stoic Wraith Wind jacket	2.5
	Montane Featherlite Wind Pants	4
	Rab Momentum Rain Jacket	12
	GoLite Tumalo Full-zip Rain Pants	9
	Patagonia UL Down Hoody	9
	Montbell UL Thermawrap Vest	5
	Merino wool Buff	2
	North Face Headband	2
	Black Diamond Polartech Midweight Gloves	2
	Mountain Laurel Design Rain mitts	2
	Underwear	2
Additional gear (not all items to be carried for duration of trail):	Misc (vitamins, meds, first aid, wallet)	8
	McMurdo Fastfind 220 Personal Location Beacon	5.4
	Phone	5
	Cords/iPod	2
	Multitool/Knife	1
	Bandanas/Wipe cloth	4
	Bleach	1
	Spork	0.5
	Lighters	0.8 ounces each
	Water bottles	1.5 ounces each
	2 L Platypus for additional water storage	1.3
	Headlamp Black Diamond Tikka XP II	3.1
	Half Mile Maps/Yogi's Guidebook pages	variable
	Compass	1
	Sunglasses	1.6
	Batteries	to be determined
	Battery powered charger	2
	Simblissity UnSlack Pack shoulder pouch	1
	Dynex Portable Speaker for iPod	4.6
Camera Equipment:	GoPro Hero 2	6.7
	Pentex K5	24
	Pentex 18 to 135 WR Lens	14.3
	Misc equipment (LowePro Toploader Pro 65 AW case, lens pen, extra batteries, memory cards, remote control, UV filter, neutral density filter, polarizer, cleaning cloth)	20
	Canon Powershot ELPH 300 HS	5
	Lowepro Apex 20 AW Camera Case	2.4
	Tripod	to be determined
Seasonal Gear/Clothing:	Pack: ULA Circuit	39
	Black Diamond Contact Strap Crampons	28.9
	Grivel Air Tech Racing Ice Axe (66 cm)	19
	Bear Vault BV 500	41
	Feathered Friends Down Booties	5
	Bear Spray	8
	Arm warmers	2
	Leg warmers	2.4
	Possumdown sleep socks	2
	NRS Hydroskin Socks	3
	Mosquito Net	1
	Bear line	4
	Deet Insect Repellant	4
	GoLite Trekking Umbrella	6
	GPS Garmin Oregon 450	6.7

Two Man Wolf Pack

Our team name for the 2013 Pacific Crest Trail is "Two Man Wolf Pack" and for Ben's birthday I had shirts designed for us! A great company out of Bend called Vinyl Thoughts helped me put them together, and they were even brave enough to print on merino wool so we can wear our shirts on the trail and still be comfortable. 

Here we are sporting our shirts on a gorgeous bike ride up to McKenzie Pass in the Oregon Cascades! 

Rachel's Gear List:

It seems like I have been working on my gear list for MONTHS and I think I finally have it together enough to put it on the blog. I am still waiting for a few last minute pieces of gear to arrive, most importantly our twin quilt that we will be using in lieu of sleeping bags. I am also attempting to become savvy with new pieces of equipment that my parents generously gave me for my birthday, a Casio Pathfinder watch from Dad/Karen and a SPOT Connect from Mom. I had a mini-meltdown trying to set the magnetic declination on the compass function of the watch this morning, and I still need to familiarize myself with the functions of the SPOT. The SPOT is a rescue device that has several additional features: you are able to send and receive text messages, send an "Okay" message that notifies friends and family where you are, and even post updates to Facebook. I don't plan to be posting an abundance of "status updates" from the trail, but I can see a situation where the ability to send/receive messages would be useful, especially on future trips that may be more remote that the PCT.

According to my gear list, my current "base weight" is about 13 pounds. Base weight is the weight of your pack and everything in it not including food, water, and fuel. Thirteen pounds is not great, and not terrible. There are some thru-hikers that are able to get their base weight below 10 and even 5 pounds! I think the thing that stands out most from looking at my list is how much technology I am bringing and how much it weighs! My Kindle alone weighs nearly a pound, and this is absolutely a luxury item. I still have a few weeks to decide what is coming with me and what can stay at home.

I haven't yet included our camera gear on this list, as this is more Ben's area of expertise. I hope to get his gear list up on the blog shortly.

PCT Gear List:
	Item:	Weight (ounces):
Shared Gear:	Sleeping Bag: ZPacks 10 degree Twin Quilt	33
	Tent: Tarptent Double Rainbow	41
	Snowpeak Titatium Stove	2.5
	Stoic cookpot 1.6 L	5.8
	Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter	2.5
Individual Sleeping system:	Prolite Gear EvoPad 3/8 inch (half pad)	5
	Neoair Xlite Pad Small	8
Essentials:	Pack: ULA Ohm 2.0	27
	Pack liner Ziplock XXLarge	3.4
	Pack cover (garbage bag)	1
Gear/Clothing Worn:	Black Diamond Trekking Poles	20
	Casio Pathfinder PAW1300-1V Watch	2.2
	Brooks Cascadia shoes with Road Runner insoles	20
	Simblissity Leva Gaiter	1.8
	Darn Tough Light Crew socks	1.6
	Ibex Balance Sports Bra	2.5
	Brooks 5" Woven Shorts	3.9
	Smartwool Merino T-shirt	4
	Brooks Baseball Cap	2
Clothing (not all items carried for duration of trail):	Baselayer top: Ibex Hooded Indie	6
	Baselayer bottom: Patagonia Cap 2	3.7
	Baselayer bottom: Patagonia Cap 1	4.9
	Underwear: Ibex Balance Brief	1
	Leg warmers	2.4
	Possumdown Sleep Socks	2
	NRS Hydroskin Socks	2.7
	Darn Tough Ultra Light Mesh Socks	1.6
	Darn Tough Light Crew socks	1.6
	Darn Tough Midweight Crew socks	2.5
	Patagonia UL Down Hoody	7
	Montbell UL Thermawrap Vest	4
	Montane Featherlite Wind Pants	3.9
	Patagonia Houdini Wind Jacket	3.2
	Marmot Precip Rain pants	11
	Rab Momentum Rain Jacket	10
	Black Diamond Polartech Midweight Gloves	1.5
	Mountain Laurel Design Rain mitts	1.2
	Ibex Meru Beanie	1.5
	Merino Wool Buff	1.7
	Mosquito Net	< 1
Additional Gear:	Simblissity UnSlack Pack shoulder pouch	1
	Roll Top Blast Dry Bag	1.4
	Pillow Dry Bag	1.65
	Sea to Summit Spork	0.3
	Bleach (for purifying water)	1
	Lighter	0.8
	Water bottles	1.5 ounces each
	2 L Platypus for additional water storage	1.3
	Freshette (for the art of peeing while standing)	1
	First Aid Kit	to be determined
	Toiletries (contacts/case/solution, toilet paper, sunscreen, chapstick, toothbrush/paste, hand sanitizer, Dr. Bronner's Soap)	to be determined
	Bandanas (2)	1.1 ounces each
	GoLite Chrome Dome Trekking Umbrella	8
	Headlamp Black Diamond Tikka XP II	3.1
	Half Mile Maps/Yogi's Guidebook pages	variable
	Suunto MC-2 Pro Compass	2.5
	SPOT Connect	4.9
	iPhone with Mophie extended battery case	8
	Headphones	0.4
	iPod (with case)	1.4
	Dynex Portable Speaker for iPod	4.6
	Kindle	13.9
	iPhone/Kindle/iPod charging cords	2.7
	Sunglasses with Croakie	1.1
	Multitool	1
	Batteries (AA and AAA)	variable
Gear specific to the Sierra (and parts of Washington):	Pack: ULA Circuit	35
	Black Diamond Contact Strap Crampons	28.9
	Black Diamond Raven Pro Ice Axe (55 cm)	16
	Bear Vault BV 500	41
	Feathered Friends Down Booties	7