I’m now a week away from setting foot on my first hike. After 9 months of research, preparation, questionable financial decisions, and too many questions, the only thing left to do is wait.
Prepare for an exam
On Saturday I will leave my house and drive about 8 hours to Littleton, Colorado to spend a few days getting used to the altitude. To ensure I was adequately prepared, I decided to take this week off to mentally compose myself, as well as make any last-minute preparations I hadn’t already done.
Turns out, there was still a lot of housework to do before I got away for a month, both literally and metaphorically. The first one involved doing some shopping.
spending spree
While I had already purchased most of my equipment months in advance, there were still a few things I needed to purchase and replace. The most obvious example of this is the new quilt I bought. I had previously planned to take my Kelty Cosmic 20° down mummy bag, however, after many uncomfortable nights of testing, I decided I needed to convert to the Cult of the Quilt. I ordered the 15° Thermodown Quilt from Paria Outdoors and it is not only lighter, but also warmer and more comfortable than my Kelty. I tend to sleep cold and prefer less orthodox sleeping positions, so the freedom of a quilt coupled with the lower temperature rating should give me exactly what I need while sleeping at higher altitudes.
I had some smaller equipment/items that needed refining/purchasing as well. I bought my first roll of leukotape, as well as a small bottle of Dr. Bronners, which certainly feels like a rite of passage into the world of hiking. I also bought a pair of wired headphones to carry around instead of having to charge (and probably lose) my AirPods. The last thing I changed was my tweezers. I had originally planned to bring a separate set of tweezers, however upon realizing that a Swiss army knife comes with tweezers included, I decided to use one of those (plus, I now have a real pair of scissors to work with).
This week I also went grocery shopping for my first leg out of Denver. I carried 4 days worth of food, 3 liters of water, and a fresh canister of fuel, which should be enough to get me to Bailey, where I can refuel as much as I need to get the rest of the way to Breckenridge.
Team preparation
One of the last things I did was treat my clothing and equipment with permethrin. I tend to have pretty good luck when it comes to mosquitoes and ticks, but I’d rather not take any chances this year, especially with the horror stories I’ve heard about what a bad year it is for ticks. I treated my hiking clothes, all my socks, and my backpack with a healthy dose of permethrin in hopes that it would work as a long-term line of defense.
Hurry and wait
Everything is done and only time will tell if everything is enough. Since this is my first hike, I am naturally filled with all kinds of emotions. Excitement, nerves, worry, nervousness, whatever. That being said, I’ve come to accept that there’s no way to know what it will actually be like to carry that much weight for that many miles until you’re out there doing it. For now, all I can do is focus on the present and the future will show me what it has in store for me when the right time comes.
See you on the road!
-Collection
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