21 days until departure: the hike

It’s been a busy month adjusting equipment, organizing, logistics, spreadsheets, training, and replenishing food packaging.

First turn

We are starting the process of tapering off training this week and have a few more hours in the day. We have been walking 22 miles a day, 6 days a week for the last 5 weeks. Most of the time with complete packs and a simulated weight of 5 days of food. I spent a lot of time in the woods and it was fun to watch winter end and spring bloom begin. First the redbuds, then the dogwoods. There are no morels yet, it’s too dry now.

shakedown walk

We had a fantastic test night with our wonderful friends: Heather, Dolan, Walt, Sarah and Dean. The drizzly morning rain eased for two perfect days. The campfire conversations were inspiring and energetic. We set up the Durston tent for the first time and changed the guy ropes to bright reflective cords. We have a habit of re-setting our tents with reflective cords to avoid tripping in the middle of the night. I love the store, it is a palace compared to the previous one.

Second turn

After walking all day, we got home and then worked for a couple hours packing food for the resupply boxes. The dining room is a vacuum packaging factory and the living room is a temporary warehouse. Buying five months’ worth of food for two people and then packaging it is a lot of work.

The image below shows 15 pounds of nuts and oatmeal cookies from Crazy Go Nuts. We purchased 90 pounds of nuts out of our total of 203 pounds of mixed nuts.

21 day to-do list

1. Pack replenishment boxes
2. Transport resupply boxes to Twisted Sister, our resupply captain.
3. Treat our hiking clothing with permethrin insect repellent
4. Reduce training walks to 12 miles per day
5. Eat protein and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
6. Visit friends and family
7. Give away our indoor plants
8. Final equipment package
9. Attend work conference
10. Rest
11. Take the train to Lordsburg and start the hike!

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