Uncommon hiking preparation

That saying about forgetting about the head if it wasn’t attached? Yes, that’s me. So I have a lot of checklists. My “AT Prep” list has some uncommon preparation for hiking. Or maybe this is something everyone does and we just don’t talk about. On that same list I have to try mobile publishing. So what better way to spend time at the airport waiting for delayed holiday flights?

Fox Checklist: Hiking Preparation

Ready-to-eat food – To leave at home

When I’m home, I’m responsible for dinner ~4 nights a week. That’s a lot for my family to take on in my absence. 16 weeks, 4 per week is 64 meals. Leaning heavily on things that freeze well, like homemade soups and marinara, I’ve stocked 32 frozen meals to reduce the burden on my family.

Prepaid trip – For others

Did you know that a group of foxes is a marauder? Yeah, me neither. I had to look for it. Not a very welcoming group name, is it? What was this about again? Well, I like walking with the other foxes. To help make this happen, I purchased prepaid flight gift cards so they can fly on their own schedule.

Laminated emergency card

I laminated a card for this hike. It is made the size of a regular credit card and has my emergency power of attorney and healthcare contacts and allergies. Couldn’t that go on my phone? Yes. But the phones are lost. They steal them. The batteries run out. If something happens to me, even the worst, there is a good chance that the emergency services will find the card and know who to call.

Study materials

I want to go to paramedic school upon my return, but I can’t reasonably bring textbooks. Constantly using the network to connect to online resources would consume too much load. Wearing anki (free open source notecard app, thanks Kate!), I’m making flashcards. My coworkers asked me why not use Quizlet. Besides not wanting to use battery power for the internet, I’m not interested in paying someone to claim intellectual property for the cards I make.

Garden plan

Similar to counting dinners and things I normally do, preparing for a hike means making sure there are still fresh tomatoes for the foxes at home. So I need all plots planned, seed trays sorted and detailed guides written. The things I usually do on the go need to be a little more diligent this year.

Get ready for hikes we just don’t talk about

How many steps do you have to take to put your off-road life on autopilot for six months? If I had to guess, and I do, we all do this, but you don’t see many posts about it. And why would you do it? Making sure you’re not due for a tetanus booster shot isn’t as interesting as choosing your “big three” (tent, backpack, sleeping bag). But unless you’re fresh from the nest with parental funding, and probably even then, some things need to be worked out. Here’s my less frequently discussed hiking prep:

• Medications: Making sure prescription medications don’t expire
• Licenses: In addition to my driver’s license, make sure all my professional licenses are in order. I would choose a renewal year!
• Bills: Most things are paid automatically, but some must be paid or planned for (taxes, tag fees, etc.)
• Change contact: I am the main contact for many things. Quite impractical at the moment.

The list goes on and will probably get even more mundane (boring?), so I’ll leave you here. I hope this gives other hikers ideas for preparing for hikes that can be placed alongside the hike itself.

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