Captains of Us Captains of Us

The odyssey begins

Miles: 0

Weather: freezing, but clear

Wake up, no alarm, 3:18AM according to my watch. Snap to it. Outside, the moon is pink, "the blood moon", a lunar eclipse greets me when I step out into the freezing morning.

Jj and I Fly from St. Louis, Missouri to San Diego, California. Then south, to the beginning of our journey. A "short walk", the Pacific Crest Trail.

much better Blood Moon Pics

much better Blood Moon Pics

Finally all the planning, scouring the web and guides is done, this is it. Our packs are ready for the airport, checked bags containing the stove and trekking poles, first load of food - to last us a couple days on the trail, tents, 1st aid and water bottles. We've both brought small bags to carry on the plane to keep the cameras safe. Seems odd that this is all I'll have (and still may be too much) for months.

The Pacific Crest Trail still feels so far off (it is). Adios Missouri, see you in the fall. 

 

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Jonathan Jonathan

We would love to receive your packges

Quite a few people have expressed interest in sending us stuff along the trail. We would love to receive your packages. There are, however, a few things to take into consideration.

The biggest concern is weight. Dan and I have spent hours and hours making sure our respective pack weights are as light as possible. Sending us anything big or heavy is extremely burdensome. I'm not forgoing soap and deodorant because I want to be stinky, but rather it's simply too heavy to be worth it. I love you guys and it warms my heart that you would make the effort to send us stuff, but please think about how much it weighs. 

Now that we've got that covered, here is a link where you can find pretty much every possible place to mail something along the trail. Next to each location you'll see a number: that's the mile-point along the trail. If there's a '+X' next to it, it's because we'll have to hike/hitch that many miles off trail to get to it. We're likely to be doing those extra miles anyway, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

Please send us packages about two to three weeks before we are expected to arrive at the package's intended pickup location. Don't know when we are supposed to arrive somewhere? Just ask. You'll also want to let us know that you sent something so we actually go to the post office to pick up the package. As a corollary, be sure to send us stuff where we will be, not where we are.

Since the packages will generally be held at a post office they should be labeled:

HOLD FOR PCT HIKER

Jonathan Hinderliter / Dan Beerman

general delivery

town, state

zip

 

Cheers,

Jonathan and Dan

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Jonathan Jonathan

Food resupply

OM NOM NOM.

Dude, srsly, we are gonna eat SO MUCH. ALL OF TEH FOODZ. How are we gonna get all that food?

Our resupply method will be a hybrid strategy. Some portion of the resupply will happen by mail drops. We have packages all packed up and ready to go addressed to about 10 different spots on the trail. Most of these spots are more remote places where we A: won't be able to find a decent store (price or variety) or B: where we will need different gear for changing conditions, ie: the Sierra Nevada mountains.

For the most part our plan is to walk or hitch into towns that are close to the trail. Many of these towns have decent grocery stores where we can simply buy food for the coming stretch. Our resupply distances will be an average of three and seven days apart. The longest we should have to go between resupply is eight days (in the Sierra Nevada). 

Most of this information is hypothetical though. Things can always change once we are out there. What I do know is that every blog I read talks about thru-hikers losing weight along the way. Now matter how much you try and eat it doesn't seem to be enough to maintain your weight when you are putting your body through such rigorous activity on a daily basis. Because of this I intentionally put on a few pounds as a buffer. WHAT'S UP ICE CREAM!

325,000 calories ready to be boxed up for nine resupply boxes.

325,000 calories ready to be boxed up for nine resupply boxes.

- Jonathan

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pre-hike Dan pre-hike Dan

Preparation!

Gear, gear, and more gear.

Gear, gear, and more gear.

Obsessive. Preparedness is a state of mind. Getting the gear, food, water, and other logistical challenges for the PCT is a part time job, not even touching on training or actually doing the hike! Always I am cognizant of balancing cost with weight and size and necessity.

Lynne Whelden proposed the idea that packed weight is fear. Fear of wet, cold, sore feet, bears, hunger... one could apply the axiom to anything. 

I'm a gearhead, I'm thrifty, and I've walked more than a couple of miles with a backpack. But I haven't bought a new sleeping bag, backpack, hiking shoes, or jacket in a couple of years and my kit is a bit threadbare. Additionally, I'm trying to join the ultralight to light weight club, which means hiking with a base weight (everything I carry not including food and water) ringing in at a total of 10 to 20 lbs. Why is this difficult? My old sleeping bag = ~4 lbs, my old hiking pack = ~5 lbs, tent was ~4 lbs, and my boots were 1 lb apiece (that's 15lbs for four items!) so I've had to research new, lighter gear and become conservative about my packed weight economy.

I think I've invented to gear buying indexes. For example, using assigned scores to pick trail running shoes:

  • Total Cost = Cost of Shoes * (Total PCT Length / Projected Mileage per Pair of Shoe)
  • Score = ( Total Cost * Weight in Oz. ) ± Feature Factor   
    *Feature Factor is an attempt to give shoes with "exceptional breath-ability, comfort, good reviews" a subjective adjustment for the added value (from 0.00-1.00).

Did I use this when buying my trail runners? Hell no. My point is that switching from my old backpacking style to lightweight backpacking means that everything I carry must be justifiable to the ounce. The research can be fun, but has driven me a bit crazy. I think about why I really need anything at

There will be more posts on gear to come - what I'm bringing, why, what I'm not bringing - and our final gear list will be available (cant wait), but I want to share some references I've been using while I research and prepare for the PCT.

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Jonathan Jonathan

On personal safety

Of all the questions that people ask, one seems to be repeated more frequently then all the rest:

"Are you guys going to carry a gun?"

No. Simplest answer: guns weigh a lot. When embarking on a journey of this length, we plan to carry pretty much only that which is essential (except my camera). Every extra pound (even ounce) means more stress on our bodies and more calories to consume. A gun simply weighs us down. 

We are going to look like we're living out of backpacks - dirty, hairy, rough. We really don't have much to offer a potential robber (cept granola). Who would want to waste their time confronting us in the first place? I'm more concerned about bears and mosquitos than I am dangerous people. And no, a pistol isn't going to stop a bear either. 

More than any of that, though, I DON'T LIKE GUNS.  You may disagree with me politically. Deal with it.

Cheers,

Jonathan

I felt the need to weigh in on this. Will I carry a gun on the trail? As a lightweight hiker I will answer this question with another question from postholer.com, as follows:

"What serves me better, the extra weight of a gun or the extra weight of cookies?"

Edit: Not certain I'll carry bear mace either, really... so bulky...

Cheers!
Dan

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