Practice??

So, obviously, after buying all the gear, you need to test it. Right?

I bought a new Osprey ultra-light pack, and a new REI sub-kilo sleeping bag. And Merrell trail shoes.... AHHH!! So expensive! Thank Goddess for scratch and dent sales! We saved about $500 buying used merchandise.

Then we had to organize food for 40 days. At this point, my anal-retentiveness took over and I managed to turn a pile of food into our own personal MRE's. We made a lot of our own food in our dehydrator, went through about 6 rolls of vacuum seal bags and scrupulously counted calories vs. weight when choosing food combinations. Hopefully we did it right. If not, the many small fishing resorts we'll pass through on our way north will be happy to serve us their whole menus and lots of icy beer....

Due to my own personal Trail Angels, aka 'Mom and Dad', we'll only have to send out 2 resupply boxes. Mom and Dad are meeting us at a few points during our trip to bring us support, supplies and six-packs.

So, with the logistics taken care of, all that's left is the hiking. So we strapped on our fully loaded packs and went for an 11 mile stroll in the Coast Range. It was great! No blisters, no explosions, (everyone has heard a campstove legend) no problems... The creek water even tasted good!

I have a physical job, and exercise daily, so I'm hoping that once I get my travelling legs, the hiking will take care of itself. My best friend hiked the Pilgrim Road to Compostela in Spain, and has always told me that you can't prepare for hiking 20 miles per day unless you actually hike 20 miles per day.

So here we are... 2 weeks from the Trail and all the adventures that await us!