Losethetude - Pacific Crest Trail Journal - 2014

Preparing for an overnight hike this coming weekend

Tonight I decided to get serious about getting my gear figured out. Quickly realized that I can't locate my ultralight, homemade Bilgy tent. Now where on earth could it be? Did I loan it to someone? What the heck?! Well, I have a few months to find it so I won't get too worked up about it. I am, however, going through my gear list, weighing it with my kitchen scale (!) and piling it up for a trial backpack outing this coming weekend. I can see right now that I'll be culling some of the gear and replacing it with something a bit lighter. Case in point is my sleeping bag. It's supposed to be warm to 30 degrees but I always get cold at night when on the trail. So, I use it with a silk liner that seems to do the trick. My mind tells me I might just get lucky and find a used ultralight bag that will keep me warmer so I can dump the liner. Got a lot of time to figure that one out.

My PCT buddy, Kricket, and I are going out in the nearby woods (Washington's State Capital Forest)this weekend to do some walking and will make camp at one of the campsites. Test out all our gear, fix up a scrumpdilicious dinner of some sort and spend the night with our trusty four-footed walking companion, Blue. How I wish he was going on the PCT with us....he lives to hike. Or perhaps he hikes to live. Either way, he's good company and eager to please. And, he's in great shape for what will be a 10-year old mid-size dog next summer. It just seems like too much figuring out to bring him along....extra food for him, etc. etc. So, he will have an important job while I'm away: stay home and guard the house and herd the chickens. Not a bad trade-off.

Tested out my new little Hyperflow water filter. It works great in my kitchen sink. As I understand it, though, all the folks have trouble with it when it is really important for it to work. I think Murphy's law kicks in. So, I'll try it this weekend and hope for the best. I'll report back with my review.

Kricket's shift ends soon so I'll go meet her for a beer. I think I know what we'll be talking about.

Cheers!

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