It’s been a busy and productive few months of replacing nearly all of my gear. The biggest news is I now have my PCT section permit, and last week I got my permit to enter Canada on foot! Thank goodness Canada has a sense of humor, I put in my description medium height caucasian female, pink hair.
I also took another wilderness first aid class because mine was expiring anyway and I needed a refresher. I’m so glad to have had all of the hands on practice, and to have met all of those wonderful people willing to step in if someone needs help. Highlights of the actual class included: ankle wrap practice, free tape, pretending to be an unresponsive patient to freak the assessors out in a scenario, and a thorough blister care talk. I actually have some pretty nasty blisters from trying out different footwear on the last backpack, so I just had an evening of practice blister surgery and bandaging. We’ll see how it turns out! Definitely still need to buy leukotape…
Exciting gear purchases since my last post:
- Carbon fiber trekking poles from Costco (ridiculously good buy, $30)
- A new fitness tracking watch, because my old one finally gave up. And this one has an altimeter and barometer! Technology really advances while I’m not paying attention.
- Garmin inReach Explorer. I wasn’t going to get any sort of communication device, but I decided to have mercy on my family and make sure they can reach me. Plus it’s great in an emergency, especially to help out other hikers in trouble.
- Gregory Deva 60 L pack. I was flirting with going fairly lightweight, but most of the ultralight packs that REI carries only hold up to 30 lbs, and not comfortably. I tried on just about everything between 50 and 70 L just in case, and this one really stood out. I’m also really excited to be able to actually fit everything in my pack. Gone are the days of strapping my sleeping bag on the outside to weather the rainstorms!
- A Katadyn water filter. I’ve been using a steripen for the last 5 years, but this just takes up so much less space and doesn’t require batteries. Bonus points for having several sizes of bags that attach and not being ruined if I accidentally let it freeze.
- Aqua mira drops just in case.
- A UL pillow. I told myself that I was going to use my sweater, but honestly I will be out there for 5 weeks and a halfway decent nights sleep each night is something that I’m not willing to sacrifice. Plus no one wants a sleep deprived narcoleptic wandering around out there. I might get lost or steal everyone’s coffee!
- A neeeeew car! This is actually my very first car. My wonderful parents let me borrow their car for occasional day hikes and all of my hiking friends have cars and are delighted to drive for half of the gas money and the promise of a latte on the way out of town. This is probably my best piece of gear though. Now I can get serious about my training and head out on my own after work. It was fantastic buying a discover pass and putting my OWN license plate number on it!
- I’m also becoming a hoarder of Costco food. So far I have the instatatos, the dehydrated hash browns, gravy mix, every kind of freeze dried herb they sell, two huge nutellas, a half gallon of dehydrated peanut butter, electrolyte tablets, shelled pistachios, and every kind of power bar they had in stock. Heads up to hikers everywhere, they have rx bars now!! I also have a decent stock of vitamins.
- Pacific Northwest Outdoor Women headband. Shoutout to PNWOW women and how inspiring each one of you are! I’m so excited to be hiking with the logo.
Next step, hopefully putting in several 10 mile days over Memorial Day weekend. Wish me luck!
P.S. There was a fatal cougar attack in Washington over the weekend. Be careful everyone!!
Wilder Wanders 