01.26.2021

    Less than five weeks. Hanne woke up this morning wondering if we still had it in us. The same types of emotions that came up just weeks before the PCT. Even when you're aware of the paradigm unfolding, and you've done it before, the mind/body starts to do something different. Something happens on a subconscious level outside your ability to fully understand. The gears start churning. The extra layers of fluff and idle chatter and minute details and triggers and all that...it's sort of like shedding skin as you move through a season, preparing for something else.

    For a thru-hike there are, of course, lists. There are many loose ends and unknowns that take time to get a handle on. At first glance, a trail is just a trail. A line on a map. Maybe a series of blogs or pictures catch your interest and cast a little light on the endeavor. I always read other people's personal stories and testimonies, never really holding onto any of it but letting everything percolate into a collage of impressions. Take these things to literally and you don't wind up any wiser than before. Everyone has their own experience. I laugh out loud when I read some of my posts from my 2018 "Pep-Talks to Myself" that I journaled or left online. Had I continued the trail with the same philosophies I started with I would have bailed before Kennedy Meadows. 

   Still, less than five weeks. I keep asking Hanne "What are we forgetting?" "What else?" "What's left". All the gear has been acquired. All the funds accounted for. The entry and exit, the resupply windows and back-country permits. At least you have a broader understanding of certain things this time around. 

   Water was a primary concern going into 2021 but now we're getting inundated, at least up north. All this means is that the aquifers will probably hold until April. Humphreys will drain in a radius to underground springs and half the state is closed due to snowfall today. Tomorrow it starts to melt, then another storm Friday (allegedly). These are part of the collage. You just sort of keep tabs on things and check out everything that remains 'in general'. 

   I can't say I've ever been a gear-head but I think I played it right with the Deuter ACT Lite. Our base weights are both below 20 lbs which feels just about right. My own changes from the PCT include a lot things but I'll continue using the same convertible pants I had in 2018. Things that were upgraded to lightweight status include everything from the pack to my stove, sleeping bag, and clothes. I think the power bank is the heaviest thing in there actually which is still plenty lighter than the Goal Zero solar panels I brought before. I had no complaints with that system. It's still in the closet but power banks hold very well rain or shine and none of the stretches include more than 5 days without a recharge. That being said, just a couple days ago my iPhone started going nuts. I'm thinking it's no longer in reliable thru-hike status so I'll probably end up throwing down for a newer version in the next week or two. 

   We continue our regular walks; whether in the forest or around the neighborhood. The most important development is that Hanne's knee seems to be on the mend. We tried to diagnose it for months with no real results but then it seemed to respond to a combination of energy work and some dry needling. My own left knee has a small issue in the patellar tendon but I only feel it when kneeling directly on it. Of course, for the duration of any thru-hike you'll deal with migrating aches and pains on a daily basis but there's so much knowledge gleaned over time i.e. what foods actually work for you vs what someone recommended in a Youtube video. During the PCT I was constantly craving protein and fats. I'd walk into town, find the first diner, and order two large glasses of milk and go from there. Protein and fat can come from a wide variety of sources and as the trail went along we both grew to understand what to look for during resupply. I'd go for extra protein cliff bars and Hanne gravitated more toward salt. We both ended up loving Sapporo Ramen Noodles as well and I still go for one here and there. This time, we probably won't get spoiled as much for resupply options with little resort markets and hiker deals but sometimes you get by just knowing what to avoid. For me it basically comes down to protein, god fats, and electrolytes. We're still debating whether to integrate supplements which would be a simple combo of MSM / Fulvic Minerals for me. The truth is, once you're out there your metabolism adapts and the cycle of 'walk, eat, sleep' takes on a life of its own. The important thing is to keep tabs on where you're at through each stretch and change what needs to be changed when it needs to be changed. 

   Today's walk is going to be a little 2 mile trudge through the half-meter of snow that just dumped all over Flagstaff to the our favorite Nepalese / Indian place. You just sit there in anticipation looking at all their panoramas of 20k peaks. That's another dream for another day. 

-Will