Wait.....how much food do we need?

This weekend we made our last big buy. we bought our trekking poles, sleeping bags, ice axe, desert cloths and so much dried food we could hold up here in Newport for months if there was a zombie uprising, about 6 to be exact! Planning a thru hike is stressful. I thought leaving my home to work up in Alaska was hard, but boy was I wrong.

Every few days I panic a little more...Did I buy the right shirt?...Are these shoes going to work?....Can we boil water in the mountains with an alcohol stove?!!

I don't know what pushes me to move forward, fear, excitement or just the fact I said I was going to do it. Either way we keep moving the project forward.

These weekend we went to an REI gear sale to look for good deals and pick up our awesome sleeping bags (REI Sub Kilo) that have mating capabilities.

Next we went to Next Adventures to talk to Dandy (trail name) Andy who helped us with our hiking poles and ice axe. For food we went to Winco. They have an amazing variety of bulk dried foods like refried beans, cheese, milk! and much much more. And last but not least Costco.

Now that our big buys are over we are looking for small things to fill the holes in our diet. We hope to find some companies to donate a few small items here and there.

This coming weekend we take James's nephew and nieces to Harris Creek and then the following weekend we will train on the Rogue River. This will be our big test. Not only will we rely mostly on our alcohol stove but we will have our new tent, a Henry's Squall 2, our first traptent!! At a mere 2 lbs we will own our first single wall tent! I fear condensation but it looks like its our best choice.

So much has changed since I took off in the woods on my first solo trip to the Valley of the Giants in 2008. I can't believe my dream is really unfolding!!!!!!