Gear List 2011

This is just a start of my gear list. Somethings are not listed because James will be carrying them. I will be carrying most of the stuff that we need to have easy access to since I have pockets on my pack and he does not. I haven't got it all weighed out yet, but this is a rough idea of what we are pretty sure were taking right now. Enjoy

Gear List 2011!	Southern California		Sierra		N.Cali/Oregon/Wash
	Wear	Pack	Wear	Pack	Wear	Pack
	oz.	oz.	oz.	oz.	oz.	oz.
The Big Three
REI Flash 50		31		31		31
REI Sleeping Bag Sub Kilo W		32		32		32
Therma Rest W Regular		16		16		16
Clothing
Sunday Afternoon Adventure Hat 50+	3			3		3
Mountain Hardwear thermals
REI Microfleece
Mountain Hardwear tYuma 50+ UPF
REI Convertible 50+ UPF
REI Sahara Shirt 40+UPF
Tank top
Underwear
Fleece Hat
Glove Lining
Minimalist gloves
REI Element (waterproof)Pants				11		11
Arceteryx Packlite GoreTex Jacket		9.9		9.9		9.9
Footware
Brooks Ravenna ?	18
Keen Voyageur			24		24
Dirty Girl Gaiter	2		2		2
Patagonia Release?	11.5
Hiking socks 4 pair
Hydration
Nalgene 32oz		6.3		6.2		6.2
Platypus 3L		5.8		5.8		5.8
Health and Safety
Leki Speedlock Treking poles	15.8		15.8		15.8
C.A.M.P Ice Axe				7.3
Eye Care and Case		4		4		4
Toothbrush
deoterant stick		0.5		0.5		0.5
bear canister				41
Sunglass
Back-up eye glasses (maybe)
Extra contacts (2 backup)
Group Gear
Henry's Squall 2 (TarpTent)		34		34		34
Homemade Alcohol Stove
Titanium Pot 2l (2pots)		11.8		11.8		11.8
1spoons/1forks/1spork
2 Insulated cups		8.8		8.8		8.8
MSR Miniworks Filter		14.6		14.6		14.6
First aid kit
Batteries
Camera
Lighters
Alcohol hand sanitzer
Maps
Toothpaste/dental		3		3		3
Travel Sampoos for showers
Dr. Bronners soap
Dr. Scholl's
Iodine or Chlorine Tablets Backup
Misc. Small Stuff
iPod		3.56		3.56		3.56
Pezel Tikka (3aaa)		3.1		3.1		3.1
Wallet

My last paper for my degree in Economics and its on my favorite topic!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18DkbaxxeQ0D3PkctV_WnVTB_Dp9LDIjILRbn7wjSGbs/edit?hl=en&authkey=CMnwsoEP

Just a Sample of how we have to adjust things

When we got back this weekend and organized everything we realized our wrongs. We keep on having to tweak our gear here and there. REI is going to official hate me for all the stuff we have returned here in the last few months though none of this stuff in this post was ever used.

This time it was our pots and gaiters. We originally we had rei Ti pots http://www.rei.com/product/764178, but after reading the reviews and seeing the weight we worried about their durability in the field. It wouldn't be a pleasant evening if we scratched the ceramic coating off one night because it stuck to the bottom. AND they were over a POUND!

So we quickly ordered SnowPeak Ti http://www.rei.com/product/668927. A supposedly non-stick but with no coating and only 11 oz! Though I still think we would have gotten away with using a solo kit like this one http://www.rei.com/product/668926. But having our own big pots pots means we also have our own bowls and we also have the option to fry things if we wanted too.

Next were the gaiters. Due to the fact we didn't try them on in the store we found that James's gaiters were to big, and though mine were an okay fit they were extremely expensive and I started to realize they were not what I was looking for. http://www.rei.com/product/801461

We asked around and decided on these http://www.dirtygirlgaiters.com/. I got the run till you dye color and James got giardia (hopefully he didn't just jinx himself!). Great reviews and less then half the cost! And of course we get the perk of being fashionable on the trail!

So after all that debate in the store, probably 6 to 7 hours just on Saturday before finally making a decision, we came home to debate for another 3 to 4 hours before changing our minds again. We scrutinies every piece of gear and my new estimations is that each piece of gear gets two hours of personal one on one decision time from hat to sock!

Today, Monique from the NewsTimes is coming over to see our progress. Pretty sure if our story gets in the paper it means we have to do it!

Fruition

"I guess the most important person I'll be planning things with is the person I chose to hike the pacific crest with me. Man, I've been thinking about that like no other. It appears that if I get my degree done by the fall of 2010, I can start the hike March of 2011 which means there isn't much time to find someone that wants to set aside 6 months of their lives to disappear into the woods, but hopefully I'll find them. I know they must be out there somewhere." Ashley Lowe 9-11-09

I read this post to James last night and we both chuckled since it appears I had a hidden agenda this whole time. All those subtle things I did last year before finally asking if he wanted to go on the hike with me. It amazes me that I was pretty much able to make this paragraph come to fruition. I maybe bad at planning my day to day, but I guess I can plan years ahead!

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!!!!!!

School Begins

When stepping into the Beaver last week, I turned my head and took one last long look at Valhalla Lodge. John, the caretaker and his faithful companion Kayak, sat on the porch of the cabin I had considered home for the length of the summer. The moment I got into the plane I felt the change. A new chapter was beginning and the old chapter was wrapping up lose ends and elegantly setting the stage for what was next.

My time in Anchorage was more fulfilling this go around. I was able to walk through Earthquake Park and see the Art Museum downtown. I was on foot, but the ability to walk around without the fear of bears and/or straying to far from camp was none existent and that meant I could walk miles without stopping. It was liberating.

I stopped at two local breweries, The Sleeping Lady Brewery and the Glacier Brewery, which were extremely enjoyable. Then to close the night out I caught the bus back to Chris's house. At the bus depo, I was caught off guard on how scary it was. As it was getting dark the locals did not look friendly or well kept. I was glade that I looked on the slightly rugged side from walking all day.

The flight to Oregon was almost unbearable. For some reason I was completely impatient, the girl I was sitting by didn't help much either. She irritated me so that I focused on everything she said, analyzing and finding fallacies in every argument she made. Terrible, I know, very shallow of me, but it was almost uncontrollable. I justified my behavior by saying that Bill Bryson sometimes rants on the stupidity of others in his books so I couldn't be that bad, I mean Bill seemed like an all right guy, but there is my ill form of logic for you, ironic I know.

So, now for the main reason I wanted to write this blog. I'm back in school and so far I am loving it. I am so glade to have gotten back and just haven't stopped moving since I got of the plane. It makes me focused and in control of my future. When I have to much open time I tend to loss some focus and the lines of rationality are blurred. But as of my mind feels sharp and my spirits high.