Tent!

A special thanks to Eli, PCT class of 2013, who sold me a sparkly new Big Agnes 1 person tent!

I'll add photos of when I have it set up, but couldn't resist taking this photo of Mavis soaking up some Seattle sunshine next to my packed tent.

8 gallons of mixed fruit puree.
14.5 lbs of apple sauce.
11 lbs of silken tofu.
25 bananas.

Toss in a blender and end up with around 76 lbs of fruit blend waiting to be dehydrated into fruit leather.

JDRF Countdown

COUNTDOWN is the best way to learn more about JDRF's progress towards better treatments and a cure for type 1 diabetes.

The current issues features articles on Glucose-responsive insulins, Protection for islet cells, Low Blood Sugar fire drills, and holiday tips from one of JDRF's celebrity chefs, Sam Talbot.

Read. Learn. Share.

I know this isn't facebook...

but had to share anyway.  Here are two bald eagles I saw on my morning walk to my bus.

Rice...before, during, and after

Here's a look at rice in the three phases of dehydrating it. Buying it, cooking it, and dehydrating it.

Food win!

I'm finding that dehydrating food is more time consuming and a little more stressful than I imagined.

Not only do I have to dehydrate the food, I had to test recipes, rehydrate and taste the foods, and determine if it's something I can eat for months.

The upside is that I'm a repetitive eater. I've been known to eat the same thing for lunch every day for months on end so I'm not worried about that part of the food planning.

So...here are a few "wins" for me:

• Pumpkin bark - super yummy! It's just pumpkin, maple syrup, and pumpkin pie spice. I did add silken tofu for protein. Just dump it all in a blender, spread it on the trays and dehydrate until dry.



• Fruit leather - Oh the drama with this! I tried about 4 different "recipes" before I got this right. I tried adding in some ingredients that I don't normally like, but was hoping the other fruits would cover the taste. Yeah, didn't happen. So I went with what I like. Straw, black, blue, and rasp berries, apple sauce, tofu, and a banana. It tastes amazing and I can really see eating this every day!



• Rice - the simplest thing ever! I made the rice with salt and pepper, dehydrate and it's SO yummy. Even without anything else on it. I can eat this plain it's that good.



• Apples - I was dubbed the "The Honeycrisp Lady" by a checker at my local supermarket I bought so many. Pounds and pounds and pounds of them. I sliced them thin, dehydrated them until crisp, and learned the hard way to not test them when they were done. I would try one and eat them ALL. The flavor is amazing and these are going to be my treat on the trail.

Now I just have to dehydrate, dehydrate, and dehydrate some more to ensure I have enough food to last for 5 months!

I'm permitted!

My PCT hiking permit!

Get out and explore because...

So much to do...

I made a "to do" list of what needs to get done before I head out in April. I think the photo below best expresses what I really want to do when I look at that list:



Mavis's way of dealing with a long "to do" list

Ha!



Click on the photo to make it larger





Maps, eyes, and potatoes...

I got my maps!! I ordered Half Mile's maps from GISI which has an AWESOME deal for PCT hikers.  You can get their contact info from the link above. Beautiful full color, two sided, and mine all mine!

A perfect pair: Half Mile maps and Yogi's Town guide, together and ready to lead me on my journey.

I resolved my contact issue. I wasn't sure how to handle wearing contacts on the PCT but Ginny at Roosevelt Vision in Seattle checked, measured, tested, and re-measured my eyes to make sure daily contacts were my best option. I just got my order today and am so excited this item has been checked off my to-do list.

And finally...I made my first batch of potatoe bark! It's super yummy even when dried.

Tomato Sauce Leather

This is my first try at making tomato sauce leather...


Blend...





 











Pour...



Spread evenly and dehydrate!

So much to say...

So much to share but I have to make this quick...I have apples to prepare for dehydrating! :-D

What I've been reading: The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader.
     This two volume set explores "the people, places, and history of the 2600-mile Pacific Crest Trail...and brings together short excerpts from classic works of regional writing and boot-tested stories from the trail."

     I was lucky to attend the book reading and got to meet Rees Hughes (Editor and contributor), Linda "Blue Butterfly" Bakkar (contributor), Tom "Bullfrog" Griffin (contributor), and Robert Birkby (contributor). I also got to meet Marmot who had just finished her 2011 through hike! The stories run from poignant, to scary, to downright hysterical! If you are an armchair hiker, these are the books for you!

Beefing up my mad skills:
     Last weekend I attended a wilderness first aid course taught by WMI (Wilderness Medicine Institute) and NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) Check 'em out... http://www.nols.edu/wmi/

The two day course covered everything from how to assess a patient to making splints to cleaning and protecting various wounds. We learned about hypothermia, heat illness, altitude sickness, and how to wrap an injured ankle.

There was in class lecture and practical application. I'm sure the shoppers at REI were wondering what was up with all the folks lying around the landscape with fake bruises on their heads waiting to be "rescued". We also got some weird looks because it was raining and snowing during our outdoor practical training. Thank goodness for gortex!

So I'm feeling much more solid in my first aid training and will be carrying my certification with me to show off. :-)

Getting down with my chaturanga dandasana self:
     I'm so lucky to get to work with Katy Tavog who is helping me get my yoga on. I did yoga with her before my first climb on Mt. Rainier but not on my second climb and boy did I notice a difference. The first time around, I felt so fluid in my movement, strong, and stable. The second climb each step down felt rigid, stiff, clumsy even.

     With this history, I knew I couldn't hit the trail without working with Katy first. Right now she's helping me remember the moves and build up my strength. Next will be a strong workout to tighten my core and loosen my limbs, and finally, she'll send me packing with a pre and post hike routine to keep me strong and mobile for the 5 months on the trail.

     Check out her blog at http://feelyourfeetyoga.com/ and if you want a private yoga instruction, hop over to my resource page and contact Katy directly.

That's the highlights for these past few weeks.

Cheers everyone!

Cards!

I got my cards done! Special thanks to my Cousin Chloe who took my wandering thoughts about a design and turned them into awesomeness!

Do you want some cards of awesomeness? Give me a holler and I'll send some to ya!

A sneak peek

While in Southern California for the holidays, the folks and I went out to explore the PCT...


Got my folks on the trail! (Mile 324).

Marker around mile 329.5

More of the trail around mile 314.3ish.


It was so exciting to stand on the trail and see where I'll be in less than 5 months. The count down is on!

Awesome Friends

I have awesome friends. When I start stressing about the planning process, a friend will come out from nowhere and provide me with information I'm missing, a contact who can help me, or just have a night out to enjoy pizza and a pizookie (thanks BJ Pizza for going gluten free!).

And the term "friend" is expanding quickly. I used to define "a friend" as someone I've known for at least several months. I'm finding that in the hiking community, a friend is someone with whom you share a love of adventure, of hiking. Be it in a 15 minute conversation or an email exchange, hiking friends are made almost instantly.

So I wanted to say Thanks to all my awesome friends AND family for helping keeping me on track and calm.

National Diabetes Month

November is National Diabetes Month.

My goal in 2012 is to both hike the PCT and to raise funds and awareness for Type 1 diabetes.

Please take a few moments to swing by my Donations page and help the JDRF continue their research to find a cure.

Happy Hiking!

and A.D.D.

Along with having a gluten intolerance, I also have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

I was diagnosed with ADD almost 5 years ago. As a kid, I had hyper-concentration, specifically when reading. I could tune out everything and completely focus on my book.

As I got older, I found it harder and harder to stay focused on one task and see it through to the end. I would start one thing, then another and another without ever finishing anything. I was so easily distracted by any little thing (phones ringing, copiers running, email alerts, etc.) I ended up working longer and longer hours just to complete my daily tasks.

Finally I went and got tested and voila, things changed immensely. I was able to complete tasks at work and not be distracted by what was going on around me. I became more efficient and began to work less hours while getting more work done. I couldn't believe how much my life improved.

As a hiker, being able to focus is a mandatory skill set. Keep on trail, watching out for hazards, keeping track of your gear so nothing is left behind...all of it requires paying attention. So what does this means for me? I don't know actually. Hiking doesn't hold the same distractions as an office or home. The demands of it's tasks are condensed to finding water, eating food, making & breaking camp, and moving forward. I think with some prep and pre-planning (and a gear checklist), I'll be able to stay on trail, skirt any hazards, and ensure all my gear moves with me mile after mile.

Do you have ADD? What systems do you use that help you manage with or without medication? I've love to hear what everyone else does to keep their lives on track.

Gluten Free...

While I don't have Type 1 diabetes, what I do have is a gluten intolerance.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. A simple explaination is that when one has a gluten intolerance (or worse, celiacs disease), eating foods with gluten damages the villi in the small intestine and interferes with the absorbtion of nutrients from that food.

So basically, I can't eat foods that contain wheat, barley, barley malt, or rye. While this sounds limiting in what I can eat, it's becoming much easier to find gluten free (GF) foods. There are more and more items showing up in the grocery aisle that are specifically GF and are made from rice, rice flour, tapioca flour, garbanzo flour, etc.

The challenge lies in that most pre-made camping foods contain some gluten. AlpineAire is one company that has a whole line of camping foods that are GF. The other challenge is funds. While I would love to be able to buy 180 days of meals, that's just not practical on the pocketbook.

So, it's off to the internet I go. While I'm on the hunt for a food dehydrator, I'm also hunting down receipes that I can modify to meet my GF needs. Thankfully, I have an ace in my back pocket. My nutritionist Sally Hara. She is not only helping me to ensure I consume the right foods and level of carbs needed for training and the hike itself, but she understands a GF diet and can direct me to foods I didn't even know about. Yay for help!

Boots

The most important piece of gear any hiker needs is a good pair of shoes. Shoes can make or break a hike. A great pair will keep you moving and a bad pair can result in weeks off the trail.


A sales person once said "Picking out the right shoes to wear can be harder than picking out the right person to marry."  Well, I'm not married, but I know getting the right shoes can take a lot of time and patience.


First, you have to decide what type of shoes you want. Boot? Trail shoe? Waterproof? Lightweight? Sturdy? Color? Brand?


For me, I'm used to hiking in high-top, water-proof, Vasque hiking boots. Living in the Pacific Northwest and hiking a lot in the snow, I tend to want to keep my feet as warm and dry as possible. I have sneakers for running around Seattle, but have stayed true to my Vasques for the last few years.


Of course, hiking up to Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier is a tad different than hiking 2,650 miles across a whole variety of terrain. So, after much reading about what other hikers wear, I knew it was time to get some lighter weight trail shoes.


My first foray into the world of trail shoes started at REI where I found a wonderful pair of Keen light weight hiking boots. I went with a boot to provide a little bit more ankle support (torn a tendon a couple years ago) than a normal shoe would.


They felt great walking to and from the bus and around downtown. I took them on a slowly meandering 6 mile hike out to the Western most point on the contiguous US (Cape Alava, WA). They were great!


Then I went on a 10 mile hike. It was a great day and I was able to move at a good clip. That's when the problem started. By the time I was done with that 10 miles (4 hours), the boot had worn holes into the backs of my ankles. It's been 7 weeks since and those spots are still a bit tender.


So, the boots that fit great and worked for slow walking were sent packing back to REI.

A quick side note: I love REI's no questions asked, 100% satisfaction guaranteed return policy. As a member, I didn't need a receipt or an elaborate story as to why I was returning the boots. REI may not be the cheapest place, but for those important pieces of gear, become a member and buy it there. It's SO worth it just for that! (The 10% dividend at the end of each year doesn't hurt either).


Today I went back to REI to get another pair of trail shoes. This time, I stuck with shoes and not boots. After trying on several pairs, I bought another pair of Keens. I walked about 3 miles in them today and again, they feel great.


Time will tell how they do on a long trail hike. I'll go next weekend and see how they hold up. Wish my feet luck!