There are exactly two months left before I’m actually walking on the Continental Divide Trail. Weeks go by where I don’t do much to get ready for this trip, but these past few days saw a major ramp up in my actions. Of course there had been a couple days worth of blizzard here in Maine to help keep me inside, but that’s OK. Here’s a glimpse of the CDT-hiking-related tasks I’ve addressed this week:
Trail planning:-
-plane ticket to El Paso Purchased for April 16.
-Found out that I’ll just miss the Sunset Unlimited Amtrack west (by an hour) from El Paso when I reach the airport. The next Amtrak west will be two days later. Plan B = the Greyhound bus to Deming, arriving early evening.
-Reserved room at Deming motel ( 1 block from bus station).
-The Columbus route starts south of Columbus. Arranged supports from Keith Schwarzer to drive us 55 miles south to get there.
-Contacted The Weatherman to confirm meeting at Yellowstone
-Did research to determine date we’d hit Doc Campbell’s
-Transferred the outlines of each of Ley’s Columbus route maps onto New Mexico Delorme’s pages for quick reference.
-Purchased Bear Creek’s SD cards to go w/ GPS. ( Already purchased map set in 2012, and the upgrade book 2013). Contacted Jerry Brown about eTrex30 details.
Gear:
-sprayed Vegigators with rain repellant.
-Ordered Exped comfort foam pillow (6 oz.) from Amazon
-Reassembled repaired Arc’teryn Altra 65 backpack
-Practiced taking photos with StickPic
-Tweeted a question about high capacity/low weight iPhone backup battery/case
Food:
-major order forwarded to sponsor Four Dog Stove– 50 Mountainhouse freeze dried dinners, assorted Mountainhouse lunches and breakfasts, additional map order (BLM and Delorme Wyoming), 2 cases of Coghlan solid fuel tabs ( hexamine).
Body:
-hernia surgery done on Friday
-scheduled podiatrist appointment
Tom Jamrog's Weblog 
Interesting! I ramped up this week, too. Plane ticket bought, arranged for overnight stay in SD, trip to Campo. Bought more gear for me and my daughter Kate, who will be joining me for a month at Tahoe (we hope to get at least as far as Ashland). Made arrangements for a friend who will hike with me for the first 2 weeks. Ordered maps. Suffered a sudden recurrence of a version of buyer’s remorse that I had before the AT: overwhelmed by choices and dollars spent, I suddenly was unable to order anything more even though I really need to! Feeling simultaneously casual (I’ve done this before, dude) and uptight (what about those high passes? Snakes and spiders and bears, oh my! can I do this? Will I get to WA in time, etc?)
Every thru-hiker must have an internal clock telling them when it’s time to hop to it. My alarm definitely went off this week. It’s good to know I’m in good company.
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Must be the increased sunlight intensity and hours that is activating us. You will do great on the PCT. Not to worry.
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Tom, this is Emily, the daughter of Joe Rehmeyer. I would like to offer you a plan C for getting to Deming from El Paso. My husband and I live in El Paso, and would be more than willing to pick you up from the airport, give you a place to stay if needed, and take you to Deming. This would also extend to any hiking partners. It would be great fun to be a part of your adventure, even just a little part.
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Prudent planning, indeed!
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I am also looking for a iPhone backup battery for my AT hiking. Have you picked one?
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Great to hear from you, Grin. My Solio solar charger works well our west, due to rare rain events or even cloudy skies. Forget a solar charger on the AT, due to the green tunnel effect. That being said, I hope to replace it with something lighter, may not even be a solar unit.
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I finished my AT hike last August (just took a few more years than you). I don’t like all the resupply logistics of the PCT or CDT so going back to the AT for a month in April to get my hiking fix.
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If I can make it to Glacier this season, I plan to graze through my sunset years on the AT. Just like you.
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