Prep for LSHT

I have a lot of stuff going on right now and its getting a little stressful. Today I missed Wyatt’s wedding due to an emergency. I feel bad because I was his best man. Somehow, I hope he understands.

For the last few hours I have been finalizing the last minute details for my hike. I start walking on Monday. The forecast is showing some warm temperatures (Weather.com predicts every day except one OVER 90 degrees). Thursday and Friday have a 30% chance of rain.

I’m not worried as much about the weather as I am about the availability of water. It would have been best to plant water along the trail, but I simply did not have enough time. I’m carrying a one-gallon jug and two 32 oz Nalgene bottles. Initially I loaded a camelback bladder into my Osprey pack and noticed something was leaking. I don’t want any unforeseen issues, so I took the 100 oz bladder out in exchange for a one gallon jug. I’ll purify my water with a Steri-stick and attempt to filter the larger sedimentation chucks with a bandana. If I’m thirsty enough, the grit shouldn’t matter, right!?!?

Today I set up my iPhone so I can post text and pictures on this blog via SMS/MMS messaging. I will check my text messages and post on my blog twice a day, once at 7:30pm and again at 7:00 am. I’m looking for someone to text me every evening the weather forecast for the next day. If you would like to help me with this, please contact me. I want to make sure no severe weather pops up on me and to ensure no woodland fires take me by surprise.

I’ve done a lot to reduce the weight of my pack. When I first purchased my gear, I was set up for two people who would be sharing the load. Now that I’m carrying everything solo, I swapped out some of my gear at REI. That place is INCREDDIBLE. They worked with me and allowed me to return stuff that was purchased more than a year ago and without a receipt. During my last attempt at LSHT my pack weighed nearly 46lbs. Currently, my pack weighs 37 pounds. I'm carrying 196 ounces of water, which weighs in at 13-lbs. A lighter pack should make a significant difference on the trail.

A smaller stove/cookware, no water filter pump, and no MRE’s made a huge difference in weight and capacity. If it wasn’t for my two-man REI Half-dome tent (Which I love), I would be in the “ultra light” category. I packed enough food for six days. Each day is the same foods with a caloric value of roughly 1,700kcals.

I’m hiking eastward, starting in Richards, TX. I struggled finding a ride, so I won’t be on the trail till mid-day Monday. I hope to log ten miles the first day and 15-20 miles each subsequent day. With a bit of luck I’ll manage one or two 25+ mile days, so I can finish Friday night. I’ve left Saturday open as a flex day and will probably pull off the trail no matter my mileage by Saturday evening.

That is it for now. Send some positive vibes my way.