We covered a lot of ground on the road trip. The most notable stops were National Parks including Yosemite, Sequoia, King’s Canyon, Death Valley, Las Vegas (a different sort of park), Zion, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Crater Lake. We day-hiked in almost all of these. The most strenuous expedition was up Half-Dome in Yosemite, which I accomplished in the sandals. The journal entry I recorded upon my return from the trip chronicles this particular trek and the lessons learned from it:
8/6/08
Back from the road trip! Eight National Parks taught me a valuable lesson: The sandals I bought on sale were not made for hiking. The first adventure I attempted with the sandals was a seventeen-mile, 4800-foot-gain excursion up Half Dome in Yosemite. By the end, my knees were in pain. Two more days of hiking in them left me in agony, so I did the rest of our hiking in my sneakers . . . they definitely proved to be superior, even though I’ve worn almost all the way through the soles. I’ve given up on taking the sandals on the adventure, so today I bought some nice wool hiking socks to help keep my feet cooler in the boots. I’ve never used wool before (I’m normally too cheap to pay ten bucks for a pair of socks) but I’ve heard it’s much better.
I finally came up with a definite menu, the details of which comprise much of the remainder of this entry:
Yesterday I purchased food for the trip. Using the one-pound-for-ten-miles rule, I bought fifty pounds of food. The trail is about 460 miles, but I’ll add a bit for the backtracking from the border to my Oregon drop-off point. Also, I plan to take the detour to Crater Lake and climb the South Sister. All in all, it will be about 500 miles. Here’s the breakdown:
| Raisins | 2.5 lbs |
| Summer sausage | 10.5 |
| Peanut butter | 8.0 |
| Marshmallows | 4.0 |
| Cheese curls | 1.5 |
| Apricot-almond bars | 4.5 (25 bars) |
| Cookies, Bavarian import | 2.5 (13) |
| Marshmallow-rice treats | 2.0 (13) |
| Energy bars | 4.0 (25) |
| Sesame snaps, Polish import | 2.5 (25) |
| Macadamia nuts | 2.5 |
| Cashews | 2.5 |
| Artificial maple syrup | 3.0 |
From this fifty pounds of food, I have formulated the following menu, to be followed every ten miles:
| Raisins | 1.0 oz |
| Peanut butter | 4.5 tbsp |
| Marshmallows | 5 |
| Summer sausage | 3.3 oz |
| Syrup | 1.0 oz |
| Cheese curls/cashews/macadamia nuts | 2.0 oz |
| Apricot-almond bar/energy bar | 1 |
| Cookie/marshmallow-rice treat/sesame snap | 1 |
Following this plan will give me at least 2000 calories per meal. That should be enough to fuel me for ten miles. Even with all those calories, I’m sure I will still lose weight.
I set up the account for the satellite messenger. My contacts will receive via email an “all’s well” message and a link to my location on Google Maps. I plan to press the transmit button every evening so that my progress can be monitored by my friends and family. I’ve included my own email in the list so I can view my path when I return.
I’m considering contacting the Register-Guard about the possibility of an article in their Outdoor Life section. They probably would not write one until I return, but a preliminary interview might be helpful. Also, I could include them in the satellite messenger email list.
All my stuff is currently sitting in my living room waiting to be packed. Are you ready for the complete list? Here it is:
| Backpack | 8 lbs, 8 oz |
| Sleeping bag | 2 lbs, 12 oz |
| Water filter | 1 lb |
| Hydration pouch (full) | 6 lbs, 8 oz |
| Tube tent | 14 oz |
| Satellite messenger, with Li batteries | 12 oz |
| Camera, with alkaline batteries | 1 lb 2 oz |
| Sunscreen | 4 oz |
| Bug repellant | 2 oz |
| Soap | 2 oz |
| Notebook and pen | 10 oz |
| Sleeping pad, foam | 5 oz |
| Cell phone | 6 oz |
| Topographical maps | 8 oz |
| Compass | 1 oz |
| String | 2 oz |
| Extra AA batteries | 4 oz |
| Flashlight, with battery | 4 oz |
| Pocket knife | 2 oz |
| Safety pins, 4 | Negligible |
| Mole Foam | 1 oz |
| Toothbrush | 1 oz |
| Toothpaste | 1 oz |
| Fork | 1 oz |
| Emergency poncho | 1 oz |
| Total weight | 24 lbs, 15 oz |
I have yet to obtain the backup water bottles for use on long stretches of the trail without water. I will carry these empty except for the handful of times I will need to store water in them. The thinnest plastic bottles available (the disposable type) will weigh about one ounce for both of them, bringing my total gear weight to an even twenty-five pounds. The following is a complete list of clothing:
| 1 Hat | 3 oz |
|
1 White T-shirt
|
