Someday I’d Like To Try One Of These

May 19, 2013 by RonUlrich | Leave a comment

Getting ready for the hike so early and not waiting until the last minute is proving problematic in the sense that I have time to look into different gear.  I was going to hike the CDT with everything I had from the PCT, with only one upgrade, my sleeping bag, from a synthetic to a down bag.  Then there was the half off ‘friends and family’ coupon for Mountain Hardware.  I spent a lot of money on upgrades, which I feel will make a big difference in my safety and comfort on the trail.

Aarn Load Limo with front storage pockets

Time rolls on, I play with my gear, then I find something on line or think of something I saw on the PCT, which is the case this time.  When I met  ‘Pelligrino’  she had on a pack the likes of which I had never seen before.  The AarnPack.  It was loaded with pockets on the chest.  It seemed a bit awkward, but my ultimate frustration with backpacks is the inability to access anything you need while hiking.  The tiny hip pockets are nearly useless to me, and in the end, were loaded with holes.

Pelligrino eventually swapped out her aarnpack for an ultralight.  She told me recently that there were some issues with it she didn’t like, but I can’t help but think that the pockets to hold everything that I would need would be a grand thing, especially since i tend to take breaks with my pack still on…

Lounging on my Osprey wearing my Sport Kilt

But alas, I have my Osprey pack that I love… but some day, I want the opportunity to play with one of these.

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Trail Toy To Help Motivate Me

May 19, 2013 by RonUlrich | Leave a comment
Because I don’t like typing on that tiny little keyboard on my iPhone, I bought this. It seems frivolous, but I’m hoping it will help my interest in sharing. If you followed me on the PCT you know my blogging was terrible. My hand written journals are a sad mess of abreviations. So this might help. It’s smaller than a keyboard, BUT it has keys I like; delete, forward and back arrows… The inability to backspace on the iPhone irritates the heck out of me. Cost – $14. So what am I adding to my pack weight? 4.8 ounces. Bonuses though, – it’s RED!!! ( I misplace things in my tent quite easily, so my goal is to have everything a different color… and red is rad)…and according to the ad on Amazon, I can type in a sand storm, wash it any time, it’s wireless (which means I’ll loose some battery life on the phone while using it) …  i can roll it up in a tube I use for my cords… it’s really ideal (I say that now….)

So here’s hoping it’ll inspire me to type on the trail more than I did last year….

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With Less Than A Month To Go

May 19, 2013 by RonUlrich | Leave a comment

Hey there.  the clock is slowly ticking down to June 15, and by slowly I mean FAR TOO SLOW.  I’m ready to do this, but I must wait for snow to melt in Glacier Nat’l Park.  I put out a few feelers on the Facebook page for 2013 CDT hikers and it looks like there will be a few people starting their thru-hike just before or after me, so I won’t be terribly alone on the trail, although there are two different starting points, but they quickly merge to one.

The last few weeks have been possitive for the hike.  Today I crossed the $2000 mark, and Someone donated $1000 to my fundraising site ! (AMAZING !!!) just $1000 to go to hit my official goal.  After a concerning night, a few weeks back, in my tent with far too much condensation that left my new down bag wet at the head and foot, My friend Michael purchased a new Big Agnes tent for me, in fact it’s a tent i struggled with buying last year when ants ate holes in my tent, I wanted to upgrade to a double wall free standing, but decided to stick with the comfort of the tent I had, at half the price.  I’m so very excited to use it!  More on that tent and why later…

Condensation at the foot of my Six Moon Design Double Wall Hybrid Tent :-(

With what I raised and what I’ve saved I’m on good track to keep my hike moving, I just can’t have any unexpected expenses.  Since I have my 6 pair of Montrail shoes already purchased (remember, I bought $115 shoes for $50 through a friends and family discount) so they need to work out well.

I was contacted by a wonderful man who hiked the AT in 1975.  He provides trail magic and assistance at the Dinsmore’s Hiker Haven, who happen to be the last Train Angels on the PCT.  They’re working together to get me Sqincher electrolite drink mixes on the CDT.  A few people have offered to send me food supplies, but those are all packed and ready to send.  Most of the food is dreary and boring though, so I’ve sent out my resupply lists and Rory (my resupply guy) will let everyone know where I’ll be and when (if I can’t) so little surprises can pop up when I least expect it.   My goal will be to get in and out of towns w/little spending and temptation, so if I find an extra box of goodies at the Post Office, I’ll be able to fend off cravings at the supermarket…. or so I tell myself.

Map drawn by the man in charge at work. It starts and ends at work, with little time to hike :-)

I left my job in industrial paint/prep Friday, the guys I worked with seem to want me back, even though I only worked there two months.  I work very hard so it’s nice it’s recognized.  Dan, who runs the paint shop, even drew me a map to follow.  It starts and ends at work, and although I tell him I won’t be back until the end of Nov at the earliest, he wants me back for the busy season…. I like the little lake and mountain’s he included on the map.  Funny good times.

For the first time ever, I’ve been folowing other’s blogs as they hike North on the CDT (NoBo = north bound).  Wired is one to watch (click here to find her blog).  She hiked the PCT in 2011 and is EXCELLENT at blogging and explaining.  Her photos are amazing and I can’t wait to visit the spots I’ve seen her post about.  I was able to offer up my first trail magic for her as well, by buying a piece of pie for her at the Pie-O-Neer in Pie Town, NM… the staff was happy to oblige my request of looking out for her arrival … Also, I’m followingHighlife (Click here to find his blog), who seems to have service everywhere on the CDT so he’s posting a lot on Facebook…

Next week I  head back to see my family for a week.  Other than the short two days in San Diego in April of 2012 when they saw me off on the PCT, I haven’t spent time with them in a year and a half.  It will be good to see them, tell them all about the PCT, all about the CDT plans, and then head back to Portland to start climbing the mountains of the Columbia River Gorge, training for the mountains of Glacier Nat’l Park.

I’m going to try to weigh my gear and get a full gear list together.  I didn’t end up doing this on the PCT because I had so much extra silly stuff that I didn’t want to know, or more so, I didn’t want YOU to know how heavy my pack was… I bought a gram scale to be technical, I’ll try to do that before I head out.

Thanks again for all of the support, and for regular updates, you’re better off following my Facebook page… facebook.com/hiking26. 

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Weekend travels cont’d

May 6, 2013 by RonUlrich | Leave a comment

5/4/13

34.7* last night. 7 a.m. It’s nearly 37*

I should do more hikes like i did today… possibly without the widow-makers… a nice slow start to our morning, after i finally crawled out of my sleeping bag (the new Phantom 15 was SO cozy) we ate breakfast, pit-toilet (:-), and started down the trail. the grade for the first few miles was wonderfully easy gong along a creek flanked by easy sloping canyon walls. Not too far in, a loud crack echoed thru the woods and Karen asked if it was a gun shot? i thought it sounded a bit like a tree cracking in the slight wind gust. Not long after, as we were about to wet our feet at yet another pointless creek crossing, a double cannon bang rang out, followed by what sounded like a rock avalanche. we quickly backtracked enough to see branches flying thru the air. just a 60 second walk (if that) we found the upper half of a tree had slammed down across e trail where we had just been.

that set us on edge as we walked forward into huge swaths of burned out trees swaying in the gusty wind. sadly, this didn’t stop us from hiking on while only discussing turning back. As the twin pillars appeared, we began to climb through the sunny burned out canyon, often stoping to enjoy the many Mountain Bluebirds fluttering about.

When alone, I tend to push hard and fast always curious what lies just ahead while failing to notice what’s around me. Karen is a wonderful governor for me, and incredibly knowledgeable about nature and history. We made it to the pillars as clouds rolled in to set a picturesque background to our destination.

It was a quiet day, three trail runners appeared from nowhere and two women on horseback with a mysterious eyed wolf-dog. all in all we heard at least 8 trees crack & fall, the sound much like lightning crackling, occasionally made my heart stop, and stepped or climbed over two dozen downed trees . The 35 lbs on my back felt good, my overall CDT weight shouldn’t be much more… thats right, i tend to pack heavy, but at least i won’t have to lug around a petticoat
for the length of this next trail. I discovered a small hole in my tent mesh & Smartwool mid-weight long-johns that need love soon. i fuigured iout i also need to make a shoulder case for my phone and or battery pack sio i can fix tghe solar charger to tghe pack & run the charging wire over my shoulder. that, and i have nowhere to store my phone (whch is my alternate camera & GPS as well.

Oh yeah, there’s a bit of story about my hand getting scalded with boiling water while Karen tried to save my down jacket from the burning flame… but neither of us probably want to remember that situation.

i’d say this blog test with the keyboard went well. i think i’ll keep it. :-)
we head out to the car tomorrow, just 2.5 miles. falling asleep next to the creek, hoping the wind doesn’t blow and the Ponderosa’s stand firm.

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Weekend Travels with new toys & gear

May 6, 2013 by RonUlrich | Leave a comment

5/3/13 Blog test

testing testing 1-2-3…..

fri may 3, 2013
central OR 0mi

i’m happy to b writing from my tent, sleeping under the stars for the first time sine i left the PCT in Sept. My friend & trail angel, Karen (Funhog) are out to enjoy a beautiful Oregon weekend hiking to the Twin Pillars. The 4 hour drive, where i saw nearly all of the Oregon volcanic monuments that I walked by just 9 months ago, ended at dusk, at a closed campground at the trail head where we set up for the night. it took us both a few long minutes to reacquaint ourselves with our tents. after 6 months of setting up camp last year, i thought id have retained the ease of skill to throw my tent up quickly on a cool night such as tonight.

this is a great chance to test out some new equipment. if you follow me on facebook, yo know i received a ‘friends and family’ discount coupon that allowed me to buy a few upgraded pcs of gear, such as my new Phantom 15 down sleeping bag & down jacket with hood. both are very comfy right now as they keep me warm as i type. I’m also more excited to be using a tool that i thought to be frivolous… a silicone keyboard, weighing less than 5 oz. it connects to my phone via blue-tooth, and although its smaller than an actual keyboard, so i have to do modified finger typing, it is making this bog entry MUCH easier to type. i used my solar panel to prop up the phone screen and to stabilize the roll-up floppy keyboard. i need to learn how to shut down certain battery draining functions, but so far, the battery power is barely fluctuating.

with my new Osprey Atmos pack & Sport Kilt, i’ll be stylin on trail tomorrow. i brought nearly all of the gear i’ll begin the CDT with, including micro-spikes & bear canister, just to get a feel for the weight, even though the hike should be fairly easy.

thats all for now. so happy to be sleeping outside tonight :-)

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