Happy Days!!
Things are getting a little more exciting!
I'm official now!
I'm official now!
Little by little my preparations for this event are coming together. My long distance hiker permit arrived, and I obtained a California Campfire permit, which will allow me to use my JetBoil stove on public lands. My application for entering Canada via the PCT is now winging it's way to Canada with all the required documentation needed to prove to Canada that I'm a legal U.S. citizen, and have my passport to get back to my home country, so they don't have to worry about feeding and housing me.
Speaking of which, this summer, Mark and I were going to drive into Canada to visit the Northern Terminus of the PCT. As I was preparing for the trip, I discovered my passport had expired a few days earlier. After some time trying to find out if I could get back into the U.S. with just my birth certificate (You can't), we had to throw out the idea of doing this trip. I now have a passport card that is good for a while. I really only want to see the Northern Terminus as I walk to it on completion of my thru hike, so I'm glad we didn't get to make the trip.
My day by day plan for hiking is also finalized now and put into the computer and typed onto calendar sheets. I really wanted to post my hiking schedule, but for the sake of my personal safety, I knew I couldn't. They detail every camp spot for every day, and I don't want the public to have that information. Take it from me, it is a great schedule. I am limiting my hiking days in April to not more than 21 miles a day, 25 miles a day through May, then I will be hiking up to 30 miles after that the rest of the trip. This way I can work my way slowly up into hiking shape and hopefully won't incur further damage to my legs and feet.
Mark and I decided to fly to San Diego, drop me off at the border, then he and Angel will fly back home. We have our airline tickets that we purchased a few months ago, that was before we knew about the new system of allowing only 50 people to leave the border each day during thru hiking season. Luckily, I keep close tabs on the PCTA website, so learned relatively quickly about the new system. And I was able to get my date; I was #30 for my day. Yeah! We don't have to change our tickets! A family friend of my parents, Rose Jacobus, called the Sunday that the new permitting system hit the papers, asking if I knew about this change. I told her I had just applied for my permit, and thanked her for looking out for me.
I am also looking forward to seeing what the new Southern Terminus monument will look like, it is supposed to be made of more weather resistant materials, but with the same look as the old wooden one. You can see the damage at the base of the monument in the above picture. It was looking a little shabby. So all in all, I think the new changes will be helpful to ensure that every hiker gets a great start to their thru hike, and to minimize the hoards that are expected this year. Can't wait to get started!
My day by day plan for hiking is also finalized now and put into the computer and typed onto calendar sheets. I really wanted to post my hiking schedule, but for the sake of my personal safety, I knew I couldn't. They detail every camp spot for every day, and I don't want the public to have that information. Take it from me, it is a great schedule. I am limiting my hiking days in April to not more than 21 miles a day, 25 miles a day through May, then I will be hiking up to 30 miles after that the rest of the trip. This way I can work my way slowly up into hiking shape and hopefully won't incur further damage to my legs and feet.
I am also looking forward to seeing what the new Southern Terminus monument will look like, it is supposed to be made of more weather resistant materials, but with the same look as the old wooden one. You can see the damage at the base of the monument in the above picture. It was looking a little shabby. So all in all, I think the new changes will be helpful to ensure that every hiker gets a great start to their thru hike, and to minimize the hoards that are expected this year. Can't wait to get started!
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