Day Zero

It's the day before we actually start hiking. Anyone know what we were thinking? We are crazy. Yep, that's all.

Decided against getting up at 4:30 with the group headed to Campo, just so that I could have one more day of sleep. We were up by 7:30 though. Puttered through breakfast. Found out that one of the hikers that was supposed to start today, Peter, had to scratch due to a back injury that flared up last night. I don't know what I would have done if I had to scratch at this point. Part of me says good job, you are going to make it further than he did, and another part of me says that could be you next. I guess I am just happy to be here and doing one step at a time. Headed in to town to pick up two new members of the house, Fredrick and Nickolas, two German young guys who rode the train in. 

We dropped them off at the house and then went to REI for a last shop for stuff. I got a pack cover since, brilliant me, I couldn't find mine before we left. I swear that I had it, but nope. I also got a flat pack breakfast meal so my back up food was easy to pack. Our dehydrated meals are easier on the pocket book, but they are lumpy. 

Couple of things to know if you ever stay with Bob. One, he drives like he was a cab driver in a past life. He said he wasn't, but good grief. Two, he has stories of everyone and everything. I heard about teaching and other hikers that have come through and everything in between. 

I've spent what feels like afternoon, even though it isn't yet 1 pm when I'm writing this first part, relaxing and working on getting tech all figured out. There is an app that pairs with the beacon, so fiddling with that, as well as downloading maps and just taking in the sights. This is his back porch view.

It's gorgeous. So relaxing, even though there are five people in the house right now, counting the cleaning lady. The Germans are up repacking or something. I think I'm going to wait until this evening to do a pack shake down. I'm way over weight right now, though I think that part of it is that I still have some water weight in my pack. Once I drain that, it will help. 

And of course, you can't forget Millie. I finally got some pictures of her. She is much more photogenic than Lucky is. He can't sit still unless I've strapped ten pounds to him, while Millie is perfectly ready to pose and accept belly scritches. 

One of the things you might have noticed is that a bunch of my blog posts repeated themselves. I was trying to figure out the app on my phone, but it has been temperamental, so I have since changed apps. Here's to hoping that this one works out. 

All of the core group of us (the three Australian girls Jacqueline, Judith, and Laura, Sandy, Damon, and me) walked down to the local grocery store to get food and water bottles. We grabbed some breakfast for tomorrow, as well as some dinner, aka salad! The other four were doing more food shopping for the trail. It was fun to watch the Australians shop. Jacqueline is the odd woman out of the three, as she is hiking alone. She is also older as compared to the other two. The other two, who Damon has dubbed either the Dynamic Duo or the Terrible Twosome, depending on how they do on the trail, are younger and more energetic, aka bouncy. They were fun to watch. Made me feel a little old, but at the same time time, more laid back and better prepared.

We all had a chill afternoon and evening once we got back. Jake, our newest addition was there when we got back from our walk. It was nice to just kick back and relax. We chatted, laughed at the dog trying to get his ball out of the pool, worked on shaking down packs and such. I did pull some stuff out of my pack, just because I don't NEED it. I probably won't regret it, but if I do, most of it is easy to pick up or have shipped to me. Final numbers are 25 lbs base weight and 41 lbs for my total weight, not including my clothes I plan on wearing. I had to take on a little bit of Lucky's stuff as he is right at 15 lbs in his pack. I'm okay with that, because for the most part, it's light stuff. It is what it is.

Two of the girls from Australia spent their time packing for their resupply today. They are doing the first 40 days of trail with food they packed up today. They were seriously industrious today, getting all of their breakfasts packed. Was super familiar.

For dinner, we ordered pizza. It was nice to sit around and have a last meal so to speak. It wasn't the best pizza I had ever had, but it was nice to have something more than salad, which we did eat. After, I walked back down to the store to pick up some cash, since I spent all of it on pizza, with Jake and Jacqueline. They are some interesting folk. I'm excited to hike with Jacqueline. 

Based on the water reports, we have decided that, unless we decided to be even more crazy than we are for hiking the trail and go for a 20 mile day, we are going to camp at the creek 15 miles in. 

Since we have to be up at 4:15 tomorrow, I'm going to bed. It's later than I planned, but such is life. It's been such a fun time so far, but reality is going to crash in tomorrow. There has been a lot of "F*ck, what are we about to do?" going through my head. Just taking it one step at a time.