Category: Pacific Crest Trail

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Weekly Update – Feb 10, 2023

Yeah, a little late again…

Fitness goals are not coming along as quickly as I’d hoped. I am trying to lose a bit of weight, but that isn’t really happening yet. I’m definitely gaining muscle mass in the legs, though.

I didn’t climb the stairs very much last week, at work, but I am doing so more this week. I really miss the stair-flights-equivalent count in the new Fitbit Charge 5, but I’ve been doing in the range of 75-100 flights per day (750-1000 feet of gain).

Went to the boat show on Friday the 3rd, and learned some good info. Also saw some lovely boats. I joined the Bluewater Cruising Association, though I have no immediate plans for cruising. But planning to sail to Hawaii in 2024, I’m hoping to learn some good info!

I have been busy this week with working on a computer project at home, which is taking away from both hiking and boat time, but hope to be done with that soon.

One thing I am working on at the boat is a new cover for my electrical board behind the dinette. Here is a view toward the electrical panel. You can see that the wiring is currently a mess – Along with the table, it will be tidied up soon! The red arrows point to the new electrical board. The green arrows point at the electronics panel that I made. The yellow box outlines the cabinet I fabricated and glassed in.

And below is the new panel I’m making. 1/4″ marine plywood which will be sealed, and get a coat of glass and gelcoat. Will be held by a slot on the bottom, and two pull latches on the top. Then the dinette cushions can lean back against it!

Anyway, this week’s numbers follow:

Stats for 29 January – 4 February, 2023

  • Steps: 104350 (avg 14907) down 8% from last week
  • Calories burned: 22078 (avg 3154) down 1% from last week
  • Average resting heart rate: 51.6 (down from 54.1 the week before)

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Weekly Update – Jan 26, 2023

Another week has gone by, and planning for the PCT is proceeding. I have now booked my flight down to San Diego, as well as a night at a hostel in town, and a shuttle to (and night at) CLEEF. And what is that? CLEEF is the Camp Lockett Event and Equestrian Facility. It is a non-profit corporation that provides event and equestrian facilities on a 167 acre property just outside of Campo, California. The important thing to PCT hikers is that the property is located about a half mile from the start point of the trail.

CLEEF offers inexpensive camping prior to beginning one’s hike, as well as a twice-daily shuttle from San Diego to the campground – including stops along the way at the San Diego REI (outdoors equipment store) and a grocery store. It is not cheap, but it is incredibly convenient!

I have been working on figuring out my pack contents for at least the first quarter of the trail, from the Mexican border to Kennedy Meadows South – a point 700 miles along the trail that is considered the start of the Sierras. So this will take me through the southern desert sections, as well as up a couple of tall mountains along the way (Mount Baden-Powell and Mount San Jacinto).

As I get my gear more finalized (Buy a new quilt? Take a tarp instead of a tent for this section? Am I really going to cold soak??) I will post my plans. For now, I’m excited about my new Montbell Versalite jacket, and trying out some new Injinji socks instead of my old reliable Darn Toughs…

I just realized that my passport will expire in late August, at which point I plan to still be a couple of weeks away from home. I’ve just printed up an application for a new one, so hopefully they aren’t as backlogged on renewals as they were a few months ago…

One more thing – I went in for a consultation on having my eyes laserized. I’m planning on having a Lasik procedure two days after my final day at work, a month before I fly down to San Diego! I look forward to not having to carry multiple pairs of glasses and/or contact lenses along with me.

In the meantime, it’s time to update my Fitbit stats from last week. Not pretty, but at least I’m keeping the steps up!

Stats for 15 January – 21 January, 2023

  • Steps: 105201 (avg 15029) up 0.1% from last week
  • Calories burned: 21901 (avg 3172) up 1% from last week
  • Average resting heart rate: 55.9 (up from 54.6 the week before)
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A week that included hiking AND camping… (Update #5)

Another week has passed, and I’m keeping the movement going – the movement of steps across the ground, that is. Lots of steps, at work, and in the woods. Quite a few stairs climbed at work as well.

This week, I was off Thursday through Saturday. On Thursday I took the dog camping at Porteau Cove, along the road up to Squamish. The weather was nasty when we got there, but cleared up in late afternoon. While it was still raining, we drove into Squamish, and just took a short walk up to the base of Shannon Falls. The falls weren’t really raging, and the rain wasn’t really pouring, and the wind wasn’t really howling. It was a pleasant, short, walk.

Dog looking at the camera, with a waterfall partially obscured by foliage in the background.
Chester posing at a (partial) viewpoint of Shannon Falls.

We returned to Porteau Cove, and spent a while walking around the campground and park.

Dog on a wooden platform with railing, with a view across the water to a mountainous island
Chester checking out the view at Porteau Cove.

We had a pleasant fire, as the evening cooled off, and we were in the tent shortly after 8. It began to rain again a short while later, and continued to rain for most of the night. In the morning, however, it had cleared up again, and the rest of the day was very spring-like and almost warm.

After packing up, we headed back to North Vancouver, where we met up with a friend for a hike in between Lynn Valley and Seymour Valley, south of Rice Lake. Around 8 km or so, and a bit of up and down. The dog was tired by the end…

Dog standing the the bottom of some large wooden stairs climbing into the forest.
“More stairs???”

Yet another hike on Saturday, as well, with some members of the Swedish Cultural Society. Again, we started at the top of Lynn Valley Road, and hiked the Lynn Loop, via Cedar Mill Trail to the Third Debris Chute, then back down the Headwaters Trail, and on to Rice Lake for a little snack.

All in all, a good week of keeping the steps up, and upping the ante a little bit on elevation gained – flights climbed. My resting heart rate climbed a bit, mostly due to drinking too much on Wednesday night (an evening at the pub with my Swedish class!) and sleeping poorly that night, and while camping. My blood pressure has dropped a bit, as well, which is always a (genetic) concern for me.

Stats for 17 April – 23 April, 2022

  • Steps: 120075 (avg 17154) up 5% from last week
  • Floors: 547 (avg78) up 14% from last week
  • Calories burned: 24362 (avg 3480) up 3% from last week
  • Average resting heart rate: 51.9 (up from 49.7 the week before)

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Weekly Update #4

Old guy in a tuque hiking in the forest

Four weeks in a row. This may be a record.

Some more hiking, a bunch of treadmill time, and new toys.

I bought some new lighter-weight goodies this week. I replaced my old DeLorme InReach SE with a newer Garmin InReach Mini, which cut the weight in half, from about 200g to 103g. I am hoping that the newer one is a little more reliable than the old one was. I was somewhat disappointed that the old one was quite finicky about its view of the sky – sometimes it just did not want to send, even with a good portion of the sky in view.

InReach SE and InReach Mini side by side comparison
Old InReach (197g) beside the InReach Mini (103g)

I also bought a new, lighter charging block for charging up my Anker 20000 mAH power bank. The 511 nano is a 20W USB C charger that weighs only 31g. It will charge the power bank fully in 10 hours, so great for a motel stay while on the PCT. Top-ups now and then will keep me going in between.

I ordered a new headlamp, the Petzl Bindi. Only 35g (compared to my BD Spot at about 85g) and has a rechargeable built-in battery, so I don’t have to keep spare AAAs on hand. Helpful on trail, when I’ll always have the power bank along.

Finally, I’d been thinking about trying out new shoes. I’ve been wearing Merrell Moab shoes in the Wide variety for many years now, and they work great for me. I can always rely on the fit, and they take no breaking in whatsoever – I can buy a new pair and take them on a 10 hour hike with no foot issues at all. The downside is that they are very heavy shoes – about 1 kg for the pair.

I have heard a lot about the Altra Lone Peak trail running shoe, and how the footbox is very wide. Knowing that I have a very wide foot, I was hoping that the shoes would fit me well. I went to Mountain Equipment Co-op, and tried on a pair. They felt so good on my feet, without having to size-up for the width, that I bought a pair immediately. Worth a try!

I used the shoes on the treadmill, initially, doing 90 minutes at 3 mph (stupid imperial treadmill) at a six to twelve percent grade. The shoes felt great, so I’ve tried them out on some trails, walking the dog, for an hour at a time, twice now. Today, I finally spent the whole day in them, at work. So far, so good! We’ll see how they hold up for some more serious hiking in coming weeks.

Anyway, the weekly totals are down a bit from last week, but I’m still pretty happy overall. The best thing is that the work is showing real benefits in my resting heart rate. January through March, my resting rate averaged 52 -53, and so far in April (as of the 17th) it is averaging just under 50. Much better, and more like it should be!

Stats for 10 April – 16 April, 2022

  • Steps: 114261 (avg 16323) down 5% from last week
  • Floors: 478 (avg 68) up 26% from last week
  • Calories burned: 23610 (avg 3373) down 2% from last week
  • Average resting heart rate: 49.7 (down from 50.1 the week before)
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Weekly update number 2!

Well, it’s been a busy week of helping my in-laws move, but that is almost done. Hoping that I’ll actually be able to get away for a hike later in the week, on Tuesday or Thursday (I’m working on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and beyond.)

In the middle of last week I decided that it is important to get in my steps every day. So the goal, for the time being, is to manage 12,000 steps on at least 6 out of 7 days a week, burn 3000 calories or more a day, and to total 100,000 steps per week. I didn’t manage it last week, but I’ve got my hopes up for this week!

Today (Sunday) I watched a few videos on YouTube by “Old Man and the AT” – Mike Current (trail name: Energizer). Mike hiked the PCT in 2020, at the same age I’ll be when heading out there, and absolutely nailed it. His video on preparing mentally to hike the AT this year is just excellent. I also watched his video on physically preparing for the trail, but that one was a little tougher for me. A large part of it is that my bad left knee won’t let me do any running for cardio, but for that I plan to keep working up on my elliptical time, and steep hikes. I also don’t really have the time to hike for a few hours a day right now. I’ll just have to do as much as I can, and be persistent.

I’ve been sampling a few different PCT YouTubers this year, and having a hard time selecting what I’d like to keep watching. Shaky footage; way too much walking with wide-angle, vertigo inducing camera work; inconsistent sound volume levels; people who don’t seem all that serious, hiking 6-8 miles a day, day after day. I guess I’m pretty demanding, but I’m sure I’ll settle on a couple of accounts that will offer what I’m after…

Anyway, here is this week’s rundown of Fitbit stats for the past week:

Stats for 27 March – 2 April, 2022

  • Steps: 90196 (avg 12885)
  • Floors: 117 (avg 17)
  • Calories burned: 22329 (avg 3190)
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One Year To Go

I have some big changes in life coming up!

– says me

What is going to change?

According to my (current) grand plan, one year from today, 22 March 2023, will be my last working day at my current job. Almost exactly 31 years after I began my training as an air traffic controller, I will be making my final transmission to an aircraft.

Unfortunately, I’ve let myself get a little bit out of shape over the past year, despite a couple of good trips last summer and fall. This gives me a year to get into “post-career” shape. And why am I keen to get into better shape for my retirement? Because I plan to hike!

The purpose behind retiring at that time of year is quite simply so that I can leave my job, and begin a five-month long hike.

I intend to fly down to the US/Mexican border, and walk all the way, via the Pacific Crest Trail, home to Canada, where I will begin my life without work.

A lot of people say that hiking the 2650 miles (4265 km) of the PCT is a life-changing experience. I figure, why not do so when my life is about to undergo one of the most dramatic changes in my day-to-day life that I will ever experience?

Plans for this summer

I already have a few adventures planned for the next few months.

  • Two weeks in Scotland in May
  • A week in the Rockies in July
  • A trip around the Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit in September
  • Hopefully, a trip up to Lake Lovelywater this summer

I hope to be a little more regular in updating this blog, documenting both my ongoing adventures, and my preparations for one of the biggest undertakings I expect I’ll ever set out on.

Don’t know whether anyone will read this, but I really want to chronicle it somewhere, even if it is only for myself.