244 - The fantastic year is ending with a bang

With only three weeks to go until the end of the calendar year, I've been contemplating what has happened in the past 12 months and what the future has in store for me. I'm excited! Usually, by now, I have already sent out my annual Christmas cards with their 'round-robin' letters. My friends all know how much I love to send (and receive - hint!) letters and cards in the mail. Anyway, it truly has been a fantastic year, and the best is yet to come!

January started out with me weighing 336 pounds (152.5 kg). This morning:

243.8 lbs (110.6 kg)

243.8 pounds, 92 lbs lighter in twelve months. Losing nearly eight pounds a month on average is a good, healthy amount. 

I was still living in Helena at the time (in January 2016), still working for the Dept of Public Health and Human Service in a job that had me practically tied to a desk all day answering a phone. I was walking the ⅔ mile each way to work (a 100 foot elevation difference so, yes, it was uphill both ways 😜), including in the middle of winter with all its snow and ice (and I can honestly say, I never missed a single day because of the weather). At this point I hadn't been riding my bike, which was still stored in my hall closet. I also hadn't substantially started hiking yet, although I had started to make plans to go to southern Oregon and see Crater Lake as part of a 100-mile PCT hike that was scheduled for the end of May. 

In July I had decided that I was financially stable enough to be able to leave my job and move to my "spiritual home" (where I'm actually living now) of Missoula, MT. There was a short 'blip' when I was in Sidney (eastern Montana) for a few weeks. My close friends know the details of that little escapade (temporary insanity? 😵) Anyway, I moved to the Garden City at the beginning of November and have been able to get back on my program (such that there is one - low carb diet and more exercise, basically) with great results. I've been riding my now-heavily-accessorized bike a lot (weather permitting), and walking more than ever before. 

So, next year I'm looking forward to finally reaching my final target - 178 lbs or (80.7 kg) which, for a 5' 10" guy (1.78 m) is still a BMI of 25.5 - so, technically, still overweight. I should be there by, say, mid-July. But, you know what? If it takes me until August, or September, or even December, I'm not that bothered. It's all a heck of a lot better than 405 lbs (June 2015) or 428 lbs (June 2014)!! Of course, there's the question of what to do about the 20 pounds of excess, flapping skin that will be hanging off me all over the place. "Surgery!" (I imagined myself saying that in a ringing, singing voice).

I still have some objectives to meet. I still want to find a place to do some boxing to help develop my upper body musculature. I still want to find a place to do T'ai Chi to help with the physical and mental/spiritual balance. I still want to do a long-distance bicycle ride (Portland, Oregon, is still looking attractive as either the destination or the starting point for that little tour). I really want to start dancing again. I have such fond memories of my daughter and I going to some contra dances in Helena, but that was six and seven years ago! I know that those things are all available here in Missoula, it's just a question of time and money, and making it a big enough priority. 

If you're in Missoula and you're interested in contra dancing, the Missoula Folklore Society has dances twice a month (first and third Saturday) from October through May (http://www.missoulafolk.org). Maybe I'll see you there? Oh, and Sara Bareilles? I'm still waiting for your phone call to ask me to be in a future music video of yours ("Brave" was brilliant! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQsqBqxoR4.) 

And, I haven't given up on wanting to complete my PCT hike, or climbing Mount Hood ("Go BIG or go home!", right?) I have unfinished business to take care of in Oregon, and I'm not going to let it beat me! 

I still want to expand my répertoire of mostly plant-based (but not exclusively vegetarian) recipes and learn some new cooking styles and techniques. I still want to learn and practise my own food growing, canning and preserving. Not that I want to be all "prepper" self-sufficient, but a little better preparedness doesn't hurt (interestingly, even after living in the US for 20 years now, I've still never fired - much less held - a gun. I get that question from my English friends all the time). 

In the short term, I want to start enjoying the winter (I never imagined that THOSE words would ever come out of my mouth!) I want to try snowshoeing (or cross country skiing, maybe). 

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom-of-night
stays this man from going outside."

2017 is going to be another fantastic year. If I can take some friends with me, old ones or new ones, it'll be that much better. If I can leverage the new-found knowledge and experience of healthy eating and exercise and weight-loss, and get myself a better job, or even just use it to HELP other people, I'll be delighted. 

On our way to Oregon today

The day has finally arrived! I've been contemplating this day and this journey for eight months now, thinking about it, planning it, dreaming about it, and now it's here. Birdie and I will be leaving Helena in just over an hour, heading up Interstate-15 towards the Amtrak station in Shelby. Our backpacks are packed. Hers weighs about 25 lbs, mine weighed in at 38 lbs! When I think of my personal weight loss journey over the past 11 months, I've lost the equivalent of two and a half big backpacks!

This morning, on the bathroom scales, I was at 306.4 lbs. We'll see how much I lose in the next 11 days (the next time I'll weigh myself). These last few weeks have been up and down much more than normal. My diet has had a lot more carbohydrates in it than normally (well, the 'new normal', anyway). I've also been struggling in a psychological battle with food. I'm determined that I'm going to WIN that particular battle, so there will be renewed action on that front when I return to Helena at the end of May.

I'm sad that we won't be hiking the 'real' Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) because of all the snow on it, but we've managed to come up with an alternative that is almost as long (still 72 miles), and that takes us past a nature reserve and bird sanctuary, so there should still be some sights to see on the way, and good photos to take and share afterwards. I also won't get to see Crater Lake up close - this year - but my plan is to come back in two years time (2018) and do it all again. Except, then, I'll come back in March - when there's a lot more snow, and I'll be properly equipped and trained to deal with it. How about that for making lemonade out of lemons!?

Once I get back home (Sat, May 28th) I'll upload all of my photos to an online album, but some pictures may get posted from my cell phone before then. https://goo.gl/photos/JvhZBZosKDhSAApT6 is the address of the album. There's a tentative schedule of where we'll be at http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016/schedule, and a near-real-time map of our whereabouts at http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016/where (also reachable via https://share.delorme.com/janesdaddy). The password is the name of the state that we are hiking in (with a capital 'O' at the beginning). 

I would like to thank all my friends and others who have supported me in the past eight months, either with the physical preparation, or with words of encouragement. Thank you. 

Weather looking wet and cool for the big hike (PCT d - 2)

It's Oregon! I should have expected it, right? And I'm British, so I should be used to it, right?

Here is the weather forecast for Fort Klamath for the next few days.

Fort Klamath weather, wet and cool

Friday (May 20th, our first day of actual hiking) will bring a quarter inch of rain. Daytime temperatures for the week will be around 60 °F, with nighttime temperatures at or just below 40 °F. It'll be warmer at the end of the week, but still raining occasionally.

Need a forklift truck (not really) (PCT d - 6)

I think we're almost ready to go. Our Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) adventure has become the "almost-PCT" or "nearly-PCT", thanks to the 4-foot deep snow on the only part of the PCT in Oregon to have snow - the precise bit that we'd planned to hike on. I've been monitoring the monitoring stations along the way, and the snow is melting; just not quickly enough. The level is going down at the rate of about 2" a day (16 inches a week), but it's still at 52" (over 4 feet) today (see http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/plot?time_zone=PST&intervalType=+View+Current+&sitenum=1000&report=SNOW&timeseries=Daily&interval=MONTH&format=plot&autoscale=true&legendpos=below for an example). As such, some of the steep hills would be simply too dangerous for inexperienced (but enthusiastic!) hikers such as Birdie and me. We don't have crampons and ice axes, or any of the other gear necessary for our safety on a steep, hilly climb through that much snow (good safety video at http://sectionhiker.com/winter-skills-how-to-use-an-ice-axe-for-self-rescue/), so we devised an alternate plan for our seven days of hiking.

This is only breakfasts and some snacks

Having acquired all the other equipment and consumables in prior weeks, the last piece was to buy our breakfast food and snacks. Yesterday was my pay day, so I was able to buy a load of tasty oatmeal bars (a brand I would highly recommend, if the company will send me a free box of them  ;-) some nut bars (some with dark chocolate), some fruit leathers, some beef jerky and some salami. Some of the stuff may get repackaged so as not to take up so much space, but it's really the weight that's going to be the big issue. When I've been going out on my practise hikes recently, my pack has weighed up to 35 pounds, and that was with no more than a few days worths of food. Including the train journey down to Klamath Falls, we'll be taking nine days worth of food with us. Full details of our schedule, our list of gear, the original (now revised) schedule, and our near-real-time location can be found on the main ERGOOB website at http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016/.

Alternate route for PCT2016 hike

Alternative route because of snow

With the news on Friday that snow on the PCT is still three to four feet deep, Birdie and I had to change our plans slightly. Instead of the 100 mile hike that we had originally planned, it's now going to be closer to 66 miles long, with each day being only 10-12 miles in distance, instead of averaging 15 miles per day. Still, it'll be a good workout nonetheless!

The course on the map marked with a red line to the left is the old, original route. The purple line further right, with green triangles, is the new route, which is shifted east a little bit. It's still in view of the mountains to the west, and some bird sanctuaries and stuff on the other side. It goes along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (http://www.volcaniclegacybyway.org), northwest out of Klamath Falls. Parts of our new route are on Forest Service land or County roads, so they'll be nicely maintained and a lot more level than the PCT.

Also, one of the nights should be at the Jackson F Kimball State Recreation Site, which has 10 primitive campsites and also a vault toilet, so we won't have to poop in the woods that night.

There's a possibility, if the snow isn't too deep, that we can get back onto the original trail at the end of Day 3, and still see the actual Crater Lake. If not, I'll have to come back some other time (later in the year!)

Ups and downs and a new PB (PCT d - 9)

For those readers who didn't already know, I weighed 405 lbs eleven months ago, in mid-June 2015. This morning I tipped the scales at ...

303 lbs (137.4 kg)

303 lbs - 102 pounds less than when I started this adventure (... this lifestyle change, if you like).

Steady progress

It was admittedly much easier at the beginning, when I was losing between 12 and 14 pounds a month. Then, my average fell to between nine and ten pounds. I've had a couple of months with some small wobbles, but the trends is still downwards.

The small downer from the weekend was that I had to spend the entire time researching and plotting a new course for our Oregon trip next week. With the discovery that the snow on the real Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is still several feet high on the very section that I was going to be on, our new course runs almost parallel to it, but at a lower elevation, just to the east of the PCT, on flatter ground. The new course is also slightly shorter - only 66 miles instead of 100 miles. But still, it'll be an average of 10-12 miles a day. More details about that in a future blog post.

Fridges and freezers (PCT d - 12)

I had totally planned to write about my refrigerator, this lunchtime, but then got distracted by the map showing snow depth on the PCT. Yikes!

The point of the fridge photo was that there's not much in it, which reduces the scope and possibility for overeating. There's milk and half-and-half for my tea and coffee, with a pitcher of filtered water for drinking. A can of Spam, some mixed greens (kale, spinach and chard), some bean sprouts, grated carrot, a bit of red onion (all for salads), a cucumber, some lettuce, a small boneless beef steak, some butter and some eggs. That's it!

3-4 feet of snow on our section of the PCT - plans have changed now

The snow depth map comes from http://www.postholer.com/gmap/gmap.php?trail_id=1&depth=1, which shows several feet of snow on the trail itself, although surrounding highways are clear: https://www.tripcheck.com/Pages/RCMap.asp. 

If push came to shove, and we couldn't walk on the PCT at all, the distance from Klamath Falls to Chemult on US-97 is about 72 miles, but the scenery is not nearly as exciting!

Our chance to show how badly we want something (PCT d - 15)

Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, who learned that he had pancreatic cancer and was given a terminal diagnosis: "3 to 6 months of good health left". He gave an upbeat lecture titled "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" in September 2007 which became a popular YouTube video. In it, he had many good pieces of advice, including this:

"The brick walls aren't there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something."

People are asking me, more and more, if I'm ready for my 100-mile long Oregon trip. The answer is, Yes. I feel like I've done all of the things I could possibly do to get myself ready in terms of acquiring the correct gear, preparing myself physically and mentally for the challenge ahead. Now, we just have to get there (in 15 days time), and start taking those first steps.

The excitement of it all is linked to the prospect of unknown problems, and having the ingenuity to solve them. Also, it'll be 11 days of minimal exposure to electronics and the Internet; seven days of sunshine and fresh air (although, it is Oregon, so it might rain!?)

Slow and steady wins the race

Despite the little blip in the downward path of my weight loss, I'm just as determined as ever to have a successful month of May, and get back on track. I'm going to find a way around the wall, or over it, or under it, or through it - whatever it takes.

Weather looking good for Utah trip (PCT d - 30 on Monday)

With just over four weeks to go until the big Pacific Crest Trail section hike in Oregon, the next stage of preparation is really close - my three-night trip to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah. The weather is looking pretty good for that:

No precipitation, little wind until Friday, not freezing at night.

Since I didn't get to actually sleep in my hammock while hiking near Norris last weekend, this will be the first proper test of that. The terrain is high desert, with not many trees, except 2,000 feet lower down, next to the Colorado River. The hazards may not include bears or mountain lions this time, but they still include rattlesnakes, plus scorpions and black widow spiders! I expect we'll actually see a lot of ravens and geckos.

There will be some late food shopping on Monday, plus some bulk water shopping and truck packing on Tuesday evening, so that we can make an early (6 am) start on Wednesday morning. We should be in Moab well before sunset so, after staking out our campsite for the evening, we'll drive into one of the parks to capture the magical lights and colors of the setting sun on the iron-tinted sandstone landscape. On Thursday and Friday there will be a number of short hikes to see more of the sandstone arches, spires, fins and balanced rocks, and the mesas of southeastern Utah.

The near-real time map will be available again at https://share.delorme.com/janesdaddy although, of course, there won't be any data to see there until after Wednesday afternoon. (p/w is the small town with the short name mentioned in the previous paragraph).

Bought train tickets today for Oregon trip (PCT d - 35)

Two days on a train to get there

With only five weeks to go until our 100-mile PCT adventure around Crater Lake in Oregon, I bought our train tickets today.

After the "excitement" of the Norris hike last weekend, there's not long before the Utah trip. This time next week I'll be on Interstate-15 heading south approaching Salt Lake City. We'll be camping outside the national parks near Moab (only because they don't have enough trees to hang a hammock - a bitter lesson learned), but the plan is to see the sunrises and sunsets in the Arches and Canyonlands national parks, and take lots of photos of the sandstone arches and needles. There'll be many miles of hiking too. It should be great!

Stepping up the steps (PCT d - 59)

I walked 57,000 steps this week, more than any other week in the last nine months. Actually, it's probably more than any single week in the past five years, maybe more!

Weekly steps measured using two Android apps, with a 3 week moving average

I've been steadily increasing my weekly number of steps, from about 25,000, through 30,000 and 35,000. Three times I've hit 47 or 48,000. Today was the first time past 50K, and boy did I shatter that personal best mark!

With less than 9 weeks to go until my Oregon adventure; less than 5 weeks until my 3-night Arches/Canyonland NP trip to Utah; and 3 weeks until I spend the night in Bear Trap canyon near Norris after a 9 mile hike, it's good that I'm able to step up my steps. Not only is the quantity of steps going up, but I'm deliberately tackling steeper terrain. It's still hard work. I'm still getting out of breath sometimes, but I don't stop altogether now. I might still take 15 to 20 seconds to catch my breath sometimes on the really steep parts and let my pulse rate settle down a bit, but I press on.

Through all of this, I am so thankful that my feet haven't given me any significant problems. My Moab Ventilator walking shoes (got mine at The Base Camp) have performed really well. I'll probably end up buying a second pair, so that there's a seamless transition when the first pair inevitably wear out. The only fault I can find with them right now is the laces that came with them both broke after just a few months. If I had to give them a rating out of five, it'd have to be ***** five stars. They are a solid, reliable piece of gear for me.

Speaking of reliable gear, one of the very first pieces of gear I bought, back in October 2015, was my trekking poles (http://blog.ergoob.org/2015/10/trying-out-walking-with-trekking-poles.html). They are a very lightweight (80% carbon fiber/20% aluminum) set of an unknown brand ("Flyingbird" is woven into the hand straps) for $50. With the exception of an occasional tiny slip of the locking mechanism (easily fixed), these poles have performed amazingly well. You can still buy them from my favorite online retailer (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y82IYGS). Today, I had to replace the rubber "feet" at the ends. The old ones hadn't quite worn out, but I was beginning to hear a metallic-sounding clank from time to time as the tungsten-steel tips hit the paved road. I expect that, later this summer, I'll invest in an upgrade  to a pair from Black Diamond or Leki. For anyone looking to get into using trekking poles for the first time, I would certainly recommend these (***** 5 stars).

About ten years ago, I bought a Berghaus (European brand) 20 Liter day pack for little local hikes around the Berkshire countryside in England. It served me well at the time, and I brought it back to the States with me the following year when I moved back here. Then the plastic buckle broke. I contacted Berghaus, who didn't reply, so I more or less stopped using the pack. Today, thanks to Bob at The Base Camp, I not only have a new buckle for that, but also an extension for the "fanny pack" that is the lid of my new 60 Liter Osprey Aether backpack. That worked out really well, and for under $5 each.

Speaking of my Osprey Aether backpack, I was surprised that the hydration bladders were as reasonably priced as they are. I got the Osprey brand 3 liter reservoir for $36, although I doubt that I'll ever fill it all the way to the top. Now I'll have a way of carrying, say, 5 pounds of water (5 pints) on my back without any bulky bottles. I'll have a separate 16 ounce "dirty" water container for use with my Sawyer Mini filter, and a re-purposed Gatorade bottle for my immediate drinking needs. On the Oregon trip, at the end of May, there are plenty of lakes, and the streams will still be flowing with spring runoff (melted snow). The dry season won't be for a month or two after I've been there.

Dizzying heights and under 320 (PCT d - 72)

At the top of Mount Ascension on Sunday morning

 

Part of my preparation for the 100-mile hike coming up in ten weeks time is walking up hills. There are few bigger in the immediate Helena area then Mount Ascension, which I climbed for the first time on Sunday morning (thanks Ann!) To be fair, I didn't start from the very bottom, but it was still a good 1.6 mile round trip in 55 minutes. It was a bit windy in the exposed parts, and a bit muddy underfoot in places, but it was fun. I'm looking forward to exploring more of that area, using its extensive system of paths and trails. What an excellent resource we have, right on our doorstep! 

I was carrying my backpack, laden with 20 lbs of "stuff" (hammock and bug net, sleeping pad, heavy clothing, first aid kit, bear spray, solar panel charger and battery pack) to simulate the kind of bulk and weight I'll be carrying in Oregon. 

319.8 lbs (145 kg)

The exercise, and the continuing low carb diet, helped me get below 320 pounds for the first time in ... I don't know how many years, maybe five years. My target for the end of March is to be under 312 lbs. I have a good feeling about that. 

First experience of hanging in my hammock (PCT d - 79)

After the strong and chilly wind didn't let up at all on Saturday, I finally managed to get out for a 2.4 mile walk on Sunday morning (thanks, Traci!) It was just in my own little neighborhood but it was up and down some steepish hills, including the once-intimidating Buttercup Hill (200 feet tall) at the end of my street. It was hard going, so I know that I'll have to spend several of the next 79 days working on climbing steep hills. I had my backpack on, with about half the stuff that I'll be taking with me to Oregon in May. It weighed nearly 14 pounds.

First time putting up the hammock, lessons learned

On a different tack, I finally got to try out my hammock at the Vigilante campground near York today. It took a couple of goes to get the angle of the dangle correct. The big takeaway from the whole experience was that I need to practice tying proper knots. Evidently, all those YouTube videos I watched didn't help enough. I need to tie so many of them myself, using real rope or cord, that it becomes second nature.

The whole hammock setup was much smaller than I had imagined but, once I'd made some adjustments, it was pretty comfortable. Getting in to it was amusing. Getting out again was like something from a slapstick movie.

Now (on Wednesday) to order the last major piece of gear, my down quilt, and I'll be all set.

Almost got all my gear for the hike in May (PCT d - 82)

With my new Osprey Aether 60
backpack

My new backpack arrived on Tuesday morning, so I went (walked!) to pick it up after work that day. I will be test driving it with extra weight inside over the next few weeks, trying to simulate hiking conditions, and getting used to the adjustments and fine tuning. There are lots of straps and loops and such. There are some that I'm not even sure of their purpose.

I put my sleep system (hammock/bug net/rain tarp) in the bottom of the pack, and added some extra bulk and weight to the top part to give it a better shape and more realistic weight. Then I tried it while walking to work. It wasn't bad - pretty comfortable. Since I'll be carrying it all 100 miles of the hike, I've got to get used to carrying it when I'm walking around town too.

Now, the only two things missing are my down quilt to keep me warm at night, and a DeLorme inReach Explorer GPS locator and communicator for use in an emergency and to help send our location on the trail to our friends and family back home who will be able to track us on a special website.

Between us, Birdie and I have pretty much everything else we need now. So, the challenge in the next 12 weeks will be to test ourselves and our kit as much as possible before we go, so that there as few bad surprises as possible, and we can enjoy the beautiful scenery (trees, trees, and more trees; and a few mountains, and lakes) of southern Oregon.

My life - in text messages (PCT d - 88)

It occurred to me recently that if I ever fell over and banged my head, losing all of my recent memories, one would easily be able to recreate my life by looking at the text messages from my phone. Unfortunately, the messages are all to different people, so no one individual gets the whole story, but between them all, they all get pieces of it. So, when I say to you, dear reader, "I can't remember if I've told you this before or not", it's true. I probably can't.

Saturday was a great day. Apart from not having to go to work (always a bonus), my English football team - Reading FC - won their FA Cup 5th Round match, which means they get to play in the next round in the second week of March. I shouldn't entrust my happiness to the fortunes of a soccer team, I know, especially a team with such crappy league form (16th out of 24 teams, having won only 9 of 31 league matches this season). But, today they beat a Premier League club by 3-1, finally reaching their full potential and playing together really well.

I had recently had success, too, with a little computing hobby thing that I was working on. At https://flightaware.com/adsb/stats/user/janesdaddy you can see the results. I bought a new Raspberry Pi recently. It's a low-powered, single-board computer for $35 that can be used for learning programming, or for cool home automation projects (which is what my first Pi is doing), or this new one is taking the transponder signals from airplanes that are flying above Helena and feeding them into a huge database (ADS-B flight tracking), so that I and others can see the call sign, origin, destination, height speed and direction of planes in our area.

Yesterday (Friday evening) I went to a Helena Bighorns ice hockey game, which was exciting (even though the team from Helena lost 2-3 in the LAST SECOND of the game). Beforehand, I had dinner at a local 24-hour restaurant (Shellie's Country Cafe) without realizing that Friday and Saturday evenings are their Prime Rib evenings. I hadn't had prime rib in ages, so I treated myself. The plate was as large as a car tire, and the steak was massive. Having, therefore, pushed the boat out so far, I figured I would treat myself and have some lemon meringue pie too. I haven't had anything like lemon meringue pie in eight months now, and it tasted pretty good, but I was WAY TOO FULL afterwards, and it was reflected on the weighing scales this morning 😢 .

Nearly 13,000 steps walked,
or 7 miles

After last Friday's successful 10 mile walk, I know I have to keep up the momentum before I go hiking 100 miles in seven days in May, so I arranged to go on a long walk with my friend Traci. I walked to her house (3 miles) then walked 3 miles more in her neighborhood. It was good, but my legs were tired after I sat down at the end of it. Also, she's a bundle of energy who is capable of walking at a much faster pace than my dawdling 2.6 miles per hour. Still, I did it. Now I just need to keep challenging myself to do more of these 5 and 6 mile walks, and eventually some more 8 and 10 mile walks, until they become almost second nature. There are 88 days until we leave for Oregon, so there's time to build up my strength and endurance.

If I walk to work and back on any given day (0.75 miles each way) and do an hour on the treadmill at the gym (2.5 miles, let's say), that's about 4 miles or so. After throwing in a mile more for other incidentals, I can sometimes manage 10,000 steps per day, but only on a couple of days per week. My objective now is to regularly exceed 12,000 steps in a day, like I did today.

It's all A LOT better than a year ago, when I was such a slug that I could barely reach the end of the driveway without being out of breath. Walking just one city block was a major ordeal at the time. I remember not wanting to go to Helena's fantastic annual Symphony Under The Stars because it involved walking a few blocks. Now, I have so much more energy.

I keep saying to myself, now that I'm getting fitter, "I wish I'd started doing something about my health sooner than I did". More than that, too, I wish I had never allowed myself to get into the shape I was in the first place. But, it is what it is. I'm doing it now - one small step at a time. I have the support and encouragement of a great team of friends who all help and support me in different ways. If you are reading this blog, there's a good chance you are one of those, and I sincerely Thank You for all that you have done.

Some of you who are reading this blog are on your own journey to better health. I salute you for grasping the nettle and doing it, even when you're tired or hungry and simply don't want to. Don't give up! It's worth it! You're worth it! It's worth the fantastic feeling that you get when you can wearing clothing that's "normal"-sized. It's worth it when you can bend over to tie your shoelaces. It's worth it when you can walk or swim or do other exercises that you haven't been able to do for years before.It's worth it when you catch yourself checking yourself out in the mirror.

Self checkout

I know that I personally still have a long journey ahead of me. I've been living this new lifestyle for eight months now, and it'll be another 16 months before the transformation is complete. I'm still morbidly obese at 324 lbs (well, 329 pounds after that pie yesterday!), but I'm definitely headed in the right direction.

Meal Measure portion control tool

My sister, living in Singapore at the moment, recently pointed out this product to me: a Meal Measure portion control tool (http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z0SDXC).

Within each of the three smaller holes are graduation marks to indicate a half cup measure of food. Filling the hole up to the top is a full cup. One is designated for fruit, vegetables and starch, and the bottom, open hole is for protein, all according the USDA My Pyramid suggestions. I'm going to give it a go and see how useful it is. 

I was reminded of a blog post I'd made a few weeks ago in which I was talking about the need for cosmetic surgery after losing substantial amounts of weight, when a friend pointed out that the TLC network has a TV show called Skin Tight, that deals with exactly that (http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/skin-tight/).  OMG! That's some scary sh*t right there! I knew it was a real problem, and it may be one that I'll be facing, myself, in a year or two's time. Before I contemplate any kind of surgery though, I would want to prove to myself, and a potential surgeon, that I can keep the weight off for a year or more (although I'm sure some cosmetic surgeons [not all] are probably more interested in the income than in a patient's welfare). 

I had spoken in this blog before about having a couple of opportunities in April to test my hiking gear in real-world situations. One of those will be here in Montana, but our state doesn't lend itself too well to outdoor sleeping above 38 °F in April. Few other nearby states do (not Washington or Oregon or Idaho, nor Wyoming or Colorado or the Dakotas). Really, the best bet is going to be in Utah. I was e-mailing another friend recently who has been to some of the national parks in Utah, and it sounds like that might work - except for the obvious logistical problem of getting there! That might be solved now too. Since I deliberately took time off work during National Park Week (http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm) when the usual entrance fees ($30-40) are waived, it's a great opportunity to see some spectacular countryside (iconic stone arches, for example) as well as stress test my backpack, hammock and down quilt, cooking equipment, shoes (and feet) and other clothing, and everything else that I'll be using four weeks later near Crater Lake. I haven't really looked at Arches or Canyonland National Parks fully yet, or any of the other state and national parks in southern Utah, but it'll be a great experience, I'm sure. I just hope there are places to hang a hammock! 

I'm sure there was more to tell, but that'll do for now. 

First test of shoes and feet and legs ** PASSED ** (PCT d -95)

I took Friday off work in order to do the first significant test of my readiness for the long hike in May. I had planned to walk 15 miles from my apartment in the South Hills to Sierra Rd in the north valley (7.5 miles away) and back again. In the end, I managed 10.3 miles in four and a half hours, which was okay.

10.3 miles in four and a half hours

Knowing a week beforehand that the weather was going to cooperate, I waited until the sun came out to melt any traces of black ice that might make conditions slippery. I set off at 09:00. The first break came at 4 miles, when I stopped at the Natural Grocer to buy some bananas (for energy and potassium), chocolate macaroons (tasty and no too carb-laden) and a couple of flavored drinks. I already had a couple of bottles of water with me, plus a few Mozzarella sticks.

Averaging about 2.5 miles per hour until lunchtime, I made it to Sierra Road in three hours. A leisurely lunch followed, then a slow start to the journey back. As the bright sunshine came out, and with a couple of short breaks, I made it to the area around Custer and Montana Avenue before deciding to stop.

Physically, I felt like I'd managed well. My thighs could tell that I'd just walked ten miles. My feet felt good - no rubbing, no hot spots, no blisters, no aches, no discomfort. The shoes and socks performed well. First test ** PASSED **!

It was also a test of the longevity of my phone's battery and the performance of the UnderArmor MapMyHike+ Android app. With the Wi-Fi and cellular data turned off, only GPS was still on. I did play music non-stop for nearly three hours and the battery went from 100% down to 62%. I took my Anker Astro E5 battery pack with me and re-charged the phone to 75% while eating lunch. On the way back into town I listened to an Audible audiobook (a biography of Albert Einstein, which was serendipitous given the science news about the confirmation of gravitational waves, something that Einstein had predicted in 1916).

325.2 lbs - lowest in a long time!

On Saturday morning, I'm doing okay. The muscles can still tell that they've had a good workout, but no trauma, no strains, nothing adverse. Stepping on the scales this morning, I was at 325.2 pounds, the lowest I've been in a very long time.

Ordered my "sleep system" today for the big hike in May (PCT d - 99)

ENO Reactor hammock system

I've been eyeing up the Eagles Nest Outfitters (ENO) OneLink Reactor Hammock System ($245), but that includes the Reactor hammock (with a 20" wide pocket for your insulated sleeping pad), Atlas straps, ProFly rain tarp, Guardian bug net and stakes. I ordered mine today. It should be here next Tuesday. I'll be testing it at the next opportunity. 

Given the location that we'll be hiking in (state and national forests in southern Oregon) in May, there should be LOTS of trees to use, and lots of mosquitoes..

First test of PCT readiness will be this Friday

I'm looking forward to the warmer weather this week (high 40s °F and into the 50s°F on Friday), and my first chance to test myself with a long-distance walk in Helena to see how intensive my next three months of preparation have to be. I've taken the day off on Friday so that I can do 15 miles in one (long) day. I won't have my 25 lb backpack on. It probably won't be here on time (being ordered from the Base Camp in Helena). Still, it'll be a good test of how my legs and feet stand up (!) to the pressure. 

I'm also looking forward to getting some more gear; a new backpack (rucksack) is on its way, and a can of bear spray to deter the black bears (although ground shipping will cause that to arrive a few days later). A couple of backcountry practice runs in April will be a full "dress rehearsal" for the real thing which starts with a two-day train journey on May 18th. The next thing for me to acquire will be my "sleep system" (hammock, bug net, rain fly, tree straps and pegs), followed by a lightweight down quilt (only 1.7 lbs!), and then the train tickets. Then it'll just be a few small things ("Kleinigkeiten" as they say in Germany) and I'll be ready. 

Now I really need to start stepping up my muscle-building (weight lifting) exercises to shape and tone the muscles that are hidden under my slowly-diminishing rolls of fat. I want to be able to close that Gore-Tex jacket before I leave! 

Checking out locations for my April gear test

Being so inexperienced in the ways of hiking and backpacking, I really appreciate my friends who have done it before and are prepared to make suggestions for me. One such idea was a venue to go at the end of April when I have a few days off work and I want to test all of my gear (and my physical body) before tackling the 100-mile section of the PCT in Oregon the following month. It's the Bear Trap Canyon wilderness, on BLM land near Ennis, Montana (about 8 miles from Norris).

http://alltrails.com/trail/us/montana/bear-trap-canyon-trail
http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/dillon_field_office/recreation/bear_trap.html
https://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=HGR027-110
http://www.bozeman-magpie.com/visitors-guide-detail.php?id=45
http://southwestmt.com/listings/897.htm
http://www.visitmt.com/listings/general/b-l-m-trail/bear-trap-national-recreation-trail.html

It is reputed to have very mild weather, so the third week of April should be fine. It's well before the busy fly-fishing and whitewater rafting season, and before the warmer weather that allows too many rattlesnakes to come out. I guess I'd better get myself a snakebite kit, just in case. The route itself is about 9 miles long but can only be accessed from the northern end by hikers (access from the south was closed to all but rafters), so the round trip could be up to 18 miles long. With Norris Hot Springs being so close, this is looking pretty attractive.

331.6 - back on the wagon (PCT d - 105)

331.6 lbs, a new low (recently)

After a month of bobbing up and down, the 'losing' trend is finally continuing. I'm down to 331.6 lbs now. I missed my end of month goal, but I'm okay with it, since I am still losing weight overall.

There are only 105 days to go until we leave on our Pacific Crest Trail adventure. As weather and road/trail conditions permit in my neighborhood, I'm trying to transition from working out at the gym to walking/hiking "in the real world". At the end of March I will drop my gym membership altogether (which will save some money). I'm trying to increase the amount of muscle and strength-building that I do, using the elastic resistance bands that I already have at home. I wake up earlier now to do that. 

We are also slowly acquiring more and more of the gear that we'll need for a successful adventure. Earlier this week we ordered new backpacks (rucksacks) and my daughter got her own head lamp. I also have a new lightweight rain jacket coming, since it was on sale for $40 less than the normal price. Holy cow! That stuff is still really expensive though! My "sleep system" (hammock, bug net, fly sheet to keep the rain off, tree straps and ground pegs) will be $245. A lightweight duck or goose down sleep bag or quilt will be c. $200. The train tickets to Klamath Falls are about $140 each, each way! But, it's going to be an epic adventure, and worth every penny! 

I'm still largely avoiding excess carbohydrates, but not cutting them out altogether. I had my first slices of pizza in seven months yesterday. Today's lunch was a baked potato with chili. The portion sizes are much more moderate then before. I've found it really difficult to keep an up-to-date food journal. Maybe I'll try an electronic one instead of a paper one soon. I'm getting plenty of protein and green vegetables. I'm avoiding peas and corn. I'm temporarily given up on giving up stevia as my sweetener of choice. Using raw honey as a natural alternative to artificial sweeteners wasn't working for me (I stopped losing weight when I did that). 

As soon as I can, I want to take a whole day to walk 10 or 15 miles, just to see where I'm at in my preparations, and see if I need to step up my training. Then, in a month or two, I'll do it again but with a 30 lb backpack on. I've got a couple of Fridays booked off work in April so that I can go further afield and test the rest of my gear before we set off on May 18th. More details about the 100-mile hike can be found here: http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016