PERMITS!!
We have our permits!!!
Alex, Sage, and I will hike the John Muir Trail in August. Let the official planning begin!
First, a reminder -- if you haven't already, please donate to Feeding America, our nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization! Feeding America is a nonprofit charity with a 98% efficiency rating. It is not affiliated with any religion, and it ranked #4 on Forbes Magazine's 50 Top Charities for 2013.
Second, a note on gear. I've decided to do a gear list, accompanied by a review, after we return from California. This means I won't discuss gear before we leave, with the exception of the few pieces I've already mentioned in previous posts. Why take the time to discuss gear we haven't yet put to the test? It seems more wise, not to mention efficient, to list and discuss everything after we return. I will tell you this right now, though -- our gear will be ultralight.
Now that I have the permits, I can plan a (flexible) itinerary and arrange resupply. I also need to look into the possibility of blogging day-by-day, as I was able to do on the Camino. Since there probably won't be much cell reception in the high Sierras, I may have to keep a paper journal and blog after-the-fact, when we return. Even if the latter's the case, I will still probably be able to send a quick picture and note once or twice.
More information coming soon! Woo-hoo, can't wait!
Friday, February 21, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
All healed! The hiking resumes...
Woo-hoo! My leg feels 100% better and we're back to hiking mountains! Yesterday, the girls and I revisited the Hancocks in New Hampshire. Click here for the trip report.
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| Alex and Sage on North Hancock |
Hopefully, I'll be able to secure our permits within the next ten days. After those permits are secured (cross your fingers for us!), this blog will quickly fill up with details, gear lists, etc.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Happy Legs Are Here Again
SOON it will be time to kick this blog into full gear. Soon, oh so soon, it'll be time for us to apply for our permits. Once I have those permits confirmed, I will begin posting details of our upcoming hike. I fear if I post too much of anything beforehand, the gods will smite us for our arrogance and we won't get the permits we need! :)
In the meantime, here's a cut-and-paste from our main blog. I have..(had?)...Iliotibial Band Syndrome -- but my leg feels much better now, and the girls and I will soon ascend another peak. Hooray for the mending process!
*****
Woo-hoo! My leg feels fine and dandy. Had a visit with my local -- and most excellent -- sports med doc yesterday afternoon. All I need to do is keep doing what I've been doing these past few weeks -- mainly, stretching. He gave me a few new stretches to go with the old ones. He also told me I should use hiking poles on a regular basis, to slow the progression of arthritis.
Two days ago, I did a five-mile hike up and down some hills near my house. Yesterday, I walked a few flat miles and rode a stationary bike for half an hour. Nothing hurt. YES!
Monday, I'll head back into the woods and take on some mountain miles. A week from tomorrow, the girls and I will summit a peak or two.
It feels good to feel GOOD again.
In the meantime, here's a cut-and-paste from our main blog. I have..(had?)...Iliotibial Band Syndrome -- but my leg feels much better now, and the girls and I will soon ascend another peak. Hooray for the mending process!
*****
Woo-hoo! My leg feels fine and dandy. Had a visit with my local -- and most excellent -- sports med doc yesterday afternoon. All I need to do is keep doing what I've been doing these past few weeks -- mainly, stretching. He gave me a few new stretches to go with the old ones. He also told me I should use hiking poles on a regular basis, to slow the progression of arthritis.
Two days ago, I did a five-mile hike up and down some hills near my house. Yesterday, I walked a few flat miles and rode a stationary bike for half an hour. Nothing hurt. YES!
Monday, I'll head back into the woods and take on some mountain miles. A week from tomorrow, the girls and I will summit a peak or two.
It feels good to feel GOOD again.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
ZPacks 20 Degree Sleeping Bag
I'm continuing to NOT post much of anything on this blog until we've secured our permits, since I don't want to jinx our trip. I should be able to start filling this site with planning and gear purchase details by the end of February.
In the meantime, I've added one important item to our packing list. I finally broke down and bought an ultralight sleeping bag. The 20 Degree Bag from ZPacks (long version) is 1 pound, 2 ounces, and, according to every review I've read, performs extremely well in three-season temperatures.
The girls will need ultralight bags too, but that's a discussion for another day (when I have our permits).
My leg is doing much better, by the way. All the stretching helps tremendously. I plan on trying a small mountain (5 miles roundtrip with less than 2500 feet of elevation gain) by the end of this month. I think I might be completely back to normal by the end of February...we'll see.
In the meantime, I've added one important item to our packing list. I finally broke down and bought an ultralight sleeping bag. The 20 Degree Bag from ZPacks (long version) is 1 pound, 2 ounces, and, according to every review I've read, performs extremely well in three-season temperatures.
The girls will need ultralight bags too, but that's a discussion for another day (when I have our permits).
My leg is doing much better, by the way. All the stretching helps tremendously. I plan on trying a small mountain (5 miles roundtrip with less than 2500 feet of elevation gain) by the end of this month. I think I might be completely back to normal by the end of February...we'll see.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
ITBS, PT, and Hiking the JMT for FA
How's that for a bunch of letters?
First -- we are fundraising for Feeding America. Before Christmas, we reached 50% of our $2104 goal. Now it's time to raise that other 50%. Please check out our fundraising page and contribute what you can. Every penny goes straight to Feeding America.
Now, for some slightly bad news...on December 26, I slipped on my icy driveway while loading the car for a hike. I then did what most outdoor enthusiasts do...I got up, brushed myself off, and drove to the trailhead.
Here's Alex's reenactment of the incident...
In the days that followed, I hiked another mountain, shoveled a bunch of snow, and attempted a third winter ascent. To make a long story short, I now have Iliotibial Band Syndrome. Usually, that's an overuse injury. In my case, I whacked the distal portion when I fell, then I ignored the soreness and carried on as though nothing had happened.
This won't affect the JMT hike. At least, I'm fairly certain it won't. I anticipate getting back on the trails within a few weeks, and I hope to be back in usual 4K hiking shape by the end of winter. We're not hiking the JMT until August (assuming we get our permits), so there's plenty of time to heal.
In the meantime, I'll carry on with gear purchases and planning, though I won't post much about any of that until after I get those permits...I'm worried I'll jinx myself otherwise.
I'll also post short, weekly updates on the physical therapy (PT) process and, eventually, our training hikes.
Please don't forget to donate to Feeding America if you haven't already. Thanks!
First -- we are fundraising for Feeding America. Before Christmas, we reached 50% of our $2104 goal. Now it's time to raise that other 50%. Please check out our fundraising page and contribute what you can. Every penny goes straight to Feeding America.
Now, for some slightly bad news...on December 26, I slipped on my icy driveway while loading the car for a hike. I then did what most outdoor enthusiasts do...I got up, brushed myself off, and drove to the trailhead.
Here's Alex's reenactment of the incident...
In the days that followed, I hiked another mountain, shoveled a bunch of snow, and attempted a third winter ascent. To make a long story short, I now have Iliotibial Band Syndrome. Usually, that's an overuse injury. In my case, I whacked the distal portion when I fell, then I ignored the soreness and carried on as though nothing had happened.
This won't affect the JMT hike. At least, I'm fairly certain it won't. I anticipate getting back on the trails within a few weeks, and I hope to be back in usual 4K hiking shape by the end of winter. We're not hiking the JMT until August (assuming we get our permits), so there's plenty of time to heal.
In the meantime, I'll carry on with gear purchases and planning, though I won't post much about any of that until after I get those permits...I'm worried I'll jinx myself otherwise.
I'll also post short, weekly updates on the physical therapy (PT) process and, eventually, our training hikes.
Please don't forget to donate to Feeding America if you haven't already. Thanks!
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Feeding America Fundraising Goal -- 50% There!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful winter vacation. We are -- Christmas week is always an enjoyable stretch of time at our house. My birthday falls on the 22nd, Alex's falls on the 28th (she's now eleven), and, of course, there's Christmas on the 25th.
This year, in the midst of all the celebrating, we had a lovely surprise. We logged in to our Feeding America fundraising page and discovered we've already reached 50% of our goal. To those who have donated -- thank you! If you haven't already donated, please consider doing so in the next few days. Your contributions are tax-deductible, so if you donate before January 1, you'll give yourself a slight break on your 2013 returns. Every cent goes directly to Feeding America.
Our training continues in the form of our usual weekly mountain hiking. You can follow our New Hampshire all-season peak adventures on our main blog, www.trishalexsage.com. The girls hike once a week and I usually hike twice a week. Once we have our JMT permits secured, I'll begin posting more JMT-specific info (gear, resupply plans, etc.) on this JMT-specific webpage. Also, once spring arrives, the girls will increase their NH mountain hiking to two or three days a week, and I'll increase mine to three or four days a week.
Happy New Year, folks. I'll post again next week. In the meantime, please consider donating to Feeding America, and come join us on our main blog, www.trishalexsage.com.
This year, in the midst of all the celebrating, we had a lovely surprise. We logged in to our Feeding America fundraising page and discovered we've already reached 50% of our goal. To those who have donated -- thank you! If you haven't already donated, please consider doing so in the next few days. Your contributions are tax-deductible, so if you donate before January 1, you'll give yourself a slight break on your 2013 returns. Every cent goes directly to Feeding America.
Our training continues in the form of our usual weekly mountain hiking. You can follow our New Hampshire all-season peak adventures on our main blog, www.trishalexsage.com. The girls hike once a week and I usually hike twice a week. Once we have our JMT permits secured, I'll begin posting more JMT-specific info (gear, resupply plans, etc.) on this JMT-specific webpage. Also, once spring arrives, the girls will increase their NH mountain hiking to two or three days a week, and I'll increase mine to three or four days a week.
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| Ascending Mt. Jackson (NH), December 23, 2013. Here's hoping for a fun 2013-2014 winter hiking season! |
Happy New Year, folks. I'll post again next week. In the meantime, please consider donating to Feeding America, and come join us on our main blog, www.trishalexsage.com.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Permits and Training Hikes
Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. The girls and I traveled up and down the East Coast visiting relatives and playing tourist at various cities. We're finally back in New Hampshire. Our weekly White Mountain hikes will resume this month; trip reports will be posted on our main blog, www.trishalexsage.com.
I can't post much in the way of readying ourselves for the JMT until I secure our permits. We can't secure our permits until 24 weeks before our intended departure date. Everybody and their brother wants to hike the JMT during the same weeks we want to hike it, so I'm a bit nervous about being able to reserve those permits...once those permits are indeed secured, I can relax and move forward with all the other planning details. Therefore, almost all the prep posts for this trip will be written after February 2014. The superstitious part of me worries I'll jinx everything if I write any prep posts before those permits are set in stone.
One thing I can say is that we'll continue to hike the Whites from now until the time we leave for California. I call those little adventures "training hikes," but really, they're just our usual weekly mountain hikes. As mentioned above, you can see the trip reports for our White Mountain hikes at www.trishalexsage.com.
Don't forget about Feeding America! At the end of this month, we'll have reached about 30% of our goal. Once our permits our secured, I'll start getting more aggressive with my fundraising pitches. :) You can still donate in the meantime, though!
Happy hiking,
Trish
I can't post much in the way of readying ourselves for the JMT until I secure our permits. We can't secure our permits until 24 weeks before our intended departure date. Everybody and their brother wants to hike the JMT during the same weeks we want to hike it, so I'm a bit nervous about being able to reserve those permits...once those permits are indeed secured, I can relax and move forward with all the other planning details. Therefore, almost all the prep posts for this trip will be written after February 2014. The superstitious part of me worries I'll jinx everything if I write any prep posts before those permits are set in stone.
One thing I can say is that we'll continue to hike the Whites from now until the time we leave for California. I call those little adventures "training hikes," but really, they're just our usual weekly mountain hikes. As mentioned above, you can see the trip reports for our White Mountain hikes at www.trishalexsage.com.
Don't forget about Feeding America! At the end of this month, we'll have reached about 30% of our goal. Once our permits our secured, I'll start getting more aggressive with my fundraising pitches. :) You can still donate in the meantime, though!
Happy hiking,
Trish
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