Gear List

By Hedgehog
I imagine that some of our readers are wondering what we carry on our thru hike. So I made a list of everything as I got it together Saturday and Sunday. The list only includes gear I'm starting with, it doesn't include specialty items that will be needed later on the trail such as my CampUSA Corsica ice axe or my BearVault bear canister. Booboo's gear is pretty similar to mine. It might be a different manufacturer, but provides the same function. Her luxury items are different from mine as well.
A couple general points: we carry roughly 40 lbs with 5 days food and 5 Liters of water, we share a tent and a stove to reduce weight, we'll also share my water filter while Booboo carries a chemical treatment as backup.
Booboo will carry some of my gear, to even out the weight, since I'm carrying the tent.
All right here's the list:
1. Backpack - ULA Catalyst
2. Tent - Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo 3. Sleeping bag - Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20°
4. Sleeping pad - Thermarest Neoair
5. Sleeping bag liner - Sea to Summit Silk Liner
6. Ground Cloth - Old fashioned Tyvek 7. Shoes - North Face Hedgehogs (not how I got my Trail Name)
8. Socks (3) - Darn Tough
9. S/S Wicking Tshirt - REI
10. L/S Wicking Sun shirt - ExOfficio AirStrip
11. Convertable Wicking Pants (2) - REI Sahara
12. Bandanas (3)
13. Sunglasses - Prescription
14. Sun Hat - Tilley
15. Thermal underwear - Patagonia Capilene 2
16. Fleece Hat
17. Midweight Gloves - Marmot
18. Rain Jacket - Marmot
19. Rain cover for Pack - ULA
20. Pack liner/Sleeping pad inflator - NeoAir
21. Stove - Caldera Alcohol Stove (BB will carry)
22. Pot - MSR TI Kettle (BB will carry for me)
23. Cup - MSR TI Cup (BB will carry for me)
24. Knife - Benchmade 530
25. Water Bladder - Camelback 2L
26. Headlamp - Black Diamond Storm 27. Hiking Poles - Black Diamond Trail 28. Rope
29. Compass - Suunto M2
30. Bug Head net - Sea to Summit
31. First Aid Kit
32. Toiletries Bag
33. Duct tape
34. DEET
35. Cellphone - Samsung Galaxy Note 2 36. Camera - Lumix Weatherproof
37. Prescription glasses
38. Maps/guidebooks - Assorted (BB will carry)
39. ID/Permit
40. SPOT messaging system
41. Watch - Timex Expedition

Sorry for the delsy in posting it as bren a couple of hectic days getting ready for our start today (April 17). 
A picture of the Olympic Mountains yesterday on our way to the airport in Seattle.
We were hosted by "Pinhead" and Barbara in SoCal last night. Their hospitality and generosity were excellent and very much appreciated.  Thank You!
A quick Starbucks stop this morning before our hour drive to the Southern Terminus and our start.
We're super excited. We'll be in touch soon.
HH and BB 

Road Trip - Complete

By Hedgehog

On Saturday we set out on our new route after acquiring some Starbucks. Our new route took us along the Columbia River for most of the day.  It was one of the most scenic drives we've had during the road trip.

While our new route didn't include Snoqualmie Pass we did cross the PCT in Cascade Locks, OR. The PCT crosses the Columbia River there over the Bridge of The Gods.  We stopped and got out to walk a few steps.  

The Bridge is a toll bridge but PCT hikers get to cross for free.   From Cascade Locks we had a couple of more hours until we got to the ferry we needed to get to our final destination. We had to wait just a short time for the ferry.

We spent Saturday afternoon unloading our cars and starting to get gear organized. We have Sunday and Monday to finish getting everything lined up and then to San Diego on Tuesday. We are still planning on starting on Wednesday, it's getting closer and our excitement is mounting. 

Change of plans

The weather report has changed and Snoqualmie Pass is expected to be hazardous driving today. With that in mind we're rerouting through Portland and catching the Tacoma ferry. This should only add about a half hour to our trip and avoid the snow.
Heres a picture of the view from the hotel this morning.

Utah/Idaho

By Hedgehog,
Our Friday started with a beautiful view of the mountains in Park City. (below)
After having some coffee and scraping off our car windows we got under way. We headed into Salt Lake City right at rush hour. The traffic was very manageable. The greater SLC metro area was much larger than I had anticipated. We saw the lake itself several times from the freeway. We waved "Hi" to ULA (makers of our backpacks) as we drove by their exit.
The sun was shining and the day quickly turned very nice.
I visited my 48th state today as we entered into Idaho (AK and HI left).  We stopped in Boise for lunch.
The temperature gauge of Booboo's car had just started rising above 3/4 when we pulled into the parking lot. We wrote it off as having been the long climb up the mountains. 
After a leisurely lunch (it was nice to be out of the cars) we prepared to head out of town.   Booboo's car quickly overheated again.   We stopped at a gas station and I went inside to see if they knew a local mechanic. They didn't, but I was able to ascertain what suburb we were actually in.
In the meantime Booboo had looked up Meineke and with the suburbs' name wss able to locate the nearest one.
The gentleman at Meridian Meineke found the problem very quickly as the radiator pressure cap was loose. We figure it had been that way since Booboo had her car serviced about a week ago. 
The thread on the radiator was slightly bent, preventing the cap from seating right. The cold temperatures had kept it from being a problem until today's mountain climbing in 60 degrees.
So after topping off the radiator, fixing the thread and seating the cap the mechanic said "No charge, have a good day". Thank you Meridian Meineke.
So after a delay of an hour (we were lucky) we continued on.
We ended our day in Oregon (we are now in the Pacific Time Zone).  Eastern OR is green with hills bordering on mountains for this Midwesterner.  We followed the Oregon Trail Route for a good part of the day today.  We should have about a 5 hour drive tomorrow. Although there is snow forecast for Snoqualmie Pass so that might slow us down. 
The PCT also crosses Snoqualmie Pass.
If the weather holds out we'll have to stop and commune with PCT and tell it we'll see it in a few months.

Winter Storm Walda - Part 2

By Hedgehog
On Tuesday we ended up getting about another 150 miles before weather conditions worsened and we decided to hold up at a hotel. 
The tiny town that we stopped at was soon overrun with semis as the Interstate closed.  There must have been 150 rigs parked in every available space. See the pic below.
This delay prevented us from staying with Booboo's friends in CO.

On Wednesday we woke to find the roads in the area closed.  About 8:30am we ventured onto some back roads snf started making our way to my sister's place.  It took us so long we weren't able to get together with a friend of mine for lunch. We eventually made it to my sister's and spent a nice evening with her family.

Thursday morning we set out (after caffeinating with coffee) and met Booboo's friend (who we missed the day before) for a nice breakfast. Then it was back to the driving. The scenery was fantastic;  from Pike's Peak to the foothills of the Rockies to the Tetons on the horizon to the Wasatch Range. 
We're still on schedule to be in WA Saturday.

Winter Storm Walda Part 1

By Hedgehog

As the front edge of Winter Storm Walda came through Nebraska last night Booboo and I were hold up at a hotel.
In the middle of the night we were awoken by quarter size hail pounding on the side of the hotel.  As the hail died down the power went out. 
This morning we surveyed the damage and found the siding ripped of our end of the hotel.  There was debris laying about our cars but they escaped unscathed.
After evaluating the situation ahead of us we've decided to head out,  taking it nice and slow. We are going to reevaluate at the next town in about 90 miles. 
Hope everyone is safe.
Forward,
Hedgehog

My first post

As BooBoo has explained in some of her posts, over the last several months we've been fitting in lots of planning and logistics around our busy work schedules.
For example I have been to the doctor for a physical and to get medicine in case of Giradia on the trail, I bought specialized gear that will be needed on the PCT that wasn't needed on the AT (for example an ice axe for the high mountain passes, a bear canister for bear country, a sun shirt for the desert, etc.), got a phone
and we planned our trip out west.
After my last day at work this week, I've been doing a 3rd round of consolidation, getting rid of paperwork I don't need and going through the last of my plastic totes.  
I am fairly confident that what we have left will fit into our cars for the drive west. I guess we'll find out tomorrow when we load up.
We have a few more people to try and see before we leave on Monday morning.
Otherwise we are excited and can't wait to get started.