Tag: PCT

Snow day!!

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

Classes were cancelled due to snow! As happy as I was to sleep in it also stressed me out a little since school is so important to me this time around. Oh well. Deep breathe and let it go. 

I had a delicious breakfast

Got some studying done

Yummy snacks

My roommate brought me back a little snack from her trip to Peru

Very nice!!!

I walked to the store again because the streets were still icy and why risk it in a car. I needed to get some stuff for the white chicken chili I’m gonna put in the slow cooker tomorrow morning to simmer away all day. 

My bags were considerably heavier walking, i should have brought a backpack to carry the groceries back more comfortably. 

Walking on the paths in the snow made me think of the PCT, I miss it. A definite goal for me this year is to get out and hike at least 100 miles of it, hopefully more. 

More checks off the list

by Ariana Peters, posted in Uncategorized

Hi everyone,

The trail is fast approaching!  With that I am gathering up the last few things I need.

image

Got my watch, which tells the date and time as well as being water resistant to 100m. I already tested it in the shower to make sure it can survive in the rain.

image

Got some cheap and lightweight camp shoes……I know, my socks and tights are awesome too hahaha!

image

Mom’ago gaiters

image

My gaiters, I was drawn to the honeycomb design, hopefully that is a good sign…..

Gaiters are things that go over the top of your shoes to help prevent rocks from getting in.
We got ours from Dirty Girl Gaiters.

image

image

Colapsable, lightweight trowel……I think you can figure out what that’s for…..here’s a hint, there are no  toilets in the wilderness.

image

Yummy snack

image

These give me electrolytes and energy.

image

Cute postcards to send to friends and family!

image

Cold weather gloves….on clearance at REI 🙂

image

This was my mom’s suggestion, you dip it in cold water and put it on your neck to stay cool.

image

Cheap clearance goggles!  These are for those crazy windy days…..and yes they happen and it gets that crazy windy.

image

Necklaces to wear on the full moon and new moon…..gotta stay in touch with nature. Moonstone and labradorite (I think I spelled that right)

Time to start upping our water intake.

by Ariana Peters, posted in Uncategorized

Hi everyone!!!!!

Oh my goodness, mom and I start the trail in 3 weeks!!!!!

With that being said it is time to start upping our water intake.

On dry spots on the trail when you get to a water source you’ camel up’. This means that you clean your water then drink as much as possible then clean more to take with you.

Doing this means you stay hydrated longer, you don’t have to dip into your water stash until later in your day.

With that little background now stated we can talk about why mom and I need to start drinking more water before we even start the trail.

Most people are never fully hydrated, we get some water fro, the coffee we drink and soda etc. But still most of us don’t get the full amount of water our bodies need to function at their optimal level.

Something that will help us in the desert is to be fully hydrated when we start.

Today is March 16. This week’s goal will be to drink 1 liter of water every day…..that is not including any coffee or other beverages, just pure water.

image

My camelbak is one liter. That is 32oz or 4 full glasses of water.

For the 2 weeks before the trail the goal will be double that,  so 2 litters of water a day. That will get us to full hydration. …….at least according to science lol.

Care to do it with us? I promise all it can do is help you 🙂

Talk to you soon!

Medical kit

by Ariana Peters, posted in Uncategorized

I’ve got the majority of my medical stuff bought.

image

With about 43 days until I set foot on the trail I am starting to assemble things how I will have them on the trail so I can start learning how to pack and fit everything in. I packed and repackaged my backpack every few days before Costa Rica and Peru before I figured how to fit everything in.

Obviously I have things for blister prevention and care, bandaids, gauze, alcohol pads, ace bandages and so on. Then I’ve got all my sickness relievers like benadryl, nausea tablets, dramamine etc. I’ve put them in individual Ziploc bags becasue packages take up unnecessary space .

image

I have labeled each bag with the name and dosage. I learned a very valuable lesson in Costa Rica about not labeling your medications. I’ll spare you the gory details but will say what I wanted was a laxative and what I took was an anti-diarrheal, needless to say I had a bad week lol.

image

Ibuprofen will have the biggest bag of all. On the trail ibuprofen is called Vitamin I becasue you end up taking it so regularly. I am also stocking up on chapstick becasue I am already a chapstick-a-holic and figure I’ll want it frequently on the trail…..and I’m sure 1 or 2 will get lost or forgotten along the way.
Ahhhh we are getting closer!!! Its going to be here before I know it!!!

The Future

by Ariana Peters, posted in Uncategorized

Hi everyone!
Well I still haven’t started subbing. I’ll be calling the school for the 15 millionth time today to check in. Timing is running short and money is very scarce but I know things will work out. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I can at least get a few weeks of work before I go.
With all my free time I have been reading a lot on my kindle and watching way too much tv.
I will admit my spirit has been pretty low the last month because I feel like I am accomplishing so little and my lifestyle is so much less active than I was in Oregon.
But I read a book on my kindle that I had bought months and months ago about a year on a sustainable family farm in Illinois.
It really brought me back to me and my dreams, reminding me what my ultimate goal is. After these 4 crazy adventures I have planned I want land and a farm and a family.
This is the 3rd book like this I’ve read and each one just feeds my dreams and desires.

image

image

image

Here are some photos from the book off my kindle.
The book I read before that was the dirty life lol.

image

This one was about a newlywed couple who rebuilt a farm and started an all encompassing CSA (community supported agriculture) program that ran year round and also supplied meat, cheese, maple syrup etc. Their goal was to make grocery shopping almost unnecessary for a family.
The first book I ever read like this was called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I blogged about it a few years ago.

It’s amazing how much a book can influence your life. Just look at the PCT, I didn’t even know it existed until I read Wild about 2 years ago.
Have you read anything lately that has inspired you?

Talk to you soon!