April is coming fast, and I am slowly starting to get everything in order for my next big adventure.
CDT 2022 – Let the planning begin!
Leave from work is in place, and my cash situation is almost in place, I still have a few details to sort out in order to be able to just leave for 5 months, otherwise I will have to keep eating ramen for a few months when I get back home 🙂
I had almost forgotten all the boring stuff that needs to be sorted out before going on a long distance hike, so in order to fill you in on my progress i will bore you as well 🙂
Did I mention that Bollocks will be joining me?! He is also well underway with bookings etc.
I am stupid excited to see him again!
Insurance
Travel insurance is basically a must when going to non European countries(within EU we are pretty much covered)
It’s one of those things that really hurt to pay for, because you “never” need it.
Though one positive is right now while covid is still a problem, it will cover cancelations etc.
But if I get stuck somewhere in the middel of nowhere with a broken foot or something, I will have to get help. And that would be fracking expensive unless I have an insurance.
The “problem” is that insurances always put in some clever text that makes is vert hard to decipher if a given situation is covered.
For example my travel insurance has search and rescue included:
The insurance covers expenses for searching within 50km (31 mi) of the last place you were seen.
When your location is determined, expenses for rescue will be covered.
Last seen by whom? my fellow hiker that happens to be standing on top of the cliff looking down at me? or my mom who will probably look at my garmin inreach location constantly?
Otherwise I will need to pay for the SAR subscription, which will cover search/rescue, but that is yet another insurance on top of an insurance, so things quickly get pretty expensive 🙂
Maybe Insurance is just one of those things you need in order to not need it. 😉
Hiking Permits
You NEED 1 permit (New Mexico State Land Office
Recreational Access Permit) , and then there’s about 4 other permits that you might need, but those a supposed to be easy to avoid, because the areas are only a few miles, so you can hike through and camp before or after.
Glacier seems to be one that might be a pain in the butt, but thats at the end of the hike, so cross that bridge when you get to it 🙂
Planning
I have learned by now that extensive planning for long distance hiking is a total waste of time 🙂 BUT never the less, I feel that it is part of the mental preparation, so of course I have started planning the trip in more detail than what I should 😉
One thing that needs to be prepared though, is booking hotels, busses, planes etc. in order to actually get to the trail and ready for the journey. All that is actually already done, all I basically need at this point is to get my main gear in order, and get my service provider sorted out (I can’t do that until i get to Phoenix)
I also made a plan for when and where to resupply (a whole spreadsheet) well knowing that it will never hold up once I get on the trail 🙂
But it is a nice way spend time while you wait for the departure date to arrive 🙂
This year (2022) Crazy Cook CDT Shuttle service announced that they would only shuttle US citizens (don’t know the reasons, and I don’t judge them – there are alternatives).
Luckily I had booked a spot last year, and they were kind enough to honor that deal 🙂
Otherwise another option would be the CDTC shuttle service – see theres always another way 🙂
Gear
The gear needs to be figured out in 2-3 steps. First step will be the start of the trail which hopefully will be spring/summer time, so that probably means my usual hiking setup
Second step will be when I get to Charma.
I need to have figured out that gear to bring into the mountains – because there will most likely still be snow, and depending on the situation, it can either be alot of snow, an unpassable amount of snow, or little snow(i think it’s possible).
I am not going to buy that gear until last minute, because I might not need what I buy, or I will need something else and have wasted money.
After the snowy mountains are done, i will probably have to reconfigure my gear once again – and this is the worst part, because I might have alot of items that i am not going to need, so i will have to either donate it to someone, throw it out or bounce it forward and bring it home with me (but i really don’t like that idea of having to depend on opening hours of post offices etc.)
Oh I almost forgot that I will need to carry a bear spray, theres apparently a lot of Grizzly activity up north, so bear spray is required by law. Exciting stuff!
Training
I am one of those people that can not, and will not go to a gym and spend time – I don’t find any joy in working out.
That said, back when I hiked the PCT, I pretty quickly learned the hard way that age is a pretty big factor in how much you can stress your body 🙂
Day 1 on the PCT I got knee problems, even though I had walked extensively for 3 months leading up to the hike. But walking will not help strengthen your knees, you really need up/down terrain or a lot of stair climbing.
For the last year I have pretty much been able to do 10-14k steps a day, and my hike on the Padjelanta trail last year didn’t show any signs of problems with my knees, so the walking part is pretty much covered regarding training.
Also back in 2020 when I hiked the Arizona Trail, I had zero problems, so I think I will be fine regardless, but better safe than sorry 🙂
So my main focus this time will be my knees. Every night before bed i strap on my backpack filled with waterbottles, and do stand up crunches (don’t know if that is the right term). An important thing to remember is that you need to strengthen your glutes as they are a big part of supporting your knees – work that butt!
Trail videos – Youtube & Instagram
One thing I still haven’t figured out is how to go about my daily Vlog on my Youtube channel.
I know for a fact that I am not interested in spending as much time editing and uploading as I did on my PCT thru-hike
So I am contemplating uploading a quick video every other day, with a quick and dirty recap of what has happened, and a few videoclips from the past days, and then when I get back home, I will make a proper video.
That way I might get more time to really enjoy the trail, and it will also help me with my post hike blues, because making a video out of 100+ hours of video will be a pretty big undertaking, so that’s going to take a month or two.
That means that my “on trail” videos will not be fancy at all, but maybe that’s a good thing – might make them more grounded and real/raw without fancy music and overlays 🙂
My Instagram will of course get plastered with pictures constantly, and maybe I will even try out those stories as well 😉
