Final Fortnight Factors

A week ago I was decades away from today. I faced a span of time only slightly longer than what was needed. It has been difficult; my Spirit has already jumped ship and is off somewhere along the West coast. My heart, on the other hand, is stretched taut. She still aches for those friends and comforts which I grew to love in Montana. At current though, the most predominant aching imprint is that of my little sister. I do love making instances to be with her. To tag into her life and watch as she grows into an admirable, sure footed, and beautiful woman. The love and truth which sometimes only a sister can see and speak. That kid is well wise beyond her years. And still my heart envis-aches for those I have yet to reach. My parents, Hughes grandparents, friends, pets, the smell of home, my bed, my bathtub, and the big windows in my room which look out across the expanse of our backyard to the gully forest where I am willing to bet Spring is taking hold.
This morning I meandered out into a patch of Illinois prairie and celebrated this day. The birds danced and dove, quarreled and mated, all while singing their own renditions of praise. I walked into the woods but the litter was sickening and the bag I carried to pick it up was quickly filled. Unperturbed, the stream trickled and gurgled and frothed forward. A few joggers and walkers passed, nodding greetings. The sunny sky beamed down on us, manifesting smiles on our human faces. The woods were still quiet, in that daze of recent awakening. Not yet fully stretched and ready to commit to wakefulness, but slowly coming into consciousness. It truly was a peaceful and blessed morning.
As of now, though, I sit aboard the Southwest Chief Train. Before Chicago, I spent 25 hours aboard the Empire Builder. Most evenings on the train, I have to stride the length of it periodically and jog the length of the stations, weaving between the smokers, reminding myself why I do not want to be one of them again. Before I eat an evening meal, I make my way to the Observation Car where folk chatter more freely and windows everywhere allow you to watch the sky above and the corridors of landscape which frame our progress.
This evening the sunset was beautiful. We had just passed through Fort Madison, Iowa and got a glance of the recreation of the old fort, as the original burned down a couple hundred years ago. What stands now serves no military purpose; it is naught but a nod to history and occupies some prime real estate along the swollen Mississippi. After we pulled out of that quaint town (which also hosts a Federal Pen [I learned from a pamphlet I found about the train route]) and the sun began to sink, shadows threw themselves across the rolling hills of seeping green. Spindly branches reached from the top of narrow trees, clawing into the drooping darkness, creating black profiles against deepening blue.
Fields and hillocks are saturated still by snow melt and April Showers. Bogs of standing water glint from between crop rows of shucks. The hollow, retired wheat sheaths create the shelter and environment which their successors need to begin their own cycle of life. The earth changes tone depending on where it is but this evening’s display was a rich black; laden with nutrients which are being imbibed by seed and pip, producing tiny, incandescent green buds. Delicate knots of life emerge from the tips of seemingly sleeping branches. Sprouts and tufts peep up from the ground itself. Tiny flowers agglomerate into subtle carpets. It is all so hopeful and fresh and inquisitive. Working insistently toward full being-hood.
Cripes, am I in love with Spring time or what?!

In this fortnight advent of the adventure it is nigh impossible to wholly wrap myself around it as a concept. Fortunately, the PCT is not long to be a concept. In ten days it will become my daily reality. Sometimes, when I get overwhelmed by all there is to do, I step back and remind myself that what I am doing is really rather simple. I am walking in a northward direction; all this planning and concern for detail is to make it easier and more fun. Woo hoo. A trail, a trial. A consistent and supportive source truth. I continue to review and revamp my resupply plans and am still compiling a list of addresses and dates where you might (hopefully) direct letters and maybe treats along the trail.
Anna and I went to REI today and, with the aid of a $50 divided and $120 on a returned pack, I walked out of there with the few remaining tidbits of gear I needed to buy, and $120.32 less poor. All in all a good experience; rarely does one go to a store and make purchases and walk out the richer for it!
As to food planning, from what I have read, it is more prudent to calculate food consumption according to caloric needs rather than the foodstuffs themselves. Naturally my diet will largely be at the mercy of whatever the shops along the way have to offer. I have begun to make a habit of considering labels and percentages on various foodstuffs throughout the various grocery stores I encounter. A primary consideration pertains to how much energy I can get for the weight. Thus, whole grain noodles would be more enticing than bleached white wheat…for so many reasons. I will be striving for a daily intake of 5000 calories.
Breakfast will largely be bars and nut mixes. When I get into colder temperatures I may heat some water in the morning and mix some powdered milk into oatmeal or some such, just something to kick start. However, breakfast will not likely be a big ordeal of a meal. There are so many breakfast bars available, I get dizzy trying to read all their information. Trying to do the calorie to weight math in my head and decide which would be most prudent to carry. I can only hope that it becomes easier with experience.
Lunches should be fun meals. There are a plethora of spots along the way where I plan to park my behind and feed my face. Lunch foods will mostly be crackers, tortillas, cheese (for the first few days out of town), tuna packets, SPAM, peanut butter (yes, I will eat peanut butter for this, that is how serious I am) etc.
I will prepare supper a few miles before I make evening camp, thus more effectively using the calories I get to my body and keeping the smell of food away from my evening camp, helping the “please stay away, bears” Campaign. For these meals I will be using my pop can stove along with some form of denatured alcohol (usually HEET) and will boil a cup or two of water to rehydrate mashed potatoes, boxes of stuffing, noodles, pretty much anything that comes in a light and convenient packet, carries some calories, and will keep me warm. It is generally regarded as a good idea to drench meals with olive oil, as it has one of the highest calorie counts for its weight. Not to mention it is delicious.
I will supplement the meals with trail mixes, jerkys, and pretty much anything which catches my eye in the shop. I will also be carrying a women’s multi vitamin. In particular I am after something heavy in calcium and iron, as I have a history of anemia, am a female, and the Depo-Povera shot apparently siphons it away; where to and how, I know not.
I have tons of finer figuring to do before I take off bright and early on the 14th. So much that it is overwhelming if I don’t keep it in order. One of these points is how I will maintain my blog for y’all on the trail. No matter what, I will find a way as I love writing and I have heard a few compliments and expressions of joy at my chronicling of adventures (sure, this is me blatantly fishing for post compliments). I cannot predict how my writing will manifest on the trail but I am sure excited to find out.
Dear all, please keep me in your prayers and thoughts as I prepare to undertake one of the most independent, preparation heavy, physically challenging, and thrilling adventures of my (as yet) rather short life.