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Yep, I’m at it again. I start later this week from the location that I stopped at last year, Cottonwood Pass. I have done a bunch of work on improving my gear, nutrition, training, and my plan for on the trail. Many changes, the most as it pertains to nutrition but I have tweaked all aspects of my hike.

Gear, always something I’m looking at. I have become a bit of a gear nerd, nothing new there. I’m an engineer, what can I say. The problem with gear is most of the time the latest and greatest is expensive, quite expensive. I knew what I wanted to change so I spent the year looking for sales and discounts and just changing where I really needed to.

• Puffy – The puffy I used last year was pretty old and had lost a lot of it’s loft/warmth. I really didn’t realize it until I looked at new ones. So, a new puffy, lighter, warmer, and with a hood.
• Sleeping Layers – Last year I used some standard poly long johns and I was always a little chilled. This year, Merino wool, warm and comfy on my shakeout hike.
• Rain Jacket – Last year was something very cheap, Frog Toggs, and it developed holes very quickly, not durable at all, or comfortable. Now something that fits me better and should last a long time.
• Trowel – Yes, the one for digging a hole to do your business in. Your suppose to dig a six inch deep hole each time which was a real pain with the cheap plastic one I was using. Picked up a nice titanium one that is lighter and makes the job much easier.
• Air Pump – Yep, an air pump. Believe me, at altitude trying to blow up a large air mattress is not fun. My mattress came with a bag thing you attach to the mattress and force air in by squeezing it. Works ok, but I found a tiny, rechargeable pump that is lighter than the bag thing! Wooohoooo!
• Pillow – Getting rid of it, I found that the new puffy stuffed into a pillow case is much more comfortable.

Nutrition was a big problem last year. As I stated in early post I lost way too much weight to quickly. This year, more food, lighter food, and better food. Last year it was about 3500 calories per day, this year 5000. So how do I carry much more food without carrying a much more weight? Pay attention to calories per ounce. Last year I carried an average under a 100 calories per ounce, this year 130+ calories per ounce, it adds up. I’m now able to carry the same weight in food but with 1500 more calories per day. Then there is the quality of food. Last time I relied on typical “hiker” food including meat packages such as tuna and spam along with standard freeze dried meals from companies like Mountain House. The food was good but wasn’t were it really needed to be. This time I signed up with a service provided by a backpacking dietitian and am using a number of her recipes. I tested all the meals I’m taking and they are tasty, yum!

Training for a long hike is a bit difficult and on top of the hike I also have a half marathon to get ready for. Trying to combine training for both was a challenge but I do think they mesh well together. This year I’ve been able to get in more aerobic work than last time and keep up the weight training. Hopefully it will all pay off!

On the trail last year I pushed to hard. Tried not to but did anyway. This year, I have found a few techniques to help slow my pace and rest on a regular basis. Planing for only about 10 miles a day, nice and slow. For slowing my pace, I’ll simply concentrate on nose breathing. If I am breathing through my nose I have to keep my pace at a nice aerobic level. As for stopping and resting more often it comes down to food. To eat 5000 calories a day you need to, well, eat all the time. So, I’ll be stopping every hour for a little snack. Food and rest! Next, I set up rest days, aka zero days. Last year I had no reservations and planed on making them on the go, didn’t work out. This year I have reservations for every five days or so. I even recruited Cherie to help me out with a pick up in the middle of nowhere to take me to town for a few days.

Hopefully all these changes will result in a very enjoyable adventure. I’m pretty confident that I have a much better shot at it. Of course there are myriad of things that can derail this but I’ve done all I can to get ready.