That's 12 days until my departure, which considering the amount of time I've obsessed about this hike is a very small wait. Some might even say tight, especially when if they were to consider the amount of things I should take care of before I go.
Crocus Coming Up in Victoria BC
The To-Do List
Most of my to-doing revolves around getting our new apartment organized and cleaned. Right now there is an obscene number of boxes stacked willy-nilly inside our living space, many or most of them Tess cannot lift. I still have yet to discover our coffee service or expresso machine. If I leave before pulling that from storage I might was well never come back. And of course, there is just the sheer amount of laundry and dirty dishes a 14 year old boy can conjure from otherwise unoccupied air.
My pack has been packed since we left Vermont and I've only been tweaking it trying to anticipate conditions for the first 50 days on trial. This is more of a challenge than I had anticipated too. A bsky hiker just posted protest photos from Yosemite Valley and it appears 100% snow free even after a storm passed over a week or two ago.
Middle 50s F in the higher country in February
Yosemite Valley (~1200m) looks like it might get a little snow, but temperatures should improve within the week there after. The trail follows the Crest so it will likely get more.
Yeah, lower 70s F in the low lands of Southern California
For the same time period Campo, CA (854m) is expected to see rain during the same time period. As one might imagine there are some higher points along the trail, but the temperatures are nice and toasty even higher up.
This is probably going to be more or less what it's like from the Monument to Kennedy Meadows South for the first 50-ish days of the hike. I may have a handful of cold nights and another handful of wet days, but Southern California is clearly headed for spring conditions.
Testing All the Things
I spent some time this morning pushing buttons on my InReach Mini 2. I've had some version of this thing since I rescued Jim back in 2008, but honestly I haven't really used any of them for very much either. The latest iteration apparently likes to be on and will sometimes turn itself on without the pressure of my finger upon its button. I suspect SkyNet may be behind these machinations or perhaps my phone changes the state of the device when I start software associated with it?
I don't need to set up my tent because I'm taking the one I've used about 100 times before and I've slept on my new sleeping mat (ThermaRest NeoAire Xlite) a handful of times now. I also picked up this cool new pillow/airpad filler from MEC, but for some reason I invariably wake up with a kink in my neck when I sleep on it. It will probably get left behind.
My shoe choice is still up in the air. I've been hoofing it around the city for the last week in my oldest, most worn pair of Altra Lone Peak 5s. They are simultaneously the most ugly and comfortable shoes in my quiver. I probably won't wear them though as they have easily 1000 miles on them already. I bought them to train back in 2021 for the 2022 SOBO permit I abandoned then wore them all over France of Vermont.
I should probably put the Altra Olympus pair back on before my plane taxis away from the gate.
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