In 2018, after another PCTA Trail Skills College I was in a slightly better shape, but still huffin' & puffin'. Then in July, I lucked out to be part of Paul Cardinet's 'Can Do' crew at Red Meadows behind Mammoth - and that CHANGED EVERYTHING. Not only was I one of the youngest, I was also the slowest. After 6 days of trail work (building 3 bridges ++) my body finally rebounded and I was not the slowest anymore. AND the big thing was my blood pressure lowered by 20-30 points for two weeks following. Most of the 70 yo's on the crew had been doing this for over 15 years - and the camaraderie was magnificent.
Then I took a longer PCT hike with my friend Scott from Blue Lakes to Raymond Lake - about 6 miles each way. With my camino ultralight and ill-fitting pack, I was once again huffin' and puffin'. But oh! what joy at being in the hi-Sierra with the incredible scenery, wonderful PCT trail and my friend Scott.
Fast forward to early 2019 and I decided to get serious and bought a brand new ULA Ohm backpack. Turns out that almost 3/4 of thru hikers on the PCT use a ULA, and everyone on the Mormon Rock work crew that I asked for pack recommendations said good things about ULA (and they all had one!).And man, oh! man is that a sweet pack. After 3 long trips it just gets more and more comfy and versatile.
The first two miles of the Hetch Hetchy straight up hike was like floating with a light daypack, and I was carrying 22 lbs.
No comments:
Post a Comment