Hiking the Lone Star Trail (again)

I am practicing blogging from my iphone. Weather has been perfect. I hiked 16 miles today, and 16 yesterday. Only problem so far has been a hole in my air mattress ughhh. I woke up every 2 hours last night to blow it back up. Tonight I piled a lot of duff under my tent so I am hoping for a better nightt. Below are some pics I thought you might enjoy. It will give you some insight into the piney forest on the Lone Star trail.




Palmetto Forest on the LST








Lots of blow downs




Sam Houston National Forest
Stubblefield Trailhead =6









Texas lost so many trees from last years drought they closed the camp grounds. Thankfully they left the water on and the picnic tables are a welcome sight.




Happy Trails
Heart

Gear swap

Ok so I took Wired and Liz's advice and bought a lighter pack - an ULA Circuit. this makes pack #5! Anyway so far I have no regrets. It actually fits my small frame better, seems to fit all my gear and is 30 ounces - almost 2 lbs less. I took it out for a couple of 5 mile hikes and it felt great. This weekend I plan to put it to the test with a 3 day trip. I am posting from my iphone for the first time. Mark took a picture of me with my new pack but I can't figure out how to insert it from my phone. Hmmmm ... well back to the drawing board. For now I will put it in from my computer.

Heart

Good News and Bad News...

Well I have good news and bad news. The good news is I got some advice from Wired this past weekend. The bad news is I got some advice from Wired this past weekend.
 If you don't know who Wired is you are probably new to reading the PCT  journals. Wired (Erin Saver)  is my inspiration and the reason I am attempting this hike  solo. I followed her hike in 2011 from the time she started her blog and we keep in-touch still. She is my mentor as she is for soooo many others. She did an incredible job journaling her hike with daily posts that most times included not just the most incredible pictures but also videos. I cannot even attempt to follow  in her footsteps (no pun intended), but I do hope to complete the trail. Of course you don't know what you don't know, right? Well that was the bad news.  I have much to learn about journaling. As you can imagine Wired did not get her name because she's an electrician.  So she recommended many apps and ideas and being the perfectionist she is, she also added how to make these things perfect. She looked over my gear list and you guessed it -- more bad news - recommended ditching my down booties (OH MY!), my collapsible cup and water bucket, soap, deodorant, radio and questioned my pack choice  (that's where I drew the line - I love my pack -- even if it is twice as heavy as most packs).
I welcome her advice, even if it means parting with my booties. Now for the good news I posted onto my blog from my iphone successfully and I eliminated another pound off my pack weight :) A big thanks to Wired !


If you have not checked out Wired's journal, go to Erin Savin on the PCT journal site or type in this link:  erinspctjournal.blogspot.com.
Happy Trails
Heart

3 months and counting !

They say the journey of a lifetime begins with a single step, I plan to take that step in April when I leave to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.  Welcome to my Blog!  A year ago I had never heard of the Pacific Crest Trail and today I am mapping out a plan to hike it. I am launching this blog now so I can include my trip preparations. I followed several  thru-hiker journals last year and was so inspired by their stories I thought I would create my own.   2011 was probably the most difficult year for PCT hikers in the trail's  history.  Just as those before me helped show the way via this medium,  I hope to provide insight and encouragement to others considering a thru-hike-- especially  older hikers like myself.

Getting Started

I am working on setting up this blog, getting in shape and preparing for the logistics of being away from home for 5-6 months. As you can imagine living in Texas I don't have much access to elevation of any sort. I am at 300' above sea level. I do live just 45 minutes from the longest trail in Texas "Lone Star Trail" and have thu-hiked it twice. The first time with my husband and dog last March and the last time just before Christmas. The picture below was taken on the last trip. I ventured out solo and hiked 20 miles a day. Unfortunately on day one I triped over a root hidden under fallen leaves and did a nasty face plant. I ended up with a blood blister under 2 toes and a very unattractive bruise on my forhead. I met some interesting hunters and literally dodged a few bullets inspite of my bright orange attire. I am waiting until after hunting season to venture back out on the Lone Star.

Dec 2011 Lone Star Trail