Who wants to be a thru hiker?

What an amazing day.  I've met some many nice people since leaving Portland.  I really enjoyed the train ride even though it was sleepless.  It was great to talk to Russ and Paul on the train ride. 
When I first spoke to Russ and found out he didn't have arrangements made for his San Diego arrival, I decided to ask my trailangels if it was ok if he tagged along.  All was well and we eventually met our trailangel after midnight without a hitch  I knew we were in good hands when I saw a PCT symbol complete with custom angel wings on his vehicle.  It was off for a  quick nap and we were soon off to Scout and Frodo's for breakfast.  There were over 30 people there and we were wisked off to the border.
It was windy and rainy when we arrived at the border.  I took part in a group photo and made the easy decision to start Friday instead.  Off to the campground at lake morena where I quickly set up the tent between rain showers.  I took it easy for the rest of the day.
Had a great time meeting other hikers.  Such a wonderful group. Everyone is so nice.  I could go on forever.
The highlight of the day was being selected to play "Who wants to be a thru-hiker".  It's modeled after the famous game show.  I was sitting in the back of the room directly behind the person who was picking the contestant.  The class of 2012 hikers all had thier hands up and I merely had my finger raised.  She surveyed the crowded room before looking directly at me.  I did pretty well since I'm from the west coast.  In fact I live just a miles from the Mt Hood National Forest.
I did well until the very end and used my 2 remaining lifelines and narrowing it down to a 50/50 on the final question. I guessed wrong and didn't make it to Canada but I learned we will be passing near the Mitsubishi mine.
In a way, I'm glad I didn't know the answer to that one!  Everyone I talked to later thought it was a tough question and some of them have even hiked the trail.
Fun times for sure!  Getting up at 5:00 for a ride to the border and the start of my hike! 

Paul

Southbound train

All aboard.  Here I go I'm taking the train to San Diego right now.  I'll have plenty of time to relax since it takes 1 1/2 days.  Little mad I got an aisle seat but the guy I'm next to is really quiet - as in asleep.   I think I'll be in the observation car most of the way. 

Stopped off at Next Adventure for a last minute item.  Those guys are great and even gave me a high five send off.

-paul-

Resupply boxes

Since there's not many restraunts along the trail, I'm sending myself some food.  Can't afford a walking caterer either.  I'm not making a detailed list of the contents so I'll be surprised when I open my "gift boxes" later along the way.  There's some goodies in there for sure!

Paul

Thank you

Just want to give a shout out to some folks and say thank you.

I picked up a used UL Starlite pack last week and it needed a little bit of TLC.  I called Ron at Six Moon Designs and he was more than happy to take a look at it.  They had my pack ready the very next day!

Thanks to Cascade Designs who decided to replace my Neo-air mattress with the new version.

Thank you to the folks at Next Adventure.  Andrew has been really helpful!

To the folks at US Outdoor who helped with selecting my hiking shoes.

And lastly to REI and their return policy.  My REI sleeping bag was loosing its down so I brought it back and left with a lighter MH Phantom bag.  A half pound in weight savings and I'm so happy I don't have to wake up to a tent full of down feathers anymore!

All this running around buying, exchanging and selecting gear gets a little crazy sometimes but I have lightened my pack load substantially. 

Paul

Less than one month to go!

April 1st is an important day for me.  I had picked this day to commit to a PCT thru hike.  It was also a way to keep from getting too excited before the hike.  Now everything is in place.  Money is saved, gear is purchased, permit is secured, and resupply boxes almost complete.  I registered for kick off today - AZDPCTKO.  (That stands for annual zero day pacific crest trail kick off and its April 27-29).  It sounds like there will be quite a crowd since over 500 people registered.  Anyway, I'm officially committed and excited!! 

I am going to start sending links to my blog so that those who might want to follow my hike can do so.  I'll be on the trail from May until October hiking 2600 miles from Mexico to Canada.  Keeping this site updated maybe difficult due to technical issues (such as no cell service) and I will not allow that to slow my pace.