Slow cooking a hike

I hike a little here and there.  In the 1970's I camped in the desert and the mountains with other hiking nerds, who also couldn't make or even bother to try out for sports teams in high school.  I don't know how I found them.  Maybe they found me or maybe they just couldn't get away from me.  I sewed all my gear from Frostline kits.  Some of that Frostline stuff, I still have.

My backpacking gear went to college with me (Palo Alto). I went to Yosemite, got rained on and just got cold.  I transferred to U of Nevada Las Vegas and went hiking with classmate Mark Hodgkins, a hippie who actually completed his master degree after passing a class we took together.  In that ancient age camping gear weighed only less than the anchor of an oil tanker.  (Mark got a job with the government--Fish and Wildlife, not politics and has since retired.  He now travels and takes selfies with his iPhone)

My backpacking gear went to med school with me.  Once again, Mark joined me for a 7 day, 45 mile loop through Yosemite National Park's northeastern country--Bridgeport, Twin Lakes etc.  Bears had no Yogi Bear skills then, so we stayed fed by hanging our food.

My gear went to upstate NY where I did my residency.  Just a few overnight hikes.

We lived in Texas after residency for four years.  Nowhere to hike.  Lydia's childbearing years.

We moved to Las Vegas.  A few hikes with camera gear in Utah, Arizona.  A day hike to Mt Whitney.  I returned to Yosemite for 4 day trip.

We moved to Washington state.  Work kept getting in the way of life.  I finally quit/got kicked out of work in 2009.

I got rid of my heavy Dana Astralplane pack (7 lb 12 oz).  The replacement weighed 3 lb.

I sold a puny Bibler Tripod Bivy, replacing it with a palatial Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo that happily weighed less.

One day in 2012 I woke up and said I'm gonna hike the Wonderland Trail.  The next day I drove to Longmire, got my permit and seven days later, I had finished the 93 mile trail with its 21,000 feet of up and down.

I still didn't see myself hiking the PCT.

Last year Chris Pirrello walked the trail.

Two years ago, my brother Tom gave me Cheryl Strayed's book, "Wild."  I read it and saw the movie this year.

Then one day two weeks ago while visiting my mom, brother, and sister in Vegas, I just decided, that I wanted to walk part or all of the PCT.

I got some maps (the PCTA maps) & a trail data book.  I downloaded a California fire permit which required viewing a short video about fire safety and take a short quiz--they said to denude a ten foot circle putting the fire pit in the center and then said to put out the fire with water and cover with dirt using a big shovel.  I now must decide which day of the last week of March I'll fly out and which day I'll start hiking, and apply for the permit.

I have boxes to pack with food.  Boxes to pack with gear for snow, etc.  Boxes to pack with replacement equipment (shoes, socks, dental floss)

resources: http://asthecrowflies.org/pctpacific-crest-trail-town-guide/