New Adventures!

Welcome back and apologies for the late post. This last week has been a whole new game for us and we are now reporting from LAS VEGAS!

We have done a lot more preparation over the last week than I expected. We went to REI (which, if you don't have a membership yet, you should get one. You get discounts and money back at the end of the year!) We bought a really lightweight two person tent. It is called the 'Passage 2'. It is under 5 pounds and is made of great material! We also picked up some ground pads for those nights sleeping on granite.

We picked up a perfect first aid kit that has plenty of gauze and moleskin for those pesky blisters. Also, a headlamp for those nights we really need to pee in the dark, another bear canister, two lovely hats to protect from sun, sock liners, and an emergency whistle/flare light!

We also went to WinCo (the ultimate grocery store) and bought food for our trip and foods to practice with before the actual hike begins.

With all the purchases added up over the last few days, we have spent about $400. Not too shabby I'd say!

Today we also went on a hike just outside Vegas called Pine Creek. It was beautiful and a really easy hike. It was nice to see the beauty of green leafy plants in the desert. I'm really looking forward to many hikes in this desert environment to get us used to the dry conditions.

Next time I post I'll probably have either a wicked sunburn or a wicked tan!
JK

On Hiatus

We made it to Vegas safe and sound! It is beautiful out here and I cannot wait to hike some of these peaks as preparation for the JMT! Being completely honest, I have been eating terribly lately. With the travel snacks during travel, followed by the left over travel snacks as all day means of food, eating well hasn't been a priority.

Getting on to JMT business. Since we still have a long time until this hike and I'm working, plans have slowed down and almost stopped. Today we arranged the food we have so far into our bear vault which was so generously donated for our trip! It fits quite a bit a food and we are excited at the prospect of our other one coming in the mail soon. We also started arranging our bags.

No new purchases yet.

Still looking for our options and what we want to do for cache drops and shuttle work, but I feel like things are going to pan out just fine.

Happy note: California got precipitation! It may make us need to change some of our clothing options, but I'm alright with that!

Really nothing new today. Just thought that all of you constant readers were interested.

JK

PS, our nephew was helping us with packing today. I think he wants to come.

Just Breathe!

Good morning, afternoon or evening(whenever you are reading this) and welcome to another episode of I have no idea what I'm doing.

Panic is beginning to set in. I forgot to mention to all of you, that when we leave, this Wednesday for our summer adventure, we have to take everything with us that we might need (from May through September). We are doing not only the JMT, but hiking into the beautiful Eagle Cap Wilderness in Eastern Oregon. If you haven't been out into the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, you really need to! We are also working in Vegas for the next 8 weeks, followed by an exciting drive up Highway 1 and spending plenty of time with family!

We are obviously procrastinators and terrible planners since we really just started packing today.

We also have a rough pack on our backpacks too. We will be getting our bear canisters from an awesome gentleman in California who is letting us borrow them for this trip. I have to say, people who let strangers borrow things are my favorite. :)

This whole experience is more in depth than I thought it would be. I have been going over pages online and it's making me realize that this isn't just some little hiking trip. This is an excursion of epic proportions. My dad checks in with me occasionally to see how the planning is going and if I think I'll be healthy enough to do it. I know I am. I also know it's going to be a very difficult trek.

We have picked up a 30L dry bag to hold our toilet paper in as well as some water shoes and some portable oxygen just in case the altitude gets to us near the top of Whitney. Also, that cute little Hawaiian girl at the top, we have decided to make this more fun, she is going to be our mascot. Her name is Mahana. (If you know the story of Johnny Lingo, you'll appreciate the name). We are going to try to get our hula dancer in many of the pictures on the trail! Think of it as a Where's Waldo!

We also got our Sawer Filters in and are quite excited! Our crank powered flashlight is really lightweight and our striker and sharpener works really well already too!

We also decided to pick up a small mesh bag for washing things in the river without them getting washed away as well as a travel toothbrush. We grabbed some rubber balls to work through our tight muscles at the end of each day. Being a massage therapist works great for that, but I'm pretty sure at the end of the first few days, I won't want to do massage, I'll be too tired! These rubber balls work great for sore feet!

I'm getting really excited for this trail and I know Justin is too! But as for now, I'm going to let you stop reading and I'm going to get some dinner (made by Justin for not being a mom on mother's day)

Wednesday will come far too quickly,

JK

Planning! Supplies and Help Wanted!

Welcome back either noobs or vets! This last week has proven to be more than I bargained for when it came to planning. Realizing that this hike is only about three months from now has made us kick in to high gear to make sure we get the things for the hike in time! I'm guessing the anxiety and stess that accompanies this kind of adventure is normal. I have also noticed that since it is three months away, on my down times I tend to forget that I probably should be getting more things ready. My bad.

This week we have purchased Sawer Mini filtration devices. When we purchased them, they were only 13 a piece. The reason we got these over the popular Life Straws, is that these came with a back flush system which keeps them filtering longer.

I keep hearing about having trekking poles for the hike. I wasn't planning on getting them because I have hiked and backpacked before without them and didn't think they were necessary. Fortunately, my neighborhood has an event where they get all the things they don't want and it all gets picked up and taken to charities or the trash. I drove past a pile today and there were perfectly sized trekking poles for me: FOR FREE! I really hope these poles end up being worth the nothing I spent. Haha. Actually, I hope they just don't become bothersome on the JMT.

I have seen a few lists online for things to have and not to have for the JMT. I have looked at a few of them and so many lists tell you to get specific high end brands to have a quality trip. I must say, with all the hikes I have done, my shoes and bag have done amazing and they aren't super expensive. We got a Osprey(popular brand) bag for Justin at a surplus military/pawn shop. It was only $100, which is a steal. It didn't even have worn spots on it. Great condition! Plus, we got military(lightweight and down packed) bag for Justin for cheap too! I have had one of these bags for years and it has been better to me than any other sleeping bag!

We still need to get our bear canisters. Any suggestions on from who or where for the best prices? Anyone willing to give theirs up for some new hikers? Is there a page for hikers to trade gear around for different trips so people don't have to spend so much money? Also, anybody have suggestions for cashe drops and shuttle plans. I haven't found good information online.

Lastly, on this preparation journey, I have tried eating better than normal. But of course, when you try, something comes up. Justin turns 24 today! We had a party! We went to BWW and then played Mt. Dew and Red Bull pong. Totally worth it, but I've felt it in a bad way. Just throwing it out there that you don't have to be perfect with the eating healthy part in preparation, just try! (Do I know what I'm talking about with diet? Probably not, but it's my blog so I'll say what I want!)

For now,
JK

Stats, hikes and expos, oh my!

Hello!! Sorry for the long wait for a new post. Life can be nuts at times. Today is going to be a big post. Ill put headlines in places so you don't have to read the whole thing to get to the stuff you actually want to read. The last few weeks has been huge for our planning and preparation for this hike. Also, plan on new posts at least every Sunday.

So, quick synopsis of the post today
Just so you can see how average we are, we are going to give you a quick summary of our health and stats. Next, giving you an overview of the different hikes we have done this month, including hardships and problems we faced. Finally, we will be giving you the lowdown on our haul we got at Preppercon SLC.

Your Beginners Guide Guides!

So, as I said, this blog is to show and give a first hand account of some fairly average people doing the JMT. Just to give you and idea of how fairly plain we are, here is us in a nutshell!

Kylee
Age: 25     Height: 5'9     Weight: 210
I have always been a solidly built girl. I had a tendency growing up to intimidate people since I was a stronger girl than the average. As a kid I played T-ball, soccer, basketball, track and field(throwing) and the flag, dance and weapon line for my high schools marching band. I am definitely not a fast runner, but if I can keep a slow(keyword: slow) steady pace, I can run for miles. I only go running when I'm really upset about something and just need to get away from it all. As a kid, my dad would take us on small hiking and backpacking trips. My favorite place is the Wallowa-Whitman forest in Eastern Oregon. After graduating high school, I went from 195 up to 250. Before our wedding last summer, I had got back down to the 195. Being married and being on birth control has caused my weight to go back up again. I love playing active games/sports with people but may or may not enjoy my Netflix, crocheting and my old school Super Nintendo even more! As a couple we eat more Oreos than carrots and are far from the outdoorsy, granola eating, yoga doing types. The most yoga type activity we do is bending over to pick things up.

Justin
Age: 23(Happy 24th in a week)     Height: 6'4     Weight:200
I have always been active. I have loved playing every sport I could get my hands on and then some. I started in high school playing baseball, tennis, football, cross country, basketball, and wrestling. After I graduated and moved out I found parkour, and started training quite a bit just for fun. It helped me to get out and do some non gym exercises and for someone with ADHD that was way more fun than weightlifting. I have hiked my entire life as living in a small town encourages. I love to work with my hands and build and create. I am just finishing up my first year of a Mechanical Engineering degree and am really excited about the prospects that degree will create. I also love Netflix and snuggling with Kylee and my xbox 360.

Preparation H(ikes): No blood, lots of sweat, and Kylee tears.

When we realized we would be hiking more in a month than most people do in a lifetime, we knew we had to practice. Living at the foothills of Wasatch gives us plenty of opportunities to hike. We started with an unlabeled path that took us about 3 hours to summit and 45 minutes to finish. When we made it to the top, we were closer to airplanes than to the valley floor, we could see the everything. It was amazing. It was cold, but it was beautiful. In the picture below, it is looking SW into downtown SLC.

The next few hikes we did we part of the Cotopaxi Questival. Cotopaxi is, follow this link 

cotopaxi.com/pages/mission. They are based out of Utah and make great outdoor gear. If you are looking for a less known brand to support, I highly suggest it. The Questival is part of Cotopaxi. The best explanation is here: questival.cotopaxi.com. It is a huge 24 hour scavenger hunt. During this years Questival, my team ended up hiking in Zions National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and a few other smaller hikes. Those hikes were done very quickly. During the Questival, we received a hiking day pack that has been perfect for these smaller hikes we have been doing. It has the perfect set up for water bladders with additional room for snacks, ID, phone and even a first aid kid if you wanted. They are really durable and really light.

The most recent hike we did was Squaw Peak in Provo, Utah. We gained 3,000 feet in elevation within the 3ish miles to the top. On this hike, we took our Cotopaxi bags and they were perfect for the hike. We purchased a water bladder for it and the only weight I felt on my back was the water. The pack was so light! When we hiked it, it had recently rained so it was muddy and the air was a little thick. (Being totally honest, probably one of the more tiring hikes I've done). It was at a pretty impressive incline the entire time. I got frustrated in the beginning because I was hiking with 3 pretty fit guys. At one point, I wanted to stop, but I didn't. I knew I needed to finish it in preparation for the JMT. I cried. I wanted to punch things. My legs were cramping. It was much harder than I expected. I'm very glad I did it. Today, the day after, I am very sore. I know that has something to do with the fact that this hike was the most strenuous thing I have done in weeks. 

These preparatory hikes are not meant to be easy. They are meant to push you. The reason lots of people don't hike is because it can be so strenuous. But trust me, the views you will see will make the entire experience worth it. Plus, if you don't do these easy, medium and difficult hikes, the JMT is not going to be the experience you wanted it to be. 

Preppercon SLC 2015

Last thing for today! We went to the Preppercon which is an outdoor survivalists expo. www.preppercon.com. It had things for hunting, hiking, backpacking, surviving, water purification, tents, guns, knives, and much more. If you have the chance to go, I would! You are able to meet with some of the top guys in these companies many times and see what exactly they are all about. These people are often leaders in their field but may or may not be large well known brands. We met with a few companies that we purchased from and are very excited to try their products in our next few hiking adventures as well as our JMT trip. All together we spent around $200 for all of the products below as well as a chiropractor/massage visit from a local company that came to the Expo. 

We have over 30 meals from Safeguard Foods in Utah beststoragefood.com and a heating element that is fire less and can boil water in 3 minutes or less. I was watching first hand and it really did work. The container is very light weight and durable. Once it heats your water, it stays hot for another 15 minutes. Plenty of time to heat another meal if wanted. The container holds 2 meals worth. Calories for these meals(since caloric content on this kind of hike is important) is between 240-400 for the meals we got. We were able to sample a few of them and they were amazing. The employees we met with were so nice and understood exactly what we wanted without trying to get us to purchase everything. 

We also met with Handy Sharp www.handysharp.com for a combination knife sharpener and sparker for fires. Next Emergency Zone, www.emergencyzone.com for some quick, easy, light and reusable portable hand warmers. We tried them at home and they worked perfectly. This company is also a smaller company that sells wholesale so prices can be low! Lastly we met with Boltwell

http://boltwell.com/hand-crank-flashlight, for a battery free flashlight. It is really light weight and the crank is really smooth. 

If you have the opportunity to go to a Preppercon, or similar type expo, I highly suggest it. The prices are great and they know the outdoors really well. 

On our list of things to do/purchase, we are still looking for a water filter that is a pump, not just a straw so that we can fill bigger water bladders easier. 

In closing today......

Personal opinion: You don't have to spend loads of money on the top name brands to have a successful trip. I am extremely confident in how these products will work for us. Keep looking for updates on how we have tested out products and such. 

'Til we meet again

JK

And So It Begins

Hello! My name is Kylee. Now, before you expect this blog to be written by an English scholar, an avid mountain man or a National Forest Park Ranger, understand that I am just like you. I'm a normal girl who has found the beauty of the outdoors and wants to blog about it. My husband Justin and I are preparing to hike the JMT and wished for a first hand account for more inexperienced hikers. That is where this blog plays a part. 

Similar to other sites that give you the list of things to help prepare you for your first JMT experience from the eyes of seasoned hiker, we are here as new and fresh eyes in the hiking world to give a realistic documentation of what the JMT is and could be for newer hikers. We don't have a lot of time under our belts in the mountains, we haven't hiked coast to coast and we wouldn't call ourselves veteran wilderness experts. We are just a normal couple wanting to see what the world has to offer and to show that these beautiful landscapes are attainable for even fairly novice hikers (who of course, are physically sound to do these kinds of things). 

Please take any and all suggestions, comments and advice from me with a grain of salt. Do not take my word as law but more just observations from my standpoint for before, during and after the hike that could have changed the experience.

I hope you're looking forward to your first time just as much as we are!

JK