Wow, you really hit the jackpot for good weather and conditions! Looks like a fabulous trip. I'm curious about the food cache... how'd that work? How did it get there ahead of time? What did you pack for food? Those sorts of logistic matters are interesting, to me at least!
Beautiful pictures!
Thanks for all your comments on the pictures and report!
Marj, we really got lucky with the weather. The coldest was about 30F, most days were warm with high at about 70F, which is hot for her majesty ))
Erika, to answer your questions: the food cache is a very nice service the park provides. You drop off or mail your food container in point A and they deliver it for you to point B and you have your cache waiting for you.
Ours looked like this. In this container we had 5 meals, three beers and some extra supply of bathroom necessities.
Planning for this trip took me months. Cooking for the meals, dehydrating the food and having them ready for the trek took me about 2 weeks. We ate well, meaning, my efforts allowed us to have extra veggies, fruits and wholesome yummie meals the whole trip with a few treats to enjoy, I may add.
If I were to do it again, I would cache food in more places to avoid carrying 50+ pounds of packs for 11 days.
"Champions are everywhere; all you need is to train them properly..." ~Arthur Lydiard
Maniac 505
Mari:
as you may know, a co-workers daughter did the trail while you and your family were on it. I don't know if you heard about the FKT (fastest known time) attempt while you were out there. Here is her blog if anyone is interested
Krissy Moehl
a totally different take on the trail. I bet you had more fun, or at least saw much better views then she did.
anyway, thanks again for your report. sounds like it was an awsome vacation
Dave
Oh, Posie - How wonderful!! And the pictures are absolutely stunning. Thanks for sharing.
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
What an incredible experience. And to be able to share it with the Easy Pacer and your DS? Priceless! Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos Mari. What a memory you all made!
+1
(thanks Jeanne... I couldn't have said it better)
That is some hiking with a heavy pack. I think it was a good thing you couldn't go those other times, because you did luck out with good weather. The pictures are amazing. Glad your dream came true.
"During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."