Crunch Time

With only 18 days until we leave we, are solidly into the “it’s time to freak out about everything that’s not done yet” portion of the year. Clearly, one of the things that needs to be done is to begin blogging again at a steady pace. Before I dive into the details of what’s left to be done let’s begin with the fun stuff! It’s been quite a while since I wrote about our plans for #RTXVII so here’s an overview:

As always, if you have any favorites along the route, please mention them in the comments. We’re always on the lookout for a good burger or beer!

Each year I’ve tried to push us just a bit further beyond our comfort zone. Last year that meant completing our longest hike to date (at Bryce Canyon), tackling our first two 14ers, and doing a bit of camping. This year it will mean making the jump from day hiking to backpacking. This presents several challenges. First and foremost, that Molly doesn’t like camping. Fortunately, she’s a trooper and unwillingly goes along with the plans. We’ve done what we can to keep her spirits high by finding a source of back country beer and making her sleeping arrangement as comfy as possible. We’re still working on the coffee issue, but I’ve got some ideas.

I’m also concerned about the volume of gear we’re planning to bring being greater than the volume of cargo area Fred can provide. We hit a milestone yesterday night when we set up the packing table. I’m hoping to finish collecting gear that we have stashed in various places over the past several months tonight so that I can make an attempt at stuffing it into Fred tomorrow evening. If that doesn’t work I have a couple emergency options, but fingers crossed it doesn’t come to any of those.

At this point my primary concern about backpacking all over the country is that we’ve never actually backpacked before. A few weeks ago we made a short excursion to Graue Mill to try filtering water for the first time, where we discovered that we were missing a vital piece of equipment needed in order to filter water. My biggest fear at this point is not knowing what else we don’t know, so for a few months I’ve been insisting that we do a quick practice trip to figure out the list of things that we still need to figure out.

Sadly, Zoe broke her arm last week (which should probably be an entire post), but the short version is she was riding her scooter, fell, and caught herself with her arm. If all goes well, that is, if she doesn’t use it at all, she should be able to get the cast off the day before we leave. This means she and Molly won’t be able to join Ellie and I for the practice hike. Of course, Molly is psyched that this means one night less of camping for her. It also means E and I have a lot of responsibility for making sure we figure everything out on our own!

We’ll be hiking the Manistee National Forrest this Saturday and Sunday. Our plan is to hike a loop along the Manistee River Trail with a night of camping somewhere in the wilderness. After just a few tears upon finding out that it would just be her and I, I think that Ellie is now excited about the trip. I’m also looking forward to our hike together. Hopefully all goes smoothly!