BIG Hike Planning Stages

First there is a dream: 

•    yes, this is what I want to do!!!
•    this is very exciting!!!
•    this will be really something to brag about!!!
• 
  

Then there is research: 

Not confusing at all, is it?
Click to enlarge if you think that will help.

• new names: Duck Pass, Evolution Creek, Golden Staircase, Sunrise Creek, Bubbs Creek (did they spell it wrong?) all mixed up at first. They are somewhere on the map, I think, but still not in my head
• best foods are lightweight but full of calories and hopefully some nutrition
• gear galore, best in the world tents, backpacks, stuff sacks, compression sacks, waterproof sacks, protective clothing, breathing clothing, see-thru clothing (well, maybe not), stoves, hiking poles all the stuff I need for all the money I don't have
• training: you mean I cannot get fit on the trail? So why do I bother to begin with? And how the heck am I supposed to find time to do training when I have all this planning to do? 
• exit trails in case we decide that after all this planning we are really not into backpacking
• resupply points because there is no way I can carry three weeks of food on my back
• bear cans vs bear sacks (not legal in Yosemite - see I learned something already)

Then confusion sets in: 

• you mean rangers really care where I spend the first night but after I can sleep anywhere as long as I obey some (also confusing) rules?
• I can leave the trail but only for 24 hours (if I got that right) and how would they know how long I was gone? I mean are there checkpoints? Like I have a passport book they stamp, or what?
• there are good resupply points for the first part of the trip and then what, I starve for 2 weeks or do I add teens of miles to get to the nearest town or a trailhead where a kind soul will be waiting with burgers for me
• so could somebody finally decide for me which is better, sturdy hiking boots or light trail runners?
• and what's with those tarp tents. They are soooo light but what if I have two left hands and can't set one up so it does not blow over me in the lightest breeze? 
• last week I read alcohol stoves are best, much better than Esbitt cubes or anything else and now I am reading that actually just the opposite is true

Tiny flickers of understanding:

• JMT forums with fabulous and infinitely patient people explaining to us newbies how things are done but since we are dim and slow we ask same questions over and over again. Like, are you sure, really sure I need a bear can? What if I bring a sack instead and hide it behind a rock? or Oh, I will need a tent but not a hairdryer, got it. Can I still bring my makeup kit?
• great books whose writers sometimes naively think that I will care what kind of manzanita trees are growing on which parts of the trail while I am desperately trying to find a place to set my tent

Then there is realization:

• what the heck have I gotten myself into?
• two hundred miles is a long way
• three weeks is a long time
• total elevation gain of 46,000ft is a lot of steps to climb
• 30-40lb pack is a heavy hump to carry
• spending three or more weeks with a teenager can turn a loving and infinitely patient mother (that's me, of course) into a raging murderous lunatic (got that hint from an older and seasoned backpacker)
• and I still want to do it and I am actually having fun figuring it all out

Sylvester is absolutely certain he is coming so unlike
my son, is helping with planning stages.
Guess who will be joining me on this trek. 

At times the process of planning our JMT backpacking trip gets quite overwhelming. We have done some several day long backpacking trips but that does not count for much, this trip is way beyond anything I have ever tackled. I am spending hours over maps figuring out our schedule: how many days, how many miles each day, how much elevation are we gaining, losing. I put tags on the map for each day and adjust accordingly to new information found like just the other day I realized that I missed additional 2,000ft in elevation gain on switchbacks on a day I hoped we could do 18miles. Oops. That would be a miserable day.

Food is another big issue. I would rather stay away from store bought freeze dried food because of preservatives and my cancer paranoia (will it ever go away?). Organic packaged foods are way too low in calories for a trip like that. So I will be dehydrating most of our food. Alternatively I could use my own internal fat supplies. Hmm, that's a thought. 

I have to thank Al Gore for inventing internet. I have never spend so much time in front of the computer but there is a lot of good information out there, without which I would probably get lost on the first day of the hike, die of thirst, starvation or end up eaten by bears. Hey, at least since I am so glued to the computer I can answer e-mails as soon as they come. My friends love me for that. 

I am doing fine though, I think. I am trying to remember that all those preparation hours I spend computer now may help me avoid stresses on the trail so I can truly enjoy this:

Anybody wants to join me?

Yoga of Weight Lifting

You did not think I would post
a picture of my flabby muscles here

Slow, controlled movements, nice long breathing holding the pose, release, again in slow and controlled motion.

My strength training started a few years ago when my muscles really needed help carrying all that fat I had accumulated over the years. Of course I did not start exercising for the purpose of carrying the extra weight easier. I was hoping I would drop the weight somewhere along the way and I did. My gym, a pretty well equipped Y, offers free orientation sessions for people wanting to use machines. The guy I worked with could have used some time on those machines himself but at least he was nice and knowledgeable enough to get me started. He stressed that I lift in slow, controlled motion. And I did. My muscles burned nicely and hurt the following day trying to rebuild themselves. That was actually good. 

Then, after some months I realized that I could lift a lot, I mean a LOT more if I did it faster. Machines at the Y have a computer built in tabulating weight totals by muscle group and type of exercise. I loved seeing my numbers kept going up and up. What is more, I stopped feeling sore the day after the exercise. That was not good. But it was the number game that kept me coming for more, not my muscle tone. I have lost my focus.

And then there came the time when I stopped training with weights on regular basis. I would do them once a week, then maybe every couple of weeks. Sometimes not even that often. 

Pic of me garacrfully
lifting my monster pack
might come in the future -
- or not

Now weight lifting a very important part of my training. As I look back, I realize that while numbers are fun to look at, they do not truly reflect the level of my fitness. Pumping iron fast is not even fun. As I lift slowly I find myself in a yoga state, despite the effort, relaxed and almost meditative. I focus on my breathing and my form (I wish they allowed me to film inside the gym) and my movements become quite fluid.  There is a strange combination of muscle effort and mind relaxation. I like that a lot.

My yoga classes are very much like that. There is effort but it is mindful, controlled and slow. It is not about getting into a pose fast, it is all about working one's way to it with forethought and awareness of one's body.
I am not really sure if lifting weights and yoga will help me with carrying a heavy pack for miles on end day after day. I am sure though they will help me pick it up easily and possibly with some controlled grace. I'll take that.