Aug 15 Soquel Mountains 600+/-
I’m home now, everything’s washed and mostly put away for the season. My feet which were heroic, have already recovered from the small blisters I carried for the second half of the trip and are feeling fine. I’ve eaten everything I craved during the trip and now I’m back to my normal diet. Don’t want to go too crazy on that front!
Goals, I never articulated my goals in this adventure, but I did have some. In no order of importance here are the main ones.
#1 hike the TRT-success on this one. 165 miles done.
#2 Be flexible, creative and positive in the face of hardships-I believe I was able to keep pretty upbeat, even when I was doing something very hard for me (hiking in the heat). Also, the problem of no quick and simple way to treat water presented a major challenge to my skills and ability to stay safe and healthy. So far so good on that front. So I give myself an A on that goal.
#3 to challenge myself in two areas of concern. Hiking in the heat and with limited water resources. I do believe I managed water resources quite well. My attitude about the heat was not always cheerful, but I didn’t melt, physically or emotionally so I guess that is something. At least I know I can do it if I must. I give myself an A on water management and a B on heat adaptability.
It might seem strange to be evaluating myself in this way, but this trip was, in part, to challenge myself in a controlled way in areas where I did not have much experience and/or confidence. My long term goal is to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, many issues that I had to deal with on this trip are issues I’ll have to manage on a PCT hike. Heat, weather, long daily miles. So in this way I feel my trip was successful. I got to find out how I handle some stressful situations and do it in a more controlled manner. Plus it’s just dang pretty out there. So I encourage everything who ever thought they would like to find out what is beyond that day hike length or beyond the auto pullout view area, get on out there. There is plenty of space for everyone!
Thanks for donating to FTTW and for reading my meandering words.
Shelly Skye
