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Guide Books = 3 lbs. 13 oz.

( First Time Here? Be sure to read April 20 for an overview. )

I endured two long nights of nightmares.

I think it had something to do with the 5.3 Million Steps that I plan to take in the next 6 months.

The dreams involved continual haunts of the number of things that I still have to do to be ready to leave on the PCT in 3 weeks. They were like the dreams you have when sick with the flu ... no matter how many times you wake up they just won't go away.

I have been slammed with getting a project done for work before leaving ... and it has been going slow! The nightmares got me thinking that maybe I should pay attention and get going on the daunting task of logistics, ordering gear, etc. - regardless of where my project is. So I got out of bed last night at 12:30 AM ( not able to endure yet a third night of restless sleep ) and began calming my trail planning fears.

The good news is that within just one day I have made great progress:

1. I have a high level schedule for the trail.

2. I have built models for food, water, and fuel consumption.

3. I have a fairly detailed gear list (some items still being weighed) with a weight budget; surprised to find that just the guide books are almost 4 pounds.

4. I ordered several major ultra-light items (Contrail TarpTent, Montbell Spiral Sleeping Bag and a NeoAir Thermarest).

5. Also, found an amazing design for a pepsi can stove - building several prototypes tomorrow. Only weighs 1 oz. - now that helps bring the weight down.

And finally, I stumbled onto postholer.com.

Three months ago I had a vision for a web site that I could access from the trail - integrated Google Maps and Twitter -and allowed my base support team (my wife and Bob) to upload photos and video as I send them the media. Well, to my amazement - my vision exists. Or at least 80% of it (no Twitter yet). Nice job postholer.com. Great site.

So begins my Pacific Crest Trail 2009 Adventure blog on April 1, 2009. (No joke.)

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