Spring has "rizen" and I can't wait! I am in the process of planning my first backpacking trip of this season and Oh Boy, it is going to have some new ideas and approaches to try out. Since it is rather early in the year I need to "stay low". I'm not a snow person. I was recently looking through the
www.yolohiker.org website and discovered they had gps tracks of various trails they have hiked in the Cache Creek/Bear Creek drainage. They are down-load-able and I installed them in my hand-held GPS! Then I uploaded them from my GPS to Google Earth and there they are in the above photo. Cool!
In Google Earth I could then zoom in, rotate around, fly over and basically check out where I am going without leaving my seat in front of my computer. This is an image of the trailhead and, in blue, two trails taking off from there.
Now let me tell you about how I am going to get to the trailhead!
I have put together a plan whereby I get on the local transit bus in Fort Bragg (one and a half blocks from my house) and ride to Ukiah. 2 hours. Spend the day and night at my friends in Ukiah and then catch a ride with my friend when he heads for Sacramento the following morning. He will drop me off at the trailhead and a week later, when he returns from Sacramento...., he will pick me up! That's "The Plan"!!
While I am wandering around the Bear Creek / Cache Creek drainage if I get really inspired and have the time there is the Blue Ridge Trail that I might be able to check out. Many possibilities.
Another addition to camping is this new dehydrator. I am experimenting with various food combination's to dry for backpacking.
Here are four shelves of stir-fry vegetables and rice. I pre-cooked it and am now dehydrating it.
Another change will be..., no "Bubble Butt" this time. I am leaving my Seva 123 home along with it's MSR fuel bottle and will use my tin can wood burning stove instead to heat and rehydrate; make tea, oatmeal, etc. Also, I am leaving the bear canister home, a total of four pounds removed from my backpack!!
But I am taking my watercolor set, moleskin sketch pad and colored pencils. As my wife says, "One pound for Art."!!
I will also be trying out the new "Ray-Way" quilt I made from their
kit. It weighs 2 lbs. 10 oz.
So. A new transportation concept for getting to the trailhead, new gear to try, new food to test.
Oh Boy! I leave in one week. Should be gone eight days! Perfect!