Packing these boxes is soooo
depressing. It goes on...
and on....
and on...
As is the case for a lot of people, Ray Jardine's book, "The Pacific Crest Trail Hiker's Handbook" really helped us plan. We also enjoyed reading other hiker journals which were a good resource for knowing what we might expect. We also both enjoyed watching Lynn Wheldon's video, "How to hike the Pacific Trail" which was very entertaining and informative.
Conditioning
If you've spent any time reading our journals and note my (Amy) pain and suffering, you will probably be surprised to know that we actually walked the 450 miles with the loaded packs before the trip as suggested by Ray Jardine. We both found that our muscles were really well prepared for the trip. This training did not significantly seem to help my feet, however. I developed bad blisters all over my feet, particularily on the balls of my feet that were extremely painful and it nearly 6 weeks for my feet to toughen up. Scott never got one blister. Can you belive it?
I had tried Ray Jardine's suggested foot preparation (athlete's foot) but couldn't stick with it. I also bought the book John Vonhof's "Fixing your Feet" which had several good suggestions for foot prep. Lots of people we hiked with used athletic tape on their feet to prevent blisters. I started using this in Mojave. My blisters improved a lot, but I'm not sure if part of it wasn't the fact that my feet were finally toughening up on their own. I did like the way the tape held the second skin in place so that every time I took off my socks the adhesive wasn't stuck to them. Some hikers swear by rubbing alcohol on their feet to toughen them. I didn't try this but I would try everything next time since I was in significant pain every day for weeks on the trail.
Mountaineering School
We went to the Mountaineering school in Bear Valley, CA and learned all about using our ice axes. I have never EVER hurt so bad the following day, but it was great training. We didn't end up needing it, but we felt good having the knowledge and you never know when you are going to need it. You may meet fellow hikers there too. A highlight was meeting the DiLorenzo family. Staying with them really enhanced our trip and I hope the same was true for Tony when he stayed with my family.
Gear
For 2 summers prior to the trip we had experimented with lightweight gear which really helped us decided what worked and what didn't. By the time this hike started, we had pretty much dialed in most of our gear and had relatively few problems with any of it. (See gear notes for more information on gear.)