Final Prep For My Ice Age Trail Thru-Hike

I felt I needed to do the obligatory "gear" picture and "meal plan" picture. So here's my final gear plan. I realize now that I don't have my actual hiking boots in here, or my maps and I didn't put in my bathroom items as I am still using some of those. I know already that there are a few items people are going to look at and immediately want to tell me I'm wrong. Well, guess what? Maybe that item is wrong for you, but it might be what will make MY hike possible.

Most of my gear.

The two most obvious of those items are my fleece blanket and my puppy "Shreds." I can totally and completely understand why some people might think these are just extra weight. Here's my reasoning behind them and you can agree or disagree with my decision, but just remember it is my choice and if I decide I no longer want to carry something, I can mail it home at the next little town I go through that has a post office. So when I went on my first hiking trip to the Porcupine Mountains, I wanted something on the bottom of my tent, something soft, and I didn't take anything with. Then when I went to Colorado, I again did not take anything and I tend to spread out when I sleep and never stay completely on my sleeping pad and all night (each night) as soon as I touched the cold floor of my tent, I woke up. So this time I am taking a fleece blanket, it is fairly lightweight although a bit bulky, so it will get strapped wherever it fits. Plus I can wrap my feet and legs in it to keep them warm since wearing socks to bed only makes my feet colder.

"Shreds" my travel puppy and my fleece blanket.

Now the puppy. "Shreds" was given to me by a friend for my 18th birthday. He came to college with me and sat on my desk all four years. He came to North Carolina with me, riding shotgun, in 2010 when I drove solo to Penland School of Crafts for a two week pottery class. He kept me company while I sat for two hours waiting for assistance on the side of I-65 in Indiana while my parents and I tried to make sense of a AAA membership that the paperwork never got run. He came with me on my short, but solo trip to Grand Marais and my broom making class last year. And most recently he accompanied me on my trip to Colorado riding in the cup holder the whole way. He didn't actually come on the hike with me, but he was there in Colorado. "Shreds" is my travel puppy and he's going to be riding shotgun on my pack for this hike for as long as I want him. And since I can't take my slightly senile 19 (92 in cat years) year old cat, Shreds is going with.

Yes that is my bra she is sleeping on. Saturn (and her brother Neptune when he was alive) always seem to know when I am going away and end up in my clothes, suitcase or what ever else when I am trying to pack.

And here's my food for the first five days, plus a little more. You can't see everything because of how it is packed, but I have tuna, pita pockets, cheese (because I am a true Wisconsin girl and can not go with out my cheese, and I will buy more along the trail as I use up what I am taking with), breakfast bars, five dinners with a package of ramen if I need more, assorted drink powders, peanut butter and jelly, and assorted snacks including peanut m&ms, cashews, Reese's Pieces, mini chocolate bars, fruit gummy snacks, dried fruit and raisins, fruit leather, crackers, Gardettos and corn chips to add to my mashed potatoes. The tube of tomato paste will last through much of the hike and is for some of my pasta dinners and a couple of the rice dinners that need a little more flavor. Plus I have seeds for sprouting in hemp bags, I have my first crop already going so I can have some my second day out.

Each resupply box has some variation on this based on how many days I need to get to my next box.

And here's an update on my temperature afghan. This is as far as I will get before starting my hike. When I get back I will look up the high temperatures for the days (months) I missed and then catch up. I was glad when it started to warm up, I ran out of the 30 degree color. And if you can see the two stripes of multicolor yarn? Those are family birthdays. I made a slightly taller stitch with the color for the day then chained around the shaft of the stitch to make it stand out. I have a brighter yarn I am going to use for the summer birthdays.

In a holding pattern for the next two months...

Next time I'll see you on the trail!