Daily Schedule

Life on the trail so far has been pretty predictable.  I get up, hike, eat, find a nice place to sleep, and then go to bed.  My days begin at sunrise, so about 5am (all my time swimming and running before work has gotten me use ready for this).  I get up, pack my bag, and start hiking within 30 minutes.  Because I don't use my tent unless it is raining, it makes it real easy to pack up and get on the trail.

The hiking in the early morning is my favorite because it is quiet and the light is fantastic.  After about four miles or an hour and a half of hiking, I stop to eat my breakfast which is cereal or cold rehydrated oatmeal with peanut butter and honey.  This is my first stop of the day and I check my feet for blisters and figure out where I want to stop for my breaks.  The rest of the morning is essentially hiking for about two hours, taking a break to eat something, and repeating until about 1pm.  Around this time I eat my "lunch,"  something a little more substantial like salami or hummus, and take a my long break for the day, at least a hour but potentially longer if it is a hot day.  By now, I have gotten the bulk of my miles in for the day, around 13, so all I need is 7 more to get the 20 miles I need to hike each day.

The afternoon is filled with more of the same, hiking, and I try to find myself a place to camp by 5 or 530.  Once I'm at my campsite, I eat and do my camp chores, the worst part of the day.  My camp chores consist of cleaning up after dinner, prepping my stuff and food for the next day, filtering water if I am camping by water, setting up camp for the night, getting myself a little bit clean via wet wipes or a sponge bath, and stretching.  These are all really important things to do, but nothing I want to do after walking all day.  After I do all of this, it is time to journal, read, and relax until it gets dark at about 8 or 830.  I have found that I like to be in camp early in the evening because then I don't have to rush getting my stuff done before dark and I get enough sleep to be awake when the sun comes up.

Overall, all of the days are the same just with different scenery and hiking partners.  For me, this schedule  works and gets me enough sleep to get my next 20 miles done.