Pre-Trip Jitters

This post was written Saturday night (4/29). 

I'm not as nervous as I feel I should be. I don't have burgeoning confidence, but I'm also not scared. Today I did a practice pitch of my tent to be sure that I still remember how to do it. It was amazingly easy, even with a bit of wind blowing and my husband playing the part of the peanut gallery. Every step followed naturally and I made a pretty pitch even though the sidewalk prevented me from pulling one of my lines taut. 

I got everything packed today. It was already mostly gathered, but I went over it all again and gathered the bits and pieces that I had left strewn about the apartment. Including 5 liters of water and all of the food for the first segment, the full pack weighed in at 35 pounds even. But it didn't have some of my outer wear in it because I anticipate wearing that when I set out on Monday. So gear-wise it's probably a little heavier. 

I'm not sure if the temperatures and wind will warrant keeping my rain jacket on at all times, but it might. And I invested in a down vest today because lows are going to be in the low 30s and highs might reach the low 60s if I'm lucky. I've got the layers I'll need I think, but I don't know how much I'm going to have to be taking them on and off. 

I also finally purchased a replacement of sorts for good old alti-baro. After the buttons fell off last year, I knew it was on its last legs, but I couldn't bring myself to buy a replacement. Ambrose really wanted me to get a GPS watch or something else super fancy, but I wanted simple. I really only used the alarm and countdown timer functions with altibaro, so the replacement I got has those functions. It's a watch, and I don't like to have things on my wrists, so it will hang from my chest strap on my pack. 

If all goes well, I'll be doing the first 2 miles of the ICT tomorrow as a short out and back with Ambrose. I've read that one can't actually drive to the start and I think it will be nice to spend that extra bit of time with him before I set out. He's planning on trying to meet me on the trail at various points, which I don't mind at all, though I kind of doubt that he'll be able to find me like that. 

We've gone over the maps together and talked about what he will do if I don't show up as expected. He knows exactly where I'm planning to hike and approximately where I'm expecting to camp. It should be easier to camp this time, because I won't be looking for a water source - I'm expecting to dry camp each night in the desert.  

I'm excited. But also a little numb. 100 miles is such a huge number. 100.7, technically as Ambrose keeps reminding me. Can I really do it? In 5 days? Or even 6? Though I'm not sure how 6 would work out since the last 20 miles or so will take me through a town where camping might not be appreciated...