Monday, June 4, 2007

Day Nine - Friday, June 1

So it's a bit strange to wake up in a hotel room. I went out and got a new Western Mountaineering sleeping bag and a tarp. The bag is a +20ยบ ultralite, only 1 lb 6 oz for woman's size and stuffs down much smaller than my other bag. The guy at the outdoor store gave me a discount because I'm on the PCT. Everybody here is so nice and most places in town offer some discount on food, supplies, etc to the PCT hikers. I had to buy another PCT-Southern California book since I had sent the pages for this next section to Anza and I skipped it. I really like this town. I am going come back here and bring Rocky after I finish the PCT.

Jerry got a call from this guy Carl from Tahoe who wants to do the rest of the PCT with me. He called me and I told him he can come out but I am going to try to catch Tattoo Joe and do 35 -40 mile days. He needs to be prepared be on his own since I plan to go hard every day and can't wait for him. He thinks he will try to meet me at Wrightwood. I ran into Dale Sutton, a fast race walker who is here to do a 10K race tomorrow. We talked about me doing the 5K race at 7:15 before I take off on the trail again. I've never run a 5K and it only costs $10, could be fun.

I'm sending my old bag back to Jerry and will return it to REI when I get back. It is too big for fast packing. I asked Jerry to buy me a tarptent Contrail to use after the desert. It is lighter and smaller than my tent and it has a floor! Oh, but it is only for one person.

I went to the library and caught up on my e-mail and read everybody's comments on my blog. Thanks again, I love all your support. Jerry is maintaining my blog while I am on the trail. You can contact him at runninjer@comcast.net. If you come out to see me and take any pictures, you can e-mail them to Jerry so he can post on my blog. I gave Fast Jerry a card telling him how much I appreciate what a great friend he is and how much his help means to me. I know that my dream of the PCT would have been a lot harder to achieve. With his help I know that my goal of doing it fast will happen. Thank you so much, Fast Jerry!

I looked around town for somewhere to get a massage but couldn't find anyone. The manager of my hotel said I could go in the hot tub but I told him I didn't have a suit. He said I could go in naked and only half the town would be around to check me out. LOL!! So I did since the hot tub is under a redwood cover. So here I am relaxing and staying hydrated. ;-)

16 comments:

Rob said...

Good luck with your next section Catra! Can't wait to see you finish this monster up in the end!

Great picture, it's nice to see your ink un-obstructed by various running tops/etc. And your certainly not hard on the eyes!

Cheers!!!
rob

Olga said...

Looking hot, chica:) Be strong!

JeffO said...

They didn't have to heat the water. I think you're making it steamy all by yourself!

I hope Carl from Tahoe makes it. I like the idea of you having company most of the time.

Jessica DeLine said...

Catra,
Keep rocking and rolling! Sounds like you are doing great and having a great time out there!!

litsl said...

Hi Catra,

I hear you! I'm going to be prepared to do this on my own too. I did a 33 mile day on the TRT and it was pretty tough so I'm expecting 35-40 day-after-day to be a big ask. I also did a 50k in Ridgecrest last year in 5 hours and felt fine at the end of it. I ran a lot with Ceal, who you may know. She's great and very strong.

I am a very determined person though and I like the simplicity of long distance travel with a distant goal and daily increments towards it. Previously I've done some long distance cycling.

Since a previous plan didn't work out I started thinking of using my 3 months in the states over the summer to do a chunk of the PCT starting from the beginning. When i read that your partner had dropped out and that you had all kinds of spare food I figured it would be an easy in, and we would both have the best safety feature on the trail - another person around. I was too optimistic on the food front but I still think it safer to do this with someone else, but, I am prepared to go it alone too.

I bought an adventpro pack yesterday and a western mountaineer megalite good for 30 degrees - in my bivi sack and with a silk liner I think it'll be ok.

The guy in the store asked who I am doing this with and it turns out you know him. A really nice guy called Jay who used to live in Yosemite and do a lot of climbing there.

I slept in the bivi bag a couple of nights ago and it's pretty grim with it zipped up over my face. I'm trying to make a hoop for it. I like the look of the tarp tent you bought.

I had trouble getting some tyvex. Home Despot only had it in rolls of 165 ft so they sent me to find a building site instead! It looks like great stuff.

I also had trouble getting any lightweight stuff from REI and they didnt have most of the PCT books I need either. So I had to place a last minute amazon order yesterday and also ordered a Suunto Vector watch.

I've had a go at the dried food and the humous seems great. I now need to figure out how much i will need on the trail and how many boxes to post ahead. My friends Sienna and Scott have offered to support me so I think they will be ok to send more stuff on to me en route.

My biggest issues at the moment are:
- finishing up in Tahoe, selling my car, legal stuff with my former employer
- that I have been doing home improvements for over a month and not so much running. The weather looks rough here today so I'm going for a bit of a hike with the new gear

I bought a weird G'zone waterproof phone. It's on verizon which I understand also has reasonable coverage and if you have cingular I hope my phone will have more bases covered. I am also learning how to Moblog - blog from my mobile phone. It seems to work!

OK I had better get myself SORTED.

See you in a while.

Carl

greyhound said...

Oh NO! Catra! Stand up!

OK, that was creepy, but it had to be said.

What a great adventure to do the PCT. I'm really enjoying following it second hand, and wishing I could take off on my own adventure some day.

runrgrrl7 said...

Hi Catra,
It's great to know that you are doing good. You look strong and ready for more adventures.
Cheers to my favorite kukini!!!

ofie

Unknown said...

Yes, Yes, Yes *!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!

Now that you're soaked clean, the dust that weighed 12 pounds will be down the drain and you will be quicker than quicker!!

**********R*O*C*K O*N**************

Here are your daily good vibes:

vibesvibesvibesvibesvibesvibesvibes

Ciao.
xxoo
mer

Kathy said...

Garret (Onion) says hello from the CDT. He's into Colorado and had to borrow snowshoes. There is way more snow than he expected, but he's lovin' it.
http://garrettheonion.blogspot.com/
Garret's mom

christine said...

hey girl,
i left a message for on your phone today...i hope this potential new partner works out...i too would feel a bit better knowing your in good company. be safe and strong.
and thanks for sharing jerry's info, i'd like to meet up with him again.

Renee said...

Looking good, girl! Stay well and strong!

Unknown said...

40 mile days... awesome effort.

HERC DRIVER said...

Doing great!! Very proud of you!! Hang in there!!

Namaste!

Tom

Ultra Okie said...

Hey Catra, The hottub looks relaxing, great picture. I am anxious to get your next report.

you are one awesome chic. Stay safe.

Steve

RunBubbaRun said...

Stay strong Catra,

Glad you had some time to relax..

Your an inspiration doing this thing all by yourself..

Stan Tiska said...

Hey,
I need one of these for my hot tub... I am glad you had this day to relax a bit...

Catra... your doing it!!!

I am taking a run tomorrow... Saturday the 9th.. I'll send positive vibes and good ju-ju your way...
I'll be running in the new found heat here in Western MA., perhaps even in a thunder storm, that might be on the way.. Hey, that has to have special powers *smile*...

Thinking about you.... Stan...
The Trail_Tramp in Massachusetts...