It is time for my first multi-day trip. I cajoled my son to go with my with my plan. I was going to pick out a camp site. Then I would drive the car to the starting point. From there, we would hike back to the campground and spend the night. The next day I would pack up camp and hike back to the car. The plan was 10 miles there and 10 miles back.

This is a relatively new trail called Corvallis to Sea. Part of it we ran in a relay race called Barrel to Keg back in my half marathon days (2016). It is close to me, so it a perfect place to test things out. There are actually two routes, one is for bicycles and the other is for hikers.

This trip tested my limits. And if I am to be honest, I am not ready physically for the PCT. The first day we clocked 10.5 miles with the last 2.5 on the road (bike route). We got a late start and we were running out of daylight. I was worried that we would run out of daylight on the trail. I wanted to be in camp so I could setup my tent for the first time.

It didn’t help that the first five miles were uphill. I was out of gas by the time we reached the summit. By the time we got to camp, I could barely walk. Since my son changed his plans and was going to leave the next morning, I changed my plans. There was no way I could do this again. After we ate, we went back up to the car and brought it to the campsite for a new plan tomorrow.

I slept terribly because I was so tired and sore. When I woke up the next day it was difficult to move but I resolved to do something. I decided to go back up the road and finish what we didn’t do the night before. That was about a 5.5 mile loop. And by the time I got back to the car, I had enough. Saturday was a day of moving for survival and Sunday, I have a lot of soreness.

My tent was great and so was my pad and my sleeping bag. The tent wasn’t too difficult to setup and there was plenty of space for one person. I don’t know about two, it would be pretty tight. My pack worked great and I never ran out of water. The fundamentals are solid. We had a some freeze dried meals out of my stash for dinner and breakfast. That was fun and my stove worked perfectly.

There wasn’t anything that I thought, I wish that I had brought… There were things that I brought that I didn’t use. Granted, this was only an overnight so I didn’t use a change of clothing, I didn’t use my stainless steel cup, I didn’t use that celebratory flask filled with Pendleton whisky or that roll of TP. I also didn’t use my spare water bladder or my pouring attachment because we had water at the camp site.

Part of why I was gasping for air on the uphill was because I was carrying extra weight. Trust me, I can still feel it. But, there are storage sacks and things that are adding a pound here and there that need to go. This is why I tested these things. More so than the weight, I am very worried about volume.

I carried water and both of our food for overnight on this trip (on purpose). But, that bulk equated to a completely full pack. Even with only one complete change of clothes, I don’t think that I have the space to carry what I need. Because I was so bushed, I didn’t eat replacement calories in food. I declined the extras out of exhaustion. Not to say I am going to starve as my weight has remained the same over this process but at some point if my weight, metabolism and hunger ever intersect, I am going to have problems with the volume I can carry. More testing is necessary.

I really wanted to drive home Saturday morning. But, I knew that I needed to push myself. Truthfully, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting even though my body was at it’s end by the time 5.5 miles were logged. It told me that despite being sore, exhausted and low motivation, I could push into the ‘have to’ zone (to some degree). I think that future me needs to do this kind of trip multiple times and probably a two night trip included to feel confident that a week is survivable.

End Your Programming Routine: This is what we call fun. Despite the suck, I am proud of what I did. I enjoyed the one on one time with my son, something we rarely have done. I loved seeing elk on the trail and it gets me excited that this is excellent training for the hunting season. My gear worked great, my body not as much. With so little time before my planned trip, I don’t feel shame in saying that I am not ready. What I am now thinking is that this will be another year of training. Remember, what I believe is that achieving the goal is not the joy, it is the journey that is the true prize.