Phew! Between directing the finale episode for a tv show, training for a 50k, finishing my Becoming Ultra sketchbook, and taxes… I’ve been prepping for my thru hike!

It’s been a very busy few weeks. The show I’m directing for is a hard one but I’ve been having so much fun. I have the best team! We worked super hard getting the finale across the finish line. I can’t wait for people to see it!

https://deadline.com/2023/03/netflix-animated-series-jentry-chau-vs-the-underworld-ali-wong-1235312716/amp/

After a final push to lock (finish any final notes/adjustments for the episode) I’m taking a few days off to focus 100% on my thru prep.

It’s a lot! The weather window for hiking the entire CDT in one year is a tricky one! You have to consider what the snow situation will be like in Southern Colorado and Northern Montana. Entering Southern Colorado early could mean a lot of difficult snow travel with miles of post-holing (where you take a step and sink down into the snow, sometimes up to your waist!) But entering Colorado later with more ideal hiking conditions could mean a miserably cold time when you reach Northern Montana…

My main goal is to paint during this trip.

So, I’m thinking I will do a LASH (a long ass section hike). This way I can be slow and take my time to sketch and not be too worried about how cold my future self will be if I take a day to enjoy a vista.

I’m trying not to put too much pressure on any one plan or on finishing the full trail in a year. If I’ve learned anything from hiking on the PCT, it’s to be flexible. Plus! I’m so excited to focus on personal work during this hike! There’s nothing quite like an epic adventure through the wilderness to reset the creative mind, body and soul.

I met this super adventurous fellow storyboard artist, Sooyeon through my work friend Yvonne! I love connecting with other artists. She’s super talented and has done a lot of fun backpacking trips. Check out her work!

https://instagram.com/afternwn?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

She agreed to join me for a small 8 mile shake down trip.

I’ve been experiencing some knee pains from my Ultra training. So today’s trip will be a test day to check in with my physical self. Knowing me, I’m going to want to do high mileage days and I don’t want to start with a bumb knee, make it worse, and potentially have a summer ending injury. Fingers crossed!

We leave Sooyeon’s car at the base of the park and with Doug’s help, shuttle up to the top to begin our trek.

It’s a fun short mile to our campsite. The area is still so green from all the rain! I love it.

We set up camp. Sooyeon is borrowing my old Zpacks Solplex to see how she feels about the lighter tent. I’m embarrassed the zippers are way more busted than I remember. The curved zipper design gets grumpy over time and requires a lot of careful attention if you want your tent to last a long time. Something to consider if you plan on making an investment in a Zpacks tent. They are not cheap!

I really love that tent though and have upgraded to the Duplex. It feels like a palace in comparison.

After set up we start preparing dinner. I forgot my fuel! Ahahaha oops. Maybe this is a great opportunity to try cold soaking one of my dehydrated meals.

Sooyeon busts out this backpacking grill and starts searing fresh mushrooms, vegan sausage and onions. She even brought home made tortillas and fresh cilantro!

She takes pity on me and my sad crunchy cold soaked meal and shares some of her tacos.

It’s soooo good! Holy crap, I’m super impressed. Thank you so much Sooyeon!!!

You can get the backpacking grill she uses off Amazon.

Uni-Frame (Uniflame) Mini Roaster 665817$33.89Amazon.comFree shipping

We settle in for the night. The moon is so bright! It casts shadows across the campsite. I go to bed, cozy and happy with all my gear, the pull of adventure brewing in my heart.

The next morning we pack up and head out into the rolling green hills. The wild flowers coat the grass like sprinkles.

It’s lovely seeing the burn scar bounce back with such life.

I’ve gotten to know this area quite well so it’s fun showing off my favorite spots to someone knew.

We start the decent down the Sooyeon’s car. Aaah my knee is definitely grumpy. Hmm. I was worried this would be the case. Not great. And just a few miles in too. It’s not too painful that I can’t hike. But I would be worried it would lead to that if I hiked 20mile back to back days….

We make it back to the car and have lunch in the village. Thank you so much Sooyeon for joining me in my shake down hike!

I spend the night pretending my knee is fine. It’s totally fine! Denial.

It takes Doug mimicking me hobble around for me to accept that, yeah okay, my knee is not fine. I should reconsider my planned start date.

I cancel my train and shuttle to the southern terminus. I’m very sad while doing this. So much for my northbound plans! It’s the right thing to do though. I start looking at southbound options and my spirits lift. The ideal southbound start window would give my knee several more weeks to rest and heal!

That’s the new plan. We’re going southbound!