Everyday this week I’ve been waiting for the postman to deliver my Caldera Cone Stove from Trail Designs in the US, and sadly the night before I head to Sydney it still hasn’t arrived. It’s disappointing because the solar panel I ordered at the same time came a few days ago, plus I was planning to do my FIRST EVER solo overnight hike up there with my main pieces of gear (now minus the stove).

Approved to enter Canada via the PCT.

I did happily receive my permit to enter Canada via the PCT in the mail today though. I’ll need to decide what to do with this precious document during the hike. I think most people send it to their last resupply point in Washington before crossing the border. My biggest fear is that it could possibly get lost in the mail. I think people also send their passports to their last resupply point but this makes me even more nervous, and considering I’m not a US citizen I think I’ll need my passport and visa on me at all times anyhow.

It’s now less than a month before I’m on the plane to Vancouver. I’m going to do some serious planning, training and bits of gear purchasing over the next week with only mum and dad to distract me. When I get back to Melbourne I’ll have 10 days to go! Frightening!

Travel insurance for thru-hiking, is there such a thing? The issue I’m coming across in my search for appropriate cover is the definition between hiking and mountaineering. Apparently if you’re not carrying specialised equipment you’re just hiking, which means you’re covered. But if you’re not carrying specialised equipment (ice axe, crampons) aren’t you more likely to have an accident? The trail is the trail after all, how can they offer you cover for being less prepared?

I’ve spoken to 3 providers so far:

1. Simply Travel Insurance: The guy I spoke to was super friendly and very helpful. Their product disclosure statement (PDS) states that if you’re trekking or hiking over 3,000m but under 5,000m altitude, special condition 1 applies. These activities must be: (i) With a commercial operator; and (ii) Available to general public; and (iii) Not considered extreme risk; and (iv) Not require any special skills or a high level of fitness. The guy was honest and said I wouldn’t be covered and directed me to call 1 Cover Travel Insurance.

2. 1 Cover Travel Insurance: The girl I spoke to helped clarify the general exclusions in the PDS: Sport & Leisure – Your claim arises because you hunt, race (other than on foot), engage in open water sailing, play polo, go mountaineering or rock climbing using ropes or climbing equipment (other than for hiking). This is where carrying an ice axe or using crampons takes hiking to mountaineering status. Not covered!

3. WorldNomads.com: Even though this insurance is for ‘adventurous travellers’, there is still a question mark over if I’ll be covered while hiking the PCT. Hiking up to 6,000m is covered under additional level 2 cover but mountaineering is not covered at all. I’ve emailed them with the following information so the underwriter can make a final decision on whether they cover me or not:

I am attempting to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail (http://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/long-distance-hiking/) through California, Oregon and Washington from April 15 – September 15 2013. I will not be travelling with an organised group or guide. I want to ensure that the Level 2 cover will be adequate for hiking through the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountain ranges when there is still snow present and that this is not considered ‘mountaineering’. Some people take an ice axe or crampons to walk through the snow affected areas, however not everyone who completes the 5 month journey operates the same. Thanks for your clarification. 

There really doesn’t seem to be much info out there on travel insurance for PCT hikers and it’s probably the only subject Yogi doesn’t cover in her handbook. I’ll report back once I hear back from World Nomads.

Thanks to Amy and Katie’s persistance I’ve finally prioritised First Aid on my To Do list! The urgency was sparked while reviewing the PCTA website where First Aid features on their homepage. Reading through the list of topics I realised just how little I knew, and just how much I’m lacking in any kind of First Aid expertise.

Conveniently for me the Wilderness Medicine Institute recommended by the PCTA has a Wilderness First Aid Course in San Diego, CA on the 13th & 14th of April (concluding one day before I plan to hit the trail). For $250 USD the course will cover the following topics:

• Patient Assessment System
• Evacuation Plans and Emergency Procedures
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Shock
• Head Injuries
• Wilderness Wound Management
• Athletic Injuries
• Fracture Management
• Dislocations
• Cold Injuries
• Heat Illness
• Altitude Illness
• Lightning
• The Medical Patient
• Anaphylaxis
• Wilderness First Aid Kits

I figure it’s a small price to pay for my own (and likely your) piece of mind. Plus I’ve already learned what Anaphylaxis means so it’s already paying off!

I sat down about 2 hours ago to begin planning my resupply locations along the PCT. I think I’d built this day up in my head to be something I would tackle when I’ve read everything there is to know about the trail, trail towns, water sources, other hiker’s strategies, the data book, Yogi’s Trail Tips and Town Guide, studied maps, etc etc. I then realised if I didn’t tackle it now I could possibly run out of time.

I’ve been sitting here staring at Craig’s PCT planning software, reading notes in both of Yogi’s handbooks and skimming the data book, and I’m still debating my first two resupply locations. I realised I don’t really know where to start. What does it feel like to carry 7 days of food, what does 7 days of food look like, how much food will I eat over 7 days, how far can I walk in 7 days, will I even survive 7 days???

PCT planning headquarters.

I think I need to admit this is going to be a bit of a guessing game. I know if I plan to reach my second resupply stop at Paradise Valley Cafe I’ll undoubtably arrive on a day the cafe is closed (usually Mon + Tues), or I could even get there before my package does, or it could be lost in the post altogether. I’m sure there’s even more variables I’m yet to understand, but the key is to be flexible (which is not necessarily a strength of mine).

On a more productive note I sent off my final permit application to enter Canada via the PCT. I’m still confused at how the US will know that I’ve left the country if there is no one at the border to verify me crossing into Canada. I guess I’ll find out when I try to get back into the US if not before!

Alright, enough blog procrastinating, back to resupply drawing board.

These very exciting words flashed up on screen after confirming purchase of my flight to Vancouver! The first leg of my journey is booked and I can’t help but feel sickly nervous and excited. I know it’s cliche but it really is starting to feel ‘real’! I’m actually still at work so I’m internalising my excitement but I’m itching to celebrate this milestone. I depart on April 1 at 8am from Melbourne and arrive in Vancouver at 7:30am the same day, with only one quick stop in Sydney. No complicated layover in the US… phew.

Speaking of the US I also have my visa interview booked on Tuesday having completed the online form and paying the $160 fee. I’m debating what evidence I should take to the interview to prove my trip. Perhaps Yogi’s handbook and a few printed pages from this blog will hopefully surfice. After the interview I’ll look at flights to San Diego. I’m debating driving down to Bellingham, WA to post my re-supply boxes and then fly to San Diego from there. Still much to plan and do!

When Ben at the hiking store asked me if I’d had my visa interview yet, I answered ‘no’ whilst thinking, ‘do I need an interview to get my visa?’

This sparked some well deserved panic and led me to delve into the black hole of information regarding US visa applications. I seemed to stumble across the correct links without too much trouble and quickly learned I needed to pay the fee, fill in an online form, upload a photo, and book an interview at the consulate in Melbourne.

Here are the links:

How to apply: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/au/au-niv-typeb1b2.asp

Visa wait times: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wait/wait_4788.html?post=Melbourne&x=69&y=15

Paying for the visa: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/au/au-niv-paymentinfo.asp

Photo specs: http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/visaphotoreq/digitalimagereq/digitalimagereq_5327.html

The photo tool was my favourite exercise and I was extremely impressed they had such a tool to line up your self taken iPhone photograph and crop it to the exact size.

Photo specs: Colour (24 bits per pixel) in RGB color space – 2″ x 2″, jpeg less than or equal to 240 kB (kilobytes).

I’m pretty sure you can’t pay the fee without filling in the form (just reverse steps 1 and 2 in the instructions), so I started the process of filling in the online form when I was suddenly stumped on the third page by the question ‘Address whilst in the US’. I tried to skip the page but it wouldn’t allow me to. What am I meant to write here? Address: Pacific Crest Trail, various locations between Mexico and Canada’?

My mum’s already on the case of contacting some friends of friends who live in San Diego (probably since I told her you need to get to the border early in the morning to avoid bumping into any illegal immigrants at the start of the trail), so perhaps I can enter their address to help me move the process along. Then I just need to hope the representative at the consulate agrees that hiking the PCT is a good enough reason for staying in the US for 5-6 months!

Today was the first real day of rain in Melbourne all year and boy did it bucket down. Unlucky for me I was just leaving work when dark clouds literally rolled in from nowhere and enveloped the city. After a few warning drops the heavens opened and my measly umbrella didn’t stand a chance. It was only by the time I was completely saturated that I remembered I had a cover for my backpack and quickly took cover under a bus shelter alongside two British lads drinking white wine out of plastic cups.

With the cover on my pack I re-entered the onslaught only to realise that Yogi’s Handbook was in my backpack. It was too wet to check on it then and there, so I waited until I got home to assess the damage.

I’m sorry to say the book is so wet the cover started crumbling away in my hands. I have it propped up on a tissue box in my room in the hope that 1. it will dry (preferably by tomorrow morning) and 2. all the pages won’t be stuck together!!!

The book is soaked from Echo Lake all the way down to the border of Mexico!

The cover crumbling away.