Planning the Next Trip
2025-08-25
PA
It's time to start blogging again with another trip imminent. This one was suggested by Val, about the time she met my friend Josh who is training for Philmont next year. She suggested I go in the fall, which to me means September when school is back in. It also means I'm solo again.
With only three weeks to pull everything together, it has been challenging. The things that made it possible were copious free time and a list of sites that I have been compiling for about five years. Whenever a suggested site would come up in conversation or on the soc-meds, I would note it for when I could take a trip to that area. It started with the Southwest where I was thinking of going (remember before Covid?), but now I've added things all around the US. National Parks were easy to add first, but I kept going with other national park units, state parks, tribal reservations, museums, prisons, and even farm tours. Anything that sounded interesting. You never know when you'll be in the area and want to do something.
It would take many months to see everything on the list, even in just the southwest. Thus I had to select a subset of things to see and cut anything that seemed even slightly dubious. Things that didn't make the cut (probably - the itinerary may change) include: Sedona, which sounds lovely but after Aspen and Jackson Hole I don't want to do that type of city alone; tours in Coyote Buttes which generally have a minimum of two people; and The Wave, which requires either a lottery six months back or a lottery two days before and worries about the weather and roads. Since it seems like I need to come back - hopefully not alone - I figured it's best to just do other things this time that are easier. And easier to plan.
Also, because of the short lead time, I don't know when I will actually be able to start. That means I have zero reservations this trip. I will have to spend a fair amount of time when I'm in hotels booking for the next several days. It's always a tradeoff between freedom to change plans vs not having to worry about planning while on the trip.
Three weeks is way too late to start physical training. Heck, it's too late to break in a new pair of shoes (that requires shorter hikes while I was trying to do as many 4+ milers as fit the schedule). I did what I could though so I'm not afraid of 4-6 mile hikes (in my old shoes) but I have to be cognizant that I will be at at 5000-10,000 feet of elevation so my training will continue with short hikes planned in the first days of the trip.
I also took a few days to start to learn to use trekking poles. They are supposed to have advantages in stability and making hiking easier on your knees which sound good. However, I was thinking more about having them in case of ankle twist since I'm solo. They are a bit trickier to use effectively than I expected, although I did improve somewhat on the three trips I was able to take them out. There also has to be some thicker skin on the hands before I could use them regularly. Nevertheless, taking them and using them in specific sections is within my grasp, so to speak.
Probably the biggest improvement has been remembering to wear my bug net. French Creek is pretty buggy in August with gnats & others forming a cloud around your head. I read once that male gnats make these groups or clouds so that females can find them. Granted, they are small. However, after over 20 years sitting at the lunch table with the same guys, I can definitively say that no ladies ever found us so I'm dubious of that rationale. At any rate, the net makes the bugs mostly a non-issue, especially combined with some permethrin on my shoes.