Planning

Planning for through hike can be an overwhelming task. Although Sierra and I already own our own backpacking equipment, we still must review all of our gear to make sure that the gear we bring is the lightest and most effective gear to meet our needs during the six months we will be on the trail. We also need to develop a projected itinerary, review maps, and plan out how we will resupply along the trail. Preparing our resupplies will also include packing numerous boxes to mail to resupply locations along the trail. These resupply packages will include all of the maps and guidebooks sections we will need for each section of the trail as well as food and other supplies we might need along the trail.

Sierra and I will also be taking lots of pictures, keeping journals, and blogging about our adventures so we also need to research the best way to accomplish those tasks.

As a teacher, I have the additional challenge of planning for my classroom in my absence. This means hours of extra work making lesson plans for the time we will be gone.

As a parent, I also have to make lesson plans for the work Sierra will complete on her independent study. The trail itself will present numerous learning opportunities in natural history, science, and social studies, and there is little doubt that Sierra will get her exercise. But I also need to make sure Sierra keeps up her work in reading, writing, and math.

Add to all this the worries of how to keep a household running and pay the bills while I am not working for the six months we'll be on the trail, and it is a wonder that anyone ever makes it to the start! And yet, that is where we plan to be in April, leaving me just over three months left to plan.