Off to Camp SOCK... last posting until July 31st...

What do you have to eat for today?

We are off to Camp SOCK tomorrow... oops, I mean today (it is 12:42 am). Should be a good week at camp. No phones / no internet though, so no more blog stuff until the end of the week.

Follow the Walk 4 SOCK ----> HERE
or type in the web address of:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/gogl.jsp?glId=0933O8mCvhXC6kaJgrSOb4IloX2ZqE1Dg

Prep for the Walk 4 SOCK hike starting August 5th:
The backpack is at 30 pounds with the food for 7 days, no water. I would like to shave it to 25, but don't know if I can get to that goal or not. Right now, the weight for stuff stands at:

------ 11.1 oz. -- Backpack (thin sil-nylon GVP 4)
6 lb., 2.4 oz. -- Sleep gear / Shelter total
---------------------- Tyvek ground sheet (6.7 oz.)
---------------------- REI tarp tent shelter (1 lb., 15.5 oz.)
---------------------- Big Agnes Horse Thief down bag (35 deg F) (1 lb., 15.6 oz.)
---------------------- Thermarest pad (15.4 oz.)
---------------------- Foam/Air pillow (13.2 oz.)
3 lb., 9.4 oz. -- Extra Clothing / Rain Gear
------ 11.6 oz. -- Eating / Hydration Equipment
------ 12.9 oz. -- Lights, Batteries, etc.
------ 14.7 oz. -- Survival Gear / First Aid
------ 9.2 oz. -- Meds and Footcare
------ 12.8 oz. -- Toiletries and misc.
------- 4.9 oz. -- SPOT tracking device
15lb., 12.6 oz. -- Food + Bear Vault

I did not skimp on sleep gear and protection this time... after the hypothermia in 2008, I don't plan to repeat that historical mistake.

Concession in weight that I have made...

--The pillow is comfort, but allows proper sleep, for me anyways, so I take it.

--The hiking boots, Montrail Sabino Trail Mid GTX's, weigh only 9 ounces total more than my pair of trail running shoes, a small price in weight to pay for keeping the soles of my feet from feeling every sharp rock underfoot and becoming tenderized to the point of agony (JMT 2006 trip)

--Hiking poles are aluminum, not carbon fiber. Don't have $150 to spend trying to save 10 oz.

--Camelback - easier to fill than a Platypus... that is the only reason.

--5-hour energy - the B-complex vitamins in this concentrated drink work well for sustaining energy, so I use it.

--Lights and batteries - SPOT tracker for fun and safety, camera for photos and videos, and headlamp and flashlight for night hiking all come at a price. 12.9 ounces in this case.

--ALL my food runs at greater than 100 calories per ounce, except for the pouches of tuna and the freeze-dried dinners. Taste counts for something, and I gotta have some taste in my diet.

--I am going without a cookstove. Foods will soak for about an hour to rehydrate (in the plastic jar with the wide-mouth green lid) while I am still hiking on down the trail. Lukewarm tasty but not piping hot. Titanium cup + stormproof matches and firestarter if I need an emergency warm-up.

I know I can shave a few ounces here and there... we'll see what I can come up with when I get back from Camp SOCK. Until Friday then...

Never stop exploring!
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}:[: ) Moose
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Donations may be mailed to: Camp SOCK Walk 4 SOCK 2010
PO Box 735
Keno, OR 97627-0735

Electronic Donation submissions may be made through Click and Pledge at:
https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d2/default.aspx?wid=22240
this is a secure site. There is a $0.40 transaction fee charged to the cardholder and
Click and Pledge keeps 8% for a usage fee. There is no flat-rate fee per month or otherwise, so this 8% covers all costs.

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Friday Follies...

Up and running now... in more ways than one. Charter finally got the stick out of their southern most orifice and sent a repair man out to have a look. Multiple issues OUTSIDE of the house, so Ozzy, the most-excellent repairman dude, fixed it all up. No more internet interruptions, hopefully.

Before the Run

After the internet fix, the family was off to Crater Lake - myself, Tracy and the gang, as well as Keith's girlfriend, Cera. I needed to get some altitude acclimatization in the worst way before dropping down to near-sea level at Camp SOCK. By 1:45 pm, we arrived at the Mt Scott trailhead. I told Tracy to meet me back there in two hours and took off up the trail. 7400 feet to 8900 feet, 2.5 miles each way. I hammered up to the top in 40 minutes... it was only 2.25 miles by my Garmin Forerunner GPS. Back downhill for 20 minutes; I did not make it back to the trailhead. 2.25 up and 1.75 back for 4 miles in 1 hour. Slow, but hey, it was at twice the altitude I normally train at. And that increase was the objective for running this mountain.

Turn around and do it all over again. Second lap, I was slower going up, 1.75 miles in the same 40 minutes, then down all the way for a finish in 2 hours and 9 minutes for the total of 8 miles. Tracy and the kids had walked up the trail to greet me since I was a little late. Felt good. My right knee was talking, but not screaming. I did not warm down well enough and cramped up on the ride back to the Rim Village. Once out of the car, I loosened up nicely walking around the tourist-infested area.

After the Run

Not bad for having been awake for 30 hours. I had to work night shift last night and did not sleep when I got home. I am bad about burning the candle at both ends.

Don't know if I will get any more in tomorrow. We'll see how I feel in the morning. See ya.

}
}:[: ) Ken "Moose" Muller
}

2 weeks to go...

Camp SOCK kicks off this Sunday with counselors arriving in the evening for a day and a half of fun, training, and fellowship before the campers arrive Tuesday morning on July 27th.



Sheila, the craft lady who gets everyone into tie-dye, is hoping the Coasties show up again in their Hawaiian garb... So are most of the other female counselors.



Walk 4 SOCK is still scheduled to kick off on August 5th... Tuesday, August 3rd, I will depart Klamath Falls, Oregon, on Amtrak's Coast Starlight train at 10pm and head southbound to Merced, California and catch a bus up to Yosemite Valley, arriving at 1pm or so on August 4th to the blessed 100 degree heat on the floor of nature's most famous "Ditch". The $95 train/bus fare amounts to the cost of gas in my pickup for the same trip, without the hassle of driving and the wear and tear on the vehicle. Plus I get to sleep all the way there.


Once in Yosemite, I'll grab my wilderness permit from the Visitor's Center. I reserved the permit way, way, WAY back on February 18th, 24 weeks prior to the departure date. Fewer and fewer hikers are allowed into the backcountry these days. I missed getting a permit for two of the days prior due to the request load. Even Half Dome requires a permit now to limit the dayhikers.


After snagging the permit, I'll head over to Camp Curry and carbo-load at the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Curry Village Pavilion, then curl up next to a tree somewhere and catch a quick nap... I will have to store my food in a bear box near the trailhead while I take a nap. Sometime around 11 pm, I will force myself up and out onto the trail for a midnight plus one minute start on August 5th down the 211-mile John Muir Trail. Or should I say "up" the trail, as the first 13 miles or so are all uphill. Hiking by starlight and headlamp, I hope to make it to Tuolumne Meadows, 20+ miles down the trail, by 10am. This, of course, is the "ideal" scenario...

The "not-so-ideal" scenario sees me arriving late to Yosemite, having to wait until the morning of August 5th to pick up my permit, and starting in the heat of the day. Time and the flow of Amtrak along their scheduled route will be telling of which scenario pans out.

I have been nursing my bad knee back to health. I am going to give it a good testing tomorrow up on Mt. Scott in Crater Lake National Park. Keeping my fingers crossed and the ibuprofen within reach. By the way, that's some other dude in the picture below running the Mt Scott trail... not me. I can only wish to be so slim.

More to follow... 13 days to go until Walk 4 SOCK 2010 kicks off. See ya 'round...

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}:[: ) Ken "Moose" Muller
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...

This year's trip... 211 miles down the John Muir Trail

Click here to Support Walk 4 SOCK

Yeah, yeah, you have heard this before, I know. This year, I am trying the trip solo without Jar Jar and Stalker... should be interesting. Go to this page to read about the results of that fiasc-- I mean drama. http://psychohikers.blogspot.com/ . We did have a good time, but fell well short of the goal. This year will be different... I hope.

The John Muir Trail runs 211 miles through the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California from the floor of Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states. That town of Visalia on the map above, that is where I grew up. We lived just near the place on the map where Highway 198 gets squiggly as it moves into the Sierra foothills. Orange trees on the valley floor... pine trees, giant Sequoias, and alpine meadows just a short drive away.

As a boy, I hiked along the John Muir Trail a couple of times. When I was 14, our Boy Scout troop hiked from Cedar Grove / Roads End in Kings Canyon National Park to the summit of Mt Whitney and then out through Mineral King in southern Sequoia N. P. When I was 15, a friend, Paul, and I tagged the JMT on a hike down Goddard Canyon in northern Kings Canyon N. P.

Since that first summit of Mt. Whitney, I have been back to the top 5 more times. In 2006, I tagged along with my son and his Boy Scout buddies to hike the entire JMT from north to south. We did that trek in 23 days, had a great time, and forged some lasting friendships and memories.

Walk 4 SOCK 2010 will follow the JMT in that same direction. This time, though, I expect to take around 7 days to hike the 211 miles (+11 more miles hiking to get down from the summit of Mt. Whitney). 30 miles a day is a push, for sure. I may do it faster, or (more likely?) slower... we will see.

Okay, so that is the basics... Walk 4 SOCK 2010. Support the camp, support the kids, and follow along on my hike. I will have a full report from camp this year (July 25th - 30th). Check in for updates.

The walk is planned to begin on August 5th... that is my permit date for starting in Yosemite. I have a SPOT tracker that you will be able to see the progress each day as I cruise through the Sierra Nevada wilderness. The SPOT track will look something like the depictions below. For info on these satellite tracking devices, go to http://www.findmespot.com/en/ .

--- Click here to Support Walk 4 SOCK ... Later, Gator.

SPOT TRACKING FROM A RECENT BACKPACKING TRIP IN THE ILLINOIS RIVER CANYON...Check out the 3rd image. Track #48 is right on the trail we were hiking and the OK message on #49 is exactly where our truck was parked... the SPOT tracker was on my backpack in the bed of the truck. Track #1 is from the beginning of our trip, not quite as accurate (1st hit), but is from the day we departed. No, the satellite photos are not realtime. My military career does not hold any clout with the NSA.

Welcome to the 2010 Walk 4 SOCK

Welcome one and all to the blogspot site for the official 4th annual Walk 4 SOCK, 2010 version. The purpose of this repetitive event is to raise awareness AND funds for the Southern Oregon Camp Kiwanis, better known as Camp SOCK.
Camp SOCK brings disabled youth together with peer counselors to experience the great outdoors. Swimming, boating, horseback riding, campfire, crafts, fun, games, and fellowship combine to give these young adults an adventure of a lifetime. Please give to this worthwhile cause. You will truly be giving the gift of LIFE to the kids of Camp SOCK.

100% of donations go to the camp fund. The Walk 4 Sock event itself is fully funded by the participants. Please take a moment and send a donation to:

Camp SOCK: Walk 4 SOCK 2010
PO Box 735
Keno, OR 97627-0735

Visit the official Camp SOCK website at: http://www.campsock.org

Credit card or debit card donations
may be made through this --> secure Click and Pledge site.
All donations will have a $0.40 transaction fee that will also post to your account.
8% of your donation through the Click and Pledge site pay for site usage fees.
Please do not hesitate to use this site, however, as the service is offered with no fixed costs to Camp SOCK.