15 miler

Hit the trail Sunday. Good hike, went from Treloar to Marthasville and back, adding on another mile at the end for good measure. Using a hiking staff now. Jello calves at the end, sore today. I'm going to do some exercises to improve my calves and try some different pack configurations.

It's all about logistics

Whelp. Traveled the entire trail by car from Clinton to Machens this weekend. I checked every trailhead to make sure there really was water where the "official map" said there was. I also checked to see if there were any stores that sell water near the "dry" trailheads. I learned the hard way not to trust what the "official map" said about water availability at trailheads in the past. I also checked every campground, park, and side trail to verify its existence. I think I'm ready to go. My next step is to go through my pack again to see where I can lighten up in order to compensate for the extra water I'll need to carry on certain legs. The Sedalia to Pilot Grove leg (26 miles between water sources) will be the hardest.

The Clinton-Sedalia leg.

I'm planning on hiking the Clinton-Sedalia leg a week from Saturday. This is just about the only portion of the trail I've yet to hike. I'll be experimenting with a few ideas on how to pack things. It looks like 16 on Saturday, 9 on Sunday, and 9 on Monday. Then it's a long sleepy Amtrak ride home.

Guilt

Felt guilty about the cancellation. Hiked 15 on the Katy today, nice day.

Change of plans

Well crud. It's Saturday, my backpack is ready, I'm excited, but the wind chill is 9 degrees. I doubt that I'll be putting in any distance this weekend.

Time to learn

I'm going back on the Katy this coming weekend. It looks like it will be a 13 miler on Saturday and a 15 miler on Sunday. I hate to admit it but I'll be doing the hotel thing on Saturday night. I really wish we could camp on the trail. The goal of this hike is to apply the lessons learned from my last higher mileage hikes. I'll still be "humping" all the same gear as before (tent, sleeping gear, food, etc.) but no camp out.