Logistical preparation encompasses the planning of the route, identifying options to resupply, and finalizing gear. It also includes getting my "real life" organized so I can focus solely on the hike.

Planning the Route

For starters, a huge thank you to Andrew Skurka, who pioneered the route in 2007, and has an in-depth site outlining the Great Western Loop. My research started with Skurka's site and grew from there. Thankfully, the internet devotes a significant amount of resources to the GWL's five major trail systems. The resources include detailed overviews, GPS tracks or detailed PDF maps, and other people like me who’ve written blogs about their hikes.

It’s no secret - this is a long hike. To make sense of it, I divided the entire 6,875 miles into 18 different sections in Excel (I'm a nerd at heart). For each section, I digitally created the route mile-by-mile on CalTopo, a route-planning site. This process allowed me to visualize the hike, identify difficulties, and then plan the next most important part - resupplies!

Identifying Options to Resupply

The entire hike will take me approximately 210 days, but it can be really broken down to a bunch of 3-6 day hikes between towns to resupply on food (and recharge electronics). Planning a resupply takes into a few factors:

• how close to the trail is the town?

• how far until the next resupply?

• what services are available in the town?

The answer to all of those questions is "It depends", but generally the ideal resupply is:

• at a town the trail goes through,

• 3 days apart from the last resupply,

• has a place for me to recharge my electronics,

• and/or a place for me to pick up mail.

Once I decide on a town, I make the decision of whether I will purchase food at town or send a mail box of prepared food to myself.

I've mapped 56 total resupplies for my hike. My parents (love you Mom and Dad) will mail me food to 31 different towns. Each box will contain 5,000 calories per day of food... which adds up to 300 lbs of food purchased, repackaged, and packed away into USPS large flat rate mail boxes. An army of friends helped me make meals or package away food into Ziplock bags, and my parents spent several Saturdays packing the mailboxes they'll be sending out. (Thanks Kylee, Mike, Justin, Kelsey, Stacy, Amanda, Derek, and Jill)

Gear

My goal is to get my bag as light as possible without sacrificing too much comfort or safety. My pack before I add food and water will weigh ~12 lbs for most of my hike. Since the hike goes through vastly different terrains and climates, my at-home-coordinators (thanks again Mom and Dad) will send me specific gear for sections, like snow gear for the Sierra's. Here is a photo of my gear for the starting section:

Each piece of gear is thoughtfully researched and picked with the goal that it is multi-purpose, versatile, and lightweight. For example, I chose to go with a quilt instead of a sleeping bag because it can be cinched up to emulate a sleeping bag in cold nights and opened up wide like a blanket during warmer nights.

Here is my Big Three (Tent, Sleeping System, and Backpack) for those curious:

• Tent:

  • Zpacks Altaplex

• Backpack:

  • Start until after Sierras: Gossamer Gear Mariposa

  • After the Sierras until the end: Mountain Laurel Designs Exodus 55L frameless pack

• Sleep System:

  • Quilt: Enlighted Equipment Revelation 20 degrees Quilt

  • Pad: Thermarest Xlite Sleeping Pad (until I get tired of blowing it up and switch to a foam pad)

Preparing My Life

When the desire to thru-hike initially popped in my head in 2018, I immediately started to think how I could take steps then to make it a reality. My first big step was to double my car payment so my car would be paid off pre-hike to reduce my bills during the adventure (paid off December 2020). Then I began to figure out the rest major items, like how to appropriately leave my job (gave them 10 weeks heads up), secure health insurance (Indiana's temporary plans are amazing), wrap up non-profit involvement, and enter a short-term lease so I could move out when the hike began.

But the honest answer is, leaving to go anywhere for 7 months is hard emotionally too. My family and friends stepped up in a big way to help me prepare for this hike, and I’ll be forever grateful for that. My friends also thought of fun creative ways to send me off into the wilderness.