We now know a number of things about starting an adventure off on the right foot:

1) Always stay up until 5 am on the night prior to departure. That way you can make sure everything gets done on a timely basis and it puts you in the right frame of mind to be able to problem-solve all the challenges ahead.

2) Just so you don’t get bored on the long train and bus rides to the trailhead, be sure to save one last mission-critical project like shopping for obscure parts in the minutes before your train leaves and and then welding together your stove on the train. It will keep you and other passengers fully entertained and help provide clear answers to timeless public transit questions like “what’s the gunk on this seat, let’s sit over there instead”. What we didn’t know prior to this trip was that the gunk was JB Weld and that Rog would be the one welding the seat cushions.

Rog demonstrating his jerry-rigged titanium Vargo Decagon denatured alcohol stove with custom fiberglass wick for improved high altitude priming. Dorky? Yes, really. Also practical.

3) Lighten your load by repackaging your “heavy” items like the smallest sunscreen and lotion bottles you can find after visiting six stores into even more miniature dollhouse scale bottles…dollhouse scale bottles with unreliable caps that are prone to flip open and coat your toothbrush and floss with your limited supply of important ointment (at least until your next resupply). Rest assured in the knowledge that your teeth will never get poison oak, because of your preventative pre-trailhead application of TecNu (TM).

But never fear! Small gear considerations aside, we are ready for this trip. Rog’s ankle swelling and pain has gone down. Jen picked her backpack at least 12 hours before departure and has packed and repacked it dozens of times. She knows just where everything goes!

In fact, not only are we ready for adventure, we also have achieved a stunningly matching wardrobe that is coveted by Doublemint twins everywhere.

We covered big miles on day 1 with an 406 mile assist from our peeps at Amtrak and Kern Regional Transit. Next up, that little 2,039-mile walking section.