Upcoming and Autumn

I am looking forward to a couple upcoming weekend trips in Sept/Oct!

First, I will be headed to hot springs up north in a couple weeks for an easy 2 day trek. Hopefully the lack of rain this past year doesn't mean the springs are dry. We will see. Regardless, I plan to head back to the hot springs to hike around again in the rainy winter season.

It has been a pretty toasty summer so far; I am looking forward some cooler autumn/winter hiking in a month or two. 60s and 70s. I know, I know, I have it really bad here in socal.

A beautifully painted sky on my way to work this morning. (about to merge onto the 101)

Anticipation & Makeup

I have been thinking very much this week about that amazing little hike from GA to ME, and thinking about how this time next year, God willing, I will be on the trail!

I have been reading deeper (and with some things- really just beginning to read) into subjects relatable to thru hiking the AT. Subjects including things such as wild edibles, lyme disease, and the many discussions on drinking water.

My friends Ben and Lauren Thompson have a blog from their own journey through the AT (and after) that I have been reading through. So much amazingly helpful input on their blog alone! I will see them this week on a brief visit back to CA from CO; I am looking forward to picking their brains and asking lots of questions!!

I am also quite looking forward to the arrival of my two recently purchased books (See my previous post).


Regarding makeup: I have been very excited at the thought of not wearing ANY makeup for 6 months! Nothing from a factory clogging my pores. Nope, not even a second thought for the Chanel eyeshadow. ;)
Actually being in a situation where I would be looked down on if I DID wear makeup. That is pretty exciting to me! In the time between now and April, I will probably bounce between wanting to wear no makeup and wanting to play around with it more, knowing I will not have that creative outlet for half a year.

Hiking and Reading

Hiking:

A few incredible photos from my 12.5 mile hike to Trippet Ranch yesterday afternoon/evening. 

Reading:

Books purchased tonight to add to the top of my reading list. Thank you Nathan Clemente and Ben Thompson for the recommendations! You both have talked about these books long in the past, and again recently. I am eager to enjoy the reads and learn all I can from them. :)

Saying no to myself - iTunes and the farmers market

In response to my self proposed initiative to spend as little money as I can, I have begun saying no to my self. Self discipline with a purpose. Something that over time I seem to have progressively chosen to do less often than I think I need to. I find that my goal is a great enough purpose to give me the desire and will to say no.

This week I said no to about $15 worth of iTunes purchases. That is really huge when I take into account how much I like music.
Today I said no to an additional $25+ that I wanted to spend over my budget at a roadside farmers market. :) I am thankful that I had spending $ in my budget to buy some food from the market, and that I was able to support a small local malibu farmer. :)

Small steps. Big returns later down the journey. :)

Saving $

One of the first decisions I made was to cut out as much extraneous spending as I can. I will be utilizing my resources to a greater extent than I have been.

My church Hope IBF receives millions of dollars worth of food from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, etc, which includes 2+ 'food runs' (to pick up the food) per day. Volunteers go pick up food that is approaching expiration date or is perfectly good, but just in excess, from many locations located near the church. Our church feeds the community of needy/homeless two meals a day, hands out bags of food each day, and has massive amounts of food available for the community of people who are connected to Hope. It's so awesome how God provides so generously.
The food goes into 1. a refrigerated room with produce, baked goods, boxed food, dairy, dried food. 2. A room with larger supply of boxed and bagged food, and a massive chest freezer each for red meat, chicken, and fish. The 'manna room' with the perishables, is rotated completely in and out of food every single day. It is very streamlined and orderly.

I will be cutting my grocery spending down to $10 per week. Yes, $10. No typo. The remainder I will get from the manna rooms at Hope. It is a huge blessing to have so much amazing food available. For free! :) I have been blessed to go in there any time I want and fill up bags of food. Our church is blessed for sure! I am going to trust God to provide all I need through this avenue... with a little bit of spending money. ;)

The goal

I am planning to thru hike the Appalachian Trail beginning April 2014 and finishing September 2014.