In early January I had emails from the Peace Corp that they were reviewing my application. At that time, they also contacted my references… and then nothing… I checked the application portal every few weeks to make sure I hadn’t missed any communications… Nope. So, I made a note to myself to follow up with them by email in early March – I’m trying not to be too pesky, just a little squeak in the wheel.

The New Plan Continues

With little information on Peace Corps, my trip planning got serious over the winter – a detailed itinerary, day by day. How many miles did I want to drive? Who to visit? What to see and do? How to link all the dots together? I checked out tens of travel books from the library at a time. In the end, I had an eight-page table for a two-month road trip. I decided people were more important than places. Eleven stops would be to see far flung family and friends. I skipped over closer folks with the idea of future shorter trips to see them.

The plan did include plenty of adventures and sights, too. Although I missed being able to get a reservation to hike Catalina Island, I was able to secure one for a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters around my birthday. I’d see cousins I hadn’t seen in 40 years. Visit the felting store I order supplies from. Visit a dear friend who recently moved across the country. Visit neighbors from when I was a kid. Go through the deep south, where I’ve never been. Turns out this is a big country, so I thought of it as a sampler trip – I could always go back to places I liked.

Getting the Car Ready

With inspiration from YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram I came up with a plan for my car – made black out covers for the windows to keep the light and curious eyes out, bought stretchy nylon mesh screens to keep the bugs out but let ventilation through, ordered a piece of upholstery foam to sleep on. Two large totes fit perfectly along the one side with room for some smaller plastic bins in between. Fortunately, in a Matrix the back seats fold completely flat. Taking out the front (passenger) seat would make room for a cooler and allow a flat sleeping surface. I cut the foam to fit up snug(ish)ly up against the side of the car.

In January, I spent a night in my car in the driveway… a first test – quite comfy. In February I went for a weekend out in a National Forest to test the set up. It worked quite well; adding an old cotton sleeping bag on top of the foam made the bed as comfy as my bed at home. (I hope that’s not saying too much about my mattress at home!)

Planning a Second Adventure

The road trip would keep me occupied for the spring and home in time for getting a garden going. It turns out not working frees up a lot of time, so a friend and I started working on a second plan – hike the Washington section of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Over the last few years, I’ve done more and more backpacking and found I enjoy longer trips the best – more time hiking, less time getting there, and more time to get into the trail routine. The longest trip I’ve done was 6 days. Six weeks and 500 miles would be a whole new scale!

In February, we both received confirmation that we had permits. We started planning our days and thinking about food. We both have food sensitivities and are budget conscious, so were planning to make food. I started cooking and dehydrating a few things. Quinoa, it turns out, dehydrates and rehydrates very nicely. I put together a few meals with some things I hand on hand and started thinking about what else to eat. The biggest logistical consideration would be planning our resupply points – how much food to carry? Who could meet us where? Once we got on the trail, it would be a simple walk in the woods, but until then, there was a lot to do! It would keep me busy.