It’s 7:00 AM and I have already gone through our packs and removed “extra” items. This was stuff we thought we needed, but did we really? Unfortunately California has been in a drought and this means even less water availability on the trail. Our plan has been to start the trail slowly and lightweight so we can work our way up to more miles and weight by the time we get to the Sierra Nevada mountain range. We have always known there would be challenges and changes in plans….that is part of the “plan”.
The first 20 miles of the trail is known to have minimal water options. Many young fit hikers just hike the 20 miles in 1 day. Many young fit hikers share they end up off trail because they start too fast early in the trail. To avoid that our plan has been to do that section in two days. Water for 20 miles and two days for us is approximately 20 liters. A liter of water weighs 2.2 pounds. That means we will be carrying 44lbs of water on top of our gear and food.
After going through the packs we have managed to turn it into a manageable but heavy first two days. What did we pull out? Rain pants, fleece, rain mittens, and extra cups for the kids were all removed. We will ship some of this further along on the trail where it will likely be needed more.
Emge Adventures 
You guys are an inspiration to me!
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