New Valley Hills

This week has been an apex moment for preparation.

My 6 week review of physical training with Lee from Trailside Fitness showed solid progress on most areas including those I’d identified to him as of concern to me. My ankles are a lot stronger as are my shin muscles and my recovery heart rate is way down. There are still areas to improve on including ankle mobility, glute and hamstring strength, which the third phase of exercises reflect. In his words “awesome”! 🥳

The second round of permits issue allowed me to shift my existing approved permit from 24th May to 4th May. This was always my preferred start date as it improves my resupply schedule to hit towns during weekdays when things like Post Offices are open; it’s earlier in the season giving me more leeway at the end to finish before snow becomes a big issue in Washington as I anticipate 160 days on the trail. While I could’ve used the 24th permit plus local permits for 4th-24th it’s more paperwork and coordination on the trail I’d rather do without.

I have my 6 month B2 visa! This is the biggest hurdle, which I had no control over. I had three nights of poor sleep in the run up to the interview at the embassy in London – what are their criteria for saying yes, what if they say no, can I appeal, while I loose momentum if it’s all put back a year while I appeal? In the end the interview took what felt like 48 seconds. I had no reason to be concerned but it all felt out of my control – it felt like a test I could not prepare for. Although there was about 90 minutes of queuing it felt a very humane process, all the staff were lovely and friendly as well as the expected professionalism. I was impressed when they pulled a family with a toddler out of the longest queue and bumped them to the front.

I can now book flights and order PCT specific equipment from the US to be delivered to my resupply coordination service at Backcountry Foodie in California.

Now to return to pushups and planks which I have been notoriously poor at!