D0: Final Preparations 最後的準備

After arriving in San Diego, I still wasn't quite ready to start the hike. I had two nights reserved at trail angels Scout and Frodo's place, where I could finish preparations. Trail angels are people (often hikers themselves) who help out hikers at any point along their journey, by providing food, cold drinks, rides, a place to sleep, or anything else. Scout and Frodo are basically legends on the PCT, and for good reason. Every year, they host incoming hikers in their home just before they head out on the trail. They give us a place to sleep, great meals, a place to have packages shipped, a ride from the airport, a ride to the trailhead, and other little services and advice. All of this is done out of their own generosity and on their own dime. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that we are incredibly grateful for what they do and admire their generosity. Oh, and Scout and Frodo are their "trail names", not their real names.

到了聖地牙哥的時侯還沒有完全準備好出發，所以事先預約借住Scout和Frodo的家當作最後準備的基地。這兩個人算是PCT最偉大的trail angels之二，而trail angels是提供吃的、喝的、接駁、住宿等等給登山客的人，經常angels也是熱愛登山健行的人。Scout和Frodo每年都會招待即將要走PCT的人，在自己的家裡讓他們住宿，也會代收包裹，也提供一天三餐，機場接駁，還有一小時車程遠的步道起點接駁服務。他們付出這麼多但堅持不收錢也不收小費，超級大方。我對他們為我們做的一切很感激，也很欣賞他們的努力。Scout和Frodo 是綽號，不是本名。


The first order of business was to open the 7 or 8 packages I had sent to their place to save on shipping costs to Taiwan. It was like Christmas in April!

首先要忙的是去車庫招他們幫我代收的包裹，總共七八件。美國裝備寄到台灣的運費會很貴，所以Scout和Frodo幫我收省了我很多錢。一次全部打開感覺像聖誕節早上打開禮物一樣！

Then it was time to set up in the backyard:

之後我到後庭院的帳蓬內找放睡袋的位子：

And then it was time for a delicious meal cooked up by Scout, Frodo and several volunteers. Thanks everyone!

再來是Scout、Frodo和幾位志工準備的晚餐，感謝他們的熱情與努力。

The next day was a busy one: grocery store, REI for equipment purchases, a second grocery store looking for powdered milk (surprisingly hard to find in North America), and AT&T to get set up with a local SIM card.

隔天非常忙，早上去超市買步道上要吃的糧食，之後去登山用品店買我還缺的裝備，之後又去另一間超市找奶粉（在北美洲奶粉竟然是很難找的產品），最後去當地電信公司辦當地的手機門號。

Another important thing we did this day was get some resupply boxes ready.

今天我也準備了兩個箱子，要寄到步道上的小鎮供自己補給。

The big blue thing is a bear-proof food canister that I need to carry later on the trail.

藍色的筒子是防熊容器，食物放在裏面熊無法打開就無法搶走。

I set aside 4-5 days of food for the first part of the journey, another 4-5 days to be mailed ahead for Day 5, and the rest of the food in the bear canister to be mailed ahead to Mile 702. This was my first "re-supply" and these boxes will likely be supplemented with some things I buy locally along the way.

我把食物分成三批，一批是從第一天就要開始吃的，一批是要寄到第五天預計會到達的小鎮，最後一批要寄到701英里遠的地方，大概要6月中才會拿到。這是我第一次做resupply箱，在步道上沿途會多買一些吃的來補充這些箱子缺乏的東西。

At night, we had to fully pack our backpacks, including all the food and water we would carry on Day 1, to make sure everything fit and we could leave quickly in the morning. I ended up with a base weight of 18.4 lbs, and then after adding food and water.... well, a lot more! According to previous reading, this base weight is pretty average for this trail. According to what I saw around me, however, this was actually pretty heavy. A couple people were even under 10 pounds!

Scout和Frodo叫我們晚上先裝滿水壺、水袋，再確認所有裝備裝得進背包裡，預防隔天早上出發的時候要拖累大家。我的基本重量base weight是8.3公斤，加上食物和水後就重很多了！根據前幾年的調查，我這個基本重量算是中等的，不算很重，但我周圍的人大部分都比較輕，甚至有人的base weight大概四公斤而已！

Scout and Frodo's also had Hiker Box Zero in their house. Hiker boxes are places along the trail where hikers can leave stuff behind that they no longer need, extra food, etc. but that might be of use to other hikers. It's basically the opposite of a lost-and-found. Instead of intentionally going there to look for a specific item that you hope someone else found, you intentionally leave something there that others might happen to find and need. I left behind a USB cable and picked up some pasta mix and a cord for tying my umbrella to my backpack.

Scout和Frodo的家裡也有Hiker Box Zero, 也就是還沒有在步道上遇到Hiker Box One的第一個Hiker Box，hiker box是登山客可以丟棄不需要或不想要東西，如食物、裝備的地方，或許別的登山客用得到。我覺得可以說是失物招領處的相反，是棄物拿取處。我自己留下一條USB線，從裡面拿到了乾燥義大利麵（含醬）跟一條鬆很緊帶，或許可以用來把雨傘綁在背包上。

After a busy day and a half, final preparations are finally finished. After one more night's sleep, the journey begins!

忙了半天又一整天我終於算準備好了，再睡一晚就可以出發了！