No Details Left Behind

For me, one of the hardest aspects of planning our thru-hike was working out a comprehensive plan to leave with our contacts back at home. There were two categories I felt needed to be covered:

1) I wanted to ensure that all of our responsibilities (bills, dogs, etc...) were still taken care of while we were on the trail.
2) I wanted to make sure that we made our resupply strategy as straightforward and as simple as possible for those supporting us on the trail.

Now, I will organize, categorize and color-code pretty much anything I can get my hands on and Seth is good with numbers and lists, so we were up for the challenge! As a result of our efforts, we created the not so formally titled "Instructional Booklet to The Next 7 Months of Our Lives" .

Which includes:

• Calendar
• Gear Resupply List
• Resupply Shipment Instructions
• Log-in Credentials (to our various internet accounts)
• Grandpup Instructions

Calendar:
The calendar includes most of the important dates my parents will have to pay attention to while we are on the trail. It includes the dates (approximately) that we should be receiving each resupply shipment and by what dates they should ship each package.

Gear Resupply List:
We went through and numbered each piece of gear that we might possibly need sent to us on the trail. In my parents living room, we sorted these items into categories like clothing, shoes, toiletries, electronics, kitchen, first aid and misc. gear. Our ice axes, bear canister, fishing gear and other section specific gear are also included.

My parents have this list in their "Instructional Booklet" and we will carry the same list with us on the trail. So, any time we need an item sent to us, we will simply contact them and let them know which item # we need and they can go into the living room and grab the item with the corresponding #.

Resupply Shipment Instructions:
We are having 19 package shipped or delivered (in person) to us on the trail. These packages will include our data/map bags and sometimes food.

We have created 19 data/map bags that include information from the Data Book, Halfmile's Maps and Yogi's Handbook for each specific section of the trail.

Each of the 19 shipments are listed in the "Instructional Booklet" with specific instructions as to what should be included in the shipment and exactly where and how to ship each package.

Login Credentials:
We left both of our parents with the login information for any important online accounts they may need to access for us while we are on the trail. We had any payments we still needed to pay set to auto pay. No hassle there.

Grandpup Instructions:
My parents agreed to watch our dogs while we are on the trail. We are so thankful and lucky to have such a wonderful place to leave our dogs, we know they will take good care of their grandpups while we are gone! In the "Instructional Booklet" I left them with some instructions on what kind of food they eat and when they get their Flea & Tick medications.

I know that this aspect of the planning process was a little overwhelming for me. We know that everyone will have a method that works the best for them and their support team, but I am hoping that this post might help someone with the planning of their own PCT adventure.
-Kristin