Date: 2010-01-04
To: Another Miracle!
Miles today: 0.0

This weekend turned out to be really good in terms of preparation for my Hike. As noted in my journal entry for Saturday, it began with the cold-weather test of my stoves. For those of you who asked for more information, I¢ve added a photo to that journal entry so you can see what the caldera cone and Pepsi Can alcohol stoves look like. For more information on the systems, you can go to Tin Man¢s web site (antigravitygear.com), or the manufacturer¢s web site (traildesigns.com). The key feature is the cone itself, which traps the heat from the stove and channels it to the bottom and sides of the pot. It¢s designed to be the most efficient-burning alcohol stove on the market. The other thing I like about it, however, is that the pot sits snuggly into the top of the cone, and is then almost impossible to knock over. The problem, as I mentioned, is that it isn¢t the fastest system, and especially in cold weather. Since I had purchased an earlier ¢beta¢ version of their system, I had two of their stoves. That allowed me to combine them under the cone, which gave me the speed of cooking that I was looking for. Later on Saturday, I headed out to try to find a replacement for the Olympus Stylus 410 camera that I took with me on my first hike. What I came home with was another Stylus, the new 710 version. It¢s lighter, cheaper, and has some really neat new features. I could have bought other similar light-weight digital cameras, but frankly, I¢m not that good with technology. So I figured if it was at least in the same line as my last one, I wouldn¢t have to start totally over on the learning curve. Just to confirm the wisdom of my approach, I was able to go home, charge up the battery, install both the battery and a photo card, and take my first photo, within an hour of my purchase. And THEN, as icing on the cake, I was able to link the camera to my computer, download the photo (of the caldera cone and stoves), save it, and then upload it to my journal on TJ.com!   Another miracle!   Of course, shortly after that, my computer crashed, but that¢s another story¢¦Since I was on a roll, I decided it was time to head for REI to take advantage of the after-Christmas sale on winter gear. You may recall from a recent post my conclusion that it was time to replace that ¢lucky¢ hat that I¢d worn in ¢05 and again in ¢09. I found one, and then also found a new pair of convertible hiking pants that were on sale. AND then, wonder-of-wonders, I stumbled upon the exact kind of jacket that I have wanted ¢ and been trying, without success, to find. There were two different jackets in my size, one (from Mountain Hardwear) was polyester fill and the other (from Marmmot), was down-filled. I liked the color of the polyester jacket better, but the down was lighter, more comfortable, and likely to be warmer. The down jacked was also 40% off so, like the stove competition earlier in the day, it wasn¢t really much of a contest.   And besides, the forest green color matches the forest green on my Big Agnes sleeping bag, so I figured that was sort of like some kind of sign. Together, the jacket and the bag would keep me warm as toast, day or night.   I left REI with my purchases, and went home a happy camper. When I got there, I put on the down jacked and went out in my back yard to try it out. We¢ve had temperatures in the high teens, but with the wind, the chill factor was single digits. Couldn¢t feel a thing! I was totally warm inside that jacket. Ok, winter -- bring it on! Come March, I¢m ready for whatever the mountains of Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee can come up with. Except, maybe¢¦ snow.   Snow is great for the Christmas spirit, but crappy to hike in. If there¢s one thing I learned in ¢09, it¢s that I really don¢t enjoy hiking through deep snow. Post-holing is TIRING! Definitely not fun. So I¢ll be warm, whatever the temperatures, but if we get snow, look for me in the nearest trail town. I¢ll be in the pub!