Date: 2008-07-27
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Miles today: 0.0

After finishing up my 15th rotation in the field, I've finally decided to take a shift off, giving me a 6 week chunk of free time to play with. I just spent the weekend at my old stomping grounds in Chicago where I got to spend time with my brother, cousin, and many close friends. As wonderful as it was to go back, I experienced quite a bit of culture shock. Just ask my friends how I handled a chaotic and overwhelming trip to Chipotle downtown at noon during the work week. It was quite stressful. Things don't move that quickly in Central Oregon. I missed the relaxed outdoor gear and facial hair I've become so accustomed to seeing everywhere. Who needs clean cut and preppy? The visit made me realize how much like home Bend, Oregon now feels to me- it wasn't something I realized until I was placed back in what used to be comfort zone yet it no longer felt like it... I felt out of place, like it was a lifetime ago that I actually lived there. It was fun to go back for a visit but I can't say I miss it. Everybody I talked to wanted to hear about my hike. Hopefully they will start following along on this website to save myself answers to lots of questions. I can't help but smile when I tell people my plans, and then I think the smile grows when I say I'm doing it solo and I see the look of surprise on their faces. Thinking about it gets me so happy and excited, I can't help but smile when talking about it.On that note, I'd like to give a shout out to all of my wonderful co-workers at Uncle Dan's (the greatest outdoor store ever. www.udans.com, check it out!!!)for hooking me up with some incredible discounts on some Icebreaker items. The t-shirt in particlur will be my thru-hike t-shirt. And the dress... well... yeah the merino wool dress was a bit of an impulsive buy, but it was too cute to pass up. You can never have too much Icebreaker.And lastly, one more huge thank you goes out to my close friend Migrating Saguaro for the abundance of AT material he passed on to me (the Companion, and a guidebook and maps for NY and NJ). It will come in very useful and and was excellent plane reading material. I'm alread addicted to the companion... I'm flipping through page by page, mile by mile. Yes, I'm aware I'm a dork. Saguaro, thank you, it meant a lot!I was thinking about gear today and what I have left to buy, and it's not too much. A couple hundred dollars with of stuff, maybe. With my birthday and Christmas coming up, I came up with the brilliant idea to create a registry at REI. Has anybody ever done this? It seems like a fantastic idea, to me. You don't have to be getting married to create a registry there, do you? It'd bring them business so I don't see why not. Although I haven't ever heard of people creating registry's for reasons other than getting married. Hmmmm... I'll have to look into that.As for my start date, I have yet to pick one. Mid-March now. That's about all I know. I have nothing going on in my life that dictates when I need to start or finish by. I don't know how I feel about that. I'd be nice to have something going on in late September to give me a deadline so at least give me an idea of where I want to be when. I want to stay flexible and not feel like I have to follow a schedule, but a simple, tentative outline for where I want to be when would be nice. Someone suggest I pick dates out of a hat just to give me some kind of structure. Maybe that's what I'll do... but as of right now its Mid-March til whenever (ideally mid-September).Okay, I'm tired. Bedtime for me. I have the next 40 days free so I'll probably get around to more updates on here that usual since I won't be disappearing into the desert again until September 3rd. Hopefully I can get some backpacking in at either Olympic NP, Rainier NP, Glacier NP, or somewhere else before then!!!Happy Trails,Amy