Date: 2018-04-13
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Miles today: 0.0

Definitely an odd week of conflicting emotions as I make my last preparations. I was going to write ¢final preparations,¢ but that sounds too hospice-like. My husband flew out on Tuesday for a week in Georgia visiting family, so I¢ve experienced a bit of the loneliness that he¢ll face for much longer when I¢m off on my hike. It¢s hard to get motivated to cook food for just one, so I¢ve been eating salads and stir-fries. My guilt has manifested in predictable ways: cleaning out the refrigerator, doing a deep cleaning of our condo, and restocking the pantry. The weather has been mild, actually reaching the upper-40¢s, so walking has been very pleasant. In addition to occasional crocuses and snowdrops, I saw my first bluebell yesterday, only a single bloom, but it filled me with hope that the good weather would last. Then I looked at the forecast: Rain starting Friday evening, changing into snow Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, with snow and ice accumulation of 3-7¢. Then it rains again. My friends here remind me that it is only mid-April. Sigh.  To cheer myself up, I played with my gear, going through my checklist and making sure that everything was there, like the tent stakes in with the tent, and figuring out how to fit it all into my backpack. Not a problem. Stuff needed only at night (sleeping bag and pad, tent, clothing, and ¢make-camp¢ kit) goes in the bottom, with the Bearicade sitting vertically on top, with rain gear and puffy stuffed alongside. I¢ll be able to get to my food without unpacking. The one thing that stymied me was my Sawyer Squeeze water filter, back-flushing syringe, dirty water bag and collapsible scoop. I could just stick it in a side pocket alongside the water bottle, but I¢ve had stuff pop out of those pockets before. It¢s a bit too large to stow easily in one of the Circuit¢s hip belt pockets, and anyway, I like to keep one of the hip belt pockets for phone and reading glasses and the other for snacks. The answer came in a dream. I took one of the removable hip belt pockets from my old ArcBlast backpack and mounted it on the side of my new pack, above the one-liter Platypus bladder. It adds a half-ounce of weight, but keeps the filter easily accessible. Having the filter and bladder on the outside of the pack will encourage me to filter during the day and to stay hydrated, even if it¢s raining and I don¢t want to open the pack. That half-ounce bothered me and I felt compelled to offset the gain. Another moment of revelation this morning. Inspired by Hungry Cat, I purchased a Buff this year, replacing my fleece cap and balaclava. I¢ve always carried a bandana, but it weighs 1.2 ounces. It¢s been my sweatband, pirate cap, washcloth, potholder, and handkerchief. With the clarity that daybreak brings, I realized that with the Buff, I only need the bandana for the latter three uses. Cutting it in half on the bias saved 0.6 ounces, and I won¢t have to use my Buff as a snot rag.  The total weight of my gear, excluding consumables, is just shy of 15 pounds. Leaving town with four days of food and 1.5 liters of water, my total pack weight will be 26 pounds. That¢s about 3-1/2 pounds heavier than last year, but with the suspension of the Circuit, this feels quite good.I also saw this week where the Econo Lodge in Harpers Ferry had been rebranded as a Quality Inn. I don¢t know if that¢s a step up or down or a lateral move, but I felt compelled to phone to reconfirm my prepaid reservation. No problem, but I would have worried about it if I hadn¢t phoned. I also made plans for a celebratory dinner on my first night in Harpers Ferry, inviting a few friends. Given the odds of completing a thru-hike (although I¢m sure that I will), I thought it makes sense to celebrate first!