Date: 2014-10-05
To: ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂLocalÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ is not so ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂLocalÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ
Miles today: 0.0

180 Days left! September 28, was the adventure day for ¢Back to the Outfitters¢. Now I like to refer to the Outfitters that I frequent as ¢The Local Outfitters.¢ My wife, on the other hand, likes to point out to me that ¢Local¢ is not so ¢Local¢. So here it is: my ¢Local Outfitter¢ is 70 miles round-trip and takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes to do the circuit¢¦Now I¢m here to tell you that this is about as ¢Local¢ as it gets to any male! Especially if you¢ve seen the comedic act ¢Defending the Caveman¢. So, what do you think ¢ is it local? As we (my daughter and I) walked into the local outfitters my favorite sales person, Nicole was there ready to go, greeting us with her great eclectic smile. I greeted her with a ¢Hi, how are you doing and what¢s new?¢ ¢Not much.¢ ¢What can I help you with?¢ she asked¢¦ ¢We¢re here to get some smaller things.¢ ¢Ok, what are you looking for?¢ ¢Trekking poles¢ as I glanced down at the worn papers of my marked-up packing list. Nicole nodded ¢they¢re upstairs¢ she said as we all flew around the corner and up the stairs. It reminded me of the poem ¢A Visit from St Nicholas¢ by: Clement Clark Moore or ¢The Night Before Christmas¢.... ¢And laying his finger aside his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!¢.... We ran to the back of the upper level where there were racks of trekking poles. The two brands that Nicole was recommending were the Leki or Black Diamond and between the two brands there were many, many types and styles to choose from: Two poles, one pole, folding poles, sliding poles, carbon fiber shaft, aluminum shaft, Trail Ergo Cork grips, foam grips, rubber grips, combination lock, lever lock, push button lock, adjustable, non adjustable on and on and on it went. Of course it can¢t be simple: ¢Here¢s the one for you!¢ ¢That¢s all there is!¢ ¢Take it or leave it!¢ Nope, I have to choose, make a decision on something I know nothing or very little about. This reminds me of an incident that happened about 25 to 30 years ago: The church that our family belonged to sponsored a Ukrainian family¢s immigration to the United States. They all arrived safely and settled into our community. It was now time for them to start venturing out on their own or at times with a sponsor to assist in helping them get through whatever process they were going to go through. One day this Ukrainian family and a sponsor went to a local supermarket ¢ one of the larger ones in our community. The sponsor was there to assist with how to navigate or shop at a US grocery store. They wanted buy some sausage meat. Fairly simple task. The sponsor took them over to the coolers where the prepackage sausage meat were stocked and then over to the deli area where they could get deli sausage meat. The sponsor notices a frighten look on the parents¢ faces and heard a lot of conversation going on. So, the sponsor asked if there was a problem. They replied that they were essentially in sensory overload and why are there so many kinds or brands of sausage meat to choose from? While in the Ukraine when they went to the butcher shop there was a choice of one! Only one! They wondered how a person could make a decision on what to purchase when there were so many choices. The sponsor just explained that this is the nature of free enterprise...The consumer has a choice and a decision to make. Freedom of choice is not easy, but it is our system. Anyway it was ¢how does it feel time!¢ Out came the various poles. Nicole proceeded to show and state that: ¢The set-up is really quite simple, adjust the pole to a 90 degree angle or slightly less ¢ whatever is more comfortable.¢ ¢If you are on a slope you can have one pole longer than the other.¢ Nicole began handing me one pole after another: ¢This one is cork, better grip if your hands are sweaty.¢ ¢This one has a shock absorber handle.¢ This one has a foam handle.¢ ¢Ok, which one is best for fending off bears? You know, if in close combat with a bear which one will stab better?¢ ¢Well,¢ Nicole said ¢what you actually do,¢ up came the poles over her head in an X formation as she banged them together. I thought that the lights were about to come down on us or she was going to poke a hole in the roof as I looked skyward towards the ceiling of the upper level. ¢You make as much noise as you can!¢ She continued. ¢And with the poles above your head you look larger than you really are to the bear!¢ ¢Oh...¢ ¢Did you see very many bears when you did your AT Thru-hike?¢ I said with a hint of concern in my voice. ¢Oh yes.¢ ¢And how close were you to them?¢ ¢I mean... did you see them through a telephoto lens of a camera or binoculars? Or did you actually see them up close? You know...just down the trail?¢ ¢Yep, right there on the trail!¢ ¢Oh... Well what happened?¢ ¢When they looked up and saw me, they just ran off into the woods.¢ ¢That¢s it? Ran off into the woods? I see,¢ I said with apprehension still in my voice. ¢Did you ever get between a mother and her cubs?¢ ¢Not that I am aware of...they are pretty much afraid of humans.¢ ¢Oh, I see.¢ I said still not feeling completely secure with Nicole¢s explanation.¢ Now I am thinking, ¢I have to get an even bigger knife which translates into more weight.¢ Ok, back to business. ¢I will take the Black Diamond, 4 season, Trail Ergo Cork, 70 to 140 cm trekking poles.¢ I then noticed some wording on a label that held the 2 poles together and I said ¢Nicole...I see here on the wrapper in French it says B¢tons, are you sure these can¢t impale a bear?¢ She made no comment, she just looked at me for a moment with a, you can¢t be serious look. Ah yes, the consummate professional that she is. ¢I would also like to have some extra hard rubber tips for the rocks.¢ ¢Yep, here you go.¢ ¢So, what else do you need?¢ ¢We will need a stove.¢ ¢Ok.¢ In rapid motion we flew down the stairs to the accessories section of the store, again, with more choices and another somewhat uninformed decision to be made. After a conversation of what we (my daughter and I) wanted (after all my daughter would be packing the common items) and what we were looking for we made the decision to purchase the Optimus Elektra FE Cook System (gas). We would buy the gas canisters closer to March of 2015. I also purchased a titanium spork by Snow Peak. We were now finished for the month of September. The damage for this trip to the local outfitters was $256. ¢See you next month Nicole after the MasterCard bill drops.¢ As for my progress with Crossfit its been about a month and I have cut my trail weight by 12 pounds, lost 2 inches off my waist and have a lot more flexibility! I roam the neighborhoods with my pack on my back which is up to 22 / 23 pounds. At this juncture I may have to make a sojourn back to my local outfitters to return some of the clothing I have purchased which may be too ill fitting due to the re-formation of my body through the Crossfit process. In closing, take a lesson from one of my experiences: I did not think such a little thing as a spork could cause so much angst, or weeping and gnashing of teeth. In our family my wife has always looked upon October to December as the Christmas shopping season. So, all little items or simple items or nonessential items are not to be purchased. They are to be placed on the Christmas gift list; period, no discussion, THE RULE! I knew when I arrived at home and started to show my wife the items I had purchased as I pulled them one by one out of the shopping bag when I torched the spork I had made a BIG MISTAKE! I should not have purchased it! It should have gone on my Christmas list! The look on her face as I pulled the spork out of the bag said it all. Now it was time for a simple choice: Should I walk or run into the dog house? Only 2 choices for 1 ending! PLEASE NOTE: I will be changing my picture on Trail Journals to my promotional picture posted by my employer ¢ University Hospitals Case Medical Center which is located in Cleveland, Ohio ¢ UH CMC which is my conduit for sponsors. UH CMC in the coming months will be promoting me and my AT quest for Parkinson¢s Research throughout the hospital system as well as in the greater Cleveland community as a part of the ongoing UH Giving campaign. UH feels that my Thru-hiking the AT for Parkinson¢s Research represents what University Hospitals is looking for as an illustration of the commitment to unselfish giving in the tradition of the Hospital¢s mission: To Heal. To Teach. To Discover.   http://www.uhgiving.org/uh-giving