Date: 2009-02-17
To: The pieces are falling into place...
Miles today: 0.0

Dear readers,My thru-hike plans are falling together nicely. With just under a month to go, the only thing left to do is shop for and put together my mail/food drops. All of the planning and organizing is done. All together I have 11 drops- 5 which will have food, the rest will contain supplies, seasonal gear, and hopefully some mail/care package-esque goodies! My mom said not to seal up my boxes before I go so she can add stuff... this makes me excited. I will post them under my Maildrop section on trailjournals when I get around to it. As far as new ideas/thoughts/purchases pertaining to gear since my last entry, I have purchased (but am still waiting for) Ultra Light Adventure Mist Overmitts. They are simple, waterproof, 1 oz mitts to go over gloves to keep them dry- exactly what I was looking for! Having wet power stretch gloves is the last thing I want in March/April when it could be cold and damp and I'm not bringing two pairs, so I'm glad I found these. And they only cost $20 which, relatively speaking, is way cheaper than any other waterproof mitts I had been looking at. Don't even get me started on the fact that ULA charges $10 to ship an item that weighs 1.2 ounces, increasing the item's total cost by 50%, but whatever, I'm over it.A recent contemplation is whether or not to buy the REI Bullet Bottle, a really great thermos. A bunch of field instructors from work use it and it keeps water really hot for hours, even overnight! Considering I could encounter winter conditions, it would be great to have tea or hot cocoa in one all day to sip on at breaks. Also, I can heat up water at dinner, pour it in, go to sleep and "walla!" I still have hot water for oatmeal or tea that is ready to drink before I am even out of my sleeping bag in the morning without having to fire up the stove. It seems like a fabulous idea to me, and totally worth the extra weight and space consumption for the first few cold months. We all know going ultra light has never been a huge goal of mine... I wonder if I'd be safe sleeping with it in my tent? Thermos' are airtight, right? No bears would come looking for it in the middle of the night, would they? Maybe inside my sleeping bag is not the best location for it... Hot cocoa or tea before I'm even out of bed sounds wonderful... having to get it out of my hanging food bag first would not be the same.Other than 50 ft of cord that I'll be buying at REI soon, and the above mentioned items, I am pretty sure I have purchased everything else (I confess, there is a part of me that wants to splurge and spend ridiculous amounts of money to buy a new pair of Patagonia underwear because, ummm, I deserve it? Seeing as my current Patagonia underwear collection probably costs more than everything else in my wardrobe combined (okay, minus Icebreaker), the financial planner in me has held off making this purchase, knowing it is highly unnecessary). Okay, enough about my underwear... Who knew the day would come when I could stop researching and buying gear for my thru-hike? My gear is dominating half of our basement at the moment (just wait til I start packing up the 11 maildrops!). Hopefully tomorrow I can do a trial pack job with my new Aura 65!Oh! Many have commented on my recent rant about the pants I can no longer purchase from REI. You will be happy to know that the seam sealer worked like a charm and they are all patched up. For the larger holes I had to back it with duct tape first, then coated both sides with seam sealer, and so far it seems to be holding alright. Those pants now have dark oil-based patches (more like gobs) of love all over. Hopefully, no more repairs will be needed... I do not plan on bringing my seam sealer with me. I appreciate everyone's care, concern, and suggestions as to how I could remedy my situation.Also, many people have emailed me and written in my guest book sending their well-wishes to me for my thru-hike and to let me know they will be following my progress. It is wonderful to receive such kind words from people I don't even know and to know many will be living vicariously through me. The number of people I've heard from is astounding, and it makes me wonder how many other people are out there reading this and who will be following my adventure that I don't even know about. I know I was one of those people in years past who picked out journals to follow... usually people who I thought would make it. I never wrote in their guestbooks or emailed them, but now I wish I had. It's a really great feeling (and a little daunting) to know so many people will be following along and many have mentioned having high hopes for me making it to Maine. Regardless of what happens, I want to say thank you for the kind words, inspiration, and advice many readers have expressed. I've done my best to respond to emails. I hope this journal continues to inspire, inform, entertain, and in a sense, give back to my readers. Who knows, maybe there is some girl out there younger than myself, who wants to thru-hike some day, but can't fathom doing it on her own (me, 4 years ago)... yet. Hopefully my journal will change that.Happy Trails,AmyPS- bikram yoga = incredible pre-hike training routine, I think... ask me a few days into my thru-hike for confirmation.