Date: 2004-01-21
To: Miscellaneous Ramblings 
Miles today: 0.0

A lot has gone down since I last had time to write, lets see¢¦¢¢I got my Pocketmail data device in the mail about a week ago. To me, its hard to type a lot of text on, meaning a run-on journal should be a non-issue. I am still playing with having a base format for my journal entries with information like times, temps, meals, and menu. My email address for that is reuschel@pocketmail.com. That will be the fastest way to get a hold of me on the trail.¢¢I was able to acquire quite possibly the coolest piece of gear ever. It is a mountaineering thermometer. It looks sort of like a candy thermometer but in the mercury, there is a thin piece of black glass. The point of the thing is to get find how cold it got during the night. To use it you simply turn the thermometer on its side until the glass slides to the farthest (warmest) point in the mercury. Than as the temp drops the glass moves with it. But when the mercury starts to rise the glass piece is left behind, at the lowest temperature reached during the night. Mint.¢¢I loaded up all my gear and food (7 days worth) for week one in my pack to see how things fit. To my surprise, it all did fit. As I was hoisting the thing on my back, I guessed the weight to be like 45 lbs, I mean this thing seemed heavier than anything I have ever put on my back. But come to find out, after 3 tests on the scale, only a shade less than 35 lbs. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not. Because 35 pounds does not sound like much but it sure felt heavy. I think I am getting soft in my old age.¢¢For a cookware, I went with Anti-gravity gears 2 liter and cozy. For 20 bucks, you can¢t hardly go wrong. Plus the thing is awesome. Thanks to Mountain Dew and the Tin Man for all of their input and direction.¢¢Speaking of food, I think I finally have all my meals squared away. I am using 10 food drops. Average length is about 6 days. I picked the towns based on Wingfoot¢s book and trailforums. So we¢ll see how they work out.¢¢My ankles are both pretty sore but me knee is back in the game after the fall. I have not been stretching as I should. Since I have not even been really physically active in the last 4 weeks in an effort to avoid freak injury, I fear I have getting a little soft. Like running up the stairs takes me second longer than it used to.¢¢I have to go over my summer gear and make sure that I have all of that inline. ¢¢I got my crampons in the mail last week. They are pretty sweet. I¢ll put them on my gear list shortly, I have a lot of stuff to update there.¢¢For boots, I went with Salomon X-A pros. They are gortex so in theory my feet should stay dry. I have done a few small shakedowns in them and found them to be good overall. I did hike in deep snow in them and so long as my gaiters were on, my feet were warm and dry. They do not have an overwhelming amount of tread on them, so they are a little slick in off camber sections. They fit me feet really well but I am afraid that if my pack weight gets up around 40 lbs, they may not have enough support. I am toying with the idea of using my Asolo 520 GTX for the first month or so. They have a lot of miles on them, mostly from walking to class, but I love them to death. The reason I didn¢t go with them again is because they are heavy, 3.1 pounds and made primarily of leather so they will freeze solid and stay solid for quite sometime. I still have 10 days to decide. Oh brother. ¢¢Come to find out my dog Broots is allergic to chicken. All for now, more later this afternoon maybe.