Date: 2003-02-22
To: Update
Miles today: 0.0

Feb. 22, 2003 - Spring Lake, Mi   Hi again. My preparations are coming along quite well. The living room is a complete mess with things everywhere. I've been up late, almost every night, as my mind wonders through all of the things that I might need. Perhaps I should just buy a wheelbarrow for all of my stuff. ;-) One of my friends (thanks Lu) gave me a card awhile ago with a backpacker on it and this guy had a tv, electric fan, ext. cord, stereo, and many other things strapped to his pack. I'm really trying to not let that become me. It's going to come down to making some tough decisions. For example, I enjoy watching birds with my binoculars. Are the binocs a necessity for this trip?....no. Would I like having them?....yes.   How much are wheelbarrows anyway??   My tent arrived on Friday. I was hoping to be able to go with the small, lightweight one-man size. Unfortunately, it's not going to be big enough. For just me it's fine, but I have no spare room in which to put my pack. So, I've ordered the same type of tent in the 2 person size. I was hoping to save some weight by going with the one person tent but.....no go.         I'm a bit bummed with the pack weight situation. I was really hoping to stay near 40 lbs. Today I loaded up close to what I think I'll take and the scales reported 34 lbs. That's without my 7 lb tent which is currently in the mail.   And, that doesn't include food/water either. BUGGAH! I guess that I'll just have to adjust my weight expectations. Do they make a 4 wheeled wheelbarrow???   As for physical training, I feel good about my beginning preparation. On Monday, I bought my pack and since then I've been out 4 times ranging from 2-5 hour trips. I've thrown 35-40 lbs in my pack and walked some forest trails and along the Lake Michigan beach. Tonight, I walked for a couple of hours and the pack is starting to feel pretty good. In fact, I find that I'm forgetting that I even have it. Granted, none of my training yet has included a 15-20 mile trek, but I think I'm off to a good start. I also have been running 3-4 times a week. I bought some new running shoes and they are awesome. They do look a bit Star Trekkie but they feel like you are walking on clouds. I'm considering adding them to the pack for the dry days and times that my feet will be sick of the hiking shoes.    On my 5 hour hike on Thursday, I decided to try out my new burner. I found a place out of the wind and dug out the instruction book. After about five minutes, I realized that I had the darn thing upside-down. Thankfully I realized this before attempting to light it. I finally did get it lit and after extinguishing a small fire on the log that I was using for support, I enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate and some Ramen noodles. So, now I have my first "outdoor" meal under my belt, no pun intended. I am glad that there was nobody there to watch me. I was able to laugh through this experience. I'm sure that there will be more humorous times to come as I learn about the ins and outs of this hobby.   I guess that's enough for today. I need to get some reading done. One of my "renewal year" goals is to read the Bible cover to cover. I have about 200 pages left so I hope to complete it before leaving. I am still trying to decide if I'm taking this Bible or buying a smaller one. My current Bible has study notes and is very heavy. I'll definitely be taking my Daily Word and Guidepost devotionals.    Aaahhh, I almost forgot. I bought a digital camera yesterday. This thing is awesome. It's the size of a music cassette tape, only twice as thick. Very lightweight. Have you ever heard of Artificial Intelligence Auto Focusing?   Me either.....now what in the world could that mean??   I suppose that I won't be able to take it on an airplane! Anyway, I took it out tonight on my hike and hopefully I'll figure out how to add a picture to this journal entry. No promises but I'll try. (ps, I tried to include the pic in this entry without success. You can find it in the photo section of my journal page. It's called 2/22 Training in Michigan) And, please email me if you see any exceptionally good sales on wheelbarrows....thanks. ;-)   Thanks for checking out my thoughts.    Peace to you,   Scot