Date: 2006-01-25
To: Little milestones
Miles today: 0.0

It¢s been a while since my last entry. I¢ve been busy. Here are a few highlights of what I¢ve been doing. Now that the trail is so close I have to be more careful with the journal. It will be the little things I want to remember when I look backPaycheckI got my final paycheck on Wednesday the 11th. When my job ends I¢ll get a payout for my unused vacation time and then there ain¢t no more. I haven¢t asked myself many times if I¢m crazy. No point. I took a few breaths. Now I¢m working without a net. Sale of carAs of December 27th I no longer own a car. I sold it to Andrew for a dollar. He¢ll sell it again to pay for my health insurance and put any extra in the trail account. I got a hundred dollar refund on my car insurance. That¢s in the bank now too.TaxesI did my state and federal taxes yesterday. Hope my refund checks get here fast.Exit interviewThat¢s this morning. It makes my departure final. Now just a good-bye party next week and I¢m done.RockDancer & hikeI¢m getting to know a ¢97 thru-hiker, RockDancer, who I met through AT-L. We¢ve been emailing back and forth for a while. We got together after Christmas for a hike in New Hampshire. We did a short hike to a small peak (name escapes me), my first winter hike. Ice-covered woods were beautiful. RockDancer said it looked like Georgia looks in March. I landed on my ass several times on the icy decent. I won¢t go in the trail without trekking poles, and instep crampons or something similar are a probably good idea as well. I carried my pack and tested out my clothing layers. As with winter running, I overdressed and was pretty sweaty half-way through. Like me, RockDancer is also a climber. I got together with him again at the climbing gym in Dracut and also met Gold Thumb, another ¢97 hiker. Trying to plan a get-together for the three of us, a third hiker named Stitches, and Andrew. They¢ll tuckerize my pack and tell me what I need and don¢t need. They¢ll Andrew about being my support team and give advise on being a trail widow.Tin Man & stoveI¢ve had my stove and cooking gear for a couple of weeks now. Even though I made and tested several alcohol stoves, I decided to trust a professional. Before ordering I had a long chat with Tin Man at antigravitygear.com . He gives great advice and he¢s fun to talk to. It sounded like he was clearing planes for take-off and landing. I¢ve been testing the stove in the back yard and in the parking lot at work. Ramen noodles are a snap. I¢m figuring out exactly how much fuel I need for other meals. Macaroni uses more than egg noodles. Stove Top stuffing is a breeze. I¢ve got a copy of Lipsmackin¢ Backpackin¢ and will try some of their recipes.Bulk food shoppingMy mother has a Sam¢s Club membership, so I got her in on the action. Andrew and I went with her and we filled up a cart. Just staples, stuff I need and won¢t get sick of. I¢m planning about ten mail drops, so this will only supplement what I get in towns. It should save me a few bucks anyway. Besides, we had fun. I got cases of pop tarts, instant coco, cheese crackers, mac n¢ cheese along with envelopes of tuna, bacon bits, ibuprofen, vitamins, and zip lock bags. I may take a second trip after I repackage everything. Backpack adviceKelly at Maine Mountain Works in Portland saved me some money and saved my back. I thought I needed a new belt for my pack. Turns out I was just adjusting it wrong. After loosening a couple straps and tightening a couple more it¢s riding square on my hips, not my shoulders.Let goSunday night I threw my bed in a dumpster. For the past three years I¢ve had lives in two different states and have been working like hell to have just one. Tossing that bed made it final. Next Tuesday I¢ll have both feet in Maine, at least for 28 days.