Date: 2007-03-08
To: 4
Miles today: 0.0

Oh.....ma.....gaw (said in a valley girl sort of style of course). Today has been a really difficult day emotionally. My nerves are about to get on my nerves (all 2 of them that are left that is). Really glad I left a few things to do these last few days. Rachael and I finally got the underquilt adjusted on my hammock. It was a balmy 31 degrees today, but no wind made it feel great (can't believe I'm saying that). I'm sure I'll be adjusting my underquilt here and there as I go, but the main thing was that I know for sure that I'm not compressing it by it being fit too tightly on the bottom. That's what I really needed to know.I also did my grocery shopping for my first 4 days to Neel's Gap. I discovered some pretty cool stuff at the store and I'm really excited about my first shopping excursion. ***Author's Note: Cooking and menu planning come as naturally to me as say, hunting for food does to a leopard with no legs. ****Note To All Leopards: No offense to any leopards with no legs or family members of leopards with no legsSo the generic rule is that you carry 2 lbs of food per day. This figure, though, is more accurate for when your metabolism kicks in, which for me I think will be in about 2 weeks (oh yeah baby...I can just feel the fat burning off my body!!). That's how long it took me to become a ridiculously hungry and ravenous person in bootcamp. So, at the beginning, carrying about 1 lb of food per day is good. I also discovered from my shakedown hikes that I just wasn't hungry and was having to force myself to eat my small meals. So, I bought my food today as if I were just planning to eat like I normally do at home plus a few additional snacks throughout the day. I mentioned in another post that Toasty hooked me up w/some great stuff, but I'm choosing to have those goodies sent to me at Fontana Dam, where I'll definitely need a maildrop. That way, I'll actually be hungry for them and they'll serve as my luxury food items! (THANKS Toasty!!) The pic below shows what I'll be carrying from Springer to Neel's Gap:Here's a list of all the food for my meals for my first 4 days:Breakfast: (4) Oatmeal To Go Bars Lunch: (4) Tortillas w/peanut butter and jellyDinner: (2) Microwavable Hamburger Helper packs, (2) Instant Mashed Potato packs (the "loaded" flavor...should be yummy) Snacks: Deyhrated blueberries (thanks Toasty!), Trail mix, Jolly Rancher CandiesBefore Bed Metabolism Booster (for warmth): Smoked Cheese, (1) SnickersHot Drink: (8) Celestial Seasons Peach Green Tea sleeves (these ROCK..actually powder that you add to cold water for flavored tea, but you can also put a small pack in hot water for some flavored hot tea) Spice Bag: This is something I'll always carry to help make my meals more enjoyable. In it I'm carrying:      2 oz Nalgene bottle 1/2 full of olive oil      Small bag of Molly McButter      Small bag of dehydrated Chives      Small bag of Seasoned Salt      Small bag of Minced Garlic      Small bag of Fajita seasoning      Small bag of Bac-Os(fake bacon bits)       4 chicken boullion cubes     Pint ziplock with 4 mustard packs, 4 miracle whip packs, 2 relish packsSo drum roll please....the weight of all of this inside my stuff sack?4 lbs EXACTLY!!! Super duper extra excited about that. I was worried I was going to over pack food (because most of us do...and maybe I still did) but I feel pretty good about all of it.I also went and got my hair cut today for the first time in 2 years. It's all one length now (which is a first for me) and is still long enough to be in a pony tail and out of my face. So it's just a matter of taking care of the little things. I still have several items in addition to the yummy yummy things that Toasty gave me. I'm keeping an inventory list on my pocketmail of all of these things and extra gear I have at home, so I can have Rachael send me stuff as needed.It's all coming together and I'm just down to packing my pack up tomorrow. I thought about doing it today, but I think my mild OCD-ness would have caused me to go in there and un/repack it again tomorrow anyway, so I figured why bother today. Rachael had to calm me down today. To all of you thinking and dreaming of doing this in the coming years....the week before you leave is BY FAR the most difficult days you'll have before you leave. The anticipation, as wonderful as it is, is almost too much to handle. I just want to get out there and get it started. Soon enough....soon enough....