Date: 2006-06-27
To: Prep #33-It Is Time To Sh*t Or Get Off The Pot
Miles today: 0.0

Last weekend I got a flyer from REI saying there was a big 4th of July sale and my local store was having their annual garage sale (gear people bring back is sold super cheap to members of the REI co-op, my boots that I took back were being sold for $19.00...a total steal for someone that can wear them). I was excited about this...to say the least.My "Things Left To Purchase" gear list is shrinking...hard to believe. The main stuff I've been holding out on is the clothing. Not sure why, just feeling like I haven't looked enough, but I finally told myself that I was stressing waaaaaay too much about getting the "perfect" set-up when I know for a fact, things will change when I get on the trail.So off to REI I went (I allow myself no more than 2 trips per month to an outfitters). If you check out my gear list, you'll notice a significant amount of additional stuff now...mainly clothing. This is such a "girl" thing to do, but they had the short sleeved shirt I want...just not the color I wanted, so I ordered it on the internet and am having it delivered to the store..free shipping that way. The most exciting part for me is that (as a true nerd would do) I've created a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel where I put the piece of gear and the weight, and I've got the spreadsheet set up to calculate the total weight in order to keep track of how heavy my pack will be. I've got the weights of things that I've not yet purchased as well...info from the websites. As of now, with only a few minor things left unweighed (such as a homemade first aid kit, maps, extra batteries) my pack weight w/4 days food and 2 liters of water is at 29.6 lbs!!!! I am VERY proud of that. My goal is to have a pack that weighs under 35lbs, and I'd really prefer 30lbs, but hey...I'll be really close to that. Funny thing is that I don't really feel like I'm skimping too much on the appropriate gear. Oh.............AND........I ordered what I hope will be my pack!!! I say "what I hope" because you never really know what will fit the best until you've taken all your crap to the outfitters, loaded a pack w/it and walked around the store in it. I ordered the ULA Catalyst (www.ula-equipment.com) and the only option I went with was the internal stash pocket. I may or may not use it, but wanted it just in case. I also ordered the silnylon pack cover for it, but I'll also be lining the inside w/a trash compactor bag for extra safety. I've decided against using my camelback water bladder and think I'll go w/a couple of cheap, inexpensively replaceable, can see how much water I have left, if they start to stink I can buy more, Gatorade bottles.It's interesting how your gear changes just in this pre-hike process. I'll admit I tend to overplan, but I've been talking w/another person who is starting the same day as me, and who has done more hiking than me. So, it's been helpful to get another perspective. All in all...everything is going as planned, still saving $, sold a ton of stuff on ebay last Sunday, and that $ will go into my hiking fund. I think I'm just in that time period where even though I obsessively think about my hike, I'm needing to remain focused on taking care of life stuff, so March 15 seems forever away. However....all of this has not stopped me from starting the countdown!!! I love countdowns...only 246 days till I quit all my jobs and 261 days till my feet touch Springer Mt.!! But shhhh...no one knows I'm quitting yet!