Date: 2010-06-16
From: home

To: home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

OMG this is so boring. I said I wasn't going to post while I was home, but I am apparently without the resources to entertain myself. Hence, posting. Sorry. Its probably all pretty dull content.You know how they say if you're home sick and you watch daytime tv, it will just make you feel worse? Well so will just sitting around. It has been a couple of decades since I could just sit around without getting really stiff. So I sit for a while, then I do some dishes. Then I sit again. Maybe eat something. I don't have a thruhiker appetite, but I have more appetite than is appropriate for somebody who is basically being a big pasty lump. If the aches go away I may have to rethink my stance on hiking in a keffiyah while on antibiotics.I feel not too bad between about 10 am and 4 pm. Then I feel like hell for 3-4 hours. Then I go to bed. After 10 hours of sleep I get up because it's time to take antibiotics again but I'd rather be sleeping.It's not 4 yet. So I can sit up and do stuff rather than recline and feel sorry for myself. I thought I'd use the opportunity to do a mid-hike review of gear. (Possibly this is actually an end-of-hike review but I'm trying to stay positive.)Things I use constantly, moment to moment:Iphone 3GS: All day, most days, I listen to something. Usually an audiobook. I very seldom hike with others. Having something to focus on other than my own thoughts is very, very helpful. In addition to this critical function, I use it to text JD and Delee, keep a calendar, do basic math, update facebook, check the weather forecast, read webcomics, read kindle-type books, check direction with its compass, take pictures, upload pictures, write and upload my journal, check my mail, read audubon guides to mammals, trees, and flowers, and identify ticks. Also a couple of times I used it to make phone calls. I have a protective clear cover on the screen, a protective grippy cover on the back, and I keep it in or near a ziplock in case of wet weather. I double bag the ziplocks for *seriously* wet weather. (The AT&T network I have to use with it is aggravating, however.)bug headnet: This makes me look like a beekeeper or the cafeteria lady, depending on if I have it over my whole face or just my ears. In addition to this benefit, it keeps gnats from committing gnaticide in my eyes, nose, and mouth. This has been the worst year I've ever experienced for gnats. Yay wet weather. In the five minutes a day when I am not in a gnat zone, I stuff it in the side pocket of my backpack, then instantly retrieve it because more gnats have shown up after all. I have slept with it on a few times, but I prefer to put up the tent instead, if possible. It's cooler in both senses of the word.fanny pack: All of fanny pack is divided into two parts: food and etc. Food is the larger part. Every morning I cram the larger pocket to bursting with snacks. For the curious, these may include such foods as crunchy granola bars, gorp, pretzels, jolly ranchers, a tube of drink mix, a power bar, a gel shot (with or without caffeine), a box of raisins, a couple of servings of fruit treats, skittles, a balance bar, and peanut butter crackers. Every evening I remove all the trash and the one jolly rancher that hid from me all day. In the front pocket reside lip balm, sunscreen, prep h (shut up, you're old too), a tiny knife, a mirror (this started living up front so I could do instant tick checks), purell, a thermometer, and a few sheets of toilet paper in a ziplock. Depending on my current maladies, I may also keep immodium, excedrin, and/or advil in there.hiking poles: I am actually not picky about these. My requirements are that they not collapse on their own, and that I be smart enough to figure out their locking mechanism as needed. And I'm not super strict about the first part. Being able to keep more points of contact with the ground means I fall down less. You would be amazed at the headlong plunges that have been averted by my hiking poles. After which I coolly keep walking like nothing happened. Nothing to see here, folks! I meant to do that.Keen Voyageur boots: These are pretty comfy. I like that they don't require complicated tightening and lacing every morning. I shove my feet in, lace over the one set of hooks, and they're done. However as far as I can tell, they start delaminating within moments of leaving the factory. I have not yet decided if this is a fatal flaw or not. Platypus hydration system: Admittedly, it is a pain in the butt to retrieve the reservoir from the backpack when I want to fill it. The upside is that the water stays cooler inside the pack, and it also keeps my foodbag cool. And because it takes virtually no effort to drink from the tube (as opposed to fishing out and opening a water bottle) I drink more from the tube than I used to from bottles. A serious downside to the current system is that I keep pulling the bite tube off the hose, and then the water runs down the front of me. And because it's in my pack it's usually *cold* water. So it's quite a shock. But the tube does have a locked position in which water will not flow, and if I ever used that it would keep me from soaking myself. (I actually do use this feature at night, in vehicles, and when I take my pack off.)NEXT: Things I use less often. Say, nightly.