Date: 2007-01-20
To: Prep #70--Lost A Pound!
Miles today: 0.0

I think, like everything else in life, outfitting yourself w/all needed gear is cyclical. For instance, at first I had nothing, then I researched, then I bought..and bought..and bought..and added, then I got to the point where I said, "I'm finished," and now I'm attempting to move as close as possible back to having nothing.What I mean is that I'm now in the process of really evaluating exactly what I NEED and exactly what I WANT (big difference). Everyone always states that the little things really add up, and I'm here to tell you, they're right.I managed to remove just under a pound of "stuff" I was originially planning on humping on my back. When you plan something like this for a year, things change, you learn more tricks, and new ideas are thrown out there. In talking with a former thru-hiker (Stealth Blew) who will be back out there this year as well, he told me that your pack weight is directly proportional to your level of fear. Pretty cool huh? I think that makes total sense! It is all of those "what if's" that we can imagine might happen, but don't know that it will, that causes us to try to plan and carry gear for every possible situation. I do think your pack weight is also related to hiking/camping style as well, and it is related to what makes hiking enjoyable for you (like carrying an MP3 player or not).So, with that bit of advice, I started looking at my gear list and really scrutinizing my reasons for carrying everything. Was it a necessity or was it a "what if" piece of gear? Like the title states, I've pulled almost an entire pound of "what if" stuff out. Here's what I changed:1. Tore out section of companion I needed--was originally going to carry the whole thing because I didn't know if I'd have a person to mail that stuff to me...not doing a bounce box or maildrops. Now I know my mom is helping me (THANKS MOM!!!)2. Nail clippers (removed)--my tiny swiss army knife that has a built in whistle, has a nail file w/a screwdriver tip on the end I can use to clean my nails, and it has scissors...I'll cut my nails w/those3. Pack towel (removed)--redundant w/a bandana4. 1 oz bottle containing camp suds soap (removed)--was going to use this to wash my cooking pot, but I got unanimous advice to just finger clean my pot and wash w/soap in towns5. Small plastic scrubby (removed)--was going to use for scrubbing pot, will use sand and/or hands/leaves6. (2) AA lithium batteries (removed)--I was going to carry these as backups but figured that was uneccesary because a town is always within 1 day or so7. Paper matches (removed)--got a little carried away w/fire making stuff. I'm using wooden matches for primary fire, have a butane wind/water proof lighter if weather is horrible8. Waterproof matches (downsized to 10 total)--This is part of my emergency kit, I had a whole bundle at first, which was probably about 25...overkill (10 probably is too...but I know fire can be the difference between life/death)9. Gel hand sanitizer (removed)--the 1 oz bottle my camp suds was in now contains denatured alcohol and I'll use this stuff to sanitize my hands. The other cool thing is that my stove fuel is in a 16.9 oz pop bottle. If it's really cold, I can put this small 1 oz bottle in my pocket and warm that 1oz portion of fuel for cooking. 10. Small sudoku book (removed)--I'll have this sent if I decide I need it11. Pencil (removed)--was for sudoku, but if I need to write something, I'll use the pen in the shelters I'm going to go through my stuff at least 2 more times and do this again. I think I'd rather have a box of stuff at home that Rachael can mail to me IF I realize I want it, as opposed to starting with it and humping all of that weight for no reason. So, with this change, that puts my pack weight w/4 days food and full water at around 33 lbs. I'd like to get closer to 30, but we'll see.