The Last Few Days (Before I Start)

There are only a few days left before I fly down to Georgia.  I’ve been taking care of the last few loose ends which has included a slew of doctors’ appointments.  I’ve had my eyes checked, contacts reordered, gums near murdered by a dental hygienist, and now my lips feel like puffy balloons because my dentist was a bit too liberal with her application of Novocaine.  Nonetheless, my proverbial ducks are in a row and I am ready to set out.

I’ve got plenty of worries but I’m trying to not let them get to me.  I am definitely not in as good of shape as I was by the end of last summer.  A 20 mile hike in 10 inches of snow at 13,000 ft would be out of the question right now.   And the days of rain and possible snow aren’t exactly enticing.  But then it’s the rainy days that make the sunny ones incredible.

Everything needs a point of reference.  Coming home to New England in February I realized how easy the winter in Boulder was – it’s not damp, the ocean winds don’t rattle your bones with cold (the winds are sometimes warm), and really I had no right to complain. So when I’ve been cold and wet for weeks at time, maybe even hungry and sore too, I need to remember it’s just to provide a comparison against the days which will no doubt be wonderful.  But even more so since I will know what it is to be miserable. Without any up or down it’s basically all Kansas (no offense to people from Kansas, but your state is mathematically flatter than a pancake).

Hopefully Steve won’t break it after a week of “Let It Be”

The plans had to be scrapped because of time

Packing Step 1

Packing Step 2

Packing Step 3

Packed!

What I am Bringing

I said I’d try to keep this as exciting as possible so here it is: Dan’s Fantastical and Wondrous Gear List for the Epic Journey through the Wild Appalachians!

My Pack: REI 65L Morning Star – old and a bit on the heavy side, but I had it so it’s one less thing to buy.  It’s been faithful since my trip to Hawaii in 2005, was sleeping around before then.  Hoping it will survive the Appalachian trail as well.

My Tent: Tarptent Rainshadow 2 – super lightweight.  Uses trekking poles for support.  Props to Steve for finding this.  Props to me for buying it and depriving his fiance of a Christmas gift for him.

My Boots: Asolo TPS 520 hiking boots – I don’t think I’ve fully broken in the boots yet and I love them.  Water falls off the boots like it does the feathers of a duck.  They are warm and comfortable and will keep my feet dry!  I hate having wet feet but I’ve got good socks and liners which wick away sweat so I should be okay.

My Cook Pot: The “infamous” grease pot.  I still need to pick this up, but it’s cheap, lightweight, and has “grease” stamped into the side of it.  What could be better?  Found at Walmart, which are more numerous than trees in the forest, so if it breaks, easy to replace!

My Musical Entertainment: A black ukulele!  It weighs less than 1lbs and cost less than $15 so if it dies during the trip, it’s not too big of a deal.  I plan on painting it with pretty patterns before I leave.

Of course I am bringing other stuff – but these are the most important.  And I feel it would start to get more boring than it is already if I included any more things.  Next up: final preparations!