Song of the night: What a Feeling
Ladies and gentlemen, the weights have left the pack.
Today was a good day. 🙂 The new equipment arrived from REI, the sleeping bag and tent fit into the compression sacks, compressed very well, and I was able to get the mini-backpacking stove to light. I also tried on the mosquito netting head net… talk about incredibly geeky! But hey, if it works, I suspect I won’t care how it LOOKS. I will just never wear it for pictures!
So I loaded up the pack… I’ve been carrying 32 lbs lately, but the pack came in at 17! Now, granted, I did not have food or water in there, which I figure will add another 10 lbs – water especially! But that is still lighter than I have been carrying, so I am happy. There is a deep sense of satisfaction tonight. I’m finally feeling that I am almost ready. There are still things I need to do, but I can finally see that start line in the distance.
The dad and the brother will be out of town the weekend of April 2-3, so I figure I will get one more shakedown mini-backpacking trip in before the real thing. Especially since April 1 is my last day at work, I can extend it – preparations permitting. Any last minute gear I need to buy can be ordered and delivered before I head out on April 9.
I have a feeling I will go into a frenzy of box-packing and a flurry of genealogy work this weekend. I want to get both of those finished before Palm Sunday. Well, okay, there /is/ a pub crawl in Old Town Bellevue this weekend that might, um, distract me.
I came home from work smelling of smoke and BBQ. That doesn’t happen very often.
Ciao!
TRAILS, TRIALS, AND TRAVAILS 