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If the boots don’t fit, don’t wear them.

It is a sad thing, to realize that the boots you liked so much are lazy! Six miles, and a light pack, and they are pinching your little toes mercilessly, trying to get you off the trail. I thought going up one half-size would be enough, but they are too narrow even so. Ah well. The Litany of the Boots continues. I guess it is back to Zappos. Somewhere, inside the shoe store…

Not much else done today, but I will sneaker up and do some walking later. Achoo. Achoo. I should not be lazy tonight, but I have that feeling…

12lb daypack, 6 miles round trip, 3.5 hours. The trail was very sloppy in many spots – a lot of soft, clayey mud, and patches where there was still snow and ice. The pace wasn’t great, but I wasn’t trying for a fast pace. It was a good trial run for how the boots hold up on longer distances. They pinched my little toes, and my right big toe wasn’t very happy either…. BUT NO BLISTERS!

Next Sunday, the bro and I will try again. There is a place along the Wabash Trail we were on that is called “Margaritaville”; a nice little rest area far from any roads that has some picnic benches and a portapotty; on Thursday nights, bicyclists gather there to party. Tom and I always carry a beer apiece when we set out for Margaritaville – it is 5.5 miles from the place we pick up the trail.

The beer went undrunk this trip. It will not be so forever.

Over the halfway mark, and dropping now! Today was a smorgasbord of different activities – packed up several small boxes of stuff, worked on some non-trail related projects I want to finish before I leave, and took the pack for a nighttime stroll around the neighborhood for about two miles.

I am very grateful the weather is warm enough for outside meanders!

I’ve about a month and a half to go yet at work, but I can slowly feel my mindset beginning to shift. The realization that my time there will be ending soon is sinking in. I have a lot of lunch dates to make with people before the end of March!

Well, would you look at that now. Day 50. Guess that means something… I’m sure it’ll come to me if I think about it long enough.

Tonight was sure exciting! Too muzzy-headed to think straight, really, so I spent a hour or two going through email, unsubscribing from mailing lists, creating new folders, sorting emails,  and deleting emails – got down to about 1500 unread emails instead of 3000+, so I guess that is progress, right?

I ordered a new headlamp at half-price, and my 2016 A.T. Guide book came in. I haven’t decided yet if I want to buy bear spray or not, but I probably will; it’ll work on people, too, in a pinch, and it’s not like I can carry my 9mil on the trail, even if I wanted to. I’m not thinking it’ll ever come to needing it (the bear spray), but what the heck.

Brand new, unassembled boxes have arrived at the house. I’m sure I’m supposed to do something with… that’ll come to me too. Eventually.

Tomorrow I’ll be officially past the halfway point. Can’t wait to see what happens next!
Ciao!

Back in the pack again… it’s goood to be… back in the pack again…
AND FREE FROM TREADMILL TYRANNY!

Ah, temps today hit the mid-sixties, so a night walk with the Dad and the pack was just perfect. If the weather stays this nice, I may never have to resort to the blasted treadmill again! 🙂

Working 10 and 11 hours at work this week kinda crimps the chances of reaching businesses that I need to talk to. Especially those that close at 5 pm – EST. Next week looks much more promising, but I can’t wait much longer. Balls need to start rolling, but I need information first! I really need to get cracking on dehydrating food as well, and now that the weather is nice enough, I can set up the little propane stove on the glass patio table and practice with it a bit – as well as with the skill of packing and unpacking a backpack efficiently. (Not at the same time.)

Ciao!

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Where’d you get the coconuts?

Very well, Dallas, we are history.

Soylent green is PEOPLE!

Danger, Will Robinson, danger!

He’s dead, Jim.

The hills are alive… with the sound of nothing done… Bah. Dratted cold/flu, whatever.

One more dawn! One more day! One daaaaaay more!

Well.

To maximize my sanity and minimize my guilt, I hereby decree that last week + this week = one week of physical training. Ergo, the move to 32 lbs will start next week. I was out sick at work today, so I have eight hours to make up for work wise; my days are going to be pretty crammed this week, alas.

This and that…

• Saturday will be an 11 mile hike with the brother and a 20lb pack. The weather, thankfully is cooperating!
• Packing stuff up in earnest begins tomorrow; I think a box or two a day is the goal there. I’ll start with the books. 
• Downloaded books onto the sillyphone; still need to do music, cache coordinates, and trail PDFs I’ve compiled.

Praying I feel better tomorrow.

Ciao!

I’ve got the crud! I’ve got the creeping crud! The walk today did not happen. It just didn’t. I’m hoping to have the energy to hit the treadmill later. Anyone catch the tag number of the steamroller that just ran over me?

I guess I’ll take the time to start learning how to use this sillyphone I bought a month back;  finally picked up a prepaid phone card for it this afternoon. And chocolate. A lot of chocolate. Most of it will be frozen… the chocolate, that is, not the phone card.

It’s only mid-February, it’s too early to panic if I’ll be ready yet or not. So I’ll try not. 🙂

Ciao!

Okay, the mini-trip did not happen, but I still took Saturday and Sunday off. The only hike related things done today were the purchase, slicing, and dehydrating of seven bananas into dried banana chips, and the creation of an almost complete gear list, and list of what to put in the bounce box.

Tomorrow, things kick back into high gear.

• The weather is supposed to be pretty warm for February, so Dad and I and 27lb backpack (or maybe 32lb) will take a nice, leisurely 3 mile stroll around the Walnut Creek Lake Rec area bike path. It has some hills and switchbacks, should be a good test
• I will start filling out the deferment forms for my blasted student loans
• And, packing boxes will be purchased to box up and store my stuff while I am gone

I really meant to exercise Saturday, but I lay down for a 45 min nap, and woke up 2.5 hours later, completely missing the exercise window. I can’t regret – I must have really needed the sleep, because normally, it’s hard for me to nap for longer than an hour! The mind was willing, the body had other ideas.

Blast it, I am all sneezy and sniffly. I don’t need a cold!

Ciao!

I don’t have the heart to write much of anything tonight, I’m sorry. Besides, there’s not that much of anything to report tonight… Minitrip tomorrow, it’ll do me good. I’ll be back on Monday to add more weight to the pack and pick things up again.

RIP, Justice Scalia.

Ciao.