Pack Updates

I went shopping today and got a whole bunch of little stuff, including my first 8 days worth of food. Ramen, beef jerky, Lipton dinners, packets of tuna and salmon, oatmeal, poptarts, mashed potatoes, trail mix, dried apricots, and hazelnut instant coffee (Which is actually incredibly good.) I got a travel sized shampoo bottle to fill with Sriracha, which will be wonderful. I've packed some multivitamins to make sure I'm not missing anything important on the nutrient frontier.

I aired out my sleeping bag, which I shamefully kept compressed in my pack for the past week.. Butters loves my sleeping bag..



I'm so close to having everything completely ready! I just need a good pair of gortex socks and a rain cover for my pack. I've planned out much of my bounce box. A bounce box is a box which I fill with extra stuff that I may need periodically; extra batteries, tylenol and multivitamins, an extra pair of socks are currently set aside for that box. Then I put it in a flat rate shipping box and send it to a trail town ahead of me. When I reach that location, I can either open the box and use the stuff, or I can bounce the box forward to a new location free of charge.

My first mail drop is destined for Neels Gap, about 30 miles in. That was I only have to start out with about 3-4 days worth of food instead of a weeks worth, which I'm sure will be awesome.
My second mail drop will be to the Blueberry Patch, a Hostel where I'll stay on a recommendation from the thruhiker Swift. I have no idea what to expect other than a good time.

Right now I'm incorporating all of my new stuff into my pack, so this room looks like a tornado came through, but with any luck I'll have everything completely organized by the end of the evening.

Being this close to my start date makes work almost unbearable. I cannot wait to be gone! At least I'm trying to get as much overtime as possible. The more money I have saved up, the longer I can hike.

Also, it feels SO GOOD to not be in school right now.