July 4 - Packing Up

July 4 - Packing Up

Most of Independence Day was spent straightening up the cabin and re-packing my backpack. 

It's really amazing how much stuff is needed to live day to day from a sack on your back. If I didn't wear contact/glasses,  didn't read, cared less about taking care of injuries, I could eliminate a couple of pounds of stuffing. No bandaids, Kindle, eye solution, nail clippers, athletic tape, et cetera. 

I want to thank all of the gear suppliers for their help. Twice I've dropped my Jetboil stove and cracked the plastic cup/cover only to have them ship me a free replacement. Big Agnes replaced a tent pole that broke and my tent body when the zipper failed and the screen ran. That was before it was completely destroyed in a microburst at Capitol Reef National Park. They've given me $150 credit toward any of their products and have recycled my damaged tent parts. Big Agnes is awesome! And speaking of awesome, Sierra Designs replaced with brand new my well used Thermarest Xtherm Air mattress when I couldn't find a slow leak. I had patched it twice but could never find the leak that got me up a 3 am to give it another couple of lungfulls. Sierra Designs went above and beyond!

I dug my new Tarp Tent Stratospire out of the bottom of the pack and set it up in about three minutes with only one mishap. I guess they give you eight inch stakes to make sure they won't pull out, like they do if you only put them in half way. Still, it took less than the forty-five minutes from my first attempt. I'm liking the extra space in my new tent. Yay!!!

Food is a little concerning as I'm not sure how many miles I can do after an 11 month layoff. I'll pack more than I need just in case, but that will also put more stress on joints and feet and slow me down. 

Depending on how much water I'll need to carry I'm expecting the pack to be around twenty-eight pounds including five days of food. Not bad, but not ultralight either. 

Oh well, Happy Fourth! I guess I'm ready to go. 

Allen