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Friday, April 3, 2009

I'm Officially Excited


hiking with backpackToday the excitement for the Minnesota hike kicked in! I got a lot done, which will go in the report below. And one more thing that really says "this hike is soon!" is putting on the pack and starting to get in shape for carrying the backpack. Just 25 pounds for a few days to start, then I'll begin to work up to full weight.

This is also the official report on what household product works best for getting the pine sap off skin. The vinegar and alcohol worked on it somewhat differently, but both left a bit of a sticky film even after washing with soap afterwards. The clear winner is ammonia which cut the sap, zip zap zonk, all done!

Hike Planning Report
Made phone calls
- preliminary work to get our wilderness permit. Didn't get the right person yet, but left voice mail, and it should be no problem
- have permission to leave one car at Judge Magney SP for the hike and got camping info

Made some contacts about places we need to leave supply boxes. Nothing finalized yet.

Figured out the total meals and what kind- hot, cold, snack, eat out, etc.

Figured out mileages and logistics for getting there, supply boxes placed, etc.

Figured out a prefilter to use with the new water purification system we plan to use for this hike (more on this later)

Put 25 pounds in my pack and walked my normal 1.5 mile loop!


See Thinking About this Year's Big Hike

5 comments:

Rick (Ratty) said...

Your posts about your big hike are inspiring me to think about doing a little bit longer hiking than what I usually do at my small nature preserves. What you're doing is becoming more and more exciting.

rainfield61 said...

I'm officially excited as well since my backpack has been left idling for a long while.
I'll be with you.

betchai said...

i will have to echo ratty and rainfield, i will be with you. you are such an inspiration. again, wishing you well, very well.

askcherlock said...

You truly are an inspiration. I love your spunk, courage and tenacity. Sometimes I read you just for a breath of fresh air sans all the serious issues life can bring.

Sharkbytes said...

Wow, I never thought that I'd offer inspiration. That's very touching, friends. I'm really just a little bit crazy- most long-distance hikers are. But I'm genuinely tickled that you want to share this hike with me.