More pieces are falling into place. I have some “Jerusalem cruisers,” as Tony calls them, and they’re faboo. Have finally put together toiletries (should probably cut the stash in half)...last few things are on their way from REI...still need a Leatherman. Have spent HOURS downloading music and putting together playlists, to the point where I’m starting to worry that I’m overly obsessing about the music part and it’s going to detract from what this experience is supposed to be like.
Triumphs:
- Found Li-ion camera batteries for FOUR DOLLARS. Like, ones that are usually THIRTY OR FORTY dollars. Bought FIVE of the suckers. Go me.
- Found a voice recorder for $35
- ...and most importantly, the perfect journal. Today I spent some time at work hunting through Whitman’s Leaves of Grass for pertinent passages, and this is now on the first few pages of my super-cool awesome bomb-diggity journal. It seemed to tie in with Paulo Coelho’s idea of a Personal Legend (from The Alchemist).
Still to do:
- To my dismay, my copy of LoG did NOT have “Song of the Open Road.” Must find it and steal passages.
- Still considering getting insoles. And a knife.
- Have not really tried out the pack at real weight, since I’m still waiting for things to arrive at REI.
- Have probably not broken in the boots enough.
I went up to DC the other day to see my friend Drew and pick his brain for backpacking tips...mainly because I was thinking of him as a backpacker, and not a former Marine. Therefore, the first-aid-kit list he put together for me would have me ready to survive unaided and alone while scaling the mountains of Patagonia for six months, rather than walking a hostel-and-town-laden pathway across summer wheat fields in Spain. (I have to bust on him for this because he said he’s going to laugh at my blog, and I want to know if he’s really reading it. Ha ha. Just kidding, Drew, you rock.) Highlight of the DC trip: the SECOND I got off the escalator up from the subway station, some bearded kid with a Greenpeace clipboard accosted me with “Hello, ma’am, YOU look like someone who cares about the environment!!” With my Jesus-stompers, my pack, and my cargo shorts, I already felt like a walking granola bar.... Highlight #2: Drew’s contribution to my hiking vocabulary: “swamp ass.” I don’t know what it is, but I have a kind of dread that I’ll find out. At least I have his vow that baby wipes are guaranteed to cure it....
Also hiked through Locust Shade Park the other day...only about 3 miles, but my first hump without cars whizzing by me at 60 mph...sort of. The trails are sandwiched between I-95 and Rt. 1. So I was never out of earshot of traffic, which was a bummer in such gorgeous forest trails. Maybe tomorrow I’ll find the time to go to some of the longer trails out off Joplin Rd.
I guess a lot of this prep stuff isn’t terribly interesting reading. I figure I should put something in here to explain why I’m keeping the blog. Mainly, (obviously) it’s to keep track of the whole adventure from start to finish...and maybe make something out of all this in the way of a publishable end product when it’s all said and done.
I’m also trying to write the kind of blog I wish I could find...that has info about airline tickets and tricks for getting around outrageous Eurail prices and stuff. I’m sure I’ll be writing about stuff I wish I had packed, and stuff I wish I hadn’t....
Third, it just makes things easier when talking to friends. I have everyone from former students to work and bar friends to my family reading this thing. It’s a five-week trip...there’s no way I’ll be able to tell all those stories a million times when I get back. Hell, there’s no way I’ll even remember them all. It’s been really cool when friends I haven’t talked to in forever say, “HEY, I saw your blog...your trip sounds like it’ll be awesome!!” And I can just launch into the latest without having to introduce it a million times...because NO ONE has heard of the Camino, and NO ONE seems to be able to get what it is or why I’m doing it...which is my next post.
Stay tuned. It’s about a week away at this point....
1 comment:
i can't believe you've never heard of swamp ass before. (it's exactly what it sounds like.)
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