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Published: March 22nd 2007
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OD,
Prep, prep and more prep. So much to do and so little time to get it all done in. Sunday and Monday winter has returned to the "North Country" with a vengeance. Single digit temps high winds and blowing snow. No training hikes in a few days. We probably should be out there toughing it out, but the older smarter me says I will endure a little extra pain on the trail start than risk a fall on an icy walk. Sunday was a rest day both body and mind. CC and I were about brain dead on trying to not forget anything, so we opted for a day of rest. Yesterday (Monday) we put a huge dent in the repackaging food task. 99% of all our diner meals are now in the smaller vacuum pack bags with the addition of our own dehydrated veggies and meat. Our average meal weights in at a whopping 7.5oz. Just add boiling water and cook for 15 - 20 min and diner is ready.. We have quite a good selection, but not enough to cover the entire trip. Now I need to figure out where the meals get mailed to, and
where we will have to buy our food at a local store.
The pictures are of us checking the prospective weight of CC's pack for the trail. "She" was concerned about it more than I was (he, he, he,) as anything she doesn't carry I have to. We have split up the common gear as equitable as possible, with me, the old war horse getting the heavier half of any items. End result, CC comes in between 30 - 35 lbs and I come in at about 45 - 50 lbs. You can also see she has quite the eye for this "Color Coordinating" thing. The last photo is from a trip I took while living in Alaska. I hope we do not see any weather like I saw on that trip. We had just finished with four days of heavy rain and we needed to climb that imposing face you see in the background, all 7,000 vertical feet of it.
The sun is out this morning and looks like the first day of Spring will be better than the past few. Lastly a couple of comments from friends during recent phone calls that made me laugh.
From an old Ranger Buddy " Oh yeah, I remember you and Deborah are going on a sort of long outing"
From the friend who is driving us to our start in Harpers Ferry " Just how much luggage will you be taking?" I really wanted to say 4 suitcases each, 2 duffel bags and a couple of mules to carry the six months of food we have....
CC
Long days and night putting all this food together my brain is about done with. I also wonder why we didn't start this prep thing on the 4th of July last year. It would have been a bit easier on our budget and my brain. It would also prevent running back and forth to town for something we have forgot. I'm also trying to get some last minute quality time in with my little "Gingerdoodle" our Toy Poodle, who can sense something is happening. I'm also trying to squeeze as much time as possible in with all the family and grandchildren. I will so miss them all. The pack with all my gear in it actually felt better than the torture device ( 25lb bag of wood stove
GingerDoodle gets attention
Here I am playing with the dog trying to calm her down. It is amazing to see how she senses that there is something afoot. I will really miss her on our walk. pellets) OD had rigged in my training pack. It must be some sort of old Ranger training flashback he had. I have also managed to get my boot inserts custom made and fitted by the "Avon" shoe store in Watertown. The ortho guys at Ft Drum also gave me some nice knee braces to help out my knees on the walk. Now first thing this morning we are headed back into town so I can get my new prescription glasses so I can hopefully see the trail good enough so as not to walk off some cliff along the way.
This Friday we are headed down to Rochester to have a birthday party with grandson Logan and spend the weekend visiting there. We are also dropping off all our resupply boxes with our daughter Micki, who has volunteered to mail them out to us. Thanks a bunch to you sweet heart. Thank you ALL for your support and prayers.
OD and CC
OD
Yesterday was a big day as far as getting things done. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel and I know it is not a train.. I cooked up my
The Trail Map
This is a shot of our AT map that hangs next to our bedroom door. This is so every time I walk by it reminds me of the task at hand. When you look at that thing, you realize the real size of the task we are undertaking! favorite granola recipe. I have used it since I was in Alaska, it is quite the high test octane chow.
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup rolled wheat
2 cups coconut, shredded
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, unsalted
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup soy grits
1/2 cup bran
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup cashews, chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped
2/3 cup oil - safflower or other to liking
1 cup honey
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup dates, chopped
2 cups raisins or other dried fruits, chopped
Mix liquid stuff with dry stuff, except fruit. Spread in baking tins and brown @ 250 degrees in oven for about 45 min. stir once or twice. Cool, add fruit, and store in fridge until ready to use.. You can put it in Tupperware stuff and use it as a breakfast cereal or snack. Without refrigeration it will last more than a couple of weeks. Today we just need to go over all the possible postal drops and towns with the better grocery stores so we can put together our
resupply boxes now all the food is repackaged.
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Logan Yates
non-member comment
Love and Miss you
tkhk hy00y 9tp9-54m0nypi9695im4ver 49 0w-932 v4093 votresfdois9oewroiwesoiekwoisis9w 0v3832qfj23029fqfjm3qjbkcvvb;. This is what all of this says.... Nanny and Poppy. just wanted to wish you all the best of luck and I am going to really miss you and I love you to. Bring me back a little something that you have found. Lots of Love Logan.