ET's Info-Stew

Less than two weeks to go. I got lazy with diet and exercise, but the last 17 days I've been pretty good. Though I've not lost much weight, my fitness level seems to have gone way up, so hopefully that will make a difference on the trail. On Father's day we took the hike up to Surprise Lake. It was extremely tough, uphill the whole way with very steep parts. Jenny and I had to share kid-carrying duties, or we never would have made it. Since then I've been working out on my new used elliptical, plus taking long walks with my pack on. I'm trying to make my workouts somewhat strenuous so that I don't waste my time. Last night when I got on the elliptical I did a 30+ minute moderate workout, and it wasn't tough at all. That day-hike I determined that most of my problem was muscle endurance, and unfortunately it's difficult to find a way to do that kind of exercise.

I've been working on gear, and have made some changes. I am using convertible pants and forgoing rain pants. The ones I bought will work for trail shorts and for wind and rain pants. They are only slightly water resistant, not water-proof. As long as I don't stay in heavy downpours it should be fine. I bought an actual rain jacket, which is heavier than I wanted. Between the pants and jacket, I'm not really saving any weight. I have yet to try on my fleece and long johns. I hope they fit.

I went and bought the new tent, Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2. Saves me about a pound, but I'll be giving some of that back with the footprint, which is practically necessary given the thinness of the tent. Really the point is to get a more modern tent that doesn't have holes in it. It was expensive, so I hope I get my money's worth.

I have a plan for food based upon lessons learned from previous trips. Here is a list, for my own future reference:

There's some new small things I'm trying out, like a small pump-use bug-spray. I have the light camp shoes from Vibram, which are not much more than a protective cover for bare feet. I'm bringing goggles for more entertaining swimming. I'm still trying to figure out the best thing to do for sun block. Besides this an perishables, I'm pretty happy with what I'll be taking. If I'm lucky it will weigh around 30 pounds.